Gunpla Building Community

Nothing too fancy with this one, just panel lining, G-Rework decals, and matte topcoat.

This is a special edition of MG Freedom 2.0 with Cross Contrast and clear colors. It also came with unique water slide decals and a clear Action Base 1 instead of the crappy stand that other MG Seed kits get. I panel lined with silver enamel paint and sprayed matte topcoat to give the clear parts a frosty look.

Unlike some other model kits, this one has an English accent!

Anyway, my first foray into 30MF. The line has some sort of lore about the world getting wrecked by meteors and the human survivors creating robots to reclaim the world, but honestly no one really cares about that. The core of this kit is the gray silhouette body, over which you stick all the armor pieces. The archer line doesn't appear to have any upgrade kits, although you can swap out the armor with any other humanoid 30MF kit.

The bowstring is a strip of PET, which was an unexpected choice (I was half-expecting wire or something), but it makes sense in practice, since the string needs to keep tension to look good, and the PET works in that regard. Also, the quiver is technically supposed to attach to the back, but as someone who actually dabbled with archery in the past I always found hip quivers to be way better, so onto the side skirt it goes.

I wasn’t the most happy with my Jigabachi paint job. I airbrushed but kept getting a rough texture. I was using 15-18psi with pre thinned lacquer paints but especially on larger pieces something wasn’t working right. Took a break then figured that the mini tachikoma that came with that same model would be perfect for some trial and error.

This time I used a can of primer instead of the Mr surfacer bottle. I used all the same paints but decided to build up the color more gradually. This is where I had the problem I think. I read that with gloss and metallics you want to put on a nice wet coat but I know that orange peel/ rough texture can come from putting the paint on too thick/fast.

I started with a super fine misting of the color before setting it down and getting to other pieces. Once done, say 5-10mins I’d go back to the first piece with about the same type of coating. 5 or 6 passes latter and the color was basically where I wanted. I then did a wetter coat, wet enough that I could see a glossy sheen, and that was my last coat for the paint. Let dry for 24hrs and hit it with a gloss, let dry another 24, then did the detail paints by hand. Red enamel for the lights, black for the “eyes” and other dark marks, and silver for the bare metal.

I’m super happy with the result. I think I found my airbrush problem and I did decently well with the hand painting. I have two more of these mini Tachikoma so I think I’ll try to get the colors for the others from the episode where the three Tachikoma break out to save Batou. Yellow/black construction type and I think the other was like a rnd style grey. Or maybe a red one like the Arise model

Just finished installing the under frame. I'm so reluctant to add on the armor and have been taking weeks having the figure sit in the back of the kitchen table while admiring the details when eating.

HGRfV RX-78(G)E Gundam EX (Preliminary)

Still have to finish up the water slide decals I bought for it, but I'm already pretty happy with the result.

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#gunpla #gundam #highgrade #hgrfv #modelkits #plamo #mecha #gundamrequiemforvengeance

HG Qubeley Revive

This is a pleasantly funky design and a fun build.

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#highgrade #hguc #gunpla #gundam #zetagundam #mecha #modelkit #modelkits #plamo

Now that I'm done with model shows for a while, I've shifted gears and decided to work on some girlpla for a while. This one is mostly a straight build, with a bit of panel lining, some decals, and matte topcoat. Overall, it's a good build, and great value for what comes in the box, including 2 full models and lots of accessories, not to mention pre-painted and detailed pieces.

The base kit is, of course, the Ecopla MG Aile Strike ver RM, with the Launcher/Sword Striker pack addon. The recycled plastic feels a lot softer than with regular kits when using nippers (I'd say they're about the same as normal ABS runners, maybe a little softer, when normally PS runners are a lot more snappy when snipping the gates). If you've ever done anything with kits from Chinese plamo companies like MS General or Eastern Model, it's a pretty similar experience.

Strictly speaking, the pink I mixed up for the addon highlights unfortunately isn't neon, but I wasn't willing to shell out money getting fluorescent pigment just for this. Fortunately, it is still close enough to pass at first glance, so I'm satisfied on that front.

One complaint I do have about the Perfect Strike is that the equipment gets super crowded. When the giant sword is stashed on the Aile Striker pack, it gets in the way of the Launcher Striker shoulder armor, so the right shoulder has to be hunched forward.

Also, this will literally never come up again, but in keeping with the lore the pilot minifig in the cockpit is Mu la Flaga, not Kira Yamato (MG Aile Strike ver RM comes with sitting and standing minifigs for both characters, and the sitting Mu is in fact slightly larger than the sitting Kira). I ended up hacking apart the sitting Kira minifig and gluing it back together to provide a pilot for the extra core block I want to make for the MG 2.0 Gundam American Type I did awhile back.

For some reason, I couldn’t make a new post so I have edited last weeks thread.

✨THE GUNDAM BASE CHICAGO IS COMING WINTER 2025 ✨

"THE GUNDAM BASE" launches its first permanent North American location at Fashion Outlets of Chicago!

Stay tuned for more information.

Great news for builders in the USA. This will be the first permanent Gundam Base stateside. Even if you don't live near Chicago, it's still closer than Japan.

I played with lighting a bit to see if I could get it to glow more.

I forgot to post on Sunday again.

T-Spark Realize Zoids Command Wolf

This is my first Takara Tomy kit. Ignoring the retail price, this is actually a pretty fun build. Good surface detail, good articulation. Some over-reliance on polycaps despite otherwise being entirely PS.

For what it is, though, the retail is way too high (unless you're a big Zoids Command Wolf fan, I'd guess). The pilot figures are a nice touch.

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#mecha #takaratomy #modelkits #Tomy #plamo

RG Gundam Epyon (with decals)

I finally finished putting the decals on my RG Gundam Epyon. Even with the matte top coat I've flaked off two of them, but I'm still happy with the result. I love this kit.

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What is going on in your world?

How's it going? What are you building? What are your thoughts on it? Any issues? Any kits you have your eye on?

SDEX Sazabi

Finished this a week or so back but haven't had a chance to post it. Honestly not terribly happy with how my detail painting turned out, but it's good enough to go on the wall with the rest.

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#gunpla #gundam #SuperDeformed #sdex #mecha #modelkits #plamo

What’s in your backlog? What are you waiting on to ship? Do you have anything cool in the works?

Inspired by the P-Bandai iron-blooded coating kits, I decided I could make my own and do it better. I used the ZeroPlan Wolf Claw kit as well.