XXXG-01Wfr Gundam Fenice Rinascita
Gorgeous in red, white, and green, and genuinely nervous about being touched.
MechaGrade Score
Gundam Fenice Rinascita · 1/100 · 2015
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I love looking at this kit more than I loved building it, and I think that is exactly the trade David Fellini's design was always going to make.
The Italian tricolor scheme is unlike anything else in my collection, the wing shield and dual beam sword payoff is a real moment, and I do not regret owning it. But the internal frame that lets it transform is thin, fragile, and honestly a little scary to pose once it is finished.
Best for: display-first builders who want a striking, unusual color scheme and can live with a kit that is happier standing still than being posed hard
What it is
This is the rebuilt, rebirthed version of Ricardo Fellini's Wing Gundam Fenice from Gundam Build Fighters, and Bandai leaned all the way into the Italian theme. Red, white, and green molded plastic, almost no stickers needed, and a silhouette that reads completely differently from anything in the Universal Century catalog. The loadout alone makes the box worth it. A buster rifle, an uzi-style sidearm, twin beam swords that combine into one huge beam cannon, and a wing shield large enough to store its own beam saber. Snapping the wings open the first time and seeing that shape come together is a genuinely good moment on the workbench.
The catch
The transformation gimmick is the whole reason the frame is compromised. To fold down into its alternate mode, the internal skeleton is built from small, thin connector pieces rather than one solid frame, and those pieces feel like they could snap the moment you push a joint past a gentle range. Add in the size and weight of the wings and weapons and you get a genuinely top-heavy kit that tips over on its own display stand more than I would like. Nub placement is rough in a few spots too, right on visible panel edges, so cleanup takes real patience if you want clean lines.
Who it's for
Grab this one if you want a kit that looks like nothing else on your shelf and you are building it to stand and look good rather than get posed into a fight scene every week. The color separation and weapon selection reward patient, careful assembly. Skip it if you want an MG you can handle roughly, swap poses on constantly, or hand to a newer builder as a confidence project, because the fragile frame and top-heavy stance will punish exactly that kind of use. This is a display piece first and an action figure a distant second.
The build story
What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.
Runner count and part count are on the higher side for an MG at this price point, and most of that part budget goes into the transformation frame rather than surface detail, so assembly spends a lot of time on small interlocking connector pieces that do not feel confidence inspiring while you are working with them. Take the transformation steps slowly and do not force any joint that resists.
Once built, the payoff is real. The color separation from molded plastic alone is strong enough that you can skip most of the sticker sheet, the wing shield is a genuine centerpiece prop, and the combinable beam swords into a single oversized beam cannon is the kind of gimmick that makes photos pop. Articulation is there on paper but gets eaten up fast once the shoulder mantles and wings are attached, so expect to pick a handful of hero poses rather than free-pose it like a lighter MG.
Lore & trivia
- 01Fenice Rinascita belongs to Ricardo Fellini in Gundam Build Fighters, an upgrade built after his original Wing Gundam Fenice was wrecked losing to the Qubeley Papillon in the semifinals.
- 02The name is literal Italian: Fenice means Phoenix and Rinascita means Rebirth, matching both the pilot's nationality and the suit's in-story origin story of being rebuilt from a defeated machine.
- 03The kit released in June 2015 as a D1 box set at 4,800 yen, with 20 runners feeding into 462 parts.
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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