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new to gundam models

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  • Member since
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new to gundam models
Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Friday, June 13, 2008 6:33 AM
well i just bought a couple gundams and they are in the mail. I was hopeing i could get some advice on the whole thing ie painting, building, and base makeing.  The models i got are GM Sniper Model Kit 1/144, and RX-79(g) Gundam vs. MS-06J Zaku II Model Kit Set 1/144
ROBO star wars GB
  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Friday, June 13, 2008 12:24 PM

I think those GM Snipers are cool.  Good choice. 

http://www.fichtenfoo.com/02GiantRobots/02c-MGHowTo.html

In addition to the link I put in your other post, which is alot of specific tutorials, this is a walkthrough from start to finish on how to build a MG model.  The steps are the same as the HG's you bought, you'll just have less to do.  Very good starting point.  I've read the whole thing a couple of times and it helped alot.  Then just look around his site at the completed models and the few other tutorials he has and you'll be amazed at the quality of his work. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Friday, June 13, 2008 3:27 PM
I dont want to contradict Skull here, but those are some of the... well... not best kits out there.  They suffer from being the first steps toward the HGUC line we have today.  Expect seamlines on everything, shoulders, arms chest, head, legs, hips, everything is going to have a seam, and the joints leave alot to be desired, being just a polycap.  But they are cheap, and a good place to start considering they are simple builds. The GM sniper's little bonus kit though, is worth getting it for

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Friday, June 13, 2008 8:11 PM
I been looking at maybe buying that GM Sniper kit, wouldn't mind seeing a WIP if you're up for it...
  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, June 14, 2008 2:37 AM
Honestly, unless you are going to scratch your own joints, and fortify the legs... you would be better off just modding a HGUC Gm... its really not a good kit.

 

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Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Saturday, June 14, 2008 12:30 PM
yeah i will as soon as i get them ill will post pics
ROBO star wars GB
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Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Saturday, June 14, 2008 12:32 PM
well i have done MG models i have the endless waltz MG kits the whole set they wernt the best in the world for being MG so its a matter of opinion
ROBO star wars GB
  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, June 14, 2008 2:57 PM
Woh woh, back up jack.  Just because kits are 1/100 does not make them master grade.  The 1/100 endless waltz kits were high grade, and were marked as so, they fall less then high grade now a days.  The MG Gm sniper kit is fine, its the 08th ms team version of the 1/144 that is crappy.

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Saturday, June 14, 2008 3:51 PM

Ohhh, I'm all confused.

Alright, how about these kits?

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN74439

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN946732

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN946734

The first two are cheap, but are they worth the savings?

Curiouser and curiouser - JC

  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, June 14, 2008 9:07 PM

the GM sniper, the 1/144 is not worth the money.

The second, the Zaku I sniper, is quite the nice kit, its one of my favorites, I have two, if you check my www.bakuc.com profile you can see them (pics suck lighting was off)

 The third is a new kit... sort of.  Its the old Gm{G} kit from the MG line, its not a bad build, but could be better, arm armor doesnt stay together well without being glued in place. (I dont like to glue the armor on if I dont have to)  But it has a sniper rifle, is molded in dark green (doesnt matter to us anymore) and has an energy accessory.

 

Out of all of them, I would get the Zaku I sniper every time. 

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Saturday, June 14, 2008 9:18 PM
The first one I don't know about.  The third should be great since that's the MG Smeagol is talking about.  The second one is the same price as the HG's I buy, a little on the low side but nothing like the No Grade Buster I bought that I'm using to test damage methods.  What's wrong with the HG GM Sniper though that with all those extras its still only $10?  They skimped on something.  That being said, I see Smeagol's point about the lower quality kits being more work but how good a finished product looks is largely the builders doing.  And if these are your first Gundams maybe the practice will be good.  If you make a mistake you didn't waste 40$ ya know?  I would also be interested in seeing them as they are built.

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Saturday, June 14, 2008 10:38 PM
it has the same normal problems as any lesser kit.  Seams everywhere.  The joints are HORRIBLE there just bare polycaps, its like the 5$ gundam wing kits

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Sunday, June 15, 2008 11:26 AM

Alright, I think I've settled on the third one, mostly because of the extra hands. I can use those on other projects.

Does anyone know of a place I could get one for a reasonable price in the States? International shipping rates are a Censored [censored] these days.

