It’s so weird seeing the actual name of this Gundam when I’m so accustomed to calling it the “Wing Zero Custom.”
When I first saw this kit announced, it felt… how do I put this… unnecessary for another Wing Zero to come out as although the OG Wing Zero EW was 16 years old at that point, it was a good kit. This new kit had a new shield, transformation gimmicks, but it did finally have proper support for the twin buster rifles. Owning every Ver.Ka kit, including both Victory Gundams, we (my dad and I) decided to get the kit, and it stood in our backlog for 2 years because even though it looked really purty, I shuddered thinking about building this kit. This was regarded as the best yet most complicated MG Wing yet, and well I usually feel off-put by really good kits because it looked like the kinda kit that would break on me, and last but certainly not least, the buttload of waterslide decals there was, which I did not want to deal with, especially with Bandai’s waterslides.
Still, it had to be done at one point, so I went in having tons of fears, even more so when I found out that the frame had ABS plastic, which usually breaks on me, yet, the build left me the most shocked I’ve ever been. The entire kit is tight, especially with painted ABS plastic, yet it never snapped on me ever, in fact, this is the first time in a Ver.Ka where no parts broke, ever. Of course, I tackled the kit differently by keeping all the sections separate until it was completely done, but I was really surprised how stable and steady the kit was, even the wings were super solid, although putting on the backpack is quite awkward. There’s without a doubt that I was very impressed with how the build turned out.
But it was time for the real pain—the detailing. There’s a lot of panel lining, like a lot, but somehow, I managed to finish all of that within a day, including the wings and the shield. As always, my dad did other hand-painting on the kit here and there, and I was surprised he was able to find places to paint considering how much frame already pokes out from the armor. But, the real hassle was with the waterslides. To save my sanity, I left Bandai’s waterslides alone and paid the extra to buy the same exact sheet from DelpiDecal, and oooh boy, I really saved myself there. It took me an entire week to do the decals, but I was able to use all of the decals, minus the really small ones that I felt weren’t worth the trouble, and my god, after putting all the parts together, the kit looked fucking beautiful.
And luckily it wasn’t a brick. I could’ve made more poses out of the kit, but my dad told me to see if I could do the Wing’s iconic final shot, and after a few adjustments here and there, I was able to do it, and well I didn’t feel like posing it anymore because I have to leave it like that. The pegs on the arms hold the guns so well, I didn’t even attach the handle to the gun because that was more of a hassle than adjusting the guns right, which is easier than I thought it would be. I first thought this kit was unnecessary, but after everything said and done, this might be my favorite Master Grade I’ve done yet. Let’s see if the MGEX Strike Freedom can top this.