I’ve never understood why some Master Grades come in big square-ish boxes, while others come in what is essentially a really tall High Grade-shaped box. I’m not sure if the latter kind is used for simpler models, or if it is simply a different form factor.
I’m kind of leaning toward the former. While Sandrock appears to have roughly the same amount of runners as the Master Grade 3.0, some of them are smaller in size, meaning this undoubtedly uses fewer parts:
But let’s not really judge it until we’ve built it.
Shield
Inside of the shield we get these nifty little gears:
Clearly this is to ensure that when you plug the shotels in to create the Cross Crusher, the two blades can open and close in lockstep.
Eventually you attach a clear part on the inside of the shield, upon which you add the red decals for the eyes and the camera (yes, this shield has a camera decal, which is kind of interesting).
I didn’t get a picture of it, so you’ll have to settle for this snapshot of the instructions:
The inside of the shield doesn’t have too much detail, but that’s okay with me. That means less work:
One interesting thing about these Endless Waltz Master Grades is that they all seem to come with these big, stylized decals displaying the mobile suit’s model number, or the words “Operation Meteor”, or “Colonies Liberation Organization”. On some of the models - like the Wing Gundam Ver. Ka - there’s a dedicated place where you’re supposed to place them:
But as we see below, that’s not the case with Sandrock:
I guess that means you’re supposed to place them wherever you want, except you really can’t. The shield is the only part of the model that has the surface area needed to place some of these decals, and even then, you’ll have to bend it around the camera in the center. And that’s exactly what I did:
There is an argument to be made that these decals look a bit tacky, just as there is an argument to be made that it’s a bit silly to add model numbers and faction identifiers to a mobile suit that is supposed to engage in clandestine, guerilla operations. But that’s exactly the kind of silliness I expect from Gundam Wing, so I’m all for it.
Comparison to OG
This is going to be a recurring theme throughout this post, but in a lot of cases I don’t think one design is better than the other. They’re good in their own special ways.
That’s definitely the case with the shields:
I like that the original shield looks more like an actual snake’s head: from a purely decorative perspective I think it’s a better look. But I also like that the EW shield looks more like an actual shield, something that would be useful in combat. The OG is much too flat and small in comparison.
Shotels
Two notes about these. First, they’re massive. Like … really massive.
For the sake of comparison, the original shotels only reach up to Sandrock’s torso:
Meanwhile, the EW version is taller than the MG 3.0:
And since Wing’s mobile suits are shorter than others on average, I’m positive it will be taller than MG Sandrock as well.
(And just for fun, here is is next to HG Sandrock):
I think this is a big deal. One of the criticisms of Sandrock back in the old days was that it didn’t have any cool weapons, and I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that the shotels were relatively small (and looked even smaller on TV than they do on the High Grade).
Well, that and the fact that most of the other Gundams had some sort of cool beam weapon.
But what if you make the shotels longer than a mobile suit is tall? Now they’re undeniable. Beam weapon or not, who the f*ck is going to mess with that?
The other thing I like about these is how the handle is much longer, cradling the first third or so of the blade. It makes them look more … I dunno what the right word is … robotic? I just like it.
Comparison to OG
There’s no comparison here. Not only is the OG shotel shorter, but the handle is so small and simple. It lacks any sort of wow factor.
Beam Machine Gun
I’m really really glad that in the Endless Waltz timeline, baseline Sandrock had a gun. It’s that one little thing that really fleshes out its arsenal and makes it feel complete:
And on that note, it’s a really nice looking gun! I think the markings really add a lot to the look, and it has some nice surface details too.
Feet
Not much to say here. They’re pretty basic in shape and detail, and they don’t have many markings:
Granted, that’s how they look without the ankle guards. Once you add those, they look a bit better:
Comparison to OG
The shape is basically the same, but I think the ankle guards on the MG look better with that bit of yellow.
Legs
Most (all?) of these Gundam Wing Master Grade kits use the same inner frame, which explains why this one felt so familiar to build.
One problem that the original five Gundams have always had is that their legs were too plain. While some had more or less detail than others (I’m thinking Shenlong and Heavyarms), they are all monochrome. There’s just not much going on down there.
EW Sandrock … doesn’t really try to alleviate that problem. You get a bit of yellow, and that’s it:
Comparison to OG
The original Sandrock’s legs are less colorful, but I like them better:
There are two things it does right - I like how the knee armor juts out a bit, and I like the little circle panels on the sides. They both add a bit of extra pizazz that (somewhat) makes up for the lack of color. In contrast, the EW legs feel like they’re barely any different than the Grandaddy Gundam’s, and that’s no good.
Lower Torso
I will say this - there is an impressive amount of part separation going on here, with each single skirt section being made of multiple parts each.
I will also say that there is something about the combination of the grey sections and the yellow trim that I like.
Buuuuuut …
Comparison to OG
The skirt armor on the OG Sandrock is head and shoulders above its sibling. The skirts look so much more like ancient armor, and they manage to have even better color separation. I’m honestly shocked that Katoki made them so much more plain in his redesign.
