Anyone into gunpla - Japanophiles unite to share tips on painting our toys (GUNPLA IS FREEDOM)

[Gar For Archer]

Impulse-bought another kit at the local hobby shop and honestly I kinda regret it. I'll give a small review below the pictures.
HG Seltsam

So, the main reason this kit caught my eye should be obvious. The massive red demon arm is really striking, and I really liked the color scheme in general. In fact, I still do think it's a really cool-looking design, and I think it photographs really well in these neutral-ish non-action poses. However, in-hand, the kit just feels kind of awful. The legs are way too heavily armored and the skirts are pretty restrictive, so anything out of the most basic leg poses are out of the question. For how heavy the legs are, the construction is too flimsy. The hip "splay" is too loose by default and the legs wobble with any slight movement; the pelvis itself is on a hinge for some reason that's also way too lose; and the lower legs are held on by those square polycaps that slide onto a sliver of plastic and fall off pretty easily. These things are obviously easily fixable with superglue, but IMO these issues shouldn't be a problem in the first place on a straight build. The waist and shoulder joints also need a coating of glue to not fall apart with routine movement.

Also, while I think the pics I took here look pretty decent, these poses look kinda awkward if you look at it from any other angle. This is a kit that looks best when viewed from a low angle. In person, the red arm is kind of just stiff and blocky and hard to get in a natural-looking pose, and the giant shield gun is pretty much impossible to pose the "proper" way with the hand grasping the handle, because its sub-arm has such limited movement. The massive lance's connection to the hand is also just a little loose for how big it is, and the way the fingers are designed it just doesn't look very convincing when holding it. With the right pose viewed at the right angle, I still think this design looks really cool, but overall this kit was kind of a disappointment. If this was a <$20 kit I wouldn't be complaining, but it's definitely not something I would've spent $26+tax on if I knew what I was getting.

 

[Appletun]

Impulse-bought another kit at the local hobby shop and honestly I kinda regret it. I'll give a small review below the pictures.
HG Seltsam

well shit, thanks for the review! sorry you bought a shitty kit. i was actually looking at this one myself a couple days ago! glad i didnt spend the $30 on it

 

[Gar For Archer]

well shit, thanks for the review! sorry you bought a shitty kit. i was actually looking at this one myself a couple days ago! glad i didnt spend the $30 on it

Yeah it's a shame, I really wanted to like the kit because it's such a cool design but it just doesn't translate well into a model.

 

[Appletun]

Yeah it's a shame, I really wanted to like the kit because it's such a cool design but it just doesn't translate well into a model.

they have a uh, expansion kit? thing for the arm, if you like to make custom build divers stuff. i have no idea if its any good, though. its blue, but you can probably just paint it red.

 

[Hot Dog]

So the kit I got was a HG Gundam the Origin Zaku II. It finally showed up and my brains have rotted on how to do this again and the proper set up. The only other kits I've built were cheap crap from the first wave of Gundam in the US. I had a TV version of Wing Zero, Epyon, and Burning/God Gundam.

I know G Gundam is a black sheep series but it whipped so far into camp and ridiculous theatrics that I unironically love it. I would love to eventually grab a high quality God Gundam and Master Gundam eventually.

Gundam Wing didn't age well in my opinion. I actually watched MS Gundam for the first time when I was in college followed quickly by Zeta and then CCA.

 

[EyelessMC]

The German connection is even more obvious when you consider the alternate helmet for the Zaku II FZ Kai, which is literally a WWII German soldier helmet.

You aren't kidding

I made a stop motion video with the Entry Grade Gundam. If anyone interested, you can watch it here on my channel. No need to subscribe, like or anything. I uploaded it on YouTube because I think it would be easier to share.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eowB52O3PnE

Dude that's beautifully smooth animation! I used to do stop motion for a hobby some years ago so I know how much patience and focus you need to pull it off (and good consistent lighting). Fun sfx, too, but man that buttery smooth animation just knocked it out the park.

im looking to finally assemble my moon gundam next, but im stuck on figuring out what i want to do for the head detailsView attachment 1831280
i only work with acrylics atm, so i was wondering if tamiya's light green, or AMMO by MIG's lime green is a better choice. if anyone knows of anything else though, let me know

As much as I like the Zeta Gundam the Moo Gundam looks so OP with that Psycho shield thing. Wish I could find the whole translated manga.

