Folks, it took me three years, but I finally did it. I built models of all five of the Gundam Wing Gundams.
I love these little suckers. They made me finally appreciate these mobile suit designs after nearly two decades. That’s an impressive feat.
And now that the job is done, let’s rank them.
Specifically, let’s rank them in order of how much my opinion of each design has improved. That means that the #1 pick isn’t necessarily my favorite (nor is the #5 pick my least favorite) design overall.
#5 - Deathscythe
I already loved Deathscythe, and while this model doesn’t make me like it less, it also doesn’t make me like it more. With no change in opinion one way or another, it has to take the bottom place in this ranking.
#5 - Shenlong
My opinion of Shenlong improved slightly. I still think it’s default color scheme holds it back, but now I see that it’s design gives off strong “warrior” vibes.
#3 - Heavyarms
This model kit make me realize a few things about Heavyarms:
- It is armed to the teeth, but isn’t really that much bulkier than it’s mates
- It’s color scheme is fantastic. The orange/yellow/red combo is so unique, but it’s the bit of blue in the chest - and the hint of green from the eyes - that really elevate the whole thing.
- Compare to the others, Heavyarms is a tough, practical, no-nonsense design.
It feels weird slotting it at #3, because I really like this one a lot more now. But all that tells you is that my opinion of the last two rose that much more.
#2 Sandrock
On a different day, if I were in a different mood, this could have been my #1. It’s that close.
Before building these kits, my opinion on Sandrock was that it was the lamest and most “boring” of the five Gundams. Now I think it’s one of the best designs of the bunch.
If Shenlong is reminiscent of a “bad” G Gundam design, then Sandrock is reminiscent of a good one. It leans into a theme - that of a regal Persian warrior-king - in a way that feels as loving as it is stereotypical. The head looks downright royal, the shoulders look like plumage, and the snake-head shield is so bad it’s good.
But on top of all that, what really impresses me about Sandrock is its simple, practical color palette. It’s reliance on black, white, and grey makes for a nice, neutral base, one that causes all the (wonderfully layered) hints of red and yellow to really pop. It’s a color palette that edgelord teens would (and did) find boring, but as an adult I see it as the most practical, least cartoony livery in the entire lineup.
(Deathscythe is a close second in that regard, but it’s use of dark blue/purple instead of black and grey knocks it down a few pegs)
#1 Wing Gundam
I may have thought that Sandrock was boring, but I used to think Wing Gundam was plain ugly. And honestly, I still feel that way about the original, TV show design.
But this Real Grade is a different story. It looks fantastic, and the fact that it raised my opinion from “ugly” to “fantastic” means that, by default, my opinion here rose higher than for any of the others.
It’s the way in which the colors are all tweaked to look less cartoony. It’s about the complete overhaul of the wings to look both more robotic and more feathery and birdlike. Combined with the talons along its wrists, there’s a much stronger avian theme to this version of Wing Gundam, and that really sells me on the idea of a “Gundam with wings” (which is otherwise one of my least favorite design flourishes in the entire franchise).
It’s about the extra parts separation, the decals, and the technical details. I don’t necessarily think that all of the five Gundams would benefit from the Real Grade treatment, but Wing Gundam absolutely does. The fact that this model kit finally sold me on this particular design is a minor miracle.
Honorable Mention - Tallgeese
As an edgy teenager, I never wanted to admit that anything other than Deathscythe could possibly be my favorite design. But as adult I’m fully comfortable admitting that, in my opinion, the best mobile suit design in Gundam Wing is the Tallgeese - and it isn’t close.
That being said, it felt unfair to put it into a ranking of the five Gundams, but I can still put it here as an “honorable mention”. The Real Grade Tallgeese takes a great design and makes it even better, giving it the level of technical detail of a fighter jet, without losing its ultra regal nature. A classic through and through.