MG Gundam Sandrock EW Roll-Out Color Version

Definitely there is no denying that I was eagerly itching to paint this kit after I had snapped-fit it a few days ago. After this is I'll be back to my destroy mode to finally wrap up the Unicorn. Anyway, here is the so called roll-out version - ala Exia roll-out color that I also previously did with the Gundam Virtue. At first, I thought of retaining the original white color   of the OOB because it's already a bit fine. It has a sort of off-white but still quite "plasticky" when stared at. So I then proceeded in painting it. 

The customisation I had made revolved only with the paint job. I had painted it with a flat grey and graphite. Metallic blue and honey gold for the accents. Later on, I applied soft weathering. Then of course the decals. Photos are all raw - no photoshop tricks here.

I tinkered with the B/W of my camera. Hmmmm... quite serene or dramatic for a portrait.

Out of the Box - MG Gundam Sandrock EW

Here it is! , MG Gundam Sandrock EW from the Gundam Wing Series. Staright out of the box after I've snapped fitted it. I have to admit that I temporarily froze the work on my Unicorn "Ver Ka". It took the whole night to assemble the kit. I didn't put any decals yet since I will soon paint it anyway. And just a preview and I have to say, it has a pair of sexy but a "kick-ass" heat shotels. Plus its shield is awesome!

A Glimpse of the Gundam Unicorn "Ver Ka" Metallic Inox Steel Finish

While I was on my way of trying to complete MG Gundam Unicorn "Ver Ka", the Banshee Unicorm suddenly popped out at the end of the scene in the episode 4 of the Unicorm series. Grrrr! that Banshee surely looks astonishingly cool. Apparently, the HGUC Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode versions will be rolled-out by Bandai this coming January 2012 according to gundam.info as shown in the picture way below.

Here (above) is by the way the progress I have made with my Unicorn - so called Metallic Inox Steel Finish. I custom painted it with a mixture of carbon graphite and silver to achieve a diffrent effect so it's NOT glossy like the typical Titanium Finish that Bandai released. Though the details are not yet really visble here in the photo. I will post more detailed photos in the future once I have completed the kit. So far I have only put a couple of decals  and have to weather it. The weapons too are yet to be assembled.

Assault Virtue Roll-Out Color Version 1:100

Here it is as promised. Gundam Virtue 1:00 Review. Among the other units of the 00 gundam series Exia, Dynames, and Kyrios, the Gundam Virtue has caught my attention in the episode 10 when this mammoth size bulk purged its armor. Its massiveness may not be typically attractive but I find this kit interesting.

I was itching to buy this kit before but the stocks were usually unavailable. Until last month I was able to grab one. Surprisingly, its price is the same as other MG kits. I really don't know why until I had opened the box and found lots of runners! It should have been an MG. Only the absence of an inner frame has classified it as a No-grade. Nontheless, this kit is fun to build and customize.

Coming Soon!.....Assault Virtue: The Roll-out Color Version

Still in progress but I have managed to get a good clean shot of his face! Huge but menacing! I'll post everything once completed. I'm still working out Gundam Nadleeh inside.

Why Snap Fit?

Why Snap Fit? A review of 00 Gundam Raiser No-grade 1:100 has the answers why I rebuilt it. Certainly if you're going to simply make an out of the box build and not go beyond it then there is nothing to talk about it except of course certain ways on how to make a smooth and clean straight-build. But there are questions come to play on why do we commonly Snap-Fit our kits.

What will be the Paint/Color Scheme? Visualisation takes a better place once the model is in the palm of your hands after the snap fitting it. Choosing which kind of color will suit or not in each part of the kit gives you a more in-depth idea and concept so that it can be more tailored to your taste. It's also good to take a picture. I even play with the colors in photoshop so I can imagine vividly the colors.

Any Modifications? If you're a hard core gunpla maker then snap fitting is a sure kind of way to study all the parts- proportions, scale, articulations, etc. before starting the mods. This method really takes out a hell of imagination and artistic sense. And sometimes it's a make or break thing when dealing with mods. I have seen some awesome modifications and messy ones. So if you want take it to another level then snap fitting before the mods is the way to go.

Which Part/s to Paint or not? During the time when I built my first kit, I was so eager to custom paint it. Not paying attention to the value of snap fitting.  A grave mistake! I painted each part first before assembling them. And when assembling took place.... there are parts that are so difficult to fit together. It was because I even had painted the pegs and some of the joints. Bandai was so damn good that the parts are really measured to last millimeter so that when fitting the parts they snap perfectly.

Then, I finally realized that I had ruined my first kit's paint job after I had already assembled other kits. So I decided to rebuild it and fix the paint job. I disassembled and painted again the messed-up parts. So the photos you see here are my 00gundam's re-incarnation. The Raiser is not yet finished so for now here they are. No photoshop tricks here... these are all raw pics:)

51st All Japan Model & Hobby Show

The Bandai booth! Photos are from the this year's Japan Model and Hobby Show

Images are courtesy of Bandai. Click the link to enjoy the pics!

http://bandai-hobby.net/site/20111013hobbyshow3.html

Thanks for viewing!

