GFF= Gundam Fix Figuration, a line-up of “figures” run/designed/supervised by none other than Hajime Katoki.The Wing Gundam (Early Type) Ver. Ka is the sixth release in the series back in 2002 and it is also my very first GFF that got me hooked on collecting this line-up. The Wing Ver. Ka is the first non-UC and only AC Gundam that has received the GFF treatment so far. I should also note that this particular GFF comes with the least amount of accessories (weapons, hands, etc) compared to the rest- only two pairs of hands, beam saber, grenades energy packs, and buster rifle.
As expected from Katoki, the details and paint job are superb. There are warning markings just about everywhere and the overall figure looks great… from far away. Examining it up close, and you’ll see plenty of paint impurities (or plastic impurities if you’re that unfortunate). While you can expect great details, don’t count on quality craftsmanship; these figures tend to have less than stellar fit and finish and mild warped parts, causing some unusual friction on some joints while making others loose… but GFFs only have the most basic of articulation anyway so the adverse effect is not too bad ^^;.
Bird Mode
Transforming into Bird Mode is very simple yet also a pain in the @$$, depending on how well the pieces cooperate together. There’s nothing to it really- you just attach the buster rifle to the bottom of the shield then attach that to the back and viola!… That’s what I did at least since I forgot the proper transformation procedure (and the legs wouldn’t bend properly)xD. Either way, I find the Bird mode to look a bit silly >_>
It looks pretty good at some angle actually but the Wing Span and added Buster Rifle adds a lot of width and length to this figure.
Beam Saber
I didn’t want to pull the box for this figure out from the very bottom of my GFF Tower so I’m just gonna salvage the old photos ^^;. With the figure’s limited articulation, it’s not like it looks good holding the beam saber anyway…
Moving on…
Buster Rifle and Shield
Looks pretty cool huh? What’s with the highly detailed shield and long Buster Rifle that drags on the floor and all…
Seriously, it really doesn’t matter how many weapons it has since it doesn’t have the articulation to actually pose with them… Not to mention the damage it might cause to the joints. I think the line’s name is more like FIXED FIGURATION as the best this GFF is pulling different variations of just standing still… which the GFF line-up is actually GREAT at doing. Hold the weapons, stand still and look badass. Nothing more to it.
Size comparison with my very own MG Wing Gundam Ver. Ka… which also happens to be the very first MG that I spent a ton of time on trying to get everything right ^^;.
Close-up comparison. Details are almost similar…
Both looks great actually ^^
Couldn’t help inserting a shot of the MG version… xD
I think simple poses like this is probably as close as you can get to action poses but it still looks good though.
VERDICT
Honestly, this figure is a great looking piece of art but… I’d say the better alternative nowadays is to just buy the MG Wing Gundam Ver. Ka and put in the effort on it- both are roughly the same price at MSRP level anyway (~$35-40). You might be able to pick this GFF up on ebay for around $20-25 though (like I did). Again, great details but basic articulation so this figure is relegated to only just standing there… which is perfectly fine because it looks great doing just that. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t come with the white base like some GFF does. At the end, it all comes down to how much time and space you have on your hands in order to consider which one is best for you.
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February 5, 2009 at 5:25 PM
I just recently re-read your review of the figure… I noticed something before but I decided now to ask you about the following: Have you tried out the transformation described here on your 1/100 MG model?
It may sound like a Captain Obvious question, but the description of waist-twisting and leg-bending seems to apply more to Kunio Okawara’s original Wing Gundam design than Hajime Katoki’s. Which basically is Wing Gundam standing at attention, the bending of the feet, the moving of the wing backpack to the rear skirt armor, and connection of the shield and rifle to just behind the head. Well, that is, unless Hajime Katoki decided to change the design of his Wing Gundam’s bird mode in a few years (between the figure and model).
I wish I had it already, but I still don’t. At least not yet… Real life has its ups and downs. *shrug*
February 6, 2009 at 12:21 AM
Wow… I forgot this review ever existed. Just look at the photo quality! XD
Now that you’ve pointed it out. I think I might have made a mistake on that part; you don’t need to twist the waist. It’s exactly the same as the MG (which I did transformed). Thanks for pointing that out ^^.
wow…the photos are really irritating me… maybe a re-review is in order…
March 2, 2009 at 10:44 PM
I recently got this GFF as one of my birthday presents, and after handling it myself, I must agree with you for the most part. But I must say that only some joints on this GFF are a little weak; at least on par with some of the MSIA I handled (and the Buster Rifle can drag down without support). Some other joints are as tough as hell to bend. Putting objects in the hands, switching hands, even putting on the wings, are all difficult to do.
