Kit Review

Straight build
+ panel lining + decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body with clean color separation — a real highlight

Head

Arms and shield

Rifle and legs

MG Wing Gundam - The fingers aren't articulated — instead they're swappable fixed hands, like on the V Gundam. It's big enoug

The fingers aren't articulated — instead they're swappable fixed hands, like on the V Gundam.
It's big enough that they could've easily done articulated fingers, so it's a bit of a head-scratcher why they went this route.
On top of that, the swappable fingers don't hold very well, which kind of defeats the purpose of fixed hands -.-;
Looks like we'll have to settle for a modest improvement in proportions.

MG Wing Gundam - The cockpit hatch opens in a 4-step sequence, which is a bit complicated — if you don't follow the manual ca

The cockpit hatch opens in a 4-step sequence, which is a bit complicated —
if you don't follow the manual carefully, you risk breaking something, so take it slow.

Buster Rifle

You can also fold the back section down to do a magazine swap action.
Very MG-worthy attention to detail.

MG Wing Gundam - The grip isn't great, but there's a claw(?) on the forearm that can lock onto the back of the rifle. Thankfu

The grip isn't great, but there's a claw(?) on the forearm that can lock onto the back of the rifle.
Thankfully, that claw keeps the rifle from falling off.

The center of the shield folds open to reveal the beam saber mount — that's all faithfully reproduced.

Inside face of the shield.

MG Wing Gundam - When attaching the shield mount to the arm, just plugging it into the hole won't hold it in place. You need

When attaching the shield mount to the arm, just plugging it into the hole won't hold it in place.
You need to plug it in and then slide it downward to lock it — otherwise the shield will keep falling off.

1/100 Heero Yuy figure, complete with a display stand.

A dedicated attachment part for Action Base 1 is also included.

Outer armor removed.

MG Wing Gundam - Inner frame. A full-body frame is standard, of course. (1/2)

MG Wing Gundam - Inner frame. A full-body frame is standard, of course. (2/2)

Internal frame.
A full-body frame is standard, of course.

Upper body frame.
It has a nice sense of depth, but there's almost no detail.

Head and arm frame

Leg frame

MG Wing Gundam - Articulation with just the frame is excellent. Once you put the armor on, the range of motion in the forearm

Articulation with just the frame is excellent.
Once you put the armor on, the range of motion in the forearms and hip joints decreases.

MG Wing Gundam - The squatting pose is easy enough to pull off, but... the thighs are so short that the backside ends up floa

The squatting pose is easy enough to pull off, but...
the thighs are so short that the backside ends up floating in the air... ;

Excellent frame articulation. The short-track speed skating pose...

Using the wrist transformation gimmick, you can even pull off a praying mantis kung fu pose...

Molded detail on the inside of the outer armor.

However, most of the armor pieces have no inner detail — only a few of them do.

The inside of the skirt is finished with separate parts for detail,
though it's still pretty simple.

Articulation.
Not a full bend, but still pretty decent range of motion.

The shoulders swing forward quite a lot.
That really comes in handy when posing.

The wings move and spread freely.
They extend in three stages.

MG Wing Gundam - The internal gimmick where the wings spread out. It's well-designed so that multiple sections move together

The internal gimmick where the wings spread out.
It's well-designed so that multiple sections move together in sync.

The neck tilts back a lot, just like on the Nu Gundam or the Sazabi.
It's a gimmick for the flight pose.

MG Wing Gundam - Kneeling standby pose. The legs have short thighs and long shins, so getting a good pose is surprisingly tri

Kneeling standby pose.
The legs have short thighs and long shins, so getting a good pose is surprisingly tricky.
Also, in this position the hip joints and waist feel a bit weak, and the body keeps tipping backward.

MG Wing Gundam - Loading the magazine! (1/5)

MG Wing Gundam - Loading the magazine! (2/5)

MG Wing Gundam - Loading the magazine! (3/5)

Loading the magazine!

MG Wing Gundam - Shooting pose. Looks pretty convincing. (1/6)

MG Wing Gundam - Shooting pose. Looks pretty convincing. (2/6)

MG Wing Gundam - Shooting pose. Looks pretty convincing. (3/6)

MG Wing Gundam - Shooting pose. Looks pretty convincing. (4/6)

Shooting pose.
Looks pretty convincing.

