Gunpla/Plamo Thread Mk. III - 1/1 Scale Real Grade Nerds

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > VEGETA > Gunpla/Plamo Thread Mk. III - 1/1 Scale Real Grade Nerds

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Previous Thread - Gunpla/Model Thread 2: Breakin' Plastic, Breakin' Bank.

Welcome to the third iteration of the Gunpla/Plamo/Robot Toy thread. You dig giant robot toys? We dig giant robot toys. Long-time hobbyists, fresh newcomers, and all the rest of you with crippling addictions to plastic robot figurines and models are welcome here.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF GUNPLA

"I'm sorry, I'm not very knowledgeable about the plastic model industry, so I can't answer that question. Unfortunately, I can't really make a statement on the plastic scale modeling kits, probably because I'd be eradicated from the industry if I made my true feelings known." - Yoshiyuki Tomino, creator of Gundam.

Like most giant robot series of the late 70's, Mobile Suit Gundam was essentially a merchandising vehicle sponsored by a toy company, in this particular case Clover. Unlike its predecessors, however, Gundam's more complex and mature content turned off many younger viewers, and sales of its brightly colored toy-line suffered. Despite many efforts to boost the marketability of the show, including monster-of-the-week subplots and the introduction of the infamous G-Fighter, Clover would eventually pull the plug on Gundam early, reducing its original run from 52 episodes to 43.

In the meantime, another toy company - Bandai - had acquired the rights to produce scale model kits based on the series. Gundam would eventually find its audience among older children and teenagers through reruns, and whereas the original toys lingered unsold, the model kits flew off the shelves. Three decades and millions of kits later, Bandai continues to produce high-quality models based on the Gundam metaseries, and has since expanded to other popular mecha franchises and series as well.

THE GRADES

While most modern Gundam kits feature easy-to-build, snap-assembly construction, Bandai currently divides their model kits into several categories or "grades" based on number of parts, colors, complexity, and experience required. Note that the following refer to more modern kits (later than 2000). Older kits vary greatly in terms of quality and construction, despite using similar designations.

1/144 No Grade/First Grade

These are inexpensive, easy-to-build, low-detail kits molded in only a handful of colors. Most smaller non-HG kits fall into this category. ($5-$20)

AGE 1/144 Advanced Grade

Despite its name, the Advanced Grade kits are extremely simple, low-detail kits, much like their no-grade counterparts. Parts a fitted onto a simple standardized frame, and these kits include small chips which are used in conjunction with a Japan-only arcade game. (~$10)

1/144 HGUC/AW/FC/SEED/OO/AGE

Higher quality 1/144 scale kits, HG kits are molded in more colors with greater detail and include many more parts than their no-grade/First Grade counterparts. With low-to-moderate price-points and relatively simple construction, they make great entry-level kits. ($10-$60)

1/144 Real Grade

One of Bandai's newest lines, these kits feature extensive detailing, high parts count, high color count, extreme articulation, and a revolutionary near-pre-assembled inner frame design. They are practically Master Grade kits at a smaller scale. Recommended for more experienced modelers, particularly those who are less prone to losing tiny parts. Moderate price-point. ($30-$40)

1/100 No-Grade/High Grade

Larger kits at a relatively reasonable price point, 1/100 kits are not as intricately detailed as their Master Grade counterparts; however, they are relatively well-detailed and come molded in several colors. These kits were released with the HG moniker up until SEED, when it was dropped, presumably to avoid confusion with the HG 1/144 kits. ($20-$40)

1/100 Master Grade

Bandai's longest-running line of intricately detailed, highly-articulated model kits, this line is meant for more experienced modelers. These kits feature complex construction, and many include detailed inner-frames and removable armor. With high parts counts, molded in numerous colors, and including various marking sheets, stickers, and dry-transfer and water-slide decals, most of the newer releases look great even without additional painting and detailing. Moderate-to-high price points. ($20-$100+)

1/60 No-Grade

Beefed-up 1/100 Kits, meant to have an imposing presence on your shelf, but are no more complex. Relatively high price point. (~$60)

1/60 Perfect Grade and HY2M Glorious Series

Large, extremely well-detailed, molded in numerous colors with thousands of parts, these are top-tier Gundam kits. Including everything from intricately detailed inner frames with removable armor to working LED lights, Perfect Grade kits are for experienced modelers only. Expensive price-point. Fair warning, most of these kits are older and suffer from some issues including loose joints and poor balance. ($150-$300)

1/48 Mega Size Model

Extremely large, simple kits meant for younger and less experienced modelers. Featuring easy to remove parts and simple construction, these models despite their price tag make great entry-level kits. Expensive price-point (due to sheer size). AGE Mega Size kits include light-up LED elements. ($80-$100)

Super-Deformed

Cheap, simple, low-detail, giant-headed model kits. YAY! (~$10)

EX Model

Unlike most Gundam lines, the EX Model focuses on the support vehicles and ships of the Gundam universe. Also unlike modern Gunpla kits, they require extensive painting and detailing as well as glue/cement and other work in their construction. Support vehicles in this line are typically built at 1/144 scale (including a 1/144 Gunperry!), while larger vehicles such as the White Base and Argama are molded at 1/1700 scale. Recommended for more seasoned and traditional modelers. Relatively expensive for their size. ($20-$80)

UC Hard Graph

Another more traditional line which also requires extra work, cementing, and painting, UC Hard Graph aims to create a series of large-scale support vehicles and human figures reminiscent of other companies' lines of 1/35 scale real-life military models. Same-scale mobile suit parts are also often included, encouraging diorama building. Price point moderate to expensive ($20-$100+)

WHAT ABOUT NON-GUNDAM MODEL KITS?!

