Thursday, April 11, 2013

Reminiscing: Old Gundam Wing SD Model Kits

While rummaging through my pile of old stuff, I found my old SD Gundam Wing model kits. I remembered that I was actually trying to restore them before but stopped midway when I realized that I was ruining it even more. They've been stored in my cabinet for a long time now and, obviously, they don't look too good because of that. 

My old Gundam Wing SD Model Kits. They've been stored in my dusty cabinet, so I dunked them all in warm water to remove some of the dust.

Yes, I love SD kits when I was a kid, and up until today, actually. They're so CUTE! I don't really care much for 1/144 scale model kits back then and I wasn't aware that there were 1/100 scale model kits. My experiences with 1/144 scale model kits were not pleasant, as most of you might have figured out since I prefer SD kits over them in the past. Actually, I'd only recently got a good understanding of what Gunpla "Grades" are and was not aware that most of the kits that I encountered back then, if not all, were "No Grade" kits (well, ok, not recently but I wasn't aware of it back then when I was still a kid, when Gundam Wing kits were all the "rage"). So, when I saw Gundam Wing "SD (Super Deformed)" kits on sale, I said to myself that "Ok, I'll try. Maybe this will be better.". Of course, I have to nag my parents to buy me one. (Which was a success, by the way. Hah! I was actually surprised, since they don't buy me toys that often, and it was a little expensive. I know, right? SD kits are expensive? Well, that was compared to other "generic" or "trending" toys that most  people buy back then, at least.)

1997 SDW-02: XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe
1997 SDW-03: XXXG-01H Gundam Heavyarms
1997 SDW-04: XXXG-01SR Gundam Sandrock
1997 SDW-06: OZ-00MS(C) "Caliber Tallgeese"
I like that they're small, so you don't really need to give them much space. I also like that they're cute. I like cute stuff. I also felt that they're sturdier compared to their 1/144 scale counterparts, or at least when compared to the first 1/144 kit that I've owned and to some kits that my friends showed me. SD Gunpla Kits also have better looking colors, at least more accurate since they have to mold less parts, in my opinion. I remember back then how surprised I was when I first got my 1/144 scale kit and how some of the parts don't have their proper colors (I didn't know that you have to paint it so that it'll look good) and looks bland after assembly. I will actually try to relive those memories in my future review of the No Grade Gundam Wing model kits that I bought just last month.

All 5 kits are in a filthy and dusty mess, but I will give them all a proper review in the future. I'll probably give them a decent paint job, too. Hopefully, I'll be able to paint them properly because these are very rare. How about more pictures? Yeah, so I can get a better view of the kits' stickers. I'll have to remove them at some point, if I'm going to paint them.

SD Gundam Deathscythe still looks good.
Closer look at the head.
Stickers on its skirt armor.
No stickers on its Buster Shield.
The thrusters attached on its shoulder pads can be tilted. There are yellow stickers on the shoulder pads' edges.
It only has 1 thruster on its backpack. No stickers here, though.
SD Gundam Heavyarms looks OK, too.
Closer look at head, for the eye stickers.
The chest opens up to reveal the mounted chest Gatling Guns, just like in the Anime.
Missile Pads in the shoulder opens up as well, revealing its sticker missiles.
Army Knife is molded in yellow.
Beam Gatling Gun can be attached to the backpack.
SD Gundam Sandrock needs a little fixin'. One of its Heat Shotels is broken.
Closer look at Head and Shoulder seals.
The "V" thingy attached to its head is broken.
Fortunately, it's nothing that super glue can't fix.
Huge stickers on its skirt armor, there.
More stickers attached to the side and rear skirt armors, with fading colors. More stickers can also be seen on the shield and shoulder pads.
This guy is called the "Caliber Tallgeese". It's sorta different from the regular Tallgeese, but we'll get into those details some other time.
Huge stickers on its helmet, some on its shoulder pads.
Seals on its chest.
Closer look at the seals on its feet.
Silver stickers on its backpack verniers. Random "Caliber Tallgeese" sticker attached to one of its vernier "fins" written in Katakana.

