MGPost Disaster

ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos [Recirculation Color/Neon Blue]

The same brutal, butterfly-jointed Barbatos, just recast in eco-plastic and dipped in neon blue.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Barbatos · 1/100 · 2022

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2022

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is still the excellent 2016 MG Barbatos underneath, and that kit earned its reputation the hard way, through genuinely clever engineering, not hype.

The Recirculation Color version doesn't change a single part of the build, it just remolds the whole thing in Bandai's recycled Eco-Pla plastic and swaps the palette to black and neon blue with new Eco-Pla marking stickers. If you already own the original grey release, this is a re-skin, not a new kit. If you don't, you're getting one of the best mid-2010s MG frames wrapped in a color scheme that photographs better than the standard release.

Best for: Iron-Blooded Orphans fans and MG builders who want the excellent Barbatos frame in a color that actually stands out on the shelf

The full review

What it is

Barbatos was Bandai's response to fans asking for an MG that felt like it belonged in Iron-Blooded Orphans, dirty, mechanical, held together with exposed joints instead of smooth Gundam-face plastic. This Recirculation Color release keeps every part of that design and remolds it in Eco-Pla, Bandai's recycled-plastic line, with a black and neon blue split that reads much more dramatic in person than on a box photo. The Aehub Reactor on the chest still has its rotating gimmick, the frame still shows through the armor gaps the way the original intended, and the whole thing snaps together with the same satisfying, slightly industrial click. I went in expecting a reskin and came out liking the color scheme more than the classic grey.

The catch

None of the underlying kit issues went away with the recolor. The MG Barbatos build asks for real attention, several steps in the manual carry explicit check warnings because certain frame pieces need to sit at the correct angle before you snap them shut, and rushing those steps risks stress marks or a joint that doesn't move the way it should. It's a mold from 2016, so panel line engraving is a step behind Bandai's newest MGs, and the neon blue plastic can show sink marks a little more visibly than a flat grey would. This is also, functionally, the same kit as the original release with new plastic and stickers, so if you already have a standard Barbatos there's no new engineering here to justify a second copy beyond the color.

Who it's for

Buy this if you're building your first Barbatos and like the idea of the neon blue over standard grey, or if you're an IBO completionist who wants the variant on the shelf next to Gusion and Grimoire. Skip it if you already own the 2016 MG Barbatos and were hoping for updated engineering, you'd be paying for a repaint, not a redesign. First-time MG builders should also budget extra care for the frame assembly steps, this is not a kit to rush through on a first pass.

The build story

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

The frame goes together in distinct zones that then get sandwiched between armor plates, which makes the actual assembly straightforward once you're past the fiddly inner-joint steps. The manual flags several points where a frame piece has to sit at a specific angle before you snap it home, skip that check and you can end up with a joint that binds or doesn't sit flush. Nub placement is mostly hidden once armor goes on, but a few visible frame parts need careful trimming since there's nowhere to hide a rough gate mark.

The standout engineering is the shoulder piston setup that creates what builders call a butterfly joint, it lets the arms swing out and up well past what the armor silhouette suggests should be possible. The Aehub Reactor chest piece rotates as a posing gimmick rather than just sitting there for looks. Weapon loadout covers the mace and shield from the show, and even with everything mounted the kit holds a stable stance without tipping, which isn't a given at this scale with this much hardware hanging off it.

Lore & trivia

01Barbatos is piloted by Mikazuki Augus of Tekkadan in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, and its design intentionally leans into a beaten-up, mechanical look rather than a traditional Gundam face.
02This Recirculation Color release is part of Bandai's Eco-Pla line, molded from recycled plastic as a joint project with the Gunpla Recycling Project and marketed alongside the Gundam Next Future initiative.
03The kit first released in Japan in July 2022 and later got a US reissue in February 2024, all under the same Recirculation Color/Neon Blue name.
04It shares its entire part layout and engineering with the original 2016 MG Gundam Barbatos, the only changes are the plastic color and a sheet of Eco-Pla branded marking stickers.