Gundam/model building

[notbrain]

I have this RG 1/144 RX-78 Gundam GP-01 FB Full Burnern kit, but when I went and saw GundamnGuy's customized build it went on the shelf in order to meditate on how to scratch build...too many hobbies!

http://gundamguy.blogspot.com/2013/10/rg-1144-rx-78-gundam-gp-01-fb-full.html

[SJHL]

I noticed that a lot of people use airbrush for detailing. Can hand paint be just as good? I want to pick up this hobby again but this time, I want to try painting also. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

[filphil]

When you say detailing there are a few things that come to mind. Full on paint jobs I wholly recommend an airbrush.

Most detailing such as panel lining or weathering can be done with brushes or other tools.

There's different levels of commitment that you can make to have a good looking kit. If you're getting back in to it give at least one straight build a try without paint since kits have really changed from what was made 5+ years ago

[Fire Brand]

I would also like to add to what fil said and say I would highly recommend getting a good quality pair of side cutters and possibly files or a few different sets of sand paper (1000-2000grit) to get rid of pesky nub marks as just having a good set of cutters makes all the difference especially with RG stuff since the parts are so small, and it will improve the look if your just straight building, then slap some matte or gloss top coat and call it done.

As for airbrushing I'm not the best to ask as I have mainly a background in 40k which is mainly hand painted but, I would suggest having a little look on YouTube at a few painting tutorials as they are quite In depth.

[Halverson]

Saw Bearguy at a Barnes and Noble, and petit Bearguy. I want them all!

[romevi]

Saw Bearguy at a Barnes and Noble, and petit Bearguy. I want them all!

They sell Bearguys--I mean, Gunpla at all, at B&N?!

[Halverson]

Saw Bearguy at a Barnes and Noble, and petit Bearguy. I want them all!

They sell Bearguys--I mean, Gunpla at all, at B&N?!

Yup! You can even check out what they have online!

[SJHL]

Appreciate the advice. I'll check out how different it is now from few years back and start from there.   

[filphil]

Appreciate the advice. I'll check out how different it is now from few years back and start from there.   

Saw Bearguy at a Barnes and Noble, and petit Bearguy. I want them all!

They sell Bearguys--I mean, Gunpla at all, at B&N?!

Yup! You can even check out what they have online!

Bearguy and the MG ball are the epitome of blank slates for custom builds. 

[romevi]

Appreciate the advice. I'll check out how different it is now from few years back and start from there.   

Saw Bearguy at a Barnes and Noble, and petit Bearguy. I want them all!

They sell Bearguys--I mean, Gunpla at all, at B&N?!

Yup! You can even check out what they have online!

Bearguy and the MG ball are the epitome of blank slates for custom builds. 

Show Image

 :eek:

[Halverson]

Appreciate the advice. I'll check out how different it is now from few years back and start from there.   

Saw Bearguy at a Barnes and Noble, and petit Bearguy. I want them all!

They sell Bearguys--I mean, Gunpla at all, at B&N?!

Yup! You can even check out what they have online!

Bearguy and the MG ball are the epitome of blank slates for custom builds. 

Show Image

That is so badass!

[noisyturtle]

Having a little fun with my first Real Grade:

[Sinanju]

Having a little fun with my first Real Grade:

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Love the idea and detail of the RG line.  Just have the majority of my kits being MG, and would drive me nuts having two different scales.

Currently working on a MG RX-78-2 Ver3.0

Also have made the following:
Seed: MG Strike RM, MG Aegis, MG Duel, MG Buster, MG Blitz.  Looking forward to the MG Freedom 2.0 that was announced.
UC: MG Unicorn HD, MG Jesta
Other: MG Exia
Also have a PG Gundam Astry Red Frame from winning one of those Gundam.Info giveaways that they give when you buy a kit during a certain period.

Like the name implies, I did have a MG Sinanju, but it got ruined right before I left for basic.  Spent forever sanding, priming,  spraying silver and then clear red on it to make it look the best I could and bam; ruined. I did buy another one, but I keep getting speed bump after speed bump with either my airbrush or the compressor and don't want to risk screwing up the kit at this point.