  • Member since
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  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Sunday, June 15, 2008 12:08 PM
Well I just ran it through Gundamstoreandmore and its $38.99 and UPS ground to me in IL was 7.98.  I've talked to the owner, hes on the east coast somewhere I think.  PlaJapan doesn't have it.  I think they are out of California though so if youre to the west they may have cheaper shipping.  They also have this cool bundle program.  SO say you wanted to buy two MGs.  Click on one of them and then you can select from a scroll list the other one and you will save money on them.  I haven't tried it yet but it looks cool. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Sunday, June 15, 2008 7:17 PM

Gundamstoreandmore is your best bet in the states. The quite fast shipping to, atleast to me, takem like 3 days (not including weekends) order on friday night, get it wed morning normally.

 

If I were you I would get the Zaku sniper though, even if you get two, the kit is quite worth it I have even been tempted to scratch one of them out of a MG zaku I 

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Sunday, June 15, 2008 8:10 PM

I don't know. For the Zaku, I like the upper body, head and gun, but I'm not too keen on the design of the legs. On the other hand, it is only $12...

I found the MG Sniper at Toy's Logic for $35 + $7 shipping which ain't too shabby, but I may hold off and try to find one at Wonderfest next month; I might be able to get a better deal. Do y'all think it will go OOP before too long?

  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Sunday, June 15, 2008 10:03 PM
no, its a new release.  Check gundam store and more, they list their stuff newest to oldest.

 

  • Member since
    May 2008
Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Monday, June 16, 2008 6:33 AM
my bad on the EW kits misread the box. Well the main reason i go those kits was that they cheap and im going to practice some paint techniques, damage, and a diorama with all three in it. so let me paint you a picture. The Zaku II is walking in the forest about to cross a river. He looks right and on top of a cliff is the sniper (GM Sniper Model Kit) and his spotter (RX-79(G) Gundam). A shot rang out and a bullet goes though the eye of the Zaku II. So what do you thing would that be a good dio. would like the opinions
ROBO star wars GB
  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Monday, June 16, 2008 5:17 PM

Sorry to say, it wouldnt work, for a few reasons.

1 - Range and Size.  The size of the mechs, and the range of the sniper rifle.  Most gundam Dios normally do not show more then one mech shooting at eachother because of the size of the required Dio, the distance would be to large, and if you used a small dio, it would look really strange.

2 -  Gm Sniper Rifles.  The GM's sniper rifles arent what they sound like they should be. Instead of a bolt action rifle, or any kind of bullet, its a concentrated laser , used with a cooling system to take down large targets such as mobile armors, they are not necesserialyl used to take out single targets, would not be praticle.

3 - the last one is sort of a aestetics thing.  the Gm sniper is painted and marked to be camoed in the trees, the RX-{G} is not, it would not make sense to have the spotter standing out, unless Camoed, and for that, the RX-{G} was not mass produced, there were alot more GM{G}s then there were Rx-{G}

 

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Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Monday, June 16, 2008 5:48 PM
well it is going to be some what big as well as im going to airbrush all the gundams so if that anwsers #3
ROBO star wars GB
  • Member since
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  • From: Louisville, KY.
Posted by Cosmic J on Monday, June 16, 2008 7:01 PM

Sorry to say, it wouldnt work, for a few reasons.

1 - Range and Size.  The size of the mechs, and the range of the sniper rifle.  Most gundam Dios normally do not show more then one mech shooting at eachother because of the size of the required Dio, the distance would be to large, and if you used a small dio, it would look really strange.

2 -  Gm Sniper Rifles.  The GM's sniper rifles arent what they sound like they should be. Instead of a bolt action rifle, or any kind of bullet, its a concentrated laser , used with a cooling system to take down large targets such as mobile armors, they are not necesserialyl used to take out single targets, would not be praticle.

3 - the last one is sort of a aestetics thing.  the Gm sniper is painted and marked to be camoed in the trees, the RX-{G} is not, it would not make sense to have the spotter standing out, unless Camoed, and for that, the RX-{G} was not mass produced, there were alot more GM{G}s then there were Rx-{G}

Hey, smeagol the vile. I don't understand the intent of this post. That is to say, I understand the words as written, but I do not understand what it is you are attempting to accomplish by posting it. Could you explain? Your intent, I mean.

ROBO SNOWMAN, I think your idea is pretty good. If scale is a problem, you could present it as two mini dioramas on a single board, or two boards that can be locked together.

Model what you like brother, and don't let others tell you what is right and wrong.

If you have a camera, we would love to see 'work in progress' pictures.

