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Post by bleen on Jun 19, 2005 20:52:18 GMT -5
An endoskeleton without arms or wings is standing in my chaotic work table as I'm writing. It's the WZC PG ( or part of it) and it took me more or less 8 hours... including the wiring... which, of course, if perfectly functional. ;D This PG shouts "rush job" everywhere.... it's nowhere as detailed as the Zeta or Strike, the joint design is just horrible, and the only thing it could have for it (the massive amount of die cast), only makes its joints suffer more. So far, this is the worst of the three I've built... although I'll save my final veredict for when I finish. Another thing that I did NOT like was the wiring.. come on... don't include a 3-way switch I can find in any electronic shop... make me build one! Replacing polycaps with screws is also a very bad idea... I tightened a lot and I made the head of some screws un-screwable meaning there's now no way of tighten or loosen some... within those, the spine screw, which is so tight you can't bend the joint at all! Plastic-die cast joints are very fragile too... since the plastic is not as strong as the diecast, if you tighten some screws a lot, you can break the plastic! (didn't happen, but it could have) Now what I liked... The head and chest lights are very nice, the reflective part behind the chest light is a very nice touch, and the switch is in an accesible place. I also liked the IDEA of the knee joint... read, IDEA... since the actual joint is a mess because of the diecast-plastic combination. I think that' all I'll write more as I build...
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Post by bleen on Jun 20, 2005 20:43:15 GMT -5
Well, after some cuts in my left index finger, a lot less skin due to peeling with the x-acto, and a lot of sweat, I've finished with the Zero's main body, minus the wings and weapons... Even if my opinion of this being the worst of the 3 PG I've built so far remains, now that the whole armor is on, I can't but be drawn in by the WZC's beautiful design... That, and its weight... at last a PG with the feel that it has inside the stuff it really has! ;-) The Zeta has his own weight too, but I think the WZC concentrates almost the same weight in less mass, so maybe that's it... And I've yet to build those wings! :-) The shoulder gatling guns were a nice touch too, though I'm lamenting the lack of opening panels and the poor cockpit hatch What's more, the whole armour feels like it was designed to be attached and NOT to be detached EVER I also feel a little cheated with the chest plate and the foot front articulation plates... those should have been more pieces, not one! :-( I'll comment on the wings and weapons when I build them. I hope these pseudo-reviews can help people out there who want a PG and are undecisive about which one :-) Feel free to ask or comment about the kit!
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Post by jwm on Jun 21, 2005 18:52:42 GMT -5
Be very careful with the armor on the knees. Each piece is held on with two tiny and delicate tabs. I snapped one of the tabs off just handling the figure. Now that knee loses its armor every time I mess with it. Also, how is the yellow crest thing on the forehead staying put on yours? Mine never has set securely on the head. It stays in place, but you can't touch it or it falls off. Let me know how the hips and waist joints work once you get the wings on. JWM
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Post by bleen on Jun 22, 2005 21:20:04 GMT -5
Well, the knee armor does seem fragile but I've got no problems with it so far. About the head's yellow light cover with the two v-fins (gee, talk about cheap, only 1 piece for those 3 elements :-( )... When I first put it on, it stayed in place, but then I touched it and it fell. However, I realized that there is an extra step to take when attaching this piece... you have to press it against the head really hard (but with care, obviously), so that the two side plates of the outer armor of the head make a "click" sound with it... take a GOOD look and you'll see that they have to actually go UNDER the v-fin piece. I'm unsure however WHAT exactly makes the sound... I know it worked, and now I can softly pull that piece away from the head and it'll stay in place! :-) and no broken stuff, I'm sure. Yesterday night I took a couple of hours assembling the flat wings (the ones on the center, not the ones with the metal feathers). I wanted very soft "panel lines" on these since I thought a soft look would be better sfor them. So I used pigmented ink markers (0.05), and then rubbed alcohol on top... which doesn't wipe away the ink completely like it does with permanent ink markers. So I was left with very soft lines (except in the deeply recessed spaces, which have a very defined line since the cotton couldn't reach there). That took most of the time, since the assembly itself was very simple. BUT I was kinda angry with the way the springs were packed... 3 different types in the same bag... all look the same except for their size... and there wasn't a 1:1 sketch like the screws... so I had to test-fit them. Nothing too terrible, but a nuisance nevertheless... I assembled the wings and I was glad that the automatic opening system worked in both... until it stopped working on both after the 2nd time I used it :-( They just wouldn't stay closed. So I pressed reallt hard on one of the wing's points where it didn't completely touch the other wing, and I heard a clicking sound (yes, another one). To my happyness, the mechanism now worked. But I had no luck with the other one, no matter how hard I tried. So I took a deep breath, and opened the wing... To be continued. Just kidding. It was a miracle, but I "only" broke a connecting peg (which was later glued). No outer scars. I checked all the pieces, and they all seemed to be in place... it was then that I realized one major flaw on the design. There is no piece to stop the spring for the wing's lock from moving along the peg... if it moves a little upper than the place it should, the spring won't have anything to use as a resistence and it won't work. I inferred the other wing was able to be fixed because the spring wasn't entirely off the peg, so the "click" could have been the sound of the spring aligning with the peg... I searched the remaining plastic bags for matching screws for the spring's peg hole, but found nothing usable :-( Now I hate those wings, I'm terrified they'll stop closing again :-( And I WON'T open any of them, EVER... I don't want to sweat again like I did when I opened one of them... Have any of you had any similar experiences with those wings? About the hips... they seems to be staying in place... and now he's got as much spine mobility as the Zeta does.... like I said, I think I tightened the screws there too much ^_^;;;;; I even broke one screw's head spikes because of the force I used ^_^;;; Now the thing's un-unscrewable (not that I would dissassemble half the kit to just tighten or loosen it if it weren't). Ok, I think that's it for now... still on the sprues are the guns, the lightsabers, and the 2 big wings with those feathers. I'll write more when those are done. And excuse my reduced english vocabulary as usual. ;-)
