Gunpla Building Community

This model is kind of special for me. I spent several months in Korea last year on an extended work trip. I got to go to a Gundam Base for the first time and knew that I had to get at least one Gundam Base limited model as a souvenir. Among all of the MG size and translucent models I found the one Gundam that I enjoy with my HG/RG mono-eye loving heart. Of course, they released the GBK-20 two months after I got back to the states, but alas.

The model build was pretty standard fare for an HG. The Caletvwlches were more involved than I expected, each of the 3 being a whole sprue worth of parts unto itself. Getting the dual-handed hold on the dual blade S mode was difficult enough that I almost gave up.

It doesn't look like this community is properly federating to my new instance, so here be a test post of the first MG I built many many moons ago. I coated every piece in Future Floor Acrylic and it was very very glossy when fresh. It's lost some of the shine over the years but thankfully there's not much yellowing.

This is my very first Gunpla and I have some opinions :D

I loved building it, it's a very cool puzzle and once I got in the flow, it was great.

The arms are kinda bad, one of them doesn't extend fully and I don't understand why as it's identical to the other. The hands are awful. Everything else is great, the legs in particular are incredible.

Panel lining with cheap acrylic paint diluted with water and dish soap works very well, and since the paint doesn't adhere completely even when dry, it's very easy to clean.

It's... flimsy. Very flimsy. I don't know if it's this model in particular or if all Gunpla are like this but posing it is more stressful than fun. The arms and the shoulder armor in particular pop off constantly, and I had to glue the crest because it kept flying off.

Now that Im in a new place and have new shelves, I thought it was finally time to bring home the rest of my HG collection from my office

Gundam Epyon (Sturm und Drang unit), with decals and topcoat applied. What I really wanted to do was to have the Epyon hold it straight up with both hands, like the He-Man pose, but alas the wrist articulation doesn't support that pose.

Fun fact: the tip of the tail is actually in one of the holes in the base plate, acting as a brace to keep the model from tipping backwards.

Ended up securing the A5 piece of the Sun Rings with some twist ties, and they're holding very well! I'm calling this one done ✅

Finally got my Maxter in the mail. I can honestly say that there is nothing more American than wearing football pads while shooting sixguns from a surfboard. Of course he looks great fighting against his little Rose friend.

Not mine, just sharing. That's some damn fine shot composition.

I kinda wish Lemmy had polls right now. With my spare A5 almost in my hands I'm looking forward to the next build, but I can't decide if I should start a HG Zaku/Ghost/Victory moon fight scene or the ver.Ka RX-93 with double fin funnels. A poll would make it so much easier to quickly get the opinion of my fellow builders! Oh well, I'm still interested in your opinions! Which do you think will be cooler or more fun to do next?

Decent build, all around. If I had one complaint, it'd be the clamps holding the feet to the surfboard. The clamps have a single peg at the back that go into the grooves on the board, which allows for some fairly dynamic poses, but they're at risk of popping out if the Maxter gets jiggled too hard.

I might keep it like this, or I might switch to having the armor blasting off as well; haven't quite decided yet.

The RG is an old build, and the NG is positively prehistoric. It's amazing how far the engineering has come in the past... math... years... uhhhhhhhh...

MelodiousFunk.exe has stopped responding

Got this thinking it was an HG kit, and opaque (Amazon seller had an incorrect listing.) Turns out it's not HG. Reminds me of the couple of no grades I've got.

Overall cool, and only one unused piece, but hard to keep the legs on. The translucent plastic feels pretty brittle and the stress/sanding marks are seemingly impossible to get out.

If I knew more about the specifics of this kit before buying, I probably wouldn't have. But I did, I built it, and Domon spent long enough for his brother. No need keeping them apart now!

Got these printed up by a friend at a sign shop. Took a while to cut bc the transparencies were thicker than normal. xacto wasn't doing the trick well enough for me, so I had to take my time with small scissors.

They all fit the stands well (despite some slight warping I'm choosing to get over now. they've been hit with a coat each of a small and large flake clear coat, and the top coat is now drying.

All that remains now is sucking it up and modifying the A5 piece that attaches to the core lander. I'm thinking I'll probably wait to try that until my second A5 piece has been confirmed to have started it's journey from Japan. I'd hate to mess this up and have to sit and brood on that without an ETA for a replacement to the very vital last piece.

I swear they made these 2 HGs with what I’m doing in mind lol The only modding I had to do to the gundam was cutting and separating the front skirts. The back skirt was already designed to be able to tilt upwards at the waist. Next up is drilling slots for a slightly modified sun rings attachment to fit onto the core fighter for the full effect!

More pictures

The concept and the look of the Slave Wraiths intrigued me so I was excited to put together my first matching squad of gunpla. The Slave Wraith logo decals look quite good for stickers, but I might want to find some water slide versions later to "deputize" other models.

Also getting better at my new game of "balance on one foot" instead of just ponying up for more stands.

I got the HG 1/144 GM (Shoulder Cannon Equipped/Missile Pod Equipped) and I’m super excited to build it!

My experience with water transfer decals is lacking, I did some on my Guncannon and you can see an edge on one of the larger leg decals.

Any tips/tools/recommendations to help me make the decals look as clean as possible?

I’ve got tweezers and a craft knife, not sure what tools would help, I’ve seen those little sponge tools and decal fluid. I’ve tried different soaking times and suspect I was impatient. Honestly the whole process was pretty fiddly and stressful and this dude has WAY MORE TO DO!

MG Hazel Owsla is back!

Good HG, but I feel like a part of me died when I realized the foil stickers actually did make the build easier/look better than painting. I was also a bit bummed my yellow paint wasn't laying down well, so I switched to gold for the small stuff that should be yellow. I tried some firsts for me in it too: testors white lightning and Tamiya panel liner 👨🏼‍🍳👌 chefs kiss on both. I'm expecting some cutting/part removal when he's mounted on the mobile horse.

It's always bothered me that F91 and Turn A enemy MS kits have always been so hard to find. This looks like a WAAAY better kit than the Zollidia kit a grabbed about a year ago (one day I'll paint and assemble it.) But this Flat has me pondering making it next!

I finished putting together the XM-XX Ghost Gundam, and holy crap this was the best model building experience I've ever had. While the special shiny finish was perfect, the massive amount of undergates helped maintain the finish, except some of the arm pieces.

However, the true standout was just how well every piece fit together. These pieces slid together like they were made out of silk. It just felt so nice.

More pics of the two together: https://imgur.com/a/hf4HUbL

The Origin MG RX-78-2 was a real blast to put together! I recommend it for anyone on the fence about grabbing it. Worth. it.

Next up will be God Gundam+Fuunsaiki. I’ve got some rings printed on a type of transparency. I just have to cut them out and I’ll be able to have all the fun RG goodies on my HG!

Finally have finished this kit.