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XXXG-01D Gundam Deathscythe

The God of Death gets a proper modern HG, twenty years overdue and worth the wait.

MechaGrade Score

3.9 out of 53.9/5

Gundam Deathscythe · 1/144 · 2021

GradeHG
Scale1/144
Released2021
Runnersn/a
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The verdict

This is the HG the original Gundam Wing lineup badly needed, and it delivers.

Duo Maxwell's stealth Gundam had been stuck with a much older, much simpler kit for two decades, and this 2021 HGAC remaster brings real articulation, real color separation, and a genuinely fun build to a suit that deserved better. It is not a flawless kit, but for the price and the grade it is one of the better After Colony entries out there.

Best for: Gundam Wing fans and HG builders who want a quick, characterful build with a standout weapon gimmick

The full review

What it is

This kit rebuilds Duo Maxwell's Deathscythe with the same shoulder and knee sliding armor gimmicks Bandai has been putting into its better HG lines lately, and it shows. The double beam scythe is the star of the show, it splits into two blades or locks together into one long scythe/lance, and it comes with a big dynamic effect part that actually makes the thing look like it is cutting through something. Assembly is quick and low-stress, snapping together in an evening without a fight, and the finished pose out of the box already looks like the God of Death should look, lean, black, and mean.

The catch

The color separation on the wings and rib armor still leans on foil stickers rather than molded plastic, which is the one spot where this kit shows its price point. A few of the dark navy blue parts have nub marks that need real attention if you want a clean shelf finish, since the dark plastic hides sloppy gate cleanup less than lighter colors do. It is also a small, light HG, so if you are coming from MG-scale kits the footprint and heft will feel modest, and the scythe blades are thin enough that I would not rough-house with them on the shelf.

Who it's for

If you grew up on Gundam Wing or just want a distinctive silhouette that is not another RX-78 clone, this is an easy recommendation, especially as a practice kit for seam-line cleanup and panel lining since the flat black surfaces show every improvement you make. Builders who demand full molded color separation everywhere should expect to reach for a marker or aftermarket sticker set on the wings and ribs. For most HG collectors, though, the price-to-payoff ratio here is strong and the pose-ability sells the character.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Runners go together fast with minimal fiddliness, no oddly tiny parts to lose and no awkward polycap wrangling. The dark navy blue and black parts are where you earn your keep, nub shine and gate marks are more visible on flat dark plastic so a few extra minutes with a nipper and sanding stick pays off more here than it would on a lighter-colored kit.

The shoulder ball joints swing forward with a slight pull-back motion and the double-jointed elbows give real bend, so the kit holds dynamic scythe-swinging poses without drooping. The head sits on a double-hinged neck for good tilt and swivel. The scythe assembly is the highlight, two separate blades that combine into one long weapon or split for dual-wielding, backed by an oversized translucent effect part that turns a static pose into a genuine action shot.

Lore & trivia

  • 01This HGAC release was the first new HG tooling for Deathscythe in roughly twenty years, replacing a kit that had not been updated since the original Gundam Wing HG line.
  • 02The Deathscythe was built by Professor G specifically around stealth and sensor-jamming technology to suit Duo Maxwell's assassination and infiltration combat style rather than head-on combat.
  • 03Duo Maxwell nicknamed himself the God of Death (Shinigami), and the suit's signature beam scythe was designed to be powerful enough to cut through multiple targets in a single sweep.
  • 04The kit's beam scythe converts between a two-handed lance-style mode and a split dual-scythe mode, and it stores compactly against the rear waist armor when not deployed.

What other builders say

This write-up is grounded in real reviews and builder discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:

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