Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

[mikeszekely]

Maybe I'm biased because Athrun is my favorite character from SEED; but I think Justice is one of the cooler looking SEED designs. The RG kit however, is not really my favorite. it suffers from all the same problems as Freedom gundam and then some because the backpack is even more awkwardly large and heavy. In all honestly, even though I like Justice a lot more than Freedom, I got burnt out building it to the point where I never actually decaled it and I still haven't finished building the gun or shield.

I really wish they would do a Proper MG of Justice; I swear it's the only SEED gundam that hasn't gotten one and I think a slightly simpler, larger kit would make more room for a solid build (also make painting, detailing, and creating a legitimate display piece much easier).

Now I really want to pick up an MG infinite Justice.

I think it's because I'm OCD about completing sets, but because all three of Kira's Gundams got the RG treatment, I really want RG Aegis, Saviour, and Infinite Justice. I want this despite SEED/Destiny being my least favorite Gundam series, despite generally not liking the MS designs in SEED, and despite the fact that the SEED suits have generally been my least favorite RG kits in terms of build experience and final product.

I'll grant you, though, that Athrun (and Lunamaria) was about the best thing to come out of SEED. Serious, but not angsty, and certainly not the crybaby Kira was.

Oh, and I tried the metallic Sharpie thing. It doesn't look as good as the copper paint Neko Basara uses, and the result doesn't have the same mirrored shiny look of the foil stickers that come with the RG kits, but the color is almost identical to the silver, gold, and copper used on the stickers. The gold foil stickers, especially, tend to look worn out because the gold rubs off of them, so despite a duller finish the Sharpies almost look better. In some cases, like the little dots on the sides of the legs behind the knees on some, are small enough that you can't even really tell the difference. I wound up pulling the copper stickers off my RX-78, and the silver squares off of Destiny's wings, but I opted to keep the stickers on the rest, since they weren't peeling and it'd be more of a hassle to pull them off.

I noticed that some of the other stickers are peeling, specifically the red around the RX-78's rifle barrel. Any tips for keeping the decals down, or fixing ones that are peeling?

[Hikuro]

Okay question, I've been seeing it more and more, people using some kind of a silver liner on black and blue parts yet Bandai never made a silver sharpie. What gives?

[Nekko Basara]

Okay question, I've been seeing it more and more, people using some kind of a silver liner on black and blue parts yet Bandai never made a silver sharpie. What gives?

I've had some luck using the chisel-tip silver Gundam marker (GM83) to run paint into panel lines, and then wiping away the excess while it is still wet, followed by some cleanup with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab. But it's a big hassle compared to a proper panel-line marker.

More often, if I am panel-lining a very dark part I use Tamiya's Gray Panel-Line Accent Color, which is essentially just pre-thinned paint with a built-in applicator. I just found this tutorial if you are interested. I also have the black version for light-colored parts, but I generally prefer to work with a marker.

Sorry to here about Miss Sazabi! I've never used nail polish remover on a Gundam kit, but other polystyrene kits I have seen it damage the plastic surface a bit. It might be worth trying to scrub with alcohol first; not sure if it will work, but it surely won't do any harm.

I'm taking a break from RG for my next project, because I have this MG Unicorn that my wife really wants to see built. It's only my second MG (the first was a Shin Musha Gundam). Cripes, this thing has a lot of parts.

[mikeszekely]

Okay question, I've been seeing it more and more, people using some kind of a silver liner on black and blue parts yet Bandai never made a silver sharpie. What gives?

A Sharpie brand Sharpie, maybe?

[Noyhauser]

BTW, anyone have any thoughts on a mobile suit that exists in MG form that would look good in head toe Alclad metal finish?

Really depends on application. If you did it in one tone, I don't think it would look that good... it would look too "toyish," My suggestion is to paint and mask off areas to give some definition to different panels. That would give it more of a sense of scale that is really hard to do in smaller scales.

[Hikuro]

Ill give some of these suggestions a try.first with the real touch.

MG unicorn is not hard at all it just looks intimidating. Test the parts first so you got an idea on its transformation.my suggestion is to glue some of the pieces together like the small panels on the arm that will hold the shield are very loose. Also the crotch region can have an issue of flying off the clear part while prying outward.

Paint the V fin don't sticker if. And skip the stickers, they're distracting and difficult to place correctly cause some of them you have to transform to NTD others unicorn to apply.