Impulse-bought another kit at the local hobby shop and honestly I kinda regret it. I'll give a small review below the pictures.
HG Seltsam
View attachment 1843943View attachment 1843944View attachment 1843946
So, the main reason this kit caught my eye should be obvious. The massive red demon arm is really striking, and I really liked the color scheme in general. In fact, I still do think it's a really cool-looking design, and I think it photographs really well in these neutral-ish non-action poses. However, in-hand, the kit just feels kind of awful. The legs are way too heavily armored and the skirts are pretty restrictive, so any fancy gymnastics are out of the question. For how heavy the legs are, the construction is god-awful. The hip "splay" is too loose by default and the legs wobble with any slight movement; the pelvis itself is on a hinge for some reason that's also way too lose; and the lower legs are held on by those square polycaps that slide onto a sliver of plastic and fall off pretty easily. These things are obviously easily fixable with superglue, but IMO these issues shouldn't be a problem in the first place on a straight build. The waist and shoulder joints also need a coating of glue to not fall apart with routine movement.

Also, while I think the pics I took here look pretty decent, these poses look kinda awkward if you look at it from any other angle. In person, the red arm is kind of just stiff and blocky and hard to get in a natural-looking pose, and the giant shield gun is pretty much impossible to pose the "proper" way with the hand grasping the handle, because its sub-arm has such limited movement. The massive lance's connection to the hand is also just a little loose for how big it is, and the way the fingers are designed it just doesn't look very convincing when holding it. With the right pose viewed at the right angle, I still think this design looks really cool, but overall this kit was kind of a disappointment; definitely not something I would've spent $26+tax on if I knew what I was getting.

It's another one of those kits that look really cool but builds poor, huh? Maybe doing some painting and glue tricks could help some of that out.
Good point about the fingers, though. Still, I think you did a good job and got great shots and angles.

So the kit I got was a HG Gundam the Origin Zaku II. It finally showed up and my brains have rotted on how to do this again and the proper set up. The only other kits I've built were cheap crap from the first wave of Gundam in the US. I had a TV version of Wing Zero, Epyon, and Burning/God Gundam.

lol I know that feeling. I gassed myself thinking the new Wing ver. Ka had legs which were way too complicated but they proved easier than I expected. You're gonna get back into the swing of it with that cool Zaku kit you got, no worries. Post pics once you're done.

I know G Gundam is a black sheep series but it whipped so far into camp and ridiculous theatrics that I unironically love it. I would love to eventually grab a high quality God Gundam and Master Gundam eventually.

G Gundam really went crazy and did have a lot of camp but it was doing its own thing and nailed it. I plan to go back to G Gundam at some point because I remember thinking it was too ridiculous when I first saw it but now seeing clips of it online I like just about everything I see.

Gundam Wing didn't age well in my opinion. I actually watched MS Gundam for the first time when I was in college followed quickly by Zeta and then CCA.

You skipped ZZ Gundam? lol A lot of people say to skip it but it has its place and Haman's ending is fairly important following from Zeta, though I hear there's a lot of tonal inconsistencies early on in the series since it's not as full-throttle mature as Zeta front-to-back.

However I think Wing aged the best of any series, at least when it comes to its over-arcing themes and how it culminates in Endless Waltz.

Spoiler: My thoughts on comparing Wing to other Gundam series

I'd say if there was a scale where MSG is at one end and Legend of the Galactic Heroes is at the other end then Wing would be somewhere in the middle. Very little of the central theme of Newtypes and prejudice as seen in the Universal Century really has any lasting importance to the real world. However, the debate and conclusion of war and pacifistic ideals in Wing/EW continues today. Heck, in EW they even introduce (though briefly) the problem of major wealthy powers wanting to create a singular global super-state, or how organizations like Oz (basically the world's greatest military contractor with the colonies having their own version) subverting politics and causing turmoil for their own ends.

Spoiler: This vid does a pretty good job of it

While I think the manga is a speedy poorly-paced retelling of it it's actually not so bad if you know the series. It basically just fills in some gaps and does a better job at later points in the story. I can share some translated scans of volume 1-12 but you'd have to buy 13 and 14 to finish it off since I can't find those online.

