Just Gunpla

NZ-666 Kshatriya: The devil's in the details

2010-10-03T21:57:11Z

First of all - very warm thanks to everyone for their kind words (you shall be spared Kshatriya's wrath). After the last post however, I "burned out"and didn't feel like revisiting this subject, plus I've become busy with some RL stuff and thus the huge delay for this post. Sorry about that m(_ _)m This is post shows some highlights from the model. It's meant to show all (?) the details I've put around on the kit - because the standard build is too plain, IMHO - even my build could do with some more decals... :D

Let the gallery begin!

Did I mention that I like how the legs turned out?

I was unsure about painting that thingie there red, but I wanted to have another accent, besides yellow and black.

I wanted to do something with the knees too... but in the end I played safe and kept them simple - any ideas, anyone? :)

For the purpose of this photo shoot, I've removed the arms (and binders) - they were in the way a lot.

I'm glad I used the metal beads to detail up this kit.

I like the black-in-aluminium-in-yellow look on the skirts...

More decals here? You bet!

In case you missed the memo and the gazillion decals - this is NZ-666 Kshatriya.

You can't exactly see it on this photo, but I've put some red paint in those shadowed areas on the aluminium exhausts - just something I wanted to try out (and it actually looks good IRL).

And I've put decals even back there... You can also see here that the breast plate turned out nice and clean (at least the borders between aluminium and black - the black areas as a whole aren't quite even because I've damaged them with all the painting and paint stripping :/).

Looking quite threatening there, Kshatriya. The way the head is positioned in this kit (and its shape too) is so cool - slightly behind the breast plate, not exposed, like in most Gundams.

Yep, that's golden panel lining on the hands - is anyone even surprised at this point? :P BTW, check the interior of the upper part of the arm - a piece of advice: make sure you paint it too (if you change the green to something else).

More gold on the binder "suspenders" - I just didn't have any other ideas for those parts :/

Aaand some more golden touch-ups here...

Too bad the arms at the end of the binders can't actually grab stuff - unless you are lucky and the size of the weapon/whatever is just exactly the right size (which the provided beam sabers are not).

Anyone know why Mr. Base White turned out so grainy? I used the finest grain... It's not exactly visible, unless at some unfavourable lightning, like here.

See those four holes? They are from the thrusters on the other side (I'm not exactly sure how those thrusters are supposed to work, but whatever...) and at first I was going to fill them with putty, but then decided to highlight them with those red triangles, instead of hiding them :P What do you think?

The interior of the binder in all its glory - I've tried putting some gold in the caveats on the funnels, but it's not visible that much.

While an awesome kit (in many ways), I find it hard to nail a good pose with it (beside the "regular" ones). But maybe that's because of my lack of experience in that area - if I'll manage to pose it in some new, cool way, I'll be sure to report back here (as it was with Wing Zero).

Full reverse!

Eh, I really do love winged kits... (as you might have noticed from my finished two projects, and the ones I have purchased).

Even at such unfavourable lightning/angle, the borders of the decals from Samuel Decal are hardly visible - I highly recommend them!

How do I posed (and shot web)? ¯\(°_o)/¯

And that's it folks. I'm currently putting gunpla building on hold - until I feel like it again (no point in doing it otherwise, right?) or if I come up with some nice idea that I can execute with my current skills (I have some ideas I know I should wait a bit till I can execute them exactly how I imagined them in my head). If the first, then I'll probably build the Strike Freedom - thanks to the Full Burst Mode version, it's looking kickass already, so I won't be changing the colour scheme - at least not in a major why (that's what I have the MG Freedom for :)).

PS: As some of you might have noticed in the gallery, I've entered this kit in the HLJ's Gundam Competition - as expected, I didn't win, but I wanted to give this type of thing a try :) Congratulations to all the winners, but my favourite is the diorama category winner:

Now, that's one detailed diorama - well executed and built. You could probably stare at it for some time and still find some new detail hidden somewhere...

NZ-666 Kshatriya: Finished!

2010-08-14T20:38:25Z

And here it is, ladies (?) and gents - my very own version of this awesome mobile suit from the even more awesome OVA Gundam Unicorn.

"So where's this Gundam Unicorn? Still at the other end of the rainbow? Ha-ha-ha!"

