1. That particular release is the Markings Plus re-release from last year. None of my Liger Zero models came with that many waterslides.
2. Interestingly, mine came with a pre-painted Bit Cloud, not the generic "P" pilot runner. Perhaps that was the tradeoff in the two versions.
3. The order was way out of line. Obviously he split it up to make it more entertaining.
4. I had all the feels for getting that small clear piece into the Zoid Core housing. Every. Bloody. Time.
5. Interestingly, he skipped over the short glue placements you do on the torso and the fangs to reinforce it.
6. I'm kind of sad he didn't show off the poseability. Like the reason the back legs are the longest part is because they slide in and out. The front legs also have some wicked articulation in them. The swinging of the body left and right felt good though.
In looking for something to do with some new free time, I've started peering down this rabbit hole.
Looking at HG kits to start, since Lego is about the extent of my model-building...and also looking at models that seem more interesting (especially colors) than the standard ones. Basically ones where white is an accent color at best.
I have made a cart...
Any advice?
+1
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turtleantGunpla Dadis the best.Registered Userregular
Dark Matter and Transient Glacier are fine kits. Haven't built the Gold Frame but the Astrays in general hold up pretty well, besides a few annoying nub placements.
Glacier can get some pretty bad nub marks because of the color of the plastic. Darker plastics tend to mark more.
Also make sure you pick up some nippers to cut the pieces out. Don't need to buy anything fancy to start.
I bet that none of those sounds are "live", and there's a dedicated team of Foley artists slapping slabs of ham and stomping on bags of frozen peas to recreate the sounds.
In looking for something to do with some new free time, I've started peering down this rabbit hole.
Looking at HG kits to start, since Lego is about the extent of my model-building...and also looking at models that seem more interesting (especially colors) than the standard ones. Basically ones where white is an accent color at best.
I have made a cart...
Any advice?
I did my first one earlier this year, definitely still learning as I go. I'm pretty sure the different grades are really just size and complexity. The high grades are 1/144 I believe, both master grades and re/100s are 1/100, and perfect grades are 1/60. If suggest grabbing a re/100 if you can find one you like they're basically just bigger high grades so it's a little easier to futz around with just because the pieces are bigger. It seems that the newer the kit is the better the build is as a general rule of thumb
Make sure to get some nippers if you don't have any Tamiya sells a good beginner kit, if you want an easy way to make your models cooler looking get some Gundam markers and panel line the completed kit
In looking for something to do with some new free time, I've started peering down this rabbit hole.
Looking at HG kits to start, since Lego is about the extent of my model-building...and also looking at models that seem more interesting (especially colors) than the standard ones. Basically ones where white is an accent color at best.
I have made a cart...
Any advice?
USAGundamstore? Sign up for their newsletter before you order, there is almost always some sort of sale with a discount code.
You will need tools at minimum you need nippers, and will want an x-acto knife or something for shaving down nibs and tweezers for stickers. Tamiya and Mr. Hobby have beginner tool kits but from what I hear the single bladed site brand nippers are really good and you will get free shipping so if got the other stuff lying around at home or don't mind a trip to Wal-Mart that would be the way to go.
Panel lining and top coating is a nice and cheap way to make your Gundams look better.
Panel lining is basically when you either take a watered down paint/ink or a really fine tipped marker and kinda just fill in all the little indentations on the plastic, it's a super quick way to bring out more detail, Doc.
Rg is kinda like a slightly less complicated 1/144 master grade, they're really fun to build and super poseable, but more complicated than a high grade
They also have better color accuracy and separation than most HG's.
Selling PS3 & 360 Madcatz TE Stick
+1
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
RGs are very small and fiddly. I personally enjoy that, but I wouldn't recommend one as someone's first kit. Which isn't to say they are bad! Just... if you've not done any kind of model assembly, starting with an HG is perfectly fine.
Rg is kinda like a slightly less complicated 1/144 master grade, they're really fun to build and super poseable, but more complicated than a high grade
It really depends. RGs are basically scaled down Master Grade kits, which are the 1/100 line. An RG has a full inner frame, which is basically a skeleton for the armor to sit on. This leads to some really cool gimmicks like sliding sections when you move an arm or leg. The first 20 or so RG kits use a premade inner frame on a two-part plastic runner, so that you don't have to build the tiny pieces, only assemble the larger sub-assemblies. The latest RGs use a full built up inner frame, and seem better for it. RG kits will have a ton of sticker style decals and lots of details, and are based on conceptualizations of "what if this 18-20 meter robot was real?".
