Gundam Virgin Question

[iSteve]

I was hunting through the stock of a seller on that online auction site, looking for some Bandai Star Wars kits, and being a Japanese company they had Gundam aplenty. I usually skip past those kits as they have never held any interest for me, but then I started to think well, why not try one just to say you did.

 

This one grabbed my attention as it seemed armed and ready to discuss who gets the last piece of pizza with a winning argument:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172138065205?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

There is a version with fewer bazookas for $19 CDN less:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172003388629?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

And another version at a smaller scale and half the price:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172369994222?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

The first two kits I listed I think are "Master Grade." What exactly does that entail? I know next to nothing about Gundam - can anyone tell me who this guy is and where he fits in the Gundam grand scheme of things? At 1/100 scale, what kind of finished size are we talking about? At 1/144?

 

Thanks in advance for helping a complete Gundam noob.

[iSteve]

Never mind - found this helpful bit of info:

 

http://blog.fromjapan.co.jp/en/anime/gundam/how-to-choose-the-right-gundam-model-kit.html

 

I also found what he is, but it barely makes sense to me. Like pretty much the entire Gundam universe.

 

[LotusArenco]

 

Have a look here to see the contents of the kits.
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10163434 
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10109605 
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10382549 

I’ve just knocked out a 1/144 scale Gundam and its roughly 6” high. No idea on the size of the 1/100 ones, but I’d guess about 9”. Type the name of the kit in google, chances are there are lots of online builds and Youtube vids to watch.
Have a look here regarding the different ‘grades’ available: http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Gunpla

 

Oh, and don’t try to make sense of it, just enjoy building stonking great robots!

 

Mart (just got back into Gundam myself)
 

 

 

[Thud4444]

6 hours ago, iSteve said:

I was hunting through the stock of a seller on that online auction site, looking for some Bandai Star Wars kits, and being a Japanese company they had Gundam aplenty. I usually skip past those kits as they have never held any interest for me, but then I started to think well, why not try one just to say you did.

 

This one grabbed my attention as it seemed armed and ready to discuss who gets the last piece of pizza with a winning argument:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172138065205?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

There is a version with fewer bazookas for $19 CDN less:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172003388629?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

And another version at a smaller scale and half the price:

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/172369994222?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

The first two kits I listed I think are "Master Grade." What exactly does that entail? I know next to nothing about Gundam - can anyone tell me who this guy is and where he fits in the Gundam grand scheme of things? At 1/100 scale, what kind of finished size are we talking about? At 1/144?

 

Thanks in advance for helping a complete Gundam noob.

 

First off, Gundam is a little weird for western audiences. ( but if I'm honest it's really no weirder than any other  foreign sci fi series. Every nation has its weird little ways of telling  a story with tropes and cliches that makes it a little odd to foreigners ) But it is really one of the best franchises on the planet.  I could recommend a few shows if you are interested.  But I'll answer the questions to the best of my ability. 

 

A  "Master Grade" kit is often a Gundam robot, called mobile suits in the fiction, that are scaled at 1/100.  This scales out, on most kits, between 9 to 12 inches. IMHO they are the finest kits made by any manufacturer. There is little to no flash, there are hardly any seams to fill, and the articulation is unreal. They aren't perfect, sometimes the plastic is wonky and the decals are more often than not terrible. The closest I've ever seen to a MS grade Gundam is Meng's new P-51. The 1/144 scale kits (which is what I mostly build BTW.) are really nice, just not as good or as well detailed as a MS grade kit.  I can't recommend them  enough.  If you want to try out the series at a cheaper price point,  I would recommend a HG 1/144 kit. They can be found easily on Amazon, with quite a few under $10 USD.

 

As for the suit,  that's the lastest in a long line of anti-Newtype mobile suits. The orginal Universe of Gundam revolves around the newtype, they are Gundams version of a Jedi. The Unicorn Gundam is meant for regular pilots to be able to engage a newtype for short periods of time. I wouldn't recommend starting watching Unicorn first, it's kind of like a Gundam version of Dr Who's Day of the Doctor.  It's really great but if your not a fan, a lot of the references and nostalgia will be lost on you.

 

 

If you have any other questions, let me know. I could talk this stuff all day!

 

 

Edited March 21, 2017 by Thud4444

[Thud4444]

I put some thought into this and i decided this was a good clip to introduce you to mobile suit combat. 

 

This is from the most recent series Gundam Thunderbolt. It's the story of two rival pilots, both love music, and how they are both being systematically destroyed by non stop combat. The traditional good guys, the Earth Federation's Io Flemming is slowly losing his mind from PTSD. The traditional bad guys, the Zeon's Living Dead squadron are slowly destroying their bodies fighting with obsolete mobile suits.  This is their 2nd or 3rd combat meeting. By this point in the war their are few experiences soldiers left so both sides have had to get "creative" to remain combat effective.  The Zeon are deploying  crippled old veterans and wonder weapons. The Federals are deploying  young teens with mass produced weapons. This particular series is soul crushing  and bleak. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TimMather]

i would skip the 144, the scale is too small which means detail is usually lost.
you can even watch the series to get you into it.

