Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body and head

Back section

Legs

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Wings and weapon section (1/3)

Wings and weapon section

Outer armor removed

Internal frame

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Detailed frame shots. It's a full-body frame, but the detail is on the simpler side. (1/4)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Detailed frame shots. It's a full-body frame, but the detail is on the simpler side. (2/4)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Detailed frame shots. It's a full-body frame, but the detail is on the simpler side. (3/4)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Detailed frame shots. It's a full-body frame, but the detail is on the simpler side. (4/4)

Frame detail shots.
It's a full-body frame, but the detail is on the simpler side.

Frame articulation is A++ grade.

The waist is reasonably flexible too..

The shoulders only have a forward-swing gimmick.

Thanks to the excellent frame articulation,
poses like kneeling come out very naturally.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Frame action pose (1/3)

Frame action pose

The detail inside the skirts is simple as well.

There's no inner molding on the exterior armor at all.

Cockpit hatch open and 1/100 Heero Yuy figure

Opening the machine cannon on top of the shoulder

The shield with impressive color separation.

The Twin Buster Rifle can be combined and separated.

A typical individual-finger hand is included.

A display stand originally included with the old Wing Gundam is bundled in.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Dedicated joint parts are provided separately for robot mode and bird mode, so compatibility with

Dedicated joint parts are provided separately for robot mode and bird mode,
so compatibility with the stand is excellent.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Limb articulation is good overall. The hip joint's range of motion is narrower compared to the ba

Limb articulation is good overall.
The hip joint's range of motion is narrower compared to the bare frame,
and the front skirts tend to pop off pretty easily, so raising the legs is a bit of a hassle.

The shoulders only rotate forward due to the machine cannon gimmick.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - The wings can open out to both sides as per the design, and the connecting joints move in two sta

The wings can open out to both sides as per the design,
and the connecting joints move in two stages.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - There's no slide armor on the thighs, but the knee parts separate and link together when you bend

There's no slide armor on the thighs,
but the knee parts separate and link together when you bend the knee.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - When raising the shoulder forward.. it tends to get caught on the wing attachment on the back and

When raising the shoulder forward.. it tends to get caught on the wing attachment on the back and doesn't go up very well.

The small wings on the side skirts are also articulated.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Posed with wings spread on the stand (1/4)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Posed with wings spread on the stand (2/4)

Posed with wings spread on the stand

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Twin Buster Rifle dual-direction firing pose (1/4)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Twin Buster Rifle dual-direction firing pose (2/4)

Twin Buster Rifle dual-direction firing pose

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Twin Buster Rifle combined firing pose (1/3)

Twin Buster Rifle combined firing pose

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

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

Beam saber action

Transformation

First, rotate the head and lower body 180 degrees,

then pull the shoulder armor outward and swing it down.

Rotate the ankles 180 degrees, open the cover on the back of the shin, and slide the feet in.

Pull out the knee to extend its length, then bend it as shown above.

Looking at the internal transformation gimmick in the legs — the default state looks like this.

Opening the cover on the back of the leg lets you push the ankle lock inward and slide it in.

Before (bottom) and after (top) transformation

Spread the wings out wide horizontally...

Pull out and spread the small wings that were tucked inside as well.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Extend the middle section of the shield and pull the small yellow wings outward. At this point, t

Extend the middle section of the shield and pull the small yellow wings outward.
At this point, the yellow wings have a linked gimmick so that moving one side automatically moves the other.

Remove the head cover gimmick from the bottom of the shield..

Separate the Twin Buster Rifle and remove the connecting pin from the back..

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Attach the shield to the backpack, fit the head cover over the back of the head, then plug the Tw

Attach the shield to the backpack and fit the head cover over the back of the head,
then plug the Twin Buster Rifle into both sides of the bottom of the shield.

Then pull the wing gimmick all the way back and spread it out wide — transformation complete.

