MG 1/100 Wing Gundam Ver.Ka [Review]

Finally, its the Wing Gundam Version Katoki, which means its a re-design of the original Wing Gundam by Hajime Katoki, the designer. My original plan was to get the Wing Zero Custom, but this version really caught my eye. It's nearly the exact same build, the only differences between the two kits are the color scheme, the wings, and the accessories.

This thing is VERY colorful. It's got quite a wide variety of colors combining on each part, but everything mixes and matches quite well. It comes molded in white, red, an orangey yellow, blue, gray, and a darker gray. There are clear pieces for parts of the face and the green orb on its chest. There are foil stickers for two of the small green cameras on its head, a round green one for the chest orb, a green one for the buster rifle, two green ones for the wrists, and the eyes. There's really no need for coloring this kit, its molded in all the right colors.

Alright, here's the first thing you'll notice about this kit. The decal sheet is fucking large. There's at least 100 puny clear sticker decals that go on all over the model. I've used half of the decals in the picture above but look at it just to get an idea of how many there were. It must've taken me longer to stick the decals on than to actually construct the model, and I didn't even put all of them on. It's rather excessive and you can probably do without all of them. In fact, excessive decals and thick panel lining sort of ruin its pure colorful image, so I recommend that you avoid that.

That's not the end of it either. There is also a sheet of dry transfer decals. There's a bunch of really small decals that look just like the clear stickers, but for some reason they're here in dry transfer form too. Most of them go on the buster rifle, and I think this is because the stickers really stick out on a dark surface so dry transfers are preferred. Then, there are the huge logos and markings. This was a big problem because most of them go on really uneven surfaces and if you're not careful, the decal will be ruined. I destroyed two of them trying to rub it on such rough terrain like the multi-tiered wings. You have to cut the decal out as small as possible, possibly even cut it out in the shape of the letters, and tape it down firmly so there is no part of the decal that is not flat on the surface. I have no idea why they want you to put the decals on such an uneven surface; clearly someone just wanted to mess with us (Katoki >_>)

Construction is not as sophisticated as more recent models, so it is a pretty basic build. Its a simple inner frame with several plates of armor going over it. The wings are rather impressive because they are huge and constructed with four differently colored pieces. One thing to note is that the face piece is not secure and can move around if you hit it accidentally. This shouldn't be too much of a problem though. The hand has separate pieces for the thumb and pointer finger, and the other fingers are one piece. It is very firm so no worries there. One small thing that this kit has that the Zero Custom doesn't is the bird claws on the wrists. These are very fragile so be careful.

Articulation is also pretty standard. It doesn't really allow for very dynamic posing, but its feminine legs are good for aerial poses. The thigh joint doesn't allow for very far splitting, but the knee joint is very flexible and along with the folding foot, allows for nice leg poses in aerial shots. The elbow joints seem kind of soft compared to newer kits (which have extremely tough joints) but they hold weapons just find so its not a problem. The wings are particularly steady, as they are inserted through really tough pegs on the backpack and require a ton of force to move around. That means absolutely no sagging of the wings during posing. Note that the wings are pretty heavy and unless you pose it right, the model might fall back due to the weight.

The weapons are the most impressive part of this model. The buster rifle is loooong, about as long as the Gundam itself. Its construction is not just a two half construction either. A part goes in for the barrel, and there are three energy tanks that can spin around and are inserted into the weapon. The end has a small blue shield like extension; I'm not sure what it's for. The handle is not a traditional gun handle, but rather a door handle like closed handle. This is actually a bit of a problem because the weight of this gun makes it sag even though the hands have a firm grip. There are ways to remedy that, like balancing the gun on top of the shield for posing.

It comes with one beam saber and two curved green beams. It also comes with two energy tank containers that each contain three energy reserve tanks for the rifle (looks kind of like a pea pod). These containers fit into the wrists. The most impressive accessory, in my opinion, is the shield. It's simple but it just looks so nice. I think this shield is really what makes the Wing Gundam the Wing Gundam. You can plug the beam saber on the inside of the shield. And finally, there are the gatling cannons on its shoulders. These slide out and aren't really noticeable considering how small they are.

Finally, the trademark of the Wing Gundam: Neo Bird Mode. That's the transformation into the plane. Transformation is really simple: You slide the shoulder armor out and point it downward. The wrists are turned so the "claws" are pointing down, and the reserve tank containers are attached. The feet fold up with the ankle armor and the knee joint is bent back, then down to make a sort of S shape. The wings must be spread and the backpack is pulled out and clipped further down the body. The gun attaches to the shield, and the shield attaches to the backpack. There you have it. I mean, its a hell of a lot simpler than the transformation for the 1/72 VF-25...

The bird mode looks fantastic. It doesn't look tacked on at all and is rather sleek. It's even worth posing in this mode, but I prefer leaving it in mobile suit mode.

Overall, this is a beautiful and incredibly stylish model. When it comes to pure style, the Wing Ver.Ka can't be beat. It's slightly older so you won't find intricate master grade engineering like what you see in, say, the MG Rx-78-2 Gundam ver.2.0, but it holds up just fine and makes up for it with its aesthetic glory. I highly recommend this model, but just be prepared for some back-aching decal applying.