Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

[SchizophrenicMC]

Hmm. On the one hand I've always wanted a Launcher Strike, but on the other, Aile Strike is the definitive Strike. All the same, that detail though.

I need the budget to get both the MG and the Dragon Momoko.

[mikeszekely]

Well I did it! I finally got my HGUC Sniper II White Dingo courtesy of Gundam Planet! I can't wait for it to arrive!

HAPPY! HAPPY! JOY! JOY!

'Grats!

[mikeszekely]

Figured I'd give you guys a sneak peak at my next Gunpla project (straight build, don't get too excited)...

I gotta say, I haven't even started on the actual mobile suit, and I'm impressed with the value of this kit. Really makes the Skygrasper (aka the only main line RG I don't have) kind of a ripoff. Even with the Sword Strike and Launcher Strike packs, the Skygrasper is smaller than the 0 Raiser, and it's not like the 00 Gundam doesn't come with a crap ton of weapons on it's own, but the RG 00 kit looks like it runs only about $7 more than the Skygrasper.

[areaseven]

Here's my current RX-78-2 Gundam family. Will be picking up the HGUC Revive when it arrives, as well as one of the older MGs (either OYW or 2.0).

[mikeszekely]

Did you put your RG stickers on the HG Ver.G30th?

[areaseven]

Did you put your RG stickers on the HG Ver.G30th?

Yup, because my RG will be using waterslides.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Decided I'd finally start building my Nu Gundam Ver.Ka today.

I've had this sucker since they first started making them.

[joppewo]

PG Banshee Norn

[Nekko Basara]

Heh, is anybody surprised?

[anime52k8]

I don't like the banshee norn, I like the regular banshee with the armed armor.

[mikeszekely]

I don't like the banshee norn, I like the regular banshee with the armed armor.

I liked the armed armor, too, but I like the rest of the Norn.

Anyways, I'm working on the RG 00 Raiser, if you couldn't tell from my 0 Raiser pic. Now, with Exia, it was obvious that it needed to be displayed with the GN Sword. I think Exia used the GN Long & Short blades in maybe one episode. I'm not as sure what weapon to display the 00 Gundam with, though. I'm thinking the GN Sword II are more iconic for it than the GN Sword III, but the 00 on the box is using the III. What do you guys think?

[areaseven]

I liked the armed armor, too, but I like the rest of the Norn.

Anyways, I'm working on the RG 00 Raiser, if you couldn't tell from my 0 Raiser pic. Now, with Exia, it was obvious that it needed to be displayed with the GN Sword. I think Exia used the GN Long & Short blades in maybe one episode. I'm not as sure what weapon to display the 00 Gundam with, though. I'm thinking the GN Sword II are more iconic for it than the GN Sword III, but the 00 on the box is using the III. What do you guys think?

Personally, I prefer the GN Sword III over the GN Sword II. Maybe have the 00 Raiser wield a GN Sword II with its left hand.

[Hikuro]

I'm a bit surprised over the supposed september release date of the Banshee....I didn't expect it to be out until December again.

[SchizophrenicMC]

And still no PG Launcher or Sword strikers and still no PG Ground Gundam and still no PG Zaku R1.

And still no PG Unicorn in my collection. Damn I need more gunpla money.

[joppewo]

I'm a bit surprised over the supposed september release date of the Banshee....I didn't expect it to be out until December again.

That could only mean a bigger announcement awaits for the December kit (like how we got the Hi-Nu ver.ka then the PG Unicorn last year)

*cough* kshatriya / V2

[areaseven]

Still disappointed that Bandai has not made a PG Nu Gundam.

[IXTL]

[mikeszekely]

Personally, I prefer the GN Sword III over the GN Sword II. Maybe have the 00 Raiser wield a GN Sword II with its left hand.

This sir, is why I pay you the big bucks. Or would pay you the big bucks. If I paid you. Which I don't.

0 Raiser is done, and the 00 Gundam is mostly done. I just have to do the backpack/GN drives and the copious weapons. 00's been a pretty simple build, compared to a lot of the other RGs, but that's probably how you get a mobile suit with three swords, two beam sabers, a shield that splits into two weapons, and jet as long as the mobile suit is tall that the mobile suit wears like a frikkin' cape without cracking $30.

It's not all sunshine and roses, though. I was messing with the cockpit hatch and broke one of the (kind of ridiculous) spike/fin thingies. I just clipped the other side so they're still the same length, though. You can hardly tell.

One other side note... when Gundam 00 came out, even though I wasn't thrilled with the story and characters, I really dug Exia's design. On the flip side, I never cared for the 00 Raiser, as it just looked awkwardly top-heavy, especially with the 00 Gundam borrowing from Exia's more feminine form... well, that and the whole plane-cape thing. But with the 00 Gundam on my desk, sans backpack and plane-cape, it actually looks pretty darn good.

I think the moral of the story is don't wear a plane like a cape.

[SchizophrenicMC]

So I painted the pilot figure for the first time ever. I have no idea how the Japanese guy who makes the demo model for the instruction booklet does it.

