I've seen them at B&N but the closest store is an hour away so I tend not to be at one. About the only time I stop in is when there is a national boardgame clearance going on.EYEL1NER also note that Barnes and Nobles carries kits now too! Also G Gundam got modern hg's a few years back of Ahining, Burning, Master/Fuunsaiki and Nobel(both forms)
I don't suppose anyone knows a paint that matches or is close to the hull colour of a TOS starship Enterprise?
The guide says to mix 3 different paints for the right colour, but aside from getting the measurements of all 3 the correct ratio, it's quite a large model and I'd either have to mix way too much paint to be on the safe side, or attempt to re-mix the same shade as it cannot all be painted at once (and I doubt I can mix the same from 3 paints twice or more).
It's a Revell model so they obviously not recommending other brands paints.
Way too dark, that more likely to look right on the aircraft carrier named Enterprise.Haze grey from tamiya looked pretty close, just iff of memory though, I could be wrong
Wow, lucky to see this thread. I'm considering getting back into modeling. I just want to expand into creating dioramas and such instead. Have ton of WW1/2 models I have done, might convert into a diorama later.
However I want to start out big. Anyone have good links to buy Godzilla related kits? Or things based on monsters etc? Maybe can even go Gundam...
Wow, lucky to see this thread. I'm considering getting back into modeling. I just want to expand into creating dioramas and such instead. Have ton of WW1/2 models I have done, might convert into a diorama later.
However I want to start out big. Anyone have good links to buy Godzilla related kits? Or things based on monsters etc? Maybe can even go Gundam...
What's the best starter tool kit on Amazon? I'm trying to decide between https://www.amazon.com/Gundam-Modeler-Assemble-Building-Alemon/dp/B01D1JYXKO and this https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-TAM74016-Basic-Tool-Set/dp/B01AND0FRG. I know Tamiya is something of a brand name, but the set is more expensive and doesn't include as much stuff.
I bought the first one you linked when I was starting out. It served me fine for my first few kits, but be advised that the knife blades are pretty thin and liable to break off at the tip. I ended up upgrading the knife and nippers in due time.
Just got my EX-S / S Gundam Mastergrade and this thing is a MONSTER!
I have a question though for you guys before I start assemblying: For panel lining, should I buy a grey pen and line before I assemble and just do it on the sprues? or is it okay to do so after assembly?
Has anyone here built any of the Space Battleship Yamato kits? Thinking about getting the 1/500 scale Yamato 2199 kit, it looks like a beast.
This is just me but I do it like this: I'll build the torso then panel line/decal, build the head and panel line/decal before attaching to the torso, ect. I do that with each individual part before putting the whole kit together.
I have also been doing that recently and it works pretty well. Just pay attention to the parts you're building, if you notice one part you want to panel line that's going to get a bit covered, you should remember to panel line it before proceeding with the build. Same with the stickers really, if you plan to use them.
I panel line before cutting it off the sprues. I do all the panel lines for the whole kit at the same time this way. I'll touch it up a bit later when I finish the kit and see if I missed a line due to it being inaccessible due to nubs.Just got my EX-S / S Gundam Mastergrade and this thing is a MONSTER!
I have a question though for you guys before I start assemblying: For panel lining, should I buy a grey pen and line before I assemble and just do it on the sprues? or is it okay to do so after assembly?
While it could be that your hobby knife blades are less sharp than ideal, even with a sharp blade the "shaving" technique works better when there's not much of the nub left as you've already found out.saw several videos were people drug the hobby knife blade across that area and likened it to shaving but letting the blade do the work and not pulling too hard.
I think why using the nippers so close has been working so well is because so many parts I've cut so far have had the connection parts taper and narrow down almost to a thin flat line where it meets up with the piece. On pieces where the connection point is thicker, I plan to stay away from cutting so close to the part because I imagine that is where most of the risk of 'sqeezing' the plastic rather than chopping through it and leaving stress marks comes from.While it could be that your hobby knife blades are less sharp than ideal, even with a sharp blade the "shaving" technique works better when there's not much of the nub left as you've already found out.
