MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM GUNPLA Modelling, Anyone?

 

i began my road to OTAKUdom long ago, as a young teen back in the early/mid-1990s, by proxy of leftover 1980's Paint-and-Glue Anime Mecha model kits.

around 1997, i took my first major leap forward thanks to my first GUNDAM-related kit,

with multi-color molding, press-fit assembly and extensively-polycapped joints, it was a quantum leap

beyond the standard no-frills plastic model fare i was used to up to that point.

around 1998, i got my first MASTER GRADE series GUNDAM kit, and from there i scarcely looked back.

my most recent kits, -just finished in late 2019- are also my most thoroughly satisfying.

2001 BANDAI MG MSZ-006A1 and MSZ-006C1, from 1988 ZETA GUNDAM side-story GUNDAM SENTINEL;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by Tasuke

I recently put together MG F91 Gundam F91 ver. 2.0.

Felt a bit lazy and didn't apply the decals. I haven't bothered with adding much grey to the panel lines. I just wanted to get this built.

Currently building the RG Sazabi. (Not pictured.)

Edited January 7, 2020 by growcian

I just pre-ordered this guy:

https://www.amiami.com/eng/detail?gcode=TOY-GDM-4617

...plus another plastic model kit but it's not a Gundam (therefore off-topic) so I won't paste the link to that here.

Edited January 9, 2020 by growcian

here's something GUNDAM-related, though a little different;

now for something a bit more old-fashioned than the average GUNDAM kit, dating clear back to 1983. a bona-fide classic, even;

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Tasuke

Edit: Hid images behind the spoiler tag.

I finished building the Real Grade Sazabi weeks ago. Adding the stickers... took a while.

Spoiler

 

 

In terms of size, he doesn't come up even as high as a Dollfie Dream's knees:

 

A better comparison is with a 1/12 scale doll in the form of Azone's Assault Lily:

In my kit building backlog is the much larger Master Grade Sazabi ver.Ka, which has water slide decals. That's going to take a lot longer than applying the stickers for the RG kit above.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by growcian
Hid images behind the spoiler tag.

That's a really detailed model at that size. Until I got to the comparison pictures I thought it was about twice the size it actually is. 

On 2/21/2020 at 4:04 AM, cfx said:

That's a really detailed model at that size. Until I got to the comparison pictures I thought it was about twice the size it actually is. 

The perfect grade models. Are the most detailed ones but are also the most expensive. They are also huge.

Wow, Gunpla builders from that era are legends in my opinion. My biggest regret in life , is missing out on the astray red frame Kai 2020 preorder. Hope I can get the PG Model this July when it’s released.

Image heavy, so the rest are hidden behind the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

 

Ab crunch!!

 

I built quite a few RX-78-2 kits in the past. This kit was the most fun to build among all of them.

I used a few of the stickers but used Gundam Markers instead on places I could. I didn't use every sticker and I didn't use any of the included markings (such as the Federation marks).

I limited painting to only using some Gundam Markers. I pondered going nuts with the paint but that would have extended the build time and I would have been afraid of chipping the paint when I make him do crazy poses... like an ab crunch. I also did some basic panel lining and weathering.

The kit gives the builder the option to build the "early type" and "mid production type". I mixed and matched mine a bit with the parts but I mostly built him based on the early type.

I sanded down the V-fin so he wouldn't look like a children's toy. I also needed to use extra thin modeling cement to keep the V-fin and the red piece attached to it in place. The red piece kept falling off without the cement.

This guy is simply awesome. Building him was fun and didn't feel like a chore. While his hip skirts get in the way of his leg movement, he can still do decent kung fu kicks if that's your thing. The articulation in general is simply amazing. All this in a 5-inch (12.7 cm) robot.

This kit would be a bit difficult for beginners but can be built by one if there's a more experienced builder around to help such a beginner. More experienced builders would have loads of fun with this kit. This kit gets an enthusiastic recommendation from me.

Building this put me in a "please kill me now" mood.

This was the kit I was building when I wanted a distraction from it and started building something else. Despite the WIP looking great, I wasn't having fun building it for some inexplicable reason. I wanted a distraction so I ended up buying and building a kit which ended up being even a bigger disaster.

Spoiler

 

Size comparison.

Back heavy.