Also I polished up my Eclipse. God what a beautiful thing. Such a joy to use. It never jams, it never leaks, it never clogs. And it's so easy to clean. I should have gotten one years ago.

Work on the Nu Ver.Ka continues. I'm holding off on photos until I get it done. It's really shaping up though.

[Hikuro]

Also I polished up my Eclipse. God what a beautiful thing. Such a joy to use. It never jams, it never leaks, it never clogs. And it's so easy to clean. I should have gotten one years ago.

That's good. I'm actually having issues working my compressor. I can't seem to get the fine painting details to work, just blast away. I'm having this problem where the compressor just wants to go full blast and if I play with the dial it'll go all the way to zero and produce no pressure. But if I get the pressure to rise it'll quickly drop to about 0-10psi which pretty much is no pressure to push the paint out.

[areaseven]

PG 1/60 Banshee Norn

[SchizophrenicMC]

That's good. I'm actually having issues working my compressor. I can't seem to get the fine painting details to work, just blast away. I'm having this problem where the compressor just wants to go full blast and if I play with the dial it'll go all the way to zero and produce no pressure. But if I get the pressure to rise it'll quickly drop to about 0-10psi which pretty much is no pressure to push the paint out.

It's funny you should mention that. Midway through painting a batch, my compressor died. I think the shaft that connects the motor to the compressor crank snapped. Motor spins, but the compressor doesn't run. What a pain. But I've had it for about 3 years now, it's painted a few kits for me. Also spent some time as a compressed air duster. Still, not an ideal situation. I do have that compressor in the garage. That 33-gallon 2-piston belt-driven 160psi compressor that weighs 120lbs and is too large to wheel into my room, and which I've no doubt would pop the breaker for the 30 year old aluminum-wired circuit for my room. Also I don't have the fittings I need to attach my airbrushing regulator to that behemoth.

What a pain. I still have a lot of stuff to paint, not to mention clear coat on this guy.

At least the airbrush itself is working flawlessly. Kept consistent paint flow all the way to the very end. The Eclipse HP-CS really will flow paint down to none PSI. Hikuro, did you get a compressor with a tank, or a tankless unit? Tanked compressors are much less touchy about pressure, and will let you run consistent low pressure through the regulator while the compressor keeps the tank topped up at high pressure.

[Hikuro]

It's funny you should mention that. Midway through painting a batch, my compressor died. I think the shaft that connects the motor to the compressor crank snapped. Motor spins, but the compressor doesn't run. What a pain. But I've had it for about 3 years now, it's painted a few kits for me. Also spent some time as a compressed air duster. Still, not an ideal situation. I do have that compressor in the garage. That 33-gallon 2-piston belt-driven 160psi compressor that weighs 120lbs and is too large to wheel into my room, and which I've no doubt would pop the breaker for the 30 year old aluminum-wired circuit for my room. Also I don't have the fittings I need to attach my airbrushing regulator to that behemoth.

What a pain. I still have a lot of stuff to paint, not to mention clear coat on this guy.

At least the airbrush itself is working flawlessly. Kept consistent paint flow all the way to the very end. The Eclipse HP-CS really will flow paint down to none PSI. Hikuro, did you get a compressor with a tank, or a tankless unit? Tanked compressors are much less touchy about pressure, and will let you run consistent low pressure through the regulator while the compressor keeps the tank topped up at high pressure.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001738DXU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00 thats what i got.

[SchizophrenicMC]

If you're using an Eclipse, you should be able to set the regulator just under 10psi indicated and get good results. Do this by running the compressor and pushing the air trigger on your brush and adjusting the regulator down until the needle is just under 10. Should put you in the 5-8psi range and give you consistent paint flow. If you're using a Master airbrush, you may have to play with higher pressures because they're just not as consistent as the Iwata brushes.

The alternative is, you can install a more precise regulator (they're just threaded onto standard fittings) and use that with your brush. The compressor will run itself regardless of what regulator you run and if it's the same as the 2- and 4-piston compressors, it'll run until the tank is at 4 bar then cut off, and restart when the tank reaches 3 bar. If I'm not mistaken the Master/TCP compressors all use a standard 1/4" NPT fitting for their regulators.

[Hikuro]

weathers been to hot and muggy to play with that compressor so I'm not even painting anything!

I did start working on one of my Origin models, the hi-mobility zaku from Black Tri-Stars and overall this new Zaku mold is really refreshing, even adding things that the RG kit doesn't have and it's just so nice. Really like the engineering done on this.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Paint indoors. I do.

This is the compressor I've been using up until now. It's a .17hp two-piston direct-drive compressor with a 3-liter tank and a maximum pressure of 60psi.

It broke. So I did some fiddling.

This is a Husky 1.7hp V-twin belt-drive compressor with a 33 gallon tank and a maximum 165psi rating.

