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XGF-01 Gundam Lfrith Pre-Production Model

The mass produced prototype that started the whole Lfrith line, and it wears its plain, workmanlike look with real charm.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Gundam Lfrith Pre-Production Model · 1/144 · 2024

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2024

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit a lot more than its blue gray, antenna less design suggests it has any right to be.

It is a lore first release, the mass production suit Ochs Earth Corporation sent to the Vanadis Incident before Suletta ever touched a Lfrith, and Bandai clearly built it for people who wanted the prologue suit on their shelf rather than a flashy showpiece. The GUND ARM shaping is clean, the Kilorian gambit launcher is the reason to own this over the standard Lfrith, and the price is fair for what you get. It just is not a suit built to be posed hard, and the feet let you know it.

Best for: Witch from Mercury completionists and lore heads who want the prologue mass production Lfrith on the shelf, not action figure posing

The full review

What it is

This is the plain clothes version of Gundam Lfrith, the production line suit Ochs Earth Corporation fielded before the one off unit Suletta pilots ever existed, and building it feels like assembling a piece of the show's backstory rather than a hero mech. No V fin, no head antennas, a subdued blue gray palette, and a back mounted Kilorian gambit launcher loaded with six drone like mine units that is genuinely the star of the kit. Snapping that launcher together and racking the Kilorians into it was my favorite part of the whole build. The beam rifle and the overall GUND ARM silhouette read clean and purposeful, and for a Premium Bandai release the part count and price felt honest rather than exploitative.

The catch

The feet are the real weak point. They are narrow, they carry the weight of a suit with big shoulder launchers, and mine popped out of the ankle joint more than once just from adjusting a standing pose, let alone anything dynamic. The Kilorian launcher doors are similarly fragile, they can pop out of their hinges if you handle them roughly, and the outer launcher shells want to separate from the inner frame holding the mines. You only get one beam rifle and no spare open hands, so the other hand sits empty unless you pose it holding something else. The chest shell unit also relies on a sticker under a clear part instead of the molded color piece the standard Lfrith uses, which is a small step down in finish for a kit at this price.

Who it's for

If you are collecting the Witch from Mercury lineup and want the prologue mass production suit that everything else in the Lfrith family grew out of, this is worth tracking down, the Kilorian launcher alone makes it a fun one afternoon build. If you want a suit that holds dynamic action poses on a shelf, this is not that kit, treat it as a standing display piece and it will not disappoint you. Newer builders should also know this was a Premium Bandai exclusive, so expect to pay more and hunt secondary market listings rather than finding it at a hobby shop.

The build story

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

The core body goes together the way most HG Witch from Mercury kits do, straightforward gate placement, easy cleanup, minor color inaccuracies here and there that are simple enough to panel line or paint over if you care. The standout section is the Kilorian launcher assembly on the back, which takes more steps than the rest of the suit combined and rewards the attention with a genuinely cool piece of hardware once the six Kilorian units are racked in.

Articulation covers the HG basics, a ball and socket neck, shoulders that swing forward, a waist that rotates a full 360 degrees, and a torso with a little forward and back tilt, enough for standing and light action poses but not for anything acrobatic. Color separation on the body is handled well through molding, though the chest shell and a few sensor details lean on foil stickers rather than plastic color, and the feet, as noted, are the one part of the frame that genuinely needs careful handling once the launchers are mounted.

Lore & trivia

01The Gundam Lfrith Pre-Production Model is the mass production prototype fielded by Ochs Earth Corporation during the Vanadis Incident depicted in the Witch from Mercury prologue, predating the one off Gundam Lfrith that Suletta Mercury pilots in the TV series.
02In story, two units were fielded during the Vanadis Incident, designated LF-01 and LF-02, piloted by Nadim Samaya and Wendy Olent respectively.
03The kit's Kilorian gambit launcher and drone units connect it directly to the GUND-BIT support weapon concept that carries through later Lfrith variants like Lfrith Ur and Lfrith Thorn.
04This HGTWFM release was a Bandai Hobby Online Shop / Premium Bandai exclusive, priced at 2,420 yen at Japanese retail rather than sold through general hobby shop channels.