The real problem with Wing I think is that it succeeds where UC fails and fails where UC succeeds. I really like Heero, Duo, Relena, etc. but there's comparing the Wing cast of characters to Kamile, Char or Amuro, etc. Tomino & friends really know how to write fully fledged human beings (until CCA which makes little sense compared to what happened before, I mean where the hell is Judo Chop or Girl Name in the conflict? Or Sayla??) and the arc Heero goes through as a character is really only fully seen in the EW movie.
Zechs and Best Girl are pretty good, too, and the main antagonist (not Zechs, the other guy) was surprisingly interesting but whereas the themes and action are great, the characters and developments just don't quite hit the mark of Zeta or the original MSG where we see Amuro go through war fatigue or his father become brain damaged from oxygen deprivation, etc.

G Gundam throws everything into its cast, a total opposite of Wing's approach. But again, I can only speak to some of Zeta and MSG in comparison to Wing since I haven't rewatched G Gundam in years.

 

[Optimus Prime]

So the kit I got was a HG Gundam the Origin Zaku II. It finally showed up and my brains have rotted on how to do this again and the proper set up. The only other kits I've built were cheap crap from the first wave of Gundam in the US. I had a TV version of Wing Zero, Epyon, and Burning/God Gundam.

Like, how much do you need to know? For starters, I would HIGHLY recommend you grab a pair of sprue nippers and do NOT use scissors or nail clippers. Sprue nippers are great and I can point you in the right direction if you need recomendations.

I know G Gundam is a black sheep series but it whipped so far into camp and ridiculous theatrics that I unironically love it. I would love to eventually grab a high quality God Gundam and Master Gundam eventually.

You're in luck. A couple of years back, Bandai released High Grade versions of Shining Gundam and Master Gundam, and Master even comes with a fully poseable Fuunsaki horse which both Master and Shining can ride.

There's also High Grade Nobel Gundam, too.

For more G Gundam flavor, there's the various Build Burning Gundams from Build Fighters Try, as well as its dark counterpart the Denial Gundam which looks sick as hell, or Schwartzritter Gundam which is essentially Denial Gundam but painted like Spiegel Gundam and he gets a pair of massive buster swords.

 

[Hot Dog]

lol I know that feeling. I gassed myself thinking the new Wing ver. Ka had legs which were way too complicated but they proved easier than I expected. You're gonna get back into the swing of it with that cool Zaku kit you got, no worries. Post pics once you're done.

Will do. I remember almost nothing and the kits that I had way back in the day really don't translate lol. It's the C-6 Variant.

Like, how much do you need to know? For starters, I would HIGHLY recommend you grab a pair of sprue nippers and do NOT use scissors or nail clippers. Sprue nippers are great and I can point you in the right direction if you need recomendations.

I could take some recommendations if you don't mind, I really don't know anything at this point. Could really use all the help I could get. Youtube doesn't really help since most of the videos I've seen are either people with outrageous production quality or gigantic set ups. I got an exacto knife the other day and need to find some paint. I don't have a spray paint set up or anything and am starting from scratch.

G Gundam really went crazy and did have a lot of camp but it was doing its own thing and nailed it. I plan to go back to G Gundam at some point because I remember thinking it was too ridiculous when I first saw it but now seeing clips of it online I like just about everything I see.

You skipped ZZ Gundam? lol A lot of people say to skip it but it has its place and Haman's ending is fairly important following from Zeta, though I hear there's a lot of tonal inconsistencies early on in the series since it's not as full-throttle mature as Zeta front-to-back.

However I think Wing aged the best of any series, at least when it comes to its over-arcing themes and how it culminates in Endless Waltz.
I'd say if there was a scale where MSG is at one end and Legend of the Galactic Heroes is at the other end then Wing would be somewhere in the middle. Very little of the central theme of Newtypes and prejudice as seen in the Universal Century really has any lasting importance to the real world. However, the debate and conclusion of war and pacifistic ideals in Wing/EW continues today. Heck, in EW they even introduce (though briefly) the problem of major wealthy powers wanting to create a singular global super-state, or how organizations like Oz (basically the world's greatest military contractor with the colonies having their own version) subverting politics and causing turmoil for their own ends.
While I think the manga is a speedy poorly-paced retelling of it it's actually not so bad if you know the series. It basically just fills in some gaps and does a better job at later points in the story. I can share some translated scans of volume 1-12 but you'd have to buy 13 and 14 to finish it off since I can't find those online.

