Bandai

MG Psycho Zaku Thunderbolt Diorama
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MG Psycho Zaku Thunderbolt Diorama

As many of you know I have a ton of Gunpla ideas floating around in my head and only a small portion ever see the light of day. One and a while I get off my ass and actually carry one of those ideas to completion. Thanks to GoodGuyDan for running a Zaku oriented group build and offering that extra motiviation.

This build was inspired by a quick scene in episode 2 of Gundam Thunderbolt. In this scene we see Daryl connected up to his Zaku connected up to a gantry, stripped of outer armor, so they can test his mobility with the Reuse “P” Device. In it he begins to daydream and run, the key pose I wanted to capture. Ah hell, here’s the scene itself. read more

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RG Gundam Banshee Norn Destroy Mode – Lighting Model
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RG Gundam Banshee Norn Destroy Mode – Lighting Model

I don’t really have anything new to say about this kit that I didn’t already cover when I built the Unicorn ver TWC Lighting Model a few years back. The Banshee version is the same, save for the design differences and a LED setup that’s yellow instead of red.

The paint is a handful of custom mixes. I started with Tamiya X-16 Purple and added various shades of gray for three separate tones. Inner frame is typical X-10 Gun Metal. I sat on this project for ages because I couldn’t quite figure out what I wanted to colour wise. Eventually I just said, “Screw it, I like purple, let’s go with that.” I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. Just enough subtle colour separation and deviation from the typical Banshee colour scheme. read more

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Falldog’s Space Battleship Yamato Model Collection
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Falldog’s Space Battleship Yamato Model Collection

For the longest time I’ve wanted a 1/350 scale Space Battleship Yamato from Bandai. For those who hadn’t heard of it before, think Perfect Grade quality gimmicks to the max of 2007 model technology – lights, sounds, and best of all, motorized turrets. I remember seeing one in a local hobby shop many years ago, back before Bluefin became the de facto US distributor for Bandai, and on sale for what must have been a crazy cheap price. These days they regularly go for over $700 – which is a key reason I never got one. read more

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Completed Build – Blue Destiny Unit 1 Exam vs. Efreet Custom
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Completed Build – Blue Destiny Unit 1 Exam vs. Efreet Custom

Look at me, I finished something from my backlog!

Back in November 2017 I ordered the Efreet, officially kicking this little diorama project off (no idea when or where the Unit 1 came from right now). I built the two kits, picked out poses, and put them back in the box and on the shelf until a few weeks ago… when I pulled them out, confirmed I liked the poses, built the base, then tucked them away yet again. It’s only this past Monday that I decided I should use my free time this week to get them painted and the project finally checked off. read more

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MG Unicorn Gundam – Marida Cruz Custom
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MG Unicorn Gundam – Marida Cruz Custom

Here’s a clever and dynamic opening paragraph that gets you interested in reading what I have to say about this build instead of skipping to the photos.

Despite building so many Unicorn Gundam kits over the last 8 years there’s always been a few ideas I’ve had floating around but never got to. While a Marida Cruz custom Unicorn was the runner up in my recent poll of ‘what project should I tackle next,’ it just happened to coincide with r/Gundam slash r/Gunpla’s UC 0096 group build on discord. Figured now would be a good time to try out a few of those ideas and see how they play out. read more

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Bandai Master Grade N3K-0 ‘Cat’ – A Quick Review

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After my MG Deep Striker got put together I wanted to mix things up and go for something that could be played with just a tadddd more. Where the Striker is a static kit, very little movement, zero poses, the MG Cat is a world apart. I’ll get into it a bit more in a second but wow, is this kit an absolute joy to play with.

For those who are unfamiliar, the N3K-0 Cat, specifically the first numbered varient, was originally designed by Kunio Okawara as a late-season upgrade for Char in the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Unfortunately Sunrise insisted that the use of Char’s iconic red colouring did not work with the design, feeling that it would negatively affect merchandize sales. Together with Tomino, Okawara developed a purplish colour as an alternative. Again Sunrise rejected the colour scheme. Rather than work in another colour, Okawara substituted a yet unfinished design, the MSN-02 Zeong. Due to the rushed production Okawara would not add legs to the Zeong until after production and the Cat would be lost in obscurity until its release as a MSV design. Since then it’s become wildly popular and the subject of many memes and running jokes, especially in Japan. Hell, it just recently got a lot of attention by franchise fans petitioning for it to replace the Zeong in the upcoming Origin reboot of the original series. But I digress… read more

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Bandai 1/48 Mega Size Unicorn Gundam – Review
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Bandai 1/48 Mega Size Unicorn Gundam – Review

As a Unicorn aficionado I was pretty excited to hear about the 1/48 scale Mega Size Gundam Unicorn. My wallet not so much, because you just know there’s going to be half a dozen variants Bandai can release now. Anyhow, just wanted to spend some time reviewing this kit ’cause honestly, as a straight build, it’s sort of meh… but as a “beast of possibility” this kit has more going for it than any previous Unicorn release. PS. this kit is only Destroy mode, you cannot transform into Unicorn mode. read more

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State of the Hanger: My model collection as 2016 comes to a close

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To wrap up 2016 I want to take few minutes and share some details about my plamo/hobby collection, which is predominantly Gunpla based. I’ve had quite a few folks ask me for info about my collection, and display set up, but have been lacking any single place to point them. Before I start I’d like to thank all of the builders out there who whose simple and complex works have pushed my builds further and driven the Layman’s Gunpla Guide. In particular I’d like to thank those on r/Gunpla and (the now renamed) Gundam Complex on Facebook. Of course a shoutout to the place I’m most guilty about being absent from, Gundam Australia. Over all, the Gunpla and plamo communities are some of the best hobby groups out there.  read more

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Heaven & Hell, a MG Unicorn Project – Hell Redux
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Heaven & Hell, a MG Unicorn Project – Hell Redux

Back in 2014 I swapped out the pyschoframes of a MG Unicorn Gundam and a MG Phenex Gundam. While I had intended to paint them, they unfortunately got set aside as different projects popped up. Now, over two years later, I’ve picked up the project again, starting with Hell.

Not too much to say about this project. For the most part things went well, though I was delayed a few days as I sanded and repainted a few times to get the gold coat as I could reasonably hope to obtain. There are a few pieces that I would’ve reworked a few more times, but I set myself up to get the kit completed by October 31st for a r/Gunpla group build. Paint wise, I used four different golds; Tamiya Titanium Gold, Tamiya Gold Leaf, Model Master Gold, and Valspar Brilliant Metal Gold. The red is Tamiya Flat Red and the frame Tamiya German Gray. To keep the gold looking gold, I didn’t use any top coat on the gold pieces. read more

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Zeta Gundam Memorial Box – Part I

Over the past few years I’ve seen a couple folks share images of their Laserdisc Zeta Gundam Memorial Boxset and I eventually picked up a set for myself. Laserdisc? Well, apparently it has all the original openings and endings in great quality without some of the issues on the US DVD release. Don’t ask me, I have no plans of picking up a Laserdisc player to find out. I got them for the really cool artwork and, to me, collector value. They ended up being away more impressive than I originally thought so I figured I’d snap a bunch of photos and share ’em for anyone interested. read more

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