Gunpla Assembly Icon Guides

Ever wondered what are those icons in our gunpla manuals? I had came accross to this image below. (Gosh I forgot what the site was.) Hopefully, the translations will speak for the icons themselves. Especially, if you're a newbie in dealing with the different parts of the runners, gates, and etc. I remember my first encounter in assembling my new kit. I was quite hesitant at that time in every gate that I cut and every part that I snap fit. the instruction manual was really Japanese and solely intended for Japan use only - as Bandai had written in cover.

Full Cloth Shin Musha - Sengoku Jin Version 2

As I had posted earlier, here is now the complete review of my Shin Musha. It's not the actual Sengoku Jin kit that normally you would buy in the market but I have created my own version on top of the basic Shin Musha kit. Initially, I was itching to buy an Exia MG kit from the 00 series. But whata hell... I found this kit that caught my attention. There was however a Sengoku Jin available, but it was really quite pricey. Anyway, why not create a sort of a diorama that will be a customized version?

After tinkering with the parts of the unit including the kind and colors of the paint to be used, it took me more than 2-3 weeks to finish everything. Of course, I have to deal with the kit only after my work from office which I have to spend up to the wee hours of the night to assemble the kit.

A Prelude to Full Cloth Shin Musha

I am posting now some test shots to a Full Cloth Shin Musha that I am still currently working. It's probably almost nearing its completion. I tried to make some poses and gave a thought of some of its other potentials. Anyway, here is a couple of other photos. I just really love the details of the pistons in its leg. One attribute that cuts an MG kit above the rest.



Astraea Type-F Review in Full Detail

A side story to the Gundam 00 Series is the Mobile Suite Gundam 00F. The Astraea Type-F piloted by Fon Spaak. The manga never made it to the anime. I just hope Sunrise would do someday. This is an interesting piece of model kit compared to the other Non-grade gundam kits I have seen and have assembled. This one is far better than other older MG kits or equally at par with the current MG kits nowadays. The package has lots of runners! Also, since this is a different version of the Astraea, it has some parts of the Exia as well. Most of all, I like its articulations including its weapons - GN rifle and GN bazooka!

Because I custom made this, I veered away from its stock red color. I used a different paint scheme. I prepped the kit especially the joints with graphite spray paint and then have it finished with a Yamaha Red Spray paint. The tricky part in the painting is having the two mixtures of paint react evenly together. So in effect, the red translucent paint has to eat-up with the graphite's mixture.

But before I further discuss later the customisations I did, here are the pics! or see them featured at hobbylink.tv

Deathscythe Hell Custom HG-The Review

Here is a jump to my 3rd gunpla. Not posting yet about my second one which I finished almost a month ago, I think there are some quite interesting details which I will discuss later on my next blog. I haven't had the time to post anything for quite such a long time since my 00 Raiser. But for now, here is the menacing Deathscythe Hell Custom from the Endless Waltz movie piloted by Duo Maxwell. From my experience of assembling gunpla kits of the 00 gundam series, I would say there are a lot of flaws that I have seen in the joints, articulation, and panels of the parts in this High Grade from way back 1998. I can easily compare for example like the knee articulation alone that even the No Grade version of the 00 series beats this HG. The knee cap  exposes the joint way too deep. It separates from the movement of the joint. Unlike from the 00 Raiser the knee armor cap goes along with the movement of the joint.  Nonetheless, it's a point of interest to anyone who would make kits from the Wing series.

But anyway, a positive thing about this kit is its look and peculiarity. Some may say its awkward because of its bat wings look a like. But personally, I find it unique and creative for the designer of this kit to conceptualize and produce this in the 90's much more so if it is an MG. I added only a few details for this kit. I put stainless cylinders on the shoulders, drilled  holes on the panels, coil overs at the sides of the abdomen- these customisations I will discuss on my next blog. Paints are spray cans and gunmetal.

First 00 Gundam & first customized

  



My first customized gundam kit. Likewise I would say it's my first gundam kit as well. For a newbie, it's not that I'm bragging what I posted here but I'm just honestly proud of whatever I have customized to my 00 raiser. It took me sometime in pondering if I gonna purchase this gundam kit. I have been an avid follower of the 00 Series from the Seed Destiny Series. And now I'm hooked in the Unicorn Episodes. I have just finished watching the  episode 3. And now I am eagerly awaiting the succeeding episodes to come.

Customisation took me a lot of time with my imagination in what type of paint to be used, color combination, preparations, etc. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to picture the procedures I have made just like from other sites that showed the way they assembled their kits because I was quite anxious if what I will do will be enough or okay. To give further detail, I used acrylic spray cans. The limbs which I really like, have a combination of two (2) paints. It's a combination of gold sparkle and graphite finish. Having the graphite applied first and while it is wet I sprayed on the gold sparkle in order for it to react with graphite - giving it a so called gold-carbon finish look! The rest, blue and red, are also sprayed on with my graphite finish.

So there you go.... in my next posting, I'll explain in further how I accomplished such customization. But for now, all the photos below are all raw images and are unedited! - no photoshop here or whatever photo effects and tricks.