Gundam Modeling Questions

He's about 80% right now- coming along.

If you are looking for examples of weathering that would be appropriate to Gundams, I recommend looking at armor and ships.

Thanks for the heads-up about the stickers. I didn't know a great way to include them that wouldn't make them look like, well, stickers. I thought that the weathering/washes would accumulate around the edges and look fakey. More pictures to come.

Your paint and weathering look great! Please, do not use the stickers. I've built the similar kit. Probably it's brother or something like that

Lookin forward to the finished one. Pretty dang nice as is.

We're about 70% on the original first kit (first time building Gundam) I really like it. I've still got some stickers, weathering, washes, weathering, detailing, and weathering. Then I might weather it a bit more.

My apology if there is any negative interpretation on my previous comment. I'm sure you're very skillful, but the problem I've pointed out has nothing to do with the modeller's skill. You said you've been told something, have you ever tried it yourself? What I've pointed out is something that we gundam modellers learnt the hard way over the years (and agreed by a fellow gundam modeller too).

If you want to avoid painting stuff that won't be seen, you really don't need to assemble the gundam and disassemble it again. The instruction, google and your experience will do just fine. But if you don't mind breaking some pins and end up with some chipped / deformed edges or corners on the parts, nevermind.

Some may believe that we can always glue the parts so nevermind the pins, well maybe true on scale model, but absolutely not true on gundam kits. I like your idea with nail polish on loose poly-cap, in fact I did the same trick 25 years ago, but sadly many joints and moveable parts on a gundam model can never be repaired, especially after the model is painted and finished.

Even the latest and much smaller RG kits have issues on the durability of the joints and even the plastic itself (joints failed or parts broken right after finish, can't even hold its own weapon, parts keep falling off the model etc), let alone the much larger, heavier and older PGs. That's why it is not a good idea to assemble the model and disassemble it again just to see which part won't be seen after assembled.

Anyway, good luck with your PG kit, have fun, and have it your way.

HansStuck-I'm 34,been building conventional since I was 5. I got this.

If your joints are too loose,cover the poly-cap with clear nail polish.Should thicken the joint up enough.

Agreed with Hans Stuck.  I bore out the sockets and shave off the slight raised bumps on the pins so that parts can be test fitted yet removed with ease.  It doesn't always work though, as I do occasionally get a surprise when a pin mysteriously jams and I end up snapping it when separating a part.  Also, some sockets are an "in between size" that do not correspond to a standard English or metric size drill.  I really hate those.

Paint scraping is a problem with poseable kits.  Sometimes you can just sand parts down a little to get additional clearance, but sometimes not.  For the transforming models, it might be a good idea to build two kits, one in each mode if you really like both forms.

I have built only one PG kit (GP-01) and it kicked my butt.  It's main failing was that it was too heavy for the poly caps.  The waist joint ball socket failed almost immediately after being finished.  The overly complicated design also put me off building another PG.  I was eyeing the Zaku, but decided against buying one.

I am still on the fence about Bandai's "Reborn 100" series.  While I agree on the simplified construction relative to the MG series, I have yet to examine one.  Still waiting for something I would be interested in.  Maybe if they did something like a Kazuhisa Kondo Geara Doga from the comic "The Dogs of War", I'd give the series a try.

First few steps shown here- I really like deciphering the directions and getting everything together. More to come when I get some time at the table.

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Allen109

Pre-painting the kit won't work I either,I've been told. I plan on assembling the model,then disassembling  for later glue and paint. This way I can avoid painting stuff that won't be seen.

Problem with building a PG kit is that they are huge,and have a lot of articulation. My kit made it harder to figure out because it actually transforms to a flight mode.

Good luck with your kits,and have fun.

Hi Allen. I'm not sure if it is a good idea. The snap-fit sockets and pins in Gundam kits are NOT designed to separate again once they're snapped together. You can push them in but they're not always strong enough to let you pull them out again. If you completely assembled the model then disassemble it, I'm almost 100% sure that you will face a lot of difficulties in trying to disassemble it without breaking something, or having to resort to brute force and damage the parts.

Even in the best scenario, you will probably break some locating pins or at least weaken them (the plastic turn white). Some pins will simply got torn off and stay in the sockets forever. You don't want to weaken the plastic especially the joins on a PG kits, as you know they are huge, heavy, and expensive.

