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1/60 XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero
Series:
1/60
Contributor:
Kesha Markgraf
The head, despite having only a minimum number of pieces, is well detailed. It includes front and back pieces, the red chin piece, and a
The torso houses a large number of the gimmicks that make this model fun to play around with. Outside of the basic chest pieces, every other piece has a purpose that actually does something for the finished model. First, there's the construction of the battery box for the light up search eye. Having never ventured into actual electronics, I was a bit hesitant, but it's remarkably simple to construct and the instructions are very easy to follow. Pop in 2 AAA batteries and you have a light up chest. The lever that turns it on and off is pretty crude and you need to put a little extra force to make sure that the unit doesn't randomly turn itself on from the slightest shock or vibration in the room. The air ducts can be flipped down to expose the chest vents and the machine cannons on the top can also flip out when necessary. The last part of the torso is the wings. They pivot independently in an arc of 35-40 degrees from the piece that connects to the torso, which swivels the wings horizontally in an arc of up to 60 degrees. Like in the anime, the wings also fold out to expose the verniers and form an integral part of the transformation. The largest gripe I have with the torso is the bottom peg that connects it to the waist. It's too short! The upper torso appears to "float" on the waist and always seems unsturdy even though it's never spontaneously fallen off.
The arms are unfortunately very plain and suffer from some severe problems. Ironically, they don't suffer from mobility as many models do. The shoulders are mounted on a ball joint to the torso which gives them full vertical motion and even a slight twist in or out that actually gives a nice posing effect. The upper arm attaches to the forearm via a peg in the elbows and gives this area a nearly 180 degree range of movement. While that may be great for some models, it is a serious drawback in this model. Since the elbows move too freely, (as do the shoulder joints) putting anything heavy in it's hands will cause the arm to sag. For instance, trying to pose this model with the twin buster rifle facing forward only causes the elbow to bend in unflattering ways (more on this in the weapons section). Thus, the rifle always points towards the ground. However; the rifle locks nicely into the hand from a peg that attaches to the palm. Both arms also come with holes that the shield fits securely into. Despite bad poseability with the rifle, the arms can pose with the beam sabers reasonably well. One good thing about the arms is the shoulder armor which is well detailed and opens upward to reveal the shoulder verniers. Beyond that, the white part of the shoulder armor opens up as well and the beam sabers can be tucked away nicely in there. Also, the hands are well detailed and provide two points of articulation for each finger minus the single piece thumb.
The legs are very highly detailed from an almost obscene number of panel
Twin buster rifle- I can't really say much about this other than that it looks big and powerful. It can be split into two buster rifles which connect together pretty sturdily in the middle. Unfortunately, the single buster rifles look kind of silly, plain, and asymmetrical. But, like I said earlier, the twin buster rifle is too heavy to pose. Note: If you ever buy this kit, do not make the fatal mistake I made in coloring the rifle! In the picture, the rifle looked as if it was painted white (the unpainted plastic is dark gray). Upon closer
Overall, this kit is a lot of fun to paint and assemble. Painting this kit is not necessary, but gives it a noticeably nicer look. There are a couple of mandatory painting spots, such as the areas colored in gold in the picture. They come in that ugly yellow color which nobody could possibly like. Also, the blue pieces leave a very noticeable light blue when separated from the runners. I would advise touching that up even if you don't paint the bulk of the blue pieces. Some gray paint is also suggested for the vents on the waist and legs which just come in white. If you want this kit to shine, the only real detailing you'll need to do is in the panel lines (and there are a LOT of them). I found myself taking "panel line breaks" pretty often as they are numerous and shallow. Without a very steady hand, you would no doubt find the marker slip out of the line very often, requiring further touch-ups.
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