Gunpla

Mechanicore – Tief Stürmer/Deep Striker Kit Review Part 1: Kit Introduction
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Mechanicore – Tief Stürmer/Deep Striker Kit Review Part 1: Kit Introduction

Welcome to my multi-part review of Mechanicore’s latest release, the 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer.

Late last year I finished the Elyn Hobby 1/100 scale Kshatriya. It was a mighty big challenge in part because there were only a few English reviews of the kit out there and just a handful of galleries with photos suitable as a build reference. None of them really went into detail about trouble areas so I knew something was headed my way, just not sure what. My hope for this mega review is to provide that aspect for folks looking to pick up and build the Tief Stürmer. In photos of the built, from the first folks to build the Stürmer, I noticed fitment issues and resulting cracks. With any luck I’ll run into issues like that so folks building their own will be better prepared. read more

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Zoids HMM Death Stinger Review
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Zoids HMM Death Stinger Review

Behold, Kotobukiya’s first entry in to the HMM (Highend Master Model) Zoids line since 2013, the Death Stinger.

If you’ve read any of my Kotobukiya kit reviews in the past you’ll know that I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with them. They always look fantastic and are loaded with detail, sometimes above and beyond what you’d expect from the kit. They’re also very hit and miss when it comes to engineering/build quality, most feature one or two areas that are a frustrating pain in the ass. The HMM line is no different. Of the 8, I’ve built thus far, including the Death Stinger, the Death Stinger is only the third that I’d recommend to the majority of builders. read more

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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Complete
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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Complete

Welcome to my end-of-build write up for the 1/100 Elyn Hobby Kshatriya. I’m going to spend quite a bit of time talking about the kit and the build so if you’re just interested in pretty pictures you’re more than welcome to scroll down toward the end of this article.

Elyn Hobby Kshatriya, what’s that?

It’s perhaps the most ambitious, and disastrous first model release from a company ever.

A few years back Elyn Hobby released a 1/100 scale model of the NZ-666 Kshatriya from Gundam Unicorn. A bootleg out of China, it was very hard to acquire both due to its price tag and, from what I’ve heard, legal action from Bandai preventing distribution outside of the country. It may be 1/100 in scale but it’s more of a Perfect Grade kit than a Master Grade. With well over 1300 pieces (if the guide is to be believed) the kit comes with photo etched metal details, metal stickers, regular ol’ decals, plenty of metal detailing parts, and an extensive LED system. read more

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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Main Body Complete
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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Main Body Complete

It took longer than I would’ve liked, but three weeks and 12-15 hours of assembly/final detailing later the Elyn Hobby Kshatriya is now 2/3 of the way complete.

The biggest issue I had was, again, with the LEDs. The first was the lighting that’s supposed to be in the thrusters on either side of the legs. The documentation in this section of the guide is pretty shit-tastic, shows wires going this way and that but not really how the circuit is supposed to work or where all the leads are supposed to sit. I got one wired up and found out that it didn’t work. Not sure if it was an issue with the circuit, or dead batteries, or what. The second set had a bunch of broken wires including one that connects to the super small switch and doesn’t appear to have an easily attachable point to re-solder the cable. I ended up just saying “fuck it” and pulling the wiring out and assembling those parts without the LEDs. It looks nicer anyway as it looked like there wasn’t any way to hide the cables, they would’ve just wrapped around the back of the leg. read more

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Messing around with Gunpla and Coloured Lights

About a week ago I saw this image refereced on Reddit and figured it might be fun to try out a few of those setups on some of my kits starting with the coloured backlighting all the way at the end.

A few weeks ago I redid my photo area, opting for a gray surface in front of black muslin. This created a gap between the table and the backdrop which allows me to throw in a bit of backlighting. I got myself an inexpensive colour changing LED bulb, placed it behind the table, and started taking photos. read more

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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Torso and Arms Complete
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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Torso and Arms Complete

An overwhelming sense of doom.

That’s what I’m feeling right now. While I should be pleased that this build is now officially a third of the way complete and things turned out okay I can’t get past the fact that the kit’s LEDs are royally fucked.

So that’s a third of the project complete. Still gotta do the everything below the waist and the wing binders. If I can keep up the same schedule, which is a long shot, that’ll be in about five weeks. From prep to top coat completion took about two weeks with an estimated ten hours of assembly time. Why so long? Well a lot of pieces had to be glued into place and the super clear modeling glue I use takes its sweet time to dry. That and the LEDs were a pain in the ass to work with. read more

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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Torso ready for top coat

After a couple weeks of prep and paint the torso is ready for top coat and final assembly.

I think I spent more time prepping the kit for paint than any other I’ve worked on up until this point. I feel like every piece on this kit has flashing issues. Some of the problem areas I didn’t notice until after the first coat of primer. Some I didn’t notice until after I had finished painting and started on detailing. Hopefully the ones I wasn’t able to fully clean won’t be too noticeable when all is said and done. read more

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A look at the ‘Art of Gundam’ box art

Within the past couple years Bandai has started releasing exclusive kits at various toy & model expos in Japan. They’re typically slightly modifications of existing kits using special coatings or clear parts. Generally their boxes are just the standard box art with a bit modification or a logo for differentiation. This year’s Art of Gundam expo releases featured several kits never released in a clear format with, what I believe to be, a stunning box design.

[flickr-photo:id=21725897571,size=n] read more

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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – Prepping for Paint

After a two week delay it’s time to finally get this kit ready for paint. First though, the last pre-paint photo you’ll get…

[flickr-photo:id=21510822856,size=n]

 

The wing binders went together without much issue, even if there are a few pieces that don’t fit all that well. The piece of the binder that flips outward is held by arms whose male parts are way too small for the female parts they slot into*. The funnels don’t securely fit into place either, not sure if that’s something I’m doing wrong or if it’s just poor design like so many other aspects of this kit. I’ll probably end up trying to get some gray or green coloured putty to hold them in place. The connection arms between the binders and the rest of the kit, not pictured, offer convoluted and worrisome routes for the LED cables. One of them is missing a piece but it’s purely decorative and its absence will hopefully go unnoticed. read more

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Elyn Hobby 1/100 Kshatriya – A Mobile Suit Emerges

[flickr-photo:id=20919110851,size=n] It’s alive! Sort of…

Oh, Bandai, why didn’t you just release a MG Kshatriya years ago? Would’ve saved me sooo much effort.

Before I begin, I should point out that this project has inadvertently placed me in an informal build off with Lighted Pants over on r/Gunpla. You might have seen his astonishing MG Epyon. It’s an informal build off in the sense that I’ve pretty much already broken every rule LP has attempted to set up. The only one that still stands is that we’ve got to get these kits wrapped up by Nov 30th, or else admit defeat. Should be more than enough time assuming I don’t pick up Destiny again, or Fallout 5 when it’s released. read more

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