Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Starting to look like a robot
-
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Gundam "Ver.Ka" Mobile Suit RX-93
- Thread starter Greg Kimsey
- Start date
Starting to look like a robot
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
There are 8 steps to each arm. This completes step 4! That is 25 pieces.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Lord have mercy! The arms are done. The hands mostly fully articulate, unless you bend too far and the finger pops out of the socket; then, good luck making it stay in the socket from then on.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
"Hoooooommmmmm, I am one with the universe, Hooooooommmmmmmm, I am the master of my universe
Transformers...
I am a robot in disguise"
The arms were surprisingly difficult to put on. The fit is extremely tight, even scraping to make sure there was no paint interfering. I was trying to put them on sideways like you see here and could get no leverage to force the pin into the hole without it shifting. I pointed the shoulder joint straight up, like holding your arm out to the side level with the ground and got plenty of leverage and it went in pretty easily. That was by accident the first time. I was pushing hard from the side and the whole thing slipped and the shoulder joint swiveled out straight and went right in. "Woops! Hey! Hmm, let's try that on the other side"
Position the arm as shown and it goes in easier
Transformers...
I am a robot in disguise"
The arms were surprisingly difficult to put on. The fit is extremely tight, even scraping to make sure there was no paint interfering. I was trying to put them on sideways like you see here and could get no leverage to force the pin into the hole without it shifting. I pointed the shoulder joint straight up, like holding your arm out to the side level with the ground and got plenty of leverage and it went in pretty easily. That was by accident the first time. I was pushing hard from the side and the whole thing slipped and the shoulder joint swiveled out straight and went right in. "Woops! Hey! Hmm, let's try that on the other side"
Position the arm as shown and it goes in easier
Beat him into submission Gary!
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Working on the legs now. That is two hours of work LOL. That is 33 pieces each side.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
1½ hour, 24 parts per side later..
There is really not much to tell or advise on making one of these. I do think hand paintingbthe parts on the sprue worked which will leave touch up only instead of trying to paint around all of these parts.
There is really not much to tell or advise on making one of these. I do think hand paintingbthe parts on the sprue worked which will leave touch up only instead of trying to paint around all of these parts.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Shazam! The legs are assembled. I wouldn't say difficult, but I would say challenging, keeping the parts per side separated and accounted for
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
The waist has these floating panels all the way around almost like Wonder Woman's skirt.
The body is assembked and waiting for back packs and weapons
The body is assembked and waiting for back packs and weapons
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
Coming along nicely Greg!
Jeeves
Well-known member
You may already know this but in case you don't...if you plan on using any washes on this be mindful of the type you use. The Bandai Star Wars kits have been known to be reactive to enamel washes (i.e. washes eating through the plastic). I'm not sure if these kits are made of the same stuff but I'm warning just in case. Stellar work so far!
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Didn’t know! Thank you
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Oddly enough, this model is not holding my interest like I expected. I guess they are not for everyone. The young (early 20's) man who brought his finished ones in is CRAZY about them. I have the backpack and weapons done. Pics later. There are some wing looking things to finish then I can paint and weather. I hope that will be fun. That is my favorite part of "regular" modeling.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
It is as finished as I think I am going to do. There were 4 million decals on the sheet, but I didn't want to put any on, so I compromised and did 4. He is more filthy than battle damaged. Lots of rain streaks, oil leaks, rust, and flaked off paint. I will do the pre weather then post weather image.
Like I said, filthy. They don't have wash stations in the post apocalyptic world this guys lives in. A lot of the shiny oil leaks don't show in the photos, but they are at the knee joints mostly.
Like I said, filthy. They don't have wash stations in the post apocalyptic world this guys lives in. A lot of the shiny oil leaks don't show in the photos, but they are at the knee joints mostly.
Attachments
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
Oh yeah, what did I use to weather him? I used Testors Anthricite Gray Metallic enamel to streak the chrome and white areas. I "yellowed up" the gold bits with TestorsvPearl Yellow enamel. I switched to oils and used Ivory Black and Raw Umber to "dirty him up". I used Gamblin Silver Oil paint and drybrushed most of the edges. I then used it to make some flaking paint scratches and dings. I edged a lot of those with black oil paint. I added a bit of rust by daubing burnt sienna oil paint with the end of a small round brush to create a little rust texture, then edged with black. I used Humbrol Gloss White enamel to hopefully make it look less like someone painted the dirt and rain streaks on. The oil leaks are Vallejo Petrol Spill from their environment weathering line. It rains a LOT where he fights, and it is not a pleasant, refreshing, reguvinating rain, but more akin to acid rain. It wreaks havoc on metal.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
My thoughts on Gundam models; the quality, zero flash, easy to follow instructions, and absolute fit is beyond compare. The decal edges are invisible. Never have I opened a "regular" model kit and experienced any of that. I wonder why it can't be done. I have built some quality kits; the Meng GT40 comes to mind. It was close. But the instructions sucked. Same with Kinetic's F-16 SUFA. Great kit with no flash and good fit; instructions were terrible. Will I ever build another Gundam model? Right now I say "no", especially to the robot line, but ever is a long time. They have a Star Wars spaceship line that may suck me in. We will see.
Conclusion: If you want a kit that is easy to build, fit is perfect, and instructions are easy to follow, and you are into Transformers or other robot genres, then Gundam kits may interest you. There is no need to paint. Nothing to glue. The decals are great. All it needs is some details pinwashed. They even make a pen to do it and make it easy. And maybe the best part?; you can play with the model when you are done as they are fully poseable!
Conclusion: If you want a kit that is easy to build, fit is perfect, and instructions are easy to follow, and you are into Transformers or other robot genres, then Gundam kits may interest you. There is no need to paint. Nothing to glue. The decals are great. All it needs is some details pinwashed. They even make a pen to do it and make it easy. And maybe the best part?; you can play with the model when you are done as they are fully poseable!
Thanks for doing this Greg. Nice to see some things outside our norm around here. Did you have a good time, that's the question.
Greg Kimsey
Well-known member
I did for a while but sort of lost interest by the end. Maybe because I am not familiar with what I was doing, having never seen a Gundam movie, book, tv show, or any media featuring these mechs. It was definitely a great kit though.