HGAC Wing Gundam

Hi there!
In last post I said that my next project will be including HGUC Nu Gundam + Sazabi. But I have to postpone that project T-T mostly because I could not find any shop that sell those two. Sigh..
Anyway, I decided to buy a hot item from bandai: HGAC Wing Gundam!
Wing Gundam will always be in a special place in my heart. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing was my first Gundam anime series. That show brought me to this hobby. I love the characters, especially Heero Yui, and I think the mecha designs are awesome. So when Bandai released new HG for Wing Gundam I was thrilled with a nostalgic feeling.
I have the old 1/144 No Grade version of Wing Gundam, and it is full of flaws. Can't be helped because the old technology it has. Compared to that old model, this new kit is much, much more advanced. Honestly, I think this kit is one of the best HG 1/144 models recently. Let's see closer:
When I opened the box I got a manual, 1 sheet sticker, 8 runners (6 colored plastics, 1 clear part and 1 polycaps). The interesting things were the stickers and polycaps. Both came small in number. Minimal amount of stickers indicated that this kit has good color separation. And minimal amount of polycaps, is actually caused by new tech developed by Bandai. They do not use polycaps for elbows and knee joints anymore!
Building this kit was fun. It wasn't too difficult, Bandai took a good way to keep this kit simple to build. Yet they invented some improvement in joints (like I explained before), arms and legs departements. No more plastics slapped together: this kit's arms and legs have 'semi-inner frames'. Almost like Nu Gundam (nooo don't make me remember that thing I could not have T-T) . And as I tought, the color separation is awesome. So accurate, almost perfect!
Look at this finished model. So beautiful yet still menacing. The articulation is very good: with 00-style thighes, this kit can do split. The neck has 2 joints so it can face up so high, it is very helping for flying-pose. The joints are quite sturdy, except for the left arm. I do not know why but only that part kept falling down -_- maybe just my kit's problem? I have to glue the connector in order to thight up the friction. The v-fin also popped off easily, but again loose v-fin is common problem in many models. Just glue it, and done! Out of those two problems, this kit's sturdiness is almost perfect.
This kit came with 3 accessories: the buster rifle, a beam saber, and a shield. Nothing special with the buster rifle. It is just two plastics slapped together. The new buster rifle is longer than NG ones, though. The new beam saber has long, green clear plastic blades. The shield is so much improved: you can fold it to save/reveal the beam saber handle. So cool!
Transformation to bird mode is easy, no different than the old NG model. Turn the lower body, stick the buster rifle into the shield and then stick the shiel onto the back. Nothing new except the new HG is much more stable in bird mode than the old NG.
Conclusion:
Good things: good detail, simple yet sturdy design, nice gimmick (shield folding and transformation).
Bad things: nothing big really, it has some joints stability issues but you still can do something about it.
Score: 9 out of 10
Suggestion: just buy and build it
! Hehe.
There is some pic of it, and comparison with my HG Wing Zero Custom (Endless Waltz)