Bandai has released numerous highly detailed kits based on various other series including VOTOMS, L-Gaim, Layzner, Xabungle, Macross Frontier, Evangelion, Patlabor and Dunbine. Many of these kits are graded in much the same manner as their Gundam counterparts, and although newer kits such as the 1/20 VOTOMS and the Real Robot Revolution lines are not graded, they too feature similar construction and detail as their Master Grade counterparts. (Price Varies based on Line)

SCREW BANDAI!

SCREW YOU! But there are other companies out there, particularly...

Kotobukiya

Much like Bandai's kits, Kotobukiya features relatively simple snap-together construction. Unlike Bandai, however, many of their kits come partially pre-painted or pre-detailed. Quality varies from line to line and even from kit to kit within a line. Moderate-high price points, various scales. Lines include...

SUPER ROBOT WARS ORIGINAL GENERATION

ARMORED CORE

ZOIDS

D-STYLE

(Thanks to Dalong.net for the images above).

Other companies of note include WAVE and Hasegawa, but unlike modern Kotobukiya and Bandai models, these kits will require extensive painting and glue/cement in their construction as well as a higher level of modeling experience.

I have no talent and/or am lazy. Got any robots for me?

DO I EVER!

Robot Damashii, The Robot Spirits

This is Bandai/Tamashii Nation's line of high-quality, highly detailed, solidly constructed, and extremely poseable robot action figures. Standing in at just shy of six inches and coming with loads of accessories, these figures put Bandai's earlier efforts such as In Action! and HCM Pro to shame. Series include Gundam, Eureka Seven, Evangelion, Full Metal Panic!, StarDriver, Code Geass, Gun x Sword, and others. Moderate-high price points. ($20-$70)

Super Robot Chogokin

Another new line under the Tamashii Nations umbrella, Bandai aims to create smaller, high-quality, extremely articulated robots under its already popular Chogokin banner. These figures include an impressive amount of die-cast construction for their size and are extremely well-crafted figures. Series so far include Mazinger, SRW:OG, Hades Project Zeorymer, GaoGaiGar, and Super Sentai. ($30-$70)

SOUL OF CHOGOKIN

Major league robot toy collecting right here. Highly expensive, but extremely well built, well-detailed die-cast super robot toys are the name of the game, loaded with more accessories than you'll ever know what to do with. A Soul of Chogokin figure will make an excellent centerpiece to any collection. ($50-$300+)

Soul of Chogokin Spec is a SOC subline that includes several diecast real robots from series such as L-Gaim, SPT Layzner, and Dragonar. Currently, the only figures being released through this moniker are Tamashii Web Exclusive Dragonar variants. ($80-$100+)

SOUL OF CHOGOKIN DX is the newest Chogokin Subline by Bandai, with its first offering being the mighty Mazinger Z. Twelve inches of diecast, removable armor, light and sound gimmicks, and its own full-sized hangar to store it in, this monster of a toy will set you back nearly $500 once shipping is included. But drat if it is not beautiful. ($400+)

DX Chogokin is another currently-running Chogokin subline that's mainly concerned with diecast robots from Macross Frontier. ($150-$250)

YAMATO/ARCADIA Perfect Trance

While we're on the subject of Macross, Yamato has been producing high-quality, highly-detailed, and insanely expensive transformable Macross toys over the last decade. As its name implies, the figures of Perfect Trance line perform "perfect" transformations, that is no parts have to be removed or replaced at any point during the toy's transformation. Considering that the Valkyries in the original series practically transformed via magic, this is an impressive feat. Figures include the classic VF-1 from SDF Macross and DYRL? as well as fighters from Macross Plus, Macross 7, Macross Dynamite 7, and Macross Zero. Yamato also has recently announced the online exclusive release of the VF-4 Lightning III from Flashback 2012. You know, the music video one. (Well, technically it's based on its appearance from the VF-X video game, but still...). ($80-$300+)

Yamato has since gone out of business, but seems to have resurrected itself under the name Arcadia, which continues to produce the same high-quality Valkyrie figures as its predecessor.

REVOLTECH

Kaiyodo's long-running line of small, extremely poseable action figures. These highly detailed figures come with included stands and numerous accessories. The secret to their ability to strike and hold any pose comes from the use of the Revoltech ratcheting joint. Very reasonable price-point. ($20-$40)

ANY MORE GODDAMNED TOYS YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?

Just want to give a shout-out to some other Tamashii Nations lines such as SH Figuarts, SH Monsterarts, and Ultra-Act. While not strictly giant robot toys, they do share much of the same quality engineering as the previous Bandai lines above, and I have no problems with discussing them in this thread. That goes for the MG Figurerise line of Bandai Action Figure Model Kits as well.

USEFUL LINKS

Reviews

CollectionDX
Dalong.net
Gundam.tk

NEWS

Gundam Guy
Mecha Guy - Like Gundam Guy, but for not-Gundams.
GG Figure News - Like Gundam and Mecha Guys, but for Everything Else

HOW-TO and TUTORIALS

Layman's Gunpla Guide
Fichtenfoo.net Advanced Tutorials and Guides
Danny Choo's Modeling Tutorial for Busy People.
Gamera Baenre - Tutorials on general and more advanced modeling techniques.
Fine Scale Modeler Forums - Registration required to view some content, covers a wide range of modeling topics.
The Complete Future - Everything you ever wanted to know about Future Floor Polish and its uses in model making.

WHERE TO BUY

Japanese

Hobby Link Japan - Watch for sales and shipping specials.
AmiAmi - Best prices around, great for pre-ordering though they can sell out quickly.
HobbySearch
Yokatta Web Exclusive Preorder Page

North American

Gundam Store and More
Hobby Wave - $12 Flat Shipping
Amazon.com - Prime Shipping on many kits, reasonable North American prices.
GG Infinite - Often carries exclusive and limited items

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HOBBY STORE

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a Band-Aid for this X-acto knife wound.