Flight pose.

MG Wing Gundam - Beam saber action pose (1/4)

MG Wing Gundam - Beam saber action pose (2/4)

Beam saber action pose

Transformation

First, pull out the hands, then rotate the head and lower body 180 degrees.

MG Wing Gundam - Lift the side skirts up and hook them onto the locking pins under the shoulders. It helps to pull the arms s

Lift the side skirts up and hook them onto the locking pins under the shoulders.
It helps to pull the arms slightly forward to make it easier to catch the pins.

The side skirts covering up the flanks.

Spread the arms front and back,
then rotate the claws on the forearms out to the front.

Fold the arms in and the chicken feet(;;) are complete.

Fold the lower leg backward, then fold everything into the shape shown on the right.

MG Wing Gundam - The internal transformation gimmick in the knee is pretty clever. When you fold the knee twice for the trans

The internal transformation gimmick in the knee is pretty clever.
When you fold the knee twice for the transformation, the ankle joint automatically shortens — a linked gimmick.
This is the kind of thing you expect from an MG.

Spread the wings out fully.

Fold in the shield's inner mounting tabs, then slide the Buster Rifle into place.

Bird Mode transformation complete!
Top and bottom views after transformation.

Those chicken feet make me cringe every time I look at them...;

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (1/9)

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (2/9)

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (3/9)

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (4/9)

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (5/9)

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (6/9)

MG Wing Gundam - Bird Mode from various angles. Overall it's thin and elongated. (7/9)

Bird Mode from various angles.
Overall it's thin and elongated.

MG Wing Gundam - Alongside the MG First 2.0. Wing Gundam's canonical height is on the shorter side, so the overall kit is a b

Alongside the MG First 2.0.
Wing Gundam's canonical height is on the shorter side, so the overall kit is a bit smaller.

Alongside the previously released MG Wing Gundam Ver.Ka.

Same concept, but the Ver.Ka design refined in Katoki Hajime's style does feel a bit more polished.

Bird Mode comparison with the Wing Ver.Ka.

The Ver.Ka has more overall volume.

The difference in wings.

The Ver.Ka uses the magazine gimmick as landing gear instead of chicken feet.

MG Wing Gundam - The Ver.Ka doesn't flip the legs around, whereas the original Wing Gundam has the legs oriented in the oppos

The Ver.Ka doesn't flip the legs around,
whereas the original Wing Gundam has the legs oriented in the opposite direction.

Shield comparison.

Buster Rifle comparison.
The Ver.Ka version is much more stylish and larger.

Alongside the MG Wing Gundam Zero Custom.

The MG Wing Gundam trio.

Straight build

Bird Mode straight build shots

The MG Wing Gundam is something I always figured would come out eventually, and it's finally here. We already got the Ver.Ka and the Wing Zero Custom, so an original Wing Gundam was bound to happen sooner or later. That said, Wing Gundam does have its share of detractors, and I think that's part of why it took so long. It also signals that the MG lineup is starting to run low on Universal Century material, and that Bandai is either choosing — or being forced — to bring non-UC suits into the main lineup alongside the HG line.

My guess for why the original Wing Gundam took so long to get the MG treatment is... that bird transformation. The whole "transforms into a bird" concept felt pretty childish to old-school Universal Century fans — like something out of a super robot show. And with those full-on chicken feet, it even got slapped with the nickname "Chicken Wing Gundam." But hey, Gundam is Gundam. ^^;

First off, as you'd expect from a modern MG, even those who weren't big fans of the original Wing Gundam will find the proportions refined enough to win them over. Narrow shoulders, a slim build, well-balanced ratios... The calves do feel a bit long compared to the thighs, but overall it's pretty decent. The detailing throughout goes for a clean, simple style — not overdone, not lacking. The one slightly disappointing thing is that while a full-body inner frame is included, it doesn't have much in the way of detail.