However, going to close with the nippers can leave holes where the nub used to be, specially in connection points that are large, less so on small connections.
The trick is to leave enough plastic so that you don't damage the actual part but not so much that makes the shaving motion difficult.
I mean taking things pretty slow with my RG 00 Qan[T]. I just finished up the left and right frame legs and then packed it away for the day. I'm having a blast with it though. So many of the little moveable parts of the joints and things on the frame that slide around as the leg moves are just too cool. Despite most of the frame not really being something that is seen on the completed model, I'm still going slow and trying to trim everything up perfectly. The practice will be worth it once I get to exterior armor pieces, I think.
Some notes on things from what I've done so far:
-It may just be that the new blades on the hobby knife I bought are not sharp or are dull because they were so cheap, but I'm having a lot of trouble trimming nubs and flash off. I saw several videos were people drug the hobby knife blade across that area and likened it to shaving but letting the blade do the work and not pulling too hard. Well I pretty much have to saw the pieces off. I thought about leaving a little bit there and then wet-sanding it down but when I went to Lowes and saw how much sandpaper was I said "Forget that." Sandpaper was sold in packs of three sheets and it was $6 a pack. I figured I'd get 1000, 1500, and 2000, and then maybe like a 600 grit also for when I've left a lot of material, but even with a military discount that's close to $20 for not that much sandpaper.
-What I've ended up doing is cutting super-close to the piece with the sidecutters/nippers. I imagine that these nippers don't compare at all to a pair of Godhand nippers (wish I had a set of those) but they are working very well. The HG kits I built as a teen saw me using nail clippers, the hobby knife, and wire-cutters, which did a number on the plastic. These nippers I got in my tool kits are probably a really cheap pair but they are getting flush to the piece and leaving really tidy cuts with no stress marks. I just drag the knife over the area afterwards and it is looking great. I wish I had a pair of these when I was younger...
-All of the little pairs of fine-point tweezers in my tool kit are a life-saver for applying stickers and decals. I've applied stickers to a lot of different wooden board game components over recent years and I dread doing it because I always go too far to one side of a component and they end up looking bad. Tweezers are helping me line things up perfectly and then drop them down.
I'm taking a few pics as a I go. Maybe I'll post them all up once I'm finished? Like I said, I'm taking it slow and don't feel anxious about wanting to go faster or finish it, despite my Wing Zero for my second build showing up in the mail today. I'm having a blast. I really love slow repetitive tasks like this that require attention to detail. It reminds me of when I was in Korea and would volunteer to clean everyone's rifles after an exercise because it was a task that allowed me to clear my mind and zone out a bit while still dedicating myself to the task.
So my cousin got me the RG 00 Qan[T] Full Saber Clear Color edition as a gift. It's the kit seen here.
Any advice on actually building something with clear parts and making it look good? Pitfalls to watch for? Does it even need to be panel lined or top coated?
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I've been holding the piece as I cut, so no holes yet. Getting a second set of nippers sounds like a good idea though. A pair of Godhands would be nice (not only just because they are supposed to be great but also because I love the game God Hand, so the name makes me want them even more) but I think the price for them that I saw on Amazon was like $55? I haven't checked any Gundam retailers yet to see if that is just an overinflated Amazon price for something probably shipping from Japan, or if that is the regular price they sell for. I'd rather just get two more Real Grade kits at that price, lol.What you want to do is have two pairs of nippers - an ok/decent pair (i use Xurons for this) and a pair of sharper/finer ones (like god hands, etc). You use the OK piece to snip the piece off the runner, but don't make a very close cut. Leave a bunch of nub. Then use your GOOD pair to cut close to the piece. this works especially well for smaller pieces like those found in RGs. Also remember to keep your hand holding the piece still while cutting so you dont torque the piece away from the nippers while cutting, that will give you a nasty hole where the nub was
another thing - if you do get some really fine nippers like godhands, etc. Be careful with them, especially how you store them and handle them when you are not cutting because they are EXTREMELY easy to break.
