Review : Gunpla SD EX

Gunpla SD EX! This is where I start my Gunpla craze. Was in a toy shop at a mall that day and saw this small box of Gundam Destiny. So I decided to buy and gave it a try. Stopped by at a restaurant, ordered some food and started to assemble. Just could not stop myself for the next 1.5 hour, having so much fun. Cutting off the runners with just finger twisting and following the instruction. In the end, this guy showed up!

The guy who started my Gunpla hobby, Destiny Gundam SD EX

Up to now I have four Gunpla SD EX. Pose it up guys!

Clockwise : Wing Zero, Destiny, Astray Red Frame, Unicorn Destroy Mode

For this review, I will just combine them in one post since all of them almost having the same building and pose-ability experience. A bit different on the visual and accessory but that's just about it. Even helped my six-year-old daughter making one (Gundam Wing), and to surprise me, she did quite well. Helped her on applying the decals since its quite tricky to get it straight.

So for all SD EX I will give the same score for Poseability (6) and Crafting (6).

Destiny Gundam

Flying Destiny!

I like how he looks. His Gundam face is one of the best and those wings look nice on the deformed size. Bundled with beam riffle and sword makes him more likeable. Always fond of Gundam using melee weapon, although the weapons are just solid blue. So I tried to make it a little better by using Gundam Marker. A very rough result though...

Painted the sword with Gundam Marker, not the best result I must say

My only gripe is since the first day I completed him, is that his hands keep falling off easily. Not too sure is it manufacturing defect or because I made a mistake in building it. This is my first Gunpla after all.

Combine all that accessory and you got one cool weapon

Score:
Visual : 8
Accessories : 7

Gundam Astray Red Frame

This guy is awesome

The Astray Red Frame really catch my attention visually, in the nondeformed size that is. Looks sleek and cool with its white and red color, and just can't go wrong with the Katana as the weapon. For the SD EX it doesn't disappoint. With a nice combination of red and white color with a bit of black in the body and foot.

The Katana was just white, so I tried to paint it out with a Silver Metallic Gundam Marker. Somehow the marker color disappoints me and didn't get the result that I want. Bandai also provided the sheath where you can insert the Katana. This is a nice add on. The shield is also a nice accessory to have even though I prefer to pose this guy without it.

Score:
Visual : 8
Accessories : 7

Unicorn Gundam

Gundam Unicorn in Destroy Mode also caught my attention in no time (not so for the not Destroy Mode). The combination of white and red parts is a feast at the eyes. But because of it, this guy has plenty of stickers for an SD EX. But the end result doesn't disappoint! A clean white with red markings, pretty sleek I say.

But not so for the accessories. The shield looks good with red decals, even on the inside part! But the weapon provided is only a rifle beam. Maybe this is the only weapon the Unicorn has since I haven't watch the movie. But would love to have more accessory for this guy.

Score:
Visual : 7
Accessories : 6

Wing Gundam Zero EW

Honestly, I'm not a fan of Gundam Wing Zero. A robot with wings like this just doesn't suit my taste. So actually I bought this kit for my six-year-old daughter who wants to try to build a Gunpla, and with guts tell me that the wings would actually be her main interest.

My first impression is that the Wing Zero has more decals to cover body parts compare to my other SD EX (notice the blue ears and shoulders). Even the shoulder consist of two parts of decals which is quite tricky to perfectly line up. Made a mistake and had a small gap on it.

The wings can be positioned on the side or to be open up on the back by repositioning it. This gives it a more flexibility in poses which surprises me because this guy actually has a better pose-ability than I expected.

The backpack which holds the wings tends to fall off quite often. Maybe this is due to the sheer weight of the wings, quite annoying when you try to pose and take pictures of it. The other accessory provided is the huge long gun. I quite like it compare to standard beam rifle used by other Gundams.

Score:
Visual : 7
Accessories : 7

Wrapping it up, I think all SD EX have pretty much the same fun factor in building and posing it. Nothing too serious but still looks cool and proportionate. All have the same issue where the joints fall off quite easily when you try to pose it. But still, I would highly recommend it for all people who wants to try to start creating their own Gunpla!

Okey guys, let's do some pose!