by Aluus » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:33 am
Okay. I'm about 1/3 of the way through ASSEMBLY of Epyon, and here are my thoughts so far. If you're the type who prefers their MG's to require as little effort as possible to look their best, this kit will piss you off.
MECHANICALLY, it is a pleasure to build. I can tell you truthfully that it is structurally unique, and has a unique building feel. This is NOT just a reshelled Deathscythe or Shenlong.
The PROBLEM with this kit though is that Bandai appears to have deliberately picked the worst possible spots to use for attaching the parts to the runners. This isn't so bad for the inner frame. It's a different type of plastic and parts snip away cleanly. However, for the visible parts, the reds, the navys, and the few clear parts, it will be quite obvious where you clipped them at.
The plastic is different from the inner frame. You will have white discolorations that will require sanding and painting to mask. I know this is true of just about any non-white Gundam, but it just seems so much more obvious on Epyon. Making this worse is the fact that some of the sprues on the parts runners do not taper at the connection point. One example of this is on Epyon's heels. You have to snip through a connection point that is easily as thick as your typical beam saber blade. Adding insult to injury, some of the smaller parts can have as many as 5 connection points to the runner, some directly next to one another, seeming to serve no purpose, even considering mold injection needs.
Lastly, this kit is going to be brutal on your thumbs. Many of the parts will have you pressing them together in such a way that your fingers are on sharp or pointy areas. I've been building Gunpla since they first made it to the US, (the 1/144 Epyon was actually my first kit,) and even i'm having to pace myself just because my fingers are getting sore.
Despite all this though... I am still happy I bought this kit. As I said above, Epyon was my first, and just like your first love, you never forget your first Gunpla. Whatever pain or frustration I associate with it is trumped by my enjoyment. It seems natural that the Epyon kit should be screwing with me in some way... after all, let's not forget that Epyon's tendency to screw with its pilot is what made the mobile suit so difficult to pilot in Gundam Wing.
EDIT: chuckdawg, your vocabulary word for the week is Gunpla. Gunpla is a Japanese term, and is short for Gundam Plastic Model Kit.
EDIT 2: Blurrz, lemme know how the Qan[T] goes. I've had my eye on it due to it's unique frame structure.