AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Onto why this kit is called the Gunner!
There's 4 bonus assemblies that are part of this kit, first introduced with Gojulas the Ogre and a CP kit.
First up, the arm cannon!
New page means new runners. In this case, ALL new, because they are not part of the main build.
First part of the arm cannon.
Attaching the outer cover
And the final top embellishments. Personally, I'm thinking I need to glue the barrels, because they don't stay on as well as I thought they would.
Last on the cannon is the handle. Not sure why it needs one, but it looks awesome.
The arm cannon was part of the original upgrade kits for Gojulas, that Giga's been sporting the entire time.
This here shows how much the HMMs differentiate from the original kits.
One piece versus.... many.
And here it is equipped!
BIG CANNON TIME!
Gotta start with the shells and mags.
And then the inner cores. Not sure what these are called, they can slide back and forward so I assume they are part of the firing mechanism in some way.
And that's where I think I'm leaving it for tonight!
Thank you, so much everyone, for putting up with me on this journey.
Thank you for letting us come with you! I've really enjoyed it; it's been a very relaxing and meditative experience, the same thing I feel when watching Lego quick-build videos. This is a very large model, and I will (unfortunately) never get it because I have neither the time nor the space - but watching you assemble it step by step has felt almost like putting it together myself.
Although, I do worry about how many years you've taken off of your life with all the panel-lining and the very detailed and frequent stops for photos.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Thank you, so much everyone, for putting up with me on this journey.
Thank you for letting us come with you! I've really enjoyed it; it's been a very relaxing and meditative experience, the same thing I feel when watching Lego quick-build videos. This is a very large model, and I will (unfortunately) never get it because I have neither the time nor the space - but watching you assemble it step by step has felt almost like putting it together myself.
Although, I do worry about how many years you've taken off of your life with all the panel-lining and the very detailed and frequent stops for photos.
Hah. If you find the manual online, you'll find I've generally stuck to pictures when the steps or sub-assemblies are done.
... Part of me is debating painting this. Probably nothing more than gunpla markers though on the tubing and such. Just to add more color contrast.
I'm also considering actually applying the waterslide decals, which I've NEVER done before. But I would start with other models first to practice on.
Edit: I should also mention that I'm very thankful for the camera on the Pixel 3a. Compare it to my pics of my old builds and it's like... ewww.
Thank you, so much everyone, for putting up with me on this journey.
Thank you for letting us come with you! I've really enjoyed it; it's been a very relaxing and meditative experience, the same thing I feel when watching Lego quick-build videos. This is a very large model, and I will (unfortunately) never get it because I have neither the time nor the space - but watching you assemble it step by step has felt almost like putting it together myself.
Although, I do worry about how many years you've taken off of your life with all the panel-lining and the very detailed and frequent stops for photos.
Hah. If you find the manual online, you'll find I've generally stuck to pictures when the steps or sub-assemblies are done.
... Part of me is debating painting this. Probably nothing more than gunpla markers though on the tubing and such. Just to add more color contrast.
I'm also considering actually applying the waterslide decals, which I've NEVER done before. But I would start with other models first to practice on.
Edit: I should also mention that I'm very thankful for the camera on the Pixel 3a. Compare it to my pics of my old builds and it's like... ewww.
Waterslides are easy on flat surfaces. Get some Microset and apply it to the area, wet the cut out decal in water, then after 10 seconds or so slide it into place. As long as there's water/microset under the waterslide, you can easily move it with a q-tip, a phone stylus, or if you're insane like me you use your hobby knife. Roll a q-tip or other swab over to suck out any moisture under the decal, and viola.
Microsol is the partner to microset. Microset just helps the decal stick better. Microsol is a much more concentrated version of microset that will greatly soften the decal backing. It should only be applied to decals that are on uneven surfaces, and be applied VERY carefully as once applied the decal will be too delicate to move if it slips.
You can always re-apply microsol to the top of a waterslide if you don't like it's position and want to move it later.
Unless you've got a need for a model toy cowboy, I think I'd go look in the 3d printing thread up in Moe's Technology Tavern and ask if any of the experienced posters there would be willing to print one off for a reasonable price.
