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[robotsareneat]

"Morituri nolumus mori."

"We who are about to die don't want to."

Couple of grunt suits! I had a lot of fun with the Leo, the articulation is great and it was a really nice build for a HG. no stickers at all! The joints on mine are a bit loose, so I may tighten them up at some point. We need more wing suits! Give me an Aries gosh darn it.

The GM I have much more mixed feelings about. It's a 23 year old kit, so I shouldn't have expected the technical innovations we have with newer kits - but I've got older kits that were nicer to build and play with (looking at the Gogg and Z'Gok for recent examples.) I still really like the design of the GM though, and might try the MG at some point.

Next up, I think I'll be starting on my MG RX-78-3! My backlog shrinks ever further.

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This is my first kit. It took me 4 hours. The process was miserable but...I would do it again and I'm already hunting for my next one.

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GM says STOP!

Finish that backlog!

Unless it's something really cool, then go hog wild

I'm not gonna buy more kits until I finished the ones I have.

Repeat.

I'm not gonna buy more kits until I finished the ones I have.

Repeat.

I'm not gonna buy more kits until I finished the ones I have.

Repeat.

I'm not gon- you get the gist of it.

I still got 4 HG kits and two MG's on the shelf. Either I'll finish those first, or I'll wait until my summer vacation has started. THEN I'm gonna allow myself to buy more.

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Should I be feeling self-conscious about the comparative size of my backlog pile compared to everyone else? Or grateful that it won't take me as long to finish so I can feel justified in buying more?

Tumblr Top Ships Bracket - FINALS

This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.

[robotsareneat]

Hate to be this guy's nail technician

2nd kit of the London haul, and my second amphibious Zeon suit! Just need the Ackguy now (and Char's Z'Gok, my wife informs me. She loves the amphibious suits.)

Not bad for a 25 year old kit - usual problem with nubs that I'm not too fussed to deal with on a high grade, and sadly no 3mm hole in the crotch for stands, just like the Gogg. But what a design! I've mentioned before how much I love UC0079 Zeon suits, and this really exemplifies that. It's so round and curvy, and the multiple joints on the arms and legs feel very alien, and the mono-eye is just the right amount of menacing.

I'm genuinely considering picking up an MG Z'Gok at some point, I like the design that much.

(No fancy photo edits this time, I'm sleepy and the lack of a base adapter can make dynamic poses a little tricky.)

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Speak softly and carry a big stick

I haven't got to Metaverse yet - still on Build Fighters Try - but the two EGs they brought out with it are pretty damn fun. This one was based on the original EG RX-78-2 (which was my first kit) and it was so much fun to put together. Mostly a straight build, with some metallic black on the chest, gunmetal on the shield cross, and a bit of detailing on the cameras and calves. This thing poses up a storm and, though it may be sacrilege to say, is probably a better starting point than the original EG grandaddy. The spear is a fun accessory and I love that it clips to the backpack, and the peg on the shield feels a bit more robust; the shield on my RX-78-2 sadly snapped off in his backpack, so he may need replacing at some point. Also, because it's using most of the same runners, you can swap out the shoulders/knees/backpack/rifle sight if you prefer the OG look.

First kit of the London haul, and I had fun with it!

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Darnit, wish I'd thought of that when I saw it.

Building a Z.A.K.U. Warrior at the Gundam seed freedom movie

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I have tasted the fruit of P-Bandai -

S'alright.

I was putting an order in, fancied an extra kit to justify the shipping, and this was only a few quid more than the regular version of the kit.

As you can probably tell, it's Wing Gundam. In a delicious clear version that makes it look like a boiled sweet, and gosh darn it I wanted to eat the thing. Thank goodness for impulse control.

I'd built HG Wing before in its normal opaque colours, and thought it was a pretty neat kit - though I'm not too fond of how the forearms slide about when transforming to bird mode. And this is pretty much exactly the same, but in clear plastic.

