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Aluus wrote:The Delta Plus... we've all thought about this, all wished Bandai would have taken the initiative when making the MG kit... we ask ourselves, "why oh why didn't they paint it gold?"

maybe they're thinking about all the guys who are sick of using dechromer to take the gold out so they can color the various gold plated MS/MF models in the colors they want


bright pink hyaku-shikis

Aluus wrote:There yah go! That's the secret to Gundam happiness.

A LOT of series are related. 0079, 0080, 0083, Char's Counterattack, Sentinel, The 8th MS Team, IGLOO, Unicorn and a few others are all part of the same continuity, the original Universal Century timeline. THOSE machines will resemble each other far more than others.

You'll also notice themes that are present in most if not all Gundam series. There is always a masked protagonist of sorts, all based on the orignal one from Mobile Suit Gundam, Char Aznable. Furthermore, there tend to be colonies of some sort, and more often than not, the conflict will be between those said colonies and earth. On top of that, you will often have voice actors who tend to just show up over and over again in Gundam series. The guy who voiced Billy Katagiri, Graham Aker's scientist friend in 00, voices Trowa Barton in Gundam Wing. Furthermore, the guy who voiced Tieria Erde also voiced Athrun Zala in the SEED universe.

Oh and chuckdawg, I suggest you check out Gundam Wing when you get a chance. 00 shared some similarities with that series. Furthermore, it was most Americans' first exposure to the Gundam meta-universe as it was the first Gundam series on American TV. 00 and Wing are two different universes however, and their stories take different directions, however the initial concept is the same (team of Gundams descending to earth to kick some ass.)

PS: If at all you liked Graham Aker in 00, you will LOVE Zechs and his Tallgeese in Wing!

I still have Disc 1 of season 2 of 00 to watch and the rest of that season before I move on to anything else but I'll definitely try out Wing.

sigh. Five more hours stuck at work, waiting to go home and unbox my MG Epyon which has just been delivered. First MG since Deathscythe last Christmas. sigh.

So the navy blue plastic for the Epyon kit is kinda irritating. It doesn't clip too well off the runners. Sorta stringy. Sanding a must on ever nub, not like Deathscythe.

Let us know how it goes! Spending my monthly Gunpla splendid on that MG [Q]ant.

Okay. I'm about 1/3 of the way through ASSEMBLY of Epyon, and here are my thoughts so far. If you're the type who prefers their MG's to require as little effort as possible to look their best, this kit will piss you off.

MECHANICALLY, it is a pleasure to build. I can tell you truthfully that it is structurally unique, and has a unique building feel. This is NOT just a reshelled Deathscythe or Shenlong.

The PROBLEM with this kit though is that Bandai appears to have deliberately picked the worst possible spots to use for attaching the parts to the runners. This isn't so bad for the inner frame. It's a different type of plastic and parts snip away cleanly. However, for the visible parts, the reds, the navys, and the few clear parts, it will be quite obvious where you clipped them at.

The plastic is different from the inner frame. You will have white discolorations that will require sanding and painting to mask. I know this is true of just about any non-white Gundam, but it just seems so much more obvious on Epyon. Making this worse is the fact that some of the sprues on the parts runners do not taper at the connection point. One example of this is on Epyon's heels. You have to snip through a connection point that is easily as thick as your typical beam saber blade. Adding insult to injury, some of the smaller parts can have as many as 5 connection points to the runner, some directly next to one another, seeming to serve no purpose, even considering mold injection needs.

Lastly, this kit is going to be brutal on your thumbs. Many of the parts will have you pressing them together in such a way that your fingers are on sharp or pointy areas. I've been building Gunpla since they first made it to the US, (the 1/144 Epyon was actually my first kit,) and even i'm having to pace myself just because my fingers are getting sore.