I actually bought Wing Gundam Zero as my first SD kit from the Gundam Wing series. Then I bought its rival, Tallgeese, because I thought I won't be able to buy the rest of the Gunpla SD Kits, since they're too expensive for me back then and I'm still in grade school. The reason why SD Wing Gundam Zero is not included with the pictures above is because it was the first Gunpla that I tried to paint. Yup, it's the SD Kit that is most screwed up right now. Look. At THIS.


I tried to paint it. And now, it looks like this. I didn't include all of the parts here, I don't want to accidentally misplace them due to my stupidity.
Closer look at the black SD Wing Gundam Zero.
Why? What was I thinking??

Since I'm not confident with my painting skills yet, I just tried to paint all the SD Kits in black so that they will look like "statues". *Sigh* How I wish that I have not done that...

Oh, while you're here, here are sample pictures of its box and Construction Manual. I tore it up so I can fold it. I don't really have spaces dedicated for my Gunpla boxes..

Front, Side & Top Covers. Yeah, it looks cheap when you look at price tag. If you convert that to today's US equivalent value, it would be around $3-5 But, look closely at the lower left portion of the box. Yup, this thing was made back in "1997".
SDW-00: Back & Bottom Covers.
Some "Omake" printed on one of the box's flaps.
SDW-00 Construction Manual Sample Picture 1
SDW-00 Construction Manual Sample Picture 2

And while we're at it, Here are some pictures from the 4 other SD Gundam Wing Kits:

SDW-02: Front, Side & Top Cover
SDW-02: Back & Bottom Cover
SDW-02: Omake 1
SDW-02: Omake 2
SDW-03: Front, Side & Top Cover
SDW-03: Back & Bottom Cover
SDW-03: Omake 1
SDW-03: Omake 2
SDW-04: Front, Side & Top Cover
SDW-04: Back & Bottom Cover
SDW-04: Omake 1
SDW-04: Omake 2
SDW-06: Front, Side & Top Cover
SDW-06: Back & Bottom Cover
SDW-06: Omake

Here are the Construction Manuals, as well:

SDW-02 Construction Manual Sample Picture 1
SDW-02 Construction Manual Sample Picture 2
SDW-03 Construction Manual Sample Picture1
SDW-03 Construction Manual Sample Picture 2
SDW-04 Construction Manual Sample Picture 1
SDW-04 Construction Manual Sample Picture 2
SDW-06 Construction Manual Sample Picture 1
SDW-06 Construction Manual Sample Picture 2
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to complete the SD Gundam Wing set and I'm still regretting it until this day. I had the chance to buy SD Shenlong Gundam back then, but I didn't buy it since I don't have enough money. I should've borrowed money from someone.. I'm also missing SDW-01 Wing Gundam, but since I have Wing Gundam Zero, it's not as annoying as not being able to buy SD Shenlong.

So, if any of you guys know where I can buy "SDW-06 Shenlong Gundam" or if you have one and you'd like to sell it to me, PLEASE contact me! I'd really like to have that.. Thanks in advance!


Alright! I'll see you in the next post! 

2 comments:

  1. nice to see these rare kits, too bad i've lost some of mine. but good thing i've managed to keep some of them including the tallgeese caliber, i really like that kit. was wondering where i can buy them now. -.-

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment!

      Yes, I'm always on the lookout for these kits whenever I go to a toy store, or while browsing online stores. I saw someone posted his complete set about the same time when I posted this. (I was really jealous of him...)

      I got this when I was young and I'm still regretting not taking care of them. I'm planning on restoring/painting them, but not right now.. (Because I still suck at painting.. XD I need training first.)

      Hope we can see someone selling them in the future. (or if they can do a re-run of these kits, that would be great.. Although that's just wishful thinking now..)

      Delete