We’re back and on to the legs.
This section of the build has you tackle the largest piece you’ve encountered so far, as well as the largest set of gate marks! The armor for the ankles sure look like they were designed to protect that joint.
You’ll need a steady hand and a bit of effort to smoothly remove those nubs but once that is done you’re essentially finished with that part of the kit.
After that you start on the actual assembly of the legs, and because Bandai has engineered this kit to transform into its ‘Bird Mode’ there are quite a few smaller parts which are used to make that transformation possible. The knee alone is assembled using five small, moving pieces. The reason for this will become clear once you make your first attempt at transforming this unique kit.
From there you move onto the upper leg frame which is simple enough, however, rather unique to this kit is the fact that the two pieces are not the same. This means that you won’t see a seam line in the usual places you would on other kits the one seam line you do see may be difficult to remove. As I’m not planning on doing any seam line removal for this build this point is moot for me.
Throw that together with the knee part you previously assembled and the frame pieces for the lower leg…
and you get this interestingly articulated leg.
The lower leg frame is rather unique and something I have not encountered before. The standard poly-cap which is used to attach to the ankle is there, of course, but that poly-cap connects to the leg frame by a rather thin and fragile looking hook.
This leaves your leg frame looking a little contradictory. The upper frame seems robust and sturdy while the lower leg look fragile.
However, the frame build doesn’t end there. Several other pieces of frame are attached to the lower leg securing the hook, supporting it tightly from each side.
It’s here where the only thrusters on the MG Wing Gundam are attached.
And then comes the armor pieces. It’s interesting to note that this part of the manual has you building both legs at the same time and there is no differentiation yet between the left and right legs. That comes later.
Bandai has molded the leg frame parts with the vents on the knees extended out making coloring with paint or Gundam marker a simple endeavor. Thanks, Bandai!
When you reach this part of the build you will have to identical, flexible legs.
It’s here where the manual separates the building of the right leg from the left, however, the only difference between the right and left leg is the upper thigh armor which is designed to allow the hip joint to attach to the skirt. Grab your previously assembled feet and ankles and away you go.
Two gorgeous looking, well-designed, flexible legs!
I find the legs to be well designed when it comes to assembly, seam lines, and panel lines. There are already some panel lines molded into the armor parts and the kit is designed that the seam lines work well with those panel lines. There’s a certain flow to the form of the legs that appeals to me. But then again, I’m a sucker for giant robots.
The skirt assembly is pretty standard as far as Master Grade kits go, however, there are a couple of unique looking poly-caps used.
Again, thanks to Bandai for the raised vents!
The front and rear skirts armor attach easily and are very maneuverable thanks to ball joints, and greatly enhances the kit’s ability to strike some impressive poses.
The side skirts on this kit are quite a departure from the norm, but this is because these side pieces will need to change position during the transformation process. These pieces have a large range of motion up and down, but almost none side to side.
When you reach this point your MG Wing Gundam should look like this (or better)
And here is the magic piece. The piece that connects the lower body from the upper body. When you first remove it from the runner it will look like this.
Bandai has you snip, snip, snip, snip (Yup, four times in total) and remove some unnecessary plastic leaving this, which plugs into its armor piece.
And now I present to you, the MG Wing Gundam minus its wings. That’s next time!
raikal72
The Wing Gundam is looking great. Are you just using your design knife to remove the nubs? Or are you also using a file and sandpaper? That ankle armor looks pretty good after you removed those large nubs. Awesome build.
Syd
Usually I will use sandpaper to remove the gate marks. I start with 400 grit and work down to 1000 grit and, if I want it really smooth, 1500 or 2000 grit. However, for this build I am just using my design knife to clean up the gate marks. There are some small scratches left over from the design knife but they are only really noticeable up close.