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Plastic Scale Modelling |OT| Gunpla and Everything Else
- Thread starter erd
- Start date
Schizophonic image review of Gundam Alex 2.0
I have to say, at a glance, it looks like an old Master Grade, but when standing side by side to the MG Alex 1.0, you can see just how much improvement the kit has. I just wish there was more torso articulation (seeing as there's no core block or anything, it's weird how stiff it seems), but otherwise the rest of the joints seem really modern. The rotating forearm is a really nice gimmick which I wish was in other kits, and I really love the armor separation on the legs.
Definitely picking this one up as soon as it's made available in my area. Doesn't really help that the Gundam is my namesake as well.
I have to say, at a glance, it looks like an old Master Grade, but when standing side by side to the MG Alex 1.0, you can see just how much improvement the kit has. I just wish there was more torso articulation (seeing as there's no core block or anything, it's weird how stiff it seems), but otherwise the rest of the joints seem really modern. The rotating forearm is a really nice gimmick which I wish was in other kits, and I really love the armor separation on the legs.
Definitely picking this one up as soon as it's made available in my area. Doesn't really help that the Gundam is my namesake as well.
I wouldn't say unexcited, but since I already have built the 1/100, the MG will be extremely low on the priority list of what to get even if I know that it will look reasonably better.
Maybe in 5 or 6 years.
While it does look better, at first sight it is hard to justify what makes the new kit 5800 plus tax compared to the old one at 3000 or newer ones kits that aren't as expensive. I guess the Chobam armor hikes the price. The face armor looks a bit ridiculous. Is it displayed anywhere like a Generations game or is it simply a MG exclusive for the sake of it?
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OP
OP
I've never used mecha color specifically, but other Vallejo paints I've used (Model air/color) worked quite well even without it (just thinned with water or Vallejo thinner). It should help with avoiding brush strokes and the like since the paint will have more time to spread out before drying, but I wouldn't consider it essential unless you're having issues without using it.
The range of motion and different joints in the legs makes for incredibly dynamic poses. I'm really excited to finish it. It's so much fun just finding new cool-looking poses to maneuver the legs into. I haven't put in any work in the past week or two though, which bums me out. I've been a bit busy.
I did try to repair that fracked armor piece, which went okay I guess. I applied cement to the actual crack and tried to hold the pieces together, but I couldn't really get them to sit in a way where they were perfectly lined up and not folding in forward or backward. So what I did after that was apply a thin layer of cement to the front of it and then affixed it to the proper location on the frame since it holds the two broken pieces together. I let the cement fuse the plastic on the front of the crack a bit and then after it dried filed it down a bit. It's kind of noticable but I'm not upset about it. It's taught me some things, from making sure that I have pieces on correctly the first time, to not removing and affixing small pieces too many times, to different ways to repair cracks and breaks. So hopefully I can apply all of that to my second build and have it turn out better.
I just picked up another RG that will be my third build, the Strike Freedom. I went to a local store called HobbyTown (I initially thought that it was part of the HobbyTown USA brand and was excited, and then I walked in and realized that the depressing dark empty store I was in was NOT related to the HobbyTown USAs). I wanted to pick up some good tools but they didn't have much of anything in the way of those, and they had zero Gundam Markers which was a bummer. Most of the Gundam Markers on Amazon ship from Japan and take weeks, but I only want a few different packs of them and can't hit a free shipping threshold on some of the online gunpla retailers. The store had a very small gunpla selection. They had a Deep Striker, which I immediately wanted and then saw was priced over $200. They had a bunch of lighting kits for the PG Exia and an actual PG Exia kit. And they had a lot of different Red Astrays, like the Hi Res kit. The Strike Freedom was the only RG they had. I knew one of the RG Seed kits had some negative reviews so I passed on it. Then I got home and found out the Strike Freedom is recommended and supposed to be a good one. The store is an hour away but luckily the next day was my daughter's birthday and she wanted to go shopping, so I used that as an excuse to go back and get the kit. The store was pretty overpriced but this one was reasonable and they had a $5 off $25 coupon which brought the kit down a little below online prices. I need metallic Markers though because of that gold frame.
