1/100 TT Hongli MG Hi Nu Gundam Couple's Build - Part 2

TT Hongli Hi-Nu doesn't Have a Very Good Head on His Shoulders...

We continued on with the Hi-Nu Gundam the following Tuesday (3/29) and we only got the head done, it was stressful day for the two of us, so we just didn't feel like building much.  So here it is...

Side view, and that seam line is just awful.  The halves just don't line up.

The faceplate seems to be out or down too far from the "helmet" and the chin is LOL HUGE!

I painted the eyes clear yellow, and here you can see what I mean about the face plate.  It just sits so low that the eyes especially look out of place.

Not sure if it's because of the face plate issue, but the forehead camera doesn't go up all the way into the head!  FRUSTRATING!

Melissa noticed this interesting bit:

The V-Fin is VERY flexible!  She said this is good because she won't be able to break this one :-P...  She snapped a few pieces on her Trans AM Exia HG and MG.

Went ahead and painted a few silver details on the head; vents, vulcans, etc.

Painting my base red on top and black along the bottom.

To match Amuro's A on the Nu Gundam's shoulder and shield, to show the link or something like that.

Melissa went a little more Bling Bling than I would have liked...

All silver for her base.

That's it for this posting.  We moved onto the arm right arm last Monday and we mat get to more this weekend.

Until Next Time:  Happy Building!

1/100 MG GP-02a Physalis Part 1

Getting a Head of Myself

I first saw the GP-02a Physalis when I bought the Gundam Wing series on VHS of so many years ago before I had access to a DVD player.  As I watched the previews for 0083 Star Dust Memories on the VHS tapes because I was too lazy to fast forward through them, I saw for the first time the ugliest mech I think I'd ever laid eyes on at that point.  It was bulky beyond belief, it's lower legs were completely disproportionate to the rest of it's body, save those horrid looking pods hanging off the arms.  I just thought the whole design was flawed.

I remember, too, sifting through pictures of Gunpla on websites like HLJ and ehobbyland trying to learn all I could about the hobby I was just getting into and I ran across the Physalis as an old 1/144 kit and again as a Master Grade while searching.  The design looked even uglier in plastic form!  Then I saw that the pods at least flipped up and were used as the Gundams mode of propulsion, but still, it just looked wierd.

When the Gundam Wing series had given way to the Universal Century time line and I watched the OVAs I finally started to appreciate the design of the Physalis.  I learned it was bulky because it was a powerhouse!  It was heavily armored and the massive shield was used as a cooling system to handle its raw power.  And why was this Mobile Suit made to be a such an armored beast?

TO NUKE THE CRAP OUT OF THE ZEONS OF COURSE!

Luckily!  Gato kicks ass and stole the Physalis and nuked the Feddie Scum fleet instead.  The Physalis, once seen in action, was now a really cool machine in my eyes.  So when a friend of mine said he had a MG Physalis for sale, I snatched it up along with three others he had which I will get to eventually.

Work begins with the head:

All of the parts.  For whatever reason the older MG Gundam kits came with two V-fins... not sure why.

Very carefully, I painted the edges of the eyes with a dark gray Gundam Marker.

Not too shabby, eh?

Next the part of the faceplate behind the eyes is painted in silver.

Like so.

Ooooo!  Shiney!

Clear green for the eyes.

There we go.

The rear camera is given a similar treatment.

Not sure if I'll use this one, I'd have to paint the center piece and I kinda don't feel like it.

I assembled the head and added some Gundam Marker Grey to the inside of the yellow vents on the sides of the head.

I don't know why, I just felt that the small indented section here at the back of the head needed to be grey, so there it is.

Panel lined, I'll need to clean it up a bit.

And that's all for the Physalis this time around.  More on him later.

Until Next Time:  Happy Building!

1/100 MG Deathscythe Hell EW Two Joes Build - Part 1

Could it be? A Local Gunpla Friend?

When Deathscythe Hell EW was announced and I started talking about it at work, a friend of mine (also named Joe) got very excited and want to get one.  We pre-ordered them together and we are building them now.  He's working on this kit nearly everyday, I'm only working on it once a week, so he will most likely be done before me.  But he is going for a custom paint scheme.  He wants to do urban camo on the wings.  Could be cool!

During the first part of set up, you'll notice the picture on my laptop is actually Vegeta8259's Video Review of his MG Deathscythe Hell EW.  I was watching it while snipping parts.

Got everything all set up first.

I laid out all of the runners as usual.

Those wings though... so big and in the way.

Mostly frame parts on the right side.

What to do about the wings?

L1 ... L2...

REMEDY!

Much more manageable.

And they go with the rest of the wing parts.

Since this post is mostly for the Other Joe, I'm going to go over my method in this posting.  I lay out all of these "Parts Boxes".  I have here one each for the head, torso, hips, weapons, left leg, right leg, left arm, and right arm.  I have other boxes for times when I have extras in a kit, or whatever, but this is mostly my usual batch of boxes.

I follow the instructions once through just clipping parts from the runner, I don't trim the excess plastic off yet.  Just clip the parts and put them in the corresponding box.

Body or torso.

All the parts for the Torso.

Head

All the parts for the Head

Arms

All the parts for the Left and Right Arms

Legs

All the parts for the Left and Right Legs

When I got to the skirt armor, I saw that these parts look almost identical, but are labeled different.

I flipped them over and marked their numbers on the back where they wouldn't show.  This way I don't have any problems later during the build.

Hips or Waist

All the parts for the Hips

Here's the box I left out in the beginning.  I always use this box too, but it's causing issues when it comes to this kit...

These wings...  are just... so big...

Yup, no way they'll fit in that box.

Backpack

All the parts for the backpack.  I decided to put what I can in the box, and then leave the six largest parts out of the box.

Weapon... Uhm... Weapon

All parts for the Weapon

There you have it, all of the parts are cleared from the runners and placed in my Parts Boxes.  Thanks again, Ngee Khiong for this organizational method.

The kit came with a sheet of clear stickers, a sheet of dry transfers, and the foil stickers that I never use.

That's it for this week!  I'll pack everything away and trim up parts and do some painting next week on one of my days off.

Until Next Time:  Happy Building!