The IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS double-billed theatrical feature towards the end of October saw a new form for Gundam Barbatos after season one’s Battle of Edmonton. Towards the end of December, we then saw the HG Gundam Zagan featuring a tweaked Gundam Frame which addresses its stability. Combine the two together and we now have the best engineered Gundam Barbatos kit in 1/144 scale.
This is the HG Gundam Barbatos Adapt, an intermediary configuration primarily used for data gathering before it gets upgraded to the Gundam Barbatos Lupus. The design clearly invokes the patchwork nature of the repairs made to the orignal Barbatos, especially with the differently colored armor pieces, not to mention the unrepaired blade antenna.
That said, the model itself is far from that as it uses the same Gundam Frame found on the HG Zagan, making it more stable overall. And while the mobile suit is a direct variation of the Gundam Barbatos, the kit appears to utilize completely new parts.
Besides build stability, the renewed Gundam Frame also provides better articulation which should hold for much longer thanks to the use of KPS plastic for the joints instead of polycaps.
As part of the data gathering procedures, the Barbatos Adapt is given two swords, the Daisho and Shodo, with each stored vertically on the side armor boosters when not in use. The pair of swords didn’t exactly fared well during the combat tests but they did look cool when used.
The packaging has also been revealed, albeit in all of its low resolution glory, featuring the Barbatos Adapt as illustrated by chief mechanical animator Hiroshi Arisawa.
I can’t say that much about this kit given its brief appearance in the IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS short, but the kit itself looks, and possibly feels, amazing with the use of the updated Gundam Frame and better parts separation from the 10 years since the original line came out. I do want to note that the tips of the hands/manipulators should be in white so prepare to do some finger painting on this guy.
Otherwise, if you’ve already collected all Gundam Barbatos variants in 1/144 scale, then getting this guy is a no brainer. It’s Premium Bandai as expected so you should know were to get your copies.
HG 1/144 Gundam Barbatos Adapt
May 2026 / ¥2,200
Premium Bandai Exclusive
