i gave up after like 8 minutes
the box is nice. i was happy to find anything FSS related. i also got some rad artbooks.
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We start by building the cockpit, which is gonna be a good chunk of this model kit. This model is 1/20 scale, so I guess Sakura Taisens are relatively tiny robots. High Grade Gundams are 1/144 scale so they tend not to have many inner parts like this. That’s for Master Grades (1/100 scale) or Real Grades (1/144 scale but with Master Grade level detail which means lots of teeny parts).
There’s the seat, with a peg that will go into the pilot’s back. This guarantees she will remain secure should I ever pick up the model kit, and wave it around while going “Pew-pew! Pew-pew!” Yes, I do that on rare occasions, such as when I am drinking, or trying to distract myself from my “urges”. I am not ashamed.
I have attached some pieces to the front of the cockpit and applied the foil stickers. I did not do the best job. I did not user a toothpick to help roll the sticker off the hobby knife, as I usually do. But it is okay. No one will ever know what lurks inside this robot. No one but me…and you, gentle reader. Let’s make this “our secret”.
I also didn’t bother using a Gundam Marker to “panel line” the interior. I’m usually very thorough with that stuff but times are weird right now and I need to conserve ink, ok.
We will talk more about panel lining later!
The pilot is fully assembled, and in her seat, which rests atop the robot’s crotch. On her shoulders are 4 pieces of wire covered in rubber – the tubing I mentioned earlier. I had to cut the tubing into like…4cm lengths? There was a ruler printed in the manual so I just placed the tubing onto it and cut with the hobby knife. There is not much extra tubing so you must be careful! I have failed with such tubing before, in my early days…but mostly cuz the manual was in Japanese and I turned to Reddit for help, where some guy suggested I singe the ends of the tubing to make it easier to “slip in”. That guy was a dumbass and I think he owes me replacement tubing for my Real Grade Gundam MK-II Titans. That stuff burns faster than I expected…!
My pilot has no eyes at the moment. I am saving them for later. Maybe someday in the future I will paint this kit? Maybe I’ll want to use the eyes then. These are waterslide decals, which are, to me, the best kind of decals. You cut them out with your hobby knife, pick them up with a tweezer, dip them in warm water for a few seconds, roll them off the backing sheet using a toothpick, then dab away the excess water with a cotton swab. Waterslides look much, much better than stickers, and once you know what you’re doing they’re much easier to apply – as long as they’re wet you can adjust them and make sure they’re Just Right.
The text and orange accents on this one are stickers.
All the gold and white bits on this one are waterslides. See how there’s barely any visible trim? Much better. Mucho gusto, waterslides (I’ve been doing Spanish Duolingo and it’s paying off…!)
We got sides on the cockpit now so the pilot doesn’t quite look like her forearms were turned into pancakes.
And now the front is fully assembled. The plastic is a pearlescent pink which is quite attractive but I found it hard to remove the nubs without leaving a few marks and sanding did not really help here. Thankfully when everything is together the marks aren’t too noticeable, and if I ever apply some topcoat to this baby I’m sure it’ll look lovely. It also really cut down on build time – I tend to sand a lot. I can be obsessive. But it’s worth it! I bet all my robots look pretty ok.
One last look before we seal her up. I mean, you can open the cockpit with ease, it’s not like we’re gluing this thing. But I am never looking in here again, not unless I get paint, or end up romantically involved with a Sakura Wars mega-fan – if that happens maybe I’ll hide an engagement ring inside and become one of the elite few who used a model kit to “pop the question”.
In addition to the cockpit “gimmick” you can move the “eyes” from left to right. This kit is somewhat similar to the Scopedog, from VOTOMS (the coolest robot of all times) but not nearly as cool, cuz you can spin the Scopedog’s scopes!
You can also lift up the hatch up top.
I used a brown Gundam Marker for some panel lining on that golden triangle-shaped vent. Doesn’t seem like I’ll be doing much panel lining on this kit. I guess it doesn’t need it but I’m still kinda bummed, cuz it is something I enjoy. Panel lining is the #1 thing you can do to easily improve the look of a Gundam! Go do an image search if you don’t believe me – “cool gunpla with panel lines vs lame gundam without” should do the job.
I use a brown Gundam Marker on yellow and red parts. Black on darker colors. Gray on whites – black on white is not to my taste. Too heavy. Too cartoony. It’s “out of vogue” right now, though if you look at gunpla photos from like a decade ago everyone was fuckin’ nuts for that shit.
I yoinked this photo from dalong.net. The dude who runs that site builds and photographs every single gunpla and reviews all the Master Grades. These are all MG RX-78-2 kits from over the last 20+ years, with the newest in the center. Check out the differences in panel lining, and paint jobs, and yeah whatever the middle one is the best one okay. That’s the one I have.
I panel line as I assemble the kit, and if I have waterslides I will apply them as well. I think most folks do that stuff after they’ve completed the build. I find doing it as I go reduces the monotony. I recommend the Bachelor Approach if you ever find yourself feeling antsy during your gunpla time.