_{Thanks to Silentman0 and Songy who worked on the previous thread, which I shamelessly stole from to write this new OP.}

Mecha Gojira fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Aug 24, 2014

# ? Mar 16, 2012 21:57

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 05:53

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Silentman0 posted:

Some fun tips to make your models look more dynamic!

1) Make sure the feet aren't parallel. When a person stands up, their feet naturally splay out in opposing directions. When the feet are parallel, it appears more stiff and wooden. Only pose them with parallel feet if they're standing in formation or are docked. The best way to do this is to manipulate the joints where the hips meet the pelvis.

2) Have them look/aim off to the side. Humanoid robots have necks and waists, use them! It allows them to have a smaller profile, and cover more of their body with a shield, if they have one. Just like with the feet, they only need to be facing straight forward when they're not really being used. It also helps to bend the elbows in a natural way.

3) Idle hands ~~are the devils playthings~~ look boring. If a model has a big gun/sword that looks like it would need both hands to hold, use both hands! Even if you can't open the fingers, just putting the hand near where it should be will help a lot. If it's a small gun, put a small sword in its off hand, or if it has a shield on that arm, make it so it's covering itself with it.

4) Try and imagine how the weight is distributed. Yeah, robots are big and strong and metal, but imagine if it were you. Would you have to brace yourself if you were holding a big gun in front of you? Where would you put your feet? Would you put more weight on one of your legs than the other?

GOON RECOMMENDATIONS

Captain Invictus posted:

I posted a lot of reviews of Kotobukiya SRW sets in the prior threads, I'll dredge some of those up(and shrink them down a little) for you if you'd like some recommendation content.

edit: here we go! Collected all the various reviews I put up in prior threads, in one handy post!

Kotobukiya SRW Altairlion: This kit is abysmal, trashy, low quality, godawful rubbish. Zero articulation, the arms pop off if you move them more than a few degrees in any direction, the transformation doesn't work without actually removing and replacing parts with substitute pieces, it's damned short for a robot kit, and it can barely stand up on its own. It also looks like a robot the Easter Bunny would pilot. It's not even fun to build, as almost everything is "x2", meaning you're essentially building half a robot twice. Even the crotch is an x2 thing. Not even any guns to build, everything is built-in on the model.

Kotobukiya SRW Grungust: A fantastic model with great articulation, gorgeous looks, is HUGE(over two inches taller than the Altairlion, taller than many MG Gundams!), about the only complaint I have is you pretty much have to glue the thumb onto his sword-holding hand because the sword is so drat heavy it'll pop it right off if you don't. Also you should glue the millions of little boosters on the sword on, because they pop off at the slightest provocation. But otherwise it's an extremely solid kit, well worth the cost.

Kotobukiya SRW R-2 Powered: Right away it's obvious this is a hefty kit, the box is twice as thick as the same-scale Wildwurger "Heavy Armor Mode" box. It's got lots of x2 builds, but some unique bits as well. Tons of little details and vulgar colors, which are the status quo for the SRW Team. Nothing feels too hard to build, some bits can be fiddly but there aren't many pieces that compare to, say, the tiny Grungust thruster parts. It includes three painted pieces, the forehead gem, the eyepiece, and the back section of the head. It's a very clean, fun kit to build, has plenty of articulation in non-Powered mode(no shoulder armor, no Hi-Zol Launchers), and it weighs a staggering 9 ounces! To compare, the Altairlion weighs 3.5 ounces, the Grungust weighs 5.5. Consider that the R-2 is the same height as the Altairlion fully armored, and that's a lot of weight in such a stout figure! Unfortunately it lacks a removable Beam Chakram, but that's a minor gripe. It's a stocky brute of a mech, absolutely fantastic.

Kotobukiya SRW 1/144 Wild Wurger Heavy Armament Type: Let's start off with saying that this thing is SMALL. It costs the same as the R-2 Powered, yet is shorter than any other kit on the shelf. The Wild Wurger is a great design, streamlined and intimidating, and as long as you don't touch, move, or breathe towards its general direction, the Wild Wurger HAT retains this look. However, if you attempt to pose it, ALL the little fiddly bits will fall off. The antenna, the vents on either side of the head, the white lining at the bottoms of the legs, the white armor on the shoulders, oractically everything will fall off if you so much as look at it funny. I have never built such a fragile gunpla kit, and I've built the PG WZC!

That's only the start, unfortunately, as it also lacks any appreciable articulation, the shoulder and arm joints are frankly laughable in design(similar to the MG GP-02 with its ball-socket shoulder/arm join design) and the arms pop off if you try to angle them at more than a 45 degree angle. The legs have a bit better articulation, though I'm wary they'll snap right off if I bend them more than a relaxed standing position. The foot cabling, once I found it was not necessary and indeed would be almost invisible, went straight into the trash. gently caress trying to insert those into the badly-molded sockets.

All in all, an abysmal kit. If it were ten or fifteen dollars equivalent in yen, it would be similar to those old Gundam Wing 1/144 kits, and that's exactly what it feels like. Even the Altairlion had a degree of increased difficulty to it above regular 1/144 Bandai kits, it's just a bland design not really suited for a model kit. But this one is a real shame because it's just badly made. From the looks of it on Dalong's site, it seems to be the third kit they ever made for SRW, which is really encouraging since it shows just how much they improved between this and the Grungust kit a mere three years later. If you must have a Wurger, spend the extra cash and get the 1/100, which, while also flawed, is vastly superior to this steaming pile.

