Gunpla

Gunpla Build - High Grade GM Custom 2021-10-20

Oh hey look, it’s the GM Custom!

Who could have predicted that this would be my next build? It’s not like there were any clues or anything.

I love the GM Custom. You love the GM Custom. Everyone loves the GM Custom.

You do love it, right? I mean, it ranks up there with the GM Sniper II as one of the best GM variants of all time. It has that special something that lets it rise above its station, becoming far cooler than just any old grunt suit.

Gunpla Build - Zaku II Revive (final) 2021-10-17

Soooooo yeahhhhhh ….

This is where things get ugly. Or at least they got ugly for me while I was taking these photos. If any of these shots look pretty good to you, know they took a lot of time to get.

Also, I broke things. A lot of things (more on that later).

As it turns out, while the Revive Zaku may be great at posing without weapons, it sucks at posing with them. So far I’ve been highly positive about this model kit, but this is where some of the goodwill starts to chip away.

Gunpla Build - Zaku II Revive (part 3) 2021-10-11

Zakus may technically be mass production mobile suits, but compared to the GMs and other Feddie suits, Zaku model kits tend to come with a hearty arsenal. You’ll usually get a Heat Hawk, a Machine gun, and a bazooka at minimum (though some of the Zaku I’s from the Origin line swapped the bazooka for a shield).

In some cases - such as the Zaku II C6 - you’ll get even more, such as an anti-ship rifle and missile packs.

The Revive Zaku comes with the three standard weapons, which is to be expected. But are they well done? Let’s investigate.

Gunpla Build - Zaku II Revive (part 2) 2021-10-10

I said before that this model had a surprising number of pieces, but apparently that hasn’t had any appreciable effect on the build. This one is going by at a rapid clip. I guess that tells me just how much of my time is spent on panel lining, decals, painting, etc, because I haven’t had to do much (or any) of that stuff.

Lower Torso

I decided to shade only the bottom of each skirt piece. It would look weird if I did it all around, since the Zaku’s skirt armor is meant to look flush.

Gunpla Build - Zaku II Revive (part 1) 2021-10-09

The sooner we get this built, the sooner this Zaku can start kickin’ Gundams around.

First, the runners:

That’s a pretty impressive amount of parts. Take away the one with the rubber skirt, and the black one with all the weapons, and you still have five fairly large runners full of parts. I’m a bit surprised, especially considering how the model is intentionally designed to look so simple and basic.

Gunpla Build - Zaku II Revive 2021-10-07

I was all set to take a nice break from building model kits. I was going to focus on my video game backlog, or my book backlog, or the multiple Gundam shows I have on DVD and Blu Ray that I haven’t finished watching.

It didn’t last long. I hate (hate) to admit it, but I think this modern world of smartphones and social media have ruined my ability to just sit down and watch a piece of passive media. And while I’m not done playing video games, the older I get, the more they feel like a waste of time. Why sit there and go through the motions in some poorly designed virtual experience when I could be making something with my hands?

So I’m back at the workbench, ready to finish a kit I started months ago:

In the words of Bluey Heeler - “let’s doooo this …”

Gundam Gframe - Hi ν Gundam 2021-09-26

Mrs. Wolfe found this G-Frame figure at Target and thought I might like it. It refused to ring up at the register, and somehow she and the cashier agreed that it was worth $12. So I guess I got it at a (very) slight discount.

What we have here is the Hi ν Gundam (the ν being the greek letter, so the name is pronounced as “Hi Nu Gundam”). It’s … an interesting choice for a GFrame. Let’s talk about it.

Gunpla Build - Real Grade Wing Gundam (Final) 2021-08-30

It’s been a week, but I’ve finally taken some photos and am ready to wrap this build up.

Articulation

Despite having a full inner frame, the range on most of the body parts is poor.

Head: The upward range is so-so. This is the best I could muster, and I had to pull the ball joint as far out as I could just to get it:

Downward is much better:

Gunpla Build - Real Grade Wing Gundam (Part 4) 2021-08-22

Let’s finish up this build so Wing Gundam can finally take to the skies.

Wings

I’m not at all surprised when I say that this was the hardest part of the build.

First off, look at how many parts are required to build a single wing:

It is a lot to keep track of, and they proved to be a huge challenge when it came to applying the decals. The instructions do a terrible job of helping you identify which specific pieces - and which side of each piece - you’re supposed to apply the decals to.