Bandai Hobby #11 RG Destiny Gundam Model Kit, 1/144 Scale

I've previously built SD and 1/100 HG gundams when I was a kid. This was my first 1/144 RG gundam and I was really interested in it b/c it's smaller than the 1/100 gundams (doesn't take up as much space!), has an internal skeleton, and it cheaper than the 1/100 MG gundams!Off the bat, RG is a much more complex kit than HG. You should definitely get some model tools to cleanly cut and clean the pieces as you separate them from the sprue. I got one partway through completing this model and it made a world of difference.At the time I purchased this model, it was only available as an import, but it had a good price (< $30) and free shipping so I went ahead and purchased it. I selected this RG model over the others b/c I have seen Gundam Seed Destiny and although I don't really remember anything about the anime, I did like the design of this gundam b/c it has wings and loads of weapons.If you've never built an RG or MG gundam...the internal frames are extremely cool and allow for a huge range of motion. However, some bits of them are fragile so you need to be careful lest you accidentally break off a piece and since so much of it is movable, you may not be able to cleanly glue it back on and retain mobility.-What do you get?Gundam DestinyShield (that expands) that clips onto either forearemEnergy shields that clips onto the hand. Note you can't use this with all the handsBlaster Gun /w scope. There is a specific hand to hold this (right) and two posable hands that (could) hold it. The specific hand has a snug fit.2 Shoulder boomerangs? Knives? with either short or long energy sabers to fit in them. Note that although there are specific hands to hold these, the fit is very loose and they 'fall over'. I haven't tried with the posable hands b/c these are not that exciting for me. They do clip into the shoulders/fit really well and you (could) pose the model to 'grab' one out from across the chest, which is pretty cool.Big Energy Sword that clips on the backpack. Uses same hand as the blaster gun to hold. Relatively heavy so the arm may not stay up, but long handle so you could pose some 2 handed grip, but probably nothing 'over the head' as the shoulders will pop out. I really like the Energy Sword and it's pretty impressive.Green heavy gun that clips on the backpack. Note that the weapon holder maneuvers so that this points out from under the left arm and then there is a hand that can 'hold' the handle that folds out. It has limited maneuverability b/c it's attached to the backpack.Backpack Wings - these have (in my opinion) pretty good maneuverability as they can tilt forward back, in and out. It's just three pieces in the wing, the bottom (static) middle (3 fins that can move a little) and top wing that folds up. note the small wing that pokes out of the big wing is part of the middle. I really like the effect you can see in the photos on amazon (one of the reasons I purchased this kit).7 hands - 2 are closed, which can also hold the boomerangs. 2 are poseable - be careful clipping these out. I accidentally clipped my thumb off :(. 2 are static 'open' hands. 1 right hand for holding the big energy sword or blaster gun.Tiny, tiny, tiny pilot. It's so small I'm not sure if it's worth painting or just to...have? It has a base and I don't think it fits into the cockpit, which does open, but it's hard to do so with just your hands.'base' piece if you're mounting on an action piece (I assume so it has somewhere to fit)The kit also comes with two more traditional 'smooth' beams, but I couldn't figure out which weapon this would go into b/c the model doesn' thave any beam saber handles that I'm aware of.A TON of seals (stickers) and no water decals. A lot of TINY seals so you really need some pincers to help position them...maybe even two. The clear ones are pretty impressive when they go on. The seals on the back of the legs do NOT stick/stay in place nor do the little silver seals that wrap along the bottom of the top wing parts. They look impressive for a few seconds b/f they just sprint out - these parts might make sense to paint instead of using seals.Good things:I am really happy with the quality of the model, the complexity (took me a couple of hours), the end product, accessories, posability, and size of the model. Basically everything I wanted! I would totally buy/build this model again and it's really turned me onto the RG 1/144 gundam models and helped get me interested in gunpla/gundam again. If you've never done an RG gundam, the flexibility on the joints and range of motion is just staggering compared to the HG models I built in the 90's.Bad/Annoying things:The backpack weapons, although they do slide into the backpack and kind of click, fall out a lot. The big green gun is less impressive then I thought it can only really point down'ish (at least with how I"m doing it). There is a gray piece on the wrist cuff that needs to be glued in b/c it falls off whenever one is changing hands. I've mentioned the seals above where there are a number that won't stick b/c they have to bend - may be worth cutting them and applying to the specific planes for better adhesive. Don't use just any superglue since they can melt the finish on the seals and not stick to anything at all. There are 14 seals to stick to the under side of the yellow piece on each of the 7 hands. The instructions being in Japanese I could not figure out what these are for. Now that I've stuck them on, I'm not sure why b/c you never see them. the wings and backpack are relatively heavy so that does limit the sorts of poses you can do without an action base. The chest and waist parts often fall apart despite being snug.Things of note:This is more of a model than a toy. In my mind, toys can stand up to abuse from children and this has a ton of tiny parts and detail work that I'm not sure most children would enjoy - maybe one that's totally into models/gundams could. It's not robust and very fragile so it's not something I'd take out of the house and to build it well, you need model tools, which may not be appropriate for younger kids. It does come very detailed, especially once you add the seals, that you wouldn't 'need' to paint it unless you really wanted to.