The shield initially and still is loose even when put on, and the left wing sort-of sags a bit now thanks to an accident where it crashed to the ground, but thankfully the figure is still in pretty good shape. Deformities in the backpack (factory error, I suppose) and how hard it is to put in and switch parts makes me kind-of nervous switching things on the figure more than even the EMSIA figures do for how too loose it is at times (but not sagging).
So, while I thank you for the recommendation a few months back (but still would’ve got the figure anyway), in a way I think it was a wrong call, and was one of the bigger spirit-crushers for me in so far as overall quality. I expected MSIA in a way, but got different. I only wish some normal glue for the sort-of-sagging wing can work out a bit. I still like the figure if only because it’s nice to look at (and it’s my favorite Katoki design), but I should’ve been even more patient for the 1/100 model.
March 3, 2009 at 10:43 PM
The Wing Ver Ka is one of the older GFF so “quality” isn’t exactly a strong point ^^;. And yes, all GFF comes with some form of deformities here and there for some odd reasons. That part never improves even with the new GFF. Guess that’s part of its characteristics. Don’t let this one crush your spirit on the whole line-up; some are very nice!
March 4, 2009 at 7:55 AM
Well, there are upsides for the figure anyway: It’s the Wing ver. Ka, and I just like Katoki’s Gundam W designs. I managed to get a couple models of his other GW designs (two older 1/144 HG models to go with an HGUC GP02A MLRS model). The articulation in some points are still strong, and as long as I’m careful, the left wing can hold its own. I still want glue on the hinges of that thing, but I’m not sure how effective that’ll be, and I might just wear it down a bit by trying to work the glue in the thing.
The biggest bonus is, unlike the EMSIAs I have, I’m in little danger of damaging the front/back skirt armor; like the wings, they’re attached to hinges. The EMSIA I have seem to all have front/back skirt armor pieces as one entire piece, like an old RX-79 Ground Gundam I have for an MSIA. Around ’07, I almost warped the front skirt armor to the point of tearing it off by posing it too much, so I decided to be careful and not pose with the figures that involve skirt armor-bending too much. The waist doesn’t seem too fragile (but I wouldn’t say it’s very sturdy), and it seemed like it had a little bit of bending ability like my EMSIA figures.
So, while there are upsides to the figure, it was initially a big disappointment as this was one thing I’ve wanted for a while when I had a renewed interest in Gundam a couple years back. But I should keep in mind I hadn’t dealt with a GFF before, so I really shouldn’t have (in another review of yours) said it sounded like an old MSIA figure of mine in handling. Maybe it’s something that can grow on you if you get used to the figure, and I’m having to. I just wish I had a stand for it so I can hold it on its waist or in another secure area, and maybe one for the buster rifle as well. Anything “ver. Ka” in the future I’ll get would be a model; I bet the MG Wing ver. Ka’s a little more articulation and durability when assembled; you thought it was safer transforming the MG into bird mode than you did with the GFF figure.
March 4, 2009 at 3:07 PM
I understand where your disappointment is coming from and I felt somewhat the same way with this GFF when I first got it but I expected from everything I heard about this line ^^;. I wasn’t so let down by it because I got it just for display purposes and nothing more. The MG Wing Ver. Ka is definitely more solid and many times better than this GFF and would look even better provided you also put in the effort to slap on each and every decal ^^;.
March 4, 2009 at 7:19 PM
The beam sabors on the Fix Fig are pink/red, but the ones on the MG are green? Wuts up with that? Anyway, the green looks betta.
March 4, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Z: If and when I obtain the MG version, I’m sure I’d work on it as best I can, but with not having much experience, I’d initially keep it with having not much of any decals. Sure, I’m probably certain if it wouldn’t be so time-consuming to put decals in mecha in anime TV shows/OVAs in the ’90s, Katoki would’ve put some decals on his mecha (beyond large ones, such as the bird on Tallgeese’s shield), and even on some of his artwork, such as his initial drawings of his Gundam W redesigns for Newtype magazine.
Okay, too much digression. The thing is, I’d be at least content without much of any decals on it for a while, but adding it on would make it look good, and I would when I learn how to doing so without messing up. But you’d think that if Wing Gundam (in the alright anime it comes from) had those big decals on it that Lady Une would start threatening the dropping of colonies on Episode 2 rather than Episode 10.
Lelouch: Maybe Katoki initially wanted his redesign to have a more UC-style beam saber? But then, around that time, even MSIAs of Gundams (in a given Gundam TV/OVA anime) that had green beam sabers had pink in the transition to figure. My U.S. edition MSIA of Wing Gundam (TV version) has a pink beam saber rather than the green it was in the Gundam W anime.