OK now we’re up to doing these fucking exhaust pipes and I’m not building 6 of these right now. We’ll do that tomorrow.
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OK I did them. They weren’t that bad.
But then I broke one.
I am going to confess: I have made mistakes building this Gundam. More than I ever have before. I forgot to put a piece or two inside the cockpit. Maybe I lost the hilt to the second sword. There are some nasty nicks and cuts here and there. And then I snapped off this pipe while trying to pry apart the body so’s I could install two discs that cover the armpits. Turned out I didn’t have to take apart the body. Turned out I could just snap those armpit discs in no problemo.
Gunpla is a simple hobby suitable for any child from 1-92 (but no older). Please do not let my failures deter you. Also maybe do not say things like “no problemo”, that’s not actually Spanish and I learned that thanks to Duolingo.
We’ve all spent years laughing about feet and the people who lust over them while also balancing out this kinkshaming by saluting the heroes who have gone to great lengths to prove that sucking on toes is a feminist act. That’s right: all of us have been doing that! Me most of all.
But we should not laugh at the lovers of Gundam feet. They are often, to me, the most satisfying part of a Gunpla build. Sometimes I’ll snap two of them together and call it a day, leaving them resting on my desktop for awhile so I can admire them, and fondle them, and occasionally stick pencils in them and recreate that scene from The Gold Rush (but better, cuz the feet are Gundam feet instead of potatoes).
Perhaps if there is enough demand I will someday compile a list of my favorite Gundam feet but for now I’ll let you know that these Sakura Taisen feet would not make the list. They are fine. They are simple. They are run of the mill High Grade feet. I did not savor these. I just assembled them and moved onto the next step.
Unlike Gundams, which are often 75% leg, the Sakura Taisen has stubby limbs. That’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just a bit of anti-climax here. Not much going on with these gams. They’re sturdy though. That is what counts. I guess.
I took a break and made a grilled cheese using some bread a neighbor baked. Delicious bread, ugly sandwich. I can’t do anything right tonight! But it still tasted good, and it did not give me diarrhea. Sometimes cheese does that, to me. Sorry if that is oversharing but this is the only place I’d feel comfortable sharing such info. If you invited me over for dinner and asked in advance if I had any dietary preferences I would not have the guts to say “Please don’t go heavy on the dairy unless you’re okay with your wallpaper peeling.” I can do that here though, because this is my thread and I’ll have forgotten I wrote this within minutes of clicking “submit”.
Check it out. There are all the gimmicks. You got two kinds of hands, you got a hatch, you got eyes that move. Looks like there’s a bunch of English text about Sakura Taisen that I never bothered to read.
There’s a Sega Saturn model kit that is either out now, maybe? I’m not sure. The state of the world has upended the model kit import market! I fear I will never own one of these. But the model kit is 2/5 scale and comes with a Sakura Taisen 2 CD label, along with Virtua Fighter and NiGHTS labels. I would probably apply Sakura Taisen to my CD, even though I have never played it and love the other 2 games. I would do this because the label is pink, and I find that color pleasing.
I find this robot pleasing as well. The arms were also a simple affair, much like the legs, but this was a good time. This has left me satisfied. I have yet to repair the broken pipe – none of my glues would take, leaving me feeling like a total amateur boob – but for now we’ll just consider it “battle damage”.
I think everyone should build a Gundam, and they should share photos and thoughts with me, and the world.
Thank you.
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This thread is going to push me over the edge.
I see Zaku’s in my sleep. I daydream about building a little 08th MS team diorama with a beautiful EZ-8 and a matching tiny hover tank obscured by trees.
Where does one buy tiny little trees? I probably cannot afford tiny trees. I cannot afford this hobby.
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N scale model railway trees should do the job
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I’ve built three 08th MS Team kits and they’re all great.
The Ez8 was a birthday gift from my friend slime and the backpack is very chunky and cool.
The Gouf Custom’s bad ass though mine fell off the shelf one day and my dog ate one of the shoulder spikes, which ticked me off cuz its pauldrons were the first time I did seam removal and they looked really good. Now they’re “battle damaged”. I think it has some locking armpit gimmick that keeps the gattling gun upright but I could never figure it out so mine drooped a bit.
The GM Ground Type is my favorite grunt suit but it was one of the first kits I built. I fucked up the stickers on the booby vents. If I ever get into painting I will be doing a very nice GM Ground Type.
If you get a Gundam please post about it! Thank you!!
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When I was younger I got a few model kits (none this impressive or complicated) that I never did because they required painting and I had zero interest in it. I found one of them recently and it while I can’t/won’t paint it it is Gamera and hence leaving it entirely green wouldn’t look that funky.
Hey, I googled and found a quick picture
It’s probably rather low grade, but maybe if the apocalypse ends I’ll try to give it a shot.
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That looks pretty good for a lower end kit from the era actually.
You weren’t going to do much better than that unless you got garage kits, AFAIK?