High grades are the most popular, cheapest, and least detailed versions. Instead of a full inner frame, they will use the armor pieces as structural supports. On the plus side, this means they rarely have the "hand grenade" effect of a few of the RGs (specifically the RX-78-2, the Zeta, and the Sinanju). They are very sturdy because they have few if any tiny parts. They pay for it by needing more things like stickers for color separation.
In general, the new a kit is, the better it is.
The only kit line I would avoid are the HG 1/144 scale Iron Blooded Orphans (IBO) kits. They are all based around a common inner frame that after a few years becomes loose and cannot support their weight.
Personally, I prefer RGs, but as an engineer I love the added complexity and interesting mechanical designs.
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Der Waffle MousBlame this on the misfortune of your birth.New Yark, New Yark.Registered Userregular
there's like a nice continuum of how old a given HG kit is based on the shoulder assembly.
arm connected by a plastic peg directly on the torso assembly -> arm connected to peg on a swivel -> arm connected by ball polycap socketed in torso assembly -> ball socket with articulated sub-assembly inside the torso that gives it a little more forward/backward range of motion.
I remember the first Gundam kits I ever built, roughly 20 years ago: the HGs from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (thank you, Cartoon Network, for exposing me to Gundam; thank you, Toys'R'Us, for exposing me to Gunpla). Those were quite simple, and fairly formulaic. They were basically empty shells with polycaps hidden inside at the joints. They were pretty mind-blowing for me at the time, and really good for getting familiar with the way the instructions were laid out, the conventions of how a Gundam model is built, the physical act of clipping parts out, and so on. However, the first time I put together an MG, I was like "Oh. Oh, this is what I'm all about". The inner frame made the model so much more interesting and engaging to build. It also added points of distinction between models that weren't as present in the HGs, which were a lot more similar to each other.
I haven't built a Gunpla in a long time. I've got an unbuilt RX-78-2 RG from like 10 years ago, and a... Bluefin RG of some sort (I don't even remember which one; I bought it at NYCC). I gotta get those built.
what's the best sinanju model in any scale/detail?
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
edited April 2020
Tonight was a dedicated night, because gosh darnit, I wanted to see what the legs would be shaping up to be like. So after risking my health to get a new sanding block (which is already showing signs of quite a bit of wear, hmmm), I figured it was time to go for it.
Also people seem to like the narrative of the assistant, so he is gonna be included in as many shots as possible going forward.
This is a new assembly, so it starts small! That's right, vents! I'm actually a little surprised with this, as the "inner" vents don't appear to fan out in any way like the outer ones do.
But they have their place. Namely? Inside the lower legs. They are more or less independent, while levers go on the inside.
Then came these little buggers. It's kind of wild. The polycaps don't go all the way through, but are instead on only one-half of the sides. The other side has a normal plastic piece that acts kind of as a washer. Maybe that's to control the amount of stress or friction?
Those joints end up being the top of the ankles. Not even the ankles themselves...
No, THESE are the ankles.
The ankles are attached to outer "Tendon" like pieces that have ball joints on them. They clip into place. So when you do ankle tilt, the frame shifts. Wicked.
... I couldn't help myself. At this point, the legs were starting to come together. But I wanted to follow the assembly per instructions in case there was something weird I missed.
This part was a little confusing. They don't make it terribly explicit where the rear Achilles tendon / piston plugs in. Once you get it, it's fairly obvious. But I was curious if this piece was just going to float or not.
And here's the back of the ankle assembled, so that chrome has somewhere to go.
Finally, this caps it off. Outer knee parts and the moving shin guards in the front.
So with that... It's time.
Luckily, OG Gundam has a little bit of help now that the weight of one of the legs is more than his entire body.
All that's left is applying armor. Gundam feels better doing this on the ground, but Barbatos is fine standing up. Again, it's awesome seeing everything slide and the posability on this.
Finally. FINALLY. The feet are attached.
Again, I want to stress the articulation. Nothing is rubbing so far. Occasionally the back vent catches the tendon piece, but that's really not a huge deal.
But more than anything?
We now see that the 1/100 probably isn't going to be tall enough for this job either. More reinforcements may be needed.
