giant-robot-builder-mk1

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Got a fun little kit at Sakura Con in Seattle a couple weeks ago. Bandai had a big booth to promote the new Gundam Seed movie and were giving away an entry level RX-78 kit. Now I have a decent number of kits under my belt, but why pass up a free one? And I still don't have an RX-78 so why not.

Now obviously there's not much articulation going on here, but it's still a nice looking little dude

It was fun trying to put it together as fast as I could. One of the other guys at the booth did it in 10 minutes, but I still took about 20. I probably should grab a high grade RX-78 now that I've finished the OG show.

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Back to 30 minute missions. What can I say, I really dig the vibe of these guys. This kit is the Portanova Space Type:

This guy was the last one on my 30MM Must Have list (at least until the AC6 kits drop). Surprisingly well balanced on those long legs, unless you add the backpack haha. My favorite feature is the cool gauntlet armor on the forearms. Here's the photoshoot:

Standard front/side:

Scout mission:

Ready for a fight:

Emergency RoyRoy Rescue:

This is an awesome upgrade to the basic Portanova and comes with a lot of parts for a single kit. Would recommend.

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I decided to branch out and try a non Bandai kit. From kotobukiya's Frame Arms line, it's the Type Hector Joyeuse!

Its my first 1/100 scale, and the box for it was huge! (Zaku box included for scale)

Pretty easy kit to put together. The pieces were a little tighter than the Bandai kits I've done, but I only really had to cram for a couple parts. Here's the photoshoot:

Neutral front and side:

Ready for battle:

Full bombardment mode:

Win pose:

Classic Guncannon pose:

I think the kit looks really cool, although I wish there was some more red in there to break up the grey. The one really big downside to this kit was posing the arms. The shoulder joints are pegs, not balls, so the arms kept popping off with the slightest movement. I was tempted to just glue them in at one point. Bit of a nit-pick but it really drove me nuts haha. Overall cool kit though. Now I just have to find a shelf it will fit on.

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The custom is complete! I call it the Scrapyard Trawler:

This turned out much larger than I had planned, but I really like it. Bit of a nightmare to pose and keep balanced, but it can stand on it's own in the right position. Here's a few more pictures:

Full Armed

Found a new victim

Shots from all angles

It was a bit of a puzzle to create a Quad mech with the parts I had on hand. I think I'll stick to a few normal kits for now haha.

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Well the custom mech has gotten a little out of hand, but I like how it's coming along so far. Definitely still a WIP, but the bones are set now.

I think putting all these guys back together when I'm done is going to take a while haha.

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My new kit: The Alto Ground Type!

I'm a sucker for tank tread feet so I had to get this one. This is my 6th kit so I didn't really run into any issued putting this together. I may try my hand at a master grade next. Here's the photo shoot:

Zooming across the battlefield:

Taking a shot while the Royroy keeps an eye on the treads:

Sneaking across enemy lines:

And the Royroy by itself:

I think I've got enough parts and experience now to try combining some of these guys into a custom mech. Hopefully it'll turn out cool.

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A group photo of all my current kits!

This has been an awesome hobby to start and I already can't wait to get my next one!

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And my final Chrismas kit, number 5 is the Gardonova!

I realized this is my first non-green kit haha. This is supposed to be a specialized unit, and the distinctive long arms and pincers look really neat

This one is very posable, I'll probably end up doing more photo's with this guy at some point.

The submachine gun he came with is a bit doofy looking so I'll probably switch it out with something else like a melee weapon.

Also discovered he can do handstands which is awesome!

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Kit 4 is the Volpanova Quad Bike

This one is super cool because it's transformable. I was really looking forward to this one and I think it turned out great!

Bipedal mode:

It's pretty top heavy due to the wheels, but was easier to keep upright than I expected. I'd probably put it on a stand if I was going to do a lot of pictures in this form.

Hybrid Mode:

This mode is my favorite. I think Quad leg mechs are super cool, and it looks a bit more functional than the standing mode. It's pretty easy to switch modes, but due to all the moving parts it can be a bit finicky to get it to stand straight in this mode. But man it looks so cool.

I didn't try out the full vehicle mode because it just looks silly, but I might do it at some point.

One more sliding action shot

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Kit number 3 is the Revernova!

I really like this one! Nice and bulky with the reinforced armor, and a gun as tall at he is! The panel lining turned out really well on this one I think. Here's some pics:

Pretty easy to pose, although the big legs can get in the way a bit. I also really like that the eye is a actual piece instead of a sticker.

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My wife got me a bunch of awesome tools for Christmas!

A little bin to catch plastic while cutting, a toolbox to hold everything, and all the tools I could need! I've been having a lot of fun with the panel liners, they really make everything pop on the model. I've tried a bit of sanding on non-visible parts for practice, but I need more practice before I'm confident in using them more.

Also a mat to work on!

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My second build is a Zaku!

I always liked these guys even though they're always cannon fodder lol.

This one was quite a bit more complicated than the 30 minutes missions kit and took me about 5 hours over a couple days. Still wasn't too hard, but a bit more of a time investment than I was expecting haha.

Here's some pictures:

I really like how the rocket launcher Pic turned out.

Overall I enjoyed the build, but this guy seems a little prone to coming apart. The chest area kept separating when I tried to move the arms around. Looks great on display though.

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Armored Assault Mecha photoshoot

Here's a few posed shots. It's my first time doing this kind of thing, but it was fun trying to come up with interesting shots.

Now I really want one of those bases and arms that connect to the model so I can do even more poses!

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Armored Assault Mecha Progress Pics

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Armored Assault Mecha Manual

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Armored Assault Mecha parts

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Here is my first model! It's a 30 minute missions Armored Assault Mecha.

I picked this one because I liked the round body design. Sleek mechs are cool too, but I liked how unique it was compared to the others in the shop. Also it was only like $14 which was nice.

I know these kits are only supposed to take 30 minutes, but it took me closer to an hour since I'm new haha. I'd say this is a good kit for a beginner, I didn't have any trouble understanding the directions or identifying the parts.

Here's the finished unit

This guy is very easy to pose and keep balanced upright. I had a lot of fun with this and can't wait to start my next one!