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Master Grade ZGMF-Z42S Destiny Gundam
(Extreme Burst Mode limited edition)
It's been a while since I've written a model review myself so why not get back into the game with this bad boy. The Destiny seems to get alot of indifference from the fanbase (those that I talk to at least) but I've always had a soft spot for the design even though I despise the show. It should be noted this is the one with the “wings of light” as opposed to the regular MG Destiny Gundam that does not comes with them. How does this kit fair with it's fairly hefty price tag, read on to find out.
The Assembly
While assembling this kit I found that it went together is 3 sections. The first section is the Destiny Gundam itself, which was fairly straight forward. One thing to note is that this came with some chrome painted parts that the regular version does not have so one has to be careful when removing these parts from the trees. That said, it wasn't very difficult to put together the actual Gundam itself as there are no screws with this one and very few polycaps to deal with, the majority of said polycaps are in the legs and feet. The next section is the weapons and backpack. It's interesting that the Destiny's sword and mega cannon have almost the same amount of moving parts as the Gundam itself. The only trick with these is to get them to fit correctly within the backpack. The backpack itself is fairly simple but the wings are where the fun begins as if you don't line them up correctly then there's a chance they won't open correctly when the times come. I found this section to be a tad confusing in the instructions but I don't fault the kit as it's a case of my inability to reading the japanese kanji and just going by the pictures for this. The final section I would say is the Wings of light themselves (which come separate from the backpack wings) and oh boy was this fun. Out of the some 3-4 hrs in build time at least 1 hr was spent (or loss depending on how you look at it) tyring to get those bloody things to go and stay in. I don't want to say that it's a design flaw as this could be a case of my stubby fingers here but I just could not get the wings to properly connect to the wings on the backpack. In the end I was forced to come up with my own solution in order to attach them to the model. A definite issue if there was ever one.
It also comes with a display stand that is fairly standard and uses the single screw that came with the kit.
Total Assembly Time: 3.5-4 hrs
Posing
This is where the model shines. Like many other of the recent Master Grades, the Destiny Gundam has the movement in the arms and legs that make it able to be any number of different poses. The arms has enough movement that the can even hold it's giant sword with both hands. It also comes with special clear parts to show the Destiny's "Shining Finger" as well as special clear attachments for connecting the beam boomerangs to the hands.
Final Thoughts
And here's the point of the review where I give the answer to the million dollar question – at about $70 in cost when compared to the $45 of the regular kit is it worth it? Well, I hate to say it but I would say "no, it's not" especially if you just want the kit and don't care if it has the wings of light or not. However, if you're like me and think the Wings of light are what makes the kit then you won't care about the near $30 price tag and get it anyway. Are the Wings worth that difference? I would say that despite it's flaws with the Wings of Light, in the end it's a really sweet looking model when completed so they do make a bit of a difference. Still if you don't care then I would say stick with the regular version. The chrome parts for the hands and some of the joints don't make that much of a difference in my eyes so don't count on them making an influence either way.
Mildly recommended but if you're on a tight budget or just want the gundam and don't care about the Wings then I would say skip on this one and go with the cheaper kit.
