#sdbdr

聖神竜合士 Ex Valkylander

More dragons! I’m glad the Avalanche Rex Buster came out between the two Valkylanders, because the build was very much the same (and this is coming from the guy with ten Cores). It’s cool having the separate Valkylander’s robot and dragon modes, and then the more angelic Ex next to them. Having them look more distinct than each other (especially in a display where there are already multiple very similar MS) helps a lot.

The Good: All the non-pearlescent white parts are new, which allowed for some minor fixes between the releases, with the main one being the hair. The Valkylander’s hair polycaps into the back of the head, which has just enough tension behind it, but makes the hair a little difficult to position at times because it’s on a moving peg. The Ex Valkylander’s hair has the head polycap into the hair, which adds a bit more tension to it, but allows for just a bit more wiggle room when it comes to positioning it naturally. All the distinct elements that made the original dragon mode distinct (head, arms, tail, wings, feet) have been replaced, creating a more distinct form in regard to the Ex. And while the robot modes are more similar, there’s a definite sense of improvement, with the horns and chest being more armored to invoke that.

The Bad: A lot of the issues that plagued the Valkylander are still present here. The hip polycaps still like to slide off, it has difficulty supporting the GN Mega Flare Device. The GN-MFD can’t be separated into separate guns now. Also, it would have been nice if the whites matched.

The Details: There is metallic green panel lining on the Ex, but there’s not a lot of it due to the prolific use of other colors. All the gold was repainted, with additional gold detailing done to the cheek spikes, shoulder details, wrists, lower legs, feet, wings, GN Mega Flare Device, and the tips of its hair. The hair has an attempted black wash to it. The translucent red components had their insides filled in silver, the center of the hips is solid red...

And then there’s the metallic red. Almost every part (that wasn’t entirely repainted) has at least some metallic red on it. All those spherical details were done up in red. I did consider repainting the translucent parts and doing it all in metallic green instead to keep with my themes, but the red looks fine.

Oh, and the eyes are stickers. I could have painted the dragon’s eyes, but decided not to since I couldn’t on the robot’s eyes.

Overall, this is a decent upgrade, with a lot of carried over features, some new ones, and a couple lost to its previous incarnation. It might not be worth it if you don’t have the upgraded Valkylander to make them distinct from each other, but I guess it depends on how much you like dragons, too, as they look concisely different. It’s definitely a feel it out situation, but if you like the first one, you’ll probably be fine with this one, too.