GBT#16-ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny might be my second most hated Gundam anything (It was #1 for a long time until Recongusita in G did the impossible and dethroned it), but the Cosmic Era does have some of the coolest and most awesomely designs Mobile Suits in the entire franchise.  I especially love how the basic Gundams like the Strike and Impulse can be rolled out with varying weapons sets to suit any particular combat situation.  Today though, we’re talking about a far more advanced Gundam…one piloted by one of my least favorite characters in the franchise.  I’ve always had trouble with Gunpla that I consider to be “extra.”  By this I mean they have an overabundance of weapons, backpacks, wing spans, generally just stuff that makes it feel overcrowded, so much so it makes it a huge pain to balance and pose the model.  The Destiny Gundam was one I had such concerns with, especially once I saw the backpack, the foldout weapons attached to said backpack, and the wings.  So, how did I do with it?

 
Suit History

In the later days of the Second Bloody Valentine War during C.E. 73, ZAFT unveiled two of the most advanced Mobile Suits, the ZGMF-X666S Legend Gundam and the ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam.  The latter of these suits was assigned to Minerva Gundam Pilot Shinn Asuka, who had long proven his skills with the Destiny’s predecessor, the Impulse Gundam.  The Destiny utilized many of the Impulse’s sizeable weapons sets, but all were incorporated into the suit rather than needing to have them swapped out.  With all of these armaments plus more advanced systems such as a propulsion system that could produce “Wings of Light”, which increased it’s speed tremendously, the Destiny became a one man army Mobile Suit, even being able to destroy several of the once nigh unstoppable Destroy Gundam Mobile Armors single handedly.  However, during the final battle of the war, the Destiny would be defeated and virtually destroyed by Athrun Zala and his Infinite Justice Gundam, though Shinn would ultimately survive.

 
Build Experience

So, while the main body seemed like a cakewalk compared to what I feared might be coming next, as it turns out, the backpack wasn’t the worst part of this entire build as I’d feared.  In fact, it was deceptively not bad.  I was concerned I wasn’t attaching the wings properly, even though they were able to fold in and out as indicated.  No, the extra empty space was reserved for the butterfly like particle effects when the Destiny is allowed to go all out.  There are ports that allowed for a simple snap in…though I’ll be honest, I’m really nervous about detaching those things, they might be a permanent part of this Gunpla.  And you know what, that’s kind of ok because seeing that effect is the true eye catch of the Destiny.  Everything else is either standard or iffy.  The iffy comes from the weapons lockers on the backpack.  The sword can detach easily and has a beam blade add on, making it by far my favorite weapon of the Destiny’s arsenal.  The cannon on its left side is the one I question.  I’m still not sure if its snapped in as securely as possible and I’m not sure it looks right when it folds out.  There are also some extra features like the fins that refuse to stay in the shoulders can become Beam Daggers and there’s an Iron Man Style repulsor cannon effect that can be done with special attachments for either arm.  But after the care taken to get this thing built, I’m not counting on posing this a ton like I’ve done with other Gunpla. 

Conclusion/Rating
Of all the “Extra” Gunpla I’ve built in the last few months, the Destiny at least seems to be able to hold all of its equipment securely and the extra effort put into the particle wings is easily the best part of the Mobile Suit design.  The weapons backpack could feel a bit more secure when it comes to holding the fold out cannon and the sweet Beam Sword that is the only weapon I feel it needs.  Like I said, not sure I’ll do every single posable possibility or weapons loadout with this one because the Particle Wings out with Sword and Sheild in hand seems like the best winner.  I just wish I felt more confident posing Gunpla with all these extra odds and ends and not feeling like theyre going to break apart the moment I try.  Still believe Shinn Asuka doesn’t deserve a Gundam that looks this cool.
 
7/10

We head from one of my least liked Gundam series to another Next Thursday as we check out a Gunpla of arguably the best Gundam of the Advanced Generation Era (at least it has the best pilot for damn sure). See you next week for more Gunpla Builder Thursday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.