It's a cool kit! This version of it I've been fairly delicate with as the plastic feels pretty brittle, and I'd previously had an incident with one of the wing joints on the standard version. Thankfully, nothing's broken on this version, but nubs were definitely more of an issue - again, due to the brittle plastic. I spent a lot of time working slowly, which I know is good practice, but OOFT was I worn out by the end!

As almost the entire kit (save the joints and beam rifle) is clear, I didn't feel the need to panel line quite as much since it just gets lost in the moulding - so some time saved there. In person it looks a little less vibrant than my edited photos, but still pretty cool - especially if you can get some light hitting it from behind!

I don't know if I'm necessarily sold on the P-Bandai hype train just yet - this does nothing that the standard HG doesn't - but as a kit, it's still fun and fairly beginner friendly, and a great way to fill an afternoon.

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I took a trip to London

Amazingly, all this only came to around £115. And it would have been lower but I hit some gashapon machines and got these little fellas:

I think I'll be occupied for a little while.

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In this house we respect the Guntank and its lethal potential.

But yes revive versions of the white base trio would be sick. Quite surprised they didn't capitalise on it and do a revive triple pack of all three, you know UC fans would jump on that.

GUNTANK ACQUIRED

This is probably the oldest kit I'm ever gonna build but man I was really impressed with it! Such a fun, simple build, I did it all in one night despite my obsessive nub mark removal methods! Highly recommend getting one of these guys as a novelty if you can find one!

I wouldn't expect anything crazy in terms of articulation, I mean it's the guntank, I don't know what you'll expect other than "shooty arms and cannons move a bit". It's fun for display for sure, it has a unique design! But unless you're making a specific diorama I wouldn't expect to pose it in any badass poses. It's a goofy looking guy.

Also, why doesn't this have a revive kit yet??? I get that tank mobile suits never really had any traction past 0079 but still! The gundam and guncannon had a revive, why can't my boy guntank get one either?! I'd buy 10 of them at least! God knows I wanna make gunpla tank kitbashes.

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It's a monster . . .

So, this is a pretty darn great kit! It's got all the nice stuff that I've come to expect from G-Witch gunpla - great articulation, plastic on plastic joints, cool effects pieces, and just generally a killer design.

And it's got that broom. I love that broom.

But. But.

I think I overhyped myself on it.

I've seen so little negative press about this kit, that in my mind I guess it got a little . . . deified? Like, I went into this convinced that I was just going to have an amazing time, that this would be the best gunpla experience I've ever had and that a choir of angels would be singing the entire time.

Angels had another gig that day.

Don't get me wrong, Calibarn is a fantastic high grade. It's sleek, it's classy, it's got panel lines for days, and right now it's got the coveted Desk Space so that it can be admired when I'm supposed to be working. It truly feels like a culmination of everything I enjoyed about the Aerial and Aerial Rebuild.

But . . . I just don't feel like I can play with it, you know?

Now, I know, I know, it's a kit, not a toy, but generally I like to be able to experiment with different poses and equipment before condemning my kits to the Shelf of Eternal Immobility. This is less a critique on the actual kit itself (little bit of that later) and more a reflection on my own neuroses. I just have real trouble finding a pose with it that I'm fully happy with, but at the same time I don't feel the sense of fun I had when posing kits like the Lfrith or the Demi line.

Now, I do love several things about this kit. The big ol' rocket-broom-rifle, as I'm sure everyone agrees, is fantastic and really fits the vibe of the kit well - and despite what was reported when the kit was first released, I'm happy to say that with some finangling, Calibarn can ride the broom (albeit sidesaddle.) The bit-on form looks amazing, but more importantly the attachment points for when they're not attached don't look particularly incongruous. The big ol' attachment points on the backpack just look like rocket packs! The adjustable slots on the butt just look like a rocket . . . butt? Okay, but they do look cool. And the shield is identical in build to the one that comes with Aerial Rebuild, so you can mix and match them if you want!

