I have said it before but I like to try new things with my builds so with this diorama I wanted to do a scene that had to do with water.
Since this build was originally just the model I didn’t want to chance it into a large diorama. Instead I wanted a tight base where I could have the camouflage of the model work in conjunction with the environment so I went for a jungle river. Continue reading
Well first of all the good news is that the prizes for the Summer War 2012 competition finally came. I won 2nd place in the modified category and won a MG Zeong and a HG Val-Walo.
The Bad news has to do with the Clanche Custom. Unfortunately for some reason the model is falling apart. I can only assume that the enamel wash I gave it started to make the plastic brittle and fragile. I really don’t understand how this happened at all. I didn’t go over board with the mineral spirits and I have even painted entire models with enamels in the past with no problem so I don’t get it. Continue reading
I think I have mentioned this before but with almost every new build I try to do something new and with this one it’s camouflage. For the group build I am part of the ground team and since this is pretty much an air based mobile suit design with the flight mode and all, I felt a camo color scheme would reinforce the “ground” theme. Continue reading
Instead of a modeling contest this year the Mecha Lounge instead has a large group build called the Chaos Group Build. There are two factions the air team and the ground team and I signed up for the ground team awhile back. Originally I planned to use the MG Zeong I was supposed to receive from the Summer War 2012 contest but since that never came I instead purchased a Clanche Custom, a HG I have been wanting for a few months. Unfortunately though initially the Clanche was a huge disappointment. Continue reading
The G-Bounce is a really solid kit with great articulation and proportions, even the extremely simple color scheme suits its sleek and clean frame. Painting and modifying it for seams was pretty simple and the only knock I can really give it is how tight everything is which lead to a lot of scratched up paint.
Even though I love the design of the G-Bouncer since it has very little color and gimmicks I felt I had to do something different for the photos. Since it’s a white suit I went with a black background, added a glass base to it, and raised the aperture by quite a bit. I am not so sure if I will go with this method again but wanted to give it a try.
Whether you disliked AGE or not I really think a lot of the designs were pretty good. Kanetake Ebikawa designed not only the AGE suits but the 00 suits as well and just like with the 00 suits the mechs are sleek and have pretty dynamic proportions. One of my favorite designs from AGE is the G-Bouncer and the most advanced model of it is the 1/144 HG so I picked it up during Black Friday and it has finally come up in the queue. Continue reading
Like many other collectors I display my models in a Ikea Detolf display cabinet and enviably I managed to fill it up, but instead of just buying a second one though I wanted to combine 2 Detolfs into 1. After looking around a bit especially here and here I decided to cut up the Detolf bases and screw them together. Even though I had to hand saw them they turned out fine. Continue reading
I haven’t done a MG in some time and since F91 is my favorite Gundam anime I have been wanting to do the MG for a while, unfortunately though the build was a bit of a mixed bag.
Since the Nu ver. Ka Bandai is moving away from using ABS plastic for their MG inner frames and instead to the plastic they use for their RG inner frames. I was at first a bit disappointed in this as I like the heavy weight of my MG’s but this build really shows off why it’s a smart move on their part. This entire model uses no polycaps and the small joints especially suffer for this. ABS plastic against ABS plastic causes a lot of friction and on small areas it’s enough to break (which if you look at the WIP’s on this it did happen). So if Bandai wants to continue going down the polycap-less route this ABS change is necessary.
My other problem is that the color separation of this kit is really bad. If you want to make it as anime accurate as possible (which I didn’t) you are in for it as the plastic really doesn’t facilitate the builder in achieving the various tiny color changes in the vents or fins at all. On top of that the Rafflesia base is basically just one big block of concave shapes all in red making the masking used to paint it properly taxing and frustrating.
With all this said I still really love this model and its visual design. Even with its problems it does have a full inner frame, It only has 2 seam lines in the whole kit and they are on the weapons, and that they did something different with the base really making this model stand out from the rest. As long as you are careful building and handling it as well as having the skill and or patience to deal with the paint job the F91 will be a good build.