There's still a bit of armor on the back of the lower legs. Then the hip joints and the upper thigh armor will finish off the legs. Because I'm still stupidly panel lining the inside of the armor and trying to smooth out the white as much as possible, it's much slower going on armor than frame. But that is okay.
... Also I think this kit came with stickers. Which is a tragedy. WTF.
I've got an unbuilt RX-78-2 RG from like 10 years ago, and a... Bluefin RG of some sort (I don't even remember which one; I bought it at NYCC). I gotta get those built.
OK, here we go, I found it; it's the Destiny Gundam Heine Westernfluss Colors. I think I was drawn to it because of the extremely loud, garish colors.
Have any of you folks built one of those kits with the transparent armor parts? They always look pretty cool, but I know that in Transformers toys, at least, transparent plastic is known to be fragile, and to break easily. How does the transparent Gunpla plastic fare? I feel like cutting away a sprue nub would result in a spot of opaqueness.
I've got an unbuilt RX-78-2 RG from like 10 years ago, and a... Bluefin RG of some sort (I don't even remember which one; I bought it at NYCC). I gotta get those built.
OK, here we go, I found it; it's the Destiny Gundam Heine Westernfluss Colors. I think I was drawn to it because of the extremely loud, garish colors.
Have any of you folks built one of those kits with the transparent armor parts? They always look pretty cool, but I know that in Transformers toys, at least, transparent plastic is known to be fragile, and to break easily. How does the transparent Gunpla plastic fare? I feel like cutting away a sprue nub would result in a spot of opaqueness.
I know I have a heart attack any time I try to clip or cut transparent plastic so I'm staying the heck away from it.
Gunpla group just posted something on Facebook, so I found a youtube version of it to link here. I have no clue if this is the original poster. I highly doubt it.
But it invokes two things in me:
First: I love stop motion. I wish I had the patience and skill to do stop motion work. It's always been one of my dreams to tell stories with my stuff.
Second: I really cannot wait for my G40 to come in. Now granted, there's a lot bigger shit going on in the world right now that is FAR more important, and I want people to live more than any desire to get toys or such. But when it comes in, I'm gonna have a hell of a lot of fun.
I've got an unbuilt RX-78-2 RG from like 10 years ago, and a... Bluefin RG of some sort (I don't even remember which one; I bought it at NYCC). I gotta get those built.
OK, here we go, I found it; it's the Destiny Gundam Heine Westernfluss Colors. I think I was drawn to it because of the extremely loud, garish colors.
Have any of you folks built one of those kits with the transparent armor parts? They always look pretty cool, but I know that in Transformers toys, at least, transparent plastic is known to be fragile, and to break easily. How does the transparent Gunpla plastic fare? I feel like cutting away a sprue nub would result in a spot of opaqueness.
clear kits have thick and brittle plastic which can dull nippers, so you shouldn't use especially nice nippers on them
you can take care of the nubs with a hobby knife like usual and then use fine grit sandpaper(s) to get the piece smooth, and then if you really want to go the extra mile use a polishing compound to buff any remaining scratches
Oh, since I'm looking at kits that use fairly dark plastic, what would be a good color for panel lining? Black on red or blue is probably good...but for pieces that are already black or dark purple?
I was aware of the Japanese show, but I never really got a good look at it before. Wow is that a terrible design. Why does Spider-Man's mech have a Japanese rhinoceros beetle's horn, and transform to a different form with a leopard's head?
It's got a couple of web designs on it, I don't know what else you could possibly want.
Anyway, if you don't like that design, you should take it up with Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. If they didn't want the rhinoceros beetle horn and leopard head on the mech, they wouldn't have put that into Amazing Fantasy #15.
Oh, since I'm looking at kits that use fairly dark plastic, what would be a good color for panel lining? Black on red or blue is probably good...but for pieces that are already black or dark purple?
For dark kits, I've started using a Tamiya weathering kit. Instead of panel lining to lay liquid in the low points and accentuate the gaps between the armor, this highlights the edges by basically drybrushing. Some folks use a silver or even white paint to simulate scrapes on the edges of the armor. The current situation may prevent you from getting the supplies for this though.
Whelp. Placed my order. Diving in with 4 kits. I assume they're all about the same as far as difficulty goes, but the Barzam or Exia look like the better options to start with.
Posts
So! Having built 5 HMM Liger Zero models....
