HGRegild Century

VGMM-Sc02 Gastima

A weird little knight of a kit that nobody talks about, and that's a shame.

MechaGrade Score

3.4/5

Gastima · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

The Gastima is a genuinely fun, slightly overlooked HG that gets buried under bigger G-Reco names.

I like it precisely because it does not try to be the hero unit, it is the knight of a three-suit set (Gaeon, Grod, Gastima as King, Queen, Knight), and Bandai gave it enough personality and gimmicks that it stands fine on its own. It will not blow anyone away on the shelf, but it rewards someone who actually reads the instructions instead of rushing.

Best for: G-Reco completists and HG builders who want an odd, gimmick-forward kit off the beaten path

The full review

What it is

This is a 2015 HG from the Reconguista in G line, one of three suits (Gaeon, Grod, Gastima) built around a King, Queen, Knight concept, and the Gastima draws the Knight role. Out of the box you get a beam rifle, two hyper beam swords, and a beam shield, plus a right shoulder panel that opens to show off a hidden missile pod and two bendable wire cables that plug into its back like power lines. I like that Bandai bothered with that missile pod reveal on a kit at this price point, it is a small thing but it makes the suit feel like it has a job to do beyond posing with a sword.

The catch

It is a 2015-era HG, so molded color separation and stickers are doing a chunk of the detail work rather than a full inner frame, and the sticker sheet includes a chrome-look section that is finicky to place cleanly and shows fingerprints if you are not careful. At roughly 5 1/4 inches finished it is on the smaller side even for 1/144, and the eleven runners plus two separate wire pieces mean assembly is a bit more fussy than a same-era same-grade kit that skips the cable gimmick. The wires also need care during posing since they can pop loose from their back ports if you swing the arms too hard.

Who it's for

If you are chasing G-Reco specifically, or you like HGs with an actual working gimmick instead of a static swap-the-hand experience, the Gastima earns its spot. It also makes sense as a companion build if you already have the Gaeon or Grod and want the full trio on the shelf. Skip it if you want a big detail payoff for the money or a kit that poses dramatically without babysitting cables, there are other 2015-vintage HGs that hold a pose more confidently and do not ask you to manage bendable wire during every fight scene you build in your head.

The build story

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

Across eleven runners plus the two separate wire pieces, this is a straightforward HG snap-fit build with nothing structurally tricky, but the wire cables are the one part that asks for patience, you are threading and bending them into ports on the back rather than just clipping a static part in place. Gate placement is typical mid-2010s Bandai, nubs land in low-visibility spots on most runners, though the wire attachment points need a light touch so you do not stress the connectors.

The shoulder-opening missile pod is the standout piece of engineering here, a small hinge and panel that flips open cleanly and snaps shut just as easily, giving the kit a bit of mechanical storytelling that a lot of same-grade kits skip entirely. Articulation is decent HG-era range, enough to hold a two-handed sword pose or level the beam rifle, and the weapon loadout (rifle, two hyper beam swords, shield) is generous for what this kit costs.

Lore & trivia

01The Gastima was developed by the G-IT Laboratory as one of three suits, alongside the Gaeon and Grod, designed to operate together under a King, Queen, Knight concept, with the Gastima taking the Knight role.
02Gundam Reconguista in G was written and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, marking his first traditional Gundam TV series since Turn A Gundam, and its mechanical designs came from Akira Yasuda, Kimitoshi Yamane, and Ippei Gyobu rather than the franchise's more famous mecha artists.
03The kit includes bendable wire parts that plug into the back of the suit to represent power cabling, an unusual physical gimmick for a 1/144 HG from this era rather than a molded or printed detail.