On the other hand, the possibility of giving your Gundam cowboy boots along with the hat may be enough to justify the model. Not sure how swappable they'd be.
I found the image below, which indicates to me that Woody is much larger than a 1/144 HG gundam, so the hat would be oversized. I'd just hit up the doll aisle at Wal-Mart or Target and look for a cowboy doll that seems like an appropriate size.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Unless you've got a need for a model toy cowboy, I think I'd go look in the 3d printing thread up in Moe's Technology Tavern and ask if any of the experienced posters there would be willing to print one off for a reasonable price.
On the other hand, the possibility of giving your Gundam cowboy boots along with the hat may be enough to justify the model. Not sure how swappable they'd be.
Oh man... Of course. I have a few friends with 3d printers.
Remember all those parts I had airbrushed a couple pages back?
Well I didn't want them to just sit on toothpicks forever and I am bad at taking a bunch of WIP photos so here is a surprise MG ZZ Gundam Ver Ka. Not really digging a bunch of warning labels plastered on this guy but I will do some of the stripes to give him a little extra flair so I'll try and get the waterslides and top coat done in the next couple days.
The warning labels do a lot to break up the spaces and eye catching details. I really like how they look on my ZZ. I'm sad, though, because I lost a key piece of his face (the silver part for the head) so mine is forever in fortress mode.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
That looks nice as hell! The gold really pops.
Also, sadface over Syd Mead. Tron was very influential to me growing up.
AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
I wasn't going to build a ton today. You know, take a break, all that.
... But being this close to the finish line, I just decided to keep plowing forward. Those cannons were calling for me.
New page time!
In retrospect after looking at the parts again, I decided to panel line the inner components super lightly. I then applied the piston pieces.
Then onto the big chunky assemblies. In this case, for the back of the cannons.
And the other half.
With those boxes attached:
And on the back.
Why do cannons have engines? Who knows, it's cool!
Next page, just a little bit of adjusting of the runners.
Top vents, again with just a little bit of panel lining.
This is a step, really! It's inner struts/supports that help keep the back pieces in place via a polycap friction.
And here's the big center of the cannons. Because of how much surface area they are, I decided to panel line these two steps when completed.
Here the centers are attached.
Cannon cores assembled and panel lined. OMG so many panel lines.
Front of the cannons.
With the main cannon bodies assembled, here's a scale pic.
Next page! Yay!
CANNON BARRELS!
My chopstick technique needs work (shoutout to the D&D chat thread for advice on how to improve!)
Good lord, just the barrels are the size of the original Gojulas cannon Customize Parts!
And to cap off the barrels...
You know how you can tell this is a labor of love? I actually did a bit of panel lining inside the barrels. It isn't technically rifling (I wish it was), but at least it looks used.
And almost all assembled, with the mags for comparison. I also lined them up on my cutting pad so you could see how big they are.
Size comparison to Gojulas...
And having built most of these (with the exception of the mounting points), I now fully understand why the HMM customize parts kit was so much more expensive than the original one. After all, the originals were like 2-3 pieces.
Gonna force myself to stop here for the night. The next bit are the mounting arms. At that point, Gojulas Gunner will technically be done, though I still have the optional/bonus pieces that turn it into Gojulas the Ogre configuration.
Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
Some MG Barbatos progress;
The Mace for this version can separate into these two small swords. That's pretty dang cool.
Also none of the weapons appear to have keys to slot into the hands, and considering the size of these things, they must have some confidence in the ability to hold em...
Wouldn't a Lego minifig cowboy hat be near the size of the 1/144 RX-78-2's head?
I don't have a Lego cowboy any more, but the Lego Gojulas Mascot head has to be enough:
I put the original head on its shoulder for size comparison.
And no, you can put the hats that go over the head onto the Gundam head after removing the antenna.
A cowboy hat might fit on the head...
Why do cannons have engines? Who knows, it's cool!