Talking about transformation (yours is the Zeta Gundam, right?), if you paint the model, it is likely that some paint will be scratched everytime the model is transformed. That's why many gundam modeller only transform the model ONCE after they complete it, take dozens of photos, transform it back to humanoid mode, and stay there for good. And that's also why some gundam "builder" don't even paint the model, so they can enjoy it any way they want.

Just my 2 cents. Have fun.

Pre-painting the kit won't work I either,I've been told. I plan on assembling the model,then disassembling  for later glue and paint. This way I can avoid painting stuff that won't be seen.

Problem with building a PG kit is that they are huge,and have a lot of articulation. My kit made it harder to figure out because it actually transforms to a flight mode.

Good luck with your kits,and have fun.

JayF

Wow ! Just wow !  

I'm still in the process of trying to build mine without painting them, sanding seams and trying my best to glue everything together without making a big mess.

Talking about painting, I see that Bandaï has a lot of color markers, are they any good ?

Gundam Markers are useful if you're not going to paint the whole model and just need to paint some small parts such as thrusters, muzzles, or the "horns" or "mouth" on the gundam head etc. In short, only small areas. Don't try to paint the whole arm or leg with the Gundam Markers, it will probably look messy.

Josh Ryder

Great to see this thread continue! I just cracked my first kit last night and started with the weapons. (looked like the easiest step!) Are there any translated instructions online?

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a one-stop resource for translated instructions.  If you have any questions though, post a photo of the instructions and we can help translate.  (I personally can't read the Asahi Shinbun, but can read words like "reinforced new type", infra-red, beam cannon, do not cement, and unuse this part.    Colors are easy too, but Bandai has an irritating practice of just listing colors and the general description of the parts that require said colors.  Really poor for the newbies.  They should have a look at a Tamiya instruction sheet to see what good color callouts look like.  But I don't see them changing their ways, as their instructions are basically pictograms with some assembly notes.  Anyway, I'm sure others on the forum can also assist as well.

Great to see this thread continue! I just cracked my first kit last night and started with the weapons. (looked like the easiest step!) Are there any translated instructions online?

Wow ! Just wow !  

I'm still in the process of trying to build mine without painting them, sanding seams and trying my best to glue everything together without making a big mess.

Talking about painting, I see that Bandaï has a lot of color markers, are they any good ?

1/144 HGUC RGM-79D GM Cold Type

I built around 30 gundam kits OOTB without even painting 20-25 years ago when I was a kid, then left the hobby until 2008, when I picked up a 1/144 gundam kit and decided to try build a model kit properly, to actually paint and glue it. To me it was like the first true modelling experience in my life.

After a 6 years gap finally I made my second model. I tried to apply some AFV technique to this GM because my ambition is always AFV modelling. Currently I've started a Bronco 1/35 tank and it is a bit tricky for a beginner, so this GM is a testbed for me and I hope I did it justice.

The model is hand-painted with Vallejo Model Color. I made a lot of mistakes and had to do a lot of extra to save the model. I guess it took me about 150 hours to get to this point. Anyway, here we go.

The final 2 photos: my first painted model 1/144 Tieren, an AA battery, and a 1/144 Tiger toy.

Thanks for watching. Any comments and critiques welcome.

Josh Ryder: I agree with Klik. I built that kit as well, and really enjoyed it. I normally build glue and paint kits, but a Gundam kit is always a good step away from my norm.

Great pick! I built that one (the version that came with the Big Gun) earlier this year. It's a fun, relaxing, and simple build, with unique details of its own. I'm a Zaku nut, so this was a must- have for me.

That is the Thunderbolt version, which is a from a Manga ( think Japanese graphic novel)  that hasn't been released outside Japan at this time, to my knowledge . Check the Gundam Wiki for ideas ( the Manga is Black and White, so paint it how you want).

If you want "standard" Zeon paint colors, go with the sprues: I use NATO Green for the Dark green, and XF-21 Sky for the light green. The eye should be pink.

I painted mine black. Have fun with it. That's the fun of Gundam: every single suit was unique to its pilot.

Post a WIP, I'll follow you.

Klik

Awesome, these are fun kits. I built the MS-08 several years ago

This guy just arrived in the mail and I can't wait to dig in and start customizing him over Christmas break! I'm planning on trying out the 1:144 to see if I like it before moving up to a larger scale/more suits. WIP shots to

Don't worry about the name, the Gouf Custom is from the "08th MS Team" series and is a heroic unit. The pilot is a "good guy in the bad side" (well the whole Zeon thing in the Gundam universe is obviously based on the Nazi, even the name of Zeon's HQ is "Axis") and yes you guessed it there is an epic end for the Gouf.

