Note: Click here to see Part 1 of this experiment in writing.
Cee: In our last meeting I told you that I may be able to change the way you think of Gundam Wing’s mobile suit designs via Gunpla. Are you ready to begin?
Em: Let us see what you have to show me.
Cee: To start, allow us to examine some kits you are already familiar with - the Master Grade Wing Proto Zero, and the Master Grade Gundam Epyon EW.
Em: I first encountered these many years ago. I honestly forgot about them until now, but you are correct - I am fond of them.
Cee: What is it about them that appeals to you?
Em: Both of these models were redesigned by mecha designer Hajima Katoki, and I am generally a fan of his work and visual aesthetic. I think he had some particularly inspired ideas here. In regards to the Wing Zero, the legs are made longer and the torso thinner (and slightly longer). This works because the thrusters on the back are so long. This gives the top and bottom halves roughly equal length, so to speak, which gives it a more even look. What’s more, the thrusters themselves are given a clearer shape and color scheme; you can easily discern them from the boy. Lastly, the gem in the chest is made smaller, which I appreciate, as I always considered it a bit of tacky ornamentation. The only thing I disapprove of is that the Buster Rifle is a bit too long in comparison to the body. All in all, it is a huge improvement over the original TV show design.
Cee: And what of the Epyon?
Em: My memories of the Epyon in the show boil down to two takeaways. First, it always looked too … busy. Second, it reminded me of what you would get if you asked an angsty teenager to design a Gundam.
This kit makes some needed changes. It adds a stronger sense of color separation, and also adds details that were simply lacking on the show. The biggest changes, however, are to the proportions. The wings are much larger, as is its whip. This is important for the purposes of selling the Epyon. This is supposed to be a mobile suit that looks like a winged demon screaming toward you at lightning speeds brandishing a long, nasty-looking weapon. This model delivers on that concept.
I would also say that the model benefits from simply being in three dimensions. Like with the Wing Zero, the wings on the Epyon are much more obviously visually separate from the main body. This is much easier to observe in person than via the crude drawings shown in the show.
Cee: Considering your fondness for these models, I am surprised to hear you say you “forgot” about them. I would have thought their quality would have convinced you to reconsider Wing’s mecha designs years ago.
Em: Keep in mind that Master Grade model kits are something of a rarity for me. In fact, these are the only two I have any personal experience with. I had no interest in seeking more MG’s out, as I prefer smaller sized models like High Grades and Real Grades. In this realm, there are not all that many modern kits from Gundam Wing.
Cee: Until now, that is. A lot has changed in just a few short years. For instance, let us consider this Real Grade kit of the Tallgeese.
Em: We never had a chance to talk about this in our last disucssion, but when I watched Gundam Wing as a lad, I almost genuinely liked the Tallgeese. It was the one of the only mobile suits that the show really tried to sell. It devotes several episodes to showing how dangerously fast it is, but once again the animation and visual quality fail it. The show told me it was fast, but I did not see it on the screen.
This model, however, is tremendous. Look at the back shot; the amount of thrusters is staggering. That one single photo is enough to sell me on its power. Looking at the front, I feel as if its Dober Gun looks much larger than in the show. Seeing this, I have no doubts that a slug from this weapon might penetrate the armor of a Gundam. Lastly, something about this model does a better job of selling the Tallgeese’s visual motif of a Roman Centurion/Greek Hoplite. It was always there in the show, but now it feels much more obvious.
Cee: I believe the reason why comes down to the weapons. They are bigger, and thus look much more like the round shield and spear brandished by an ancient solider. Combined with plume of its helmet, the motif is complete.
Now, let us move on to another model, one that only came out last year - The High Grade Gundam Sandrock.
Em: I must admit that of the five Gundams in Gundam Wing, the Sandrock was my least favorite. It looked too much like Deathscythe (my favorite as a teenager), and it seemed to be the least useful by far. And yet looking at this model … this is stunning. I cannot believe it. My rational brain knows that this model uses the exact same parts as in the TV show, yet my emotional brain cannot believe this is the same mobile suit.
Cee: I can tell you exactly why you feel this way. While it is true that the parts are true to the show, the proportions are not. The shoulder armor is angled further upward, and the camera on the head is much thinner and taller. The chest is more compact, and the skirt armor longer.
Em: Yes, you are correct. I feel as if the head and shoulders have a much more regal look. This Sandrock looks like a general wearing ceremonial armor.
Cee: There is more. The colors on this kit are much brighter, the yellow in particular. It helps immediately draw the eye to the shield, which stands out quite a bit more here than in the show. The idea of a shield-as-snake-head is silly in animation, but in person it looks genuinely vicious.
Em: If Bandai can do miracles with the Sandrock, I find myself genuinely interested in what they might do with the other Gundams in the future.
Cee: Let us move on to the Sandrock’s comrade in arms - the High Grade Maganac.
Em: Until now, if you had asked me to describe the Maganac from memory, I do not think I could. In my mind it was that unmemorable. And yet seeing this I find myself wondering how I could forget such a beautiful grunt mobile suit.
Cee: Once again, these model kits do these designs proper justice.
Em: The Maganac here is a stark reminder of an important lesson we often forget - Gundam mobile suit designs do not have to be so cookie cutter. They can use weird shapes and color palettes. The chest resembles an octagon with the top cut off, and the entire upper torso is a bit reminiscent of the Megazord from the original Power Rangers (without looking quite as tacky). I do not wish to see this particular shape more often, but I would like to see more shapes in use in general. As for the color, you rarely ever see brown in any Gundam design, nor do you see brown and tan and orange all at once. This may only be a grunt unit, but it has a sense of spark and originality that I find vital.
Cee: I have one more model to show you - the High Grade Leo.
Em: The Leo is based on the design of the Tallgeese, which means it was another design that I almost liked back in the day. One of my favorite things about it is that it looks as if it is wearing a hat. It reminds me of the kind of hat once worn by soldiers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
However this Leo kit might actually look worse than the crudely drawn mecha we saw in the TV show. For one, the brim of its “hat” looks much shorter, which robs it of its visual effect. Furthermore, the legs are much too wide and much too rounded in comparison to the upper body. Lastly, I would say that the model would look tremendously better with a more matte finish. The shine and sheen of the plastic there makes it look far too toylike.
Cee: I was prepared to disagree with you, but I now see your point. I would like to add that the machine gun far too greatly resembles a paint gun, or the kind of device cartoon characters use to kill insects.
In any case, it appears that you found only one of these model kits to be substandard. Is it fair to say that your opinion on these mobile suit designs has, on a whole, improved?
Em: I believe it would be disingenuous for me to answer “no” at this point. I assert that it is unlikely my mind will change about all of them, but these kits find ways of bringing out the spirit and the emotions these designs are meant to evoke. What’s more, I appreciate how different they are from the standard design tropes of the mobile suits of the Universal Century timeline. I believe these will require further examination.
Cee: laughing my friend, I wish you good luck in your journey of rediscovery.