cmwolfe.net

2016

Gunpla Chronicles 7 2016-11-01

I can explain, I swear.

I know I just got done building not one, but two models, and a Panda’gguy. I also know that I considered taking a break back in September.

Long story short, I learned that Barnes and Noble was doing a clearance event, and that Gundam model kits might be one of the many things they mark down. I went online to look at prices and availability, when I stumbled upon the HG Gundam Astaroth from Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. It looked cool as heck, and the price was cheaper than I’ve ever seen for a High Grade kit (13 bucks, though online it can be found for a ten spot). I felt like I couldn’t pass it up.

Gunpla Chronicles Side Story - Panda'gguy 2016-10-13

You don’t have to build Gunpla for very long before you’ll inevitably encounter a Bear’gguy. Heck, all you have to do is simply search for Gunpla online and you’ll probably find one.

I’m not an expert by any stretch, so my information is probably wrong, but as far as I can tell the original Bear’gguy appeared in Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G, an OVA from the early 2000’s that was a sort of precursor to Gundam Build Fighters. The Bear’gguy was a highly modified version of the Acguy, made to resemble a teddy bear. The original is … not exactly adorable, but you get the idea (side note - the idea of making ita bear in the first place seems to stem from the fact that the Acguy is the butt of many fan jokes due to its “cute” design compared to other mobile suits).

You say cute, I say ‘nightmare fuel’

Gunpla Chronicles 6 - Kampfer Final 2016-10-01

I guess it’s time to reveal the finished model, paint job be damned.

Normally I’ll tell you that some mistake or error is impossible to see from a distance. But I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to notice the difference in the paint’s finish in a lot of these photos. I’d love to get some feedback and critiques of it, but that would require a readerbase :(

Gunpla Chronicles 6 - Kampfer Painting 2016-09-21

The Kämpfer is finally complete. And boy what a pain in the butt it was to paint.

To compare, a traditional Federation-style suit is going to have lots of straight lines and clean angles. When topcoating a Feddie model, you can lay an arm or a leg or a torso down flat, spray it, and easily cover most of the piece.

But Zeon suits are not so easy. They’re bulbous and ornate. Convex flows into concave, domes are layered upon curves, etcetera etcetera. Compared to their Federation counterparts, Zeon suits have more nooks and crannies, and as far as I can tell, a larger surface area in general.

When it comes to painting, this makes the job more difficult. You have to make sure to get an even coat while also making sure you don’t miss any hard to reach places. And the large size of the pieces means you’ll be going through more paint as well.

So, how did I deal with all these factors at once? I couldn’t tell you. The Zaku was probably my worst paint job (albeit my first as well), and this Kämpfer may be the runner up.

Gunpla Chronicles 6 - Kampfer Part 3 2016-09-16

I went back and built the head. The kit comes with three decals for the mono eye, so if the first one gets mucked up during painting, I have some backups.

The assembly is similar to the Zaku, which makes perfect sense. There’s a bowl-shaped bottom, a piece that goes inside for the eye, and finally the dome shaped top. The head also has three decals, which is more than I expected for such a small surface area.

Gunpla Chronicles 6 - Kampfer Part 2 2016-09-13

For a number of reasons, this build is taking longer than the last one. One of those reasons is that the Kämpfer isn’t color accurate out of the box. Take a look at these images.

See the orange thrusters? The orange on the legs? Turns out that none of that is made out of orange plastic. If you want them to look “right”, you are going to have to paint. Since I don’t have paint or the necessary equipment, I tried to get clever by using colored Sharpies. I had great success using Sharpies on the antenna of the EZ8, and research indicated that they were considered OK for doing minor touchup work. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Gunpla Chronicles 6 - Kampfer Part 1 2016-09-11

Last post I posted a teaser of the Kämpfer’s arsenal, but refrained from going into any detail. It would simply cause that last post to run to long. So let’s start fresh. Be warned, it is still going to take a while.

The first thing I built was Kämpfer’s most iconic tool, the chain mine. I built it while watching several episodes of Gundam 0083, and it took up the entire night all on its own. The reason is that the chain mine is made up of thirteen separate mines, each of which is made out of two pieces. That’s a lot of snipping, trimming, and sanding. Here’s what it looks like once it is done:

Gunpla Chronicles 6 - EZ8 Part 3 2016-09-05

With the EZ8’s torso, there was less snapping of things together, and more plugging of pieces into one another. That might not sound like much of a difference, but it is. The final product looks much the same as any other Gundam torso, but it was a weird way to get there.

One nice thing about the torso is that it feels - how should I say it - robust. The skirt armor is big, but not too big, and it feels sturdy. Some delicate panel lining rounds out the finished piece.