HG 1/144 Wing Gundam Zero (OVA Ver.) - Re-Post

(Taken from 1999.co.jp)

Hi! Just as promised, I'll be presenting one of the two retrospective Gunpla reviews before midterm season. We'll start off with this: The 1/144 Wing Gundam Zero, as seen from the Endless Waltz OVA.

I was quite a fan of this suit that when I saw this while scouring for other gifts at an annual Christmas Bazaar last year, I immediately bought the bad boy. Trust me when I say these two things: first, I came to know of the Gundam franchise through Wing; and second, I've been absolutely mesmerized by those angel wings... :3

Anyway, a few days before Christmas, I opted for a straight build (being only an absolute n00b back then) using whatever was packed with the box. It was also then when I scoured the web for the movie version of the OVA where, although getting limited screen time than the other suits, it fired three shots from its iconic Twin Buster Rifle and went out in a blaze of glory.

Now, on to the model kit itself...

Being a kit that was released in 1999, It did not have the innovative joint designs that later models came with. One thing I have to commend on this: for a model kit this size, It at least stays true to its proportions from the animated movie. The shoulders are reasonably sized, complementing the torso area quite well. So too are its trademark 'Angel Wings'. Color tone's not much of a fuzz here as well, despite the plastic being of lower quality (More on that later...)

As to its gimmicks, It has two pairs of open, closed, and grabbing hands - all made of the same material for the PC joints. It also comes with a pair of white-colored beam sabers (which were actually toothpicks), and of course, its trademark weapon. There's also another chest part (which you have to assemble as well) bent on the abdominal area, in order to replicate that iconic pose (As shown in the picture above...)

Now on to the quirks: Despite having good color tone, especially with the stickers, it is not that much detailed unless you put in more effort (painting, panel lines, etc.) Case in point: the part of the chest where the gray vulcan cannons should be (They should at least served some stickers for it...) And speaking of stickers, some of them (especially the one for the chin) tend to fall off after a long time of playing/displaying it.

Loose parts (notwithstanding the limited articulation) are also an issue with this kit: the red winglets on the arms fall off (I lost them both unfortunately... T_T); the ball joints for the arms sag down with abuse (especially when holding the TBR), and the PC sockets for the outer wings loosen up (I tried to remedy it by wrapping them in double-sided tape, which resulted in the joints being too stiff)

In conclusion, I may not recommend this kit if you're into playing your kits most of the time. However, if you're that type who is just into collecting model kits like these, I would gladly suggest this (and possibly the rest of the HG Fighting Action line) for starters, especially now that its price is dropping to reasonable levels.

Well, until the next review... ^^