[Hikuro]

k random thought, I do have a white marker, think that'll work actually. save me some time!

[mikeszekely]

Well, I finished Char's Zaku.

There's not a ton to say about this kit, as it's basically the same as the other Zaku. I like the kit enough to recommend a Zaku, but if you have a choice and you're only going to build one, build the green one. For one, I think the green looks better (Red Comet? More like Salmon and Magenta Comet...), but the green one also gives you more options for personalization with the decals and with three choices for heads tops (no fin, Char-style fin, aerodynamic fin).

[Nekko Basara]

Nice work! Glad Char has somebody to boss around, too.

Hikaru, you are totally right and the Unicorn is going together much faster and easier than I expected. Just rather short for time, unfortunately.

[Hikuro]

Nice work! Glad Char has somebody to boss around, too.

Hikaru, you are totally right and the Unicorn is going together much faster and easier than I expected. Just rather short for time, unfortunately.

YOu'll be finished before you even know it...think at my leisure it really only took 3 days and being REALLY impressed with how it looked, but I also built 2 of those mama jamas and liked it more without the stickers, which is why I also didn't sticker the Banshee.

I finished the base build of the Miss Sazabi I guess what I irked up on was the shield not the skirt armor, I went "DOH!" when I realized that cause well, those parts were originally skirt parts I think.

All in all I dunno how you can put on a different backpack on this thing...the pack connector or peg is on the waist piece of the model, and there are no slots on the back. I also kinda feel meh about the kit over all, my friend Jessie loves it, she thinks it looks great and it's massive compared to my Hi-Nu Hikuro Custom.

In other news, I took advantage of HLJ's Gunpla give away...if you don't know, HLJ along with a lot of other retailers in Japan are giving away a random weapon set when you buy a HG 1/144. And after I got confirmation that their HGUC Zeta Plus has had it's defective parts replaced I ordered one.

So right now I'm waiting on Nu Gundam, Sazabi and Zelta Plus for HG kits....and gotta sit patiently until Hi-Nu Ver Ka is released this month.

I still gotta build my PG Wing Zero....but honestly, when I think of the wiring on that thing I just lose interest.

[UN_MARINE]

Been working on this guy forever. If memory serves, I got this way back in '08.

Funny how you start fixing a tiny, little detail, then it turns into an endless list of modifications.

I planned on using a Build Custom GP base for it, in case of unexpected Gunpla Battle, but I think the "picture frame" base will match a lot better.

MG Unicorn is guaranteed to loosen up after a couple of transformations, I suggest picking a mode & staying with it, plus a stand is pretty much mandatory. It's got weak ankles, it'll eventually topple over in either mode.

[electric indigo]

Is that the HGUC? Nice work on the gun.

[UN_MARINE]

Is that the HGUC? Nice work on the gun.

Yup, 2002 HGUC. Thanks, it took a couple of attempts to get right.

[electric indigo]

I love the Sentinel designs, but the under-inspired HGUC kits drove me to buy the GFF Ex-S. It hovers nicely in my display and does everything I need. I still have a MG S-Gundam waiting for some magic, though.

[Hikuro]

I did a lot of paint work on mine to get it looking just right.lots of white, black, little red and yellow. But dammit mine is now accurate as the box itself!

[Hikuro]

had a couple of minutes so I tried my real touch white marker and used my PG since that's what I'mw orking on now, kinda sorta. It did the shoulder area decently on areas that WERE panel lines, things that are kind of like vent grooves, not so much. But wasn't bad! just had a hard time cleaning up the excess amount.

[UN_MARINE]

I love the Sentinel designs, but the under-inspired HGUC kits drove me to buy the GFF Ex-S. It hovers nicely in my display and does everything I need. I still have a MG S-Gundam waiting for some magic, though.

I think Sentinel has some of the best designs too, Ex-S is my all-time favorite. It's a shame the kit isn't as good as it deserves to be, I hope they consider a new version as part of the "All Gundam Project". I never got the GFF, the stars just never aligned in favor of it, I guess.

I got a 2nd hand MG Ex-S too, after the checklist on the 1/144, I'm afraid the MG will take an eternity plus a hundred years to finish.

I decided to give the GP Base to the Nobell for now.

[electric indigo]

Gundam Hobby Life magazine recently had an S-Gundam modded by Naoki with a comprehensive coverage of the changes he made. It re-ignited my motivation to give the MG a spin!

