IrenkaFeralKitty

I think I've mentioned a few times now that I wasn't a huge fan of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing - but I really think that Endless Waltz kind of retroactively improves the whole series. And I think I prefer these EW designs over the original TV versions.

This is an older kit and it definitely shows. It's still a fun design and a fantastic build... But the engineering isn't quite up to par with modern kits.

The nub-marks, for example, are kind of terrible. There's some surprisingly chonky gates in really awkward places on this kit. Nub-mark clean-up was really a pain. And there's still some visible on my finished kit.

This kit came with a sheet of dry-rub transfers which I'm not going to use. I know some people prefer them over waterslides... But I've not used them much. And the few times I have used them didn't go well.

I also opted not to use the included foil stickers. It's just a few shiny bits for eyes and cameras which were very easy to paint. I used my DSPIAE markers as well as some no-name fluorescent green marker that I got off AliExpress. The fluorescent green went on the eyes to try to make them pop more... And they're definitely brighter... But I don't have an actual blacklight so they're not doing anything amazing.

I'm again kind of feeling like maybe I made a mistake by starting with Char's Zaku II 2.0 as my first Master Grade kit... Because I've been slightly disappointed with most of the other MGs I've built. The inner-frame, specifically, feels like a bit of a let-down. It's mostly just there to hang the external armor on. There's not much detail or gimmickry going on.

While it's clearly anime/manga-accurate, this kit does feel a little light on accessories. There's the shield/claw and the scythe, plus a bunch of swappable hand/finger options... But that's it. I can't help feeling like there should be a rifle or bazooka or something. Having said that - the beam effects are absolutely fantastic in this kit.

I grabbed some cheap waterslide decals from AliExpress for this build. I'm not even sure what brand they are - maybe something like Flaming Snow?

The decals were fine. Nice and crisp. They came off the paper very quickly and stuck well with a little Mr. Mark Setter. It seems like there were a lot of extra decals though... You can see I've got something like half the sheet left-over.

I hit this thing with the Vallejo matte Mecha Color varnish through that cheap cordless "airbrush" again... And I think it turned out pretty well. I'm definitely getting better with the airbrush. And I think that varnish is working pretty good. I definitely like not having to deal with all the fumes and fuss from the rattlecans.

I'm honestly a little torn on the design...

Wing's designs, in general, feel more super-robo than I generally like. And that's definitely true for the "death" robot.

But, at the same time, they're undeniably cool. They just drip '90s edginess. Especially this kit with it's gratuitously spikey legs. I mean - look at those feet! Those toe spikes are downright ridiculous!

And the beam effects in this kit are absolutely fantastic. There's a nice bit of surface texture that really catches the light. They look like they're absolutely crackling with energy.