What with its display stand and extra beam effect parts, the Jupitive Gundam has the most runners of any of the Planet Armors so far:
You know the drill by now. The build is the same as before. Let’s zoom in on the highlights.
Manifer Bits
Here are the Manifer Bits that attach to the Jupitive’s wrists.
These are so intricate, and they give the Jupitive Gundam not only some extra bulk, but also that extra firepower.
Shoulder Armor
Next we have the shoulder armor:
This too is more intricate than what we’ve seen before. It’s bigger, it’s got parts layering, and it has embedded thrusters.
Multi-Container Bits
Our final highlight is the Multi-Container Bits, which are just as versatile in real life as they are in the show.
The panel on the end of the bit can be popped out and rotated to face upward (which is what you’re supposed to do to put it into Shield Mode):
It doesn’t look impressive visually, but it is pretty clever mechanically.
It can do even more once you plug them into the backpack. You can lay them out like this:
Or folded inward like this:
Or moved up and down like this:
While it’s all quite impressive, in a roundabout way this also demonstrates just how versatile a simple ball joint is. Most of this range of articulation could be replicated with a simple ball and socket (that’s not to say I think they should have done that here. It’s just an observation).
Beam Gatling Gun
The Beam Gatling looks so cool in the show, but I’m not in love with this right here.
For one, it’s way too big for the Jupitive Gundam. For another, it has no front grip, so it can’t hold it two handed. I fear this is going to be extremely awkward looking as a one-handed weapon, but I guess we’ll see.
Topcoating
Let’s address the elephant in the room - how did the topcoating go.
First, I’ll say that much to my surprise, it didn’t cause any issues. Some of the connections are a bit stiffer when connecting the armor to either the Core Gundam or the Support Mecha, but as long as you’re careful you shouldn’t have to worry about anything breaking. That is a huge relief.
Second, I’ll say that while the Juptitive Gundam doesn’t look bad with a matte coat, I’m also don’t think it looks better. It just looks … different.
I’ve always accepted it as a given that any Gunpla looks better with a topcoat, but that simply isn’t the case with any of the Planet Armors. I just don’t find it necessary with these kits.
I find that extremely interesting. What, if anything, is so different about them? My guess is that it has something to do with the design. Since the Core Gundam and Planet Armors are Gunpla both in-universe and in real life, I think they were designed to look far more colorful and toylike than most other mobile suits. When they’re unpainted, not only do that not look bad, but I think you could argue that they actually look more natural.
Overall, I don’t regret topcoating this one. At the very least I know now that I don’t need to do it for any of the other armors. But I definitely wasn’t expecting this kind of result.
Painting and Detailing
I don’t know whether or not this one required more painting and detailing than the previous two Planet Armors, but it certainly felt like it. There are lots of panel lines on the shoulder armor and the wrist-mounted bits. The good news is that you only need a single color (either black or dark grey), so it doesn’t require any mixing. It does, however, require a bit of patience to get it all done.
Color Blindness
I don’t believe there’s such a thing as blue/black color blindness, but sometimes I wonder. It’s a problem I seem to have all the time with Gunpla - a mobile suit will have dark blue body parts, but I’ll swear that it’s black instead.
That’s the case once again with the Jupitive Gundam. Early on I was going to paint those parts black, but ultimately laziness won the day.
That, and I was afraid that the paint would chip off over time. In the end, I think I made the right choice.
Finished
This post hasn’t gone on for too long, but it’s long enough that I’ll leave the photos for a third and final post. See you then.