In terms of actual build nitpicks - quite a lot of stickers! Doing the end of the broom was an exercise in frustration, and sadly a lot of the colour correcting stickers are in places where it's not really feasible for someone as heavy handed as me to try painting. I gave it a go on a few spots here and there - eyes and headcams as usual, under the forearms, and a touch on the broom's camera - but by and large I was beholden to the stickers.

Another thing I'm not so keen on is the V fin. I love the rainbow effect, it looks incredible from the front, but it's backed by some kind of silvery plastic or paint. It feels very delicate and means that rear shots of the head don't look as nice, but I'm guessing that's there to help the rainbow pop a bit more from the front. Maybe I'll try removing it in the future, I'm not sure yet.

Surprisingly for a HG, Calibarn comes with a stand, but personally I think I'll be swapping it for something a bit sturdier. The V base is okay when just doing a standing pose, but if you try for anything more dynamic then the broom makes it veeeery prone to overbalancing. You can counter this by having the kit facing backwards on the stand, but as you can see it looks a little goofy.

I will say though, I do like the way the feet fold in for high manueverability mode. It really makes it feel like something designed to operate in space, rather than trudging around on the ground with us mere mortals.

Is she perfect? I'd say no. Is she still a lot of fun? Yeah, I'd say so. I did have a few moments in the build that were a bit of a frustrating slog (see above comments about broom stickers, seriously that took me ages cos they're so small and fiddly) but if someone gifted me with another kit of this, I'd build it again.

(If my wife is reading this, please keep continue to encourage this nonsense. I adore every model you get me even if the kits themselves frustrate me at times.)

Calibarn! If you love the suit or don't mind a bit of a fiddly kit with a lot of stickers, go get it!

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I finished it

Yet another Wife Kit, which I am totally using to refer to all the ones she gifts me with now, which I finished last week but haven't posted much about cos I have been SO TIRED.

Gonna put up some more pretty photos when I can string a coherent sentence together.

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Happy to not be the only one who spent time fiddling with photo editing for my gunpla. It looks fantastic!

The impulse took me tonight and I finally finished Lfrith. I also decided to try out the photo edit options on my phone camera and I think it came out pretty good.

I also read the first sections of the lancer TTRPG guide and listened to mechwarrior synthwave while I was building. I needed STIMULUS.

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It's her

The witch. The one from mercury.

Yet another kit received as a gift from my darling wife. And it's not even my birthday or anything! Who knows how she'll spoil me when that comes round . . .

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Seeing how many other people are asking about nubs, I wish I'd come up with a more interesting question!

I really appreciate the response, I'm going to give the glass file a try on my Haro kit and if the results come out okay I'll probably crack on with the clear Wing soon then. I've been eyeing up the gunprimer stuff for a while but my wallet gets a little bit skittish at the cost . . . one day though!

Hey you. Send me your gunpla questions. Do it Friend!

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Oooh, okay, I can get behind this!

I picked up my first P-Bandai kit the other day (cos it was only a little more than the regular version) but it's a clear kit and I'm not entirely confident in my ability to remove nubs with my current skills/tool set.

So I guess the question is, where do I go from there? Current nub removal process consists of single blade nippers and a scalpel, with a cheapo glass file on the way. Do I just accept that nub marks are gonna be a thing with this kit? Do I invest in a practice kit first?

I used the nipper/scalpel method on this clear Haro and I'm pretty happy with the results, but there are a few spots where I couldn't quite make them invisible, the inside of the arm socket being a particularly obvious spot to my eyes. I want to do better! I love making these funky little dudes, and I don't want to have them covered in bits of excess plastic!

TLDR; nubs suck. Limited tools currently. What do?

Hey you. Send me your gunpla questions. Do it Friend!

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Pretty darn cute.

Panel lined on the inner pieces and the eyes painted red. I could see myself getting addicted to haropla.