The real problem with Wing I think is that it succeeds where UC fails and fails where UC succeeds. I really like Heero, Duo, Relena, etc. but there's comparing the Wing cast of characters to Kamile, Char or Amuro, etc. Tomino & friends really know how to write fully fledged human beings (until CCA which makes little sense compared to what happened before, I mean where the hell is Judo Chop or Girl Name in the conflict? Or Sayla??) and the arc Heero goes through as a character is really only fully seen in the EW movie.
Zechs and Best Girl are pretty good, too, and the main antagonist (not Zechs, the other guy) was surprisingly interesting but whereas the themes and action are great, the characters and developments just don't quite hit the mark of Zeta or the original MSG where we see Amuro go through war fatigue or his father become brain damaged from oxygen deprivation, etc.

G Gundam throws everything into its cast, a total opposite of Wing's approach. But again, I can only speak to some of Zeta and MSG in comparison to Wing since I haven't rewatched G Gundam in years

I don't hate Wing, far from it. EW is the highlight of the series but the show itself gets so muddled in trite dialogue (might be an issue with the dub, I am a filthy foreigner and watched the first dubs on Toonami) that it turns into babble that comes off as written by people who barely seem to grasp what they are talking about. The mecha designs were really cool and when fights were happening they tended to have good grip. Never read the manga, but would want to.

I was told to avoid ZZ like the plague, it never got a dub or was remastered last I checked. It didn't appeal to me at the time and the tonal whiplash from Zeta and its bleak as fuck ending was enough to sour me to watching. I might pick it up eventually.

G Gundam is still probably tied for my favorite with 0080. It's so bonkers and has such a campy and cheeky approach with crazy Gundam designs from an 90's Japanese political lens. That windmill Gundam tho. Also, the dub holds up surprisingly well.

You're in luck. A couple of years back, Bandai released High Grade versions of Shining Gundam and Master Gundam, and Master even comes with a fully poseable Fuunsaki horse which both Master and Shining can ride.

There's also High Grade Nobel Gundam, too.

For more G Gundam flavor, there's the various Build Burning Gundams from Build Fighters Try, as well as its dark counterpart the Denial Gundam which looks sick as hell, or Schwartzritter Gundam which is essentially Denial Gundam but painted like Spiegel Gundam and he gets a pair of massive buster swords.

Nice, man. Will want some experience before I take a swing at Master Gundam. Never watched Build Fighters. Will have to check it out eventually.

 

[DDBCAE CBAADCBE]

I used to be real big into buying kits when I was a kid and had a couple of shelves dedicated to just Gundam Wing models. I fell out of it during high school and now I just play New Gundam Breaker.

 

[Sanshain]

Anyone got experience with metallic Gundam markers? How well do they work on unprimed plastic? Debating if I should go with those as a quicker, easier option for adding some detailing to joints/inner frames without having to prime and paint a bunch of moving parts.

I'm an absolute slut for painted kits and I've invested a ton into painting. Acrylic really doesn't work well on anything that'll sustain friction. It'll chip or break down if you intend to pose/manipulate the kit very much at all. You might get away with a tiny bit of posing, but if you want any kind of pristine finish you more or less need a proper set of tools, aka an airbrush and lacquer paint/primer. But that's a serious skillset akin to any other form of art, so while I wholeheartedly recommend it, only do so if you have the money and time.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Will do. I remember almost nothing and the kits that I had way back in the day really don't translate lol. It's the C-6 Variant.

I could take some recommendations if you don't mind, I really don't know anything at this point. Could really use all the help I could get. Youtube doesn't really help since most of the videos I've seen are either people with outrageous production quality or gigantic set ups. I got an exacto knife the other day and need to find some paint. I don't have a spray paint set up or anything and am starting from scratch.

I don't hate Wing, far from it. EW is the highlight of the series but the show itself gets so muddled in trite dialogue (might be an issue with the dub, I am a filthy foreigner and watched the first dubs on Toonami) that it turns into babble that comes off as written by people who barely seem to grasp what they are talking about. The mecha designs were really cool and when fights were happening they tended to have good grip. Never read the manga, but would want to.

I was told to avoid ZZ like the plague, it never got a dub or was remastered last I checked. It didn't appeal to me at the time and the tonal whiplash from Zeta and its bleak as fuck ending was enough to sour me to watching. I might pick it up eventually.

