2nd Season for Iron Blooded Orphans has started! With that comes new kits, one of them being the upgrade to the Barbatos, the Lupus. It's never Lupus... but this one is! Let's take a quick look at what updates the suit has received.
2 things before we start the review proper: 1st, I mentioned in my SSJ Goku review that Bandai's trying to go global with them using English on the instruction manual. I thought that was limited to DBZ given how large the market is for Dragon Ball stuff in the US. But guess what...
Yep. English. No clue why, not sure if it's Toonami in the US or they're merely taking into account the ASEAN region. They still have p-bandai stuff, so I'm thinking more ASEAN than US.
2nd thing is I do not have a 1st Gen Barbatos, so expect a relatively fresh take on the kit.
As far as looks, overall I feel it's an improvement. A lot of people do not like the bulky chin, but I personally like it. The pointier head means it's shaped less like a bean, The flared armor with pointy bits gives it a more aggressive look. And it needs to be given how the suit is called the "white devil" in the Anime. The only thing I don't like are the hand armor. It could have been curvier I feel.
Color-wise, it's pretty decent. Like most IBO Gundams, they give your a gigantic sticker sheet for all the details. While I appreciate the designers to give the head excellent part separation (the head sports no stickers apart from the eyes) and the Tekkadan engraving is molded separately, I wish they should have maybe added 2 extra red bits on the heels. It's molded in all white and is molded just enough to be difficult to mask and paint.
Seam lines are mostly hidden or non-existent given the construction with one huge exception. The forearm armor. Given how it's constructed, I'm not sure how to seal that in without crazy cutting and gluing pieces. It sandwiches the grey elbow and secures that into place.
Overall though, I think it's better looking than most of the Barbatos forms from the 1st season. It's just a notch above the 4th form and miles better than the 5th and 6th. Will that change in the future? Who knows? Maybe they'll make it even more spiky as it seems the series is taking influences from Berserk (Akihiro=Guts).
Majority of the IBO kits are pretty articulated. If you have read my 1/100 Barbatos review, one of the main articulation sticking point comes from the design of the Barbatos itself. Let's see how it fares now that it's spikier and bulkier than before.
One thing that High Grades does better than the 1/100 scale, is that it's a bit more flexible. Since it does not have to have a fully detailed inner frame, some articulation bits are better.
The head is on a double polycap ball jont. While the 1/100 has that, it functions as a single ball due to the piping at the neck. No such thing here. the only thing that sort of obstructs movement is the collar, as it bangs on the side of the head armor. Still the double joint means you can sort of twist it out of the way.
There's an extra articulation on the shoulder armor so you can swivel it up, or open it to reveal zero detail. But if you want to pose it in the cooling down mode (like in the anime) you have that option.
The arm is exactly the same as most IBO Gundam kits i.e. it's pretty articulate. It uses a polycap to connect to the shoulder, and said polycap can swing up.
If there's one thing annoying is that the new side chest armor (the white bits) are still getting in the way. The spike bit tends to get caught on the shoulder armor and sort of limits how much it can swing forward. 2 handed sword posing is a bit compromised.
And now, onto the part I don't like. The lower torso and hip area. The new chest armor means it can ab crunch less due to the new pointy design. The larger backpack also tends to like hitting the back skirt.
The side skirts are large and tend to pop off a lot. And while there's articulation for them to rotate, the design itself limits that to the point where it's useless (notice the extra flared wheel arch). It also bangs into the back skirt armor.
The thigh armor are just large enough for it to hit the side skirt connector. And the rest are pretty standard. Double knee. thigh swivel, universal hips joints, crotch that can swivel back and forth (i.e. front to back via t joint).
I do like the ankle design with the ball joint and swivel. The front bit can also bend down, while the armor can swivel as well to give it a nice solid look. Ankles are very important for dynamic ground poses, and this one is solid enough to hold it's own weight while in a dynamic pose.
The hip woes coupled with the inherent design of the Barbatos (i.e. short thighs, long shins) means it cannot really kneel. Loki is sad.
Overall, it's articulated enough for most standing ground poses. But you'll need to fiddle with the joints to put it into a nice dynamic pose without bits getting caught up in other bits. It's not as effortless, but then again it's not really an action figure.
Onto the weapons. Bandai's strategy is to make you buy as meany weapons pack as you can, so this version has a limited accessory pool. The mace sword, 2 extra hands that's bend forward, the joints for the backpack and clips for the sword. If you want the twin mace, and forearm guns, you'll need to spend money for the weapons pack... which was not available when I purchased this.
