Kit Review

Straight build
+ panel lining + decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Torso

Head

Arms

MG Gundam Epyon - Back and backpack, wing section (1/3)

Back and backpack, wing section

Legs

Weapon section

Outer armor removal shot

Frame shots

Head section

MG Gundam Epyon - Arm frame — once you remove the forearm armor, there's nothing to hold the hand in place.. so unfortunately

Arm frame
Once you remove the forearm armor, there's nothing to hold the hand in place..
So unfortunately you can't attach the hand while it's in frame-only state.

Back frame

MG Gundam Epyon - Leg frame. Great sense of depth. (1/4)

MG Gundam Epyon - Leg frame. Great sense of depth. (2/4)

Leg frame. Great sense of depth.

Articulation in frame-only state is excellent.

Thigh slide gimmick

MG Gundam Epyon - Unlike most modern kits.. there's no hip slide gimmick. Probably cut because the transformation gimmick at

Unlike most modern kits.. there's no hip slide gimmick.
Probably cut because the transformation gimmick at the hip is already so complex..

Interestingly, the shin section below the knee moves in two stages.

MG Gundam Epyon - In frame-only state, the shoulders fold forward nearly 180 degrees. Of course, once you put the armor on, t

In frame-only state, the shoulders fold forward nearly 180 degrees.
Of course, once you put the armor on, there's no way it'll do that ^^;

MG Gundam Epyon - Frame kneeling pose (1/3)

Frame kneeling pose

About half of the outer armor pieces also have interior molding detail on them.

Cockpit hatch open.
It only opens a tiny little bit.. must be pretty cramped getting in there..

The swappable finger parts unique to the MG Wing series.

A unique shield with a long heat rod attached

The heat rod is pretty well made —
you can bend and straighten it freely..

MG Gundam Epyon - Push the connector inward and it locks straight; you have to pull it back outward again for each segment to

Push the connector inward and it locks straight;
you have to pull it back outward again for each segment to move on its ball joints.

MG Gundam Epyon - If you try to force it to bend while the connector is still pushed in... the connector can break easily, ju

If you try to force it to bend while the connector is still pushed in... the connector can break easily, just like in the photo above — so be careful T_T
As you can see, I broke one myself.. if you look closely at the review photos, the heat rod is missing one segment.
(Heh, you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't said anything, right?)

The shield mount moves flexibly in two stages to accommodate the transformation.

The beam sword that attaches to the right side skirt...

You split it into top and bottom halves, then insert the wire core and beam parts to use it.

Action base adapters are included for both Mobile Suit and Mobile Armor modes.

1/100 Zechs Merquise figure with a display stand

MG Gundam Epyon - Articulation is quite good overall, but the front skirt puts a fair amount of restriction on hip articulati

Articulation is quite good overall,
but the front skirt puts a fair amount of restriction on hip articulation.

MG Gundam Epyon - The shoulders can come forward about this far. In frame-only state the joint folds nearly 180 degrees which

The shoulders can come forward about this far.
In frame-only state the joint folds nearly 180 degrees which is incredible.. so it's a bit of a shame;;

Wing elevation angle

MG Gundam Epyon - Pull the wing tip outward and two structures on the upper wing automatically pop out; push the tip back in

Pull the wing tip outward and two structures on the upper wing automatically pop out;
push the tip back in and they fold away on their own — a fun linked gimmick.

The wings can also be folded all the way back.

Because the shin section below the knee moves in two stages,
it helps a little more when posing.

Action pose 1.

MG Gundam Epyon - Action pose 2. Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall. (1/8)

MG Gundam Epyon - Action pose 2. Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall. (2/8)

MG Gundam Epyon - Action pose 2. Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall. (3/8)

MG Gundam Epyon - Action pose 2. Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall. (4/8)

MG Gundam Epyon - Action pose 2. Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall. (5/8)

MG Gundam Epyon - Action pose 2. Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall. (6/8)

Action pose 2.
Even with all that stuff hanging off it, the joints hold up pretty well overall.

MG Gundam Epyon - Heat rod action. (1/5)

MG Gundam Epyon - Heat rod action. (2/5)

MG Gundam Epyon - Heat rod action. (3/5)

Heat rod action.

Transformation

Remove the hand, raise the arm 90 degrees, then flip up the claws on the front of the forearm.

Raise the rear skirt and pull the mount outward.

Fully extend the entire hip joint like that and swing it back.

Then rotate the legs 180 degrees and fold them up against the back.

It ends up looking like the waist is bent 180 degrees backward, almost like a yoga pose.

Lower the legs further down and spread open the mouth section at the tips of the feet.

Raise the wings that were sitting along the front of the shins straight up.

Tidy up the gap left where the hip joint pulled out to the back by rearranging the skirts back into place..

MG Gundam Epyon - The beam sword that was mounted on the side skirt gets plugged into the underside of the shield. In practic

The beam sword that was mounted on the side skirt gets plugged into the underside of the shield.
In practice it also serves to support the tail from drooping downward in MA mode.

Plug the shield and heat rod into the hip area and the transformation is complete!

The Mobile Armor form, transformed into a bird-like shape with two dragon heads.

MG Gundam Epyon - Views from various angles (1/6)

MG Gundam Epyon - Views from various angles (2/6)

MG Gundam Epyon - Views from various angles (3/6)

MG Gundam Epyon - Views from various angles (4/6)

Views from various angles

Underside

Together with the MG Wing Zero Custom.