G Gundam is still probably tied for my favorite with 0080. It's so bonkers and has such a campy and cheeky approach with crazy Gundam designs from an 90's Japanese political lens. That windmill Gundam tho. Also, the dub holds up surprisingly well.

Nice, man. Will want some experience before I take a swing at Master Gundam. Never watched Build Fighters. Will have to check it out eventually.

If you've ever built a plastic model where the parts come on sprues, then it's really not too different.

I would recommend getting a starter kit like this which will give you everything you need - sanding sticks, the sprue nippers, and some other finishing tools you can use if you get into it, but really just cutting, basic cleanup, and assembly should give you a good model out of the box, especially given it's an Origin Zaku II.

Amazon.com: Swpeet 26Pcs Gundam Modeler Basic Tools with Duty Plastic Container, Professional Gundam Model Tools Kit Perfect for Model Kit Building Beginner Hobby Model Assemble Building(Gundam Kit - 8): Toys & Games

Amazon.com: Swpeet 26Pcs Gundam Modeler Basic Tools with Duty Plastic Container, Professional Gundam Model Tools Kit Perfect for Model Kit Building Beginner Hobby Model Assemble Building(Gundam Kit - 8): Toys & Games

www.amazon.com

A cutting mat from a local hobby shop also wouldn't be a bad investment, any will do.

I would say don't worry about paint right now, since modern kits as I said generally are supposed to look good out of the box - these are effectively action figures once assembled though not as robust in some ways. They aren't perfect and sometimes rely on stickers to fix the paint, but as a beginner you shouldn't worry about more advanced stuff until later.

The instructions are largely picture driven and use numbers to correspond to parts on the individually lettered plates, I.E. a step will tell you to combine part H6 to E4 or something. Sometimes you have to pay attention to a certain orientation of the part going in so always doublecheck - I had this happen with my most recent build when I accidently put the upper elbow joint of my HGUC Mudrock Gundam's left arm on backwards and couldn't slip on the bicep cover as a result. With the C/C-6, at some parts there will be two diagrams showing two different pieces going into the same place. This is purely where you choose the optional parts to put in as the C and C-6 types are slightly different but only insofar as one has the traditional looking Zaku II chest and the other has a more pronounced cockpit access door, these are purely cosmetic so just go with whatever you like more.

When cutting parts from the sprues, techniques vary but the most common I see is that people cut off parts with a length of the excess nub remaining, use an exacto knife to trim it down, and then use a sanding tool (sandpaper or sanding stick) to remove anything left until the part is flush.

That's pretty much the basics so let me know if you have any other questions.

Also with G-Gundam, funny story about that Windmill Gundam. More properly known as either Nether Gundam (JP) or Hurricane Gundam (Eng.), the whole purpose of that Gundam was literally not to fight at all. Due to the weird politics of Future Century, Neo Netherlands stood to gain a lot by simply getting into the finals as opposed to going all the way and winning, so their strategy was to technically not participate at all by hiding a Gundam in plain sight. That way, any fighters who brought their Gundams to the colony couldn't disqualify Neo Netherlands by blowing the head off the Gundam because they couldn't find it - as it was literally just sitting around doing nothing as a windmill for eleven months. Thus, their plan succeeded and the Gundam qualified for the finals by not having actually fought anybody.

Which was good because it wasn't particularly strong and the pilot wasn't that skilled so obviously they were out early in the finals but they hadn't planned on winning anyway, they got what they wanted.

 

[Sanshain]

I could take some recommendations if you don't mind, I really don't know anything at this point. Could really use all the help I could get. Youtube doesn't really help since most of the videos I've seen are either people with outrageous production quality or gigantic set ups. I got an exacto knife the other day and need to find some paint. I don't have a spray paint set up or anything and am starting from scratch.

I've built about 100 kits at this point. Your technique determines everything. Unless you shell out and actually know how to properly use something like a pair of God Hand Nippers then nipper quality really isn't all that important overall. What you need to learn is how to use them, which is really more a knack than anything else.

I always advise nipping as far from the part as possible. If a part has multiple sprues, clip the smallest ones first. Leave as much sprue on the part as possible. Then very gently shave the sprue down closer and closer to the part with the nippers, clipping off just a tiny bit of sprue at a time. The goal is to apply as little torque on the part as possible, otherwise it will cause the plastic beneath the sprue to stress, and you will always have a stress mark there, regardless of how smooth you polish.