March 12, 2009 at 1:56 PM
I should also point out that, either cameras don’t accurately show the colors of objects, my eyes are shot (not likely; I did some comparison to other figures), or my own figure’s part of an odd batch or something (likely). What I mean is that my figure’s blue colors are more of a pale-purplish-blue that sometimes look blue.
There’s another thing I noticed in various pictures and even my own figure is a decal on the shield (between the fin and “XXXG01″ marking). On the MG version, the marking in question is spelled out as “Operation Meteor”. On the GFF version, it’s spelled out, “Operation Meteot” for some reason.
March 12, 2009 at 9:16 PM
Siroh, no need to think so hard about the beam saber part. I just think they use whatever clear plastic was convenient at the time ^^;
As for the colors, my figure is close to the blue you see above. The actual tone is lighter though and not at all purplish. You got some sharp eyes, I didn’t even noticed that typo ^^;
March 12, 2009 at 9:38 PM
Well, as far as the beam saber goes, I wasn’t exactly being philosophical. :) As for the colors, I took some photos of my own, and noticed the blue in my photos are pretty similar. Yet as I look at it in daytime or under incandescent light, the blue is closer to being purplish. I still don’t think my eyes are shot; I see the blue on my other figures fine (my EMSIA figures like Freedom Gundam and Wing Zero, for instance). Just odd, but I guess it could be me. And the typo part at a glance can be normally unseen, but if you looked closely for yourself in boredom, or checked out one of the images at the following webpage…:
http://cagallibi.web.fc2.com/gffwe.htm
…The typo is apparent on the shield.
November 4, 2009 at 9:27 PM
Z do you happen to have the box lying around still?
November 4, 2009 at 10:05 PM
I do, Derringer. Even Hobby Search has it:
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10024824a2/20/2
(If it has to do with one of my replies, then I made an error as to where the exact lineart I saw is located. But I do know where I saw it…)
November 4, 2009 at 10:08 PM
(…I found it on Flickr. At least what appears to be pages on the GFF showing pictures of it and lineart of. I forgot how I exactly found the image, but I remember I bookmarked it, and here it is:)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/135494344_75dcb0f563_o.jpg
November 4, 2009 at 11:24 PM
Derringer, I do… but it is on the very very bottom of my GFF stack ^^;. Besides, Siroh provided better images than any photos I could’ve taken.
… every time I’m recalled back to this review, I’m reminded that I still need to retake the photos and update this page… the photos here are taken with my camera phone xD.
November 5, 2009 at 9:23 AM
oh lol guys I was just wondering if he had the box lying around
November 5, 2009 at 9:31 AM
On that note, I still can’t find the source of the Wing Early Type lineart on MAHQ. These are earlier than the GFF, and include the initial rough bird mode sketch. The original Wing Early type picture I have from Character Model 5 is a mod of the PG WZC and also had noticeably more blue on the shoulders like the TV wing as well as the red piece on the V fin, just like the wallpaper group picture of the 5 gundams together. The shield I believe has gone through the most evolution. The vents/airducts were originally more prounounced and looked more like intakes from a fighter jet. The beam saber also was retrieved from a compartment on the shield that opened up, like the original TV wing.
November 5, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Speaking of that, does anyone still have that wallpaper of the original Ver. Ka GW Gundams? ^^; I loved that image but lost it with my old HDD. I believe I grabbed it off MAHQ when it still had a wallpaper section..
November 5, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Derringer, Now I haven’t exactly got to the bottom of it now that you brought it up, but as far as that lineart of Wing Gundam in bird mode, I always thought it was fanart trying to pass as accurate lineart of Katoki’s Wing Gundam in bird mode as seen in pictures of the GFF figure and MG model in bird mode. I remember a little over two years back that MAHQ updated their mecha pages and revised some lineart, using the MG lineart of Heavyarms ver. Ka instead of the original 1997 version, and getting rid of the alternate 1997 lineart of Wing ver. Ka (as well as an ’01 or ’02 picture of a Wing ver. Ka model in bird mode configuration) in favor of a drawn depiction of Wing ver. Ka in bird mode. I haven’t seen that rough sketch before then.
Z, here ya go!
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa301/Siroh32/Wallpaper/GW-ver_EW.jpg
November 5, 2009 at 2:53 PM
Sweet! Thanks Siroh. I still need to catch up on the Ver. ka “essays” you and derringer wrote in the other post xD. Hmm… Bandai would be foolish to not release MGs of the rest of the team. Oh, and it seems like that Deathscythe’s shield actually turned into Nataku’s Dragon Hang over time…