HGRegild Century

YG-111 Gundam G-Self Assault Pack

A hulking long-range gunship strapped to a suit that can barely bend its own elbows.

MechaGrade Score

3.1/5

Gundam G-Self Assault Pack · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

I like this kit for what it represents more than what it does on the shelf.

It is a genuinely clever reuse of the original HG G-Self frame dressed up with a full arsenal of cannons, beam arms, and missile pods, and the scale of the finished piece is a real conversation starter. But the articulation just does not deliver on the promise of all that hardware, and I found myself fighting the pose more than enjoying it.

Best for: Reconguista in G completionists and diorama builders who want the Assault Pack silhouette, not pose-hungry HG collectors

The full review

What it is

This is Bandai's 2015 HG take on the G-Self loaded up with its long-range Assault Pack, and the box alone tells you what you are getting into. It ships with the returning G-Self runners plus a stack of new ones for the pack, enough that you can actually rebuild the plain G-Self with its original legs afterward if you want the option. Snapping the cannons, the raisable beam cannon, and the swiveling beam rifle arms into place is satisfying in a modular, gunship kind of way, and once the pack clicks onto the back the fit is snug, no looseness at the connection point. There is real pleasure in building a kit shaped like a piece of artillery.

The catch

The articulation is the sticking point, and it is a real one. The reinforced leg armor and the pack's bulk cut arm movement down to roughly ninety degrees before the armor plates collide, the shoulder ball joints pop loose under stress, and the ankles barely hinge, so the finished suit looks stiff even in a kit released well into the era of proper inner-frame HGs. Color separation leans hard on stickers, especially the head and the pack's luminous panels, and without paint the surface reads flat and underdetailed. None of this is exaggeration from one grumpy reviewer, it is the recurring complaint across build write-ups.

Who it's for

Buy this if you are chasing the Reconguista in G lineup, want the Assault Pack look for a display or diorama, or just want a big weapon-laden HG to build for the sake of building it. Skip it if you want to pose a dynamic action shot straight off the box art, because the arms and ankles will not get you there without real surgery or an aftermarket frame swap. This is a shelf-presence kit first and a poseable action figure a distant second, and going in with that expectation is the difference between enjoying it and being let down by it.

What works

Reuses the original G-Self frame cleverly, and even leaves you enough parts to rebuild the plain G-Self afterward
The Assault Pack's cannons, beam arms, and beam saber all have their own small swivel gimmicks that are fun to fiddle with
The pack-to-back connection is tight and confident, no wobble or sag under the extra weight

Worth knowing

Arm movement is capped at roughly 90 degrees by the armor plates, and the shoulder ball joints pop off easily when you push past that
Ankles barely bend, which flattens out ground poses and kills any attempt at a dynamic stance
Heavy sticker reliance, particularly on the head and the pack's glowing panels, leaves the surface looking plain without paint

Sold? Grab it.

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The build story

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

The build itself moves fast for how much plastic is in the box, twenty-plus runners between the returning G-Self parts and the new Assault Pack sprues. Gate placement is mostly kind to visible surfaces, and the pack's weapon modules snap together as their own sub-assemblies before mounting to the back, which keeps the process from feeling like one giant slog even with the part count.

The engineering highlight is the Assault Pack's rigging, movable rifle arms that let you aim the twin beam guns independently, a beam cannon you can raise by dropping the arms out of the way, and a back-mounted beam saber that swings free. Where it falls apart is the base G-Self frame underneath it all, arm and ankle articulation that reviewers have flagged as behind the curve even for its 2015 release, so all that weaponry sits on a body that cannot really show it off in a pose.

Lore & trivia

01The Assault Pack was designed in-universe by Ameria for long-range suppressive fire from a single mobile suit, trading close-combat mobility for cannons and missile pods.
02The kit is built around the same core frame as the original HGRC G-Self, and includes enough spare parts to reassemble the plain G-Self with its original legs if you do not permanently commit to the Assault Pack configuration.
03The Assault Pack later appears on-screen carried by G-Arcane in the side story Gundam Reconguista in G: From the Past to the Future, set between the TV series' episodes 16 and 17.