Basically, any time you feel you are forcing, pulling or crushing plastic with either a nipper or a knife, stop what you're doing immediately and try a smaller cut from a different angle. You always want to be using the least amount of pressure possible. I personally hold every part so the knife goes towards my thumb, as that gives way better precision than doing it face-down on a cutting mat or away from you. Is it safe? Nope. Have I ever actually cut myself? Nope. I've reached the point I can use a fresh hobby knife blade and not even mark the skin of my thumb with it. Again; use the least amount of pressure possible. It's a Golden Rule.

As for sanding, I recommend absolutely anything by Madworks. They do superb, high-quality sanding sponges that I use all the time. If you want very high quality finishes on bare plastic, I also recommend Alclad II micro-mesh polishing cloths. I don't use them anymore because I paint now, but their 3000-12000 grade range can polish plastic to a literal mirror shine. You could shave with the result.

 

[EyelessMC]

I don't hate Wing, far from it. EW is the highlight of the series but the show itself gets so muddled in trite dialogue (might be an issue with the dub, I am a filthy foreigner and watched the first dubs on Toonami)

Nah, it's not you. That is how it was written.Even Japanese fans cop to it.

Spoiler

that it turns into babble that comes off as written by people who barely seem to grasp what they are talking about.

EW proved they did know what they were talking about all along, though. The truth was that they had characters with different beliefs espousing those beliefs as they--the characters--believed them. The problem was it got to a point where all they did was espouse those beliefs, leaving us with a pretty half-written cast of characters.
Except Duo, who will always be the most fun.

The mecha designs were really cool and when fights were happening they tended to have good grip. Never read the manga, but would want to.

Spoiler

Here: https://mega.nz/file/VFIUTLST#LO6xCtIHPSvih1G6FCROD8t2urOVvJfpvwKag3C4ePo
But I'll warn you, it kind of demands that you fill in the gaps with having watched the anime, so if you did watch the anime you'll be able to follow it pretty well. The pacing gets better later on but a lot of moments are left to you to recall from the anime, like Heero playing with dogs, Zechs and Darlene's first interaction, etc.

I was told to avoid ZZ like the plague, it never got a dub or was remastered last I checked. It didn't appeal to me at the time and the tonal whiplash from Zeta and its bleak as fuck ending was enough to sour me to watching. I might pick it up eventually.

According to what I read ZZ has some good elements and the last fifteen or so episodes are where everything really shines but the early half is incredibly awkward with a lot of anime comedy that's hit and miss. ZZ does remedy the bleak ending to Zeta, though, so that's cool.
Although I like the simply happy ending of the third Zeta movie, despite the animation inconsistency.

If anyone in this thread knows about ZZ firsthand I'd like to hear about it.

 

[Android raptor]

ZZ is fun and if you hate it you hate fun. Seriously, it's about a bunch of feral 80's kids from the hood stealing shit and taking over the Argama. Plus Haman is cool AF.

For as long as Gundam has been ruining my life I really need to get on the Gunpla game. Closest I've done recently is painted a little SD Apsaras III I got from Y!J.

I have too many unpopular Gundam opinions as well.

 

[Appletun]

well. i tried to read moon gundam before i build the kit, aaaand. the english fan translation(?) only goes up to the first 2 volumes. literally it ends right as the moon gundam activates for the first time. anyone know if im just fucked and zeonic scanlations is the only one who's ever translated this, or is there more translated?
edit: just realized i got replied to abt my post from earlier by eyeless, gonna assume that maybe thats all there IS translated, but holding out hope someone knows where to find the rest.


also im about to buy a P bandai despite being somewhat new to this. cant pass up on the kit im getting, though, i like it too much.

 

[Optimus Prime]

also im about to buy a P bandai despite being somewhat new to this. cant pass up on the kit im getting, though, i like it too much.

The thing about P-Bandai is that back in the day, it was a pain in the goddamn ass to get those because they're online exclusives and for the longest time they were only available in Japan, both the website and the places they would ship. You needed to use middlemen services.

But ever since the launch of the service last year, a lot of the exclusive status of newer P-Bandai in the gunpla community has fallen since now you don't need a middleman service. My current backlog legit has more P-Bandai in it than normal kits, with just as many due to be shipped to me monthly through to next May.

