Hey guys!
As mentioned in my previous post, I'll re-review my old kits prior to this blog so you guys can see my other gunpla :3
Take note that I can't show you the building segments anymore but nonetheless I'll still make this post worth your while :D
I decided to start with the gundam that got me into all of this.. It was way back in the 90's when G-gundam, Gundam X and Gundam Wing were all the craze in the mecha genre. That was a good time for Toonami.. I always rush home from school so I can start the shows properly haha!
Back then, Gundam Wing was the series that really stuck to my head. As in that's only thing I know about the gundam universe back then.. Although I've played Char's Counterattack and the Battle masters, I have no idea that I was playing gundam that time XD They just look like a bunch of weird robots to me back then..
As I was saying, Gundam Wing is the reason I got fond of gundams.. I used to have all of the Endless Waltz kits.. but sadly, I lost them due to our constant moving.. *sob*
So let's begin :D
Box art:
The Endless Waltz kits is one of the series that has a really nice box art. Good artwork, they really know how to get buyers attention. On the side, you'll see the line up of the kits that was released and the gimmicks on the other side. It's in japanese but it mostly tells what Endless Waltz is all about.
Manual:
The manual is simple but eye catching. It mostly shows images of the kit being painted by a pro. Don't expect it to be that good out of the box. It has a color guide if you wanna paint it accurately. Most of the pictures are the same from the sides of the box.
This part shows a brief summary of the events in the Endless Waltz movie in Heero's point of view. Lot's of nice artwork.
The assembly isn't that hard.. It's one of the earliest HG's so the complexity of the body parts are easy to understand. When you build one of these kits, you can see how different they are and how far Bandai has come in engineering their kits.
Ok from here, I usually show the assembly but since this is an old kit of mine, I'll jump straight to the final output.
Complete assembly:
Here he is. First of all, you won't get the kit like this. I did a lot of painting to make the look more accurate to the show because you only get a few runners and color separation isn't that good back in the days.. I did use some sticker's like the green part on the chest, the eyes and the blue trims on the forearms. Other than that it's all paint and panel lining. Prepare your liners and paint XD
Closer look of the mobile suit:
Here's a close up of the mobile suit.. It looks crappy in person but I'm thankful it looks good in the pictures XD
Here's what you need to paint:
- The forehead camera need to be green
- The V-fin (optional but I wanted it gold because it goes well with the dark colors of the kit, it was originally bright yellow.)
- The white trim on the collar
- The vulcans beside the shoulders, although they do not open ,I still painted them for accuracy purposes.
- The trim on the shoulders (It was originally yellow stickers but it sucks so I painted it gold as well to match the V-fin.)
- The waist needs some white paint too unless you want it one solid red piece.
- The blue on the front skirts (Originally stickers but they suck too so I painted it.)
- The hands definitely needs some coloring if you want it to be really accurate. All of the Waltz kits have their hands as a part of the polycaps so it's rubbery unlike the newer ones which are already made of plastic. I only colored the weapon holding hands.
- The green trim on the forearms, the one that looks like cameras. (Also stickers but I painted it because the metallic color doesn't really fit.)
- The Feet needs to be white unless you want his feet to be solid red like clown shoes. LOL!
The rest is panel lining, I pretty much lined everything that can be lined XD The head is the most important part and the wings because they are the most distinct features of this mobile suit.
The back side. As you can see, you can you use the wings as a support for him to stand. These things are just big chunks of plastic thus causing a lot of weight issues if not positioned correctly.
He does have a huge wing span, it's sad that the wing's don't open but that's what the HG 1/100 and MG 1/100 kits are for :D Anyway.. The wings needs a looooot of lining, so make sure you have reserves :D The wings can rotate and move around a lot though :D Too bad they're too heavy to stay in place. I think min are loose already since it's really old.
In here, you can see his articulation. The arms can bend 90 degress and the legs can bend somewhat close or more than 90 degrees but not that much. The front skirts are molded together so have no choice but to move it as a whole. The torso can barely rotate because the skirts are high giving the torso only a little space to rotate.
The arms can be raised up a certain height but the forearms are to bulky and get's in the way. The back skirt is big so you really can't bend the legs further back. The feet can barely move and rotate. I dunno if you can tell but the leg joints are all polycaps unlike today where it has a semi inner frame.
Let's move on to the accessories:
Accessories:
You get two of these, but in solid white. I painted mine because who want's white toothpicks.
The optional hands you get. The only thing good about the EW kits is that they give you 3 pairs of hands: weapon holding hands, closed fists and open palms. I wish bandai still does this. I didn't bother painting these because I don't have any use for them that's why I only painted the weapon holding hands because that's all he will ever need anyway.
The iconic buster rifles. I love it whenever he uses this, it's like a portable laser beam of death. Too bad it overheats easily XD But yeah, you can always fire one shot and then move it :3 Anyway, these are just huge halves slapped together. I panel lined it and color the scope green just to make it more lively.