So, my "secret" colour was yellow... It should be obvious to many, but I got the idea, of course, from Gaijin Gunpla's Sinanju. When I first saw GaiGun's work on Sinanju I was in awe - it was so cool to see a popular and already awesome kit turning even more badass through a very unorthodox custom colour scheme (and massive amounts of decals ;)). I knew that I wanted to try out that colour scheme too, but building another Sinanju like that didn't feel right... So I placed that idea in the back of my head and proceeded with my first gunpla, XXXG-00W0 WING ZERO CUSTOM. Then, after watching the first episode of Gundam Unicorn, I knew that Kshatriya was next on my list :D

Looking good there, Kshatriya.

So, I got down to my test build and started to think what colour I want to paint it. My conclusion was this:

Kshatriya is kinda like a Zaku - whatever colour scheme works for Zaku, it should work for Kshatriya too.

Then, I had a second breakthrough... Kshatriya is kinda like a Sinanju... And what's the most awesome colour scheme for Sinanju? :]

This Canary of Death has four wings :)

I've some modifications to the original scheme, though. GaiGun chose not to use any red decals, or any other "bright" colours (I remember some gold, silver, etc. here and there but that's about it). I wanted to liven up the kit a bit, especially the legs which are bulky and quite unappetizing in their original form/colours.

Delicious Kshatriya Legs

The second important part of the equation (apart from the colour scheme) are the decals. Massive plural form here ;) Well, not as massive as it was in GaiGun's case, but still... Big, big thanks to Samuel from Samuel Decal for printing me the Kshatriya decals in black - without his assistance, this project would be severely crippled ;) All the other warning decals, etc. are also from him - thank God/Haruhi, that there's someone offering decals in very reasonable prices for international buyers.

The decals are very thin and blend with the model extremely well (a huuuge improvement over the horrible, thick stickers on MG Wing Custom or the OMFG-so-annoying dry transfers). More on the decals in another post ;)

You know what? I'll just dump the pics and let them speak for themselves ;) There will be one or two follow-up posts after this one, detailing some of the parts of the kit I'm proud of ;)

You can see the influence of GaiGun's style on that arm protector - but I didn't have too much decals, so those are the only black lines you'll see ;)

Due to the lightning, the beam sabers look... suprisingly good :D

As you can see here, the emblems turned out quite nicely... How did I achieve that? I got fed up with my failed attempts and listened to G.G.'s advice and hand-painted them :D

I wouldn't be myself if I didn't add some panel lining here and there...

The legs looked too plain to me, so I've put some additional colours to liven them up. What do you think?

"The grabbing hands. Grab all they can."

You can see here all the places where I've put the metal beads - they definitely made the kit... sharper. I was iffy about putting the beads into the mega particle cannons on the binders, but since I've put them on the chest, so I might as well on the binders.

More on the individual parts in a separate post :)

For now, let's say that I had a lot of fun with the binders :D

I love the aluminium/gold combination on the thrusters - I'm definitely going to use it more often now.

"Hey, look at those decals and details that no one, apart from the original creator, will notice!"

Upskirt shot! Noticed the aluminium/gold leg joints? No? Q_Q

"This blog is protected by a NZ-666 Kshatriya. Non-commenting users will be shot from 24 funnels, 12 mega particle cannons and shred to pieces by at least two beam sabers and six arms. There's also a chance of being burned to a crisp from multiple thrusters. You have been warned."

PS: Sorry for the delay - RL stuff + unlike most of you (apparently), I don't have access to a (semi)professional photo booth, so I had to come up with some sort of cheap alternative. But IMHO, this kit needed a dark/black background, so excuse me if some/most of the photos show some "ugly" background ;)

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: What is this abomination? (part 2)

2010-07-14T17:38:57Z

Look what happened to my aluminium Humbrol emanel O_o For a second I was afraid to open it... but it turned out it didn't have evil intentions and was wiling to cooperate with me... Phew.

So, yeah, I painted the emblems aluminium again, then put on like three thick layers of Future... I'll try my luck one more time and if this time it won't work, I'll just hand paint the damn things, like GundamGuy suggested long time ago :P

In other "interesting" news: I've removed the BluTack from the binders and the effect is quite nice, IMHO:

I put on a light layer of thinned down black to darken the metallic black I originally used - so that the blue "docks" for the funnels stood out more.

You can see here that the BluTack masking wasn't exactly perfect, but considering the shape it had to cover it did a pretty well job - try masking something like that with a tape ;) And with the funnels in place the "imperfections" are unnoticeable.

