Last year, I ended my Gunpla year with the Wing Zero, and today, I start my Gunpla year with the… Wing Zero!
This may come to a shock to some of you, but in my opinion, this might be the best version of the Wing Zero Bandai has produced. It’s better than the RG Wing Zero TV that just came out (well, I do have a negative bias towards that kit), and it’s even better than the Ver.Ka. The other iterations don’t come close to any of these three. The people over at Bandai have to be on something when they design these MGSDs, because not only do they look so good as stubby Gundams, but they stupidly outclass their counterparts in terms of engineering and gimmicks, and this guy’s no exception.
First of all, this is a lengthy build. Compared to the MGSD Aerial, it’s a bit more straightforward as not every joint has a locking mechanism that makes it difficult to disassemble, but everything about this kit is just big and dense. The head is basically a PG head with a big face, the Twin Buster Rifle non-extended is taller than the Gundam itself, and the wings pack so many parts they make the Ver.Ka’s look like a toy in comparison. The only real thing that other iterations have against the the MGSD is color separation, as the kit seems to lack any two-tone coloring like other MGSDs or even the Ver.Ka that had two-tone blue pieces. Having some two-tone for the white would’ve been nice, but there’s so much panel lining to do with this kit anyway that it makes me forget about it. But the MGSD Wing Zero is what you’d expect from an MGSD—a full inner frame, an opening cockpit, absurd articulation and just being really stable probably helped by the design’s stoutness that allows Bandai to give the kit big, strong joints.
Next up was detailing, which like the Aerial, I basically treated it like how I did with my RGs—just panel lining, applying the sticker decals and giving it a flat coat. Like how the build takes forever, there is a LOT of lining to do, especially with the wings where you will be lining both sides of the wings. I busted a new Copic 0.03 pen for this build, and by the time I finished lining, the pen was starting to dry out. There are a few areas where it looks like a place where you can add a line or two, but channel’s so shallow it ain’t even worth lining. Next were the sticker decals, which were super easy to do and unlike the Ver.Ka it only took me a day to do versus taking an entire week just to apply the waterslides on the Ver.Ka. Finally, I give the kit a good ‘ol flat coat while trying to avoid the metallic pieces by either removing them or masking them, and this little Wing Zero was ready for some posing!
Despite being SD shaped, the Wing Zero Custom still has a giant silhouette that makes it difficult to get good full body shots of the Gundam, but that’s luckily my only complaint when it came to posing. Unlike the RG Wing Zero TV which I just had an awful time moving around, the MGSD was solid as a rock, albeit too solid that my arms were getting tired at times while trying to move it around while holding it. The locking mechanism on the arm for the Twin Buster Rifle makes the Iconic Pose™ super easy to pull off, but I’m surprised Bandai had never thought about giving the handles rotation so that it attaches to the hand much better when doing the shot. There’s a lot of movement for the wings, but the joints are stiff enough that it never becomes finicky when aligning them. You’re not gonna get any ground shots with the MGSD though, as the gun and wings are taller than the Gundam itself, you’re gonna need an action base which Bandai does not supply you this time despite both MG Wing Zero Customs providing you with one.
I bought an Action Base 8 out of curiosity as they are designed for 1/100 kits in mind with a giant base and an arm held together by hex screws, and while the arm itself is strong, the connection points on the base and the Gundam are surprisingly loose. I basically had to use double sided tape to strengthen both connection points, which gave me no more problems afterward, but keep on the lookout. And oh yeah, the stand can easily handle the weight of the MGSD Wing Zero, it basically did not struggle one bit. An AB7 can probably do the job just fine, but it requires using these pieces which in my experience shitty durability, and I wasn’t actively using the AB8, so it now belongs to something!
Overall, this was a great time and a great way to start the year. Being 2026, it’s about to be 10 years since I started watching Gundam and building Gunpla for the first time back in Feburary 2016. I doubt I’ll have my hands on the PGU Nu when the time comes, but I know I’ll have to do something special to celebration the occasion. That’s about it for now, thanks for reading!
