Gundam Plamodel Thread IV

[Hikuro]

All I have left to do is a wash and it's done. I used their one point technique to enhance the kit by using various left over stickers from other HG kits, luckily I had a 0 and a 3.

Colors I used Flat White, Yellow and German Gray. For the red separations I did Flat Red with a small amount of Flat White to create a slightly lighter shade. Then for the darker areas I used same Flat Red again with a Flat Brown. Gotta say, I think I came pretty close to perfect colors.

[mikeszekely]

That looks a lot better than the default colors, Hikuro. I take it you're getting a good handle on that airbrush?

Well, I 99.9% finished the G-Self. Everything's built, but I'm not satisfied with how the beam rifle came out yet. I need to touch up the white a little more, and figure out how to do the blue lines (seriously, they give you UV-glow blue stickers for every glow-part on the actual Gundam, including when that's blue stickers on blue plastic, but nothing for the beam rifle?). Fortunately, until I'm satisfied, I can just pose it with a beam saber instead and call it a night.

In this picture, you can see a lot of the black I added to the legs, although the arms aren't really turned for you to see what I did there. Likewise, you can kind of see how I painted the shoulder thrusters and head vulcans. Sadly, you can't see how I painted the intakes and exhausts on the wings of the backpack.

And that was all I painted on the backpack, aside from some panel lines. From everything I can see, the F91-style thrusters on the back and the thrusters under the white fins are all molded in gray and gray inside... which is how they're supposed to be. What bothered me more, though, is the side that plugs into the G-Self's back. There are spots that look like they're missing some kind of detail, if only the UV-glow blue spots, but I can't find a single picture of that side of a painted model, a colored line art, or an animation still for that side of the pack.

Overall, I'm pretty lukewarm on the kit. It's got one of the largest sticker sheets I've seen for an HG kit, and despite that there's still so much detail that isn't stickered or painted. Like many other recent HG kits, it also has the same loose connection at the waist that makes the torso pop off when you handle it. Also, the neck armor doesn't connect to anything, really, so it can spin around the polycap independent of the head or torso, which is just irritating. And most of all, I haven't watched any G-Reco yet. I have no attachment to the G-Self that might make me overlook the design. There's things I like about the G-Self... the glowy blue bits, the kinked beam saber handles, the blue feet, the red part of the torso, and the atmospheric pack, which totally reminds me of the Aile Striker pack, if the Aile Striker pack weren't so ridiculously over-designed. I especially love the F91-style thrusters on the pack, as the F91 is one of my favorite UC designs. I don't really care for the chunky knees or the upper torso, especially the rounded chest vents, and I really dislike the G-Self's bug head. So I don't know... get it if you're into G-Reco, or if you really want the hero Gundam from every Gundam show. Otherwise maybe pass.

[Hikuro]

Yep, gotta a pretty good handle on airbrushing. Pretty soon I'll be trying out pre-shading probably on my GM 2.0. Only gotta buy some smoke.

The G Self isn't a horrific kit as I was expecting when I got it. Sure it has a very heavy sticker sheet, it needs some additional paint to make it show accurate, and the backpack is kinda meh as it never really got much show time in the series. I honestly think I should of waited to of gotten that when the perfect pack shows up....whenever that will be.

Didn't see much reason to have the UV stickers though.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Hikuro that's a nice set of colors i like the red, i couldn't tell the if it was molded plastic bc it's so evenly painted.

mike s. the blacks looks neatly applied on the legs and the head vulcans. looks really good.

[mikeszekely]

The G Self isn't a horrific kit as I was expecting when I got it.

No, it's not horrific. I really don't mind stickers (my favorite kits are RGs, after all) and I've come to expect that I'll have to do a little painting. And it certainly benefits from modern HG engineering.

My beefs are more that it's just kind of meh compared to other recent HGs like Turn A, Victory, F91, and Crossbone, which I've thought were pretty great. Heck, Victory I liked so much I'm probably going to get the V-Dash, and F91 I liked so much I'm toying with the idea of getting the Harrison Martin colored F91 (even though I think it's actually the Federation colors, not Martin's which has more white... I guess I could get two and paint one to be the correct Martin colors...). That and the fact that, overall, I just don't think the G-Self (the mecha, not the kit) is that great of a design.

[Hikuro]

No, it's not horrific. I really don't mind stickers (my favorite kits are RGs, after all) and I've come to expect that I'll have to do a little painting. And it certainly benefits from modern HG engineering.

