Giant Bomb's Gunpla Build Club

Well, it happened. I ordered my first gunpla kits from amiami.

Will report back to see how it goes.

Well I finished my G Portent with minimal issue. Worst thing I did was break one of the leg joints but it doesn't seem to be that much of an issue. Next up is HG Gundam G-Self; when it arrives sometime next month.

@ichthy:Here's a comparison shot between a "regular" sized HG, the HG Kshatriya and an MG Sengoku Astray from Build Fighters. The Kshatriya isn't quiet as big as I remember, but it's pretty close to the MG even based on body alone. There's also some other shots of my collection.

I've another Zeta, an RG Astray Redframe, a HG Sazabi and two new kits from IBO in a build pile that's not pictured. I also want to pick up the RX78 Ver Ka to go along with the Sazabi I have.

I wasn't aware these sorts of models were so different from typical model kits.

You're telling me that for 40 AUD I could get this which doesn't need any painting and is actually also a transformer? I am amazed/skeptical.

@hayt: You can, but be warned the images they show you on the site are actually painted and touched up. Here's a more realistic image of one. They're still great, don't let me sway you.

@ripelivejam: One of us! One of us!

I've finished moving I have no excuse for not getting through my backlog.

I just spent a few hours making a Newbie buyers guide of sorts on the first post.

@akyho: Good guide. Just an fyi, the 1/60 in the scale picture has HG labelled underneath instead of PG.

@ichthy: There are HG and PG 1/60s, and I think the one in the picture is a HG.

Actually looking at it again, yeah pretty sure that's a HG, or whatever the NG 1/60 equivalent is.

@epidehl: @ichthy: Yeah I know it was the only image I could find that showed scale that someone could understand a bit better. It's that or throw these images which....actualy mean very little to me and I know what I am looking at.

I mean this one is good however...is dosnt have anything you can recognize in scale to compare to to understand what size a 1/144 is. I might throw this one up as a supplemental as it shows off scale VS other kits better while it dosnt show off scale in real life as well as the other. Or I just throw all of these up....

I don't know what that money with the lady on it looks like irl. I'll just have to go with the cola scale.

I was looking at the instructions for my Deathscythe, and I don't know why, but I never realized that the cockpit was in the chest of the gundam. I always thought it was in the head.

@sgtsphynx: you should watch the first episode of mobile suit gundam. Or this clip

http://youtu.be/xWfZKeMeFgI

The final min. Right in the cockpit.

@devil240z: In hindsight it makes sense, I just never thought about it and assumed it was in the head.

Following Austin's GOTY video, I've gotten way into building these things. Last weekend I built the Schwalbe Graze from Iron-Blooded Orphans, and just now I finished the Hyakuri from the same series. I've never done model kits before so my first time around resulted in quite a few scratched parts, but as I've started being more careful and patient I've gotten a lot better at building. I've also ordered a HG Shining Gundam as my next project which I'm super excited to build. Anyway, photos!

@akyho: nice guide. Funny thing though, the sazabi was my first MG lol. Definitely more complex, though imo waterslides in general are harder than actually assembling anything

Finally got around to building this MG Crossbone X-1 FullCloth. This is the first MG I have built, I think it turned out pretty well for my first time! I didn't end up using any of the decals that came with it yet, I might add some of those later. Even though some of my lining is a bit sloppy, the gundam marker went a long way in bringing out the details. Unfortunately I only have a cellphone camera right now, so the pictures don't really do it justice!

@dystopiax: That must have been a interesting entry. I read a guys account of him building PG unicorn as his first ever kit, took him three months and vowed "I think I will build HGs for a while." Lol.

When we are in a world were people will shelve unfinished HGs or a simpler MG, the Sazabi Ver Ka is totaly not fot everyone. however high five for keeping at the build as your first kit!

yeah. Definitely not me saying "the sazabi is fine as your first MG for anyone", but if you get through an HG or two without any difficulties following instructions you shouldn't have that much more with the sazabi. Actually I think RGs are slightly more difficult than MGs cause the smaller parts can be more delicate. Only thing that was a pain in the ass about the sazabi were the way the funnels come together, they work so slick once they're together though, push on bottom to put them in flight mode then push the flaps closed to make it automatically go back into cylinder form. Otherwise it was mostly just more parts, not harder parts.

Though PG unicorn seems daunting as first kit, especially if you got the lighting system as well cause wiring that thing up is a whole different beast, at least it appears to be.

If I ever build a PG the first one I want to build is the Strike Rouge, it was my first HG kit and the PG kit comes with the skygrasper included as well.

Okay, let's do this.

I have absolutely no room in my life for this Gunpla nonsense. I honestly don't have much attachment to any single model enough to want to display. If I ever got into it I'd either want some sort of Zaku or The O. I think the only actual Gundam style design that I was into was the one with the nuke launcher from Stardust Memory though I liked that more thematically than aesthetically. Deathscythe is alright but Gundam Wing as a series has not aged well in my mind. Everything else generally looks cool but meh, whatever.

So I finished making my first Gunpla. I really enjoyed it. I'm surprised they're so cheap. How can I justify spending like $60 on a tiny Warhammer unit now? I always remember seeing the display windows of all these and they all looked the same, but theres actually so much diversity and the building process is more in depth than I thought it was. Already thinking about my 2nd one after I line and top coat this one! Only thing I don't like about this model is that the hand is a bit loose and the gun falls straight down without the 2nd arm supporting it.

