Gunpla Review: HGBF 1/144 Fenice Rinascita Gundam · 2:03am Sep 7th, 2015
It's the final Gundam of the Italian dandy, Ricardo Fellini, the Fenice Rinascita -- and truth be told it looks almost completely different, from the chest piece to its height, to its design being symmetrical. But I like green, if you haven't noticed. I got the Rinascita for several other reasons as well: it calls back to the original Wing Gundam; it has a modular weapon system; it transforms simply and effectively to Wave Rider Mode.
Truthfully, a number of other Gunplas' transformations have bothered me, either because the parts don't lock properly into place, or because the transformation simply looks like wings sitting on top of the MS from any angle except for from directly above. Here, the wings lock into the shoulders, and the sideskirts lock into the sides of the legs (as long as you know how to handle the triple-jointed knee). The shield also attaches up front to hide the head at least a little, and the weapons can attach to the undersides of the arms. It's a pretty good transformation -- although I am still waiting on a restock of the Arios and GN Archer.
While this kit has more floating polycaps than the G-Portent, it is still simpler and more straightforward than the 00 and the Star Build. You do have to be careful with the pieces, and some stickers, such as the front camera, are tiny, so handling them might be a problem. Bandai gives you a green sticker for the underside of the chest gem, so I didn't colour the dome this time. It looks kind of awkward from certain angles, but otherwise it's still okay. I ended up with one extra part, but I double-checked and saw I hadn't missed anything in the instructions. The instructions also don't name the yellow double claw pieces for the arms, but it's pretty obvious that's what you're to use at that point in the assembly. Nub marks are more visible on the dark green, but I'm willing to bet a little paint would take care of that. Once again, the V-fin falls off easily, and the forehead jewel is almost as small as some of the stickers.
Still, this is a fun kit. At 3.5 hours it is also my fastest build. I give it an A.