Together with the Deathscythe Hell Custom.

Together with the EW version Wing Gundam.
As you can see, Epyon is noticeably bulkier.

Straight build

Gundam Epyon has been released as the next entry in the ongoing MG Wing series.
Going purely by popularity, I would've expected something like Heavyarms or Tallgeese to come first,
so this is a bit of a surprise. On top of that, the design is so different that the shared MG Wing series frame
couldn't be reused, making this a 100% newly designed kit — which makes the decision to release it now
all the more puzzling. ^^;;

It's also released under the title Gundam Epyon EW (Endless Waltz),
but the thing is, Epyon doesn't actually appear in the Endless Waltz OVA —
it's from the TV series. Even so, the reason they slapped the EW title on it is probably..
similar to the earlier MG Wing Gundam EW, it should be taken as a kind of Ver.Ka,
refined by Katoki Hajime. (Which might explain why, like a Ver.Ka, the amount of decals and
seals is pretty substantial ㅡ_ㅡ;;)

So yes, this kit has quite a few questionable points about its origins..
but the overall quality really does give you that "this is MG through and through!!" feeling.
First off, whenever you see a kit with big wings or a heavy backpack, joint strength is always a concern —
but Epyon's joints are neither too loose nor too stiff across the board, and it stands up nice and straight
even with the wings fully spread. The wings are long enough that you could use them as ground supports
like with the MG Wing EW kit, but this one actually holds its pose properly with the wings lifted off the ground too.

So while the waist and leg joints are fine, there is an issue where the shoulder joints are a bit weak
when you're working with the large heat rod, causing it to droop downward. Though to be fair,
the heat rod's structure and weight do make it physically difficult to support; The limb articulation
is also quite good otherwise, so poses on the action base come out nicely — though the front skirt
feels like it gets in the way of hip articulation quite a bit, which is a little disappointing.
Also, with other kits the front and rear skirts sometimes pop off the body, but with Epyon
the skirts themselves stay on fine — it's the armor pieces that attach to the front and back of the skirts
that keep falling off, which gets a little annoying. That said, a dab of glue fixes it right away,
so it's not a huge deal.

This wasn't in the original show, but for the MG release a new linked wing gimmick has been added —
pull the lower wing section downward and the two upper structures spread open automatically.
Push the lower wing back up and they close on their own, which is a fun little gimmick.
The mechanism itself is clever, but it does feel a bit stiff, and the more you work it
the more you get this nagging feeling that something might snap.

If I had to pick the most MG-worthy point of this kit, it'd be the Heat Rod — every single segment is properly articulated. It's the first Heat Rod we've seen in quite a while since the Gouf line (Epyon had one too, right? Or was it BT?..), and it's both incredibly stylish and has great gimmicks. The rod is made up of 10 segments total, and if you push each joint inward, you can lock the Heat Rod straight. When you want to pose it, just pull the segments out slightly and you can flex and fix it however you like. In short, it's got this perfect balance of flexibility and rigidity — though one thing to watch out for is that the joints can snap pretty easily if you force them. As you can see in the review photos above, it looked a bit sketchy so I tried bending it around on purpose, and then... snap — (very easily) broke T_T (That's why if you look at the review photos, the Heat Rod only has nine segments ;;)

As for the beam sword, it faithfully recreates the design using an unusually thick wire core and beam parts — though the wire is so thick it's honestly a bit overwhelming;; It really didn't need to be that chunky... On the plus side, the thick core does mean it holds its position really solidly, so there's that.

The transformation into the two-headed dragon-shaped Mobile Armor is also faithfully reproduced. The gimmick where you fold the hip joints 180 degrees and lock them onto the back feels pretty nice. The dragon's mouth, formed by spreading open the soles of the feet, looks quite realistic too — so even though the transformation itself is simple, this kit still manages to feel surprisingly fresh.

Anyway, it's a curious kit that got released ahead of others even at the cost of dropping the shared Wing series frame — but thanks to that, it definitely has a fresh feel and seems like a slight step up in quality as well. Maybe because I wasn't expecting much, I found myself going "oh hey, not bad at all!" It's a solid kit that lets you enjoy the polished quality of the latest MG releases — as long as you don't have any issues with its un-Gundam-like appearance :-)

MG OZ-13MS Gundam Epyon
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	The forearm armor is molded in one solid piece — clean and tidy, just like you'd expect from a modern kit.
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	The molded colors are a bit lacking, but the precise color separation is quite impressive.
Proportions	★★★★★	Feels plenty MG-worthy. The solid, sturdy build is a big plus.
Articulation	★★★★★	For a kit with a transformation mechanism, the articulation is pretty impressive.
Joint Strength	★★★★★	Despite those big wings, it doesn't feel unstable at all! Very good.
Internal Frame	★★★★★	A proper full-body frame.
Detail	★★★★★	The frame is a bit plain, but the exterior detail is more than refined enough.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	The Heat Rod's flexibility and rigidity are outstanding. Gorgeous wings too.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★☆	320 parts total. 66.7 parts per ¥1,000. Decent enough value...
Uniqueness	★★★★★☆	A whole different level of upgrade compared to the existing MG Wing series.
Dalong's Point : 99 pts.

MG Gundam Epyon | 2011. 6 | ¥5,200

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.