Soon I'll be able to show how well this composes with my main colour... soon... ;_;

I also started and finished panel lining the whole model - there wasn't that much panel lines (this being a HG and all). The outer parts of the binders were the biggest test... but I had the most fun with the... innner parts of the binders (yep, the things you see above). I'll save the pics of how that turned out for the final photo session, but here are some other extra stuff I panel lined (just because I like panel lining and I had some extra paint left :P)

I really like how this turned out - too bad it won't be visible much - that's the leg joint :/

I added some bling to the binder supports too, just to make them a little less bland.

Last but not least - I added red panel lines to the binder's thrusters. Some turned out nicely (like the one in the pic), on some the aluminium painted started to peel off when I was cleaning up... >_>

And that's about it... Actually, the current status of the model is way more advanced - it's basically finished, only decaling is left (I'm ~30% done with it, after 2-3 hours). But since I want to keep the main colour a secret till the very end, you'll have to wait patiently till it's 100% finished - which shouldn't be too long now, unless I fck up something really bad :3

PS: Eh, I was going to post this update earlier, when I was still at my folks' house, but... I forgot to take the photos I took beforehand with me >_>.

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: FML... or so I thought

2010-06-28T17:54:59Z

First of all - busy week (two weeks?), final (I mean final) exams, quick job hunting, interview, etc. And next week I'm visiting my folks so don't expect a torrent of updates either >_>

Anywho, back to the subject - despite being rather busy, I've made some progress (about that in a sec). I've also tried (for the third time :)) my luck with the emblems on Kshatriya. This time I wanted to make it right - so I started with stripping the paint via the whatchamacallit stuff used for drains and stuff. Anyway, I was draining the excess water out of the bucket when I noticed in the corner of my eye that something looking a lot like one of the parts of the sleeves has just made a run for it to the drain... FML. Actually, three of them, but two got stopped by the drain but the third one miraculously passed through. But there was a rather high chance that it didn't get flushed further down the pipe - hardly any water got in with it. Long story short - an hour later, I disassembled the siphon beneath, look high and low (mostly low), but alas the part was gone. Fuck-My-Life ;_;

...until I checked the bucket that contained the rest of the parts and the paint that came off... Lo and behold, the missing part >_> I turned out what I saw going down the drain was just the paint that came of cleanly off the part. FUCK-MY-LIFE :D

Sorry for the wall of text, I just had to vent my frustration (and happiness, I guess :P). Below is a photo of the second try - as you can see, it shows a lot of potential - the emblem turned out nice and sharp, something I would never have been able to do via painting by hand. But I, again, didn't put a thick enough layer of Future between the alluminium and black - thus the third attempt.

I'll really have to invest in a real metallizer one of these days...

What else... I'll be using the metal beads for "spicing up" the mega particle cannons (I still think about them as thrusters):

Which ones do you prefer? (note: the lighting is way off, they look way better IRL)

I've also worked on fixing some seam lines on the arms and the arm... protectors? (those squerish things above the arms). I still suck at seam removal and sanding in general :/

The arms turned out quite nicely, the arm protector thingies not as much, but I'll be covering them with decals anyway...

Since I won't be doing much/any gunpla work in the coming days, I've left some photos for an update for a later time :)

PS: If you are wondering about the main photo for this post - yes, it confirms that pink is definitely... not my main colour - I just wanted to show how well the feet turned out - at first I was actually disappointed in Kshatriya's ugly feet/legs, but after some work they turned out quite smexy :) Stay tuned~

PPS: G.G., I just noticed your comment, I'll check what's wrong with my mail and get back to you :)

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: NMTR Part 2

2010-06-06T16:12:34Z

As I promised last time, there were no updates this week. The reason?

"I've had a bit of a tumble"

As you can see, the lenses did not break (got lucky), but one of the inner ones did fall out of its place. So what else was there to do? Get it repaired by an authorized/experienced shop/whatever? No way! Let's take it apart!

It did not take as much time as I thought it would... But some parts were tricky to disassemble.

See that part in the middle that's missing one if its three pegs? That's what needed fixing.