Thanks for the info, Hans

So unless I could buy them dirt cheap, I won't purchase either the XM-05 or the XM-07

Maybe I'll try my hands at a MG kit soon, but my wallet is a bit shy right now (maybe I could ask Santa to bring me one). But right now I have another HGUC grade in my stash, the MS-07B-3 Gouf Custom (a tough looking don't-mess-with-me kinda robot). Just the name that doesn't sounds much impressive though ...

Oh and the Chinese robot you built (in your other post) is very great, I like the weathering you did on it.

JayF

Me again

Well it's a good thing this Gundam store is near where I work, but very bad for my wallet. 

I bought another HG kit, a big burly guy called MF-14Fs Gelgoog Marine Commander, from the Principalty of Zeon. If things go well during the week-end I might start the build. At 20$ my wallet helped me decided which kit to do next.

Someone said to get Master Grade kits instead, and I totally respect that as they are beautiful. But for the price of one MG robot I can have 3 cool looking HG kits.

While looking at all the numerous kits, some of them intrigued me, and I would like your opinions on them.

Price wise, two kits were very intriguing at 14$ each :

XM-05 Berga Giros and XM-07 Vigna Ghina (in 1/100 scale)

The store clerk said they were old kits (you can see the 1991 year printed on the box) and the mold quality is average at best (his words). What do you think ?

Also I saw a non-Gundam kit : a Macross 1/72 scale Destroid Defender ADR-04 with a 30$ price tag.

Is it worth it ?

Thanks !

(just found my new model kit crush ...)

It really depends on your modelling skill and what you looking for.

HGUC

For a skillful modeller who likes to do custom detail and modification, I would recommend 1/144 HGUC kits, or HG kits of other gundam anime series (Seed, OO, Age) released after 200x. They are relatively cheap and the choice is huge, and they are the best platform to do custom detail and modification.

On the other hand, if you're just going to finish the kit by the book, HGUC kits are extremely easy, and newer kits (say after year 2007, newer usually better) actually can match older Master Grade kits in terms of detail and articulation, if not better.

MG

Master Grade kits are good of course, but the kit design itself is relatively complex compare to 1/144 HG kits, and most of the details are already present, so the room of custom work is smaller compare to HG kits, unless of course you're planning to do a major project.

RG

There is also the 1/144 Real Grade, which in my opinion are only recommended if you're going to just assemble the model without even painting, and enjoy it as a toy afterwards, as they're actually designed in such fashion. They're the most detailed mainstream gundam kits available, but honestly they're over detailed for commercial reason (think about it, why would a flat, non-movable armor plate split into 5 pieces, so there are more panel lines and looks more "detailed"? is it realistic?).  If Bandai is going to make a Real Grade M1A2 tank then the turret front armor will be split into 20 pieces.

If you're going to paint a Real Grade kit, then expect a lot of unwanted paint chipping, since the design and mechanic are overly complex for a display model, many of its smaller parts are very easy to fall apart.

Older kits

And the 1/100 XM-05 Berga Giros and XM-07 Vigna Ghina you mentioned, well I had them 20 years ago and they're really old kits. They're of course workable but for the same amount of effort you're not going to get the same result as a 2012 HGUC kits. If you want to match the current standard you're going to have a lot of good time if you enjoy custom work. And they're from the F91 series so the size of a 1/100 F91 era gunpla is actually the same as a 1/144 mainstream gunpla.

Hope it helps.

(My first post disappeared after I edited it, so I re-post it)

Hi I'm new to this forum and I want to share my 1/144 PLA Tieren (yes the Chinese PLA) which was built in 2008. As with all 1/144 HG Gundam model it is wallet friendly but with some detailing and modding it can be made into a good model.

This is actually my first painted model in my life so it is by far not the best example, however I wish it can bring some ideas.

I was looking for some Gundam dio and I found this very peculiar (and funny in an creative way) site :

http://www.figure.fm/en/post/4000/This+is+my+Gundam+diorama+for+Bandai+World+Competition.html

For the record, just finished my Gelgoog Marine Commander this evening. NEXT !  

Hey Josh !

Have you decided on which kit to get first ?

BTW thanks for bringing this thread up !

Guys- Thanks for the feedback and great community! I've got a birthday coming up and will be making some orders soon, WIP pictures to follow!