I haven’t had much time to work on the build, so this week all I could finish is the shoulder armor.
The shoulders are another section of the model which feature an alternate “Test Suit” configuration, in which you can change the appearance of the exhaust vent, as well as the top part of armor plating. The Test vent is a bit bigger and more cavernous than the standard one, and just like with the Test booster on legs, it looks better standalone than when it is attached to the rest of the model.
The armor plating is more puzzing to me. Neither piece looks dramatically different from the other, and there are only enough decals for one pair (which is baffling in comparison to the extra decals given for other parts of the model). I chose to commit to the standard armor, and I’ll likely keep it that way for good.
Above is the finished pair. They look really sharp with all the details in place. I think this was my best work so far; there were no accidents, and I lost no decals. Perhaps I am repeating the same pattern from the last two builds, in which I slowly become more competent the farther along I get into the build. If that’s the case, so be it, but I wish I could preserve those skills between models.