Model on - Cosmic John Creed

  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Monday, June 16, 2008 8:02 PM

He asked if his dio would work, as in look right (as I figgure he meant) so I told him why it would not 

 

I mean big as in terms of size.  if you were to make it all to scale, your base would have to be... well, I would say a yard long, atleast 

 

  • Member since
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  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Monday, June 16, 2008 10:17 PM
I think it sounds cool.  Size may be an issue, like Smeagol says, but the other stuff I dont think is a big deal.  The GM doesn't have to be painted like it was in the show.  On all the websites for these master builders I've seen no one does the standard GM scheme, its boring.  And I dont think many people care if you get the usage for the rifle correct.  I think the idea of a sniper team of GMs is cool.  But with 7 inch tall figures that would be a huge dio.  But don't be afraid to be creative Robo.  I think it's Patlabor's signature line that says build to please yourself. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • From: Schaumburg, IL
Posted by SkullGundam on Monday, June 16, 2008 10:19 PM
Oh thats a cool idea Cosmic, two dio boards that you could separate by a lot of space.  Good one. 

If at first you do succeed, try to hide your astonishment.

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  • Member since
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  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Monday, June 16, 2008 11:15 PM

an interlocking Dio would work.

 I did not mean you had to paint it any certain way, but skull is right, build to make yourself happy

 

  • Member since
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Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 5:44 AM
well i planed on the base to be 3-4 feet long and 2-3 feet wide. Would that be to small or a decent size? Plus it is just a start for now ill think of other, better things once i get better at damaging, and airbrushing. 
ROBO star wars GB
  • Member since
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  • From: In transit to new location.
Posted by Puma_Adder on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:07 AM

first off, Smeagol,

The RX-79 [g] was the MASS PRODUCTION type of the gundam during the one year war. the [G] GM was produced in larger numbers, but not by much. this is due to the fact that the war moved once again to space where the final battles of the war took place.

Second, Robo,

 Master Grade is your best bet for gundam modeling hands down. Now that being said, the kits you have chosen arent bad, they just arent as detailed as some of the newer HGUC 1\144 kits available today. as for your dio, it will work as long as you have fun with it. my personal recomendation is to have the poor Zaku caught between the two feddie suits, as spotters for the GM Snipers were often times on the move. also a green camo pattern on the gundam would look kick ***.Big Smile [:D]

Some people spend their whole lives wondering if they made a difference. Gundams don't have that problem.
  • Member since
    May 2008
Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 10:32 AM

Thanks Puma. That gave me a great idea too and I will have fun with it. How about this the sniper is laying prone on cliff aiming at the Zaku II and the spotter jumps of the cliff behind the Zaku. The Zaku turns around to shot at the spotter then the sniper hit him. If you can amgine where they will be.

_______________________________________________________________________

QQQ##QQ#Q (SNIPER) X QQQ###QQ#QQQ####QQQQ##QQQ#QQQ#QQQQQ###QQ

-------------CLIFF---------------------------------|QQ##QQQQ ROCK QQQ###

 ##########FOREST#########################|QQ####QQQ#QQQQ#

 ##########################################|Q#Q#Q#Q#Q#Q#Q

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|#########|~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~QQQQ~~~~~~~~~~~~ | ~~~water fall~~

~~~~QQQ~~~~~RIVER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~__|~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |########### |-------------------

~~~~~~~~#######~~~~~~~~~~~~|################# < X (SPOTTER)

 ~~~~~~~## X >#####~~~~~~~~~~~~~|########################

 ~~~~~~~## (Zaku II) ####~~~~~~~~~~~~ |######################

 ~~~~~~~############~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|#########

~~~~~~~~###############~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~################~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

________________________________________________________________________

So what do you think. By the way how do you like Okinawa. My brother was stationed there about 4 years ago. He was in the 1141 divsion 

ROBO star wars GB
  • Member since
    April 2008
  • From: Philadelphia PA
Posted by smeagol the vile on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 1:21 PM

I know they wre the mass produced version Puma, but they still wernt produced for the batallions outside of the Ukraine area (Odessa and all in 08th ms team)  It was a localized trial for new mass produced suits, and like you said, the battle was moved to space, so there were not many of these mechs, Hense the Ez-8, which was a hodge podge of other sutis because there were no spare parts for it.

As far as the dio, your little outline there looks like it could work, but the dimensions you gave are freaking huge.  Thats like twice to three times the size of normal Dios.

I'm also afraid to say that I think your getting in over your head for your first try 

 

  • Member since
    May 2008
Posted by ROBO SNOWMAN on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 4:11 PM

all i have to say is "give" its a hobby, go big or go play golf lol not the point though. hey its big but if you think about it it a all around training. You got battle damage, a river, a waterfall, loads of landscape, painting, and posing what else could you want . Thats all im saying it will give me lots of different little projects to research and play around with

ROBO star wars GB
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