Well, it’s done now. I have to say, there is something uniquely satisfying when you finish a Gundam Master Grade. You see the end result of all those days and hours of work standing right in front of you, ready for a lifetime of display amongst your other kits. I can only imagine how satisfied I will feel once I make my first Perfect Grade. Not to say I don’t still like doing all the High Grades I usually do, far from it. Sometimes, you just have to go big.
Of course, I’ve had my fair share of problems with this kit. None of them were the fault of the kit itself (aside from that damn gap in the head), rather, me doing stupid stuff.
As you might remember, I like to get some custom decals made for my kits. I ordered a set for this kit and the next three I’ll be covering, and well, I still haven’t mastered the craft yet. I had a few crinkle and some even rip. I managed to get the two on the wings to work, which is good because I cared the most about those ones. For the ones on the shoulder, I couldn’t get the ones from the set I ordered to fit right, so I just used the included ones. I like the gold more, anyway.
Of course, the biggest screwup came when it was time to topcoat my kit. As you may know, I love to give my kits a flat coat after painting to seal the colors and give them a nice, flat look. Well, for my Qubeley, I wanted to make it sparkly, so I bought a can of pearl coat for it. When I was painting this one… I grabbed that can by accident. I freaked out and first, but I grew to work with it. I bought this kit because I wanted something gaudy and pretty, and well, this just helped it. I was still able to do my pencil lining, which was what really mattered.
Now, for the parts themselves.
The Wings of Light, holy crap these things are impressive. They’re a pain to get in because of the little clips, but damn do they look good once they’re in. I just wish they stayed in better…
This thing is loaded with other effect parts as well: beam gun for effect for the hand, “throwing” effects for the boomerangs, and of course, a large assortment of beam blades. For some reason, they made the two boomerang effects different lengths. It’s weird.
Many other goodies are included, too, like 1/20 scale figures of Shin and Kira. Yeah, I’m not going to make a “Gundam SEED characters all look the same” joke, but well… if they weren’t posed differently, I’d have no way to tell who is who…
Two 1/100 scale minifigures are included as well: Shin and Stella. Too bad Stella doesn’t have any suits in this scale…
Also included with both releases of the kit is a gigantic stand that sits under the backpack. It’s pretty impressive, and works much better than an action base, in my opinion. It also has an extender for the base, and some kind of piece meant for the Strike Freedom. I really don’t see myself using either of these…
In the end, the Destiny Gundam has been a fun project. It’s a good kit, but one that would certainly have been done better if it was engineered just a few years later. Now, would I recommend this specific version to anyone? Of course not. On average, it’s about $30 more than the regular release, which is kind of a lot for what you get. So, if you’re really into making crazy, flashy kits, go for this. If not, just go for the regular release.
As always, make sure to use FPNYC as your destination for Gunpla-related needs!