I'll try to post some pics of the QAN[T] in the next few days before I go on vacation for two weeks. After I repaired that crack I built the head, backpack, and shield, so I only have the swords and stickers left, I think. I found out that I hate doing the eyes sticker; the piece I was supposed to put the eyes had an extremely small surface area meaning the sticker had to be applied absolutely perfectly. I didn't apply it perfectly, so now I'm worried that eventually it'll fall off. I'm having some issues with another sticker, a foil sticker on an elbow hinge, peeling a little bit. I saw someone recommend a tiny amount of regular elmer's glue to fix that, is that correct?
Thank you and Another Question.
Should I top coat (water type) the Model before painting or not?
I heard it help Color adhesion of water-based paint.
To help paint adhesion what you use is primer. Some materials like metal absolutely need it due to poor adhesion. For plastic it's optional but using it probably helps. Primer is often used when painting models that come molded in colour like gunpla to get an uniform base colour to work with. This can be more important when doing a custom colour scheme that is different from the original because it helps hiding the plastic colour underneath. Just don't go too thick with the primer, it's unnecessary and it may even hide surface detail.
Top coat, as its name implies, goes on top of your paint (or even no paint to give it a desired finish like Aries models in the previous page). It protects your paint from being scratched and depending of the kind you use it can give a matte (also called flat), semi-gloss (also called satin) or glossy finish.
laying on primer too thick is a common rookie mistake. My first gunpla that i primed many many years ago i fucked up with a primer rattle can. Orangepeeled the fuck out of it and wiped out some panel lines. if you prime with a rattle can, always keep the can moving across the pieces. light and quick bursts. it doesnt seem right, and you will waste a ton of primer into the air this way, but that's how you do it.
Ah, damn! I didn't realize there was a plastic model thread.
Here's my current stack of projects.
And they're not even all shown.
I just got a new airbrush compressor, I want to upgrade my airbrush to a badger in the near future, and there are so many more kits I'd love to get, and Id love to get one of those airbrush vents so I can paint inside.
Here's my current stack of projects.
And they're not even all shown.
I just got a new airbrush compressor, I want to upgrade my airbrush to a badger in the near future, and there are so many more kits I'd love to get, and Id love to get one of those airbrush vents so I can paint inside.
I really like Shin Musha Gundam. It's one of the first MG that I tried some painting, my cousin ask me to build it for him but he ended up not taking it for a long time after I finish, so it stay at my house for a year or so before he come to claim it.
I kinda want to make another one for myself now, but having lots of backlog and lack of time making gunpla recently, I've always have the desire to make one everytime I see someone mention it.
I kinda want to make another one for myself now, but having lots of backlog and lack of time making gunpla recently, I've always have the desire to make one everytime I see someone mention it.
I've been contemplating getting that but I have some p bandai kits that I want to get that are available for order and this past month, local sales and HLJ sales meant I have a huge backlog to build. My wallet is crying. Is it a kit that is hard to purchase or has it been consistently in stock?
I remember it used to be hard to find until Bandai start making it again. I see it pretty often nowadays
Do it! I bought it when it was on sale @ newtypeHQ. I wasn't going to get it, but I liked the model too much to pass on it. Le sigh.
I'm at Anime Expo with my daughter (she's a diehard Love Live fan, so we're seeing Aquors), but I'm looking forward to the Gunpla Builders World Cup entrants and the panel on advanced building techniques that's happening. And maybe get an exclusive kit or two if I can. It looked they have a few available.
MG Barbie Toes confirmed.
It looks like the head is much better proportioned compared to the NG 1/100, which I feel has a head that is a tad too big. Seems to have elbow armor separating gimmick as well. The v-fin do seem to be ridiculously too long, and the mace too small, but the overall armor separation looks really good. It would be nice if it has a torso separating gimmick similar to the HG Build Burning or HG Narrative as it would fit well with the Barbatos' torso design. This is my most sought after Master Grade and I'm very happy that it's finally here.
It looks like the head is much better proportioned compared to the NG 1/100, which I feel has a head that is a tad too big. Seems to have elbow armor separating gimmick as well. The v-fin do seem to be ridiculously too long, and the mace too small, but the overall armor separation looks really good. It would be nice if it has a torso separating gimmick similar to the HG Build Burning or HG Narrative as it would fit well with the Barbatos' torso design. This is my most sought after Master Grade and I'm very happy that it's finally here.