 

The build on this this *mostly* went smoothly. I ended up breaking a few things anyway. I painted some thrusters ("verniers") after I assembled them and that led to one of them (which you can't see in the above photos) shattering. (For anyone who cares, I can explain why this happens in a PM or in another post.) I was also careless with handling the included rifle so I ended up breaking a moving hinge on it.

The finished robot looks great. Even to this moment, I can't figure out why I wasn't having fun building this thing. My mood was soured even further after I noticed one of the verniers shattered and then I broke the rifle.

The sleeves' design and the rifle's design prevent the kit from being able to hold the rifle. I'm not sure how the photographer cheated in making this guy hold the rifle in the instruction manual. I don't want to risk breaking something else by trying to see if what the photographer did is realistic.

I have a set of separately sold water slide decals designed specifically for this scale of Sinanju. I think I'll put off applying them for now. I think I broke enough things on this kit for the time being and I don't need to anger myself even further.

 

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by Tasuke

Always wanted to get into it and when I found about this set while watching Adam Savage YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@tested) i immediately knew I had to get my hands on one. 

Here's a pic with Beato mid-build 

 

Fully assembled but quite far from completion. I thought at point the fun and enjoyment were almost done but oh was I wrong, it was only the beginning.

The joy I got from panel lining, applying decals and all the extras was a blast. I only recently put its shield together and thus have reached 99.9% completion with only a handful of decals to go:

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by puxlavoix

On 2/3/2023 at 8:44 PM, puxlavoix said:

The joy I got from panel lining, applying decals and all the extras was a blast.

mm, panel lining can really bring out detail in any model kit, also depending on what you use to make it happen can be amusing by itself (tamiya panel line fluid is magic) actually forgot I hadnt put the decals on my liberty hybrid, despite it having a birthday of sorts since completetion.

40 minutes ago, finnleo said:

tamiya panel line fluid is magic

Agree! Exactly what I used. At first thought it looked somewhat daunting but it was quite enjoyable! 

On the topic of Liberty, noted that I hadnt posted some of the photos of it/her on the forum:

liberty074

liberty075

liberty076

liberty080

Mostly a hybrid thing, but still required some modeling skills, and a thing for Gunpla.

Still wish they would release a perfect grade of base Freedom, since the strike freedom never really went click for me. Also the one from Blood Orphans.

On 2/5/2023 at 3:29 AM, finnleo said:

 

Wow!!!! we need a "surprised" reaction for content like that dont you agree @BeyondTime? !! Thats uberawesome!

Did you 3d print it??

58 minutes ago, puxlavoix said:

Did you 3d print it??

some bits, but mostly its from a normal HG 1/60 Freedom (hence the wordplay with Liberty)

The build log can be found in the handyworks section.

There are very few model kits I like. Generally only evas. But there is one I got after watching a review from Mecha Gaikotsu on youtube: the hi-resolution 1-100 Gundam Astray Red Frame.  For me, this is the badassest gundam I've ever seen.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Pit

8 hours ago, finnleo said:

some bits, but mostly its from a normal HG 1/60 Freedom (hence the wordplay with Liberty)

The build log can be found in the handyworks section.

What amount of hard work and talent you put in her!, congratulatons she came out amazing! I wish i could find a ready-made suit for my girls. Quite a read too!

I came across this one years ago but haven’t seen anything like it:

 

4 hours ago, puxlavoix said:

What amount of hard work and talent you put in her!, congratulatons she came out amazing! I wish i could find a ready-made suit for my girls. Quite a read too!

I came across this one years ago but haven’t seen anything like it:

Its a bit weird thinking of work and effort with Liberty, since it was a thing plagued by motivation issues throughout the years I put it together. But it did turn out pretty good, I have to admit. Too bad I still dont have a spot to put it on display, but maybe some day now that I am re-arranging my livingroom shelving.

Considering there are third party upgrade bits for the likes of Frame Arms Girls, im sort of surprised there isnt ready made kits out there, but it could be its still a nieché enough thing that people dont go that route, or that Bandai is a force to reckon with even before thinking about it.

A modification kit based on a available model kit probably is the way to go, but that still leaves about half the model kit un-used.

That Z-gundam on the Yuki Morikawa is new to me, most likely a scratch build (or maybe an actual third party kit) since gundam model kits dont go up to that size as far as I know.