Kotobukiya 1/100 SRW Real Personal Trooper R-1: This is the best of the SRW kits I've built yet, and why shouldn't it be? It's a 1/100 of the leader of the SRW team, it's got an arsenal of weaponry, comes with a posing base, and the articulation is FANTASTIC. The quality of the model itself shows in its sturdy construction, great design(although it too suffers from R-2 Powered's garish colors), it even comes with a pair of chrome green fists to represent the R-1's T-LINK Knuckle attack. The posing base doubles as a weapons rack when not being used to hoist the R-1 into the air, and all the base pieces attach neatly to the back of the base itself.

The R-1 comes with 24 frames. Once assembled, it stands taller than a run of the mill Bandai MG. I have not transformed it yet and frankly don't really want to, since I don't want to be popping off a bunch of bits right after putting them all together. Articulation is phenomenal for a figure of this size, the legs bend completely at the knee so the thigh almost touches the leg, the arms can move well enough to reach behind and grab one of the Metal Swords sheathed in the jetpacks mounted on the back. Everything holds together very well, which is a huge bonus. The jetpacks have multiple points of articulation allowing you to do anything from have them at rest or attempt(badly) to simulate an Arblade.

This is a great, great kit, it's big, it's high quality, it's perfect for posing. If you can find one, GET IT. Amiami has it on backorder, but you should still be able to order it from them and you'll get 26% off to boot!

Kotobukiya SRW Thrudgelmir(Slade Gelmir): I like this kit. It does a lot of things very very right. The legs, especially the feet, include enough points of articulation that very dynamic leg poses are possible. The feet are also big enough to support the weight of the COLOSSAL BLADE. The COLOSSAL BLADE, which I shall not name in anything but caps because it is THAT COLOSSAL, is two and a half times the size of Thrudgelmir itself. And yet, despite its size, Thrudgelmir is capable of holding it in almost any position with a single arm without losing posture or falling down(when the feet are properly splayed, obviously). The model itself is quite good looking.

The giant red drills are kinda distracting, and really hamper articulation. The arms suffer badly from a combination of the drills, subpar articulation, and the giant cumbersome shoulderpads. Frankly, certain parts of the kit are tedious if not infuriating to assemble. The shoulders are a snoozefest to assemble, and Kotobukiya has a horrible habit of putting sprue connections on surfaces that will be glaringly visible after assembly, often on areas where there's no way to make a single clean clip off the sprue. And gently caress THE HEAD. The head is assembled under high pressure, and if you don't glue those loving fins down, woe betide you. I stuck one on without gluing it down, thinking "oh, it's small enough, should stay on, seems secure enough." Ten seconds later with an audible *toing* one of the fins shot off across the room, under its own pressure! And it's a pain in the rear end trying to stick the head onto the body, as there's no real place to grip it that's not a fragile fin or forehead dick, let alone that the head socket doesn't actually create a complete seal on the neck balljoint, so it simply falls right off if you angle it a little too far.

All in all, mostly minor complaints. Once it's finished, it's a glorious thing, but some of the building parts are just badly designed, period. The arms getting tangled up in the shoulderpads being one of the most annoying. But man, the way it holds that COLOSSAL BLADE... I'd say it's a decent purchase, not perfect, but you could do much, much worse. He's kinda short, though.

Kotobukiya SRW Dynamic General Guardian 2, Aussenseiter: I will start this off by saying that this is my favorite model to build, ever. Nothing else compares. I expected perfection and that's what I got. Straight off the sprue assembly yields an excellent looking model without even painting it. In fact, the official painted one doesn't even really improve it much, pretty much only adding some dullcote so it's no quite so shiny. Also the paint covers up the shield emblems.

Anyways. Right away, the box is huge. It's taller(although obviously not as wide) as the 1/100 boxes. The only other non-1/100 kit I've seen with such a densely packed box is Albero's Gespenst. The assembly is easy enough, yet still fun. The head has fiddly little fins that require gluing, that's perhaps the only major drawback. The shoulders can be annoying due to their tendency to fall apart when you take them off, but the only reason you'd do that is to take the cape off, and why would you do something like that? He comes with opaque white "hair", a pair of really nice rubber tires, and a cloth cloak that, while not high quality fabric, folds perfectly into a "rippling" design when attached to Aussenseiter. No parts at any time really felt like they'd overstayed their assembly welcome, like, say, Altairlion's legs. He's not really that tall, about the size of an MG, but he's WIDE. He's wider at the shoulder than even the R-2 Powered, while being a couple inches taller. Articulation is fantastic, though the arms really shine if you take the shoulder armor off completely. They've got two separate shoulder joints, one as a usual gunpla shoulder joint, then a second one inside that one that moves forward, backward, and side to side, giving him some pretty exemplary arm articulation. And his smugfinger hand is great.

He comes with two Shield Plates, and two Lanze Cannons which attach neatly to his back, over his cape. He even comes with an extra pair of hands, one bley, one red, that clasp together in a brotherly handshake with Daizengar. The only thing he DOESN'T do is transform into Pferd Mode(Trombe), but there's already a separate kit for that, and from what I hear the Chogokin of him suffers as a robot due to incorporating the Pferd transformation mechanics, it's such a sleek robot mode I think I'd rather have two separate figures for that. Just look at that "Perfect Change Grungust", that suffered greatly because they simply tried making a Super transform like a Real. IT CANNOT BE DONE!

In summary, buy this kit. It's backordered on Amiami and is 26% off retail price. This is a staggeringly good kit and looks perfect assembled straight out of the box, go buy one. Seriously. Before they stop making him and he becomes another Holy Grail like 1/100 Alteisen.