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10252749a/20/1

[UN_MARINE]

man... I wish I could make mine look that nice.

[mikeszekely]

So, I really want to build RG Freedom while I'm re-watching SEED/Destiny (currently done with SEED, on about episode 12 of Destiny). Freedom and GP01fb were supposed to come Tuesday, but Fed-Ex. New date is today sometime, so I don't want to start Exia or the Titans Mk-II, but I don't want to do nothing either. So, while I was out running errands this morning I swung by the bookstore and picked up a HG Sengoku Astray from Build Fighters.

[close313]

Can anyone explain to me why do the pre-orders of the MG Hi Nu Ver Ka are sold out at HS,HLJ and Amiami? First time I've seen this kind of thing in Gunpla history. Is it THAT popular?

Edited August 14, 2014 by close313

[Scyla]

I thought this is fairly regular for the first batch. I think the MG Sazabi Ver. KA had also a sold out preorder. I think they will get more stock later on. However the add-on set for the Hi-Nu was sold out pretty quickly so maybe there is some strange shortage on this one.

I have the base mech preordered though to have something for the gray and rainy autumn days.

[mikeszekely]

Can anyone explain to me why do the pre-orders of the MG Hi Nu Ver Ka are sold out at HS,HLJ and Amiami? First time I've seen this kind of thing in Gunpla history. Is it THAT popular?

Well, it is popular. I guess I could see stores offering preorders of their initial allotment, and selling out of those, yeah.

But, it's not like a Transformer or something that they'll make a run or two of, then you're stuck eBaying used ones. Bandai will keep making more as long as it keeps selling.

Anywho... for a modern HG kit, Sengoku Astray needs a lot of paint. Seriously, his Oni no Tate mask backpack/shield is a single red piece. I mean, if this was one of the Gundam Wing kits from the 90s, that'd be one thing, but you just don't expect this kind of laziness from Bandai on modern kits. And, as I keep telling you guys, I suck at painting. *sigh*

So, I was kind of wondering about those metallic Sharpies. I get that they'll rub off with handling, but would a clear coat over top of it prevent that? Because Bandai only includes stickers for the pommels, handles, and blades of the katanas, but for some reason not the hand guards.

[Nekko Basara]

So, I was kind of wondering about those metallic Sharpies. I get that they'll rub off with handling, but would a clear coat over top of it prevent that? Because Bandai only includes stickers for the pommels, handles, and blades of the katanas, but for some reason not the hand guards.

In my experience, topcoating them with Future does not help. Weird, I know. You could still try it - the upside to the Sharpie that if it rubs off, reapplying it is super simple.

I've found Gundam "Markers" (really paint) to a be lot more resilient, although I don't like their silver and gold as much, and they are quite a bit more expensive.

[mikeszekely]

In my experience, topcoating them with Future does not help. Weird, I know. You could still try it - the upside to the Sharpie that if it rubs off, reapplying it is super simple.

I've found Gundam "Markers" (really paint) to a be lot more resilient, although I don't like their silver and gold as much, and they are quite a bit more expensive.

I don't have Future. I have a spray can of Tamiya Clear.

Well, I went ahead and tried it. Like you said, Sharpie is easy to reapply. Plus, the kit came with stickers for seriously every part of the katanas except the hand guard, so I figured worst-case I'd just apply the stickers.

The results were actually ok. The clear coat thinned the Sharpie... ink? It washed a little off the pommel and made one of the blades a little splotchy, but for the most part the Sharpie stayed put. After the clear coat dried, the color stayed even after handling (although I don't plan on handling it more than I have to).

As an aficionado of the RG line, it's hard for me to pass a fair judgement on a HG kit. That being said, I'd probably recommend passing on the Sengoku Astray. The kit needs a lot of paint to look animation-accurate (or even good, for that matter). Even if you use all the stickers, all of the vents are left unpainted red (should be black), the backpack/shield is left unpainted red (missing black behind the eyes in and the mouth, plus gold on the eyes), there's a red part showing through above the knee that should be white, and the bottom of the cockpit door is red when it should be white, and the hand guards on the katanas are left white when they should be gold. Combine that with the fact that the sprues on over half the parts are connected under the parts instead of on the sides, leaving bits of sprue that need to be cut off (and are usually close to a post or peg on the piece, making cutting them as difficult as possible), and the engineering feels sloppy even by HG standards. The finished product doesn't look too bad if you paint it, but his shoulder armor and large V-fin hinder posing above the waist. Things are better below... I must confess that the ankles are really good, allowing the feet to stay flat even when the ankle is bent 45 degrees. However, the hip seems a little weak, causing the model to sink a bit lower than intended.