GO BIG OR GO HOME

Actually it was pretty good. I filled up the tank to about 160psi and ran my airbrush for over an hour at 8psi and the tank came down to about 110psi after all that. I didn't run the compressor while I was painting, because it would have popped my breaker, but it's actually only about 75dB when it's running. It's also less expensive than any tanked Iwata compressor. And no I didn't buy it for this purpose. I've owned this compressor for a few months for automotive and pressure casting purposes, but push met shove today.

And the results were glorious:

[lechuck]

Always good to see MG love in this thread.

Nice touch using copper (?) to accentuate the elbow area.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Always good to see MG love in this thread.

Nice touch using copper (?) to accentuate the elbow area.

I did use copper for the joints, and I'm probably going to use it to bring a bit more color into the gunmetal I intend to paint the thrusters. I still need to decal this guy up, panel line his weapons, and clear coat him, but I'm pretty pleased so far.

This is actually the first time I've done this, but there's a fair amount of aluminum used in its construction. Of course, I used aluminum rod to hold the fin funnels together on its back- that's a well-known issue with the Nu Ver.Ka- but I also replaced the hydraulic pistons in the legs with bits of aluminum rod.

I think it's the little details that set off a custom build over a straight build. An MG looks good out of the box, but I think it's the small things that make it look great. This is shaping up to be my favorite result at the end of a build.

[areaseven]

HBO's True Detective (Season 2 Episode 2) - Gunpla Cameo on the Show!

[mikeszekely]

Sorry it's taken such a long time to finish this one. My 8-months pregnant wife got bronchitis, and the medication she can take is extremely limited. Between caring for her and the 30+ hours I put into Arkham Knight instead of sleeping, I wasn't very motivated to finish.

Anyway, here's a quick pic of my completed RG 00 Raiser.

It's tough for me to evaluate this kit... on the one hand, it seems like a great value, what with the 00 Gundam, two GN Sword IIs (with beam effects), the GN Katar shield, GN Sword III (with beam effect), and the 0 Raiser. On the other hand, the for an RG kit the 00 Gundam itself was pretty simple. If not for the all the extras, I don't think it'd have taken me much longer than an HG to complete. And, as I've said before, I'm not a fan of the 00 Raiser... planes that turn into robots are ok, but planes worn as capes on robots is, for all the in-universe reasoning, really stupid. But that's a flaw with the subject, not the kit itself, and the kit comes out so good that it almost makes plane-capes cool. And the 00 Gundam itself isn't really a bad design. I've got half a mind to display it and the 0 Raiser separately.

First I need to get to IKEA. This Detolf is full.

[Hikuro]

Played with the compressor a bit, it howevers at about 30psi but man when it drops it almost hits zero and it's like I can't really adjust that pressure either so certainly no pre shading is happening anytime soon.

I finished 2 kits last night,

So first up is the Hi-Mobility Black Tristar Zaku, I do rather like this new Zaku mold, so much more detail and better levels of articulation and some areas still feel like the same generic Zaku HGUC mold like with the cooling hoses slipped into place on the thighs to the legs.

Still though, not bad at all I just wish it had all 3 units for optional parts, not just 2.

Final build was a last stand RX-78-2 HG I made. I ended up spending a lot of time cleaning and detailing this kit and in the end I end up missing an important part for the left arm. I figured wth? I got enough RX-78-2's so why not just destroy one for the heck of it? Most part it's done but I wanna add some extra stuff I just gotta wait a while.

Thus today for the holiday weekend I'm working on my RE/100 Mark III. I just finished the mass majority of body work paint wise, couple areas to clean up with a 2nd coat. Then I get to panel line and clear coat. Once that's done I get to work on painting the inner frame so everything blends in.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Last Shooting is my favorite RX-78-2 pose.

As for your compressor troubles, you and I must not have gotten the same regulator. Mine will give me steady 8psi all day, no problem. The compressor was also really good about supplying steady pressure to the regulator. Of course now that I'm using this big Husky that's even less of a problem.

In other news, I started decaling this Nu Ver.Ka. SO. MANY. WATERSLIDES.

[areaseven]

Question: Since Rrobbert184 is pretty much retired from Gunpla reviews, what other Gunpla review channels are recommended on YouTube? (I can't stand Prime92's voice, though his reviews are decent.)

[SchizophrenicMC]

I like HobbyLink.TV, though they usually don't go into the depth that Rrobbert184 or Prime92 do. There's also Vegeta8259, who does less review and more tutorial. I do agree about Prime92. His reviews are decent, but would it kill him to stop using that audio filter? He could put his real voice in videos and we'd still have no idea who he is, nor any desire to find out. (I hate YouTube people who are into anonymity. There are 7 billion people, and you think people are gonna be able to pick you out of that crowd just because we know what you sound like over a potato camera?)

I'd also recommend 2Old4Toys, but he's not very active either. You might be best sticking with text reviews a la Good Guy Dan and Gaijin Gunpla (Syd from HLJ). Video gunpla reviews seem to have fallen by the wayside.

[mikeszekely]

I think I've mentioned this in the TF thread, but I don't watch reviews, because I can read a written review in a fraction of the time it takes to sit through a video.

For written reviews, I like Gaijin Gunpla, but he's a tad slowish getting them up.