My beefs are more that it's just kind of meh compared to other recent HGs like Turn A, Victory, F91, and Crossbone, which I've thought were pretty great. Heck, Victory I liked so much I'm probably going to get the V-Dash, and F91 I liked so much I'm toying with the idea of getting the Harrison Martin colored F91 (even though I think it's actually the Federation colors, not Martin's which has more white... I guess I could get two and paint one to be the correct Martin colors...). That and the fact that, overall, I just don't think the G-Self (the mecha, not the kit) is that great of a design.

Compared to the earlier drafts of the G-Self which made it look some what more G-Savior like.....interesting isn't it? G-Savior....G-Self. Hmmmm?

It's early drafts were very skeletal so my thinking was they planned just like the G-Savior to have many optional packs involved until a perfect form was reached. Even it's colors were very different. Almost very G-Lucifer in scheme.

Hikuro that's a nice set of colors i like the red, i couldn't tell the if it was molded plastic bc it's so evenly painted.

mike s. the blacks looks neatly applied on the legs and the head vulcans. looks really good.

Yeah, paint came out well and evenly placed. No sloppy areas at all and I gave it a satin clear coat to keep the flavors of the colors nice and rich. I was glad I did that before I assembled it! That was one of the problems I had with the Sinanju, I didn't clear coat it before assembly and areas began to scrape against eachother in ways I didn't anticipate. So now code of conduct, finish a set of parts, clear coat, move on. It really took me about 5 hours to paint, set, clear coat, set and assemble after I did a day of priming and let it rest.

The next full repaint will be the MS06J Zaku II.....I got a nice good vibrant Green and a much Darker version and I'll probably use Nato Black for the feet and elbows.

For the GM 2.0 being a Dingo unit I'm perplexed as the colors have changed on the suits. The Dreamcast variant had a dark gray for the limbs and almost black for the torso and shoulders. Then the HG P-Bandai variants were almost all gray just a couple shades different from eachother....almost like a gray/white/blue mixture.

Not sure which I should follow.

[mikeszekely]

Compared to the earlier drafts of the G-Self which made it look some what more G-Savior like.....interesting isn't it? G-Savior....G-Self. Hmmmm?

It's early drafts were very skeletal so my thinking was they planned just like the G-Savior to have many optional packs involved until a perfect form was reached. Even it's colors were very different. Almost very G-Lucifer in scheme.

I saw those... I think I like that better, but I can see why they changed it. It's neat, but not hero Gundam neat. And I'm glad they didn't go overboard with the add-ons and packs... I think it made Gundam AGE too busy. Like, I really liked the AGE-1 Normal, but just the Normal. But I digress.

The last episode of G-Reco is Friday, right? Maybe I'll start watching it now.

For the GM 2.0 being a Dingo unit I'm perplexed as the colors have changed on the suits. The Dreamcast variant had a dark gray for the limbs and almost black for the torso and shoulders. Then the HG P-Bandai variants were almost all gray just a couple shades different from eachother....almost like a gray/white/blue mixture.

Not sure which I should follow.

I know exactly what you mean. All I can say is, if it were me, I'd go with something like this. Like, a dark gray (like my car) for the upper body, feet, and shoulders, and a light gray (like ash) for the arms, head, and lower body.

[Hikuro]

I saw those... I think I like that better, but I can see why they changed it. It's neat, but not hero Gundam neat. And I'm glad they didn't go overboard with the add-ons and packs... I think it made Gundam AGE too busy. Like, I really liked the AGE-1 Normal, but just the Normal. But I digress.

The last episode of G-Reco is Friday, right? Maybe I'll start watching it now.

I know exactly what you mean. All I can say is, if it were me, I'd go with something like this. Like, a dark gray (like my car) for the upper body, feet, and shoulders, and a light gray (like ash) for the arms, head, and lower body.

Gmwhitedingo.png

Just gotta find the right grays to do it.

Also pumped this out today, ain't no big thang.

[mikeszekely]

You keep a lot busier than I do when your sick, Hikuro. I had the flu back in January, and I don't think I got out of bed for three days. Just watched TV, dozed, and occasionally played Gundam Breaker. I really should get around to getting the sequel...

[Hikuro]

You keep a lot busier than I do when your sick, Hikuro. I had the flu back in January, and I don't think I got out of bed for three days. Just watched TV, dozed, and occasionally played Gundam Breaker. I really should get around to getting the sequel...

