Hey guys, remember when I was doing a build log of the Master Grade Wing Gundam?
Yeah… sorry about that.
Basically, I got busy with the end of the school year. That’s the short answer. The long answer is, my god, I hate painting anything remotely tube-shaped. It’s just so tedious and there’s almost no easy way to do it! It didn’t help that these turned out to be a part of the kit I don’t even use, but I’ll get to that later. The bulk of this article is going to talk about the transformation of the kit, since I covered a lot of it early on.
I tend to get a little worried when I transform painted kits. After all, I just spent hours upon hours painting this thing. I’d always wonder if the paint would get scratched or whatever. Now that I’ve done a few, I’ve come to not worry as much since these things are engineered to, you know, prevent most of that from happening. Either way, I’m still completely terrified to customize any Transformers. All the paint scratching there would just drive me insane.
The transformation on this kit is actually done pretty well, and holds, too! This kit was thankfully made after Bandai figured out how to do stable transforming kits—none of that MG Zeta 1.0 nightmare. The transformation is pretty simple, which is a good thing, especially when your kit has a non-transforming version. Several years ago, I made the mistake of buying the FAZZ Master Grade. There is nothing worse than building a transforming suit… that has all of the transformation parts negated by armor. That’s an experience I’d never like to relive.
I removed the v-fin during transformation, just as a safety measure. You never know what can happen with these little things…
The best part about this version of the kit is the two stand pieces, for use with action bases. They both work out perfectly, and make this the version you should buy. Seriously, they’re the only difference between this and the old Ver Ka.
There’s an issue with the gun on this kit: when this was made, hand slots for weapon holding weren’t standard, so the rifle doesn’t peg into the palm. There is a quick fix however: you can push the thumb down which will sort of lock it into place. It isn’t ideal, but it works.
Now, for the tubes I mentioned… yeah, I really hate these stupid energy pack things. Not only are they hard to paint and sand, but they also get in the way of the whole kit. I understand the point of them giving the Wing extra Buster Rifle rounds, but they just hang off the arms and don’t integrate into the design. I usually just leave them off.
While it’s the oldest of all the Gundam Wing Master Grades, it’s still held up pretty nicely. Obviously the frame isn’t as nice as the newer ones and it requires more sanding, but for a Master Grade made back in 2004, it’s all pretty par for the course. Definitely recommended. Make sure to pick one up if you ever see it at FPNYC!