Good lord. It's beautiful.MG Barbie Toes confirmed.
It looks like the head is much better proportioned compared to the NG 1/100, which I feel has a head that is a tad too big. Seems to have elbow armor separating gimmick as well. The v-fin do seem to be ridiculously too long, and the mace too small, but the overall armor separation looks really good. It would be nice if it has a torso separating gimmick similar to the HG Build Burning or HG Narrative as it would fit well with the Barbatos' torso design. This is my most sought after Master Grade and I'm very happy that it's finally here.
Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster. As of the first of July, SAL (which includes the cheapest shipping available in SAL Small Packet) is available again in the European countries where it stopped being offered at the end of 2017.
This means that, for small kits like most HG and RG, instead of a split of 50% kit / 50% shipping I can go back to 66% kit / 34% shipping. Or in absolute numbers: for an order where I would have to pay about 40€ (20€ + 20€) I will now be paying 30€ (20€ + 10€) which is a nice 25% overall reduction in price that suits us (people with a big backlog and no hurry to get our kits fast) perfectly fine.
This means that, for small kits like most HG and RG, instead of a split of 50% kit / 50% shipping I can go back to 66% kit / 34% shipping. Or in absolute numbers: for an order where I would have to pay about 40€ (20€ + 20€) I will now be paying 30€ (20€ + 10€) which is a nice 25% overall reduction in price that suits us (people with a big backlog and no hurry to get our kits fast) perfectly fine.
So, I was organising my backlog when a random thought occurred to me... "have you ever asked yourself how many Fuminas has Bandai released so far?"
Well, here's what I currently have:
I'm probably missing some Gundam Base exclusives.
Well, here's what I currently have:
I'm probably missing some Gundam Base exclusives.
Honest question, are they even good? There's one gunpla youtube channel that I like to go that really don't like this series of gundam girls until Bandai release a new series under figure rise standard line starting from build diver girls, which he likeSo, I was organising my backlog when a random thought occurred to me... "have you ever asked yourself how many Fuminas has Bandai released so far?"
Well, here's what I currently have:
I'm probably missing some Gundam Base exclusives.
Mecha Gaikotsu's a hater really. Chinnaguy and Lohen-Rinko aren't so bad but he goes out of his way to make them seem worse than what it actually is. For a more level headed review it's better to look at Zaku Aurelius' reviews of these kits.
As for the actual quality, I'd say it got better starting with Chinnaguy in the sense that the face sculpt looked anime accurate. Winning Fumina is actually good and the new ones, especially Build Diver Ayame, is really good.
I have a couple of Megami Devices too, and let's not compare it to those because these things are High Grades. They're around $20 each compared to Megami Devices that are $50+. And for High Grades they're exactly what I expect them to be.
Except for the Figure-rise Labo. Now that is just pure perfection. The multi-layer plastic that simulates skin subsurface scattering is probably one of the best things Bandai has ever done.
I already order Build Diver Ayame which just arrived a couple days ago. Will be my first gundam girl kit, although I've build some Dragon Ball model kit before including Android 18
Nice. Just make sure you understand that you get what you pay for. When I say Ayame is really good, I mean that it's really good for its price point.
If you're willing to pay for double the price, then something like this is really nice:
That's the Megami Device Asra Ninja from Kotobukiya.
eh, not really my thing. also, I have a few kotobukiya kit, and I get the impression that their color separation is really lacking compared to Bandai, like you have to do a lot more painting to make them look good.Nice. Just make sure you understand that you get what you pay for. When I say Ayame is really good, I mean that it's really good for its price point.
If you're willing to pay for double the price, then something like this is really nice:
That's the Megami Device Asra Ninja from Kotobukiya.
Yup, I agree with you, overall I still prefer Bandai kits. I'd be more than willing to pay for a Master Grade quality gundam girl really, but let's be honest here the chances of that happening is absolutely nil.
Zoids Sturm Tyran painted in gree...
I kid, it's actually Danball Senki's Trivhine. The shape of this LBX is a bit unusual for the line. I bought this in a Jenock Platoon set so I'll probably be building the other two units in the not too distant future.
As usual with LBX kits, I just did an OOB build plus stickers with no panel lines or any kind of detailing.