Edited August 15, 2014 by mikeszekely

[Nekko Basara]

The results were actually ok. The clear coat thinned the Sharpie... ink? It washed a little off the pommel and made one of the blades a little splotchy, but for the most part the Sharpie stayed put. After the clear coat dried, the color stayed even after handling (although I don't plan on handling it more than I have to).

Neat! I suppose that tells us something about how "hot" the Sharpies are. My guess is that the Tamiya Clearcoat dissolved the Sharpie, so what you get when it dried is a finish with the adherence of the Clearcoat. By comparison, doesn't dissolve the Sharpie and dries on top of it, so what is adhering to the plastic is just the Sharpie underneath (which is fairly weak).

Nils is looking very sharp there! I hear you about the engineering, though. I had much the same impression building the HGUC Ez-8. It was a big step up from the Gundam Wing kits I remembered from the late 90s, but just not even in the same class as the RGs.

[mikeszekely]

Nils is looking very sharp there! I hear you about the engineering, though. I had much the same impression building the HGUC Ez-8. It was a big step up from the Gundam Wing kits I remembered from the late 90s, but just not even in the same class as the RGs.

I probably shouldn't say this, having never built a MG or PG, but I'm convinced that the RG series is the best bang-for-your-buck Gunpla on the market. They look at least as good as the MGs (sometimes better, I think) at around half the cost. The only trade off is that some of the MG gimmicks don't work as well shrunk to a 1/144 size, but that's a small price to pay, I think.

So, like I said, I don't think it's fair to compare HG to RG. Since getting back into Gunpla, though, I've built four HG kits: Deathscythe Hell (EW version), Wing Zero (EW version), Gouf Custom, and Sengoku Astray. My criticism of the Sengoku Astray is that, in terms of engineering and lack of paint, the experience was much closer to the Wing kits (both of which have copyright dates from 1998) than the Gouf. I mean, yeah, the Gouf doesn't enjoy the same level of detail or color separation as an RG kit, but it didn't need any paint at all and even had cool engineering like a tab in the shoulder joint to help keep his arm up when your posing him firing that massive gatling shield. So really, I'm not saying don't buy Sengoku Astray because HG isn't as fun as RG (which, while true, severely limits your choices for 1/144 mobile suits). I'm saying don't buy Sengoku Astray because I think it fails to live up to even the lowered expectations I have for an HG kit.

[Hikuro]

I think some of reasons lately with kits being sold out is well...

1) Bandai engineering team come up with some great designs.

2) they're releasing popular mecha or have really nest gimmick ideas.

3) version ka kits usually are packed full of detail and articulation with an extensive decal set to put on, but even without the decals the model comes out very nice.

Last 5 months I've seen everything from RG Exia, to the latest build fighter kits being sold out within about a week to a month. And the prices are pretty low compared to what the market price adjustment will be state side.

I paid 125 for my sazabi version MA when it was about 95 online but sold out. I just happened to stumble upon it at a hobby shop.

I waited over a year before I even got the nu Gundam version MA as a Xmas present from my now ex....soooo kinda don't like that one I built....

[Castel]

I probably shouldn't say this, having never built a MG or PG, but I'm convinced that the RG series is the best bang-for-your-buck Gunpla on the market

It certainly is, that stuff is glorious. I bought the Mk.2 Titans colors version some time ago and i was amazed by how sharp this thing looks.

I'm not a big fan of the PG anyway. Too expensive for a level of quality who's not always all that high and as the young and innocent maid says during her wedding night : "that's too big, dude".

[mikeszekely]

Well, finished another.

Not a lot to say here. I mean, Strike Freedom was only the second RG kit I've built, and by my count Freedom would be... the 11th. There are a lot of similarities between Freedom and Strike Freedom, obviously, and there are similarities between Freedom and Justice as well. I appreciate the extra experience I've gained building the RG kits since Strike Freedom, but more or less anything I could say about Freedom I've already said about Strike Freedom and Justice. Like all the SEED kits, he suffers from heavy backpack syndrome, and his wings are a touch fiddly. For one, most of the blue bits are very thin, and if the joints spread at all the one in the middle will drop due to a lack of friction. For two, there's a feature that even the instruction manual labels "Real Grade Gimmick". This gimmick allows the black to separate from the blue on the largest wings. It's an irritating gimmick, because the resulting pose is NOT animation accurate, but the tabs that overlap to keep the pieces together are so loose that they'll come apart while posing.

