Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

SD Gundam Epyon - Photos after applying seals (1/2)

SD Gundam Epyon - Photos after applying seals (2/2)

After applying stickers

Beam saber & heat rod action

The heat rod's middle joint moves once.

SD Gundam Epyon - Heat rod action 2 (1/4)

SD Gundam Epyon - Heat rod action 2 (2/4)

Heat rod action 2

Articulation of the Epyon Claw on the forearm.

Two separate leg parts are included for the bird mode transformation.

First, detach the heat rod and the legs/feet..

Attach the feet to the bird mode leg parts.

Then plug the new legs into the back, and attach the heat rod to the rear like a tail.

SD Gundam Epyon - Extend the Epyon Claw on the front of the arms 180 degrees to form claws, and the transformation is complet

Extend the Epyon Claw on the front of the arms 180 degrees to form claws, and the transformation is complete.

Bird mode

Both wings can move forward and backward to a decent degree.

Together with SD Wing Gundam Zero.

Gundam Epyon, which appears in the latter half of the Gundam Wing TV anime, has been given the SD treatment. With only two molded colors, a hefty amount of seals are used to pull off the color scheme to some extent — but compared to Gundam Wing, which has pretty solid color separation in its own right, it does leave you wanting a little more. I guess that's just the difference between a main character's suit and a supporting one?

When you think of Gundam Epyon, the whip-like heat rod and the bird mode transformation probably come to mind right away — and this kit delivers both in a convincing way. In the original design, the legs fold back and up, but since this is SD and the legs are just too short (^.^), the transformation is handled by removing the legs and feet and plugging in separate leg parts onto the back instead.

The bird mode look is a bit chubby and goofy — but then again, maybe that's exactly what makes SD so charming. The Epyon Claw on the forearms and the wide forward-and-backward range of motion on the wings are both movements you don't often see on your average SD kit.

Overall, it does a great job of capturing Epyon's powerful, imposing look in SD form, and there's no noticeable hollowing-out to speak of, which is a nice touch. The quality is clearly a step up from the SD kit of Gundam X that came out just before it — maybe because Epyon was just more popular in the anime? Either way, if you were a fan of Epyon, this is definitely an SD kit worth having fun with. :-)

SD Gundam Epyon | 2000.7 | ¥400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.