Despite all this though... I am still happy I bought this kit. As I said above, Epyon was my first, and just like your first love, you never forget your first Gunpla. Whatever pain or frustration I associate with it is trumped by my enjoyment. It seems natural that the Epyon kit should be screwing with me in some way... after all, let's not forget that Epyon's tendency to screw with its pilot is what made the mobile suit so difficult to pilot in Gundam Wing.

EDIT: chuckdawg, your vocabulary word for the week is Gunpla. Gunpla is a Japanese term, and is short for Gundam Plastic Model Kit.

EDIT 2: Blurrz, lemme know how the Qan[T] goes. I've had my eye on it due to it's unique frame structure.

Sitting here at work assembling Epyon, (i'll take it home for painting/sanding,) all I have left is the wing assembly and i've still got 10 runners of parts in front of me. Yeah, they are that intricate, (i'm exaggerating a little, some runners only have 4 parts left, most are on the B and D runner sets.)

Also, just a suggestion, but the wire for attaching the beam sword is a tad on the long side. So much so that it affects posing. Trim off about 2-2.5 inches and it will be just right.

Ghetto cellphone pictures to follow in next post.


EDIT: THERE WILL BE NO PHOTOS AS MY DROID 2 HAS SUDDENLY DECIDED TO START HAVING THE AUTOFOCUS FAILURE GLITCH.

Aluus wrote:Sitting here at work assembling Epyon, (i'll take it home for painting/sanding,) all I have left is the wing assembly and i've still got 10 runners of parts in front of me. Yeah, they are that intricate, (i'm exaggerating a little, some runners only have 4 parts left, most are on the B and D runner sets.)

Also, just a suggestion, but the wire for attaching the beam sword is a tad on the long side. So much so that it affects posing. Trim off about 2-2.5 inches and it will be just right.

Ghetto cellphone pictures to follow in next post.


EDIT: THERE WILL BE NO PHOTOS AS MY DROID 2 HAS SUDDENLY DECIDED TO START HAVING THE AUTOFOCUS FAILURE GLITCH.

I knew what Gunpla was from Wikipedia. I even know Minipla which I have a whole bunch of thus the reason I haven't bought more 00 kits.

I was giving you a hard time chuck. i've got Epyon up next to the Deathscythe i got back at christmas. If you don't get close to it, you don't notice all the blemishes i haven't fixed yet and it looks fantastic. i can tell you this much. none of the shots i've seen on the web really give you a good idea of the wingspan this guy has. all in all, in terms of mecha design, this Gundam is incredible. The only part i am a little iffy on is the way his shield is connected to his arm. i don't like the gap between the shield and arm (it attaches via a connector in the bottom of the arm, yet is still on the side.)

Aluus wrote:I was giving you a hard time chuck. i've got Epyon up next to the Deathscythe i got back at christmas. If you don't get close to it, you don't notice all the blemishes i haven't fixed yet and it looks fantastic. i can tell you this much. none of the shots i've seen on the web really give you a good idea of the wingspan this guy has. all in all, in terms of mecha design, this Gundam is incredible. The only part i am a little iffy on is the way his shield is connected to his arm. i don't like the gap between the shield and arm (it attaches via a connector in the bottom of the arm, yet is still on the side.)

Under slung peg attachments are always iffy.

I've been having an urge to build a no-frills, basic, workhorse type Gundam, preferably a Master Grade. Something that's still a fun build, but that doesn't have a big pair of wings sticking out of it, or an obnoxiously large weapon, or a transformation. I'm thinking of picking up the MG Gundam MK II version 2.0.

EDIT: I may still get the 2.0, but after watching Rrobbert184's review on youtube, i've decided to break my 1/100 ONRY rule and get the RG Gundam. I usually avoid kits of the original gundam for looking cartoony... but this one just looks so damn good. I hear this kit requires a REALLY GOOD hobby knife though. Any suggestions? Is my x-acto up to the task?