The first thing I would say about this model kit is that this is no easy High Grade type of model kit. This gundam model has its own inner frame that you will construct along with the armor parts. I will say be very careful on each part because it is very small and hard to put together with your bare fingers. The most complicated part about the destiny gundam is the decal stickers and BIG WARNING! Make sure you have special gunpla tweezers because the decals are very tiny literally! The destiny gundam real grade comes with various weapons that are very detailed beautifully. And going back to the decal stickers anyone that does buy this may want to consider taking your time as long as you have the time to put the decals on. I will say that it may take a couple of hours accurately putting the decals on the destiny gundam. Overall this was a very beautiful Real Grade and its complexity is way beyond that of a high grade most definitely and this maybe as difficult as a master grade. I loved this as much as my Real Grade Strike Freedom! Now I hope they release an Infinite Justice Gundam Real Grade 1/144 soon! Oh and the effect wings of light effect part comes sold separately so make sure you check that out! You can look at my review on it on my alternate account on David Tesoro so go check that out for those looking at my reviews on here!

Great kit, good build. Looks better than the HG version. Only wish it came with effect parts for the wings like the HG does. Still, worth the money.

So I have been building Gundams since I was 8, both HG's and MG's. This is my first RG. It exceeded my expectations. i have been building a lot of mg's recently now I can afford them and I do like the details, but sometimes the MG's just look kinda of bulky depending on the model. The RG solves this problem. It keep the details and articulations while providing a cheaper price and less build time. Some MG kits just have so many pieces. I took the time to spray paint the blue and the red runner in this kit, the results were awesome. Here' s my thoughts on pro's and cons:Pros:1. inner frame: I was so impressed my the quality of the inner frame and how it was built already. How did they even manufactured this???2. great design and precision in the pieces: everything fits and snaps perfectly, even with such small pieces and details3. value: 27 dollars for a kit with mg details, def worth it, looks really good on a standCons:1. The stickers are really hard to apply since they're so small, but no real issue with you have the patienceI plan to buy another RG soon, just wow!

This kit has been sitting in my backlog for quite a while now. I've been working on multiple RG Seed kits and finally decided to build this it. This kit is basically perfect however I do have a couple minor complaints. My first complaint is the amount or foil stickers it came with. This kit seems to have more than most of the RG kits I've previously built. The chrome foil stickers were a bit of a pain. I really wish they would have made it so the chrome pieces on the wings were strung together with clear decal sticker so one could easily line them and and cut away the empty spaces otherwise this was time consuming. My last complaint and it might not even be valid complaint since I can read in Japanese but wtf is with the hands on this kit? It contains like hand wrists and the wrists seems to have different sizes. The open hand (the blue part of the hand that's on with the shield in my picture) is larger than the other other wrist (the one with the sword in my pic) I'm assuming it has to do with articulation but if I didn't have the shield on it's quite obvious they are different sizes. Like in said these are minor complaints.my pic is with RG Destiny on the left, RG Perfect Strike in the middle, and RG Aile Strike on the right.