The articulation itself gets pretty close to full bend, and since the shoulder joints push forward quite a bit, the overall range of motion is fairly flexible. That said, when you actually try to pose it, the front skirt gimmick limits how high the hip joints can raise, so the poses don't end up looking as dynamic as you might expect. Getting into a kneeling pose is possible, but it's a bit tricky to hold in place. Compared to some of the more recent dynamic MGs, it feels like something's just a little off. Joint strength is generally fine across the board, though it does feel noticeably weaker specifically in the kneeling pose.

The biggest gripe with this kit has to be the hands. Like the V Gundam, it uses swappable fixed hands. MG kits are usually known for articulated fingers — and lately they've even been split with a blade so every finger can move individually — so fixed hands feel a bit out of place here. With the V Gundam you could kind of understand it since the hands are so tiny, but the Wing Gundam's hands aren't particularly small compared to other Gundams. The problem is that these fixed hands might look decent proportionally, but their grip is actually worse than articulated hands. T_T

With fixed hands, you'd at least expect a solid grip when holding weapons — but the fixed finger parts don't connect well to the hand parts and keep falling off. -.-; You'd wonder why they even went with fixed hands in the first place, but ironically there are separate locking mechanisms that keep the weapons from dropping. The Buster Rifle uses a claw on the forearm to lock the rear section in place, and the shield has a slide-lock on the forearm that holds it pretty securely. Without those extra locking gimmicks, though, the grip would honestly be terrible — the hands alone just can't hold anything reliably. Either way, swappable fixed hands with this kind of poor grip feel like the wrong call.

The transformation gimmick into Bird Mode is put together pretty smoothly, and the complex linked mechanism between the wings and knee joints is decent enough. That said, the linked mechanism doesn't feel all that effective in practice — the payoff you feel after completing the transformation is a bit underwhelming given how complex the joints are. Simply put, the range of the linkage is so narrow that it's hard to even tell whether it's actually linking or not. Still, it's the kind of ambitious attempt you'd expect from an MG.

Overall, it does feel like a clean, polished MG befitting a modern release, but it's also true that it's hard to feel anything particularly special about it. It just "Wing Gundam
as an MG" — and it doesn't really go beyond that. There's no standout element that feels unique to this kit. I kind of expected that when turning a less popular Gundam into an MG, they'd show off some unique new technology to generate interest, but it ended up coming out as a pretty straightforward, by-the-book MG.

On the price side of things — this feels like a kit that should run around ¥3,000–3,500, but it launched at ¥4,000. That's a subtle sign of inflation creeping in, and when you factor in the part count and development complexity, it definitely feels like there's been some kind of price hike. Sure, Gunpla prices have been remarkably restrained relative to the cost of living over the past decade or so, so you could argue it's still acceptable — but with the exchange rate already high on top of the price increase, some folks might find it a bit of a bitter pill to swallow.

Either way, it's clearly a great gift for Wing Gundam fans, and it should also appeal to those looking for a fresh non-Universal Century Gundam kit. There's nothing particularly special about it, but there's nothing seriously wrong with it either — it's a solid, no-frills MG through and through. If you go in without sky-high expectations and just enjoy the build, it's a genuinely fun kit. :-)

MG XXXG-01W Wing Gundam
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	True to a modern MG, seam lines on the body are kept to a minimum.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Perfect color separation is a given for an MG. Even the shield is cleanly divided.
Proportions	★★★★★	Design and proportions perfectly realized as an MG.
Articulation	★★★★☆	Overall articulation is good, but there are some limitations when it comes to posing.
Joint Strength	★★★★☆	Not super tight, but holds together well enough. Fixed hands are a no-go though.
Internal Frame	★★★★☆	Full-body inner frame is included, but the detail is pretty average.
Detail	★★★★★	Not super refined, but clean and simple. Perfectly fitting for Wing Gundam.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Weapons and wing gimmicks that are fully worthy of an MG.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★☆	327 parts total. 82 parts per ¥1,000. The price feels like it crept up a little.
Uniqueness	★★★★	Has that clean, polished MG feel, but nothing particularly special — just solid and straightforward.
Dalong's Point : 94 pts.

MG Wing Gundam | 2010. 4 | ¥4,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.