MG Tallgeese 1 EW Review:
This kit was my first ever MG so I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I can give well thought input on the kit regarding things from pose-ability to design and color. Alright then lets start off with it's color scheme and design.
Color's and design:
Head -
The head is a pretty unique design, resemblance of a Spartan warrior. I like the design and detail that went into the head alone, I forgot to take a picture, but I', pretty sure the face mask opens up to revel a clear camera piece. The colors in the head area are perfect in my opinion there isn't too much to make it look cluttered and not to little to make it look boring, like Some other parts. The head fully turns in a 360 motion and goes up and down relatively well, there is also a neck guard the moves when the head moves up and down, a pretty neat gimmick. Only problem with the head is that the...spartan-fro comes off rather easily.
Torso -
The torso has a pretty neat design and subtle color differences, it also has two strap for connecting the backpack onto it. You get some mobility from side to side, but not too much, this kit is kind of bulky especially with the Dober gun/shield connected to the hand, but we'll get to that later. The center of the torso opens up to reveal the cockpit with a tiny 1/100 scale Zechs inside, he's pretty deep in there so it's difficult to see him (pictured below). The front of the torso is pretty detailed and has good color separation I'm really liking the gray...pods? I'm not sure what to call them, but you can see it right below the head. The back of the torso doesn't provide for as much color separation but thats alright, I think it would have been too colorful in the torso area. Although the back is very detailed. Very nice work on bandais part.
Back Pack -
Probably my favorite part of the entire kit. These things are awesome. Granted they do make the kit pretty back heavy, but that's to be expected of any kit with such a large back pack. Anyway onto the cool gimmicks! The back pack alone is pretty cool looking when it's not open, but it's amazing looking when it's in full burst mode. It's pretty intricate engineering on Bandais part I gotta be honest it's a pretty neat gimmick. To open it up you simply gently pull on the top and bottom of the back pack and everything should pull out. It as kind of annoying to put together, but it was well worth it. The yellow really bring it together, makes it look less dull, I also like the different shades of gray. Very nice job Bandai.
Skirt -
I know, a review for the skirt? What, what's so weird, it's just a skirt! But not really! Bandai has gone ahead and attached these large side skirts to the thigh of the Tallgeese, pretty neat stuff, not gonna lie. This not only makes for an easier mobility for the entire kit, it also make the skirt a hell of a lot more stable. I usually hate skirts for this reason, but the gone ahead and did a good job on that, once again good on yeah Bandai. The front skirts though...they're kinda short. I know Bandais based in Japan and all but not everything needs a school girl skirt on it. The back skirt though, those things are awweeesoommee! Not only are they skirt protection for the Tallgeese's butt, but it also doubles as thrusters that you can open and close to your hearts content. Also pictured below, I balanced my Tallgeese I on it's Dober gun and leg, with no support anywhere else, pretty good balancing act for old man Zech huh?
Legs/feet -
The legs are pretty controversial for being too human like. I understand that come people don't like that, but personally I think they look great, the thunder thighs that everyone is talking about goes kind of unnoticed due to the giant side skirts. I really like the knees though,I dunno just something about them really turns me onto them...choice wording huh? The upper legs are kinda boring, but I mean, what mobile suit doesn't have boring looking thighs? Alright I can think of a few but that's beside the point. The thighs are boring and only have one giant panel line. Still, not ugly though. The Feet are pretty neat, standard feet, pretty positionable with good color balance.
Arms/shoulders/hands -
Alright, lets break this down. The hands are pretty unique, I've never seen hands like them before, but it could just be a MG thing. I pictured the hands in detail below. You can switch out the fingers while keeping the hand and hand armor on the mobile suit itself, which is pretty neat, it also has an opposable thumb. My only issue with it is that it doesn't seem too stable. I could just be doing it wrong or applying too much force, but it can fall out easily. It should be fine as long as it isn't touched too much. Unfortuantly the hands are the same color as the hand armor, kinda bland but what are you gonna do? The arms are pretty neat, nothing too special about them, pretty cool elbow armor. The shoulders though, these bad boys are awesome looking. they're big and menacing and are manly enough to carry not only the sleek shield but the Dober gun. They have pretty nice color separation but for some reason when you connect he Dober gun or shield to the hand it's pretty difficult to move the arm with out the feeling of something breaking, it's pretty difficult to put it into neat poses but if you are careful you can get away with it, just be careful!
Weapons/Shield -
Onto the weapons and shield! You don't get many weapons with this guy, but honestly does he really need it with this BIG ASS GUN?! I mean, look how many pieces it takes to assemble it! Not pictured is the spring. Yes there is a spring gimmick in this gun. What does it do? Pretty much nothing. You can pull back the gun to "load" it. Honestly it doesn't even work well for me, not sure if I messed it up during the building stages, but it's kind of an unnecessary gimmick in my opinion. The gun is huge, almost the entire length of the Tallgeese itself, so make sure you have enough room to display it. It's one flat color, gray, which honestly is alright for the Dober gun, I would have liked to see a little more color separation, maybe some black or lighter gray in there, but it's not too bad. The shield is pretty unique to this kit, it's a small circular shield resembling that of a Spartan warrior. The front of the shield is quite detailed for a spartan-esq shield add a decal of the eagle to it and you're sitting pretty. I love this thing, I think the shield and the head is what really drove me to the kit. Pictured below is the front and back of the shield and also the storage area for the beam sabers. Speaking of beam sabers, you get not one, but TWO curved pink beam sabers, pretty sweet.
Extras!
Time for the extras! You get some pretty good stuff with this kit. Unfortunately Bandai decided to not includ waterslides with this kit, but they did throw in some dry transfers My qualm with those is that they decided to put one of the most important decals (the eagle) onto the sticker sheet and not the dry transfer sheet. You get a 1/100 scale Zechs standing up as well as an extra curved beam saber and extra hands. Open, closed fist, and open fist.
Over all impressions -
All in all I think this is a great kit for any Gundam Wing fan and is generally a great addition to any collection. It has a unique design in both body and weapons and is piloted by one of the coolest "bad guys" in the series. It has some downfalls in it's poseabilty, but that's easily fixed wit ha good display base. One thing I forgot to mention is it's attachment to the display base is kinda flimsy if it is positioned at a downward angle. It shouldn't give you much trouble though. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this review, I know it's kinda of long but I try to be as detailed as possible. If you liked what you see feel free to share it with other and maybe even subscribe. If there is something you want to know about the kit that I did not cover or you want me to review another kit, let me know and I'll see what i can do. And as always, have a good one.
