Model Making Makes Me Merry

[WisteriaHysteria]

I thought it was about time we made TT3 thread for model kits, so here we go! We can talk about model making of any kind. Plastic, metal builds, DIY, off of runners, from scratch, garage kits, cars, robots, characters, whatever! Let's talk about all of it. I focus on mostly Gunpla, but I think models of every variety are super neato.

Also, there are no stupid questions! Everyone who has ever made a model kit has started from square one at one point in their lives. Feel free to ask all kinds of questions, and those of us who have experience will do our best to guide. If people write up good posts and tips, I'll do my best to update the OP with links to them for easy access.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Double-post b/c wanted to keep the OP clean-ish. Some breaking news that might be of interest to a few of you guys:

Square-Enix (of all people) is releasing their own line of plamo kits. "Structure Arts 1/144 Scale Plastic Model Kit Series Vol.1"

YES, that is in fact, the world's first official Xenogears plastic model kits. Vol. 1 comes with all four kits. List price is 8,712 JPY and it comes out in March. Each one is about the size and complexity of a basic HG from Bandai (~5.5 inches; and is made of 3-4 runners each). I'm not certain as it's not real clear from any of the promotional material, but I suspect they'll be monochrome and you'll have to paint them yourself, so not as friendly for beginners like most Bandai stuff is these days. And the engineering of the kits looks like something Bandai made 20 years ago with how glaring some of the seamlines are. But hey, XENOGEARS KITS, GUYS!!!!!1

I already see pre-order listings on all the usual import sites (Ami-Ami, 1999, HLJ, etc). I'm very torn personally, as this is like a dream come true, but also if I bought these I'd feel compelled to invest in a proper air brush. But oh man do the mock ups look good:

Spoiler

What could Vol 2 even include when these heavy hitters are Vol 1?

 

[FelixSH]

I have never done modelling, and I'm monetarily too constraint right now, but it's something I would be definitely interested in.

While playing Xenogears, I probably liked the Vierge the most, due to it's slim design. I would love to have that one.

The others I would like are Billys Gear (cape!) and Emeraldas (slim, wings, no arms, really cool design all around).

 

[Kirin]

Despite my backlog and the fact that I haven't sat down to build in like a couple years now, I'd be seriously tempted by those Xeno kits if they were molded in color. As is I don't have the skill or patience to make them look good (or at least, it's enough of a barrier to kill my impulse purchase desire).

 

[Kishi]

I very well might have to purchase and build a plastic model if they make OR Weltall.

 

[Mightyblue]

Looks like they're using an inner skeleton to mount the external bits on for at least some of it, so it shouldn't be too bad to assemble. The real challenge would be painting it, yeah.

 

[Felicia]

Time to revive this thread, because after finishing my rewatch of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, I yesterday ordered my very first Gunpla. It hasn't arrived yet, so I don't have anything to show, but it did make me reflect upon how this is a hobby that requires a lot of patience. Because first I'll have to wait for the box to get shipped all the way from Japan (if I'm lucky, it will arrive sometime next month), then I'll have to go out and buy the necessary tools, and finally I'll have to sit down and carefully cut out the pieces, sand them down, and assemble them in the correct order. It's the opposite of "instant gratification", and I feel like that might actually be healthy for me.

I'm not sure if I'll get really into it and make multiple models, I just really wanted a model of the greatest Gundam of all time, the representative of my home country of Sweden, the incomparable Nobel Gundam.

Because what can be more Swedish than a giant robot that looks like Sailor Moon?

 

[Octopus Prime]

OH!

It's named after the prize, not the concept of nobility.

*Just* got that

 

[Felicia]

To be fair, I believe the English dub of the anime calls it "Noble Gundam". Also, I suspect that most people would be confused about why it's named after the Nobel Prize when it looks like a Japanese superhero.

It's so silly, and I love it so much.