Kotobukiya SRW 1/100 Wildwurger: This is the biggest mishmash of quality assembly mixed with some of the most atrocious builds I've ever seen. The legs and crotch assemble fantastically, then the feet have two joints which acts weird, the toe joint is weak as hell so it often winds up flipping up for no reason, the arms are utter poo poo as mentioned below, the chest assembles fine, the head is weird if you put the electronics in and can be frustrating as gently caress, the claw is a WONDERFUL assembly, simple and clean, the head/inner torso assembly that pops out is a good idea in practice but almost botched in the execution here, the triple barreled autocannon with sword is a complete mess, the backpack assembles quickly and easily, and the hands have this really baffling gimmick where the "socket armor" that you usually stick into place over the wrist socket doesn't actually attach to anything, it's held on by the hand being plugged in. This has two effects: the thing falls off if you change hands, however it has a neat little addition of "bending" when you move the hands in various directions.

More on the arms. Good lord the arms on this kit are an ABOMINATION. It is difficult to put into words just how much I hate the person who designed this stupid, stupid construction. Bend your arm so you can touch your shoulder with your hand. Okay? Now, when you try to do the same with the Wildwurger's arms, they literally tear themselves apart past the 90 degree angle point. The elbow joint section that attaches to the forearm does not connect to itself, the two halves are independent of each other until you attach the forearm halves, which rip themselves apart if you do the aforementioned bending.

It's got a good variety of weapons, the Metal Sword, wrist-mounted autocannon, Crusher Claw, Boost Hammer, and Assault Rifle(with underslung rocket). It comes with a complete extra set of armor to change it from Flight Mode to Heavy Armor mode, and an optional LED for the eyes.

The Heavy Armor Mode armor pieces are absolute trash. Putting them on and then trying to pose the model often leads to parts violently exploding off with audible POW or TACK noises, sending them flying across the room. A real shame, since I love the look of the fully armored Wurger.

A weird kit. It seems to stand well on its own but a lot of the construction designs are just loving terrible. I'd say it's worth what I paid for it, around 35 bucks. Not the 90 or whatever retail it goes for.

Kotobukiya SRW 1/100 Alteisen: An extremely rare, expensive kit(I see only a single listing for it on Ebay either active or completed currently, 114 dollars plus 53 shipping from Japan), this is one of the first 1/100 kits Kotobukiya put out.

Pros: Awesome kit to build, first time in a while I've lost track of time while building something. Before I knew it I had spent four hours building it, all told it took roughly 8-10 hours to complete it. The prepainted Kyosuke figure that comes with it is really well painted, and big too, about the size of one of the old rubbery MSIA gundams, if not a little bigger. Colors fit the kit very well.

cons: some joint designs are questionable at best. The feet/ankle joint is a single 6th of an inch thick peg, and I snapped three slightly thinner pegs while building the legs and arms, luckily nothing really important that wasn't easily repaired, but this kit seems to be made of a less durable plastic than the other SRW kits(likely due to it being an older kit). I fear I'll break it if I so much as move the feet. I had to superglue the inside of one of the legs so that the whole bottom half didn't come off when positioning it, because it's a PITA to put it back on when it's fully assembled. The backs of the knees already show plastic stress from only light use of the knee joints.

The kit is gorgeous, it really is. I think, so far, it LOOKS the best out of all of the 1/100s. It is also far, far larger than any of the other Kotobukiya kits in both width and height. But it's not the highest quality. I still think it's worth the 75 I paid for it though. And I wish the Wurger and R-1 came with fully painted pilot figures like this one.

COMPLETED GOON PROJECTS!

Faltion posted:

I too have just gotten back into gunpla after a 10 year break and I too have just finished my first suit since as of today!

More pictures in the Set.

TaurusOxford posted:

My Heaven Gundam is completed(minus that bit of chipped paint that just fell off him ). For my first time painting and modding, i'm pleased with what I have made. Any criticisms and advice are greatly appreciated in case I get crazy enough to start painting and/or modding more kits.

Easily the most work i've put into a model kit yet. I'm more than satisfied with the results though.

Arquinsiel posted:

So... um... yeah. I made a thing but painted it different because... stuff. The high-res images I found on the con's website make me regret entering the painting competition with it. It doesn't help that they posed it all when taking pictures either.

Anyway:

First time in ages that I've painted something big, and the techniques that work with smaller stuff don't quite hold true at that scale.

Faltion posted:

I'm sure some of you modelling a while have had that one kit that refused to come into fruition. I started building this Zaku Mariner with the plan of having it done in 2 weeks so I could move on to other things. 6 months later I finally got it finished yesterday.

First problem was that I decanted my Tamiya primer with the purpose of spaying it indoors from my airbrush and not wasting a lot of paint. lovely thing is decanting somehow eliminated its ability to auto-level and fill in any rough parts from sanding and also left a lovely texture on my parts (probably from not enough thinner). It haunted me throughout the build. In the future there's going to have to be some sanding between primer coats, on top of fine sanding before priming.

Second was I wanted to do some custom panel lining. I discovered that a good panel line is almost unnoticeable by the undiscerning, bad panel lines stick out like a sore thumb.

Third, the major blue color I was using, a Tamiya Royal Blue refused to play nice with isopropyl alcohol as a thinner, as well as Tamiya's own brand of lacquer thinner and acrylic thinner. It would spray gloss in spots and flat in others, an no amount of coats eliminated that, and neither did any gloss coats.

In the end the flat coat hid most of my shame and the build turned out okay (save a little too much flat base in my flat coat, but it looks okay). I also think I need to switch to lacquers because every time my acrylic paint scratches, even with multiple clear coats and plenty of curing time, I die a little on the inside.

Zaku Mariner-1

Zaku Mariner-2

Zaku Mariner-3 by faltion, on Flickr

Sorry photos are pretty dark, my slap-dash photo booth didn't do the trick this time. Going to get some better pics taken tomorrow.

I think my next build is going to be a z'gok since it only has like 3 runners and shouldn't hurt my already bruised ego.