I kid, it's actually Danball Senki's Trivhine. The shape of this LBX is a bit unusual for the line. I bought this in a Jenock Platoon set so I'll probably be building the other two units in the not too distant future.
As usual with LBX kits, I just did an OOB build plus stickers with no panel lines or any kind of detailing.
Are the yellow parts pre-painted or are those stickers as well? The stickers look pretty decent, I can only tell the logo on the shoulders, the camo on the legs, and the white on the knees, but only because those are unlikely to be color separated.
After finishing organizing my backlog, here's the damage:
And that's not including 10 other kits that are currently in progress. I should really just start straight-building these MGs. I keep putting them off because I want them all to be nicely painted but what happens is that my backlog just keeps growing and my building phase ins't catching up.
After finishing organizing my backlog, here's the damage:
And that's not including 10 other kits that are currently in progress. I should really just start straight-building these MGs. I keep putting them off because I want them all to be nicely painted but what happens is that my backlog just keeps growing and my building phase ins't catching up.
Good news I have a job again and will have the funds to finally order some new kits!
Also Just started and I'm enjoying Wing Gundam, what are the best kits for the main 5 and the Tallgeese(which cracks me up that the inner head is a Leo). Will definitely grab a hg Leo. I'm only up to episode 7
Also Just started and I'm enjoying Wing Gundam, what are the best kits for the main 5 and the Tallgeese(which cracks me up that the inner head is a Leo). Will definitely grab a hg Leo. I'm only up to episode 7
Heero - MG Wing Proto Zero EW or MG Wing TV
Duo - MG Deathscythe Hell EW
Trowa - MG Heavyarms Custom EW (P-Bandai)
Wufei - MG Altron EW (P-Bandai)
Quatre - MG Sandrock Custom EW (P-Bandai)
Zechs - RG Tallgeese
I'm seeing non p Bandai of those three MG, are those ok too? May take my time ordering though, need some high grades to fill the gaps
The yellow on the arm blades are stickers, indeed. Nevertheless, the color separation is quite nice for such a cheap kit. For example, the head is fully molded in color. The parts you pointed are stickers as are the dark green on the front of thechest, the dark green on the back fins and the red part of the tail. The last one I don't see how they couldn't have made it in plastic since there's plenty of other red pieces.
I know the feeling too well. I've been on a self-imposed lock-down of "Don't buy anything unless 40% off or more." but I just fell for HLJ current promo because I want those 1/400 limited Jegan and ReGZ to accompany my 1/400 Alpha Azieru.
If you want anime accurate and cheap, your best bet are the HGAC kits. It seems there's just 5 of those, though. Maganac isn't appearing there but it actually is HGAC and the shop has it classified as just HG which isn't right.
For RG there's also the Tallgeese and if you are OK with the reimagined OVA versions then the RG has 2 kits more that fit the bill.
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Are the yellow parts pre-painted or are those stickers as well? The stickers look pretty decent, I can only tell the logo on the shoulders, the camo on the legs, and the white on the knees, but only because those are unlikely to be color separated.
After finishing organizing my backlog, here's the damage:
And that's not including 10 other kits that are currently in progress. I should really just start straight-building these MGs. I keep putting them off because I want them all to be nicely painted but what happens is that my backlog just keeps growing and my building phase ins't catching up.
And I thought my backlog was bad 😮
Those photos are only halfway into the triple digits. That's when you know it's gotten out of hand.
Mine only has a single PG, though.
So first, let me explain how these Master Grade Gundam Wing kits shenanigans work. First, Gundam Wing had 2 media in audio-visual format: TV and movie (Endless Waltz). Now, the Endless Waltz Gundams have different designs from the TV version due to being redesigned by the now renowned Katoki Hajime. That's why you'll find a design of Gundam Wing Zero with actual angel wings even though it didn't appear in the TV series. The angel wings version came from the Endless Waltz movie. Similar redesigns happened to all the other Gundams.
Next, in the TV version everyone gets mid-season upgrades typical of any Gundam show. But in the Endless Waltz movie, you'll only get to see the upgraded versions because the movie takes place after the TV series.
Now, when the MG line for Gundam Wing started releasing, Katoki made redesigns for all the base forms as well and those redesigns were the basis for the MG line, which all have the Endless Waltz label even though they did not appear on the movie. The only exception to this at the moment is the MG Wing TV.
