Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

[Hikuro]

I love the Real Grade line, even with it's smaller pieces, it's the level of detail you'd expect only fun sized. However I'm also very partial to the Mega Grades and wished they'd do more. I at least have a Mega Grade RX-78-2, and I special painted it to resemble the RG and MG OYW versions. Giving it 2 tone white armor (though it was a tad dark) and some special high lights here and there, really make it look sharp. It was a VERY fast kit to put together, 90% of my time was just spray painting the tones. I'll have to get a picture of it and flash it around.

[areaseven]

RG kits have always been on my "to do" list since day one. Right now, one of my hobby shops has a bunch of them (RX-78-2, Zaku II, Char's Zaku II, Gundam Mk-II Titans, GP01, GP01Fb) on sale for roughly US$40 each. I'll pick up the RX-78-2 before Christmas and do a photo comparison with my other two versions (HG Ver. 30th and Entry Grade).

I also had the 1990 HG RX-78-2 Gundam, which was my second Gundam kit ever. Unfortunately, it got lost over the years. Here's a video from 2Old4Toys showing that kit.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

grab RG's on amazon. cheaper and fast shipping if you have prime.

"justice" real grade is awesome...

[Hikuro]

RG kits have always been on my "to do" list since day one. Right now, one of my hobby shops has a bunch of them (RX-78-2, Zaku II, Char's Zaku II, Gundam Mk-II Titans, GP01, GP01Fb) on sale for roughly US$40 each. I'll pick up the RX-78-2 before Christmas and do a photo comparison with my other two versions (HG Ver. 30th and Entry Grade).

I also had the 1990 HG RX-78-2 Gundam, which was my second Gundam kit ever. Unfortunately, it got lost over the years. Here's a video from 2Old4Toys showing that kit.

Strongly recommend giving them a shot. 40 dollars isn't a horrible price, but like above, Amazon if you got Prime like me is the best way to go.

I just remembered, I had the Zaku RG myself, the regular Green cannon fodder, it was okay. coolant hoses pop out often though. I think that's my biggest gripe over Zeon suits, those damn coolant hoses NEVER stay on in any model I work on that's Zeon!

I've been debating last few nights on getting a new RG kit....they are certainly fun. Been thinking GP01 and Zeta Gundam. Might just do it.

[Vifam7]

Time for a blast from the past. In 1990, Bandai introduced the High Grade (HG) line to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Gundam model kits (known today as Gunpla). The lineup consisted of the first four main Gundams (RX-78-2 Gundam, RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam, and MSZ-010 Double Zeta Gundam) remolded using the latest plastic technology at the time.

This Zeta Gundam was the very first Gundam kit I picked up back in 1993. It was a vast improvement over the first 1/144 Zeta released in 1985, incorporating polycaps, full transformation, and System Injection molding (where two colors were molded into one part). Unfortunately, the sculpt is inaccurate, as it's derived from the Zeta Plus C1 kit from 1987's Gundam Sentinel. It's also very fiddly to pose due to the sheer number of moving parts, and the head and torso need to be removed to transform it into Wave Rider mode. Still, it's an impressive kit, and I'm looking to spruce it up so it can fight another day. Hopefully, I'll pick up an RG Zeta this year to do a side-by-side comparison.

I used the wing section from that Zeta kit to mod my HG Aile Strike. The reason why I did this because I hated the small wings that came with HG Aile Strike kit. I later purchased the RG Aile Strike.

Edited November 24, 2013 by Vifam7

[areaseven]

I used the wing section from that Zeta kit to mod my HG Aile Strike. The reason why I did this because I hated the small wings that came with HG Aile Strike kit. I later purchased the RG Aile Strike.

Damn, that looks ready for a Gunpla Battle.

[Black Valkyrie]

Back to Gunpla business after a very long break, ordered some HGUC kits.

[areaseven]

Here's an interesting documentary on Gunpla. Go to 8:00 of this video and witness the mad skills done on a first generation Zaku II kit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JaYM87fj20

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxtT4wgzrys

[electric indigo]

MG Sazabi ver.Ka. will be released in Japan next week. Anybody ordered one?

[areaseven]

A new Gunpla record was recently set when a customized MG Nu Gundam was sold for ¥926,001. And here's why...