[Fire Brand]

Also have a PG Gundam Astry Red Frame from winning one of those Gundam.Info giveaways that they give when you buy a kit during a certain period.

Ahem

**** off you won one of those, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck me

Yeah thats pretty awesome
Yup
Yup


Pictures once its completed please
Also your MG are like 1/144 for the PG .-.

[hwood34]

Also have a PG Gundam Astry Red Frame from winning one of those Gundam.Info giveaways that they give when you buy a kit during a certain period.

Oh well that's just not fair...

[Sinanju]

Also have a PG Gundam Astry Red Frame from winning one of those Gundam.Info giveaways that they give when you buy a kit during a certain period.

Ahem

**** off you won one of those, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck me

Yeah thats pretty awesome
Yup
Yup


Pictures once its completed please
Also your MG are like 1/144 for the PG .-.

Won it almost two years ago, and has been made.  I'll try to get some pics up later when I can actually try to use something better than my phone.

This is the actual campaign: http://www.bandai-asia.com/gundaminfo-en_4th/result.php

I figured everyone would go for the bundles, so I went for 1 bundle and the single Red Frame.  Turned out pretty well, you can even see some of the RG prizes didn't even have enough entries (12 winners listed out of 16 prizes for example)

Definitely made my day when I read the results.

For the RX-78-2, I am just about to start on the shoulder armor.  Torso, and arms snapped together so far.  Really impressed by the color separation with all the different shades of white and grey.  Only gripe I have so far is the manipulator armor being black. Think it would look a lot nicer matching the rest of the arm armor.

[OfTheWild]

These are pretty sweet! Makes me want to grab some cheaper ones and work on my skills. I have 2 EVA's (00 and 02) from like 20 years ago that have been sitting in my closet. They will get built one day but maybe once i have some skills.

[KatzenKinder]

Picked up RG Zaku II yey

[alienman82]

removed.

[Sinanju]

neighbor just gave me 10 or so airplane models.  Gotta get those together at some point.  Junkers plane is my fav

Pretty cool neighbor.  Usually just stick with gundams, but want to get a nice detailed UH-60 at some point. 

As promised, pictures of the PG.  Phone camera unfortunately.
Dusty unfortunately, I want to get one of those detolf glass displays from Ikea but its like $350 shipped vs $67 picked up.


Finishing up the MG RX-78-2.  Debating on how to finish it. I kinda want to just put on decals + panel line and then possibly do a flat coat or do I need to do a gloss coat first for the decals?  Have heard both techniques.

[filphil]

[xJudas]

I wish I had the patience or artistic skill for this. These models you guys are posting are amazing.

[filphil]

I wish I had the patience or artistic skill for this. These models you guys are posting are amazing.

Oh **** you're in NJ.  I know a few places to pick up gunpla if you wanna talk. 

There's actually very little artistic ability necessary.  If you've ever heard of the 80/20 rule you'll  get 80% of a great looking kit for about 20% of the knowledge to get some of the higher caliber stuff you see on blogs and such.  Of course those numbers are made up but it can illustrate the point. 

Patience, however, is the real trait you need.  Something I really lack to be honest.

[xJudas]

I wish I had the patience or artistic skill for this. These models you guys are posting are amazing.

Oh **** you're in NJ.  I know a few places to pick up gunpla if you wanna talk. 

There's actually very little artistic ability necessary.  If you've ever heard of the 80/20 rule you'll  get 80% of a great looking kit for about 20% of the knowledge to get some of the higher caliber stuff you see on blogs and such.  Of course those numbers are made up but it can illustrate the point. 

Patience, however, is the real trait you need.  Something I really lack to be honest.

The extent to my creativity seem to end at just putting them together, any suggestions, or guides about this 80/20 would be appreciated.

[filphil]

I wish I had the patience or artistic skill for this. These models you guys are posting are amazing.

Oh **** you're in NJ.  I know a few places to pick up gunpla if you wanna talk. 