So I carved a new peg from... a Kshatriya runner :D So my camera has now officially a part of Kshatriya inside it ;D

BTW, I had to take the photos above with my cell phone (d'oh), but they turned out suprisingly good - some problems with focus aside :P

The disassembly was over on day 1, but it took me like five days to assemble the whole thing again XD 95% of that time went into reassembling the whole unit containing the lenses (how do you call it?). Eh, the lenses had to be inserted in a particular order, I had to look out not to leave any stains/dust on them in the process, re-align those rings a few times... It was not easy ;) But I finally managed to reassemble the whole thing and, surprisingly, it works just as well as before. Phew.

On to the gunpla stuff:

I've painted the binders with metallic black, but they turned out to light - they look more like burnt iron or something. I will have to repaint them either with a black base (I used just Mr. Surfacer before) or try to darken it with some black. I need the blue "funnel holders" to stand out more.

I've test-fitted one of the legs, just to see at least one part of Kshatriya assembled :D

The armour parts are white because I repainted them with Mr. Base White 1000... But I must say, a white Kshatriya is a tempting perspective... Anyone? :D

The thruster's masking on the feet turned out nicely (finally). The black and burnt iron mix well, too.

I've also started modding the kit a bit (a bit, mind you, I don't want to overdo it, plus I'm still missing some tools)

My drill will pierce through the Heavens! (obligatory TTGL reference)

First, I use a smaller drill, then switch to a larger one...

...and then test-fit some metal beads I was able to find. They are supposed to be the mini-thrusters that Kshatriya has there, according to the anime. I don't have the money to buy real aftermarket parts, so these will have to do... for now.

You can see here two versions - one uses the beads, the other one just has... holes :P The latter seems true to what we see in anime, but I, of course, prefer the beads. BTW, anyone know how to remedy that, hmm, "rough" Mr. Base White surface - I want/need gloss finish, and I'm afraid this will hinder then final effect. (Wet) sanding did not help, as it removes the primer too :D And I used a very high grit (2000-2500) and low force, just to be sure.

What else happened...

See that logo in upper left corner? Yep, I ordered...

...dietary supplements- wait, what? Ah, there's something on the other side.

Delicious Gundam Decals!

Big thanks to Samuel from Samuel Decal for printing the Kshatriya 1/144 decals in black - I don't know what I'd have done without them. I'm sure this won't be my last purchase from him :D

And I've run out of things to talk about... Next time, maybe I'll have the funnels and/or emblems read to show off :]

Gundam Unicorn - Episode 1

2010-05-30T21:36:37Z

So I finally got to watching the first episode of Gundam Unicorn (before, I just skimmed over, watching only the shiny MS fights). My opinions?

Kshatriya FUCK YEAH!

Just look at this beauty!

Here we can see Kshatriya taking her kids for a walk...

Did you know that those are Mega Particle Cannons on her chest? And on the binders? I can't wait to seem them in action - 24 funnels + 12 Mega Particle Cannons? Holy shit...

OK, but seriously, for me, Kshatriya stole the episode. Sure, we had a Unicorn sighting here and there, but most of the episode the RX-0 spent in cage, dreaming of rainbows and what not...

ZzzzzZZZzzrainbowssssZZzzz.. mmmm, it's warm and fuzzy here... zZZzz

But then something horrible happened...

A pony died in a tragic accident...

PONNYYYYYYY!!

I shall avenge you, pony!

To be concluded in episode 2!

OK, got a little sidetracked there :D
Back to the episode - I really like the attention to details. Like in one of the screenshots above, you can see a giant explosion that occurred after Kshatriya (FUCK YEAH) shot down a ReZEL with some precise usage of funnels. What I liked here is that shit happens on the battlefield, especially when both sides are fighting in giant robots power by nuclear reactors (or sth similar). So, kids, watch out when fighting in close courters.

Damn, the HG version can't do this ;_; It would be a great addition to the already huge array of poses one can do with the binders. Here's hoping that the MG will be able to do this... (there will be a MG ...right? ;_;)

This post needs more Kshatriya... Really, this episode should be name Day of the ~~Unicorn~~Kshatriya...