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Post by tristan on Jun 23, 2005 4:53:26 GMT -5
i had similar problems whit the wings, but i was able to fix them (i don't remember how, realy you can easilly open anclose and re-open the wings (to reveal the mechanism) is doesn't break easilly, like all the other stuff on this kit you should add battle damage to this kit, like i did, i looks rather spectacular (brings up the detail ) be shure to panelline the hands, otherwise they'll look soo dull :s
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Post by bleen on Jun 25, 2005 19:37:34 GMT -5
Well, today I've finished with the kit. I must say those wings do make it look impressive. The wings themselves weren't to great to build... I've commented about the flat ones... the other ones have the metallic bending feathers, which are great.. but nothing else. Just a large chunck of plastic with 7 feathers That's all there is to them. I would have liked more, live variable geometry like the other ones, or more articulation.. something more... The twin rifles were not bad, but not great. Comparing them to the Zeta's rifle, they seem almost like a MG kit's gun. Their sculpt has good detail, but their construction is too simple, and there is a big, long seam between the two halves of each gun. With 2 more pieces per gun they could have avoided this. And the lightsabers aren't very good either. I know, what can I complain about in a 5-piece lightsaber?! (or 6, counting the beam). Well, first, it lacks a base which could secure the bottom side of the lightsaber, it only has a top piece which does this. This piece is also supposed to serve as an attachment to the blade... but the fit is a little too loose! The blade does stay in place, but barely. :-( My final thoughts on this kit are of dissapointment. The design is jaw-dropping, and the finished kit is VERY good looking. BUT everything else is full with flaws. Less internal detail than other PGs, poor articulation design, unneccessary complicated wiring (although the lights themselves are very nice)... It's just a shame that they couldn't make a better PG for a great MS like the Zero. And I must say, I never liked this suit, I disliked the idea of the wings and the head design... but after making this kit, I love the design! So, great display piece, poor build Stay tuned for pics of this kit and the PG Zeta. ;-) ------- Tristan, I do not paint my kits, I only panel line them. I also don't do battle damage or any customization... I just don't have the time and I like to spend what I have of it building rather than painting. :-)
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Post by tristan on Jun 26, 2005 5:29:32 GMT -5
you brake my heart i must say i like my strike, but i absolutely adore my wing ;D, i dont care realy about the inner detail, cause don't see anny and i find the wing to be realy posable (way better than the zeta) everyone has its favourite i think
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Post by Bazookafied on Jun 26, 2005 13:16:27 GMT -5
You've also got to realize this is the 1st PG model ever built. The early HGUC kits were still using the endless waltz 1/144th polycap sets, so we know the first of a series aren't going to be phenominal. I've heard the MG kit is better than the PG WZC.
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Post by tristan on Jun 26, 2005 13:27:31 GMT -5
the first was the RX-78 then the zaku's then zeta then wing then MKII's then GPO then strike i think
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Post by Bazookafied on Jun 26, 2005 15:34:46 GMT -5
I always had thought the WZC was the first PG model.
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Post by jwm on Jun 26, 2005 15:48:08 GMT -5
Incidently: Unless you're dying to have 'em all don't waste time on the RX78/2. It's a royal pain in the butt to do anything with. It's tippy. The hatches take all day to get opened- they fall off the polycap hinges, so you have to nurse the hinges open, and then try to get the hatch applied again. The armor falls off the ankles every time you move it... I could go on. The ZakuII is better, but the RX78/2 is a pain. JWM
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Post by bleen on Jun 26, 2005 18:49:55 GMT -5
Tristan is right as far as I know... WZC is the 4th PG (or the 5th if you also count Char's Zaku). jwm, thanks a LOT for the advise... I was thinking the RX-78-2 didn't look too bad... now I know I'll buy the other ones first. Maybe MKII, GP01 or Zaku, then the other one, THEN the RX-78-2. The Skygrasper will go somewhere in between those.... I finally got over my laziness and took some crappy pictures (well, my photo skills are null). Beware, this is like 6 mb altogether... so I'm posting thumbnails. A part of my room... my soon-to-be-overpopulated Gundam shelf... Up close. The WZC, lights on, sub-exposed photo on The back of the WZC... I used to think these wings were stupid, now I love them Taxi! Finally decided to take a risk and pose the guy a little... compare this picture with the previous one, the spine bends magnificently, and supports the WHOLE weight of the wings! more angles of the same pose below this pic. This guy looks great with his wings extended! Uh oh... I think SOMEONE's getting jealous... wonder who he is.... I guess he's requesting some attention... since I don't want my WZC destroyed, I'll take some pictures of him too... He DOES look impressive with that lightsaber and that huge gun... Hatches OPEN! The awesome Wave rider mode: That's all folks! It's hardly worth a praise since I only panel line these, but I think these pictures somehow complete these two reviews (or whatever they are ) of these two kits.
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