Gundam

Gunpla Build - High Grade Messer (Part 4) 2022-08-16

Let’s finish this build …

Head

Relative to the rest of the body, the head arguably requires the most work. Not including the monoeye, there are four different places to which you need to either apply color correcting decals, or paint (I chose to split the difference, going half and half). It’s precision work either way; the decals are so small that you can easily tear them apart, while painting requires a small brush and a steady hand.

Additionally, there is a nasty seamline that runs along the entire head. I normally leave seamlines alone, but this one was too much even for me. I did my best to use some cement and sandpaper to buff it out.

Gunpla Build - High Grade Messer (Part 3) 2022-08-07

It’s been almost another month since I last touched the Messer. The last time I took so many breaks during a build, I was a new father.

Let’s see how far I can get this time around.

Lower Torso

Folks, I don’t know what else to say anymore. These pieces are huge. Again. I mean, just look at that skirt armor. Or just look at the inner frame! ’ve never leg pegs that large, even on Master Grades. They look like handlebars.

Gunpla Build - Master Grade Gundam F91 (Conclusion) 2022-08-03

This is it. I promise this is the last post about the Master Grade F91.

Cracking the Code

I finally, finally figured out the root reason why the High Grade F91 doesn’t look right. You can see it in this side profile comparison:

It’s the chest. It doesn’t stick out as far, and this fundamentally changes the look of the mobile suit.

However, it’s not a change that is super obvious in isolation, without something “correct” to compare it to. This explains why I had a hard time fingering what, exactly, felt “off” about it. But now I know - with a smaller chest, the HG F91 just doesn’t look as mighty.

Gunpla Build - Master Grade Gundam F91 (Photos Part 2) 2022-07-30

There I was, worried about whether or not the Master Grade F91’s articulation would hinder it’s ability to pose. As it turns out, I never got far enough to really find out.

Seriously, this photo shoot was a disaster. Thankfully nothing broke, but it took me almost an hour to get less than twenty shots. I ended up stopping out of fear that I would break something if I spent any more time.

Gunpla Build - Master Grade Gundam F91 (Part 6) 2022-07-13

I don’t have a quippy intro for this one. Let’s just get this wrapped up.

Shoulders

I am happy to report that all of the dry rub decals on the shoulders went on without (much) issue. The only problem is that there are a few tiny wrinkles in the “F” on the right shoulder. I didn’t dare try and smooth them out, lest I accidentally scrape the decal off, and thankfully it’s only noticeable from very close up, under the very specific lighting.

Gunpla Build - Master Grade Gundam F91 (Part 5) 2022-07-11

After all the mistakes and blunders I’ve made during the course of this build, you’d think that I would have gotten them all out of my system by now. But no - everything that’s happened so far was little more than a warmup. You have no idea how close I was to having the wheels come off this build entirely.

I’m serious - if not for the fact that this model comes with two different heads, I would not have an intact Gundam F91 to show you. When building one of the heads, I lost two parts, and broke a third. The only reason I’m still left standing is luck, plain and simple.

I don’t want to get too grim here - despite facing that many more gruesome screwups, thankfully I was able to fix or recover from most of them. There’s only one flaw that’s glaringly obvious, and only if you’re looking very carefully. This could have been waaaaaaaaaaaaaay worse.

With that out of the way, let’s dive and finish this build.

Gunpla Build - Master Grade Gundam F91 (Part 4) 2022-07-10

I know I said I’d do the VSBRs last, but I changed my mind. After building the upper torso, it just seemed like the next logical thing to do.

Plus, the VSBRs are one of two sections where we can use the model’s dry-transfer decals, and I wanted to get those over with sooner rather than later. If I waited until the very end and screwed them up, it would be a downer ending to the build.

Which brings me to a little detour …