It's a funny feeling when you are watching the episode, you look at the Kshatriya and think "Oh, right, there's that part there in the model too!" Really cool feeling, as if that was "your" MS :D

I must say that I like Banagher Links (hey, I spelled his name right!), our main protagonist. He's not whiny, not a looser, nor is he the brash type. He can take on Marida, he's no pussy, yet he shows some nice emotion when he begs Audrey to need him. If only he piloted Kshatriya... Marida is also a nice character... because she does pilot Kshatriya! :D Although, Wikipedia spoiled me that she won't be a Kshatriya pilot forever... ;_; Booooo

I'm really looking forward to the next episode coming out in August - we'll get to to see Sinanju! Check out the trailer to see a glimpse of the awesome maneuvers this MS can pull off... The pilot is rightly called the second coming of Char :)

OK, who the hell left the stove on?! You? FUNNELS! Shoot him down!

PS: Kshatriya is slowly coming along. However, yesterday my camera fell on the ground (from a small height, but still) and of course it had to land on the damn lenses... :/ While they miraculously didn't break, one of the inner ones did fall off. So I had to disassemble the whole thing. Then I learned that on of the pegs that kept the lens in place broke of so I had to make a new one from... a gunpla runner :D I'm now in the process of reassembling the whole unit together which is even harder then disassembling. Fortunately, I found a service manual for my camera, so I should have it up and running soon (but not too soon - I have this week packed with work :/). So expect less/no updates this week.

PS2: I moved to a different server - you should now be able to log in using OpenID (this includes Blogger users), Google Account, etc. If you still experience problems, feel free to mail me.

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: You Can't Always Get What You Want

2010-05-26T10:45:24Z

You can't always get what you want... First were the feet... I sprayed some aluminium on the thrusters there, masked them with BluTack and then proceeded to spray on Mr. Hobby Color's Burnt Iron... Without priming the piece first... It did not went well...

�

This is what I get for being lazy... and maybe thinning the paint too much... This look would be ok/desired if I were weathering this suit, though :)

Then I went on with the work on the emblems - you know, the silver/black parts with NeoZeon logos on it, etc. that go on the hands and such.

It started OK - with a nice layer of aluminium...

Since the provided stickers are a laugh, I had to come up with something different. GaiGun already tried tackling this problem when working on his amazing Canary of Death, but: 1) there weren't such "convenient" stickers provided with Kshatriya and 2) I thought (and I still do! ;)) that I came up with a better solution. As you see from the main picture above, it can produce some nice results... but because I used hairspray instead of good ol' Future (I thought that hairspray would provide a harder, tougher protection), I created a layer that did not stick to the paint underneath (aluminium) and got ripped of easily:

Again, this would look nice on a weathered kit ;) But at least now I know why FichtenFoo uses hairspray for his awesome rust effects

So I'll try again, this time with Future as the protective layer and report back with the whole process nicely described :) For now, I cleaned up the pieces:

What the hell? It's like this kit is begging me to do some weathering to it!

I must say - I like this look and will definitely try weathering some time in the future (when I gain some more experience :))

But not everything went bad... :D The binders are coming together quite nicely. To expose the funnels, I decided to paint the cavities that they are docked in with light blue. It might seem like a odd colour choice, but it should nicely fit with the general colour scheme I chose :) Here's the process:

First, I painted the cavities with light blue

Then I took some BluTack...

...and pressed it hard against the cavity - so that it covers it whole and then some

Next, gently rolled back the parts that are outside of the cavity. You can finish here, if the result is satisfactory or...

...take a BBQ stick/toothpick and make some final "adjustments". Voila! Now, all that's left is to prime it and paint with metallic black :)

One last thing that failed (ugh, that's a lot) was the main colour I chose - since it's a bright colour (think pink or the like) it did not look good when sprayed directly on Mr. Surfacer (awesome as he is ;)). So I bought some Mr. Base White 1000 and will see how it turns out now :)

Till next time~

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: Not Much To Report (NMTR)

2010-05-22T19:04:57Z

Not Much To Report (NMTR) due to Mother Nature messing with me - first, the temperatures dropped from ~20C to less than 10C - WTF. Then it started raining day in and out. And now there's a serious threat that the city I live in will get flooded (it already once got flooded for a frigging month 13 years ago - I didn't live here then though). So, yeah, busy week ;)

As for our little heroine (I think we all agree that Kshatriya is female, right? ;3) - the pic above shows the second batch that got primed. I don't think I need to show you the "after" picture - just think the same parts but all grey :D

Preparing the leg parts to airbrush on some aluminium (screw you, Americans, that's the correct spelling,�not aluminum)

This ~~Batman~~Zeon's emblems will need some extra working - the stickers provided are unacceptable, but I have an idea how to deal with this - more in a later post

Delicious Gundam Feet (DGF^tm) in the making - masked the thrusters to preserve the aluminium look and then proceeded to spray on Mr. Hobby Color's Burnt Iron (cool colour, btw)

Apart from that, I've finished painting the most of the parts - the only colour left is the main one. Since I want to keep my colour scheme a secret for now, there's no point in posting black and white pictures ;)

Coming up next - ...more water from the sky and earth (aka rain & flood).