Upper Torso
I don’t think the mobile suits in Gundam Wing are explicitly known for having panoramic cockpits, but that’s sure as hell how it’s shaped:
For whatever reason, I had a hell of a time assembling this. I couldn’t get all the armor parts to line up properly, and I kept trying (and failing) to force them together:
Eventually I think I solved it by taking it all apart and reassembling, at which point it snapped correctly into place.
Now, as for the visual design - am I the only person who things the chest looks a lot like the Mk II’s?
Am I crazy? I’m thinking this might be one of the reasons I like it so much.
Comparison to OG
I like them both, but I think I lean a little more towards the EW design:
If it weren’t for that stupid green gem on the OG Sandrock, I’d say it’s a tie. They both have excellent color separation and the same general shape. I just don’t like the gem!
Backpack
I love the idea here of giving Sandrock a much bigger backpack. It’s one thing to be a mobile suit with monstrously large swords, but it’s another thing entirely to also strap it with extra thrusters so it can close the distance on you and use them before you can even react.
However, in practice, the backpack is a bit underwhelming. It starts with the thrusters themselves, in which the ball joints are clearly visible on the inside:
Little non-touches like this betray make it look more like a toy than a scale model of a robot. The best thing I could do to work around it was paint the insides (including the ball joint) with some metallic paint to try and hide them.
The other problem is that, while the final assembly is impressively large, it still manages to feel underwhelming:
I think the problem is that it’s the wrong color, and that it is lacking in surface details.
Also, it doesn’t look quite right without the shotels plugged into it:
Comparison to OG
But with these complaints, the new backpack is still miles ahead of the original one, which is the rinkiest, dinkiest, sorriest excuse for a backpack I’ve even seen:
Head
I have one complaint about the assembly - the head has a massive seamline right down the middle:
I would have tried to remove it, but not matter what I did I couldn’t get the parts to fit closely enough together. Boo.
As for how it looks, let’s get into it.
Comparison to OG
I can’t for the life of me understand why Katoki removed the double V-Fin from his EW redesign. It makes the OG look so much more regal and royal.
That being said, I prefer the overall shape of the EW version. It looks more like an ancient helmet.
And then there’s the mohawk. At first I liked it better on the OG, but I think I’ve changed my mind. I don’t like how the camera lens runs the full height of the mohawk; it looks a little goofy.
Meanwhile the camera on EW version is normal, and it uses the freed up space to add some extra color.
Overall, I think I like the EW one just a hair better due to the shape, but the lack of the double V-Fin makes it close.
Arms and Shoulders
One thing I don’t like about the shoulder armor on the EW design is that it has no grey like on the original design. The all-white feathers are just too monochrome for my liking.
Thankfully, the feathers themselves have some part separation, so I was easily able to spray paint some of them grey to try and replicate that original look:
I personally think that looks much better.
There are two more things I want to point out. The first is that the shoulders are littered with markings, including some on the sides, and even on the top:
The other interesting thing is that one of the armor plates along the top can slide open to reveal what looks to be a plug of some type:
I checked the manual and couldn’t find any mention of what can/should plug in here, but I’ll try some things out and report back later.
Comparison to OG
One thing I don’t like about the EW design is how the arms themselves look much more generic. The fact that the original Sandrock has forearms that are literally just black is a bold choice, especially for a Gundam.
But I think the EW design has better looking shoulders. I think the way in which it’s shaped to look like multiple layers of feathers does a better job of selling the idea that the MS is wearing an extra regal set of armor.
Finished
And that’s it folks. The Master Grade Sandrock is complete.
It’s rare for me to build two Master Grades back to back, so it was interesting to compare this build to the 3.0. That build took a lot longer than this one, which does make sense considering it’s a bit more complicated.
But that’s not a knock against Sandrock. I’ve had a lot of (admittedly older) Master Grades that I’ve stopped working on after learning that they build like glorified High Grades, requiring just as much in the way of color correction and seamline removal. So it was really nice to have one like Sandrock that went together with a minimal amount of fuss.
But now we get to the interesting part, which is the photoshoot. I’ve got a few problems I need to sort out:
- Sandrock itself is going to fit in my lightbox just fine. Sandrock with its shotels equipped, on the other hand, probably won’t. I’m going to have to find a way to do the photoshoot (most of it at least) outside, where space isn’t an issue.
- HG Sandrock has extremely loose joints, which is going to make it really hard to do comparison shots. I’ve already tried to take a few, and it’s some Weekend at Bernie’s shit where it’s technically standing, but it looks like it’s about to collapse at any second. I’m working on tightening up the joints as we speak, and hopefully that will lead to some better shots.
- I built HG Sandrock six years ago, and I’m kind of appalled at how bad of a job I did. The panel lines are sloppy and runny, and the seamlines are so glaring. Even if I get it to pose correctly, it still feels like it’s going to be unfair to compare the two models. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can do about that other than hope that maybe some of its flaws won’t show up with good lighting (and by zooming out as much as possible)