Also have a panda beargguy I built for my wife.

Panda Beargguy

TaurusOxford posted:

I present my completed PG Gundam GP01 "Half Burner":

PoptartsNinja posted:

Found it!

Mecha Gojira fucked around with this message at 06:56 on Aug 21, 2014

# ? Mar 16, 2012 21:58

Captain Invictus: Apr 5, 2005; Try reading some manga!; Clever Betty

I posted a lot of reviews of Kotobukiya SRW sets in the prior threads, I'll dredge some of those up(and shrink them down a little) for you if you'd like some recommendation content.

edit: removed reviews as they are now promoted to 2nd post!

Captain Invictus fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Mar 19, 2012

# ? Mar 17, 2012 00:46

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Captain Invictus posted:

I posted a lot of reviews of Kotobukiya SRW sets in the prior threads, I'll dredge some of those up(and shrink them down a little) for you if you'd like some recommendation content.

That'd be fantastic, but only if you want to. Recommendations weren't really kept up with in either of the previous threads, but if you guys would still like them I'll try to stay on top of them.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 01:00

Zeether: Aug 26, 2011

Since my question didn't get answered in the previous thread: are there larger Gundam marker sizes for MG kits or bigger? I'd assume so.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 01:12

Bimmi: Nov 8, 2009; someday
but not today

Might as well remove the Speed Grade listing as that never really became a thing.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 03:04

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Bimmi posted:

Might as well remove the Speed Grade listing as that never really became a thing.

Probably, but I think I'll keep it around at least for a while. They're still floating around, after all, even if the line is long discontinued. I mean, First-Grade/No-Grade 1/144 and No-Grade 1/100 seem to have been all but discontinued in the last few years as well, after all. But then again, Speed Grade never really took off, so it is a fair point.

Plus, if HLJ's current Gunpla Clearance Sale is any indication, I might get to phase out the AG AGE line eventually as well!

# ? Mar 17, 2012 03:57

Bimmi: Nov 8, 2009; someday
but not today

There were only ever four Speed Grade kits released, though, and the line's been dead for over three years. No point in keeping it, especially when larger/more relevant lines like HY2MM, EX Model and UC Hard Graph aren't even mentioned. Not the end of the world, though.

edit: also consider adding GG Infinite to the store listing: they have a big selection, get new releases pretty fast, and carry a number of limited/online exclusive items:

http://gginfinite.com

Bimmi fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Mar 17, 2012

# ? Mar 17, 2012 04:03

Well Manicured Man: Aug 21, 2010; Well Manicured Mort

I guess now that there's a new thread I'll drop in.

Back around January I got the RG 1/144 Zaku II Custom as my first model kit, even though I knew it would be complicated. Surprisingly, the construction went pretty smoothly, even though all I was using was an x-acto knife and there are nubs everywhere... I only managed to lose two tiny little pieces for the chest/torso area. The worst part was applying the stickers, I have little patience for stickers so I just said "gently caress it" and kept them off. I'll refrain from posting pictures of it so that the more seasoned builders won't vomit in disgust at the poor guy, but I like him. He makes for a great companion on my desk

Anyway building the RG Zaku II was really fun, so I think I'll keep building models. The difficulty of actually building the RG models doesn't feel like much of an obstacle for me, but I'd rather not purchase ones that come with huge reams of stickers since I can't stand stickers, and it seems like the HG line doesn't use tons of decals. Revoltech models don't really interest me because most of the fun of the RG Zaku came from actually having to assemble the thing and being able to stand back and say "Yes. I made that with my own two hands.", which is a shame because the Revoltech Wing Zero looks amazing. Are there any other good models of Wing Zero out there? I'm thinking of picking up either something from Wing, a Hyaku Shiki, or a Qubeley for my second build, since those are some of my favorite mobile suits.

I also hear that the 1/144 NT-D mode RX-0 is a fun build. Can anyone verify that?

# ? Mar 17, 2012 04:17

Bimmi: Nov 8, 2009; someday
but not today

There's a 1/60 scale HG Wing Zero that is ~~pretty okay~~ not completely terrible. All the others are basically poop.

Zeether posted:

are there larger Gundam marker sizes for MG kits or bigger? I'd assume so.

There are chisel-tip type GMs that are appropriate for covering larger surfaces. Dunno how wide the color selection is, though.

Bimmi fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Mar 17, 2012

# ? Mar 17, 2012 04:21

Zeether: Aug 26, 2011

I decided to get the HG Shining Gundam. Not sure if I'm ready for MG yet. Gonna work on the Astraea this weekend.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 06:42

U.T. Raptor: May 11, 2010; Are you a pack of imbeciles!?

You should mention the Pokemon model kits in the OP.

I've got a bunch of them and, except for the overdependence on stickers for some of them (Ho-Oh and Torterra, I'm looking at you :colbert:

), they're pretty neat (and real cheap, most of them are about 600 yen on HLJ).

# ? Mar 17, 2012 08:00

Zeether: Aug 26, 2011

Crappy cellphone pics of the finished Astraea:

Turned out pretty well. I like how I don't have to change the hands around to clip the guns in. Also there were a ton of extra parts, which are probably for some other variant of the MS or something?

Can't wait to get Shining Gundam. It's definitely going to be in Shining Finger mode on display.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 10:02

Lumi: Apr 26, 2006; I watched the sky.

Zeether posted:

Turned out pretty well. I like how I don't have to change the hands around to clip the guns in. Also there were a ton of extra parts, which are probably for some other variant of the MS or something?

I have the same one, it's supposedly some prototype to the Exia so it'd likely share a lot of parts with that and any of its variants.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 14:07

Zeether: Aug 26, 2011

Lumi posted:

I have the same one, it's supposedly some prototype to the Exia so it'd likely share a lot of parts with that and any of its variants.

