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.
ガンプラ命 
That wall paper is the original Wing Early Type. As far as we know there’s no lineart by itself that exists.
Things to note:
Color scheme is shifted on the “ears” and shoulders: top blue white red as opposed to the current top white blue red.
Shield: Colors and design completely different, beam saber opens from compartment like TV wing.
Rear skirts: angular like wings as opposed to standard skirt
Gun: shorter size similar to TV Wing; blue top guard does not cover fist; handle of gun more like WZC handle as opposed to the current handle
Wings: aside from color differences, wings can open up where it meets the 2 red portions and the yellow covering on top of the wing also opens up
Body: interior mechanical detail more revealing particularly on the side skirts; yellow portions on chest open up like TV Wing Zero model kit
I’m recently re-re-reading the review and comments here. First, about the photos (and I bring it up related to Z’s comment about what he took the photos with):
I’m currently taking photos of my models and figures (I finished my GFF Wing and 1/144 Altron ver. EW model, working on GP02a) for my DA page. I tried at first taking photos with my camera, but for some reason (abuses with falling-to-ground accidents or bad batteries like usual, or something else), it keeps failing on me. I took some decent images with what I set up with (my little place for shooting photos is near a window with daylight out) and the resolution is huge, but given the failure, I’m forced to try with my camera phone.
Now your photos here are not like your later images, yeah, but they’re actually not so bad. And sometimes with what we have around, we have to make good with, and I don’t think you have bad images here. Maybe I’m easy to please; maybe images have to be good as those close-up ones of GFF Wing I linked to months back, but I still think these aren’t bad.
I wouldn’t mind new images still, if only to see how you’d take photos of this GFF now and if you’d consider transforming it to the Katoki-esque bird mode, if not the Okawara-esque transformation described by your current review. I’ve yet to with mine, and with minor deformities present with the backpack, I don’t know if I would soon or if I’ll try being exceedingly careful about it…
And as to your review that I’ve re-re-read, I noticed another problem (that I should’ve picked up earlier): Unless you meant the then-near future at the time of its debut, your statement here about GFF Wing being the only non-UC GFF is inaccurate (even if you discount the [fill-in-the-blank] Region GFF lineups and GFF past the date of your review–June 2, 2008). Unless you can convincingly state that the God Gundam and Nobel/Sailor V Gundam GFF as well as the Gundam X/GX Divider/GX-Bit conversion parts GFF are Universal Century GFFs. :P (You can say it’s the only After Colony GFF.)
nice catch there xD. Wasn’t thinking about the other two GFF at the time of this write up I guess ^^;
*rubs hands* O-kaaaaay… Round 2, and I have the very GFF in question this time. I’ve yet to have gotten the 1/100 MG version, though, and while I still want it, I’m not sure as to my capabilities at the moment. Plus, I’m concentrating on getting GvGNP first, so don’t stare at me because I’ve yet to get an MG yet. :P
I like the pictures so far (especially that one in the front page that you also did for your MG around a year ago). The corrected info thus far seems pretty good, and I like your now-traditional way of mixing pictures along with th–
Wait a sec… Grenades? *chuckle* I didn’t know the Wing Gundam had grenades. I’m sure Hiiro Yui can tinker around with his E-Packs and have his Gundam throw them at some OZ-06MS Leos instead of shoving them in his Super Awesome Buster Rifle™ to use for dispensing with a dozen of them. :P Okay, nobody’s perfect, and you’re superior to me in model-building skills.
The two cases are ammo racks for additional E-Packs, so Hiiro wouldn’t be stuck with just three shots for his Buster Rifle in a given mission of vaporizing OZ mobile suits. It’s an advantage over Okawara’s original design that didn’t have any ammo racks and additional ammo for the Buster Rifle.
For Bird Mode, the legs don’t have to be bent, as I think they just stick out at attention as I mentioned before. Usually the wings should be flat left and right as a normal plane’s wings would, but they look fine on your first couple of images. I almost forgot that the shoulders should be swept back to reveal some intake-like thing or grate within the shoulders (Okawara’s bird mode is similar in this respect). You also have the option of keeping the ammo racks connected, but it’s not something required.
Otherwise, you pretty much have it. If there’s any doubt, and you don’t want to look at the attached paper with directions in your box, go back to the link or two of the official GFF covers or promotional images that features an image of Wing Gundam at bird mode. It looks simple to do from just looking at it, in comparison to, say, Zeta Gundam’s more complex transformation.
I disagree as far as beam saber-holding. I didn’t bother replacing the trigger hand for the beam saber when using the beam saber, and it fits like a glove. Not so much when using my 1/144 GP02A’s beam saber (because it’s green), but it works too, and it looks pretty good holding that beam saber at a downward angle and staring at an opponent.
It looks just as good when pointing a Buster Rifle at your camera, if you can somehow get lucky and get it to pose with its beam rifle unassisted. I did (and posted an image of that on DA), though with your old photos, you did it with its arm stretched out all the way. I think I was closer to getting it to aim towards the center of the camera, though. :)
I think if you can stretch things a bit further for somewhat more complex poses without sacrificing much of anything to the figure, it might work out for good photos, but simple poses like the Gundam being in flight (img_8287 in your review) are beautiful, and I think that’s where this GFF shines. This is, after all, a Gundam with wings for (at least some) flight capability, and that’s half of why it’s appealing for me. The other half is because of the sleek and graceful appearance of the design.
