GBT#11-ASW-G-08 Gundam Barbatos

While it never really hit the immense popularity Sunrise wanted it to, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans does have one truly memorable element: the Mobile Suits.  Unlike other series, there’s less of an emphasis on beam spamming.  Instead, combat is more up close and personal, more melee focused and brutal.  The central Gundam of the series, the Barbatos, is the perfect Gundam for this kind of battle: skinny but strong, wielding weapons that can fell suits in very few blows, and bearing a design that strikes fear into the hearts of its enemies.  The Barbatos has arguably become more popular than the show it came from and has likewise become an equally popular Gunpla sought out by many to build…including me.  I built the Barbatos’ future form, the Barbatos Lupus Rex, back near the tail end of 2022.  That proved to be a very difficult affair and I expected it’s first form to be the same.  Turns out…not so much

 
Suit History

Little is known about the Barbatos prior to the formation of Tekkadan in Post Disaster 223.  At some point, the Mobile Suit was acquired by the CGS Private Military Company and used as a power generator for their base of operations.  When Gallajhorn launched and attack to prevent the CGS from escorting Kudelia Aina Bernstien to Earth, the CGS abandoned its contingent of child soldiers to cover their retreat.  However, under the leadership of Orga Itsuka, the group managed to fend off the Gallajhorn attack, thanks in large part to Orgas best friend and best pilot, Mikazuki Argus, activating the Barbatos and taking it into battle.  Thanks to the controversial and dangerous piloting system, the Alaya Vinjana System, Mikazuki was able to utilize the Barbatos to ferocious effect, making the suit almost an extension of himself and is own dangerous capabilities.  The Barbatos became a figuredhead for the newly founded Tekkadan and was at the head of their long journey to Earth with Kudelia.  When the group finally did reach the planet, Mikazuki and the Barbatos led a desperate attack to get Kudelia to her summit alive.  The Barbatos eventually faced a crazed Gallajorhorn pilot, Ein Dalton, and managed to defeat him after an intense duel that had Mikazuki disable safety features to bring about the Barbatos’ fullest potential.  This ended up causing irreparable damage to Mikazuki’s body, making him unable to use his entire body unless he was directly hooked into the suit.  The Barbatos survived its duel and would go on to receive two subsequent upgraded forms: The Barbatos Lupus and Barbatos Lupus Rex, before it was eventually destroyed in Tekkadan’s last stand against Gallajhorn. 

Build Experience

I’ve always admired how different in physique the Gundams of Iron Blooded Orphans are presented: the more Knight like suits of Gallajhorn having all the armor while the more skinny and skeletal Gundam frames like the Barbatos being more gladiatorial in nature.  With the suit being so thin, I expected a repeat of some of the hassles I had with the Lupus Rex but less meant a more streamlined and painless experience.  I’m not saying this thing is like an Entry Grade but the Barbatos’ construction process felt like one poised for someone just getting into Gunpla and they happened to choose one of the more popular models in the franchise.  The torso was the part that worried me the most as there have been plenty of cases where I feel like they haven’t been attached correctly and can feel uncomfortably loose.  Barbatos worked out super well in this regard and the rest of the body came together equally well.  Posing wise, it’s so freaking solid and I love it for it.  I can actually come close to recreating some of the Gundams more iconic poses with both it’s massive hammer and sick Samurai Katanna.  And after a few Gunpla with inconsistent levels of decals, the Barbatos’ were a breath of fresh air: easy to identify where to place them and even easier to apply them.  And for once, no complaints about beam sabers either since…well, Barbatos doesn’t roll with those.

Conclusion/Rating

This is one of my favorite Gunpla builds for sure.  It comes off as easy even if the frame of the Gundam itself isn’t what you’d call a standard.  It’s definitely got enough quality to it to make it the High Grade its advertised as.  But Barbatos isn’t super complicated and hardly a hassle to assemble, which is more than I can say after working with other HG’s in recent months.  Seeing it able to hold its hammer and sword as it should in the Anime also gave me a feeling of pure win.  And take a look at how tiny it is compared to its future version?  Slightly smaller but for me, maybe a bit cooler, I wont lie.
 
8/10

Next week we look at a model that’s as DIY as it gets when it comes to models from the One Year War.  See ya next week for an all new Gunpla Builder Thursday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.