 

[Appletun]

The thing about P-Bandai is that back in the day, it was a pain in the goddamn ass to get those because they're online exclusives and for the longest time they were only available in Japan, both the website and the places they would ship. You needed to use middlemen services.

But ever since the launch of the service last year, a lot of the exclusive status of newer P-Bandai in the gunpla community has fallen since now you don't need a middleman service. My current backlog legit has more P-Bandai in it than normal kits, with just as many due to be shipped to me monthly through to next May.

yeah i heard its not quite as elite as it used to be, i just like the idea of getting a "premium" kit, as well as just overall enjoying the kit a lot personally. would you say they're hard to put together for a beginner or no?

 

[EyelessMC]

it's about a bunch of feral 80's kids from the hood stealing shit and taking over the Argama.

lol You know how to sell it. Just got the entire ZZ series ready for viewing once I'm done with Zeta. Maybe ZZ got a bad rap because it's the direct continuation to Zeta and is very different in tone, especially coming off Zeta's ending.

For as long as Gundam has been ruining my life I really need to get on the Gunpla game. Closest I've done recently is painted a little SD Apsaras III I got from Y!J.

Sounds nifty and I definitely suggest a HGUC ZZ Gundam then since you like it. It's like the ver Ka but smaller (the ver. Ka is so big I don't mind it being roughly $70, but the HGUC is still a great size at 1/144 scale) and much cheaper (the ver. Ka is $70-80 with shipping at best whereas the HGUC is roughly $30-40 with shipping). Also technically the HG is more anime accurate.
Kits smaller than that bug me. RGs (aside from the Sazabi and Nu Gundam) can be miserably difficult to build unless you have either thin fingers or the touch of a surgeon due to the parts and kit size. I also don't like tiny big robots. SD can be fun in design and much easier to put together than RGs but if you're going for a non-SD kit then HG or MG are best I think.

I have too many unpopular Gundam opinions as well.

Don't worry if an opinion is unpopular, mate. There's only one thing that matters which we can all agree on: have fun together
And also that Marida Cruz is Best Girl Every Girl and if you disagree you're an infidel ALLAHU GUNBAR

Spoiler

well. i tried to read moon gundam before i build the kit, aaaand. the english fan translation(?) only goes up to the first 2 volumes. literally it ends right as the moon gundam activates for the first time. anyone know if im just fucked [...] or

The first option. Whenever it comes to fan translations suddenly stopping, it's always the first option. Even the Wing manga I linked to only goes up to volume 12, but at least it's the majority of the comic and so buying vol. 13 and 14 (or skipping 13 and going right to 14 because you're cheap, like me) isn't much of a wallet breaker.
If it stops that early on then it's just KIA
As for P-Bandai, if you have the money it can be really worth it for certain kits and there is something fun about having rare or out of print kits on your shelf. Also, fair warning: "Metal Build" is not a model kit using metal parts. It's just a metal-built figure with accessory parts in the box.

with just as many due to be shipped to me monthly through to next May.

Seriously? Mate you're like an ascended Gunpla builder. You're basically a Newtype builder.
Ever try your hand at a Perfect Grade?

 

[Hot Dog]

Alright, I have the model kit tools and sander on order. Will be ready to build a Zaku this weekend. Looking forward to it. Thanks @Optimus Prime and @Forever Sunrise .

@EyelessMC Thanks for the link, will be reading through it after brushing up on the animation. Maybe my opinion will change for the better with a rewatch. I didn't see the Zeta Gundam movies, would you recommend?

 

[Android raptor]

I rewatched and finished ZZ, Turn A, and X in lockdown and would recommend them all. With ZZ you just have to go into it knowing it's not like Zeta and is a goofy comedy. It has fun characters, fun shenanigans, and some great mecha designs.

And yeah, Marida is a good character but her story is so sad. I'm more partial to Angelo though, he has a similar backstory but he's more of a disaster. I'm partial to the fucked up, batshit crazy characters (shit, I've been staning Ghinius for like 20 years. I love the garbage trainwreck characters).

Watching ZZ, I really liked Puru because she's a fucking crack baby, but I feel like people don't discuss her dark side enough. She's a clone created to be a child soldier so she does some kinda fucked up things occasionally, like almost destroys a city because Judau won't play with her. I think that helps flesh her character out.

Idk, I have a lot of autism I could share about Gundam characters.