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"This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you! Here I go! Shining Finger!" - Domon Kasshu
The Shining Gundam is the original protagonist suit of the Mobile Fighter G Gundam anime, known for having the most romantic and badass theme song 'Shining Finger'. In the most 'out-there' show in the franchise, the Gundams are all stereotypical representations of their home countries, such as the Neo Danish Mermaid, the Neo Dutch Windmill Gundam and the fan favorite Neo Mexico 'Tequila Gundam'.
True to form, Neo Japan's Shining Gundam is a 'kabuto' helmet wearing samurai with the classic 'daisho' katana and wakizashi, though it's mainly a hand-to-hand martial arts mobile suit, mimicking Domon Kasshu, its pilot's movements directly, rather than being controlled with a normal cockpit.
Aesthetics:
Overall the RG is a little lankier and taller than the HG/MG and anime proportions, with a lot more color separation, though keeping the shades of blue and red the same, this time with actual gold plastic inside the shoulders, forearms and calves, rather than yellow plastic or gold stickers. Everything is in crisp RG detail, as expected. The metal injection gold seems a lot nicer than usual, which is a great thing.
The usual RG sticker with foil stickers sheet is included. A fun extra is the 'G Gundam' logo sticker which fits onto one of the beam sabers, to mimic the anime intro.
Mechanics:
No parts-swapping needed, the super-mode 'transformation' is on the fly and even the head transforms, though the opening mask does have a significant seam line down the middle of the face. Unlike a few other recent RG kits, it does have an opening cockpit, which is nice. The articulation is on par with the RG God Gundam, so it's superb (and also reuses the shoulders/arms from it and also the same pre-molded parts, unfortunately). Put simply, like the God Gundam, it's a 1/144 scale kung-fu posing gunpla, featuring a core lander.
Equipment:
1 Transforming Core Lander (very simple but nice)
2 beam saber hilts, one short and one long
2 straight beam saber effects, one short and one long (not curved like katana)
11 hands, mostly the same as the God Gundam, in various kung-fu poses as well as holding hands.
Most notably is not what's included, but what's missing - There's only one 'shining finger' right hand which isn't transparent, but is the same as the God Gundam's orange pearlescent plastic, just in green instead. There's no 'mega hand' and there's no green energy sword either, so it's worth considering getting the 2011 HG version that has these parts. Disappointing.
Conclusion:
I appreciate that Bandai made a nostalgic callback to Domon Kasshu's first mobile suit, when the successor 'God Gundam' completely outshines it and they could've left it at that. It is surprising, however, that they did not make an RG Master Gundam, which is one of the franchise's most memorable antagonist mobile suits.
It's always been Domon Kasshu himself, the pilot and protagonist, who steals the show with his passionately delivered lines, that put him on the same sort of level as DBZ's Goku, while the Shining Gundam was always just an extension of him - Literally.
As a product, there's not much I can fault. It's a little finicky to assemble with very small parts, the pre-molded shoulder joints are still awkward, the lander fins are a little loose and while there are a ton of hand options, it's missing the most important parts, which is really sad considering this thing doesn't have any sort of real weaponry outside of its swords, and even then it's missing its most powerful weapon, for an already bare-bones equipment pool.
Since the model re-uses a runner from the God Gundam (for hands mostly), there are a lot of spare parts.
I've built my way backwards through the MGSD line from the Wing Zero to the Barbatos and now most recently to the Freedom.
Aesthetically the Freedom makes very good use of different colors to give it a sprawling and interesting look without looking too busy. There's nothing this model does worse than its to successors, if anything it's more complex than the Barbatos in its color separation. While the other two make better use of the honeycomb transparent plastics, the Freedom is a little more subtle with these in the wings, while also having the metallic-backed head cameras and eyes, giving the impression of detail depth in the oversized head.
I'd say all three have about the same level of complexity and gimmicks, just in different ways. Where the Wing Zero has surprisingly advanced legs (besides its wings), the Barbatos has a weapon and backpack assembly and the Freedom has fanning wings and four fold-out cannons, in addition to its rifle, sword and board equipment.
While the articulation is VERY good, the wings are very fiddly and not particularly intuitive. That's because only one half of each wing sits on the backback and the rest of the wing binders are like a handfan, layered up with each proceeding part being informed by the one behind it, so when you move one part, everything else follows. Getting them spread out with the two cannons inside pointed over the shoulders, is nearly impossible without removing the head first. This isn't a bad thing as much as it's just a natural consequence of the nature of what this thing is and does.
The fold-out hip cannons do look a little gimmicky with the split point looking so obviously separated, but the overall effect of four cannons pointing forwards is good.
The model comes with:
1 Beam Rifle mountable in the hand or back skirt
1 Shield that slots into the back of either forearm
2 beam saber hilts that connect into a Darth Maul style dual beam saber
2 bog standard pink HG sized beam saber effect
I have not built any other Freedom models, only Strike Freedoms, but I feel like it's fair to say that this is the best iteration of the Freedom there is, provided you like the SD aesthetic and unlike actual SD kits, this is twice as big and of course way more complex.
While the model stands just fine on its own despite being so back heavy (the cannons being folded out help balance it) I heavily recommend using a base, which cleverly slots into the backpack hole, hidden by the lower thruster flipping outwards. This will give the model a lot more life. You're meant to use the 'Action Base 5' adapter which is a small round peg, but I believe the AB 1 has the same option.
good strong cardboard box :) with nice GITS picture on it
This miku i so good looking, all the small details looks amazing, just 10/10
I’m happy for the purchase, this store was the only way for me to get the Feathers Mc Graw, because I live in Denmark. Thank you for your great store.