Aside from the original torso, you also get a hunched one. Back then the engineering of model kits is so simple and suffers from really dynamic posing. It's so nice of bandai to give us this extra part just to replicate a certain pose. We'll get to that later. On the left, you'll see the painting I did to this kit and on the right shows the default look.. I didn't bother painting that because I only use it once and then hid again in the box. LOL!
Accessories are done so let's do a little comparison to other scales.
Comparisons:
If you guys read my Hot Rod Review these guys will be familiar haha!! I compared him to an HG 1/144 Exia RE II, SD RX-78-2 and an MG 1/100 Freedom gundam. I was surprised that he was taller than Exia. Then again, kits back then aren't really size accurate.. He's suppose to be shorter than Exia.. I think XD but yeah, the old age of the kit really shows when he's next to these modern ones.
Almost done with the review, let's move own to some posing :D
Poseability:
*Note: The action base is sold separately*
Started out with a simple pose. The shoulders a little big so they might bump the joints for the wings from time to time so make sure they're not in the way of each other. My kit is loose in some areas already so posing him is very tiring since it's not that cooperative as before.
I tried copy the MG box art.. I did the best I can XD The wings aren't as articulated as the other scales. But this is better than nothing XD
I was suppose to do a dual wielding pose but I can't find the other beam saber XD So here's an effortless posing for this guy.
I did the dual wielding pose with his buster rifles instead.. I was aiming for his all out attack where he has his arms outstretched while firing the buster rifles then doing a circular motion.. Did you get what I just said? haha Since the shoulders are too big and my kit is has loose joints already(mostly the right forearm) I gave up on it just tried another cool pose XD he's like "I'm lock and loaded b!tches"
The wings are so articulate that you can even replicate the atmospheric re-entry of Wing Zero. It's all in the details, it really makes the kit more lively if you do the necessary detailing.
Of course nothing beats this iconic "Final Shot" of the Wing Zero at the end of the movie. It's one of the scenes that really comes to mind when you mention Endless Waltz. Bandai is knows their limitations with these kits back then so it's really nice of them to include another torso just to replicate this pose :D if only the wings are more articulate XD You can always buy the higher scales for that :3 It kind sucks pulling this of on the ground so it's to have an extra action base lying around to appreciate this more ;D
Now that we've covered everything, let's get it on with the verdict for this kit.
Conclusion:
Articulation: 6/10 - It's a really old kit.. So don't expect dynamic posing. There are lesser joints with this guy but enough to do some posing. I forgive it because at the time, I barely notice this and I was still enjoying it as a kit. I just wish the wings have more moveable pieces.
Parts: 5/10 - I dunno if you guys noticed this but the quality of plastic back then is way different from today. I mean, They look really cheap and sometimes there are excess trims like in the wings for this matter. The material is really different. They're not that "crisp" compared to the newer kits like Gundam 00 or AGE.
Accessories: 9/10 - The accessories are nice and all but I still have something to complain about.. I think you guys know what it is.. Yes, the hands, why can't they mold those in white? would it be expensive or something? I mean, would it kill them to have 6 small pieces to be colored white? LOL! I'm not raging or anything, just asking nicely :3 hahaha!!
But yeah, you get everything he needs, the white sabers are forgiven because back then, there are no beam effect parts for the 1/144 scale.. Only the 1/100 scales get the effect parts. So people back then are forced to pain their toothpicks LOL!
The alternate torso is a nice addition in bandais part.
Detail: 8/10 - Again, it's an old kit so don't expect a lot of decent color separations. They will really give you a huge sticker sheet... You do always have a choice of using these or paint the details yourself. For me, an HG kit can match an MG or even the PG scale if detailed correctly. Heck, if you really do a good job, it might even top the RG line. Of course not everyone is gifted and patient as some other people but it's really up to you if you want your kit to sit there screaming for a better look :)) Despite lacking color separation, it does have decent molded details.
Verdict: 7/10 - It's an old kit, that's given so don't compare it with the newer stuff and complain. It was good in it's time I suppose. But then again, when the 1/100 scale was released they pretty much forgot about this guy. I got this kit because of the nostalgic feeling, it really brings back memories of the old times. That's why most of us buy gundams or any mechs in general regardless of it's quality, it reminds us a part of our childhood.
But now, since there's an MG and PG scale and a Robot Damshii version of this guy already, I'd recommend those hands down but if you're really tight on budget and you just want that nostalgic feeling, you can get this instead. It would still give a certain level of satisfaction because it's something you grew up with.
There you have it guys, I'll work out a sched on when i'll post reviews, because I have a job now and I can't post everyday... Writing these reviews are time consuming XD Trust me, you know what I feel when you start making reviews. A good one of course :3
Oh yeah.. Never ever disrespect the Wing Zero because....
Yeah... Never dis' the guy with the big gun. XD
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