Gunpla – Deathscythe Hell Gundam

That time of the week again where I show you the highlight of my Friday Gunpla stream. Last week’s model was the Deathscythe Hell Gundam from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz.

I asked my friends before the day came which of my new models I should go for, and it was this Master Grade Gunpla kit they unanimously chose, mostly because of how cool it looks.

Having already built two Master Grade kits before, I expected a certain degree of quality in the kit and it shocked me that this Gunpla model was so inferior to the previous two. It’s not the plastic quality, the flexibility or the number of pieces, those were plentiful and once built, the Deathscythe Hell Gundam looks great and you can put in any number of poses. No, my problem is that it has too many pieces that are only held in place because they are between two others and many that seem to stay together on your willpower alone.

The face connects to the Gundam’s head with the flimsiest of connectors, and it tended to pop out when I was trying to assemble the full thing, the red “cheeks” on the face were another cause of frustration, as they don’t fit snugly into their slots but only stay there because you’re pressing them against the head. The knee joint is completely loose and the only reason it doesn’t come off is because it’s held inside the two leg plates. The Knees have bladed protrusions and they are shaky. And between the folds on the waist (the skirt basically) popping out and the infuriating construction of the wings, I though I was going to have a fit.

The wings actually made me drop the pieces and say to the camera and my viewers: “I give up. I give up.” I just couldn’t do it. The central piece of the wings, the backpack for the model, has 2 sliders on rails between the two plastic plates, but they are yet another piece that doesn’t have a solid connection but is loose. When you try to bring the 2nd plate on top of the first and the sliders, they pop out of the rail. It took nearly an hour and most of my sanity for the night to get that done.

But once I did, I thought, “Let’s close the wings around him, like a cloak, just like in the film.” And the wings are designed for this, but when you actually try, the two pieces that in theory hold the two wings together, don’t really do the job. They don’t fit.

I apologise for the rant, but really, don’t build this Gunpla model unless you’re used to gluing things to stay in place.

Without further ado, here’s the highlight. You may even catch the moment I shake my head in frustration.