Someone Wants to Pay $9,000 for a Gundam Model

Edited December 15, 2013 by areaseven

[Phyrox]

A new Gunpla record was recently set when a customized MG Nu Gundam was sold for ¥926,001. And here's why...

I'm waiting for the "why." It looks nice. It doesn't look anywhere near nice enough to justify that figure. Am I missing something?

[Hikuro]

I can see rather why so high. That's a pretty steep customization. Sei would probably look at his Build Strike and this and go "Well, I'm done."

[close313]

MG Sazabi ver.Ka. will be released in Japan next week. Anybody ordered one?

I got one during the black friday sale. But i would only ship it after december since ill be overseas T-T

Ill try not to watch video reviews when this comes out until i received and assembled mine, but i feel that this abstinence will eventually fail hahaha. I want to have the first hand experience by myself.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

I ordered one too!!

[valhary]

me too

[Scyla]

I had one in my cart to go with the Nu Gundam but then decided that I might buy him when I like the experience with the Nu Gundam.

However I ordered a RG Gundam to get the right feeling for building Gunpla without ruining the MG.

[Smiley424]

Also ordered a Sazabi ver. Ka. Just got back from Tokyo, picked up some goodies, pics coming soon. I was very tempted to pick up the Titanium finish Nu Gundam, but I already picked up the GFT variant Nu Gundam at Odaiba the day before.

[Hikuro]

So the other day I went to my local hobby shop, they had very little, usually do, and their prices are just outrageous...but I saw the Proto Wing Zero but ugh, 68 bucks was juts to much.

Thus this morning I went further down to another hobby shop and they pretty much half a third of a 20 foot long shelf dedicated to Gunpla kits.

I found the exact same kit, 13 bucks cheaper! Didn't get it though this is where it gets better.

I ended up walking out with Zeta Gundam limited 2.0 for 60 and an EZ-8 for 35 and a lil EVA for my girlfriend, so all in all about 100 bucks.

best part was as I was looking at the massive amounts of Gundam kits one of the store managers comes up to me saying if I give him my wallet he'll get me some kits of his recommendation or something lol. he told me how out of the entire store Gunpla moves the fastest of everything else there. I made a joke about Build Fighers and you should of seen this guys eyes light up and he rushed over somewhere and told a guy to find the Gundam INFO page and link it to their store website lol. Hilarious.

So yeah, I'm finally building my first Zeta Gundam MG. I had a C Plus I think it was, but it wasn't great, the hips popped out all the time from the main frame. So I hear this kit eliminated ALL the problems. And I love the EZ-8's design, it was oen of my first kits way back when I got out of highschool. So I'm building a brand new one!

[areaseven]

I picked up my HG Build Gundam Mk-II a couple of weeks ago, and it reminds me of how frustrating it is to paint yellow over blue plastic. Nevertheless, it's a fun kit. Still halfway done with painting it, and once that's finished, it's off to the decal shop.

[lechuck]

I never got around to buying titanium kits but here is a review about a titanium mg gundam where rrobert talks about the titanium parts pros and cons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCR-UOD1AyQ

Thanks dizman, forgot about rrobbert184. Coincidentally he has started review for the titanium Nu Gundam now, so will be following.

I did break down beforehand though and got it in the end, just worried about getting rid of the nubs.

Which brings me to another question I have, what technique do you guys use buff/polish the area around the nub after getting rid of it?

[mechaninac]

Burnishing the nub with your fingernail, after it's been cut, filed, and sanded down to match the surrounding surface, usually works; but the end results vary depending on the type of plastic (Styrene vs. ABS) and its color... I find blues specially finicky.

Edited December 9, 2013 by mechaninac

[close313]

Does the MG RX-78 v3 fit with in the MG G-Fighter? I'm deciding whether to get either the v2 or v3.

[Smiley424]

Burnishing the nub with your fingernail, after it's been cut, filed, and sanded down to match the surrounding surface, usually works; but the end results vary depending on the type of plastic (Styrene vs. ABS) and its color... I find blues specially finicky.

I concur with all of this. I have just begun to sand and file my pieces.

[azrael]

Does the MG RX-78 v3 fit with in the MG G-Fighter? I'm deciding whether to get either the v2 or v3.

This isn't listed as a feature so I'm going with "No".