In this pic, I thought these were actually recoilless rifle tubes, but after seeing the fully assembled cannon, that's certainly not the case. Honestly it kind of looks like it's some kind of recoil absorption system. Like firing the thrusters at the same time the gun is fired to neutralize or partially offset the recoil. Or the more boring answer is it's just for burst movement or flight, as implausible as a mecha of this size being flight-capable seems.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
So you know how I've spent the last 3 weeks meticulously following steps in order?
Technically that's a lie. I've been assembling the body pieces as they were completed because.. well.. why not?
Today, though? Today I definitely broke step order something fierce. But I feel it is justified, given the (lack of) complexity of the steps.
Gotta start simple: Small pistons!
And connector joints! I have no clue why I panel lined the tips of these, as I KNEW they would be stuck inside other pieces. But hey, I feel better with that done.
Onto the vertical struts for supporting the cannons!
... This step was such a pain in the ass, and I think took about an hour all-told. The pistons are not held in there particularly well, instead just flopping about loose until the bottom is completed. So you have to assemble the halves of the shell while holding the pistons in the right orientation until they are locked in place. Just... ugh, really? After such an amazingly simple to assemble kit, this had to be the hard step.
Next page!
Fun fact: Technically I'm not going to use the two circular bits on the bottom-left of the top runners. Those are connection adapters that allow you to connect the CPs to other kits. You know, if you want to have a hilariously oversized gun hooked up to, say, your command wolf or Shadow Fox.
Here's those bottom pieces I mentioned.
And the lower arm. Interestingly, the top plug isn't a polycap, but is instead ABS plastic -- as far as I can tell, the only place where ABS has been explicitly called out on the model. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it isn't typically going to hold any load and just needs friction?
Here I am skipping ahead. Technically the kit wanted me to complete the next lower arm before assembly. F that.
This step involves attaching the arm and supports, and then covering the polycap that isn't used.
I really couldn't wait. This step is many pages later, but I wanted this!
... backtracking.
As this is pretty much the mirror of above, I wanted to compare the arm and strut assembly to the original customize parts closer. In this case, the original CP cannons are connected to a special adapter that came with Gojulas Giga, just for this purpose. They replace one set of his fins.
And now... Gojulas Gunner configuration is complete.
He's... a little bigger than his "modern" replacement.
I think some people in my building club have, want me to ask around, Bluedude152 ? Anything specific you'd like me to ask about?
Ive just flip flopping on whether to get one for like a year now, am just curious
According to the guy who got me the big model I'm putting together, the HGUC is really fun, but the "cute cute" 1/100 not so much. He says all the AoZ kits are sick.
Remember that kid everybody hated from Char's Counterattack? Now he's back, in pog form!
So they're still saying it's a "movie series" so guessing the trilogy plan is still in place
I wonder if they're going to retain the super depressing ending.
Also does Xi Gundam (essentially a successor unit to the Odysseus, with all the Minovsky Flight System tech from the Penelope flight armor scaled down to a more streamlined form) show up here or is this going to be a movie 2 deal you think?
They've got the Penelope, but I remember the "WINTER 2020" Promo image had Hathaway standing in front of a (for some reason faceless?) Xi
It'll be the sequel catch, this is the setup with Hathaway becoming Shit Kid Prime
Is Hathaway that bad in the novels?
I mean there's the whole "became an anti-federation Terrorist" thing but that's in the context of the Federation government going Fascist again and forcibly deporting more poor folks off the planet via the Manhunters
It'll be the sequel catch, this is the setup with Hathaway becoming Shit Kid Prime
Is Hathaway that bad in the novels?
I mean there's the whole "became an anti-federation Terrorist" thing but that's in the context of the Federation government going Fascist again and forcibly deporting more poor folks off the planet via the Manhunters
I have no idea how he's characterized in the Hathaway's Flash (or Beltorchika's Children version of CCA) novels, I'm just making a joke after how he was in CCA. Obviously, the Federation is not a great bunch of folks in this (and most of the time in general. They're very much lesser evils)
It'll be the sequel catch, this is the setup with Hathaway becoming Shit Kid Prime
Is Hathaway that bad in the novels?