There's actually very little artistic ability necessary.  If you've ever heard of the 80/20 rule you'll  get 80% of a great looking kit for about 20% of the knowledge to get some of the higher caliber stuff you see on blogs and such.  Of course those numbers are made up but it can illustrate the point. 

Patience, however, is the real trait you need.  Something I really lack to be honest.

The extent to my creativity seem to end at just putting them together, any suggestions, or guides about this 80/20 would be appreciated.

Show Image

It's not exclusive to gunpla but...

http://betterexplained.com/articles/understanding-the-pareto-principle-the-8020-rule/


For a actual info on building better looking gunpla look no further.  Painting is more involved of course but everything you read from the guide I post will help build a solid foundation for painting. 

http://goodguydangunpla.blogspot.com/2013/08/building-for-beginners-tips-and-tricks.html

[romevi]

Flushing the sprue marks and giving a top coat always worked for me. The only time I'd consider painting is if I wanted to give it a different feel, eg weathered or so, which I've never done.

Some people can be extremely talented with customizing their kits.

[mr.squishy]

I was at an anime convention this weekend and saw a few gunpla kits. I almost bought one but they were expensive and I figured I could get cheaper ones online anyway.

[HouseofSuffering]

Not Gundam. But I hunted down and commissioned the best Gunpla guy I could find. I wanted someone that could do the subtle shading in the red and blue to give the colors depth, even though they were just solid colors.

Resin Garage kits straight from Japan.




Guy does amazing work and post lots of videos


Matt Mzorek
https://www.youtube.com/user/mvm3897/videos

[OfTheWild]

Not Gundam. But I hunted down and commissioned the best Gunpla guy I could find. I wanted someone that could do the subtle shading in the red and blue to give the colors depth, even though they were just solid colors.

Resin Garage kits straight from Japan.

Guy does amazing work and post lots of videos


Matt Mzorek

Awesome! I'm a big FLCL fan too. Now i need to find a kit!

[filphil]

It's hard to tell but the shading on that red cape looks great. 

[HouseofSuffering]

It's hard to tell but the shading on that red cape looks great.

Yeah, sorry, these are the only pics I have on me and they are from my previous phone that took **** pictures. Pics are from 2012.

He is a Professional Photographer by trade so he usually does a photo shoot after he finishes a project.

[HouseofSuffering]

Not Gundam. But I hunted down and commissioned the best Gunpla guy I could find. I wanted someone that could do the subtle shading in the red and blue to give the colors depth, even though they were just solid colors.

Resin Garage kits straight from Japan.

Guy does amazing work and post lots of videos


Matt Mzorek

Awesome! I'm a big FLCL fan too. Now i need to find a kit!

Closest thing you would be able to find is the Rio Bone Canti made by Sentinel, those are a pre painted figures and a little smaller/less detailed. Those ones are pretty expensive now, though.


Finding the original kits that mine were made from was hard as hell back then (2010). I bought them straight from Japan from this guy.
http://tokyohunter.blogspot.com/2010/05/funny-bunny-flcl-canti-color-resin-kit.html
 It would be almost impossible to find them now and extremely expensive.....maybe someone knowledgeable in Japan could source them.....but be prepared to pay up the ass for some pieces of resin. LOL

It's kinda sad how little toys/figures were made for such a popular anime....

[alienman82]

removed.

[xJudas]

I wish I had the patience or artistic skill for this. These models you guys are posting are amazing.

Oh **** you're in NJ.  I know a few places to pick up gunpla if you wanna talk. 

There's actually very little artistic ability necessary.  If you've ever heard of the 80/20 rule you'll  get 80% of a great looking kit for about 20% of the knowledge to get some of the higher caliber stuff you see on blogs and such.  Of course those numbers are made up but it can illustrate the point. 

Patience, however, is the real trait you need.  Something I really lack to be honest.

The extent to my creativity seem to end at just putting them together, any suggestions, or guides about this 80/20 would be appreciated.

