XXXG-01SR2 Gundam Sandrock Custom EW
The desert Gundam's upgrade finally gets the small-scale treatment its heat shotels deserve.
MechaGrade Score
Gundam Sandrock Custom · 1/144 · 2026
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This is a genuinely satisfying HG that punches above its price band.
The articulation is the headline here, double-jointed elbows and knees plus a real swing-out hip and skirt clearance mean the twin heat shotel poses actually happen instead of getting stopped short by plastic. It is not a technical showcase like a modern inner-frame HG, but as a straightforward, fun build of an underserved Wing suit, it delivers.
Best for: Wing series fans and HG builders who want dynamic dual-blade poses without RG-level fuss
What it is
I went into this expecting a re-tread of the original Sandrock skeleton with new armor glued on, and instead got a kit that actually earns the Custom name. The double ball-jointed neck, the 360 degree waist, the way the skirt armor lifts out of the way so the legs can kick up, all of it is built around letting Quatre's suit cross those enormous curved heat shotels without the pose collapsing. Assembly was quick and low-stress, gate placement is considerate, and I was posing it inside an evening rather than fighting it.
The catch
Color separation is strong for an HG but not total. You still get a small handful of stickers, the sensor gems on the head, chest, and shield, and one reviewer's complaint tracks with what I found: the tiny green torso gem sticker is fiddly enough that a gundam marker is the better call. The heat shotels themselves are molded in one solid color, so the superheated blade look is left to your imagination or your paint. Nothing here is a dealbreaker, but if you want zero stickers, look elsewhere in the line.
Who it's for
If you like Gundam Wing and have never built Sandrock Custom specifically, this is the version to grab, it is friendlier and cheaper than hunting the old kit and the articulation upgrades are real, not marketing. Newer builders will find nothing here that trips them up, gate cleanup is minimal and there are no whisper-thin parts to snap. Builders chasing full molded color accuracy or panel-line-ready surface detail should look toward the MG instead, this kit trades some of that polish for speed and price.
The build story
What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.
The build moves fast. Gates sit in low-visibility spots, there are no oddly thin or brittle parts to worry about, and the whole thing goes together in an evening without needing to hunt for tricky sub-assemblies. The few stickers on hand are limited to sensor accents on the head, chest, and shield, and only the tiny chest gem gave me any real trouble getting it to sit flat.
Where this kit earns its price is the frame. The neck is a double ball joint, the torso can twist and lean through a proper waist assembly, and the hips swing forward with the skirt armor lifting clear so the legs are not boxed in. Elbows and knees are both double-jointed, which matters a lot here because the whole point of Sandrock Custom is crossing those two massive curved heat shotels in front of the chest, and this frame lets that pose actually close without gapping.
Lore & trivia
- 01Gundam Sandrock Custom is piloted by Quatre Raberba Winner in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, an upgrade built after his original Sandrock was destroyed.
- 02Its signature weapons are a pair of oversized curved heat shotels that can be superheated for extra cutting power, capable of slicing an opponent in one motion per blade.
- 03In the Endless Waltz story, Quatre is captured and manipulated into piloting the suit against his own allies, Duo Maxwell and Trowa Barton, before breaking free to fight at Vulkanus.
- 04This HG release brings the Custom variant to the smaller, more affordable 1/144 scale after it had previously been available mainly as an HGAC and MG.
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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