HGRegild Century

YG-111 Gundam G-Self Reflector Pack

A purple-tinted backpack swap that looks incredible and reminds you the frame underneath is a 2015 kit.

MechaGrade Score

3.3/5

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

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a great looking pack bolted onto a base kit that has not aged perfectly.

I like the Reflector Pack itself a lot, the clear parts and the fold-out panels sell the beam-absorbing gimmick from the show, and the purple recolor of the G-Self is one of the sharper alternate looks Bandai gave this frame. What holds it back is that you are still building the same 2015 G-Self body underneath, stickers and all, so the pack is the star and the suit is along for the ride.

Best for: Reconguista in G fans who already know and accept the base G-Self frame's quirks and just want this specific purple loadout

The full review

What it is

This kit is a P-Bandai exclusive HG G-Self decked out in its Reflector Pack, the backpack unit that lets the G-Self soak up beam attacks and convert them into energy wings in the show. Building it, the highlight is obviously the new backpack assembly, clear plastic sandwiched between the reflector panels so light plays through them, hinges that let the whole thing fold open like it does on screen, and a purple recolor of the body that makes the G-Self look genuinely different from the standard release. The included display stand slots in neatly and holds the pose without a fight, which is a small but real relief.

The catch

The core G-Self body is shared across every variant Bandai released for this line back in 2015, and it shows. Reviewers who built the same frame on the Assault Pack version flagged the elbows barely bending past a certain point and the hips only rotating a little, both a step behind what HGs were already doing elsewhere by that point. Color separation on the base suit leans hard on stickers, with one reviewer counting seven stickers just to build up the forehead detail, and calling it some of the worst sticker dependency they had seen in a straight build. None of that is new to the Reflector Pack specifically, but you are buying into it along with the pack.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already like the G-Self design and specifically want the Reflector Pack look, the purple recolor and the clear-part panels are worth it on their own if that gimmick appeals to you. Skip it if you are hunting for a fun HG build experience or strong poseability, the shared frame's stiff elbows and stickers-over-plastic color scheme will frustrate anyone coming from more modern HG lines. This one is a display piece and a fan-service variant first, a builder's kit second.

The build story

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

The backpack subassembly is where the fun is, ball joints let the reflector binders swing and angle in several directions so you can pose the pack open, half open, or folded flat against the back. The rest of the build is the familiar 2015 G-Self body, which goes together without any fit problems but leans on stickers rather than molded color for a lot of the finer detailing.

Articulation is the known weak point of this frame. Elbows stop well short of 90 degrees and hip rotation is minimal, so dynamic poses take some coaxing. Where the kit earns its keep is the pack itself, clear reflector panels, a color scheme you cannot get any other way, and a stand that actually supports the extra backpack weight, which adds up to solid value if the Reflector Pack look is what you are after.

Lore & trivia

01The Reflector Pack first appears in Episode 6 of Gundam Reconguista in G, built for the G-Self by engineers at Ameria's Caribbean Ocean Laboratory using technology adapted from the Towasanga shield.
02In the show, the pack's panels absorb enemy beam attacks and convert the energy into a defensive I-field, and at full charge it can generate energy wings.
03Equipping the Reflector Pack changes the G-Self's color scheme to purple, distinct from its standard white and blue look.
04This HG version was sold exclusively through Premium Bandai starting in 2015 and has not been reissued since.