 

[solowing666]

All items above are featured in Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series (7-part mini movies and 22-episode TV series --> contents are identical).

If you are interested on watching, Bandai-Sunrise has a Youtube channel GundamInfo, and the TV series are available for free streaming at TimMather's comment (excellent animations accompanied with intense combats and quite-deep storyline)

If you explore their channel you may also find other series such as Iron-Blooded Orphans (2 episodes remaining) and Gundam Build Fighters (complete).

Note that some series has some connections, divided by timelines/multiverse, while some has no connection to the other series.

Discussion on these topics are nearly endless since they have released so many medias (TV series, movies, comics, light novels, games, etc) starting from the original TV series in 1979.

 

Regarding the kits, the I have built both MGs and I can say the added stuffs on the fully armed version are worth more than the price difference. It should keep you busy at least twice the time. I generally don't build HGs if the models are available in MG because of details, freedom of movements (more pose-able), and sheer size.

Note that most enamels, spirits, and oil-based products can make Bandai plastics weak and brittle especially on thin parts. However lacquers do excellent jobs without noticeable harmful effects.

Edited March 22, 2017 by solowing666

[iSteve]

Wow guys - thank you so very much!

 

Thanks for the links Mart. I had forgotten 1999 shows the parts and instructions. Found some excellent prices too at HLJ.com.

 

Thanks for the insight Thud and for the clip. The animation looks fantastic and the dialogue and story lines are intriguing. I may one day give it a shot. I've watched all of Yamato 2199 and am working my way through Ghost in the Shell for now.

 

Thanks for the tips and clips Tim and Solo. My thinking as well: go for 1/100 MG and get the extra detail and size for a reasonable price.

 

By the way, do you gentlemen weather the bejeesus out of your Gundams for that "experienced combat" effect? Or just a bit to add realism?

[Will Vale]

Just bear in mind that with the MG you're talking a big project - often hundreds and hundreds of parts, especially on the bigger/newer models like the Unicorn.

 

I disagree with Tim on the validity of 1/144 scale - I think the 1/144 "High Grade" (HG) models are pretty good and the 1/144 "Real Grade" (RG) are spectacular. The RGs are as well detailed as MGs, generally fit better as they're all recent moulds (whereas MGs have been in production for a while and have steadily improved, RGs are a recent line) and are incredibly good value for money. The small size helps a bit with robustness as well - the joints aren't supporting as much weight so they hold poses pretty well. It also makes them dirt cheap to post from Japan compared to MG kits  

 

Here are the ones I've made, apologies for posting my own stuff but it at least means I can be accurate about the experience!

 

Guncannon. This is an old HG kit from around 2000 I think - very basic but with some decals and finishing it came out quite well. It's definitely a "some modelling skill required" kit - there are various seams to close and fill on the moving parts which means putty, sanding, and masking to keep things apart. There are also things moulded together (e.g. the feet are two halves each) which would be separate and therefore easier to paint in a newer HG or any RG kit.

 

Amazing Red Warrior. This is a new HG kit which my daughter made - it's just snapped together but you can see how much more the parts are broken down by colour. I think the feet were six parts each or something compared to the two in mine, and didn't have seams to fill and sand.

 

 

00 Raiser. This is a RG kit snapped together.

 

 

and here it is painted up with some modifications, still not quite finished.

 

 

They are really good and if you can deal with the fiddliness I think they're a great place to start. The MGs are definitely big and impressive though - a friend brought a candy-coated MG Sazabi Version Ka. to our last model club meeting and it was amazing to look at.

 

HTH,

 

Will

[Dazzio]

On 23/03/2017 at 9:24 PM, Will Vale said:

Just bear in mind that with the MG you're talking a big project - often hundreds and hundreds of parts, especially on the bigger/newer models like the Unicorn.

 

I disagree with Tim on the validity of 1/144 scale - I think the 1/144 "High Grade" (HG) models are pretty good and the 1/144 "Real Grade" (RG) are spectacular. The RGs are as well detailed as MGs, generally fit better as they're all recent moulds (whereas MGs have been in production for a while and have steadily improved, RGs are a recent line) and are incredibly good value for money. The small size helps a bit with robustness as well - the joints aren't supporting as much weight so they hold poses pretty well. It also makes them dirt cheap to post from Japan compared to MG kits

 

  I will have to agree with Will here, sorry I am late to the Gundam party... for shame.  As I type this out now, I am listening to the Unicorn OST... go figure. Anyhow... I personally prefer to build HG's to MG's, there is just something about them that I prefer.  As for the Unicorn Gundams, I have the HG version of the Unicorn and Destroy mode.  The HG Destroy mode took me ages to make so the MG version would take a while too.  Also you can also get 2-3 HG's for the price of a MG, model depending. 