Top and bottom views after transforming into Neo Bird Mode

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Displayed on the stand. (1/7)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Displayed on the stand. (2/7)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Displayed on the stand. (3/7)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Displayed on the stand. (4/7)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Displayed on the stand. (5/7)

Displayed on the stand.

Together with the MG Wing Gundam.
The overall quality and content feel very similar.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Straight build shots (1/4)

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero - Straight build shots (2/4)

Straight build shots

Following the Wing Gundam and Wing Zero Custom, Wing Zero has finally gotten the MG treatment too. The naming is a bit confusing though.. what we commonly call the Wing Zero Custom (Wing Gundam Zero Custom) has the official name of Wing Gundam Zero EW so the TV series-based Wing Zero ended up with the somewhat awkward name of Wing Gundam Proto Zero Well, anyway — true to its status as an upgraded Wing Gundam, the overall design, proportions, and color scheme are a bit more elaborate, though the build quality feels almost identical to the MG Wing Gundam that came out three years ago.

First off, the dense color separation on the wings, rifle, shield, and shoulders is really impressive. The fact that such a complex color combination comes together so nicely even in a straight build gives a great visual payoff. ^^ On top of that, while the detail is a bit plain, there's a full-body frame, and various gimmicks like the wing opening, shoulder machine cannon, and Twin Buster Rifle combination/separation are all faithfully reproduced.

The articulation is above average, allowing for reasonably dynamic poses, and the joint strength is solid enough overall that posing isn't a problem. That said, the front skirts don't lock in very securely and keep popping off every time you raise the hip joint, which gets a bit annoying. Also, after transforming into Neo Bird Mode, it's hard to keep the body locked in a straight line, and the front and back ends tend to droop slightly.

The transformation process isn't particularly complex by design, but the internal transformation gimmick in the legs is quite cleverly engineered. Opening and closing the locking gimmick on the back of the shin solves the stability issue that comes with extending and retracting the ankle section, and combined with the knee extension gimmick and the linked knee joint separation mechanism, the overall execution is more impressive than you'd expect — very satisfying.

To sum it all up, there's nothing seriously wrong with it, but nothing particularly special either — it's just a solid, straightforward MG. The color separation, articulation, joint strength, and detail are all decent enough, but none of them stand out enough to push past five stars, so the total score came out to 93 points, which isn't that high for a recent new release. ^^;; Being an old-school UC fan myself, I do tend to score non-UC kits a bit more harshly.. but it's also pretty clear that Bandai's developers put more of their energy into UC kits too...

One more thing — this MG Wing Zero Proto Zero definitely feels noticeably more expensive compared to other kits. It's priced at ¥4,800, which is a sudden ¥800 jump over the MG Wing Gundam from three years ago with a similar parts count. Even compared to recent MGs that have maintained prices around ¥4,000 despite having more parts and more volume, this one feels pricey. In that sense, it's going to end up being one of those MGs with slightly poor value for money.

That said, it's solid and good-looking enough that Wing Gundam series fans will have a great time with it, so I'd say the MG lineup for non-UC Gundams is coming along nicely. :-)

MG XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Proto Zero
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Seam lines minimized through armor panel splits along the design lines
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★★	Color separation carried through carefully on the shield, rifle, and wings
Proportions	★★★★★	Renewed proportions worthy of the MG line.
Articulation	★★★★☆	Not top-tier, but relatively natural.
Joint Strength	★★★★☆	Not the tightest joint strength, but reasonably solid.
Internal Frame	★★★★☆	Full-body frame is included, but the detail is quite simple.
Detail	★★★★★	Not the most intricate, but clean and refined detail.
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★	Faithful reproduction of the transformation gimmick and wings.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★	328 parts total. 68.3 parts per ¥1,000. Value for money suddenly took a hit?
Uniqueness	★★★★	It's MG-worthy, but just kind of... average.
Dalong's Point : 93 pts.

MG Wing Gundam Proto Zero | 2013. 10 | ¥4,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.