I've heard that as well. Although I tend to use it alot on 1/144's, considering if not smoothed out or sanded, the sprue plastic can stick out on smaller models.

had to work a double shift at work. nothing to do except man a chair. watched the entire first season of 00 Gundam in one hit. end result? I have a MG Exia on the way >.>

Aluus wrote:had to work a double shift at work. nothing to do except man a chair. watched the entire first season of 00 Gundam in one hit. end result? I have a MG Exia on the way >.>

That's the 1/60 scale one right? I have him. Really nice. I kinda want to get him in either 1/100 to be in scale with Dynamas or Kyrios or 1/144 to be in scale with some TFs

no no. the 1/60 scale one is non-graded. all MG's are 1/100 scale. SOME 1/60 scale kits are PG or perfect grade, but those tend to go for a few hundred dollars.

This is the kit you mentioned: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban952158.html

If you're looking for an easy to build 1/100 scale i recommend this one: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban952227.html

Also available is the Exia Avalanche, which you won't see in the anime: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban954600.html

This is the kit i got: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban959452.html

I wanted to get the limited edition ignition mode version: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban960226.html

However that was sold out. They had the 2nd release of it available however, but they raised the price by almost $20. http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban961015.html Same damn kit as the one in the link above.

Almost all of these kits above are also available in Trans Am mode with a red tinted color scheme.

Aluus wrote:no no. the 1/60 scale one is non-graded. all MG's are 1/100 scale. SOME 1/60 scale kits are PG or perfect grade, but those tend to go for a few hundred dollars.

This is the kit you mentioned: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban952158.html

If you're looking for an easy to build 1/100 scale i recommend this one: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban952227.html

Also available is the Exia Avalanche, which you won't see in the anime: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban954600.html

This is the kit i got: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban959452.html

I wanted to get the limited edition ignition mode version: http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban960226.html

However that was sold out. They had the 2nd release of it available however, but they raised the price by almost $20. http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ban961015.html Same damn kit as the one in the link above.

Almost all of these kits above are also available in Trans Am mode with a red tinted color scheme.

Yeah I can't do $100 kits; although that 00 with the raiser looks really nice.

Ok the one you got and the one you recommended to me are both 1/100, why is yours almost $20 more? I can't really tell the difference. That Avalanche one is real nice; where's it from? Right now I'm in a Gundam buying freeze as I have a lot of minipla to get through.

A few reasons. Master Grades have an inner skeletal frame underneath the armor. You could literally strip off all the white and blue parts and be left with a detailed gray inner frame that is completely posable. Because of this inner frame, the kit is much more posable than the standard one. Furthermore, the part count is higher and the kit is more detailed, not just in the shaping of the parts mind you, but in the colors they are molded in as well. Many of the newer MG's like this one are color-accurate enough right out of the box that they require no paint at all to match the boxart, just a little panel lining in most cases.

http://www.dalong.net/review/mg/m122/m122_p.htm

I've posted a link for you to a gallery of the MG Exia. There is even a comparison to the 1/100 non-graded kit. The site is in Korean, but it's just like the gunpla manuals. The pictures are so clear and easy to understand that you don't need to be able to read what is written. It needs to be said that the non-graded 1/100 kits from 00Gundam are superb for NG kits, as are the ones from Gundam SEED. HOWEVER, up until recent years, this has not been the case, and most non-graded kits were rather subpar, required a LOT of paint, and tended to fall apart.

Aluus wrote:A few reasons. Master Grades have an inner skeletal frame underneath the armor. You could literally strip off all the white and blue parts and be left with a detailed gray inner frame that is completely posable. Because of this inner frame, the kit is much more posable than the standard one. Furthermore, the part count is higher and the kit is more detailed, not just in the shaping of the parts mind you, but in the colors they are molded in as well. Many of the newer MG's like this one are color-accurate enough right out of the box that they require no paint at all to match the boxart, just a little panel lining in most cases.

http://www.dalong.net/review/mg/m122/m122_p.htm

I've posted a link for you to a gallery of the MG Exia. There is even a comparison to the 1/100 non-graded kit. The site is in Korean, but it's just like the gunpla manuals. The pictures are so clear and easy to understand that you don't need to be able to read what is written. It needs to be said that the non-graded 1/100 kits from 00Gundam are superb for NG kits, as are the ones from Gundam SEED. HOWEVER, up until recent years, this has not been the case, and most non-graded kits were rather subpar, required a LOT of paint, and tended to fall apart.