 

[Torzelbaum]

Time to revive this thread, because after finishing my rewatch of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, I yesterday ordered my very first Gunpla. It hasn't arrived yet, so I don't have anything to show, but it did make me reflect upon how this is a hobby that requires a lot of patience. Because first I'll have to wait for the box to get shipped all the way from Japan (if I'm lucky, it will arrive sometime next month), then I'll have to go out and buy the necessary tools, and finally I'll have to sit down and carefully cut out the pieces, sand them down, and assemble them in the correct order. It's the opposite of "instant gratification", and I feel like that might actually be healthy for me.

I'm not sure if I'll get really into it and make multiple models, I just really wanted a model of the greatest Gundam of all time, the representative of my home country of Sweden, the incomparable Nobel Gundam.

Because what can be more Swedish than a giant robot that looks like Sailor Moon?

Swedes dig giant robots.

 

[Felicia]

Swedes dig giant robots.

Can confirm.

 

[Tomm Guycot]

Should I Gunpla? It seems inevitable.

 

[Octopus Prime]

I'm afraid you simply must

 

[Vaeran]

Should I Gunpla? It seems inevitable.

It's a relaxing way to kill a few hours, and very satisfying to turn a pile of plastic bits and bobs into a fully-articulated and badass action figure. If you don't have any experience with plastic models I would recommend something from the HG ("High Grade") line of 1/144 scale kits. They'll run you about 20 bucks*, require no glue or paint, and stand about six inches tall when complete. You'll want to get a pair of nippers to cut the pieces off of the gates. I got these on Amazon and they work just fine.

Pick your favorite mobile suit, or just one whose design you find appealing, and have fun with it! Please post pics when you're done.

*who knows with tariffs lol

 

[Tomm Guycot]

It's a relaxing way to kill a few hours, and very satisfying to turn a pile of plastic bits and bobs into a fully-articulated and badass action figure. If you don't have any experience with plastic models I would recommend something from the HG ("High Grade") line of 1/144 scale kits. They'll run you about 20 bucks*, require no glue or paint, and stand about six inches tall when complete. You'll want to get a pair of nippers to cut the pieces off of the gates. I got these on Amazon and they work just fine.

Pick your favorite mobile suit, or just one whose design you find appealing, and have fun with it! Please post pics when you're done.

*who knows with tariffs lol

The second episode of GQuuuuuux got me so my first official kit might be Char's red Gundam which has an HG coming out shortly.

But my niece's ex bf bought me an SD kit for Christmas like five years ago and never let me borrow his cutters so it's just been gathering dust. I ordered a basic toolset and mat off Amazon so I'll see if it grabs me.

I've watched various videos and I never knew (before last week) they didn't require paint and glue! But I think paneling is about my speed. What really got me was someone comparing it to LEGO and then finding out how much cheaper Gunpla is than the LEGO sets I'm interested in. I'll check in once Try Burning Gundam SD is complete.

 

[Octopus Prime]

An SD set is, I believe, the lowest in terms of complexity, so you may not even need anything more that a paring knife to be able to assemble that one.

Otherwise the Lego comparison is apt; most Gunpla are basically Lego sets with bespoke pieces

 

[Tomm Guycot]

Here's my entry point.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Vaeran]

Hell yeah, let's go!

SD kits are quick and simple builds that will ease you into Gunpla, but don't take their quality as being representative of the larger models. Obviously due to their squat proportions they're not going to have much in the way of poseability, but there's also the matter of decals. HG kits usually come with a few stickers for finer coloring details (such as the eyes) but SD kits are often lousy with them, and you're sometimes asked to apply them to non-flat surfaces where they can fit poorly and don't look great. I don't say this to diminish your enthusiasm for the kit you already have, but if you finish this one and find yourself still wondering what all the fuss is about, please know that greater things await you.

 

[Vaeran]

As an example of what I mean, here's an SD RX-78-2 I put together last year, which looks rather unsatisfyingly like a McDonald's toy straight out of the box:

I skipped the provided decals and went with a bit of paint instead, this being the result:

(Please forgive the sloppy cross on the shield.) Pretty much all of those areas that required touching up would already be molded in the correct colors on an HG kit.

 

[Tomm Guycot]

I have the head and chest so far. Stickers are certainly my biggest issue (nailed the eyes though).