I don't like sitting around with nothing to do it drives me nuts. I really hate it when I have to wait on others if I'm gonna go do something I'm gonna go do it and if I have to wait then it's like my time is being wasted on others when I could get it done.

So yeah, I mean I got a dozen kits to work on, I may as well start knocking some of them done right?

This powered GM was inspired from a lot of desert battles in Australia, I think I might still have some stickers stored away that have the Australia base logo somewhere when I was doing the Perfect Gundam III.

Next thing I'm going to do to this Gunpla is damage the shield. I'm going to carve a big gash and kind of try to melt it a bit showing signs that a heat hawk was to shallow in it's cut and couldn't go thru.

Then just a bit of scaring on the shoulders and hip skirt, nothing major. I'll be done after that.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

You keep a lot busier than when i'm free with full health. that's some quick builds. i was just talking to one of the main web sales guys at planet gundam and he was saying he does one rg kit and takes a month break bc it's so draining on him. you guys are bionic.

Edited March 22, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

[Hikuro]

I.......have beat the snot out of it!

[chyll2]

Bandai will be releasing MG Fenice Rinascita this June

[mikeszekely]

Crossbone Gundam X2 kai is a P-Bandai exclusive. On the one hand, Crossbone Gundam X2! On the other hand, P-Bandai.

I haven't heard if we're getting an X2 non-kai.

While we're on the topic, I'm not sure if there's any major differences between the Build Fighters Crossbone Full Cloth that's coming and the Full Cloth that was in Steel 7. If there's no difference (or minimal difference with the option to build it Steel 7), and I get the P-Bandai X2, then I'll really only want for an X3.

[Nekko Basara]

please pardon the double post:

nekko, i found a set of the rg decals for the iwsp if you need:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gundam-decals-RG-STRIKE-ROUGE-HG-IWSP-60911-/181139142741

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gundam-water-decals-60911-Z67-RG-STRIKE-ROUGE-HG-IWSP-stickers/271771470499?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Dd21a90695f0642a38104bf9f45abfe3b%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D181139142741&rt=nc

I forgot to say thank you for the link, David. I'm not sure how I feel about using a whole mess of waterslides just for the IWSP, but it's cool to have the option.

Also, Hikuro, very ballsy with that battle damage. I think it looks great!

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

I forgot to say thank you for the link, David. I'm not sure how I feel about using a whole mess of waterslides just for the IWSP, but it's cool to have the option.

Also, Hikuro, very ballsy with that battle damage. I think it looks great!

oh don't worry about that, you already responded, no need for thanks, you helped me already so much with the tips. i just posted the links bc i was curious myself and found them.

personally for myself it would've cost me more to get the rouge strike and decals separately after comparing prices but since you already built yours it's good to have the options if you ever want them down the road.

i just did a 1:1 comparison with the rg special markings meteor unit release and the normal hg one i brought. piece by piece it's identical. i went through each bag part so i'm sure getting the hg iwsp won't be that much of a difference.

it's the same with the gn-arms type e if you guys see it cheap grab it and get the aftermarket decals. it's the exact same kit.

[mikeszekely]

Started RG Wing Zero tonight after the wife went to bed.

Honestly, I didn't expect to get this much done. I was looking at the frame parts and admiring some hooks for the armor, and I was thinking that it was quite different from the UC and SEED kits, but it turned out that it was actually pretty simple and the parts went together quickly. In fact, I'd say 30% of my time was cutting the pieces from the runners, trimming the gate marks, and panel lining the white/light gray bits, 60% stickering (and that's with Wing having somewhat fewer stickers than a UC or SEED unit), and maybe 10% actually fitting parts together. I was hoping to get a few days out of this kit, but I can't see it taking me longer than Wednesday. It might even be done tomorrow.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Started RG Wing Zero tonight after the wife went to bed.

that's looks great mike, are you using the gundam marker? it looks so clean in the small spaces.

[mikeszekely]

that's looks great mike, are you using the gundam marker? it looks so clean in the small spaces.

Yeah, the gray one with the brush tip, GM21. It's really easy to use; just brush it along the line you want marked, then rub the excess off with a q-tip. The only downside is that it doesn't work too well on shallower or more open spaces because the q-tip will get in and wipe all the ink away. I'm pretty fortunate that with Wing zero the ink has still stuck where I wanted it to.

[areaseven]

I'm thinking of getting this kit. Any pros/cons on it other than being a parts-former?

