Review 026: 1/100 Wing Expansion Effect for Destiny and SF (Dragon Momoko)

I can’t remember if this was released the same date they released the Strike Freedom ver MB but it was a good decision for Dragon Momoko to create the same wing effects just like Bandai did. There were no problems but I encountered a possible isolated case during building which I will share later.

Unboxing:

The box was pretty plain and it doesn’t have any designs compared to the box of Daban Model. It’s just a simple brown box where you get to read the name Wings Expansion Effect.

Both front sides shows the image of the wing effects for Strike Freedom and Destiny printed in black. 

And here are the contents of the box (image above).

The construction manual isn’t the same with the other manuals you get in the usual model kits. This is just a long paper where the it is folded in several pages. The first side shows how to assemble the wing effects for strike freedom and the other side is the manual for destiny.

And aside from the main wing effects you need, the box also includes some sprues here and a pedestal. This is actually meant for Destiny. So yes, you may need to buy this Wings Expansion 

Effect kit just to get the pedestal because they will just give you the usual launch pad in every kit. And please do take note that the clear sprues are not included here in the box. You will get them if you purchase the Strike Freedom ver MB kit.  

So here are the plastic bags inside this box and you will see below the contents out of their respective bags.

And here’s the isolated issue and you will not notice it quickly in the image below.

It was not very easy to trace the problem here but there was another duplicate part (male) for the larger or upper wing effects (image on the left). And one of this wing effects is missing the “female” side.

As a summary, I got 3 male sides and 1 female side for the upper or large wing effects. The factory thought they are pretty much the same. Obviously I can’t force to fit both male sides as it may break the parts. I mentioned this to my client but it felt like my fault as well for not checking the contents very well. It was not very noticeable inside the plastic bags so you can’t blame me either especially it is my first time looking at the actual product.

Now that my plan is ruined where I can feature the Strike Freedom with the new wing effects, I had to resolve to my “Plan B”. At least I will still be able to feature the wing effects.

Wing Effects for Strike Freedom:

I thought it was a simple route and this one doesn’t have any shortcuts. There were gates connected to the wing effects and that means you will have to sand-clean them to look nice - it was a tiring job.

So here’s your other version of the clear rods where you can connect the Beam Cannons. Unlike the first one from the main kit, you can adjust the mechanical arms to your liking. But here in the Wing Expansion Effects kit, the rods are fixed. But there is no need to worry because it was designed to get the exact position of the wings. There’s also a support or rack that will hold the wings below which is a good pointer because there will be an additional weight from the wing effects.  

You also get a set of clear tips or connectors; short and long.

Do take note that these female pegs (A) are tight and often shows visible stress marks when attached to the rods (B).

What I noticed here during building of the large and small wing effects that some portions were fragile. The plastic quality isn’t that great in my opinion.

Anyways, they fit just fine even if the yellow clamps are broken. Because of the clear plastic, the yellow or gold inner frame can be seen through the wing effects which is cool. The weight is doubled obviously but there were no major problems to deal with.

Wing Effects for Destiny:

Same with the Strike Freedom, you need to remove the gates again and clean the nubs.

I am very glad that all of the wing effect parts for Destiny were complete.

Unlike the Strike Freedom that relies on the Beam Cannon’s gold frame to stay in place, this one uses a hook of sort that will lock on the hollow spaces. Plus, these two have slot-type pegs that will connect each other to avoid shaking.

Another feature here for Destiny is the option to use a single burst effect and make it look like this.

If the Strike Freedom has a clear rack to support the weight of the wing effects, the Destiny features the same thing in a different approach. You get these small parts that will act as support or lock in this encircle portion.

Once you have placed one of these, you won’t need to worry if the wing will slide down from its extra weight.

And let’s not forget the pedestal included in the kit. The color is black which is perfect for the original Destiny colors. But I don’t think it’s a good choice to use it for the Heine version because the model has a lighter or whiter theme. There were no issues here with just a few minor tight pegs.  

I will not add my usual rating chart here.

For plastic quality, it was nice but my rating would be something like 6/10 or 7/10. Because of the chalky or "crisp" feeling when cutting the nubs was like a downside knowing that the plastic is not that good. No need to be worried about it as long as you are careful with the tips so they don't break.

The snap fitting was not that bad and I would give the 7/10 here. Quite low if some might say but there were visible seams probably to the thin plastic effect on the middle portion. Each side of the wing uses a slot-type peg and sometimes they tend to slide out of those slots.

Lastly is the detailing which is 8/10. It was nice and it looks cool when already attached to their respective models. I am not fond of glitters but it was just fine as long as you don't look at it up close.