HGUniversal Century

RX-124 Gundam TR-6 [Woundwort]

A small, spindly, quietly weird kit that turns into three different things and asks you to be patient with all of them.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Gundam TR-6 [Woundwort] · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This kit rewards people who like their Gundam a little strange.

It is not the cleanest build in the HGUC line, and the P-Bandai exclusivity means you pay more than a standard release for it, but the transformation gimmick and the sheer oddity of the Woundwort's silhouette make it worth the trouble. I would not call it a showcase of engineering polish. I would call it a genuinely fun toy that happens to also look good on a shelf once you have wrestled the gates off it.

Best for: AoZ or Titans-era completionists and transforming-kit fans who don't mind extra cleanup for a design nobody else in the HG line looks like

The full review

What it is

The Woundwort is the base unit of the TR-6 platform from Advance of Zeta, and it shows in the kit: thin limbs, a minimally armored frame, and folding joints everywhere because the whole point of the suit is that it reconfigures. Out of the box you get the standard humanoid mode, a mobile armor mode, and a claw mode for the roughly 9-inch long beam rifle, all through part swaps rather than sculpted alternate parts you throw away. Building it feels less like assembling a soldier and more like assembling a transformer, and I mean that as a compliment. The novelty of clicking the same suit into three configurations kept me at the workbench longer than a standard HG usually does.

The catch

This is a P-Bandai Gundam Hobby Online Shop exclusive, so the price sits above a normal HGUC and you are buying it secondhand or through resellers if you missed the run. Builders report thicker gate stubs on some of the bigger pieces, which means more careful nub cleanup than a typical HG demands or you will see it on the finished model. The shoulder-to-arm joint runs a little weak and the hand grip on the long rifle is loose enough that you will be reseating the weapon in-hand fairly often. None of this is dealbreaker territory, but AoZ kits also lean on some panel lines and trim colors that need a paint pen if you want full accuracy rather than pure molded color.

Who it's for

Buy this if you like Advance of Zeta, Titans-era mobile suit design, or transforming kits and you don't mind a bit of extra sanding and reseating loose joints for a suit that looks like nothing else on your shelf. Skip it if you want a clean, tight-fitting weekend build straight out of the bag, or if you are not willing to pay P-Bandai markup for a suit you can get for cheaper in a more mainstream release. This is a kit for people chasing a specific, weird design, not a general recommendation for a first HG.

The build story

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

The build itself moves at a normal HG pace but punishes rushing. The bigger frame pieces carry heavier gate marks than Bandai's mainline HGUC parts, so if you clip close and sand you are fine, but clip lazy and it shows on the thin limb panels where there is nowhere to hide a nub stub. Nothing here needs a nipper upgrade, it just needs a bit more patience than a same-grade RX-78 reissue.

Where the kit earns its keep is the transformation engineering. The folding joints in the limbs that let Woundwort collapse into mobile armor mode are the same joints doing double duty for its regular articulation, so you are not paying a part-count tax for the gimmick, it is baked into the frame. Color separation leans on molded plastic for the main color blocks with some panel trim needing paint for full accuracy. The included Action Base Mini and the long rifle's claw conversion round out the accessory set well for an HG price point, even accounting for the P-Bandai premium.

Lore & trivia

01The Woundwort is the base unit for the entire Gundam TR-6 platform, a family of suits from the Advance of Zeta: The Flag of Titans photo-novel and manga built around the same core so equipment and armaments can be swapped between configurations.
02Its cockpit-carrying torso can detach and function as an independent escape pod called the Primrose II, which is also the core component the rest of the TR-6 system is built around.
03The suit was designed as a deliberately lightly armored 'Light Armor MS' to prioritize its folding transformation mechanisms over protection, trading defense for the ability to fold into mobile armor form and fly independently in atmosphere.
04It was released in 2018 as a Bandai Hobby Online Shop (P-Bandai) exclusive rather than a general retail HGUC, which is why it still trades at a premium relative to mainline releases.