What a beautiful figure easy to build and looks so stunning, good accessories and it have good articulation.
A must buy if you are into Transformers
Good quality, bigger than expected
I've used several packs of these and use them for every build. They leave a nice matte finish and can remove glass-file gloss perfectly. sometimes the glass-files can leave a very glossy finish after removing nub marks. The Balancer Greys bring back a nice matte finish and then the green side of the Balancer White leaves for me the perfect semi-gloss finish for my builds.
you can easily brush off most of the dust with a toothbrush and reuse the Balancer Gray. however after roughly 2 or 3 builds i've finally run out. hope to see them in stock soon again :)
My second MGSD kit, working in backwards order from the Wing Zero EW.
Note that the kit features several very tiny 1-2mm parts that are a loss risk.
This MGSD is very true to the original MG Barbatos, with a chibi SD spin on it.
The reason I mention the obvious, is that the MGSD Wing Zero EW was more of an interpretation and unique take, while this model does nothing differently, it really is just the MG Barbatos with different proportions, but it's also a very good and faithful recreation and has solid articulation despite its stubby limbs.
It is a highly detailed kit that puts emphasis on the pink symbols with an intricate mold pattern that makes sure they look sparkly, and the oversized shoulders make sure that they are even more prominent. While the model is squat and it's a little more difficult to see the workings of it, it also has sliding pistons like the MG does, in the torso and elbows, though none in the shoulders and the ones in the neck are purely decorative.
Like the MG this kit is an equipment hog and has three weapons. Barbatos holds one in its hands and the other two are stored on the backpack which features the same piston swing-arm system as the MG.
The rifle is collapsible and the mace features a clever blade fold-out function when the head is pressed down, while the katana is a simple blade.
As the pictures suggest it works well in the air, but it can stand just fine and is well balanced despite the oversized weapons and undersized limbs.
Personally I much prefer what Bandai did with the MGSD Wing Zero EW, because it has more of its own flair and style than its MG counterparts, but there is no denying that the MGSD Barbatos is a very solid kit with a very pleasing aesthetic and proportion. Looking at the MG next to it is a little weird, because now that one looks a little too skinny...
It might be silly to write a detailed review of an Entry Grade model kit for very little cost, but I think some would appreciate an opinion from someone who's built over a hundred gunpla.
I originally didn't want any RX-78-2 models because I thought they looked a little too old school. Ironically, it's now the mobile suit I have the most models of, starting with the Real Grade #01, and has become a collection since then.
That's because they are all very different in their construction and all have something interesting to offer on a mechanical level.
This model is based on the same ideas of the 30 Minute Mission kits, maximizing detail and simplicity, and an even simpler design with some clever thinking behind it.
For example, the color separation of the eyes and the V logo on the crotch, are unusually detailed, while the eyes have a negative space around them that gives off the illusion of more color separation, using shadow to do it, meaning there is not a single sticker in this kit.
The articulation is fairly good considering the simplicity (and has a very impressive ab-crunch), but it does have some very odd limitations.
1. A single point arm bend - This is common for 30MM and even a lot of HG kits, giving a 110 degree single point arm bend, but instead it has a much higher arm lift due to its shoulder hinge and ball joint design. No forwards or backwards shoulder movement however, unlike other 30MM kits.
2. The skirts are mobile (apart from the back skirt) but they get in way of each other and the torso. The front skirts are also not ball joints, but swivel points, which means they only rotate on one point.
They are separable, like most normal front skirts.
3. Ball-in-socket hips.
This is a design that was phased out over 20 years ago and even other 30MM kits do not do this, instead using the two halves of a ball with two begs to give a superior range of motion. This is a very odd and pointless limitation that smacks of pointless cost mitigation to save a fraction for a significantly worse solution.
4. The beam rifle is unnaturally long, making it so it bumps against the upper arm and limits the bend.
5. No beam sabers. While this is entirely fine for collectors who already have hundreds of these, a beginner might be a bit perplexed at the lack of beams. That being said, there is a 'Full Weapon Set' version of this kit.
I'm not pointing these out to make the kit seem bad, it's not, it's just a list of small oddities. Overall it's a very solid model kit and an impressive example of great engineering.
A fun experience even for veteran model builders who will appreciate the elegantly simply design.
It's also a good model for scribing practice.
The computer images on this product usually shown might belittle the ontent of this little option kit, but it´s quite a neat little add-on.
As non-scale kit it works well with 1/144 kits but you might need to tightend the peg on the sword holders. The handles are great but short while the sword blades are enermous.
Little kunai blades are lovely little knives and every you get twice. In total: 2 large swords, sheats and 4 daggers with holders. Everything seems to have 3mm peg but your mileage may vary and you might need to thicken those.
This kit builds quickly, holds well together and even comes with neat adaptor for those two holes in the back kits.
The bas of this kit is basically a a shield that can be used like a crab claw. It opens up to accept either large blade piece or larger cape piece. Both of the are secure with little clip styled connection and core itself locks around the edges of them to make sure they don´t wobble or fall out.
Core units itself has one handed handle in it that you can pull out for use. Or leave it in and add double handed long handle to make it a Zweihänder.
KIt also comes with base stand for the blade to be used if your kits armstrenght is vaning or joints are bad
As title says, this package is in need of little TLC ( tender love&care )
First of all, it comes in few pieces, two part stand and with tiny sticker sheets which are just for head cameras, eyes, chest "gem" and feet accents.
Armor parts are super easy to to snip, clean and build, but leave unit looking quite plain as it really needs some panel lining and some colour filling. Nothing major thankfully. Sadly this not come with forearm parts.
YES, this will work with every core-gundam you own, you don´t don´t need Alus earthree to utilize this kit.
