I am not if it is because of boredom or impulse buying or something but I recently bought a Gunpla kit again after years of hiatus from the hobby. The kit was the High Grade 1/144 scaled Gundam Barbatos and posted at the local Gundam Builders Iloilo group by a fellow Ilonggo hobbyist. I was initially watching that Gundam series of the kit and that maybe was the major influence on me buying the kit. Anyhow, what I need next to do is to update my cutting and building tools. I think my hobby knife already rusted out because of long idle use.

For now, here is the unboxing pics I took of the HG Gundam Barbatos:

Bandai seems to be unstoppable in releasing Gunpla kits, both in standard and exclusive series. One of which is the HG 1/144 Grimoire from the Gundam: G no Reconguista series. This unique look of the mobile suit is what I am excited with, though it is still a long wait for October.

The Gunpla kit’s info here:

HG 1/144 Grimoire (Release Date: Oct 2014, Price: 1512 yen)
Model Kit from the Gundam: G no Reconguista series

http://gundamguy.blogspot.com/2014/07/hg-1144-grimoire-new-images-release-info.html

As for an update of this ‘current’ Gunpla project, I have done removing the parts from the runners and snapbuilding the mobile suit. I did the assembly as sort of a demo build during the GBI exhibit for Fathers’ Day celebration of Robinsons Iloilo. The next step now is to separate the parts and prepare them for painting. Here is the assembled/snapbuilt HG Build Strike MS.

The parts are then separated with the help of the hobby knife and my sort-of-long fingernails.

More parts separation done on the legs.

I have also started panel washing some of the parts with panel lines. Here are the parts before cleaning them with lighter fluid.

Stay tuned for part three of this WIP.

*banner pic from hobbylink.tv

So it is the start of another Gunpla project and the kit that I’ve decided to work on is the HG 1/144 Gundam Geminass 01. This is a 90’s kit so I’m expecting simplicity on the design and assembly. I think just last year, Dragon Momoko released a sort-of remastered bootleg version of the kit which somewhat improved its looks and they also had the 02 version. Anyhow, we shall see how I can detail the looks of this kit to match the recent version.

For now, here are some snapshots of the Gunpla build in progress. (Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics.)

See you on WIP 2.

Did a little cleaning of the Gunpla display shelf and found these model kits that I’ve forgot to take decent pictures. Long before I did not have a digicam and had to stick to a low quality camera of the phone to take those photos. Getting a good result and quality with the proper angle and lighting is a challenge. The recent pics got better with the digicam, but of course using a DSLR camera always renders best results.

Here are the pics of the three kits. In order are, HG Sword Impulse, HG GN-X III ESF Type, and HG Tieren Ground Type.

So yeah, I am back on track again in building the Gunpla kits as the Game day weekend has been concluded. Browsing through the current work projects, I’ve decided to finish the beam rifle of the HG RGM Jesta which is the only thing left to complete the build. First, here are some shots as I assembled the components of the mobile suit.

As for the beam rifle, what I did was fill the panel lines first with Tamiya Panel Accent Color Black and then highlighted these small circles with a Silver paint marker. The last done was the sticker for the scope and then top coated the parts with Bosny Flat Clear.

The first picture below was after the panel wash was done. Second one was the final look of the rifle after top coat.

Stay tuned for the wrap-up of this Gunpla project. Until the next post.

*banner pic from Gundam Guy.

After completing the build of the High Grade Unicorn Destroy Mode together with its headbase, I decided to proceed right away to the next Gunpla project. The kit I chose was the HG RGM Jesta, another mobile suit from the Gundam Unicorn series.

Last Sunday rest day was the right occasion for me to start building this Gunpla. It was the usual cutting of parts from the runners and then removing the nub marks. I have decided to make this as simple as possible, though I planned to place a few waterslide decals on it.

Here are some work-in-progress pics so far:

The weather is still unfavorable to paint up to today so I will just stick to Gunpla unboxing post for now. For this post, the feature kit will be the High Grade 1/144 scale Guntank from the Universal Century line. I bought this at around 450php (a discounted price) from Wasabi Toys last December.

I’ve checked on a few reviews of this kit on Google and found interesting features despite being only a High Grade kit. Unto to the unboxing pics:

*banner pic from Google images

Work update part three. For this post, a few of the EFSF decals (from Samuel Decals) have already been applied on parts of the feet, chest, shoulders and knee. I’ve also placed one in the shield, in addition to the clear stickers that come with the kit.

Here are the materials that I used to place the waterslide decals.

Tweezers is for holding the decal as it is dipped in the water.

The decal placed. Mr. Mark Setter prepares the surface to make sure it would stick well.

More of the parts added with decals.

On to the assembly of the kit,

GM Sniper II Mobile suit’s now complete.

For the next WIP, the kit weapons and a few pose shots. Until next time.

*banner pic from Gunjap.net

Since most bootleg kits do not share the limelight of being featured or reviewed in Gunpla blogs, I have decided to share at least an unboxing write up of these kits. It’s not that I am encouraging people to buy bootleg, but it’s just that not all can afford to buy the Bandai brand. Being budget wise but still coping up with the hobby, bootlegs are our last resort.

As for this blog post, I will feature the unboxing of the HG Unicorn Gundam Destroy Mode + Head Display Base of the Daban Model brand. This company has been very active recently in releasing copies of popular Gunpla kits. I have also bought another kit from their release, the MG Tallgeese I which I will tackle on another post. As for now here is the slideshow of the unboxing pics of the kit. See below.

The kit by the way is priced around 550 pesos or at least 13usd based on the current conversion. I bought this from an online seller in Manila and I just added a reasonable amount for the shipping fee. Stay tuned as I will start building this kit soon.

Until next post.

It seems that I am spending more on Gunpla lately, even with the weekly contributions for the MtG card pool. It’s not that I am done with my kits backlogs yet, but the Gunpla releases for the month are just too tempting. Also, there is the restock of the kits included in my previous buy list just like this recent haul.

I would know if there’s a new arrival of kits from Wasabi Toys because of the email subscription. Just last week’s kit arrivals, I’ve checked that they have restocked the HG RX-75 Guntank so I’ve decided to buy the kit this time.

I placed the order by Monday and paid the kit via Paypal Tuesday. I expected the kit to arrive Thursday but unfortunately, Xend Express was not express enough. The store just informed me Friday that Xend had just picked up the item on that Thursday, and I should be expecting it to arrive here Saturday. That was an additional two more days of waiting, which somewhat pissed me off.

Anyway, enough of this rant. Here is the package:

Removing the Xend packaging, it looks like a cut-out box made to protect the kit.

Taking a peek on one side of the box,

“I its the Guntank!” Following a famous quote from the series.

The front box of the HG 1/144 scale RX-75 Guntank of the Universal Century series.

Now I only need the Guncannon to complete the set. Hmmm, where to buy?

*banner image from http://gunxpla.blog.fc2.com.

Here is a work in progress update of the High Grade GM Sniper II. Its part two so to recall, I’ve already started painting the parts with Bosny Flat Clear. I’ve thought that I’d just retain the original colors of the armor parts and also the gray parts of the joints and the hands.

For the second work update, painting is already done and next up is the assembling and detailing of the kit. Detailing would mean adding panel lines, decals and stickers to the parts to make it more realistic and less toyish.

The decals would be the water slide type, which I bought before from Samuel Decals in HK.

Here are a few of the parts placed in the box after painting.

Here are the ms’s body components that were assembled so far:

That’s about it. Stay tuned for Part 3. Until next time.

*banner pic from Gundam Guy.