But so far my biggest annoyance is the hands are supposed to be gray, but are on the white runner. ...but there IS a gray runner. What are you doing Bandai.

 

[Violentvixen]

We've only done one, but it was fun. If we had more space/income I might do more. We were give the Orix Buffaloes baseball team one as a thank you gift when we took a group of friends to Japan, they all pitched in and got it for us.

 

[Tomm Guycot]

That recolor is sick.

 

[Vaeran]

I like it a lot too. It's very close to the Titans' Mk. II color scheme from Zeta, but the gold gives it a little touch of class.

 

[Tomm Guycot]

What is everyone's approach?

A) Clip and de-nub every piece for an entire sequence, then run through assembly

B) Clip and de-nub only the 1 or 2 pieces per step, assembling as you go.

What about when it's something repeating like arms and legs?

Does it depend on how much time you have? Or do you have a favored approach?

I know my SD kit is far simpler with fewer pieces but I'm experimenting with different methods. For his arms I clipped and de-nubbed everything for both arms, on opposite sides of my mat. Even though I was super careful, I second-guessed my organization during assembly at least three times.

 

[Vaeran]

Definitely B for me. If you move on to more complex kits you will eventually encounter parts that look very similar but have minute differences, and doing it one step at a time will save you a lot of squinting at the instructions to differentiate them and, as you said, second guessing yourself. Even when it's steps 1-2-3 for the left leg and mirrored steps 4-5-6 for the right leg, going in order is the best thing for my scatterbrained ass.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Never even considered option A, really doesn't seem like a good idea especially when you get to a piece that has a lot similar pieces.

When the sections double, I just do them twice

 

[Tomm Guycot]

So I finished him save the panel lining.

What do you guys think - do I go black only since he's SD? or do I obey the color rules?

UPDATE!

I finished assembly. I think I did OK.
The stickers were obviously the least successful part. Once everything was done, I did cut additional pieces off the sticker sheet to fill in spots I missed, most notably the front camera. After taking these pictures, I cut out an additional shape to fill in the rear helmet camera as well.
I'm going to move on to paneling and then I'll post an update.

A pretty fun kit, and nicely detailed for an SD set I think...?

I'm thinking of trying an HG RX-78-2 kit next - potentially the GTO version.

FINAL UPDATE:
Here he is with panel lining. I'm finished with Try Burning Gundam for the time being, though I may test a few mod techniques on him in the future (I can't stand his hands are white instead of gray)

 

[spines]

i have decided i want to buy some gundams. great time for it, i know, immaculate like always. anyway i'm curious what people like for supplies because i haven't built models in like 25 years and i sucked at it back then

 

[Tomm Guycot]

i have decided i want to buy some gundams. great time for it, i know, immaculate like always. anyway i'm curious what people like for supplies because i haven't built models in like 25 years and i sucked at it back then

I'm sure the pros will have more detailed advice but since I just got a rudimentary set here's what seems to be the important bits:

* Double bladed nippers to cut out parts
* single-bladed nippers for excising nubs easily
* exacto knife/hobby knife for excising nubs less easily / cutting out makeshift stickers / lifting stickers / etc
* various grades of sandpaper / sanding sponges / sanding sticks
* tweezers for sticker placement though someone online recommended toothpicks instead

Those are the must haves.
Personally I found painting in the panel lining added that extra oomph so I'd suggest:
* Fine-tip Gundam Markers (some people use diluted ink, and there's a "pour marker" Gundam marker that is both methods combined)
* Q-tips for cleanup
* A normal white eraser block for finer cleanup


ALSO to echo what folks said to me - don't waste time on the EG (Entry Grade) Kits. The results aren't that great due to far simplified details. Feel free to jump right into HG (High Grade), or you could start with SD like I did (above) which is simplified but with nicer results than EG, for some kits.

 

[Felicia]

My girl is here!

The box arrived a lot faster than I expected (presumably it was sent from Japan to Sweden by plane?), which was a pleasant surprise. Also, while the photo of the finished model in the instructions shows the "hair" piece having a black interior, it's actually completely yellow on the sprue, which I actually think will look better.

Now for the next step, reading up on what tools to use, and buying those tools...