Holy Macanoli with a side of guacamole that's a nice figure! Didn't realize that put out an Exia in that style yet. The only MG I remember reading about was the RX-first one. The question is do I go for Exia or wait for the 00 with the eventual 00 Riser add on set with GN III?

you don't have to wait. the 00 Raiser master grade is already out. it's about a $90 kit (an interesting tidbit for you, currently the most expensive standard MG kit is The-O at about $140; Sinanju with the Titanium Finish is right up there as well, but that's due to the special finish on the parts.) There's even a Perfect Grade 00 Raiser in 1/60 scale for like $300. The Master Grade 00 Qan[T] is also available, for about $50-60. Additionally, Bandai has released a MG GNX.Personally, i went with the Exia just because i wanted something with a simple look to it right now, and the 00 Raiser just has too much going on. I'll probably get it eventually. Those kits, along with their various color variations, are currently the only MG kits from 00 Gundam, and likely the only ones we will see until they finish up with the MG kits from Gundam Wing, next year. Bandai has already announced that with the poor economy, they will not be producing many Master Grade kits this year or next year as consumers have less disposable income. They plan to move forward with HG, RG and non-graded kits, as they have discovered that currently, kits priced around 2000 yen seem to be the sweet spot. Hopefully this means we will get some 1/100 kits for Zabanya, Harute and Raphael.

http://www.dalong.net/

This is the site i sent you to earlier. Up in the top banner click on MG. Then, on the resulting page, you will see links to click on "English Menu" and "English Catalog." Currently this guy has reviews like the one i showed you of Exia for ever MG that has been made, going from oldest to newest in descending order. I also recommend that you go to www.gundam.tk to see video reviews made by Youtube member rrobbert184. You can also find his reviews just by searching him on youtube.

Aluus wrote:you don't have to wait. the 00 Raiser master grade is already out. it's about a $90 kit (an interesting tidbit for you, currently the most expensive standard MG kit is The-O at about $140; Sinanju with the Titanium Finish is right up there as well, but that's due to the special finish on the parts.) There's even a Perfect Grade 00 Raiser in 1/60 scale for like $300. The Master Grade 00 Qan[T] is also available, for about $50-60. Additionally, Bandai has released a MG GNX.Personally, i went with the Exia just because i wanted something with a simple look to it right now, and the 00 Raiser just has too much going on. I'll probably get it eventually. Those kits, along with their various color variations, are currently the only MG kits from 00 Gundam, and likely the only ones we will see until they finish up with the MG kits from Gundam Wing, next year. Bandai has already announced that with the poor economy, they will not be producing many Master Grade kits this year or next year as consumers have less disposable income. They plan to move forward with HG, RG and non-graded kits, as they have discovered that currently, kits priced around 2000 yen seem to be the sweet spot. Hopefully this means we will get some 1/100 kits for Zabanya, Harute and Raphael.

http://www.dalong.net/

This is the site i sent you to earlier. Up in the top banner click on MG. Then, on the resulting page, you will see links to click on "English Menu" and "English Catalog." Currently this guy has reviews like the one i showed you of Exia for ever MG that has been made, going from oldest to newest in descending order. I also recommend that you go to http://www.gundam.tk to see video reviews made by Youtube member rrobbert184. You can also find his reviews just by searching him on youtube.

Ya know I wonder, with all these different grades, is it possible for someone to just pick one Gundam and collect all the different versions of it? That would be an interesting collection.

