Sandrock Custom (Supernova)

Hi guys :) It's been almost a month since I last blogged, and here comes Supernova's Sandrock Custom.

For this, I would like to thank Supernova for giving me the pleasure to review this kit, and thanks to my friend Station Wensin II for his effort for the arrangement.

For those who are curious, yes, Sandrock Custom is the 2nd of the series Supernova produce, where the 1st was Nataku, also known as Altron, which I would do in another review soon to come.

Manufacturer: Supernova
Scale: 1/100
Grade: MG
Series: Wing Gundam
Price: TBA

Section 1: Runners

The plastic is pretty nice on the first glance. The coloring is very nice and I love them so much. The parts uses mostly under-gates, which would help prevent unnecessary damage while cleaning nub marks. There are a few parts that are very sharp, so be extra careful handling them ;)

Parts separation is done nicely, and detailing are very nice too; you can definitely make this more exciting than the straight-built kit in this review with a tad of coloring here and there :)

Snapfitting experience, however, is not good for the inner-frame... it could be due to customer feedback, I felt that the inner-frame has been molded thicker compare to Nataku. This is making some parts not fitting well OOB and leaving big gaps that required some manual trimming. Nevertheless, no big issue that cannot be solved with extra effort.

On the opposite, the outer-armors fits very well and I absolutely in love with it.

Section 2: Accessories and Stickers

The heat shotel parts are very sharp, so please handle with care.

This kit also comes with the cloak but I am not putting it on :P

There's also a sticker sheet but I only use the one for the eyes camera and put the rest aside.

I didn't see the silly "metallic" color sticker like the one with Nataku, so I figured the idea has been benched :P

There's also a sheet of corresponding water decal which I forgotten about :P

Section 3: 1st Batch Premium Items

As I have been told, the following premium items are for the 1st batch order only.

A set of heat shotel parts in semi-transparent blue, and the part to "hang" them.

A pair of action stands, with Nataku and Sandrock Custom pre-painted.

Now, let is go through my build experience :)


Section 4: Feet

The feet are pretty straight forward and standard for the Wing series. Detailing and parts separation is done nicely :)

You can see the inner-frame of the ankle has a big gap, but it would not be visible after fixing the exterior armor so no issue here :p

Section 5: Legs

The inner-frame is also standard for Wing series but with elongated shins. The fitting of the shins' inner-frame clearly leaving a gap but same as the feet, they are not visible once the exterior armor is up.

On the exterior, the detailing and parts separation is nicely done. The legs would look amazing only with simple panel lining :)

Section 6: Waist and Lower Body

The waist unit is straight forward but is separated to quite a number of parts, and some are very sharp. The detailing and parts separation adds to the awesomeness of this kit :)

Section 7: Chest and Torso

The detailing and parts separation of the exterior is fantastically done, but I have a big frustration on the inner-frame!

First, remember I mentioned that the inner-frame is slightly thicker? When I connect the neck part (the L-shape) to the chest part (the cockpit, the round thingy), the thickness of the peck actually break the round connector of the neck part. The torso can be tilted slightly forward and backward where it connects to the chest unit.

Secondly, the same cockpit, the hook in front is supposed to clip on to the hatch to access the cockpit, but don't know if it is the molding problem of the cockpit or and entirely wrong mold was used, it won't clip onto the hatch at all. I've got frustrated and decided to cut the entire hook and glue the cockpit hatch in place.

Thirdly, the neck piece (neck brace?) is too thick and keeps popping the head out from the neck connector. One can choose to sand the top for a bit before fitting it onto the neck part.

Fourthly, the torso joint to the waist is too big... I've got to file it down in order to fit it in without damaging the kit :(

However, all these will not be seen after you have completed this section but it frustrates me, a lot.

Section 8: Shoulders and Arms

Straight-forward and standard Wing series arms, with fantastic detailing and parts separation. The kit will look amazing with just simple panel lining ;)

Section 9: Head

Very nice parts separation, but is not friendly to my fat fingers :P

Be extra careful NOT to lose the tiny light-blue-colored piece that would go in front of the forehead... and do resolve to using glue if it gets too frustrated fixing everything in :P

The head looks amazing too ;)

Section 10: Backpack

The backpack is nicely done and able to hold the heat-shotels :) 

Section 11: Weapons and Accessories

The heat shotels are nicely done, and it comes in 2-pairs. It goes well with the standard silver-colored blade, and look amazing with the 1st batch premium blade :) Heat shotels could be held by hand, hang on the backpack, or mounted on the shield for practical usage.

The shield also comes in pair, which could be mounted on the forearms, or hang on the extra shoulder parts. The shields are nicely done, with the flaw that the black parts at the side always fall off, which can be easily fixed with a tad bit of glue :)

There is also a sub machine gun that I completely forgotten thus no picture :P Maybe I take some after the kit is back from the display.

As for the extra shoulder parts, they are pretty straight forward but nicely done :)

Section 12: Basic Posing

Some picture with the heat shotel only, and plus extra shoulder parts + shields.

My Personal Experience 

First of all, I was attracted but the improved design of the Nataku and Sandrock Custom by Supernova. After assemble both kit, I do appreciate the effort to make these as a latest designed MG kit instead of us having to suffer with the silly Premium Bandai kit with no effort to please the fan worldwide :)

Overall, it took me about 20 hours to complete this kit with review and photo-taking in mind, and also due to some frustration with the flaws; it should about 9 hours otherwise.

The inner-frame is a very standard and straight-forward Wing series MG kit, but the exterior is of the new design with reference to the new novel and comics. Although I am paying about the same price as a non Premium Bandai kit for this, I'll take this every time if I would to choose between this and the Bandai's iteration :P

The kit is pretty steady, detailing are fantastic, and colors are vivid! You know my frustration over certain flaws but all will go to past once you completed this kit :)

And because of the nice parts separation, this kit is both OOB-rookie and coloring-veteran friendly :) I can't wait for the next one, and I certainly hope Supernova would change their mind of not wanting to make the Wing Gundam.

Overall Rating (Not giving points, just what I felt)

Assembly Experience: Good (could be better if the inner-frame is made better)

Plastic Quality: Good

Parts Separation: Very good :)

Color: Very good :)

Detailing: Very good :)
Posing Possibility: Good ;)

Recommendation: Highly recommended :) 

Articulations

Head/Neck: Good
Shoulders: Good
Arms/Elbow: Good
Waist: Good
Skirt Armor: Excellent
Hip/Tight: Excellent
Knee: Excellent
Ankle: Good
Feet: Good

See you guys around :)