Well I guess I look at them a little differently than everyone else.. Gundam to some people is very serious doo-dah.. For me, it is my kid factor play-time!.. I do an awfull lot of real models, and sometimes have 2 or 3 projects on the go at once.. I love Gundams, and they are proudly displayed (But not played with).. So when I am feeling a little tired of having to actually build a model, and smell glue and paint fumes, then my Gundams are a great escape!..
I dont paint them , but I do use my Gundam pens to do the black lines and have a rubbing tecknique to make thge parts and the black lines looking weathered..., I also fill in chip marks, and weather them,. and they look how I want them to look.. I do however paint what needs to be painted such as gold parts on swords and the like, and parts that are not represented with the final build!..Infact most people ask if they are just toys, and surprised when I say they are actually model kits.. I guess it just depends on what is acceptable for you.. And I like to think mine look decent!
ps, I have painted one.. I got the Strike Rogue in HG 1/144 scale.. The reason I painted it was that I wanted to do a custom Strike, that used the IWSP back pack the the Strike Rogue.. But for some reason.. no matter how well I did the base coat, and then the white top coats, pink always managed to bleed through.. By the time I was happy with the finished paintwork. The paint was kinda on the tick side, and the parts weren't a snug fit.. The arms are very difficult to move.. Now that's not the fault of the model, but it is just an example of why I choose the easy way out, and do my best with what they give us!
Chris in Japan