This is by design and a staple of RG kits. Bandai is perfectly capable of making two different sprues the exact same colour. The RG look emphasizes the fact that those are different pieces by giving it slightly different shades of the same colour, be it white, blue, etc.I'm pretty bummed that the white pieces that come off of different sprues are not the same shade of white, the 'D' sprues that hold a lot of the leg armor pieces is more of a bright white compared to some of the other pieces, and it is noticeable on the legs.
And double-post, but I wanted to share some pics from this morning. I sat down at about 4AM to do a little work on the 00 Qan[T] after building the frame legs yesterday.i built the frame torso, and then decided to do the arms, and then decided to put some armor on the legs, and then next thing I knew it was 6 hours later and I forced myself to get to a stopping point and pack it away. If I hadn't, I would have kept going all day and I need to get sleep sometime before work tonight. Also my son woke up and he's two, so as soon as he sees all of my stuff sprawled out on the table his eyes light up and he starts wanting to grab sprues.
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Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I've been holding the piece as I cut, so no holes yet. Getting a second set of nippers sounds like a good idea though. A pair of Godhands would be nice (not only just because they are supposed to be great but also because I love the game God Hand, so the name makes me want them even more) but I think the price for them that I saw on Amazon was like $55? I haven't checked any Gundam retailers yet to see if that is just an overinflated Amazon price for something probably shipping from Japan, or if that is the regular price they sell for. I'd rather just get two more Real Grade kits at that price, lol.
HLJ sales are always frustrating for me because I always end up seeing some nice deals but after doing the math, it always turns out to not really be worth it. In this one, I was excited when I saw they had a PG Zaku for 60€, but with shipping+taxes+fees it was pretty much the same price as just buying it from an European shop for 120€. Plus the fact that their items are always displayed as being on sale makes it hard to know how much you're actually saving, which has always felt a bit scummy to me.So, the HG Z'Gok E I ordered arrived today and it was kind of weird seeing the blue Bandai Spirits logo on an (obviously reissued) High Grade that is numbered 39 and is from 2003.
For those of you who delve in military kits like Eridani, today's part of HLJ summer sales includes those.
I'm not really sure how competitive the prices are when including shipping costs for kits that, I have to guess, are readily available in the West.
HLJ permanent discount for gunpla is 15%. Anything above that is extra savings. For other product lines the permanent discount might be different but it's generally consistent inside the product line.Plus the fact that their items are always displayed as being on sale makes it hard to know how much you're actually saving, which has always felt a bit scummy to me.
Good to know that it's always 15% for gunpla. From what I've seen for other kits it's between 10% and 20% without any obvious rule to it.HLJ permanent discount for gunpla is 15%. Anything above that is extra savings. For other product lines the permanent discount might be different but it's generally consistent inside the product line.
This is exactly what I was thinking before comparing prices, which is what makes it so frustrating for me. I thought a 50% off kit was obviously going to be a great deal, but it's not necessarily true. For the World of Tanks kits, as an example, a bunch of them would be a great deal for me as they are cheap enough to avoid taxes. But then there's this Tiger kit, which is 50% off (24.68€ from 49.36€) - just above the tax-free threshold of 22€. It seems like a great deal, but then there's:If one finds a kit that is at 50% or 60% discount, I very much doubt buying locally is going to be as expensive, specially if one can avoid taxes (unlikely on something as expensive as a PG).
I have no idea how expensive thoseWorld of Tanks, I meanPlatz, I mean Italeri 1/35 kits are in Europe or whether the kits are terrible but a 70% seems interesting to the uninitiated unless the RRP was inflated due to branding compared to a regular Italeri release.
Yeah, I know the feeling. Anything below 22€ falls into impulse buy if it has a decent discount, say over 35% or 40%.