I mean there's the whole "became an anti-federation Terrorist" thing but that's in the context of the Federation government going Fascist again and forcibly deporting more poor folks off the planet via the Manhunters
I have no idea how he's characterized in the Hathaway's Flash (or Beltorchika's Children version of CCA) novels, I'm just making a joke after how he was in CCA. Obviously, the Federation is not a great bunch of folks in this (and most of the time in general. They're very much lesser evils)
That reminds me how one thing from the Unicorn novels that didn't get elaborated on in the OVA was
The LaPlace assassination plot was directed by the George Marcenas, the son of the Federation's first Prime Minister Ricardo Marcenas, as a right-wing coup to shift the course of Federation Policy regarding the colonies right of self-determination on the outset of the Universal Century
like a weird ass Space Version of the Business Plot
Lanz on
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
After visiting my folks for new years, I decided to work and do my final bit of building for 2019.
I have 2 major assemblies to go, equaling 3 pages of instructions, and then I'm done! Yay!
Here's the next new page. Technically one of the runners isn't present because I finished it off with the cannon builds, but that's not the majority of the page. This also introduced a new runner!
There's some serious polycaps in here. Though... once assembled, there's less movement than I was expecting.
Piston effects, nice.
And the other sides.
And here we begin building the bracing struts...
And I need to come clean. This has been my least favorite part of the model. So far, everything has had a ton of details on it. Parts get a bunch of grebeling, usually with different colored pieces. But these stabilizers? They are more or less the same color with some minor accents, and made of large chunks of plastic without a ton of detail.
Technically, this makes sense: Large bracing structures should be utilitarian in nature. There's no need for a ton of detail. But what detail there is, ends up being really flat. Many of the parts that look like they are supposed to be rotating pieces don't have grooves cut in them to allow easy panel lining, so I had to get out my normal fine marker and try my best to add that in. I just.. feel some more silver would have been appreciated.
Here's the main body of the struts assembled. Like with the cannons, these are using ABS plastic for the rotating joint that holds it to the main body, but I think that's okay. The bigger problem is those pistons. The caps being that blue-gray color is fine. But the pistons themselves? They should have been silver! They did this on the main model, notably under the tail. Hell, they added in silver runners on the cannons, which are gorgeous. So why did they cheap out here, on such big, visible assemblies?
Sigh. I want to paint it, but I am also worried that it will rub off.
Next page, and again some new runners. In this case, 4 copies of the new ones, that I know I'm going to dread in the future because I'm going to panel line the gray belts.... sigh.
More pistons in gray instead of silver.
adjustable bracing feet. These I'm okay with being in the gray, but another color would have been nice.
The main bracing panels.
The back of the braces. I think this is where it really started to bug me, because there's a lot of detail molded into these that look like moving parts, but instead are just bulbous plastic bits.
And the reinforced struts, assembled. I need to stress - these are still cool! They came together to be really imposing. And the black, gold, and little touch of silver do add to it. I just wanted more, I guess.
Here they are in folded up mode, braced against each other.
Here is the comparison to the original bracing struts on the tail. The originals were meant to invoke the original Gojulas, which had wheels on its tail to help it walk properly. The new ones definitely feel like they would take some recoil.
And here they are attached!
An overhead shot of them deployed, canted back a little bit because you can do that -- and I'm so glad you could, they didn't show that in the pictures and I was worried until I got to this step of assembly.
So like I said, 2 more major assemblies to go.
A pair of rocket launcher looking blasters to replace the guns on the chest (sadface that I don't think I can mount those anywhere)
And a massive backpack that powers those rocket launcher thingies.
Go ahead and paint the parts silver that you want to be silver. You can either topcoat them to protect them, or just touch them up later if they get too rubbed off. Or my preference, and pretend any rubbing is just wear and tear from battle.
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Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
Put armor on the belly
Really love the clear pink part for the power symbols. Those are all stickers on the NG IBO kits. Having a clear part adds a ton of depth and contrast, looks awesome.
Interestingly the MG has you build and armor each part rather than assemble the whole frame first. While the armor is much more complicated and trickier to assemble than on the NG, it is still a surprisingly small number of parts!
My only gripe so far is the plate silver pieces - the nub placement on em is not good! They're frequently on the tips, which are the only visible surface, buried in a piston, very obvious when ya look at it. Definitely gotta paint em.