[Hikuro]

Here's what I've been doing last 2 days. Flu researched images of those who did customized jobs on their Zakus and followed their patterns.

Many of the Pistons are colored in titanium silver and gold colors. The minovsky reactor colored to stand out and mono eye with clear red then finished with a dry brush as I do sections.

[mikeszekely]

I'm thinking of getting this kit. Any pros/cons on it other than being a parts-former?

I'm not personally interested, since I think the ZII is a kind of ridiculous in appearance, but Syd at Gaijin Gunpla has a pretty thorough review.

Here's what I've been doing last 2 days.

What scale is that, Hikuro? I'm a big fan of Zakus, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

Also, I love how you casually finish new kits quicker than I can finish my morning colony drop like it's not big deal.

Anyway, while I was looking for that ZII review for A7, I was checking out some of Syd's other reviews. I mean, with Wing Zero I'm done with RGs until 00 Raiser, so it's back to HGs. I think I've built a lot of HGs I want... sure there are a lot of popular mobile suits that I don't have represented, but some a lot are older kits. I mean, I'm not sure that the HG ZZ Gundam or Alex, for example, will look too hot next to the RGs. I'm thinking I might pick up a couple of Gundam UC kits, but Syd's review has me seriously considering the AGE-1 Normal. I mean, sure, the Gundam Age anime sort of fell apart after the first act, but some of the Federation mecha was pretty hot (the weird dragon Vagans not so much).

[Hikuro]

What scale is that, Hikuro? I'm a big fan of Zakus, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

Also, I love how you casually finish new kits quicker than I can finish my morning colony drop like it's not big deal.

It's from the MG 2.0 line up. The Zaku got a lot of love from bandais designer team. The mono eye rotates as you turn the head left or right, the cooling piping is to layers, the cord is tucked through the beads that are color injected. So all you got to do is snip the gray parts and with a quick snap the beads follow whereas in old kits you'd have to cut each piece and feed it thru like in the RG line.

The inner frame is multilayered like a lot of MGs are now. So there's lots of paint options you can apply to make it pop more.

Tons of hyrdolic pistons....shoulders, neck, thighs, knees, foot and ankles.

I do wish it had more parts separation on the armor. I wanted to really just RG color scheme this sucker but I can't without panel scribing the detail by hand and that's to advanced for my taste.

I just got my GM 2.0 from my buddy Travis during his stay in New Hamphsire and I'll be using a mix of the GM decals with the Gundam 3.0 to give the kit more real details when I'm done with the zaku.

I also just ordered little photo containers as they're super cheap and great to mix paints in.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

looks great hikuro. that nuclear warning sign is awesome.

[Scyla]

Damn my clumsy fingers. I broke an armor piece on my MG Sazabi. Does anyone know if there is a way to glue polystyrene together? The manual states PS on the runner so I assume that is the material they used.

[Nekko Basara]

Damn my clumsy fingers. I broke an armor piece on my MG Sazabi. Does anyone know if there is a way to glue polystyrene together? The manual states PS on the runner so I assume that is the material they used.

Model "cement" actually melts polystyrene and effectively welds pieces together, so it's ideal for making a strong and seamless fix like that. The thinner the better in that case, so that you don't have excess adhesive around the bond (some people use straight-up methyl ethyl ketone). Apply it sparingly to both surfaces, give it a few seconds to get tacky, then press them together. After a few hours, clean up the seam with sandpaper and you might be able to make it nearly invisible.

[Hikuro]

I think the question really is......which piece? Sometimes, they're just toast depending on where it broke. But like Nekko said, model cement melts polystyrene but do becareful. You technically only get one shot at it.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Damn my clumsy fingers. I broke an armor piece on my MG Sazabi. Does anyone know if there is a way to glue polystyrene together? The manual states PS on the runner so I assume that is the material they used.

show us some pics if you end up getting the model cement.

[mikeszekely]

Almost done with Wing Zero. Just need to build the buster rifles, but I can still post shots with the beam sabers.

Top half wasn't as fast a build, even with there being fewer panel lines.

On the whole... well, the Endless Waltz version of Wing Zero is just an absurd Gundam. Designing a mech with organic-looking wings in a real robot anime must have been one of those ideas that seemed cool in the '90s, but today it's so cheesy that the only Gundam that I think is more ridiculous is the Nether Gundam, and that thing turns into a windmill.

