So far, the pattern with GWitch kits is that they look surprisingly bad as out of the box builds, but look quite good with a little bit (or a lot) of TLC. We already established that the Dilanza looked cheap and toylike out of the box, but how does it look up with some panel lining, color correction, and a truckload of decals?
Pretty darn good I’d say!
I know I often remark about how one kit or another goes from looking “cheap and plasticky” to beautiful after a matte coat. But it’s really true here. Some how it manages to make this plastic look particularly textured. It’s a fantastic look.
And then you combine it with panel lining (which makes it look more intricate and parts separated than it actually is):
And color correction (which gives it a greater sense of depth and detail):
And the waterslide decals on top of all that:
And you’re left with something that looks like a genuine piece of heavy machinery.
Articulation
I may have reservations about the C-Clip joints, but they’re certainly effective in terms of range. The only thing that gets in the way of this model’s articulation is its bulk. And even then, it manages to impress. Here are some of the things it can do:
It even has a good ankle bend, and a toe bend:
Gimmicks
Aside from the ability to swap between the two different types of Dilanza, the only other gimmick is that you can store the weapons on the inside of the shields:
It doesn’t make a ton of sense considering the mobile suit lacks the cross body range it needs to grab the weapon out with its right hand. I guess you can have it twist its left arm around to grab it:
Also, the gun looks rather silly on account of how far it sticks out:
Lauda’s Dilanza
Again, swapping between the two versions is very easy, since all the parts pop on and off without any fuss:
I assumed I’d prefer the look of the standard type, but now I think I like this one better. The single shoulder shield on the standard type is too small relative to the size of the body, making it look more ornamental than useful.
On the other hand, while I don’t love the shape of the shields on Lauda’s unit, I do like how big they are. They look protective, and they also make an already bulky mobile suit that much bulkier. They really just plus up the whole thing:
Since we now have two shoulder shields, we can holster both weapons at the same time. Unfortunately, they don’t look any less goofy:
Moving on, I like the look of the head crest. Yes, the one on the standard unit resembles the classic antenna fin on a Zaku II Commander Type, but the one on Lauda’s unit looks so much like a beetle’s horn:
Finally, I think the little fin on the backpack adds a lot. It makes the unit look that much speedier:
(Non Axe) Action Poses
Just as I feared, the beam rifle is a bit too small and puny looking for an MS of this size:
On its own, it just doesn’t look very threatening:
I suppose it’s a bit less of a problem with the Beam Torch:
But overall I think this Gunpla benefits from two things:
- Dual wielding its non-axe weapons
- Poses where it looks like it’s in motion
Dual Wielding just makes it look more lethal, while in-motion poses tend to take the focus away from the weapons and towards the body as a whole.
But even though some of these poses look better, it still feels like it’s missing something …
Axe Poses
The axe just looks cool, even in basic standing poses:
But this mobile suit is too bulky, and lacks enough cross body range, to easily do two handed attack poses.
Now, it’s entirely possible that I screwed up the assembly of the shoulder joint, such that it should be able to pivot further out from the torso, but looking at this shot, I don’t think that’s the case:
This is as far forward/out I can move it. The shoulder isn’t quite butting up to the torso, but it’s close, so even if it had more range it wouldn’t matter. I’m pretty sure this is the best the model can do.
All of which is to say that I just didn’t get a lot of poses with the axe:
And in the end, the best, I think the one handed poses ended up looking the best anyways:
Conclusion
I’m not sure where I stand on this model, or really all of these Dilanza models.
On one hand, I think this kit ultimately came out looking amazing. But between cheep-feeling engineering, the seam lines, the lack of holding hands, and the lack of crucial upper body articulation, my opinion is that this model - and arguably the entire GWitch line - succeeds in spite of itself.
They feel cheap in a way that even actually cheap High Grades don’t, despite the fact that most shops charge premium prices for them. They’ve all been saved by the fact that, once they’re finished, most of them have all looked pretty great.
But what if they didn’t? Or what if other, future kits don’t? I’m not sure if the GWitch line is vision of the future of High Grades, but I’d be worried if it is. After years of seeing HG’s get better engineering, better articulation, more gimmicks, etc, I don’t want to slowly drift into a future where I’m removing more seamlines than a 2002-era kit, while paying twice the price.
But enough griping for now. The kit still looks greaat, I’ve got two more Dilanzas to build, so let’s see how that goes. Let’s go.
Other Thoughts
After all this rigorous posing, some of the joints are already getting loose. I expected it to happen eventually, but not that quickly. What the hell Bandai?