Posts
There's 4 bonus assemblies that are part of this kit, first introduced with Gojulas the Ogre and a CP kit.
First up, the arm cannon!
New page means new runners. In this case, ALL new, because they are not part of the main build.
First part of the arm cannon.
Attaching the outer cover
And the final top embellishments. Personally, I'm thinking I need to glue the barrels, because they don't stay on as well as I thought they would.
Last on the cannon is the handle. Not sure why it needs one, but it looks awesome.
The arm cannon was part of the original upgrade kits for Gojulas, that Giga's been sporting the entire time.
This here shows how much the HMMs differentiate from the original kits.
One piece versus.... many.
And here it is equipped!
BIG CANNON TIME!
Gotta start with the shells and mags.
And then the inner cores. Not sure what these are called, they can slide back and forward so I assume they are part of the firing mechanism in some way.
And that's where I think I'm leaving it for tonight!
Although, I do worry about how many years you've taken off of your life with all the panel-lining and the very detailed and frequent stops for photos.
Hah.
... Part of me is debating painting this. Probably nothing more than gunpla markers though on the tubing and such. Just to add more color contrast.
I'm also considering actually applying the waterslide decals, which I've NEVER done before. But I would start with other models first to practice on.
Edit: I should also mention that I'm very thankful for the camera on the Pixel 3a. Compare it to my pics of my old builds and it's like... ewww.
Waterslides are easy on flat surfaces. Get some Microset and apply it to the area, wet the cut out decal in water, then after 10 seconds or so slide it into place. As long as there's water/microset under the waterslide, you can easily move it with a q-tip, a phone stylus, or if you're insane like me you use your hobby knife. Roll a q-tip or other swab over to suck out any moisture under the decal, and viola.
Microsol is the partner to microset. Microset just helps the decal stick better. Microsol is a much more concentrated version of microset that will greatly soften the decal backing. It should only be applied to decals that are on uneven surfaces, and be applied VERY carefully as once applied the decal will be too delicate to move if it slips.
You can always re-apply microsol to the top of a waterslide if you don't like it's position and want to move it later.
Unless you've got a need for a model toy cowboy, I think I'd go look in the 3d printing thread up in Moe's Technology Tavern and ask if any of the experienced posters there would be willing to print one off for a reasonable price.
On the other hand, the possibility of giving your Gundam cowboy boots along with the hat may be enough to justify the model. Not sure how swappable they'd be.
Oh man... Of course. I have a few friends with 3d printers.
Steam
incoming gundam artwork appreciation dump:
Steam
Well I didn't want them to just sit on toothpicks forever and I am bad at taking a bunch of WIP photos so here is a surprise MG ZZ Gundam Ver Ka. Not really digging a bunch of warning labels plastered on this guy but I will do some of the stripes to give him a little extra flair so I'll try and get the waterslides and top coat done in the next couple days.
Also, sadface over Syd Mead. Tron was very influential to me growing up.
... But being this close to the finish line, I just decided to keep plowing forward. Those cannons were calling for me.
New page time!
In retrospect after looking at the parts again, I decided to panel line the inner components super lightly. I then applied the piston pieces.
Then onto the big chunky assemblies. In this case, for the back of the cannons.
And the other half.
With those boxes attached:
And on the back.
Why do cannons have engines? Who knows, it's cool!
Next page, just a little bit of adjusting of the runners.
Top vents, again with just a little bit of panel lining.
This is a step, really! It's inner struts/supports that help keep the back pieces in place via a polycap friction.
And here's the big center of the cannons. Because of how much surface area they are, I decided to panel line these two steps when completed.
Here the centers are attached.
Cannon cores assembled and panel lined. OMG so many panel lines.
Front of the cannons.
With the main cannon bodies assembled, here's a scale pic.
Next page! Yay!
CANNON BARRELS!
My chopstick technique needs work (shoutout to the D&D chat thread for advice on how to improve!)
Good lord, just the barrels are the size of the original Gojulas cannon Customize Parts!
And to cap off the barrels...
