Gundam

About Aftermarket/Replacement Waterslides 2024-08-29

As you’re hopefully aware of by now, every Real Grade model comes with a very large sheet of stickers. Some of them represent logos, others represent caution or warning signs (the kind that you might see on a real piece of military hardware or other heavy machinery), while others are metallic stickers meant to make certain body parts look more realistic and mechanical.

And they’re great! Except for when they’re not.

Gunpla Build - Real Grade Build Strike Gundam Full Package 2024-08-27

So the Real Grade Crossbone Gundam ended up being a bust, in part due to the fact that I chose to use the included stickers instead of waterslide decals.

What’s ironic about this is that I have three other Real Grades in the backlog - two of which I acquired last year - and I have a sheet of replacement, aftermarket waterslides for each of them.

In other words, I already decided a while ago that I wanted to switch to using waterslides with Real Grade kits. And yet I went ahead and used the stickers on the Crossbone anyway.

Now I want a shot at redemption. It’s time to build one of those Real Grades from the backlog, and this time I’m going to do the job right:

It’s the Build Strike Gundam, the star of one of my favorite shows in the series.

Dragon Gundam Incoming 2024-08-23

Once Bandai released new (and, sadly, Premium Bandai) High Grade Gunpla for both Gundam Rose and Gundam Maxter, it was bleedingly obvious that they were going to relase the entirety of the Shuffle Alliance. The only lingering questions were a) Which one would they release next?, and b) When would they release it?

Now we have our answers - the next one is Sai Saici’s Dragon Gundam, and it’s coming out this winter in Japan (though folks in the US will have to wait until January 2025):

Gashapon Build - Freedom Gundam 2024-08-18

Some time ago - I don’t exactly remember when - one of my local malls got some official Bandai Gashapon machines. Initially they had one machine dedicated to Gundam gatchas, but by the time I got to go and see it for myself, they were all sold out.

And then it was replaced with some other product. And then another product. And then another product. Until finally they restocked it with more Gundams.

To be specific, the machine was (and once again is) stocked with toys from the Gashapon Senshi Forte line. You can view the website here to see all the different Series they’ve released over the years. I think most of them look pretty great, except for Series 8, which is almost all mecha from Gundam SEED (as well as Command Gundam just to tease me).

Guess which series was in the machine … ?

But hey, beggars can’t be choosers, and I’ve been begging to learn what these Gundam Gatchas are like. So I pulled the trigger, and while I didn’t get my beloved Command Gundam, at least I got what is by far the best of the SEED Mecha:

Yep, it’s the Freedom Gundam.

Gunpla Build - Real Grade Crossbone Gundam (Build) 2024-08-02

Okay, now we get to the mobile suit. The instructions have you build it from the bottom up, so let’s just do exactly that.

Feet

I just want to take this time to say that I love this dark tone of red:

It’s just so rich and deep.

But yeah, there’s not much else to say here. It’s got an inner frame and a toe bend, and everything you’d expect from a foot.

Gunpla Build - Real Grade Crossbone Gundam (Core Fighter) 2024-07-31

Okay, now that we’ve looked at the Crossbone Gundam’s mountain of accessories, let’s now take a look at the Crossbone itself, starting with the Core Fighter.

Prior to building this kit, I had no idea the Crossbone Gundam had a Core Fighter. I don’t think the F90 did, and the F91 certainly didn’t, but for some reason the Crossbone (née F97) does. Go figure.

This is one of two places on the model that uses one of the prebuilt “Advanced MS Joint” parts. Specifically, it uses this cross shaped part as a frame for the fighter’s long, bone-shaped thrusters:

Gunpla Build - Real Grade Crossbone Gundam (Accessories) 2024-07-28

In case you needed to see just how tiny some of the parts are for this kit, here’s a look at the runners:

Take a close look at things like the leg armor, or the red toe armor, and you’ll see that they’re that much smaller than normal. Or you can try and zoom in on some of the excruciatingly tiny orange parts on the A runner.