I had such grand plans for this model. But they ended up falling apart.
The problem, simply put, is that the gold paint flakes off very easily if you try and play around with the model. It happened so many times - and the chipped paint was so noticeable - that I eventually just gave up and put it on the shelf. I have a few photos, which I’ll share with you in this post, but not even close to as many as I originally intended.
To be fair, this isn’t a problem that is unique to this kit. People who do a complete paint jobs of their Gunpla often lament about how doing even a single pose can damage the paint, to the point where many modelers say “you can paint it, or you can pose it, but you can’t easily do both”.
And if you insist on doing both, the advice I’ve seen is to first do a straight build, then do all your poses and take all your photos, then paint it, then put it on your shelf, and then leave it alone for good.
Lesson learned.
Complaints
Maybe it’s all for the best. There are other issues with this kit; even if I hadn’t painted it, I’m not sure I would have a much better time trying to pose it.
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The helmet pops off far too easily:
To be fair, I suppose it is better for it to be loose than to be too tight, but it still makes it that much more difficult to pose it without being interrupted.
- The sword is stored on the backside, via a small clip. It is such a tight fit that if you paint the blade, it _will_ scrape off. You either leave it unpainted, or paint it but leave it unholstered. I find this annoying because, well, it's a sword. It's not supposed to look like a monochrome piece of plastic. It makes it seem as if Bandai themselves are making you choose - make it pretty, or make it poseable. But not both.
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The scarf is on a ball joint, but as you can see here, it's stuck between the backpack and the shoulder:
The whole point of this kind of "ninja scarf" is that it floats around in the wind (and looks cool) as character runs around. You can't really do that here.
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Similarly, the ponytail is stuck between the VSBR's:
The only way to reposition it during an action pose is to take the VSBR's off, which you may not want to do for that given pose.
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Similarly, the ponytail is stuck between the VSBR's:
The only way to reposition it during an action pose is to take the VSBR's off, which you may not want to do for that given pose.
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As it turns out, even with the Cross Silhouette frame equipped, the model isn't that much bigger than a standard SD Gundam:
That doesn't mean the CS frame is pointless; at the very least it gives the arms and legs a more natural, less stubby look, which in turn gives it a better shelf presence. My gripe is more that, because the CS frame isn't much bigger, the articulation isn't much better.
You can raise the arm up a smidge, for whatever that's worth It's hard to get a regular SD to do anything resembling a cool, dynamic pose, and the situation isn't much different here. This feels like another point in favor of putting on the shelf and leaving it be.
Conclusion
I’m feeling torn.
On one hand, part of me doesn’t mind that this kit isn’t very poseable, considering it’s in no condition to be posed. The fact that it looks great and has such great shelf presence means that plopping it up there to sit and look pretty is arguably the best thing to do with it. That sounds like a win-win situation.
But then the more objective part of my brain kicks in and notes that this model has more gimmicks and accessories than even most High Grades, without coming close to having the articulation necessary to use them. I think that’s a huge waste, and arguably it means that the kit fails to accomplish one of its main goals.
Make of all this what you will …
Remaining Photos
Here are a few more fun photos I managed to take.
First, here she is next to her ancestor:
Next, here she is fangirling out about her favorite Gundam Wing boy:
And finally, here she is next to all the other female-coded Gunpla I coincidentally built this year:
Happy New Year
I am posting this on the final day of 2023. First, I want to say that I hope your year was better than mine. More importantly, I also want to wish and hope that your 2024 is even better.
I’ll be posting a Year in Review piece in the next day or two, to took back at the Year in Gunpla that was 2023. See you then.