MG Kits and 1/100 Kits (ungraded)

[shiyao]

hi folks,

i thought i'd best not hijack the ROTS revell kits thread, so i started this one. search function turned up nothing, only a closed thread on hase macross models. (i could've been sloppy, though.)

the seed destiny 1/100 ungraded kits are out with a vengeance, and i've been meaning to get one of them (notably the blaze zaku phantom - rey colors), but i'm hesitating. are the pre-painted colors as good as those on the MG kits? i'm currently working on a zetaplus and the molded plastic colors have thoroughly impressed me (see below).

being one not keen on (nor good at) painting models, i'd be really pleased if the 1/100 ungraded seed destiny kits had as good a color finish as the MG kits. would really appreciate it if someone could enlighten me!

zetaplus WIP: (to an untrained eye like mine, the molded colors look pretty good)

[zeo-mare]

hi yea the prepainted colors are as good, i have Luna's Zaku coming in this week, the real difference between the two series HG and MG is the MG has more parts and better detail and proportions. but the color and plastic quality is as good as a MG kit i have a few of the Seed normal ones the 2 Astrays and they are quite nice, some of the kits however have horrible proportions the Freedom and Strike as well as the Force Impulse look funny, but the Zaku Warriors look very nice

Edited May 30, 2005 by zeo-mare

[Guppy]

I built this kit too. I have to admit, I didn't paint it but was really thorough with the decals and it looks great. I bougt it on the colour scheme alone. Let me know if you transform yours.. I never did mine!

You can get away without painting the MG's but I wouldn't with the HG seed kits. I did a Strike HG a long time ago and didn't paint it and now he's in the Carboard Box of Shame (where my starwars figures live)

Especially now I've got a PG strike, painted, weathered and decalled.

but painting is pretty easy, and when you shake off the procrastination it doesn't take very long.

edit - I also panel-lined my Zeta Test kit with a mechanical pencil. If you want panel lines that don't stand out as much as a black marker, espcecially on a lighter coloured kit like this, go for a pencil.

Edited May 30, 2005 by Guppy

[shiyao]

zeo-mare: wait wait hang on. the ungraded 1/100 kits are HG? no right? i believe you were talking about 3 categories: HG, MG and Ungraded 1/100? Luna's Zaku, then, would fall into the Ungraded 1/100 category?

guppy: HG seed kits - are you referring to the 1/100 ungradeds? i thought all HG kits were 1/144? damn i'm confusing myself.

re painting: it's not that i'm lazy, but rather i'm impatient and plain no good. i hate masking.

re transforming the zetaplus: i transformed my imai cyclone a while back. it now is in several pieces. no way am i going to transform this one!

re panel lining: pencil, marker - or wash? the last method appears to be the least tedious and to achieve the most uniform results.

[Sebastian]

Yesterday I put toghether a Blaze Zaku Warrior (1/100).

The kit is IMO very impressive. Of course it lacks of the feet and hands poseability you can get in a MG and the internal frame (but there is NO Zaku Warrior in MG form anyways).

The big let down in this kit is the Monoeye wich is nothing but a crappy sticker and the feet poseability as I said. The rest is quite good, at least what you should spect from a HG release.

Anyways a HG Kit comes with less colored parts and generally speaking less parts than a MG so if you can paint it a bit it would make a big difference.

I found the kit very well proportiones and poseability is really nice.

ABS injection is as good as any MG kit.

You should get it, and if you want you should try a bit of painting just to detail the model a bit. At least the monoeye please!.

This releases are labeled as 1/100 HG (high Grade) kits. They are NOT Ungraded.

The only Ungraded Seed Kits AFAIK are the small 1/144. As long it reads HG, HGUC, MG and PG they are all good, at least the newest kits.

[Guppy]

the SEED kits come in super-cheap 1/144 and then 1/100 HG. The HG's look good but are not as detailed and have less parts than the MG kits. then you have HGUC kits, which are 1/144 and I guess are like the MG equivalent.

Well, For least mess and most ease, use the mechanical pencil. I've used it on all my lighter colour kits and it looks great and has a uniform result. When I get home I'll take a pic of my Zeta for you. I also use a 0.1 fine point marker and wipe off any excess with my finger. But make sure not to get any inky fingerprints on your kit!

And with gundam kits, you don't need to mask at all. You just paint the pieces seperately or partially build it then paint.

[Sebastian]

If you dont want to truble yourself then apply a FLAT clear coat on the kit (Mr. Clearcoat by gunze sangyo is good) and the use a mechanical pen to make thin lines (sand the tip a bit and you will get thin lines, if you dont do it you will end with double pannel lines).