For the most part, I agree with your review, and I feel a little more comfortable with transforming my GFF to bird mode sooner or later. Given the upsides of the figure (to me), it’s fun playing around with it, though. I wish I had a proper stand for it, though.
As you can tell from the pingback above your comment, I typed this review up around 4 am… so that might have something to do with my silly mistake ^^;. But now that I think about it… E-pack grenades with the strength of the buster rifle isn’t such a bad idea…
I could’ve done more poses but given previous abuses and age of this figure, the joints looked as if it didn’t want to cooperate and some parts were sagging so I just did what I could to get the point across. If I want to see different poses, then I’ll just turn to my MG model ^^;
Excuses, excuses. :P Well, I can buy the age part as far as posing goes, given that since my re-discovery of my old MSiA figures in ’07, some of them were experiencing loosening of joints here and there and sagging began. I have had my GFF for just over eight months now, and while I’m not sure exactly when you’ve got this GFF, given your comments and such, it seems to be for much longer than the original date of your review. Though since you apparently are in better circumstances (schedule aside) than I am, you can easily get a fresh new one. Not that you would, after that endorsement of the MG version…
I remember reading something on Danny Choo’s website before, though, about using glue on joints and how that helps. It works sometimes for my MSiAs, but an MSiA (whether an old U.S. version with too much gloss, or a newer one with barely any at all) is by no means a GFF, so I can’t say for certain whether it works or not for GFFs. But have you thought of trying that?
Oh, by the way, if you’re going to use an excuse for messing up with the review again, at least blame it on the fact that you ate mayonnaise pie. ;) (I never knew there was such a thing…)
Just something to show that I found:
http://www.geocities.jp/awushu/shenlongka.htm
Not only without using any B-Club parts, but also giving Shenlong’s dragon fang an extending arm! Something missing from the translation from lineart to model at the time, or maybe Katoki wasn’t entirely perfect either. Doesn’t make me dislike his designs of the GW Gundams, though. Anyhow, I thought I’d show you at least this page (and the others, if you explore that website) that I found a while ago. My favorite image in that page I linked to here is the one at the very bottom.
may i request for the re-review for GFF Deep Striker, Z plus, Ex-S, Mk-II and GP03S? Have you gotten any of those GFFMC? Looing forward for those reviews :D
why do I need to re-review the Deep Striker and GP03S? and I have no plans for any of the GFFMC… not for the price of a PG ^^;
why is the beam saber pink and not green (with the slight blue tinge)? i think it woulda looked better if the saber wasn’t pink
Reusing old plastic I am assuming considering how the different wing models come with different color beams…
I can agree with that, Z. Originally, I threw out the possibility that Katoki wanted Wing to be more UC-ish and gave it a pink beam saber because of it (I think it had a pink one in one of the SRW games it was in, and the wings weren’t the thrusters in the game), but I think it’s a matter of being cheap, given my mention of early MSiA figures of Wing (and Wing Zero) sporting pink beam sabers.
I guess I’m slow in picking things up, but in looking at the images here of comparing the GFF to the MG, I noticed some more differences, such as how it seems like the MG’s head has more sharper details like a bigger V-fin and “ears” (though that might be the angle), and how it seems like it has a bulkier upper-torso because the shoulders (and arms) are connected to the torso a little higher. It looks like it’s directly connected to the shoulder vulcans. It’s a little weird to me, but something minor. Also, I thought at first when I noticed it other photos, it seems like the MG generally has smaller “claws” than the GFF version (making the MG more consistent with Katoki’s various lineart of Wing there). More obvious is the fact that the GFF’s wings lack the thrusters at the ends of the wings that the MG version sports, though I don’t think it’s hard to think at the time the wings are intended to be the thrusters (as is the case with Okawara’s design). I’m not sure though, since the related GFF lineart didn’t have them (though the MG’s lineart does). Most obvious is that the ability for the Wing Gundam and Wing Zero MGs to move the “knee” armor is something the GFF (and Wing Zero MSiAs, even the more modern EMSiA that I also have) lacks.
I won’t bother bringing up again the differences of color between photos of the GFF Wing and my own eyes on my own GFF. I guess it’s just my eyes, even though I can see the color blue just fine.
Quite unrelated to the review itself, but just want to say that last two pics of Wing makes me think of an Valkyrie in the sky holding up a sword/lance high up in the air ready to strike. Quite a fitting thing for Heero in Wing ready to decimate anyone below ^^;
I’m debating on whether to get this guy and the Wing Ka or two of this guy. I hate applying Decals. BTW the MG wing (new one) looks awesome.
I’m coming back to re-read this review as I unpackage my brand new figure (the second ever made on this design), and re-reading your confusion of Wing Gundam’s E-packs (on the ammo racks and buster rifle) as being grenades.
An interesting tidbit in retrospect; a couple of months ago, I’ve read something about a chapter in the new Gundam Wing novel “Frozen Teardrop”. In a battle Heero was involved in (using a mobile suit named “Snow White”; a bit Wing Gundam-esque), he had his teammate (Duo’s son piloting a mobile suit named “Warlock”; Deathscythe-esque, even if both MSs are in robes and bandages) throw e-packs at some opponents. Heero used his buster rifle to aim at these e-packs and fired at them; setting off the e-packs as if they were grenades or explosives of some kind.
So at least to a point, Z, you’ve been vindicated. :)