HG Gundam Virsago Is Out October 31 at US$21: Extending Strike Claws, a Mega Sonic Cannon Belly, and Gundam Ashtaron on November 28

日本語版を読む →

Gundam Virsago, the mobile suit flown by Shagia Frost, the elder of After War Gundam X’s Frost brothers, arrived as an HG 1/144 kit on Saturday, October 31, 2026. It runs US$21 (tax included) and is rated for ages 8 and up. This is a fully new-mold kit that uses the latest HG format to reproduce three gimmicks: the extending Strike Claws on both arms, the abdomen that splits open when the Mega Sonic Cannon fires, and the pair of Strike Shooters that lock together into one weapon.

Younger brother Olba Frost’s Gundam Ashtaron follows on November 28 at US$26 (tax included). Counting from HG Gundam Leopard on August 8, that is three straight months of new After War Gundam X HG kits hitting shelves. And Virsago has not had a standalone plastic model since the old 1/144 that shipped during the show’s 1996 broadcast, which makes this a 30-year gap.

Arms folded inside the shoulders slide forward. The belly opens and a cannon muzzle pushes out. The question is how much of that creepy silhouette you can actually work with your own hands, without swapping a single part. Below: the official specs and accessories, what the three gimmicks really do, how this kit departs from the 1996 release, and how complete the After War Gundam X HG lineup has finally become.

Start with the official product information.

*Prices in this article are converted from Japanese yen at ¥153 = US$1 (November 2026 rate).

How much is HG Gundam Virsago and when did it launch? Accessories included

HG 1/144 Gundam Virsago released on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at US$21 (tax included), rated for ages 8 and up. It is a general retail kit, so it turns up at big-box stores, hobby shops and the usual online retailers rather than behind a web-exclusive paywall.

From After War Gundam X, Gundam Virsago, piloted by Shagia Frost, the elder of the Frost brothers, arrives in the latest HG format! ■Reproduces the Strike Claw extension gimmick. ■Reproduces the abdomen deployment gimmick used when firing the Mega Sonic Cannon. ■Reproduces the Strike Shooter combination gimmick.

Source:Bandai Hobby Site

The official product copy is three lines of gimmicks and an accessory list, with no runner count and no breakdown of molded colors. Accessories are two Strike Shooters plus the part that joins them, one beam saber, one set of hand parts and one foil sticker sheet. The fact that the sheet is specifically a foil sticker tells you the sensor areas lean on stickers for their metallic sheen.

At US$21, Virsago sits US$5 above August’s HG Gundam Leopard (US$16). Read that as the surcharge for the extra moving parts: the twin arm extension mechanisms and the sliding torso. November’s Ashtaron carries a transformation mechanism and climbs higher still at US$26, so putting both Frost brothers on the shelf comes to US$47.

How do the Strike Claw extension and abdomen deployment work? The three gimmicks

The heart of this kit is three things: Strike Claws that pull out of the arms stowed inside the shoulder armor, an abdomen deployment where the torso slides upward to expose the Mega Sonic Cannon, and two Strike Shooters that join into a single unit with a dedicated connector. None of it is parts-swapping. Everything moves on the assembled model.

The Strike Claw extension

Virsago’s arms fold up inside the shoulder armor and shoot forward in combat. On the kit you pull those arms out of the shoulders into their extended state. Per Dengeki Hobby Web’s coverage, pairing the kit with an Action Base (sold separately) lets you pose the extended arms mid-swing. In the show, Virsago drove its extended claws into the ground and used them as anchors to absorb the Mega Sonic Cannon’s recoil. That claws-in-the-dirt firing stance is clearly the money shot the kit was built around.

The Mega Sonic Cannon’s abdomen deployment

The Mega Sonic Cannon is the main gun buried in Virsago’s midsection, powerful enough in-setting to punch through a warship in one shot. On the kit, the torso slides upward and the muzzle stored inside is exposed. Belly open, both arms planted in the ground, wings spread wide: hit all three at once and you get the firing configuration that HOBBY Watch’s sample photos described as a silhouette suggesting a demon.