Minor items 1st. the extra armor joints are for the claws for the back back. No you don't get extra parts for these claws.
You get 2 clips as well so you can mount stuff either on the backpack or on the forearms.
And of course, the newZweihander Sword Mace. Bandai has a habit of putting massive nubmarks on weapons... and this one is no different. It's literally the largest nub mark on the entire kit and it's placed in an angle where one wrong cut and it'll ruin the edge of the sword!
Sigh... well the sword can use the clip so you can mount it on the back or the forearm.
You also get this piece which plugs into an action base. Non of my stands securely holds it into place though (I don't have an action base 2). It's because the front crotch armor is long enough to obscure the connection to the traditional crotch port.
you can now do Unyo no tachi!
Overall it's pretty basic. But then it's pretty much what the Barbatos Lupus comes with on it's 1st appearance, although 1st appearance Lupus has a shield. You don't really end up screwed either unless you're not a fan of massive swords. I am annoyed though that the open hand comes separate... and you know how I am with extra hand options.
The Barbatos Lupus is normally standard height. But the high-heels mean it's actually taller than standard 18 meter suits.
Here he is next to the other massive sword wielding bot.
Next to chocolate man's suit.
Next to Char's Zaku II suit.
This is a pretty good kit actually once you have actually built it. I do wish that a bit more parts separation, but the overall build is simple yet satisfying (and surprisingly solid). While there are only 3 plates, these plates are jammed pack with parts. And you do need to be careful as some parts are tiny (i.e. face plate). Do take note though, that you will need to put in the effort to detail it up, since a huge chunk of the details comes from stickers. Will I recommend it? Honestly, I'd wait until we're further into the 2nd season just to see what upgrades we get. And with how the 1/100 Barbatos came with the mace on second release (5th and 6th form), I urge you guys to wait. But the kit itself for the price is a pretty decent buy if you still want one as early as now.
Good:
- Cheap... until you buy the option part then it costs as much as a HGUC.
- Decent parts separation in some regards.
- Easy build. It's pretty solid as well.
- actually looks pretty cool... once it's all detailed.
Bad:
- Sticker heavy. Stickers that fold into parts are never good.
- some articulation woes.
- Light on accessories.
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| At least he's not starting off by complaining about work |
2 things before we start the review proper: 1st, I mentioned in my SSJ Goku review that Bandai's trying to go global with them using English on the instruction manual. I thought that was limited to DBZ given how large the market is for Dragon Ball stuff in the US. But guess what...
Yep. English. No clue why, not sure if it's Toonami in the US or they're merely taking into account the ASEAN region. They still have p-bandai stuff, so I'm thinking more ASEAN than US.
2nd thing is I do not have a 1st Gen Barbatos, so expect a relatively fresh take on the kit.
Aesthetics
The new design breaks away from the original Barbatos' utilitarian look. The flat solid armor panels are now more stylized, and much pointier. Lupus in vague latin means wolf. And the overall pointier aesthetic aims to honor that name. There's more color on the suit itself, and is overall bulkier with the new armor. Note that the only stickers here are the eyes.
As far as looks, overall I feel it's an improvement. A lot of people do not like the bulky chin, but I personally like it. The pointier head means it's shaped less like a bean, The flared armor with pointy bits gives it a more aggressive look. And it needs to be given how the suit is called the "white devil" in the Anime. The only thing I don't like are the hand armor. It could have been curvier I feel.
 |
| Curvy hand guards? Is there a thing you can't complain about? |
Color-wise, it's pretty decent. Like most IBO Gundams, they give your a gigantic sticker sheet for all the details. While I appreciate the designers to give the head excellent part separation (the head sports no stickers apart from the eyes) and the Tekkadan engraving is molded separately, I wish they should have maybe added 2 extra red bits on the heels. It's molded in all white and is molded just enough to be difficult to mask and paint.
 |
| He complains about difficulty in paining, yet his 1/100 Baratos still lies in pieces, unpainted |
Overall though, I think it's better looking than most of the Barbatos forms from the 1st season. It's just a notch above the 4th form and miles better than the 5th and 6th. Will that change in the future? Who knows? Maybe they'll make it even more spiky as it seems the series is taking influences from Berserk (Akihiro=Guts).
