Gunpla Build - High Grade Blazing Gundam (Final)

The Blazing Gundam is now complete, and just in time for me to use it with one of my new birthday gifts - a brand new lightbox for taking Gunpla photos:

I can’t say for sure how it compares to what other folks use, but it sounds like this one is almost identical to the one covered here by the folks at Gunpla101. It has pretty much all the same features mentioned there, including the colored background inserts, the light diffusion cover, and the side panels (black, white, and reflective).

It’s going to take some practice and experimentation to get a feel for how to use it to the fullest. The following photos were all taken using different combinations of accessories (diffusion cloth on/off, white side panels, reflective panels, etc), and to my eye they look the same:

The only exception was, obviously, the black side panels:

This isn’t a good look for the vast majority of shots, but I can see some cases where you might want your model to look a bit dark and ominous.

Of course, the colored backgrounds also do a lot to change the look and tone:

For some reason only some of these backgrounds are made out of paper. Others are made out of plastic, including the black one, which means it creates a nasty looking sheen:

That’s a shame, because otherwise the black background really helps the model stand out.

I’d love to do a mini review of this lightbox, but I think I need more time with it. Aside from figuring out the issues with lighting, I need to photograph more Gunpla, to see how easily they fit into the box. My fear is that certain models, doing certain poses, are not going to fit strictly within the backgrounds, such that the sides (or the top) of the box will bleed into the shot.

Now with that out of the way, let’s focus on the model. I chose to use the white background for the rest of the photos, as that seemed to be the safest choice (though I am looking forward to using the other colors with later builds).

I really like this look. It channels a bit of the God Gundam, while mostly looking like its own thing. There’s a certain sense of poise to the Blazing, even without any weapons.

Speaking of which, it turns out I’m not terribly great at posing without weapons. At least not attack poses:

You may have noticed that I did not start the post with any articulation tests. That’s because I forgot to do them, though perhaps there’s a resaon for that. When it comes to older kits (as well as ones like this that are based on older kits), I find that there are diminishing returns when it comes to articulation. You might get good range here or there, but by and large it’s going to have limitations. Articulation tests are more interesting with fully modern kits, where you can see what limits Bandai may be pushing (or where it might come up short).

What I can tell you about this kits articulation is that:

• The joints were weirdly loose, especially the legs
• The knee has pretty good range
  • The hip joint does not. The skirt armor gets in the way quite a lot
• The arms don’t have quite the cross body range that I was expecting from them
• The head and torso can move and rotate freely

Of course, it pulls off its finishing move with aplomb:

I originally assumed that I’d get little to no use out of the goofy, God Finger-style open hands, but I was wrong. They ended being extremely useful in almost every pose. You can’t always notice that the fingers are separated, and even when you can, sometimes it makes for a good look.

Case in point - this midair kick didn’t look right with two closed fists:

Let’s move onto the weapons. I didn’t expect to get much mileage out of these, but in the end I had more fun messing around with them than without.

I know it doesn’t look practical visually, but I think more beam sabers should have long handles. It makes them feel that much more substantial:

But as good as they were, the tonfas were even better.

They’re quite versatile. Just stick them into any standard pose, and it will look that much tougher:

And yes, sticking a single beam blade into just one of them looks cooler than I imagined:

Though two can also look good in the right context:

I think this might be my first real attempt at a “blocking” pose:

Closing Thoughts

What to say about this build? About this model?

I can’t say it was my best work. Nor is it the best looking or most articulate model I’ve ever seen. But there’s nothing about it that’s flat out bad. It was a lot of fun to build, fairly fun to pose, and quite photogenic.

I guess, in the end, I will say that it was the model I needed right here, and right now. Simple but effective, without forcing me to plan ahead or overthink my approach. Something to remind me that building a model doesn’t have to be frustrating or tedious or error prone. For that alone I am thankful for the Blazing Gundam.