Yeah, the instructions show the Exia so it looks like that's the case. There was one part that could be changed for another early on but none of the other ones got any use.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 14:14

Takanago: Jun 2, 2007; You'll see...

I'm going to be holding a Gunpla-building event for my school's anime club again.

Last week I ordered almost nine-hundred dollars of models, for thirty-five people. The first time I held this event, back in October, I pretty much only ordered High Grades (with the sole exception of an MG Ball), but this time there's a good amount of interest in MGs and other more expensive/complicated things. This time I'd say only about half of the costs are covered by my school, but only because some people are requesting and paying extra for more expensive models.

Oh and a friend and I are considering getting Perfect Grades with our own money to start building at the event. Big thanks to whoever pointed out in the last thread that Amazon has a decent selection of Gunplas which are eligible for prime shipping, because I could only find the PG GP-01 Fb at HLJ with $100+ shipping, and even backordered.

I will post pictures when the Gundams arrive, and after the event happens.

# ? Mar 17, 2012 14:58

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Bimmi posted:

There were only ever four Speed Grade kits released, though, and the line's been dead for over three years. No point in keeping it, especially when larger/more relevant lines like HY2MM, EX Model and UC Hard Graph aren't even mentioned. Not the end of the world, though.

edit: also consider adding GG Infinite to the store listing: they have a big selection, get new releases pretty fast, and carry a number of limited/online exclusive items:

http://gginfinite.com

You've convinced me, though mostly because I do want to say a few things about the EX and Hard Graph lines because they're cool as well. Especially since UC Hard Graph is still kicking with its latest Core Fighter release. I'll get them and your store link up later, probably this afternoon.

Also, yes, I want to see pictures of $900 worth of Gunpla and 30+ people building them. Sounds like a good time all around.

Edit: Updated the OP.

Mecha Gojira fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Mar 17, 2012

# ? Mar 17, 2012 16:11

Silentman0: Jul 11, 2005; I have a new neighbor. Heard he comes from far away

I desperately, desperately want a graded Capule/Kapool. It was in Unicorn so it'll come eventually, right? :smith:

# ? Mar 17, 2012 22:30

Phy: Jun 27, 2008; Fun Shoe

Mecha Gojira posted:

Yamato also has recently announced the online exclusive release of the VF-4 Lightning III from Flashback 2012. You know, the music video one. ($80-$300+)

Wait, they WHAT??!

e: Hmm. Ok, webshop exclusive, that leaves me out. Plus the robot mode looks a little dorky, which I guess was always going to happen with the VF-4. Still one of the most stunning plane modes.

Phy fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Mar 18, 2012

# ? Mar 18, 2012 01:37

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Phy posted:

Wait, they WHAT??!

e: Hmm. Ok, webshop exclusive, that leaves me out. Plus the robot mode looks a little dorky, which I guess was always going to happen with the VF-4. Still one of the most stunning plane modes.

I always liked both modes myself (Gunjap link).

Though looks like I'm wrong. This particular version will be based on its appearance in the VF-X game.

# ? Mar 18, 2012 01:44

Demicol: Nov 8, 2009

I finally got my SD Wing Gundam last month after waiting nearly 5 months for it to get stocked on HLJ. I finished it in like an hour so I feel kinda cheated waiting that long, it was pretty nice to build and looks good though, no wonder lot of people recommended it.
Any other SD kits worth buying?

# ? Mar 18, 2012 09:27

Fauxtool: Oct 21, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Demicol posted:

I finally got my SD Wing Gundam last month after waiting nearly 5 months for it to get stocked on HLJ. I finished it in like an hour so I feel kinda cheated waiting that long, it was pretty nice to build and looks good though, no wonder lot of people recommended it.
Any other SD kits worth buying?

2 of the unicorns
The crossbone and strike gundam are pretty fun too. I really felt I got my money's worth on them

# ? Mar 18, 2012 09:40

Captain Invictus: Apr 5, 2005; Try reading some manga!; Clever Betty

I put up a collection of all my reviews of Kotobukiya SRW kits from prior threads in the third post.

# ? Mar 18, 2012 23:13

Fauxtool: Oct 21, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Selling my extra Gundam Markers
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3473214

# ? Mar 19, 2012 02:38

Miijhal: Jul 10, 2011; I am so tired... I am so tired all the time...

Kind of tempted to get into gunpla once I have a bit more cash on hand. Seems like that's the only way I'd ever be able to have a Kshatriya figure, and really, I could use something new to do.

Also eying Kotobukiya's Yellowboze RAcaseal model, although I really hate the way they mold the weapons�in one color, including modeling the beam sabers in pure translucent green...

# ? Mar 19, 2012 03:47

Dre2Dee2: Dec 6, 2006; Just a striding through Kamen Rider...

Great job on the OP :golfclap:

I'm waiting to get my paints before I build MG Heavy Arms. It looks like such an awesome kit I'd feel bad if I didn't take the proper time to make it look really great.

Now if only I had some space to display the drat thing...

# ? Mar 19, 2012 06:12

Zeether: Aug 26, 2011

I finished the HG Shining Gundam kit. Only issues with it are the leg flaps are hard to put in their open position for super mode, and the giant Shining Finger hand doesn't seem to fit on the smaller hand (I must be doing something wrong). Good kit, but I may end up splurging on the MG version just so I can transform it to super mode without resorting to taking it apart.

# ? Mar 20, 2012 03:11

TaurusOxford: Feb 10, 2009; Dad of the Year 2021

Zeether posted:

I finished the HG Shining Gundam kit. Only issues with it are the leg flaps are hard to put in their open position for super mode, and the giant Shining Finger hand doesn't seem to fit on the smaller hand (I must be doing something wrong). Good kit, but I may end up splurging on the MG version just so I can transform it to super mode without resorting to taking it apart.

