HG IBO (1/144) Gundam Barbatos Lupus Review

The Gundam Barbatos Lupus is the main gundam in the first half of the second season of the Iron-Blooded Orphans Series. The series protagonist Mikazuki Augus pilots it.

This is another iteration of the Barbatos Gundam, and I would say the most iconic gundam in the HG IBO line up. 

Note: the images of the Barbatos Lupus in this post are painted and do not reflect the out of the box appearance of the Gundam kit.

Overall Design of the HG Barbatos Lupus

Like most of the HG IBO kits, the HG Barbatos Lupus also uses an inner frame that gives most the IBO kits its sturdiness and amazing articulation. Barbatos Lupus’ armor design is really compatible with the inner frame as its sleek design really improves its articulation and gives more posing possibilities than the other HG IBO kits that have a much bulkier design like the Gundam Astaroth Origin.

This kit really emphasizes a “simplicity is more” design, you’re only building the gundam and it only has one main accessory that you’ll get in the box, the giant Sword-Mace.

Colors are also simple, the standard protagonist gundam colors, white, blue, red and yellow. There are little accents of neon green using stickers which is nice. Speaking of stickers, there are very few stickers in this kit, most are just for small details and the eyes. Because the gundam has a very good aesthetic, I think you can skip using the stickers and just use a figment pen or a marker to put colors in those small details.

Accessories

What comes with the box?

• Sword-Mace
• Extending arms for the backpack
• One closed hand with a wrist bend

Though the main kit has very few accessories, the other accessories for the Barbatos Lupus is available by buying the optional accessory set, HG IBO 1/144 Mobile Suit Option Set 5.

What does HG Mobile Suit Option Set 5 include:

• Twin Mace
• 200 mm Caliber Guns for the Forearm
• 2 Open expressive hands for the HG Barbatos Lupus
• Long Rifle
• Buster Sword
• Tekkadan Mobile Worker
• Stickers for expressive hands

Articulation

Articulation is amazing. It is good that every joint can be freely posed because of the amazing IBO inner frame. The armor of the gundam doesn’t impede its movement. It can be posed in some really dynamic poses. The gundam is fairly well balanced and doesn’t need a stand to achieve dynamic poses.

Some gripe I have about the Gundam is that the joint connecting the arm and the body seems to be the weakest part of the kit, the arm falls off if you are careful when posing the gundam.The side skirt armors also falls off easily. The backpack also is a headache sometimes, the 2 removable side panels of the backpack are somewhat loose in my kit and also falls off easily.

Conclusion

This is a very good Gundam Kit that both new and old gundam builders would like. It is easy to build and also has excellent articulation. I think if one would like to dabble in kitbashing IBO kits are pretty easy to mix and match, Barbatos Lupus is not an exception.

The only issue I have with this kit is that it barely has any of its accessories from the anime series, most of the accessories are in an optional add-on that is sold separately. I would not recommend buying the add-on unless you want a more complete Barbatos Lupus.

Other HG 1/144 Barbatos Variants	Amazon links
	HG IBO 1/144 Gundam Barbatos,
	HG IBO 1/144 Barbatos Form 6
	HG IBO 1/144 Gundam Barbatos Lupus Rex
	HG 1/144 – “Gundam Breaker Battlogue” – Gundam Barbataurus