So for the model kits all the base and upgraded forms had MG Endless Waltz releases, but only the MG Wing Zero EW (old kit) and MG Deathscythe Hell EW had retail releases, while the other 3 are P-Bandai. Their differences are:
MG Wing Zero EW -> completely different from the MG Wing Ver. Ka, the MG Wing Zero EW is the oldest Gundam Wing MG (edit: as xEik pointed out, they have the same body just color swapped)
MG Deathscythe Hell EW -> recolor, new shoulders and legs with pointy bits, new huge batwing cloak
MG Sandrock Custom EW (P-Bandai) -> recolor, desert cloak
MG Altron EW (P-Bandai) -> recolor, 2 extendable dragon heads
MG Heavyarms Custom EW (P-Bandai) -> recolor, extra gatling gun
In other words, the non-P-Bandai kits are almost the same as the P-Bandai ones, only re-colored and with a few additional parts (and maybe waterslides???)
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I can live with that. I'll probably wait till I watch endless waltz though. May order the RG Tallgeese sooner as I know that's a recent kit and easy to get
So, I was organising my backlog when a random thought occurred to me... "have you ever asked yourself how many Fuminas has Bandai released so far?"
Well, here's what I currently have:
I'm probably missing some Gundam Base exclusives.
Pretty sure Fumina's age is lower than the number of kits/figures they made for her at this point.
There is the Proto Zero that you already mentioned in your previous post which is more or less Wing Zero TV in MG form.
The body part of Wing Ver.Ka and Wing Zero EW is almost the same, just recolored. The part that differs the most is, obviously, the wings but there's also the forearms, beam rifles and shield.
That's something I'm really curious about. I don't know anything about the character, but I'm almost tempted to get the kit just to see how the effect looks in person.
If you're gonna go for a Wing kit and don't mind the EW redesigns, I highly recommend the RG Wing EW.
Huh, you're right. In my mind the Wing Ver. Ka and Wing Zero EW look nothing alike. When put side to side it's the exact same body. Also, the Wing Proto Zero EW still isn't exactly the same as Wing Zero TV, though as you say the differences are not as pronounced.
I'm confident to say that the effect at least is much better than a hand-painted PVC figure. It's best skin effect I've seen. Unfortunately it has mold seams and nubs and probably some imperfections that will still fall short from a PVC model, but the subsurface at least is unmatched.
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Anyone here built either the Bandai or Kotobukiya Evangelion kits? Rewatching the anime has made me realize I don't have any kits of the series. Just wondering which one I should get.
I remember making evangelion 01 kit waay back when I first watch the tv series. I remember loving the kit. The thin proportion make it really posable and I like that the elbow joint is completely covered with some rubber material.
I just google it, it's this one from 2001.
This is the Bandai Eva-01 Test Type Evangelion 2.0. I love the looks, I think it captures the Eva-01 nicely. The size is very nice as well, it's around the height of a large 1/100 Gunpla (I believe the Kotobukiya ones are around between 1/100 and 1/144 Gunpla size). The hands that are enclosed in rubber casing looks nice visually, though it really hampers articulation (the pose in the first pic is pretty much the farthest it'll go). Articulation elsewhere is amazing. The knees bend 180 degrees, and the stomach has 3 points of articulation. I can't speak for Kotobukiya (they're much more expensive) but I love the newer Bandai ones.
This is the Bandai Eva-01 Test Type Evangelion 2.0. I love the looks, I think it captures the Eva-01 nicely. The size is very nice as well, it's around the height of a large 1/100 Gunpla (I believe the Kotobukiya ones are around between 1/100 and 1/144 Gunpla size). The hands that are enclosed in rubber casing looks nice visually, though it really hampers articulation (the pose in the first pic is pretty much the farthest it'll go). Articulation elsewhere is amazing. The knees bend 180 degrees, and the stomach has 3 points of articulation. I can't speak for Kotobukiya (they're much more expensive) but I love the newer Bandai ones.
Is this painted at all or straight out of the box? I really like the look of this one versus the TV Bandai one. I might just get the Series Kotobukiya and the Bandai Movie kits. Guess I need to decide if I want to just get 01 or one of each EVA.
looks like straight build. I think I saw a little nub mark here and there