The giant hand has issues staying in place, but i'm not sure if it is weight issues or just not a snug mold. I think the HG Master Gundam has the same problem. Just to warn you as well, even the MG Shining needs you to pull off faceplates to swap between his normal and super mode face.

# ? Mar 20, 2012 03:42

Zeether: Aug 26, 2011

Eh, that's fine with me. The main reason I'd want it is minimal "parts leprosy" for the super mode and having the leg flaps fold out instead of taking them off and trying to get them into a better position is good enough. Also, I'm probably going to have to look into getting some gold Gundam Markers so I can paint the "shining" parts.

It doesn't have the Shining Finger Sword, though

Zeether fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Mar 20, 2012

# ? Mar 20, 2012 04:10

BizarroAzrael: Apr 6, 2006; "That must weigh heavily on your soul. Let me purge it for you."

That's a fine lookin' OP.

Can someone confirm for me that the small Revoltech joints, the ones used for wrists, are 6mm? Might be ordering some to replace the wrist on my Alucard. Only problem is they don't seem to sell packets of the white ones that I need for some reason. Alternatively I could get Ed Elrick and take the spare white wrist from him by using his Automail arm.

BizarroAzrael fucked around with this message at 14:34 on Mar 20, 2012

# ? Mar 20, 2012 14:32

Honest Ray: Feb 10, 2007; Your bargaining posture is highly dubious.

BizarroAzrael posted:

That's a fine lookin' OP.

Can someone confirm for me that the small Revoltech joints, the ones used for wrists, are 6mm? Might be ordering some to replace the wrist on my Alucard. Only problem is they don't seem to sell packets of the white ones that I need for some reason. Alternatively I could get Ed Elrick and take the spare white wrist from him by using his Automail arm.

At this point wouldn't it just be easier to paint a different one white?

Also, just wanting to say I love the new OP. You did a really nice job on it.

# ? Mar 20, 2012 17:40

BizarroAzrael: Apr 6, 2006; "That must weigh heavily on your soul. Let me purge it for you."

Honest Ray posted:

At this point wouldn't it just be easier to paint a different one white?

Also, just wanting to say I love the new OP. You did a really nice job on it.

I meant I might get Ed anyway. The smallest ones are 6mm then?

I don't know how well paint will take to the plastic, nor if it won't gum up the joint.

# ? Mar 20, 2012 17:54

arhra: Jun 27, 2006

BizarroAzrael posted:

I meant I might get Ed anyway. The smallest ones are 6mm then?

I don't know how well paint will take to the plastic, nor if it won't gum up the joint.

There are 4mm joints (with narrower pegs) that they've used a lot lately for wrists (and other parts where the larger joints are too big to work well).

Annoyingly they don't sell them separately.

# ? Mar 20, 2012 19:18

Lumi: Apr 26, 2006; I watched the sky.

Any advice for how to paint Gundam eyes? What sort of colours should be used to make it glowy and not too flat?

Also, how's the gradient effect on the beam saber achieved?

# ? Mar 21, 2012 07:51

Fauxtool: Oct 21, 2008; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Lumi posted:

Any advice for how to paint Gundam eyes? What sort of colours should be used to make it glowy and not too flat?

use the stickers

in all seriousness do people actually paint the eyes? Do they have a tiny stencil set?

# ? Mar 21, 2012 09:04

EthanSteele: Nov 18, 2007; I can hear you

Paint the eyes silver and then colour in everything not eyes black with your panel lining pen. Or paint everything black and then use your thin panel lining brush to do the eyes.

# ? Mar 21, 2012 09:15

Ignimbrite: Jan 5, 2010; BALLS BALLS BALLS; Dinosaur Gum

The gradient effect can be created by starting with a colour (light pink or dark reddish pink in this case) and gradually painting up or down the blade, mixing in either lighter or darker colours, depending on the way you started. While you're doing this you have to 'blend' the current layer of paint with the one before it, creating a gradient. It takes a bit of practice, but it looks good.

# ? Mar 21, 2012 12:14

Mecha Gojira: Jun 23, 2006; Jack Nissan

Fauxtool posted:

use the stickers

in all seriousness do people actually paint the eyes? Do they have a tiny stencil set?

I paint the eyes. It's not too difficult, especially on larger kits like Master Grades where they're a separate piece. Basically what I do is paint the whole thing the color I want the eyes (usually silver with a clear color candy coat), and then once that's dry I go back with a small paint brush or tooth pick and color black in around the eyes. Some people would suggest using a pen or tiny marker for this, though. There's all kind of ways to do it.

# ? Mar 21, 2012 15:45

Popehoist: Feb 5, 2008; There you go rubens, all your fault! You went on the wrong side of the car!

BizarroAzrael posted:

That's a fine lookin' OP.

Can someone confirm for me that the small Revoltech joints, the ones used for wrists, are 6mm? Might be ordering some to replace the wrist on my Alucard. Only problem is they don't seem to sell packets of the white ones that I need for some reason. Alternatively I could get Ed Elrick and take the spare white wrist from him by using his Automail arm.

Are you still interested in trading me your spare revoltech alucard?

# ? Mar 21, 2012 21:20

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# ? Apr 18, 2024 05:53

BizarroAzrael: Apr 6, 2006; "That must weigh heavily on your soul. Let me purge it for you."

Popehoist posted:

Are you still interested in trading me your spare revoltech alucard?

Going to have to pass, can ready do with some extra cash.

# ? Mar 21, 2012 22:15

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > VEGETA > Gunpla/Plamo Thread Mk. III - 1/1 Scale Real Grade Nerds

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