Wings
Of all the individual components that make up the Gundam Epyon, the wings are the part I was most excited to build. They’re unlike anything I’ve personally encountered before. Yes, even the Wing Zero’s boosters don’t quite compare in size or shape. After all, the Epyon’s wings are as tall as the mobile suit itself, and are made up of several separate components which are woven together to make an appendage that appears multi-layered and intricate. I couldn’t wait to see exactly how they are made.
As is the running theme of this build, the answer is “the process is complex, and not as fun as I had hoped”. The way it works is that the bottom of each wing is sandwiched between the pieces that make up the middle, with the middle then sandwiched between the parts that make up the top. The pieces aren’t entirely flush when they’re correctly assembled, so it isn’t obvious that everything is properly aligned and attached. The only way to be sure is to invoke the gimmick which allows each wing to spread out. If all the pieces move and slide around without the wing falling apart, then you did it right. Just make sure you move each section of the wing in the proper order, otherwise you might break something (or at least encounter an unnerving amount of resistance).
In terms of more standard articulation, the wings move forward and backward, as well as up and down.
Final Unit
To my complete surprise, I actually dig the look of the fully assembled Epyon, even more than the Wing Zero.
On one hand, there are ways in which it is the most traditional of the Gundam Wing mobile suit designs. Take away the wings and some of the more ornate flourishes, and what you’re left with is a fairly traditional looking Gundam with an inverted color scheme.
On the other hand, those flourishes are there, including the giant wings, the spikes, and the beam sword that is inexplicably large and unrealistically shaped (in the sense that it has a shape that is something other than “Beam of light”). These elements are present, and they cannot be denied. And I wouldn’t want to deny them anyway, as I think they are important to the whole look. The Epyon takes that traditional Gundam design and slaps a bunch of crazy on top of it, and in the world of Gundam Wing, where the Gundam-type mobile suits are absurdly powerful, that level of crazy is exactly what’s needed.
Think of it this way. The Epyon fights with nothing but melee weapons, and according to various online sources, this is a deliberate design choice, due to it being the more “honorable” method of combat. We know this is crazy, but this is Gundam Wing, where crazy reigns supreme. And if even if it is crazy, at least this particular mobile suit goes all in. Imagine you were an enemy pilot, and you get attacked by this mobile suit that looks kind of like a devil and kind of like a dragon. It’s moving at a high speed, holding a giant whip and a laser sword as large as your actual mobile suit. Now keep in mind that you’ve only ever had experience fighting against, other normal looking mobile suits using conventional weapons. Would you or would you not shit your pants at the sight of such a crazy flippin’ enemy?
In a weird way, the Epyon’s design might actually be a benefit for it in combat. And even if that’s a huge stretch, I can still appreciate its willingness to double down on the motif.
That’s not something I can say about the other Gundams. They too fight mostly with melee weapons, but they don’t do anything - either visually or technically - to appear more threatening or intimidating. They are more threatening simply because the writers deem them to be. The only exception to the rule is the Wing Zero. It has a standard mix of weapons (rifle, melee and shield) and its thrusters give it a sense of speed. It looks like something that can mess you up. The Epyon, meanwhile, looks weird and unpredictable. The other Gundams are just … there. And that’s not very interesting to me.
We’ll take a closer look at the final model in the final post. For now, I’ll leave you with this nighttime action pose (which is surpisingly more grainy than I thought it was).
