GU-11

Thanks for the tips on the masking tape. I'm pretty sure I can find some thin masking tape at my local hobby store. It's actually Tamiya's official store--stocks nearly everything with a Tamiya label on it, but too far to make regular trips to. I just checked the some of the parts, and most of them are deep enough to simply cut into. There are some places with seams that are not only somewhat shallow, but impossibly thin and circular. After checking the promo pics, it seems that even the pro modeler didn't bother with these. He simply panel lined them in black. Honestly, I have no idea how deep is deep enough, but most of them look deep enough to hold the paint applied on them. What concerns me is how thin some of the lines are. Trying to mask from both sides might be a near-impossible task. That said, I'll still have to give it a try. My hat's off to the guy who did the display model for the promo pics. They don't them where I'm at. The best I can do is get a quality box-cutter.

They're HIGH END tiny, half naked, plastic women made by a reknowned Japanese artist. The "high end" and "reknowned Japanese artist" part should help convince Kicker's wife to let him set up a new figurine cabinet in the living room. Women love artsy stuff in the living room.

Might make a nice WFC Orion Pax. The slim, athletic build fits the character's library clerk turned aspiring freedom fighter bio. That's a little small even for a deluxe Optimus' head. But maybe if I sanded down the ball joint.... I've seen some pretty awesome seekers and Optimus custom out there that were made from Gunpla. I was planning to turn MG Exia into a Cybertronian Optimus, but so far I haven;t found any of the kits on sale. Can't bring myself to pay full price for a kit, only to kitbash the hell out of it, especially considering my rudimentary customizing skills. Oops, sorry for going way off track; this IS supposed to be a Gundam thread, after all.

I'm being selective for different reasons--dwindling storage space. Even on rotation, I'm fast running out of space to store the boxes themselves. As far as TF Prime, I'll only be getting the Takara release Arcee, Vehicon, and Voyager Starscream and maybe that giant green bot that transforms into a plane [don't remember his name]. If and when they release leader class Optimus and Megatron, I'll be picking those up as well.

Despite the price these go for, my hobby store was sold out on pre-orders for a whole year before they arrived. I entered the toy collecting hobby a little too late to even know this thing was being made, and could only watch as the other customers happily carted their Tumblers out the store. Damn things are huge. Some guys who came in a cab had to come back with a friend to carry that thing home.

Good advice. I'd better make that trip to the hobby store and get some Tamiya masking tape. I've been examining the parts that needed to be masked, and I was wondering how to go about it. Taking your example of cutting away the area to be painted, since the energy lines are basically just slits on the parts, could I just mask the entire part and cut into the seams? Would that work? The seams are so thin and narrow, that covering them from both sides seems unecessarilly troublesome and pointless. Also, would a Swiss Army knife do the trick for cutting the tape? It's the sharpest knife I have, and I use it to pare the nubs off plastic parts. I'm asking because I've never used this technique before [masking the whole area and cutting away the area to be painted], and the edge of a Swiss Army knife blade is not as angular as that of a box-cutter. BTW, They don't sell X-acto knives here, so would a brand new box-cutter be sharp enough do the trick if I can't use a Swiss Army knife? I know it sounds like a dumb question, but I've tried improvising once when decaling a kit, and messed it up real bad.

But they're NOT toys! They're action figures, ya hear me?! Action fig--...wait, they're not action figures either. They're, um...statues.

You're a life-saver, Penguin! Good thing you replied as quickly as you did. I stumbled on a gunpla building site tutorial teaching you how to mask plamo, and the guy used Scotch tape for the job--figured if it works for a seasoned model builder like that guy, it should be good enough for me. So I got a roll of the same semi-transparent tape on my way back from lunch. I was about to start masking the kit, but decided to check the thread first. If only I'd checked the thread first just now; would have saved me a few dollars' worth of tape. Oh well, there's bound to be something that needs taping up in a house. Guess I'll have to make that trip to the hobby store after all.

That is SWEET! Mind if I ask what are those five black devices on top of the shelves?

True. I just how the price is affordable enough to squeeze this in with the v2 Ozma I've pre-ordered.

That's what I'm thinking. Somehow, I actually find the official MP Megatron better looking than this one, despite the skinny legs and over-sized fusion cannon.

Yeah, QC issues can exist in any line. The extra chest part that came with my KOS-MOS had a bent blade thing, and it was right in the center of her chest. Good thing it wasn't essential to the fig. Back on topic, BRS 2035 is going to even more awesome once she's displayed with that gorgeous bike. Dammit, MF, stop making us wait! Love the figs, Kicker. Nice idea, displaying them with your DVD collection--or did you put them there just to take photos? That white Cammy statue was available at my local hobby shop a while ago; should have bought it when I had the chance. Great looking statue.

