HGGundam Build Fighters Try

Petit'gguy Rusty Orange and Placard

A pocket-sized mascot kit that turns a ten-minute build into a permanent desk fixture holding whatever sign you hand it.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Petit'gguy Rusty Orange and Placard · 1/144 · 2017

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2017

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is not a mecha kit, it is a tiny plastic mascot with just enough engineering to be charming, and on those terms it works.

I built mine in about ten minutes and the only real challenge was the curved chest sticker. It will never wow anyone with articulation or detail, but it is not trying to, and the customizable placard is a genuinely clever hook.

Best for: Gunpla builders who want a cheap, fast palate-cleanser kit or a display-shelf sidekick for their main builds

The full review

What it is

The Petit'gguy line is Bandai's mascot spinoff from Gundam Build Fighters Try, and the Rusty Orange and Placard release is one of the plainer color variants dressed up with the series' best gimmick: a blank sign you write or draw on yourself with a permanent marker. The body comes on three small runners, maybe 30 pieces total, and snaps together fast. The head rotates and tilts on a ball joint, the ears rotate independently, and each stubby limb has its own small ball joint, so the little guy can actually hold a few different poses instead of just standing there. It is a genuinely fun ten-minute build, more toy than model kit, and that is exactly the appeal.

The catch

There is basically no inner frame and no real articulation range to speak of, the joints move but do not hold dramatic poses, and several builders online report the range as "mixed" at best. The single biggest build annoyance is the large triangular chest sticker, which has to wrap a curved surface and is easy to misalign or bubble. There is no molded color separation of note since the whole point is the flat colored shell, and the placard sticker itself is a one-shot deal since it is meant to be written on directly, so a mistake there is hard to undo cleanly.

Who it's for

Buy this if you want a fast, cheap, low-stakes build to keep momentum going between bigger kits, or if you like the idea of a tiny plastic mascot holding a sign that says whatever you want next to your main display. It is also a fun starter build for a younger or first-time builder since there is nothing that can really go wrong. Skip it if you are shopping for articulation, detail, or engineering; this kit was never built to deliver any of those and judging it that way will only disappoint you.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The whole kit sits on three small runners with roughly 30 pieces, and cleanup is minimal since the parts are simple and mostly flat-surfaced. The one spot that actually demands care is the large triangular chest sticker, which has to bed down over a curved shell without trapping air or drifting off center. Everything else clips together quickly with no glue and no painting required to get a finished look.

The ball-jointed head, rotating ears, and jointed limbs are more than a kit this small needed to include, and they are what make the finished figure fun to fiddle with on a shelf rather than just a static blob. The placard system, a connector piece plus an extension piece that lets you mount a write-on sign in either paw, is the standout feature and the reason to pick this variant over a plain colorway. At its low price point the part count and included stand adapters (compatible with other HGPG stands and Haropla bases) make it a reasonable value for what is essentially a novelty piece.

Lore & trivia

01Petit'gguy is a mascot line spun out of Gundam Build Fighters Try, distinct from the mobile-suit kits the rest of the HG range is built around.
02This Rusty Orange and Placard version released in Japan in May 2017 as part of a pair alongside a Surfacer Grey colorway, both introducing the customizable placard accessory to the HGPG line.
03The included placard sticker is meant to be written or drawn on with permanent marker per the instruction manual, letting builders turn the figure into a custom sign-holder.
04The stand is designed to connect with other HGPG Petit'gguy stands as well as Bandai's Haropla stands, so a small collection can be chained together on display.