1. That particular release is the Markings Plus re-release from last year. None of my Liger Zero models came with that many waterslides.
2. Interestingly, mine came with a pre-painted Bit Cloud, not the generic "P" pilot runner. Perhaps that was the tradeoff in the two versions.
3. The order was way out of line. Obviously he split it up to make it more entertaining.
4. I had all the feels for getting that small clear piece into the Zoid Core housing. Every. Bloody. Time.
5. Interestingly, he skipped over the short glue placements you do on the torso and the fangs to reinforce it.
6. I'm kind of sad he didn't show off the poseability. Like the reason the back legs are the longest part is because they slide in and out. The front legs also have some wicked articulation in them. The swinging of the body left and right felt good though.
Really, it is a fun build!
Looking at HG kits to start, since Lego is about the extent of my model-building...and also looking at models that seem more interesting (especially colors) than the standard ones. Basically ones where white is an accent color at best.
I have made a cart...
Any advice?
Glacier can get some pretty bad nub marks because of the color of the plastic. Darker plastics tend to mark more.
Also make sure you pick up some nippers to cut the pieces out. Don't need to buy anything fancy to start.
I love ships very much, and photo etch parts are the bane of my existence.
I did my first one earlier this year, definitely still learning as I go. I'm pretty sure the different grades are really just size and complexity. The high grades are 1/144 I believe, both master grades and re/100s are 1/100, and perfect grades are 1/60. If suggest grabbing a re/100 if you can find one you like they're basically just bigger high grades so it's a little easier to futz around with just because the pieces are bigger. It seems that the newer the kit is the better the build is as a general rule of thumb
Make sure to get some nippers if you don't have any Tamiya sells a good beginner kit, if you want an easy way to make your models cooler looking get some Gundam markers and panel line the completed kit
USAGundamstore? Sign up for their newsletter before you order, there is almost always some sort of sale with a discount code.
You will need tools at minimum you need nippers, and will want an x-acto knife or something for shaving down nibs and tweezers for stickers. Tamiya and Mr. Hobby have beginner tool kits but from what I hear the single bladed site brand nippers are really good and you will get free shipping so if got the other stuff lying around at home or don't mind a trip to Wal-Mart that would be the way to go.
Panel lining and top coating is a nice and cheap way to make your Gundams look better.
That being said, if a model is available in both HG and RG, like that Gold Frame Astray, would I be better off going for the RG?
Lining I’ll definitely try. Painting is...less interesting to me.
The Gold Frame Amatsu Mina RG is very good though, but I'd wait a while before tackling one.
It really depends. RGs are basically scaled down Master Grade kits, which are the 1/100 line. An RG has a full inner frame, which is basically a skeleton for the armor to sit on. This leads to some really cool gimmicks like sliding sections when you move an arm or leg. The first 20 or so RG kits use a premade inner frame on a two-part plastic runner, so that you don't have to build the tiny pieces, only assemble the larger sub-assemblies. The latest RGs use a full built up inner frame, and seem better for it. RG kits will have a ton of sticker style decals and lots of details, and are based on conceptualizations of "what if this 18-20 meter robot was real?".
High grades are the most popular, cheapest, and least detailed versions. Instead of a full inner frame, they will use the armor pieces as structural supports. On the plus side, this means they rarely have the "hand grenade" effect of a few of the RGs (specifically the RX-78-2, the Zeta, and the Sinanju). They are very sturdy because they have few if any tiny parts. They pay for it by needing more things like stickers for color separation.
In general, the new a kit is, the better it is.
The only kit line I would avoid are the HG 1/144 scale Iron Blooded Orphans (IBO) kits. They are all based around a common inner frame that after a few years becomes loose and cannot support their weight.
Personally, I prefer RGs, but as an engineer I love the added complexity and interesting mechanical designs.
arm connected by a plastic peg directly on the torso assembly -> arm connected to peg on a swivel -> arm connected by ball polycap socketed in torso assembly -> ball socket with articulated sub-assembly inside the torso that gives it a little more forward/backward range of motion.
Hulls are my problem but I find it annoying that for subs I cannot get early WW2 US subs any Japanese ones or any type XIV German ones
I haven't built a Gunpla in a long time. I've got an unbuilt RX-78-2 RG from like 10 years ago, and a... Bluefin RG of some sort (I don't even remember which one; I bought it at NYCC). I gotta get those built.