 

 

  This is my Destroy Unicorn in it's basic version, should give you an idea of the size of it.  I do still have to finish this one and the Unicorn behind it.  I have also bought an extra Banshee just to modify the Destroy mode with the Banshees shield - might do soon, now I have finished my CCNA course.  Personally my fav series is and always will be either Advance of Zeta/Flag of Titans and Gundam Sentinel... here is the RX-121-1 Hazel I built from it, which is a HG kit also as there has never been an official MG version of the Hazel.

 

 

    This is an older kit and the legs do screw up it's poseability, but it was still a great model to build. 

 

    As for a Gundam show to get into, Unicorn maybe a bit too heavy to start with, the whole NewType/PsycoFrame thing will confuse the hell out of you if you are not aware of what it is.  Then we have the "flash backs" which are an important part of the ending I think.  You may get confused why literally everyone changes sides like 3 times before the conclusion.  The bottom video gives you a list of most of the suits in the show and gives you an idea of whats what.  Also I love the music

 

 

 

  I reckon that Build Fighters might be an interesting choice, while some/most of the references will be lost on you iSteve.  It is a show that is written from our POV, as in the main characters are all Gunpla fans (always confused me that all Gundam fans where Gunpla fans and not Gundam Otaku, I always thought that Gunpla was solely for the model making side??), somehow they can make Gundam models (Gunpla and also all HG) and they can fight with them.  It is pretty much a stand alone series, however it does like all the timelines together as they show up in model form.  I have not watched Iron Blooded Orphans to my shame (not had the time), however from my understanding it's only a single show series atm?  The best show however I would always recommend is the 08th MS Team or War in the Pocket maybe. 08th has all of the "glory" of the One Year War and is set in the true timeline of Gundam but there isn't any NewTypes in the show.

 

  I'm sure if you have any questions, we provide many answers, even if we do not all agree on them lol

 

  Kind Regards,

 

  Dazz

[Dazzio]

  Just a taste of 08th MS Team.

 

 

  Incase you was wondering at 5:58 when Shiro says "Shimata"... that doesn't mean "oh no!".

 

  Kind Regards,

 

  Dazz

[TimMather]

just to add, if you are wanting to build/paint a master grade kit it really isnt that bigger deal as long as you buy some items to help you, you really must get a load of croc clips asleast 50 or 100 and put them on kebab sticks which you can buy from supermarket for a few quid.
to hold all the parts on sticks you can use a piece of stirofoam or what i use is a cat scratcher from amazon...


the thing with gundam modelling if you are not used to it, it is a slog. weeks or months of prep, then weeks of frenzed painting tons of small parts, then in one night putting the whole thing together.
its funny as i was just saying today that im used to bulk prepping, bulk painting and then all coming together at the end, where as the scale model car im doing at the mo takes forever as you cant paint everything at once.

[iSteve]

Again, thank you all for your insights.

 

Looking at Tim's forest of parts, and comments, can I assume then that the process is prep and paint all parts and then assembly followed by weathering? I guess all painting has to be done before assembly, considering they're posable, yes? Not really a bad way to go - you don't break your flow moving from one stage of the build to the next.

 

I haven't found a 1/100 Unicorn HG, though the RXF-9/Kai looks interesting (both iterations). I think I'll just get the MG Unicorn - HLJ has one with premium decals included, so that's probably the one I'll grab.

 

I don't have as much time as I'd like to model with a young family to raise, so finding time to get into the actual story lines is problematic. However, hopefully over time I will get the chance to watch more of the series and maybe do a few more kits that grab my interest.

[The Chief Smeg]

On 25/04/2017 at 9:16 PM, TimMather said:

Whoa whoa, hang on Tim, is that one of those cardboard cat scratchers you are using to hold your painted bits? Genius!

got to go to the pet shop to get Gandalf (He is our lilac point Tom) some dental kibbles- guess I'm grabbing one of those too. I've been punching holes in bits of foam up until now. 

 

Ill be be watching this build with interest

[TimMather]

On 28/04/2017 at 9:33 AM, The Chief Smeg said:

Whoa whoa, hang on Tim, is that one of those cardboard cat scratchers you are using to hold your painted bits? Genius!

got to go to the pet shop to get Gandalf (He is our lilac point Tom) some dental kibbles- guess I'm grabbing one of those too. I've been punching holes in bits of foam up until now. 

 

Ill be be watching this build with interest

yeah i love them, i used to big bits of foam packaging that are ok for putting parts in but less stable, these cat scratch boards on the other hand hold sticks well and also double up as trays to lay parts on.

@Will Vale @Dazzio i guess its just what we are into and what we like or dont like.
to me the smaller size, the lack of inner frame and the need to weld, fill and smooth seams really bug me personally.
the problems of a master grade of tons of parts and bigger project doesnt bother me really. seeing how with a master grade you can paint everything and simply snap it together, with the only real prep work being sanding nubs.