PS: Anyone have any tips/advice on airbrushing and humidity? Lately, my airbrush started spitting water now and then - despite having a special filter that's supposed to prevent that :/

Sir, what's that on the sky?

2010-05-17T00:29:45Z

Heero: TARGETTO LOCK ON.

Heero: Let me confirm - your shelter's shield is activated, right?
Mariemaia: Of course! Just admit your powerlessness!

Heero: Roger.

PEW!

Mariemaia: W-What a miserable person! I-I-It's useless, no matter what he tries.
Relena: Are you afraid, Mariemaia?

Soldier: The shield's lost half its strength! It will collapse if it's hit in the same place!
Relena: Heero...
Heero: ...

...to be concluded (?).

Omake:

I wouldn't mind more Gundam Wing anime...

Expect posts like this from time to time - I prefer to revisit a model now and then, than just spam you with dozens of photos at once and then forget about it. Here's something to refresh your memory, in case you forgot that part of the Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz OVA, though I recommend watching a HQ copy/DVD.

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: All Hail Mr. Surfacer!

2010-05-15T04:54:49Z

Suprisingly, the build is going rather smoothly - I've painted most of the inner parts already:

Steel and Gunmetal paints used (can't really see it in the picture :))

Since those parts didn't need priming (they were +/- in the right color), I've just painted them as-is. Then I proceeded with the first batch of the "normal"/outer parts:

Damn 24 funnels... They are awesome, but a real PITA to cleanup and paint =_=

Since those parts are nowhere near the colors I've intended for them, I had to prime them first - so that the original colors didn't "bleed" through. And this is where the magic began...

The Dream Team

� For those parts I used Mr. Surfacer 1200 - that's the finest grit, AFAIK. As you can see, I also have the 500 grit - for filling some sanding mistakes, nub removal mess ups, etc. And Mr. Color Thinner for thinning (duh).

This was my first time using Mr. Surfacer via airbrush so I didn't know what to expect... I've seen that Mr. Surfacer (I think the can version) doesn't always work quite right so I was expection at least some color bleeding, but boy, oh boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

No color bleeding whatsoever! Amazing!

� I'm now officially a Mr. Surfacer fan - the stuff is amazing, it easily primes the piece, while retaining all the details, panel lines, etc. And it's quite efficient - for all those parts I used only 1.5 of my psedo-Iwata airbrush's cup - it would have been less, but the funnels look harder to paint than it seems. �

First batch primed - nice and easy

Coming up next: the second, larger batch gets primed, probably more praising of Mr. Surfacer ;)

NZ-666 Kshatriya WIP: Test build finished

2010-05-13T06:20:19Z

As you can see, the test build of Kshatriya is finished. Actually, it's been that way for some days now, I just felt lazy and didn't post any updates =_=
Anyway, the kit is really well built, IMHO, for a HG - I didn't expect this much articulation and "gimmicks" (most notably: the wings/binders and arms).

Can't wait to get this primed, painted, top coated, decaled, top coated again... eh...

While building this kit, I noticed a few things (great thing about building gunplas - you can become quite intimate with the model ;)):

Apart from the 24 funnels (beam spam FTW), Kshatriya doesn't have anything else long ranged? I was kinda baffled when I realized that it doesn't have a beam rilfe or even a bazooka - I can't believe I hadn't noticed this before... Anyway, after this "revelation", I accidentally noticed something on the front cover of the manual - apparently, Kshatriya has a Mega Particle Cannon - WTF, where? According to the manual it's those four round thingies on its chest - I thought those were verniers/whatever... Now I'm looking forward to seeing this MPC in action in anime :D
Another revelation from the manual - Kshatriya has an I-Field Generator - location unknown (to me). This doesn't make a difference from a gunpla point of view, I just don't remember from the OVA any I-Field action from Kshatriya
While the upper body is quite articulate, the lower part is far from perfect - TBH, the legs seem to bulky... But I'll wait till the final build and painting to pass any final judgment ;)
The massive backskirt is... static - as in, it doesn't move :/ Weird choice, IMHO, since it kinda hurts posability