Show Image

what cap is that?  my friend has one too :)

It's a squirrel, came with my Vortex set :P

[filphil]

Buddy of mine helped with clearing out the backlog.

On the way back to me

[noisyturtle]

[filphil]

Show Image

The struggle is real. 

[asdfjkl36]

Buddy of mine helped with clearing out the backlog.

On the way back to me

Show Image

Duuuuude!

I want some Zoids stuff!!!

[filphil]

Buddy of mine helped with clearing out the backlog.

On the way back to me

Show Image

Duuuuude!

I want some Zoids stuff!!!

The Zoids kits are a nice break from gundam.  It's pretty refreshing

[Sinanju]

1:2 BB-8



I'm trying to figure out reasons why I don't need it, but I'm having trouble coming up with them.  Maybe pending price or really big in size.

[romevi]

1:2 BB-8

Show Image

I'm trying to figure out reasons why I don't need it, but I'm having trouble coming up with them.  Maybe pending price or really big in size.

Other than it being nearly impossible to import?

[Fire Brand]

I always forget something, well now you reminded me, put this fellow together need to paint him up yet, I'm thinking spray him all silver then clear red coat him for a nice metallic finish, anywho SD's are growing on me..
Astroid time by Pixelated Poro, on Flickr

[romevi]

I always forget something, well now you reminded me, put this fellow together need to paint him up yet, I'm thinking spray him all silver then clear red coat him for a nice metallic finish, anywho SD's are growing on me..

Show Image

Astroid time by Pixelated Poro, on Flickr

I still gotta finish my RX-78-2.

[noisyturtle]

I went back East last week for a wedding and got to see all my old Gunpla and Zoids from my childhood. Unfortunately many of them were in a flimsy box with no protection that had a heavy wooden crate placed on top, thus gradually crushing and breaking some of them over the last two decades. It was a little sad

[Sinanju]

1:2 BB-8

Show Image

I'm trying to figure out reasons why I don't need it, but I'm having trouble coming up with them.  Maybe pending price or really big in size.

Other than it being nearly impossible to import?

I wasn't aware of an importation problem, but that would be a decent reason unfortunately.


Hoping to maybe get another compressor and to finish my Sinanju. Compressors keep dying on me, and it is incredibly frustrating.

[noisyturtle]

Bandai has been rereleasing a TON of newly manufactured old school kits and some sweet new ones.

Heavily considering picking up this MG Full Armor Thunderbolt Ver. Ka

[romevi]

Bandai has been rereleasing a TON of newly manufactured old school kits and some sweet new ones.

Heavily considering picking up this MG Full Armor Thunderbolt Ver. Ka

Show Image

I have that one pre-ordered. So much for such a good price.

[noisyturtle]

Bandai has been rereleasing a TON of newly manufactured old school kits and some sweet new ones.

Heavily considering picking up this MG Full Armor Thunderbolt Ver. Ka

Show Image

I have that one pre-ordered. So much for such a good price.

Love the Thunderbots for sure. I'm really looking forward to a future announcement for an MG High mobility Thunderbolt Zaku as well, their HG model looks fantastic but HG aint for me.

edit - I stand corrected, it has already been announced!  :thumb:
https://gundamguy.blogspot.com/2016/04/mg-1100-high-mobility-type-zaku-psycho.html

[romevi]

Bandai has been rereleasing a TON of newly manufactured old school kits and some sweet new ones.

Heavily considering picking up this MG Full Armor Thunderbolt Ver. Ka

Show Image

I have that one pre-ordered. So much for such a good price.

Love the Thunderbots for sure. I'm really looking forward to a future announcement for an MG High mobility Thunderbolt Zaku as well, their HG model looks fantastic but HG aint for me.

edit - I stand corrected, it has already been announced!  :thumb:
https://gundamguy.blogspot.com/2016/04/mg-1100-high-mobility-type-zaku-psycho.html

Dang, nice!

Same about HG. Prefer MG and above. Also, a crapton of Dragon Ball Figurerise suddenly are coming out.

[Purp]

The models you're sharing are freakin awesome, I really need to get into gundam.