You know how you can tell this is a labor of love? I actually did a bit of panel lining inside the barrels. It isn't technically rifling (I wish it was), but at least it looks used.
And almost all assembled, with the mags for comparison. I also lined them up on my cutting pad so you could see how big they are.
Size comparison to Gojulas...
And having built most of these (with the exception of the mounting points), I now fully understand why the HMM customize parts kit was so much more expensive than the original one. After all, the originals were like 2-3 pieces.
Gonna force myself to stop here for the night. The next bit are the mounting arms. At that point, Gojulas Gunner will technically be done, though I still have the optional/bonus pieces that turn it into Gojulas the Ogre configuration.
The Mace for this version can separate into these two small swords. That's pretty dang cool.
Also none of the weapons appear to have keys to slot into the hands, and considering the size of these things, they must have some confidence in the ability to hold em...
I don't have a Lego cowboy any more, but the Lego Gojulas Mascot head has to be enough:
I put the original head on its shoulder for size comparison.
And no, you can put the hats that go over the head onto the Gundam head after removing the antenna.
A cowboy hat might fit on the head...
Ive just flip flopping on whether to get one for like a year now, am just curious
Steam
In this pic, I thought these were actually recoilless rifle tubes, but after seeing the fully assembled cannon, that's certainly not the case. Honestly it kind of looks like it's some kind of recoil absorption system. Like firing the thrusters at the same time the gun is fired to neutralize or partially offset the recoil. Or the more boring answer is it's just for burst movement or flight, as implausible as a mecha of this size being flight-capable seems.
Technically that's a lie. I've been assembling the body pieces as they were completed because.. well.. why not?
Today, though? Today I definitely broke step order something fierce. But I feel it is justified, given the (lack of) complexity of the steps.
Gotta start simple: Small pistons!
And connector joints! I have no clue why I panel lined the tips of these, as I KNEW they would be stuck inside other pieces. But hey, I feel better with that done.
Onto the vertical struts for supporting the cannons!
... This step was such a pain in the ass, and I think took about an hour all-told. The pistons are not held in there particularly well, instead just flopping about loose until the bottom is completed. So you have to assemble the halves of the shell while holding the pistons in the right orientation until they are locked in place. Just... ugh, really? After such an amazingly simple to assemble kit, this had to be the hard step.
Next page!
Fun fact: Technically I'm not going to use the two circular bits on the bottom-left of the top runners. Those are connection adapters that allow you to connect the CPs to other kits. You know, if you want to have a hilariously oversized gun hooked up to, say, your command wolf or Shadow Fox.
Here's those bottom pieces I mentioned.
And the lower arm. Interestingly, the top plug isn't a polycap, but is instead ABS plastic -- as far as I can tell, the only place where ABS has been explicitly called out on the model. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it isn't typically going to hold any load and just needs friction?
Here I am skipping ahead. Technically the kit wanted me to complete the next lower arm before assembly. F that.
This step involves attaching the arm and supports, and then covering the polycap that isn't used.
I really couldn't wait. This step is many pages later, but I wanted this!
... backtracking.
As this is pretty much the mirror of above, I wanted to compare the arm and strut assembly to the original customize parts closer. In this case, the original CP cannons are connected to a special adapter that came with Gojulas Giga, just for this purpose. They replace one set of his fins.
And now... Gojulas Gunner configuration is complete.
He's... a little bigger than his "modern" replacement.
Next up: Time to go further beyond!
The animation and character designs in this preview look waaaaay better (IMO) than the weird, stilted original PV.
According to the guy who got me the big model I'm putting together, the HGUC is really fun, but the "cute cute" 1/100 not so much. He says all the AoZ kits are sick.
Remember that kid everybody hated from Char's Counterattack? Now he's back, in pog form!
So they're still saying it's a "movie series" so guessing the trilogy plan is still in place
I wonder if they're going to retain the super depressing ending.
Also does Xi Gundam (essentially a successor unit to the Odysseus, with all the Minovsky Flight System tech from the Penelope flight armor scaled down to a more streamlined form) show up here or is this going to be a movie 2 deal you think?