Anyway, after finishing the build, I stared at it for a few days, contemplating the color scheme (details will remain a secret for now). Next, I disassembled the whole thing and sorted the parts by their "destined" color:

Some piles turned out smaller than I thought they will be... (like the one on the left in the main box)

Next on the agenda:

sanding - some parts don't quite feel right, after nub removal, some contain flash and whatnot
priming - all the "outer" parts require priming, some of the internals too - this will help smoothing out the damage done by my (inexperienced) sanding and will create a nice base for my custom colors

Till next time~

The return of the Crabdam!

2010-05-05T01:26:03Z

The Crabdam is back!

� It has either evolved or this is a different species...

� It doesn't seem hostile, though. �

� I tried feeding it some nubs...

� ...and it has evolved into a Kshatriya!

...so, yeah, Kshatriya, I choose you!
� I wanted a quick and easy build, and from my previous purchases, Kshatriya seemed like a good choice... Except that after starting the build, I decided to paint it in a custom color, so it won't go as fast as I planned ;) But in order to do a good job with the painting, I needed to do a test build first (you can see from the photos that the parts are not quite snapped together, etc) - this is a lesson learned from my Gundam Wing Zero, where I just painted the parts, without first seeing how they actually look assembled as a whole model. You know, what parts will be visible, what not, which parts would need some highlighting, etc... So now I'm gonna finish this test build, decide on all the details of my custom theme, disassemble and then paint, etc ;)

But I must say - this model is well-built... and huge!

Kitakitakitakitaaaaaaaaaa!

2010-04-30T20:57:20Z

ｷﾀ━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━ｯ!!

Finally got my order from Rainbow Ten (many thanks to guys there for quick responses to my questions and for packaging securely the gunplas :3). Actually, I didn't expect to get this package so soon, due to the mess in Europe (thanks, Island ;)).

What did Santa bring me...

Let's see:

HGUC73 1/144 ORX-005 GAPLANT TR-5 [Hrairoo] - I recently (finally) watched the whole Zeta Gundam and I fell in love with this design at first sight. And when I saw this custom version, this feeling just deepened ;) Kinda looks like [weird designs from 0079/Zeta] meets Gundam SEED or something.
MG 1/100 MS-06S ZAKU II CHAR CUSTOMIZE Ver.2.0 (RED) w/CLEAR PARTS - because I wanted to make a Zaku, and this seemed like a good choice - the Char Custom has some extra verniers, etc. - I'm planning to buy some aftermarket stuff to finish this one :)
GUNDAM00 07 1/100 MSJ-06II-A TIEREN GROUND TYPE - to be honest, I don't quite dig the design of the Gundams in G00 - sure, Arios/Kyrios is sexy, and of course, 00 Gundam + Raiser is pure pwnage... But most of them look anorexic or something :/ They are supposed to be fighting machines, akin to tanks - sturdy, but offering some maneuverability. That's why I love the design of Tieren - massive MS that looks like it could take on anything - too bad they were only a grunt unit in Gundam 00 (apart from that pink custom... but that did not end good :)).
MG 1/100 FREEDOM GUNDAM w/CLEAR PARTS - do you need to even ask? After that scene of Freedom saving Archangel and then proceeding to pown everything/everyone around, anyone would want to build this shit...
MG 1/100 STRIKE FREEDOM GUNDAM FULL BURST MODE - this would have been a pretty darn perfect (SEED) design, if only they somehow included the M100 "Balaena" plasma beam cannon (the "top" cannons, hidden in wings) from the original Freedom. But the DRAGOON system kinda compensates for that... And the FUUURRR BAAASTO MOODO version has this cool stand for the DRAGOONs for extra kickass points >:)
MG 1/100 STRIKE NOIR GUNDAM w/CLEAR PARTS - the Strike has to be one of my favourite MS designs from Gundam SEED (and Destiny), but I wanted to wait with building it till I shape up a bit (and have the money to buy the PG version :)). So, for now, I settled for Strike Noir - Strike, but not Strike ;) I love this unit not from the Stargazer OVA, but from the Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. II Plus PS2 game - the Noir there is so overpowered, but at the same time fun to pilot :)
HGUC99 1/144 NZ-666 KSHATRIYA - I don't think I have to explain this purchase to anyone who watched the first episode of Gundam Unicorn OVA... Hell, even if you didn't, this design is so bad-ass - Zaku + ...hmm, Gundam Wing? O_o I dream of a PG version of this... Or the resin beauty...
GUNDAM SEED:08 1/100 JUSTICE GUNDAM, GUNDAM SEED:09 1/100 BLITZ GUNDAM, GUNDAM SEED:02 1/100 AEGIS GUNDAM, MG 1/100 FREEDOM GUNDAM w/CLEAR PARTS - purchased for a friend. So I won't be assembling those... (unless he won't pick them up soon... in which case I might accidentally build a MS or two from those.. :3). Blitz is a very cool design, too bad we didn't see too much in action in the TV series. Aegis is a very interesting build, especially with the Mobile Armor Mode gimmick. And Justice - TBH, I prefer this one to Infinite Justice, the backpack seems more.. reliable ;) Note that except the Freedom, all of those are No Grades (or whatever they are called) - so no inner frames. But I looked at the runners and they still look quite detailed. The only thing missing from the MGs are decals (wtf?) and probably some posability.