Overall, though, I think I like RG Freedom better than RG Strike Freedom. I can't say this is due to it being a better kit; I think it's more an aesthetic preference. I prefer the two over-the-shoulder guns to the 8 DRAGOONs, and I prefer the dark inner frame to the gold. Strike Freedom's abdomen gun is cool, but breaks up Freedom's colors. And while the bulk of Freedom's wings don't do anything except, I assume, assist in flight while Strike Freedom's DRAGOONs are like funnels, I think Freedom's wings look better. Finally, I prefer Freedom's larger hip-mounted rail guns. They make for bigger guns, and while bulkier in their folded-up state they sort of remind me of the kamas worn by ARC troopers in Star Wars.

[treatment]

Finally put together this 1/144 RG kit that I bought last year. Pain in the ass coz the parts are just damn tiny. Especially the stickers.

GP01-FB


It does really kinda makes the Damashii RX-93's proportions a bit cartoony.

Char's Zaku is prolly the only other mech I might still get on this RG series. Any rumors if Bandai will put the RX-79G and Ez8 on the RG line?

[sketchley]

Apologies if this news has already been mentioned:

If you're in Japan...

Currently, Bandai is in the middle of an "HG Customize Campaign Summer 2014". If you purchase an HG kit from participating dealers while supplies last, you get a weapon pack present.

Images: http://www.gundam.info/topic/11184

If I knew about it earlier, I would've tried to get one of the A to C sets. Nevertheless, I've managed to get the E and F sets (though, the second Joshin store didn't let me chose, and I would've preferred the D set over the F - though the mini-MS that comes with it is kinda neat).

[mikeszekely]

Char's Zaku is prolly the only other mech I might still get on this RG series. Any rumors if Bandai will put the RX-79G and Ez8 on the RG line?

Well, the RG line has been coming out at a fairly slow rate. I wouldn't mind 2 a month, but it's more like 3 or 4 months between releases. Since Char's Z'Gok just came out, I don't think we'll hear anything for awhile. Also, I expect the regular blue Z'Gok to turn up soon, if not the next one than the one after that.

Given how slowly the line is coming out, and the number of popular hero suits left to do (sprinkled with Zeon MS for variety), who knows? I mean, Exia, the star of one of the more recent Gundam series, didn't turn up until the 15th kit (out of just 16 so far).

[Hikuro]

Apologies if this news has already been mentioned:

If you're in Japan...

Currently, Bandai is in the middle of an "HG Customize Campaign Summer 2014". If you purchase an HG kit from participating dealers while supplies last, you get a weapon pack present.

Images: http://www.gundam.info/topic/11184

If I knew about it earlier, I would've tried to get one of the A to C sets. Nevertheless, I've managed to get the E and F sets (though, the second Joshin store didn't let me chose, and I would've preferred the D set over the F - though the mini-MS that comes with it is kinda neat).

I think the news has been passed around...I took advantage of it. I ordered the new Zeta Plus from HLJ with the campaign offer....been waiting for a week for this thing to ship.

I went to the long long far off hobby store and they had jack...just wing kits that have been there forever. I went to TFAW instead sometimes you can find neat stuff.

I picked up a HGUC F91 and RX-78-4 MG....they also had a Mega Grade RX-78-2 which meh I've already built that not much I can do to it besides turn it into a 1 or a 3.

A few AGE kits which I quickly wanted to throw into their dumpster....not big on AGE.

All in all, 2 kits, walked out spending just a lil over 50 bucks. I'd say that's a good haul!

[VF-19]

I recently dragged my copy of the old MG of GP01fb out of storage. Slapping it together. I remember getting it through amazon.com and having to borrow someone's shipping address (and offering incentives) as it was $10 for the kit, and amazon.com wouldn't ship to Canada... Worked out all right in the end, got the MG GP01, GP01fb and Kämpfer for $10 apiece, and he got the GM and another kit in return for shipping the rest as cheaply as possible to me. This was back in the day when you could buy Gundam models at Toys R Us. Those were nice times...