The matt clearcoat will erease the "plastic looking" and will make the surfice even and nice... but also the mechanical pen will stay easier. After you finish with the panel lines apply another coat and your done... all in 30 minutes.

[Sebastian]

the SEED kits come in super-cheap 1/144 and then 1/100 HG. The HG's look good but are not as detailed and have less parts than the MG kits. then you have HGUC kits, which are 1/144 and I guess are like the MG equivalent.

Well, For least mess and most ease, use the mechanical pencil. I've used it on all my lighter colour kits and it looks great and has a uniform result. When I get home I'll take a pic of my Zeta for you. I also use a 0.1 fine point marker and wipe off any excess with my finger. But make sure not to get any inky fingerprints on your kit!

And with gundam kits, you don't need to mask at all. You just paint the pieces seperately or partially build it then paint.

And dont pay attention to guppy, all his kits SUCKS.

Right Guppy?

[azrael]

You could have just borrowed the Plamodel thread:

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=7455

[shiyao]

yeah sorry my bad. i guess this thread should die.

incidentally: does anyone have pics of (your own, someone else's, doesn't matter) a completed but unpainted HG kit? ie. a HG kit built purely out of the box.

Edited May 30, 2005 by shiyao

[Sebastian]

Yeah, I have the Zaku Warrior assembled but unpainted. It is waiting for the airbrush...

I will take some pics today and post it here.

[Guppy]

Shut your mouth sebastian!

here's 3 quick pics of my zeta. It's unpainted but has panel lines and all decals applied. all of the grey lines are done with a mechanical pencil. The flash kills the detail a bit..

[Sebastian]

That is a nice very plastic looking crappy gundam you have there Guppy!!!

Make me wanna paint my unfinished zaku even more!

[Guppy]

I know what you can do you your zaku..

except for the grey parts on the kit, it looks fine unpainted. really! OK. I am lazy..

[Black Valkyrie]

Nice kit Guppy I LIKE IT

[Sebastian]

Nice kit Guppy I LIKE IT 

He is lying... he only said that to confort you.

MUAAA HA HA

Edit>

Edited May 30, 2005 by Sebastian

[Black Valkyrie]

[shiyao]

wow nice one guppy! the decals are water slide or dry press?

thanks seb - a pic of a zaku would be great, cos i actually want to get one of those seed destiny zakus.

[shiyao]

just to give this thread a bit of closure ..

here's the zeta plus, undecalled, unweathered, unpainted, unglued, unpanel-lined - and with 3 stickers applied. and constructed by a moron to boot!

gotta get me some more of these MG kits.

[Guppy]

don't worry, sebastian is only joking.. right? lol.

The decals that come with this kit are the dry press kind. But to get them right you have to cut them out then tape them to the right spot with a little masking tape. then I take the handle of a teaspoon or something similar that's metallic and not sharp and scratch and scratch and scratch the tape covering the decal so it will come off nice and clean. (and thanks to Sebastian for that tip!)

I may be just going crazy, but does the temperature affect how east the rub on decals come off? It's getting cold where I live, and I was applying decals on my new MG Dom and they were a bitch to get right. Then I tried using my wife's hair dryer to warm up the decal before I peeled the backing off and it came off fine.

[promethuem5]

They come with dry rub decals? That's awesome.

And I will say one thing... I'm kinda with Sebastian here that painted looks notibably better than unpainted. Certain color plastics look better than others unpainted as well due to light refraction properties, so keep this in mind as well. Red is in fact, one of the worst looking unpainted, because due to how the light bends, you see slightly into the plastic and it looks crappy....where as painted it has an opaque surface and a 'better' finish.... not that there's nothing wrong with assembling them dry outta the box....

[Guppy]

They come with dry rub decals? That's awesome.

And I will say one thing... I'm kinda with Sebastian here that painted looks notibably better than unpainted. Certain color plastics look better than others unpainted as well due to light refraction properties, so keep this in mind as well. Red is in fact, one of the worst looking unpainted, because due to how the light bends, you see slightly into the plastic and it looks crappy....where as painted it has an opaque surface and a 'better' finish.... not that there's nothing wrong with assembling them dry outta the box....

that's a good point. Blacks and greys look much better painted as they are a lot 'richer'. I have about 10-12 MG kits now and most are painted. The 2 other unpainted ones I have that looks fine are the EZ-8 and Gouf Custom. I painted the dark blue parts but left the light blue unpainted. Although I will proabably go back and do it again so I can weather him.

[promethuem5]

Good point as well, when I do any sorta mecha, it's all about the weathering, so that effects my impressions of a scheme as well cuz I cant not weather anything.

[shiyao]

those are useful tips for dry rub decals. will bear them in mind as i apply them to the zetaplus.

so ALL MG kits have dry rub decals? that's pretty neat.