Now the question is which one to build now... ;o

GUNDAM 1/100 MG XXXG-00W0 WING ZERO CUSTOM

2010-04-29T19:54:23Z

Finished it is, as Yoda would have said.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the results - my aim was to build the MS in "factory" colors, but still have some fun with my airbrush (hey, all of this is new to me, so I wanted to try out my new toys). Plus, from what I've seen, painted gunpla >>>>> non-painted gunpla.

The theme I had in mind, when building this model, was "angelic... but can still kick ass". Hopefully, it turned out that way :)

This angel looks like it can kick ass...

As you can see, I kept the original colors, kicking up them a notch here and there - mainly the blue got changed to a nice metallic shade.

I've got to refine my skills as a photograph...

The other important (?) change I've made is the color of the panel lines. Black panel lines wouldn't stand out on the blue parts of the armor (at least not in a good way, IMHO), so I thought that gold would make a good choice - it adds a bit of a "majestic" look. I was contemplating using silver/aluminum instead, but IMHO that would make the MS look to "cold", if that makes any sense :)

I did use the silver panel lining somewhere else...

Actually, I think I used three (3) types of aluminum/steel/gunmetal on the guns...

Well, at least two shades - gunmetal and some sort of aluminum

I'm kinda jealous of GaiGun for his splendid work on his Shinanju's Rifle (and Bazooka)... One day, I'll get my hands on some Wave decals too...

The rifles are actually almost as tall as the MS itself... but somehow they look so right... :3~~

Which one should I use today...? Left or Right?

But when all's said and done, Gundam Wing Zero Custom is about... wings.

Gundam Wing Zero Custom's Wings in almost full glory

But again, the "default" black color for panel lining didn't quite fit the angelic theme. Even gray wasn't quite it. So I mixed some light blue I had with a darker one and got this:

Dry transfer decals look good... but they love to tear ;_;

Originally, I thought about leaving those three bold stripes alone... but then I changed my mind - IMHO, this way it looks more alive or something :)

The bottoms turned out like this, when I got too lazy and didn't want to clean up properly after panel lining... So I just shaded it all with light blue.

The arms supporting the wings allow for quite a lot of posing.

Now, I must confess something... I discovered that I, like some other bloggers, have a thing for...

DELICIOUS GUNDAM LEGS

Please don't judge me ;_;

They're oh-so-fine... They blow my mind...

OK, OK, last one... Till next time! Bwuahahaha

I'LL BE BACK

Omake:

TRANS-AM!

What is this abomination?

2010-04-27T14:48:04Z

So, I must confess something - it's my first time building a gunpla. I have some experience in modeling in general (by "some" I mean "built some models 10-so years ago"), but building gunpla is different then regular plastic models (of tanks, aircraft and such). So I took extra effort to not make any blunder and do everything by the book (or in this case - the manual).

I won't disclose the name of the Mobile Suit yet (although, it shouldn't be too hard to guess...), but look at this:

It's a Crabdam!

Uh-oh... It seems it hasn't noticed me yet...

Phew... It's walking away... :saaafe:

Have you ever ended up with a funny looking half-baked (or intentionally crippled) gunpla?

PS: This reminded me of a something I saw over at Busterbeam...

>Something<