Last one till its done probably
I don't mind making these threads, I'm just not super active in them. ^.^;
I may finish two gunpla this year, I swear!
Also people seem to like the narrative of the assistant, so he is gonna be included in as many shots as possible going forward.
This is a new assembly, so it starts small! That's right, vents! I'm actually a little surprised with this, as the "inner" vents don't appear to fan out in any way like the outer ones do.
But they have their place. Namely? Inside the lower legs. They are more or less independent, while levers go on the inside.
Then came these little buggers. It's kind of wild. The polycaps don't go all the way through, but are instead on only one-half of the sides. The other side has a normal plastic piece that acts kind of as a washer. Maybe that's to control the amount of stress or friction?
Those joints end up being the top of the ankles. Not even the ankles themselves...
No, THESE are the ankles.
The ankles are attached to outer "Tendon" like pieces that have ball joints on them. They clip into place. So when you do ankle tilt, the frame shifts. Wicked.
... I couldn't help myself. At this point, the legs were starting to come together. But I wanted to follow the assembly per instructions in case there was something weird I missed.
This part was a little confusing. They don't make it terribly explicit where the rear Achilles tendon / piston plugs in. Once you get it, it's fairly obvious. But I was curious if this piece was just going to float or not.
And here's the back of the ankle assembled, so that chrome has somewhere to go.
Finally, this caps it off. Outer knee parts and the moving shin guards in the front.
So with that... It's time.
Luckily, OG Gundam has a little bit of help now that the weight of one of the legs is more than his entire body.
All that's left is applying armor. Gundam feels better doing this on the ground, but Barbatos is fine standing up. Again, it's awesome seeing everything slide and the posability on this.
Finally. FINALLY. The feet are attached.
Again, I want to stress the articulation. Nothing is rubbing so far. Occasionally the back vent catches the tendon piece, but that's really not a huge deal.
But more than anything?
We now see that the 1/100 probably isn't going to be tall enough for this job either. More reinforcements may be needed.
There's still a bit of armor on the back of the lower legs. Then the hip joints and the upper thigh armor will finish off the legs. Because I'm still stupidly panel lining the inside of the armor and trying to smooth out the white as much as possible, it's much slower going on armor than frame. But that is okay.
... Also I think this kit came with stickers. Which is a tragedy. WTF.
Have any of you folks built one of those kits with the transparent armor parts? They always look pretty cool, but I know that in Transformers toys, at least, transparent plastic is known to be fragile, and to break easily. How does the transparent Gunpla plastic fare? I feel like cutting away a sprue nub would result in a spot of opaqueness.
Will probably go with Amazon for tools and markers.
I know I have a heart attack any time I try to clip or cut transparent plastic so I'm staying the heck away from it.
Gunpla group just posted something on Facebook, so I found a youtube version of it to link here. I have no clue if this is the original poster. I highly doubt it.
But it invokes two things in me:
First: I love stop motion. I wish I had the patience and skill to do stop motion work. It's always been one of my dreams to tell stories with my stuff.
Second: I really cannot wait for my G40 to come in. Now granted, there's a lot bigger shit going on in the world right now that is FAR more important, and I want people to live more than any desire to get toys or such. But when it comes in, I'm gonna have a hell of a lot of fun.
clear kits have thick and brittle plastic which can dull nippers, so you shouldn't use especially nice nippers on them
you can take care of the nubs with a hobby knife like usual and then use fine grit sandpaper(s) to get the piece smooth, and then if you really want to go the extra mile use a polishing compound to buff any remaining scratches
MG Sinanju Stein Narrative
Oh, you know, you should have built this PG's arms first, so they could act as helpers.
https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/122783
I was aware of the Japanese show, but I never really got a good look at it before. Wow is that a terrible design. Why does Spider-Man's mech have a Japanese rhinoceros beetle's horn, and transform to a different form with a leopard's head?
Anyway, if you don't like that design, you should take it up with Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. If they didn't want the rhinoceros beetle horn and leopard head on the mech, they wouldn't have put that into Amazing Fantasy #15.
For dark kits, I've started using a Tamiya weathering kit. Instead of panel lining to lay liquid in the low points and accentuate the gaps between the armor, this highlights the edges by basically drybrushing. Some folks use a silver or even white paint to simulate scrapes on the edges of the armor. The current situation may prevent you from getting the supplies for this though.
Who knows how long it'll take to ship.