Ridiculous design aside, the RG kit is very solid, I'm thinking in my top five even. There's not a lot of bells and whistles here, but it's a solidly-designed kit that takes advantage of engineering improvements to the RG line. In fact, my only complaint is that it's a smaller Gundam with fewer accessories than a lot of the other RGs, but costs the same as most of them. Wing Zero, more than even the SEED RGs, is begging for a stand or an action base, and you'd think for the price they could throw one in.

In any case, I strongly recommend RG Wing Zero, unless you really hate Gundam Wing for some reason. Me personally, even as a UC-enthusiast who was kind of disappointed when Wing Zero was announced that I wasn't getting another UC mobile suit (where's my blue Z'Gok and my RG GM?), I'm really looking forward to Bandai releasing the rest of the Operation Meteor Gundams with this frame (and maybe a Tallgeese or III?).

[Nekko Basara]

Hey, this is really lame because I'm trying to get a picture of something tiny that you basically can't see, but here is a repaired part:

When I got my RG GP-01, one side of the handle at the top of the shield was broken off and loose in the bag. I was able to glue it back on and sand it flush enough that the break can't be seen unless you know right where it was. From the front, the break is right about where that arrow is pointing. It's a bit more visible from the back. Bad pictures aside, my point is that modeling cement can work some wonders!

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Almost done with Wing Zero. Just need to build the buster rifles, but I can still post shots with the beam sabers.

IMG_20150325_000921.jpgIMG_20150325_000939.jpg

Top half wasn't as fast a build, even with there being fewer panel lines.

On the whole... well, the Endless Waltz version of Wing Zero is just an absurd Gundam. Designing a mech with organic-looking wings in a real robot anime must have been one of those ideas that seemed cool in the '90s, but today it's so cheesy that the only Gundam that I think is more ridiculous is the Nether Gundam, and that thing turns into a windmill.

Ridiculous design aside, the RG kit is very solid, I'm thinking in my top five even. There's not a lot of bells and whistles here, but it's a solidly-designed kit that takes advantage of engineering improvements to the RG line. In fact, my only complaint is that it's a smaller Gundam with fewer accessories than a lot of the other RGs, but costs the same as most of them. Wing Zero, more than even the SEED RGs, is begging for a stand or an action base, and you'd think for the price they could throw one in.

In any case, I strongly recommend RG Wing Zero, unless you really hate Gundam Wing for some reason. Me personally, even as a UC-enthusiast who was kind of disappointed when Wing Zero was announced that I wasn't getting another UC mobile suit (where's my blue Z'Gok and my RG GM?), I'm really looking forward to Bandai releasing the rest of the Operation Meteor Gundams with this frame (and maybe a Tallgeese or III?).

i read that rg wing zero was voted overall top gundam kit in rroberts184 youtube reviewer feedback contest.

looks really good.

i've been watching the bio vid: (english subs w/ the c.c. button)

oh those twin busters are going to look awesome on the rg

Edited March 25, 2015 by davidwhangchoi

[electric indigo]

I'm thinking of getting this kit. Any pros/cons on it other than being a parts-former?

I got the kit last year and did a test fit, works really well and the design is something different, it has a nice 80s feel about it, and it's coming from Katsumi Fujita - always nice to see his work getting more attention. The only nitpicks I have is that the "chin" is a bit blunted, which I corrected with my hobby knife, and the hands look a bit clumsy, so I'll replace them with Bandai's own Builders Parts. I also plan to give it a different paint job, going with Katoki's design here:

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/review?scode=TOY-GDM-0261&page=

[Hikuro]

Never understood the need of mobile suits with high heel feet. Must be a spacenoid thing cause it's very ineffective on uneven terrain like.......an asteroid?

I finished my Zakus frame. Came out great! No problems at all! It's just gonna go sit in the display shelf until I finish snipping, cleaning and organizing my parts.

I threw in a bit of pow on the thrusters....I didn't metallize them exactly....I threw in some titanium silver with a coat of clear red to give it a titanium/metal look and it came out well! I'm certainly having more confidence in mixing and trying new ideas with paint than I did 10-15 years ago.

Weather is going to be half decent over the weekend so I'd say a very good likelihood I'll have it all primed and painted Saturday then decal enhanced Sunday. I'll let you guys know!

[Nekko Basara]

Never understood the need of mobile suits with high heel feet. Must be a spacenoid thing cause it's very ineffective on uneven terrain like.......an asteroid

It makes their ass and calves look tight, obviously.

[Kelsain]

And they way they walk across the battlefield. Hnnng...