And like Zoids. But zoids didn’t have to look like anime or anything, they could just be a lot of cool bits of plastic in the shape of a robot dinosaur, so they could build around the materials instead of a character design from elsewhere.
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These look great! There’s something about the colour palettes they chose for 08th MS Team that is really appealing to me. The Gouf Custom and GM Ground Type would make great playthings for my sad desk.
I will most certainly buy one and most certainly post here about it!
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there are a whole bunch of zoids anime, though. and a british comic from the 80s that just totally made up its own canon
and zoids is still going! a new line launched very recently, even!
I bought a model kit last night and…get this…it’s not a Gundam.
It’s a fat boy. Please be excited.
Also Bandai has put lots of previously Japan-webshop-exclusive Gundams up for preorder on their US site.
https://p-bandai.com/us/item/N2417175001005
This is a good one, the Woundwort. It is tiny but it has a big ol’ dong, and, also, a big ol’ gun. They also have a Master Grade red GN-X variant that I think is very keen.
(Guess who bought a Woundwort kit at a markup not too long ago. I’m surely the reason this is coming here. You’re welcome…!)
Last I checked their US shipping was very fair – around $6! – though I dunno about international rates, or if international shipping is even available now.
Unfortunately they charge you when you order and most of the kits are months away from shipping so I will not be buying any of these but maybe…maybe someday.
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Yeah Zoids got turned into one later. But it room a few years. The kits weren’t really supposed to represent anything but what the kits looked like, all plastic panels and gears in the shape of a cool robot dinosaur. So it was easier to just say ‘hey, what cool shit can we do easily with our model making tech’
As opposed to Gamera which probably wasn’t designed based on what would be easy to build a model kit out of. So it’s going to be a little more challenging to make a cheap cool looking gamera kit with the tech of the 80s than a Zoid, is what I’m saying.
https://p-bandai.com/us/item/N2509668001001
Damn I’m sad this one is sold out (I’m a Gundam Wing fanboy, thanks Toonami)
Oh, didn’t realize there was a kit thread. I just built the Mazinkaiser Infinitism last Saturday.
Added the shot with my hand for size comparison. It’s branded as an HG model kit, and it was indeed very easy to build. It’s larger than the average HG gunpla, which makes holding and working with the pieces easier, but it’s as fun as building an HG mech. I build a FiguRise Standard Kamen Rider Zi-OH, my first human model kit, and it just wasn’t very fun since it had fewer and bigger pieces. It was in effect just too simple to put together and I didn’t really get the pleasure of assembly from it. But the Mazinkaiser was great.
I’ve got a lot of model kits lying around so I decided to work on another one. Tried to decide between the Kotobukiya Armored Core CR-C89E Crest Oracle Ver. and the Bandai Macross Delta VF-31S Siegfried (Arad Molders Custom). Both looked cool and not Gundam, but the former wanted painting for the details and didn’t have stickers while the latter has countless tiny water slide decals, which I didn’t feel like taking the time to learn right now. So instead I’m working on the Kotobukiya Megami Device Chaos & Pretty Magical Girl Darkness. That’s just a regular old magical girl design. You know the type.
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There’s a retail version of that kit in Endless Waltz colors. It was the first Real Grade I built.
(I took these photos before applying the stickers I think)
It rocks and has a ton of gimmicks and nice glossy look, though you’ll probably want to get a stand for it.
Many of the High Grade Gundam Wing kits are very nice. The Maganac and Leo are great grunt suits. I’ve built one Master Grade Wing kit – the EW Heavyarms – and it’s cool but much smaller than other Master Grades. Wing mechs are on the short side, which I don’t mind in High Grades but for some reason I want my Master Grades to be big?? I want me some CHUNK.
This is really good to know. I want a Kamen Rider kit but I’ve been worried they may have issues like that. They also seem real sticker heavy.
I have the Arale Figurise and it’s a real basic build with little articulation so it’s pretty pricey ($30ish?) for what you get but I like Arale enough that I was ok with it. Probably gonna stay away from the rest of the line though.
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It’s the only Figure Rise I’ve built so I’m not going to write the entire line off. I do have a Dragon Ball kit too so I’ll build that at some point and compare. I’ll also say that the articulation on Kamen Rider is very nice. Good range of movement and bending on his limbs.
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Still mad MG figurerise doesn’t go full on like the MS and let me build Goku’s skeleton.
Base form completed in the Chaos & Pretty Magical Girl. It’s pretty boring like this and actually looks crummy overall so I don’t know why you’d stop here and not deck her out in her armor and weapons. This was actually pretty easy overall except for her wrist joints, which were a giant pain in the butt. Really tiny round pieces smaller than a finger that needed to connect to each other. I had to use tweezers to hold one in place while I pushed really hard on the other, and it hurt a lot. Oddly enough the second wrist connected very smoothly on the first try, so maybe it’s just strict about the alignment since it’s so small.
Once completed I think I’m going to have her use Magical Body Blow on the Mazinkaiser.
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