[David Hingtgen]

Burnishing the nub with your fingernail, after it's been cut, filed, and sanded down to match the surrounding surface, usually works; but the end results vary depending on the type of plastic (Styrene vs. ABS) and its color... I find blues specially finicky.

In addition, "staining" the nub may help--paint is a coating, but inks etc will "seep in" and darken the now-white plastic. Any pen etc that is normally used for panel-lining, will work for this. I keep red and blue pens on hand not for panel lining, but for "staining" the raw whitened plastic that is exposed.

(this is mainly for when "tears" happen, and the plastic is actually torn out of the gate area----it all happens to people at some point, no matter how careful you are)

[areaseven]

The Chick Magnet has been reviewed. Now it's time to test Fellini's theory.

[Hikuro]

Victory Gundam would make a pretty nice RG.

Gotta tell you, was pretty disappointed with my Zeta 2.0. Transformation is stiff and difficult, parts ont he runners were thin and snapped real easily. And the damn thing can't stand on it's own at all. I liked MKII 2.0 better, a LOT better.

[mechaninac]

In addition, "staining" the nub may help--paint is a coating, but inks etc will "seep in" and darken the now-white plastic. Any pen etc that is normally used for panel-lining, will work for this. I keep red and blue pens on hand not for panel lining, but for "staining" the raw whitened plastic that is exposed.

(this is mainly for when "tears" happen, and the plastic is actually torn out of the gate area----it all happens to people at some point, no matter how careful you are)

That's an idea...

What I do oftentimes in order to minimize, and even eliminate, whitish stress marks on any stubborn sprue nub spot is to brush a bit of liquid cement on it, and immediate surrounding surfaces, to melt the offending spot and make it blend with the rest of the plastic; then, once cured, re-sand and polish with a polishing stick or hem of a tee-shirt (this works better on Styrene than it does on ABS, but even ABS will show a marked improvement).

For tears, I will follow the previous proceedure, but before re-sanding I'll add a sliver of plastic shaved off the sprue tree to rebuild the damaged spot; I add more model cement on top to further soften the area, and use the handle end of a pair of tweezers to push and smooth this plastic filler "spackle" (sometimes using a bit of saliva on the metal "spatula" as a lubricant to prevent the repair from sticking to it). Once cured, the spot is sanded smooth and polished; if necessary, the whole procedure can be repeated until a desirable result is achieved... again, this works better with Styrene than it does with ABS.

Edited December 12, 2013 by mechaninac

[areaseven]

Victory Gundam would make a pretty nice RG.

Gotta tell you, was pretty disappointed with my Zeta 2.0. Transformation is stiff and difficult, parts ont he runners were thin and snapped real easily. And the damn thing can't stand on its own at all. I liked MKII 2.0 better, a LOT better.

Kinda expected on a transforming kit. At least it's better than the Zeta 1.0, which easily falls apart.

[areaseven]

Definitely gonna bring this to a Gunpla Battle.

Gundam 00 Qan[T] 26 Sword Edited December 15, 2013 by areaseven

[electric indigo]

That's a little bit on the overkill side...

[close313]

MG Sazabi's in stock everywhere. Just paid for mine but i can't ship it right now T_T

on a side note, hobbylink.tv just uploaded an unboxing at youtube.

Edited December 13, 2013 by close313

[Scyla]

I know how you feel. I have Arcadias VF-1S in my warehouse and can't ship it until HLJ receives the Nu Gundam

I wish Bandai had produced a bunch of Nu Gundams to go along with the release of the MG Sazabi because no it went from December restock to backordered. So now all I can do is wait.

[areaseven]

On the left is the Entry Grade (EG) RX-78-2 Gundam, which was manufactured in China by Bandai in 2010. The EG line was intended to introduce Gundam to emerging markets. It's essentially a First Grade (FG) kit made cheaper (around US$7). With this, you get a lot of hollow joints, significantly less articulation, and more paint to use due to the parts being molded in only three colors.

Also available were the Strike Gundam, Gundam Exia, and 00 Gundam. The EG line was discontinued shortly after.

For more information, check out 2Old4Toys' video reviews:

[Ghost Train]

Here is my custom RGM-79 SP II, which I'm calling the RGM-79 CQB. The original kit was the White Dingo Bandai exclusive.

(Also shameless photo of my new wood floors)

Edited December 14, 2013 by Ghost Train