Maybe the RX78-2 Origin Revive model that just came out last year! Or one of the new Build Fighters models. The models from Iron Blooded Orphans that @rpwll posted have that really militaristic style I like.

I remember building a Wing Zero back in the late 90's. I wanna get back into the hobby. What model should I go for? (I live in the UK if that helps at all)

@obsideondarman: Honestly, one that you like the look of or think is the coolest, and one that is High Grade because they're pretty simple or even RG if you're up to it. The more newly released ones have better molding and poseability at a lower price point also.

Threw this pre-painted Poe Dameron X-Wing to get some building practice in since its been about a year since i built anything.

Soon I'm gonna crack into one of these two:

I finished building my very first kit! The RG Exia. It is pretty badass looking but I wish the torso was bigger compared to the legs.

@dougcl: oh God that cowboy bebop one looks amazing.

I feel like I have to watch Gundam now after futzing around with models but I also feel like I may have outgrown it. Wing was alright if I remember correctly.

@ripelivejam: All of the pre-90s Gundam shows are pretty watchable. Just finished 0080: War in the Pocket the other day and liked it. 08th MS Team is good too.

Just give some of the old jams a shot. All the newer stuff is pretty corny.

I've seen a few series, 0080, 0083, 00 and now I'm watching Unicorn because it has my Jesta model in it, although I wouldn't say it's the best series I've watched, still fun because of the modern designs.

Finished all the weapons for my model today, just got to do some detailing now.

@johnny5: Do you have to paint them? I am terrible with paint.

@obsideondarman: No they come pre coloured.

I went ahead and bought one. It seems easy enough to assemble and the price was fantastic. Here is the link if you wanna see.

@obsideondarman: Good choice!

Is there a way to watch any Gundam series without resorting to illegal means?

@obsideondarman: the Official gundam youtube channel has some up for free.

And the most recent two (Iron-Blooded Orphans & Reconguista in G) are available on Hulu. Besides that, RightStuf has the rights to the physical releases and has been releasing DVDs/Blu-Rays. All of Turn A and the original Mobile Suit Gundam are available (both great shows), and Zeta Gundam is going to start coming out soon.

@jesus_phish@epidehl@aterangelus- Thanks for all your advice duders. Appreciate it.

@obsideondarman: as long as you don't mind clicking skip on ads, you can download the crunchy roll app and watch the new series there that's what I did

My dad would occasionally build model planes that he worked on. Sine he already had all the equipemnt, I got inspired and bought a model of the Player 2 Ikaruga ship. I remember starting ,quickly giving up, and somehow losing the instructions in the process. I've been wanting to try again with something simpler and work my way up, so this thread is super helpful.

I just bought a Master Grade Guntank as my first ever model (that I'll actually build myself).

That's going to be an adventure. Seems like a great, beginner friendly place to start!

@charlesda: The Gunpla community is probably the friendliest and least toxic hobby community I have ever encountered, pretty much wherever you go on the internet. If you ever need help or tips, just head over to reddit/r/Gunpla. People there are super friendly and helpful. Case in point, I once accidentally threw away a runner that had a couple pieces still on it when I was building my MG Sinanju. I posted asking for pictures showing the dimensions of the piece so I could get it 3D printed, but some guy just went ahead and sent me the extra pieces he didn't need from his Sinanju Stein, even though I didn't ask. You can post up your work no matter what the quality is like, and you'll get helpful tips or words of encouragement.

My Boba Fett kit finally showed up and I'm just now getting started on it. Kind of wish I had bought a pair of clippers beforehand but everything seems to come off the sprue fairly clean.

so all you guys actually keep all the boxes? 0_o

i don't have room for this shit but i'm doing it anyway

I only keep the boxes if I like the art on it.

I like the art on a lot of boxes.

@ripelivejam: I keep one big box that holds a bunch of runners in it that have some pieces I've yet to clip off but other than that I throw them out. The models take up enough room by themselves, I don't need a bunch of boxes hanging about as well.

I know a bunch of guys who do keep the boxes though.

@akyho - I don't know if you want to mention specific tools, but I find the "God sponge files" to be better than any regular hard hobby file. They're one downside is they're disposable but they last a good while before that happens, they're cheap enough and they're really great at what they do. You can get them in a set of five that will do everything from remove nubs to polishing the part right back up so that you never knew it was clipped in the first place.

@jesus_phish: Most people use different kinds of sandpaper to get their kits perfect and I just use a crappy cheap metal one and seems to come out fine....granted I ain't painting or going for the perfect lols. So I honestly don't know much on the filing end...hell technique is still something I am learning. I also know very little on tools tbh and so its free game for folks to make up some of their tool kits and I might throw them up on the front page if folks point to what they have and how to buy them.

All I know is godhand nippers seems to be the holy grail of hobby nippers just buying them/putting up a convincing argument to pay for them is the hard parts.

@akyho: Yeah, Godhand clippers are the holy grail :) They're extremely good but also extremely pricey although worth it in the long run I think if you're making a lot of models.

I just hope Austin's happy with what he's unleashed on this site.