Articulation
Majority of the IBO kits are pretty articulated. If you have read my 1/100 Barbatos review, one of the main articulation sticking point comes from the design of the Barbatos itself. Let's see how it fares now that it's spikier and bulkier than before.
One thing that High Grades does better than the 1/100 scale, is that it's a bit more flexible. Since it does not have to have a fully detailed inner frame, some articulation bits are better.
The head is on a double polycap ball jont. While the 1/100 has that, it functions as a single ball due to the piping at the neck. No such thing here. the only thing that sort of obstructs movement is the collar, as it bangs on the side of the head armor. Still the double joint means you can sort of twist it out of the way.
There's an extra articulation on the shoulder armor so you can swivel it up, or open it to reveal zero detail. But if you want to pose it in the cooling down mode (like in the anime) you have that option.
The arm is exactly the same as most IBO Gundam kits i.e. it's pretty articulate. It uses a polycap to connect to the shoulder, and said polycap can swing up.
If there's one thing annoying is that the new side chest armor (the white bits) are still getting in the way. The spike bit tends to get caught on the shoulder armor and sort of limits how much it can swing forward. 2 handed sword posing is a bit compromised.
And now, onto the part I don't like. The lower torso and hip area. The new chest armor means it can ab crunch less due to the new pointy design. The larger backpack also tends to like hitting the back skirt.
The side skirts are large and tend to pop off a lot. And while there's articulation for them to rotate, the design itself limits that to the point where it's useless (notice the extra flared wheel arch). It also bangs into the back skirt armor.
The thigh armor are just large enough for it to hit the side skirt connector. And the rest are pretty standard. Double knee. thigh swivel, universal hips joints, crotch that can swivel back and forth (i.e. front to back via t joint).
I do like the ankle design with the ball joint and swivel. The front bit can also bend down, while the armor can swivel as well to give it a nice solid look. Ankles are very important for dynamic ground poses, and this one is solid enough to hold it's own weight while in a dynamic pose.
 |
| Ankle tilts = win? |
 |
| You didn't even both to try did you? |
 |
| He just keeps on complaining on and on and on... |
Weapons and Extras
One of the features of these kits are the pseudo inner frame. Since I failed to show it on the Astaroth, might as well show it here. Note that it's not a full inner frame. The front shin armor needs to stay since it sandwiches a polycap for the feet.
Minor items 1st. the extra armor joints are for the claws for the back back. No you don't get extra parts for these claws.
You get 2 clips as well so you can mount stuff either on the backpack or on the forearms.
And of course, the new
 |
| nerd raaage! |
 |
| nerd raaaaaaaaaaage! |
Sigh... well the sword can use the clip so you can mount it on the back or the forearm.
 |
| he just ate a large chocolate cake to calm himself down... |
You also get this piece which plugs into an action base. Non of my stands securely holds it into place though (I don't have an action base 2). It's because the front crotch armor is long enough to obscure the connection to the traditional crotch port.
 |
| stand but plug |
Overall it's pretty basic. But then it's pretty much what the Barbatos Lupus comes with on it's 1st appearance, although 1st appearance Lupus has a shield. You don't really end up screwed either unless you're not a fan of massive swords. I am annoyed though that the open hand comes separate... and you know how I am with extra hand options.
 |
| he feels he needs the open hands here |
Size Comparison and Other Comparison
The Barbatos Lupus is normally standard height. But the high-heels mean it's actually taller than standard 18 meter suits.
Here he is next to the other massive sword wielding bot.
Next to chocolate man's suit.
Next to Char's Zaku II suit.
Summary
This is a pretty good kit actually once you have actually built it. I do wish that a bit more parts separation, but the overall build is simple yet satisfying (and surprisingly solid). While there are only 3 plates, these plates are jammed pack with parts. And you do need to be careful as some parts are tiny (i.e. face plate). Do take note though, that you will need to put in the effort to detail it up, since a huge chunk of the details comes from stickers. Will I recommend it? Honestly, I'd wait until we're further into the 2nd season just to see what upgrades we get. And with how the 1/100 Barbatos came with the mace on second release (5th and 6th form), I urge you guys to wait. But the kit itself for the price is a pretty decent buy if you still want one as early as now.
Good:
- Cheap... until you buy the option part then it costs as much as a HGUC.
- Decent parts separation in some regards.
- Easy build. It's pretty solid as well.
- actually looks pretty cool... once it's all detailed.
Bad:
- Sticker heavy. Stickers that fold into parts are never good.
- some articulation woes.
- Light on accessories.
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