Combining the Strike Shooters

The Strike Shooters are a pair of triple beam cannons, and the included connector merges them into one weapon. You can also have the combined gun held alongside an extended Strike Claw. Virsago reads as a melee machine first, but it used ranged weapons on screen too, so being able to build both faces of it is welcome.

Two things still bug me: where exactly the foil stickers go, and how the shoulders look with the arms stowed, neither of which the official photos settle. Arms built around an extension mechanism tend to bulk out the shoulders when retracted, so this is where I want reports from people who have actually built it. A sample is on display at Gundam Base Tokyo.

How does it differ from the 1996 kit? The first standalone Virsago in 30 years

Until now there was exactly one 1/144 Virsago: the old HG-series release from 1996, the year the show aired. Nothing new and standalone followed for three decades. This HG is an entirely new sculpt, and it belongs to a completely different design generation than that kit.

Credit where it is due, though: the old 1/144 was ambitious for its time. You could raise the upper body into the Mega Sonic Cannon firing configuration without swapping parts, the arms inside the shoulders telescoped, and the wings deployed both outward and upward. The gimmick thinking was already finished 30 years ago. What it lacked was color separation, which was nowhere near adequate, with the antenna, face and chest all expected to be covered by stickers, and articulation so limited the thing could not kneel. I was never going to accept that white plastic as-is back then, so I ended up brush-painting mine.

What the new HG changes is not the gimmicks but the foundation underneath them: color separation and articulation. The current HG format ships multi-color molding and polycap-less joints as standard, and even Leopard pulled off its Gatling combination gimmick without any paint. Virsago should land close to its on-screen colors straight out of the box, with kneeling and upper-body twists as a matter of course. The same gimmicks as 30 years ago, now working on a snap-fit build. That is the difference that matters.

A Premium Bandai reissue of the old kit has been announced for November 2026, so building the two side by side is on the table. For anyone too young to have met that era’s Virsago, snapping together the new HG is an invitation to say “30 years ago we fixed this with stickers and a paintbrush.” Nobody is going to listen, but still.

How complete is the After War Gundam X HG lineup? Ashtaron lands November 28

As of October 31, 2026, HG kits of lead units Gundam X and Double X, the Airmaster family, August’s Leopard and now Virsago are available at retail or through P-Bandai, and November 28’s Ashtaron completes the run of major Gundam-type suits.

Ashtaron’s product copy says you can recreate the show’s tag-team move by perching Virsago (sold separately) on top of its mobile armor mode. The Frost brothers are a two-machine set by design, so anyone who bought Virsago is almost certainly opening their wallet again at the end of November. US$47 for the pair. Budget for it now.

What nags at me is the absence of Virsago Chest Break, the upgraded version, from this lineup. That is the variant with two extra barrels in the chest for the Triple Mega Sonic Cannon, and the old kit line did cover it. As of October 31, 2026 there has been no official announcement of variant kits for the new HG. Since the abdomen deployment mechanism would have to be replicated in the chest as well, this cannot be a simple matter of extra parts.

HG 1/144 Gundam ZERO Launches in April 2027 for 2,750 Yen With Spine-Linked Articulation, a First for Gunpla

October 8, 2026

The bottom line: the elder Frost brother is in stores at US$21, the younger arrives November 28

HG 1/144 Gundam Virsago released Saturday, October 31, 2026 at US$21 (tax included), rated ages 8 and up. It is an all-new kit that reproduces the Strike Claw extension, the abdomen deployment for firing the Mega Sonic Cannon, and the Strike Shooter combination, all without parts-swapping. Accessories are two Strike Shooters plus the combination part, a beam saber, hand parts and a foil sticker sheet. It is the first standalone Virsago kit since the 1996 1/144, and sibling unit HG Gundam Ashtaron follows on November 28 at US$26.

GUNDAM ASSEMBLE Board Game Launches Worldwide October 31 for 3,850 Yen, Fought With 5cm Gunpla

October 3, 2026