SD Gundam World Heros Shining Grasper Dragon

Release 2022.8

Price ¥900First release price: ¥700

BANDAI BANDAI Japan product info

Runners

Parts diagram

SD Shining Grasper Dragon - Manual (1/3)

Manual

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

SD Shining Grasper Dragon - This kit has no stickers at all. (1/3)

This kit has no stickers at all.

The arms and legs have some seriously bad sink marks. -_-;

The arms and legs are single solid parts, so the knees and elbows don't move.

Mouth and wing articulation

SD Shining Grasper Dragon - Some aerial poses (1/3)

Some aerial poses

SD Shining Grasper Dragon - Together with the SD Gunma Knight World version. The color schemes are nearly identical, and they

Together with the SD Gunma Knight World version.
The color schemes are nearly identical, and they both share the common trait of being rideable mounts.

Together with the SD Knight Strike Gundam.
It's noticeably bigger than a typical SD kit.

You can attach a joint part on top of the tail to seat other SD kits.

SD Shining Grasper Dragon - SD Knight Strike Gundam riding on top. The joint part keeps it locked in nice and secure. (1/3)

SD Knight Strike Gundam riding on top.
The joint part keeps it locked in nice and secure.

SD Shining Grasper Dragon - SD Knight Strike Gundam + Shining Grasper Dragon collab action poses (1/3)

SD Knight Strike Gundam + Shining Grasper Dragon collab action poses

--- SD Gundam World Heroes — General Notes -----------------
This is a TV anime series produced in 2021 as a follow-up to Sangoku Soketsuden, and just as the title "World Heroes" suggests, it draws inspiration from heroes across different eras. The plastic model line follows the same concept as Soketsuden, and even reuses the same shared frame runners from that series. On top of that, the way all the parts are structured and the feel of the plastic are identical, so it's really not much of a stretch to just call these the same Sangoku Soketsuden series kits rather than a true successor line.

Like the Sangoku Soketsuden kits, these are made at a Chinese factory rather than Bandai's Shizuoka plant, and the plastic still feels hard and stiff to assemble. That said, the intricate molding and color separation deliver a great straight build right out of the box, and the price feels pretty reasonable for what you get.
------------------------------------------------------

This kit is the SD Shining Grasper Dragon, released as No. 26 in the SD Gundam World Heroes line. Like the SD Gunma, it's a rideable mount-type kit — only this time it's a dragon instead of a horse. You can build a pretty convincing SD dragon with a surprisingly small number of parts.

Since the part count is low, the arms and legs come as single solid pieces with only basic one-axis rotation where they connect to the body. Even so, the size and overall style make the action poses look pretty decent. On the downside, the sink marks on the arms and legs are pretty rough, and the complete lack of seals means the intended color scheme isn't fully represented — which is a bit of a shame.

You can plug the included joint part into the tail to seat an SD Gundam on top, and it holds on nice and firm thanks to that joint. It looks fine displayed on its own, but it really shines when you pose an SD Gundam riding on it. In particular, it pairs really well with the SD Knight Strike Gundam, just like the manual suggests.

All in all, this is a unique SD kit with the fun concept of a rideable dragon mount, and if you're a fan of SD Gundam World Heroes, it's definitely worth picking up. :-)

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.