They've got the Penelope, but I remember the "WINTER 2020" Promo image had Hathaway standing in front of a (for some reason faceless?) Xi
Is Hathaway that bad in the novels?
I mean there's the whole "became an anti-federation Terrorist" thing but that's in the context of the Federation government going Fascist again and forcibly deporting more poor folks off the planet via the Manhunters
hey bandai
Stop making all the cool new shit P-Bandai exclusive seriously
Sincerely,
Someone who wants a Geminass not designed around 1995 bandai engineering
I have no idea how he's characterized in the Hathaway's Flash (or Beltorchika's Children version of CCA) novels, I'm just making a joke after how he was in CCA. Obviously, the Federation is not a great bunch of folks in this (and most of the time in general. They're very much lesser evils)
That reminds me how one thing from the Unicorn novels that didn't get elaborated on in the OVA was
like a weird ass Space Version of the Business Plot
I have 2 major assemblies to go, equaling 3 pages of instructions, and then I'm done! Yay!
Here's the next new page. Technically one of the runners isn't present because I finished it off with the cannon builds, but that's not the majority of the page. This also introduced a new runner!
There's some serious polycaps in here. Though... once assembled, there's less movement than I was expecting.
Piston effects, nice.
And the other sides.
And here we begin building the bracing struts...
And I need to come clean. This has been my least favorite part of the model. So far, everything has had a ton of details on it. Parts get a bunch of grebeling, usually with different colored pieces. But these stabilizers? They are more or less the same color with some minor accents, and made of large chunks of plastic without a ton of detail.
Technically, this makes sense: Large bracing structures should be utilitarian in nature. There's no need for a ton of detail. But what detail there is, ends up being really flat. Many of the parts that look like they are supposed to be rotating pieces don't have grooves cut in them to allow easy panel lining, so I had to get out my normal fine marker and try my best to add that in. I just.. feel some more silver would have been appreciated.
Here's the main body of the struts assembled. Like with the cannons, these are using ABS plastic for the rotating joint that holds it to the main body, but I think that's okay. The bigger problem is those pistons. The caps being that blue-gray color is fine. But the pistons themselves? They should have been silver! They did this on the main model, notably under the tail. Hell, they added in silver runners on the cannons, which are gorgeous. So why did they cheap out here, on such big, visible assemblies?
Sigh. I want to paint it, but I am also worried that it will rub off.
Next page, and again some new runners. In this case, 4 copies of the new ones, that I know I'm going to dread in the future because I'm going to panel line the gray belts.... sigh.
More pistons in gray instead of silver.
adjustable bracing feet. These I'm okay with being in the gray, but another color would have been nice.
The main bracing panels.
The back of the braces. I think this is where it really started to bug me, because there's a lot of detail molded into these that look like moving parts, but instead are just bulbous plastic bits.
And the reinforced struts, assembled. I need to stress - these are still cool! They came together to be really imposing. And the black, gold, and little touch of silver do add to it. I just wanted more, I guess.
Here they are in folded up mode, braced against each other.
Here is the comparison to the original bracing struts on the tail. The originals were meant to invoke the original Gojulas, which had wheels on its tail to help it walk properly. The new ones definitely feel like they would take some recoil.
And here they are attached!
An overhead shot of them deployed, canted back a little bit because you can do that -- and I'm so glad you could, they didn't show that in the pictures and I was worried until I got to this step of assembly.
So like I said, 2 more major assemblies to go.
A pair of rocket launcher looking blasters to replace the guns on the chest (sadface that I don't think I can mount those anywhere)
And a massive backpack that powers those rocket launcher thingies.
Really love the clear pink part for the power symbols. Those are all stickers on the NG IBO kits. Having a clear part adds a ton of depth and contrast, looks awesome.
Interestingly the MG has you build and armor each part rather than assemble the whole frame first. While the armor is much more complicated and trickier to assemble than on the NG, it is still a surprisingly small number of parts!
My only gripe so far is the plate silver pieces - the nub placement on em is not good! They're frequently on the tips, which are the only visible surface, buried in a piston, very obvious when ya look at it. Definitely gotta paint em.
Starting the year off right lads.
Happy new year!