Thanks, Penguin! I guess an extra coat of white wouldn't be too much more trouble. All I plan to do with that kit is basically: ink in the blue energy lines, and panel line everything else. I'm still thinking about painting the gold parts. BTW, I noticed some swirls on the plastic parts. Could I get rid of these swirls if I sprayed a coat of clear gloss on it? I noticed the swirls disappear when I matte coat my Gundam figs, but I'm not sure of it works with gloss as well. Also, anything I should worry about when it comes to masking? I've heard that you might get sticky glue residue on your plastic kit from using certain types of masking tape, but I forgot which kind. Sorry for the barrage of questions, but the Jehuty's sold out at my place, and I don't want to screw up this kit.

This just gave me an idea. If I can still get my hands on this kit, I might be able to use its head to replace that aweful-looking one on TF United Laser Optimus. What scale is this kit, BTW?

Floating brown clouds like those in cartoons? Heheh, I know Gekkos aren't exactly the most popular designs in MGS; you either love 'em or hate 'em. I happen to love them. That cow noise they make takes a little getting used to, though. You know, if the price is somewhere along the lines of MP-10 Optimus, I might be willing to get one of those. I mean, the REX is easily twice the size of MP-10, and infinitely more detailed.

I know all about the damage UV light does to plastic. My whole whole room has been darkened with thick curtains and only generic light bulbs are used in there, so the UV light idea isn't something I'd be inclined to try. Yeah, everyone's been super generous with sharing their model-building wisdom. I truly appreciate it. The panel lining on the plastic kit. In the game, it's those streaks of bluish green light that intermittently run down the body of the Jehuty. Thanks for the pics! The effects look really nice, but I'm not sure if they'll be suitable for the Jehuty. On sensors, headlights and tail lights, they;d look awesome, though. I guess solid bright blue is still the safest choice for the Jehuty. BTW, I just read the color guide again [using what rudementary Japanese I know], and it says the recommended paint is Mr. Hobby Color H-1, a water-based paint. It's either acrylic paint from their Creos line or something from the Aqueous line, which means my Tamiya gloss white should be okay. And since I'm mixing the white and clear blue, would the base coat of white you mentioned in an earlier post still be necessary? And again, my inborn inability to comprehend written instrsuctions rears its ugly head. Then you said acrylic might not COVER as nicely, did you mean the coat would be uneven? I'm pretty sure you don't mean that, because those seams are really thin lines, so I don't think getting an even coat would be an issue.

I'd buy it in a heartbeat...if buying it didn't mean mortgaging my house. Just glad it's not a Gekko, or it'd be even more tempting. Can't resist those sexy ungulate legs wrapped in olive drag rubber, topped with a tank turret; is something wrong with me?

Thanks for the description. Truth is, I find those fancy IKEA LED's too expensive for display lighting, which means my figs aren't usually under any dedicated light sources. I guess I'll stick with the white base and sky blue method. One more thing: The instructions manual in the Jehuty kit recommends using "70% white mixed with 30% clear blue." What sort of effect would that have? I was wondering if I should try mixing paints for once and see if the results might mimic the energy lines on the promo pics. Also, I don't have their specified GS Mr. Color paints, but would Tamiya equivalents do the job?

I just hope they start making something non-web exclusive for a change. All this web exclusive nonsense gets really frustrating when the super parts you want are actually being made, but you can't buy them because you're not in the right country.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll definitely give 00 a try. As for AGE, the more I learn about it, the less interested I am in watching it. The seems pretty generic, and the character designs keep reminding me of other anime characters. For kit-bashing, Gundam head sculpts are perfect for deluxe class Optimus figs, while the transforming ones are good for Cybertronian mode Seekers, since they all have futuristic jet alt modes. Not so sure about Megatron, though, as his head sculpt is pretty different.

I'm assuming it;s made of soft rubber like the Ver.1 VF-25's. Some people recommend heating the affected part up with either a hair dryer or hot [NOT boiling] water before straightening it, and allowing it to set until cool. I've no idea how effective method this is, but there are the only two I've heard of. Hope this helps.

Seeing gorgeous pics like these, it's hard to resist logging onto HLJ or AmiAmi and placing an order for a Yammie VF-17! Honestly, it's even prettier than the animation! The fighter and GERWALK mode are a sight to behold.

Is that a bundle or yet another of those damn web exclusives again? PLEASE let it be the former! Sure glad the DOTM toyline was a total failure; now I can save some funds for new Macross awesomeness on my display shelf.

@Penguin: Thanks for the detailed explanation! I guess I'll use the flat gloss instead, since the trip to the hobby store where I get my paints is at least an hour's drive away. Cleaning up the mess with a Q-tip and some acrylic thinner is no problem, as I do it all the time after panel washing my Gundam kits, anyways. @Cesar Enrique: Whoa, I wasn't expecting to do anything near as elaborate as 3, with the LED installations! I don't trust myself enough to be drilling holes into my model kits. But I really appreciate the advice on using Tamiya chrome silver X-11. I bought some to drybrush my DMK-01 Optimus recently. How would the end results look like, if I used chrome silver as a base? Mind posting an example, if it's not too much trouble? BTW, what the frak is my post doing in the Anime and SF forum?

I'll say this much; Bandai certainly puts more effort into its box art than Yamato.