Happens all the time actually, but they tend to be collections of the older designs. Have you any idea how many variations of the original RX-78-2 and Zaku II there are? Furthermore, as technology improves, older designs get new kits. Example: Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam, Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 1.5 and Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 2.0... same Gundam, better tech in each subsequent version. Enhanced posability, more accurate. The 2.0 is sorta cartoonish visually, but amazingly posable. It seriously blows my mind to see that kit balanced on the tips of its toes... While we're at it, let's not forget recolors, or resculpts, or kits with extra gear like the full armor gundam or perfect gundam...

if any of you are on the fence about the 00 Gundam Master Grades, get off it now. I'm constructing Exia as we speak. I have the upper body done. This kit is marvelously executed. Posability is almost ludicrous, and quite stable despite some peoples' complaints. The light purple parts used in the NG are replaced with transparent holographic purple tinted parts that allow you to see the inner frame moving. That is an extremely nice touch.

Then there's the way the actual parts are laid out on the runners. You know how with some kits, you have to clip parts from like 10 different runners just to build a single arm? This is the exact opposite of that. I am building both legs and only using 3 runners. The F plate is completely dedicated to the inner frame of the legs. The C plate is about 90% dedicated to the white armor of the legs, with a few pieces for the skirts and shield. Then there's the A plate, which is about 50% leg parts, a little white, a little transparent green, and red for the feet. The rest of the A parts have already been used. There are also the last 2 remaining I parts, transparent disks that go over the stickers and under green disks. Though this kit comes with a runner of 3 dozen polycaps, you only use half of them.

As you build the kit, your work area will progressively become less cluttered, unlike say, Epyon, where you still have 10 runners with parts left by the time you get to the wings. On top of that, I haven't had a single area yet that after being cut from the runner and trimmed made me feel like it REQUIRED sanding and painting.

Masterfully done Bandai. I hate to admit this, but I do believe you've just talked me into giving you more of my money for the 00 Raiser and 00 Qan[T].

Aluus wrote:if any of you are on the fence about the 00 Gundam Master Grades, get off it now. I'm constructing Exia as we speak. I have the upper body done. This kit is marvelously executed. Posability is almost ludicrous, and quite stable despite some peoples' complaints. The light purple parts used in the NG are replaced with transparent holographic purple tinted parts that allow you to see the inner frame moving. That is an extremely nice touch. Then there's the way the actual parts are laid out on the runners. You know how with some kits, you have to clip parts from like 10 different runners just to build a single arm? This is the exact opposite of that. I am building both legs and only using 3 runners. The E runner is completely dedicated to the inner frame of the legs. The C runner is about 90% dedicated to the white armor of the legs, with a few pieces for the skirts and shield. Then there's the A plate, which is about 50% leg parts, a little white, a little transparent green, and red for the feet. The rest of the A parts have already been used. As you build the kit, your work area will progressively become less cluttered, unlike say, Epyon, where you still have 10 runners with parts left by the time you get to the wings. On top of that, I haven't had a single area yet that after being cut from the runner and trimmed made me feel like it REQUIRED sanding and painting.

Masterfully done Bandai. I hate to admit this, but I do believe you've just talked me into giving you more of my money for the 00 Raiser and 00 Qan[T].

Just give them your Checking account number.

Ha. I know i'm dishing out the praise, but I find this to be a very refreshing build compared to the small fiasco I went through with Epyon. I really wanna know wtf Katoki was thinking when laying out those parts on the plates the way he did.

Taking a break atm, here's what I have so far. No panel lining and not a drop of paint.

Aluus wrote:Ha. I know i'm dishing out the praise, but I find this to be a very refreshing build compared to the small fiasco I went through with Epyon. I really wanna know wtf Katoki was thinking when laying out those parts on the plates the way he did.

Taking a break atm, here's what I have so far. No panel lining and not a drop of paint.

082711190115.jpg

The crest isn't painted? Every time I do a kit I'm reminded of the old Maori woodcarver legend about giving life to the carvings.