This was a project to practice scribing for the first time. I don’t know much about Gundam but it’s ubiquitous where I live and this kit is one of the most basic there is. There’s very little detail so it was perfect to practice scribing. Ironically the most detail out of the box is on the underside of the feet and the inside of the shield; areas you can’t see in a normal pose.
I used pictures of the higher grade versions for scribing reference and tried a custom paint job. In my head I saw it as a futuristic astronaut suit so I tried mixing paints to get the orange you see on NASA suits. It looked okay in the pot but when sprayed on grey primer it came out more of a brick red. Live and learn.
The decal set is for a different kit (the RX-178 Mk-II) since it’s the closest I could find at the same scale. Between being for the wrong kit and the custom colour scheme it was a fun challenge figuring out where to put them.
I have to give a shout out to potchip who gave me good advice in another thread about being careful with Tamiya washes on Bandai kits. Even with that I managed to crack the bases of the laser sword hilt / antenna rod things on the back behind the head. Without that advice I think it could have been much worse.
Cool, looks great to me!!! Actually I like the brick red, the more toned down with it and the grey I think looks better than what I’d think a brighter orange would look.
"Hey Boss, Da Plane, Da Plane? That looks real nice to me. I have been having a hard time Finding the Other type of Battle Suit that is common in this genre, Finally found some in 1/35 scale “The Gustavs.” One suit with windows for the operator and the other depending on external cameras! Those I immediately liked, This type took me a little longer to get interested.
I like some of the “Battle Suits” and this looks like it would fun too, now. I will have to try one.
TB, he’s doing the “John Travolta Teapot” pose from Saturday Night Fever. [:P]
Watch out for those MaK models, they are contagious! My first two MaK (branded SF3D at the time) were also the Gustav and SAFS. A friend remarked that the SAFS’ body looked like a toilet(!). Yeah it kinda does.
I’m throwing my lot in with the others and say the color scheme looks sharp even if not the intended result. The Saturday Night Fever pose was a nice touch. [:D]
Having not done any scribing outside of restoring panel lines I’d be curious to know what the biggest takeaway of the project was.
I guess my biggest takeaway was to use proper scribing guide tape. I initialy tried using tamiya masking tape stacked two or three layers thick like I saw in some tutorial videos but I tended to push the scriber too hard against the tape and it either got pushed in, leaving a divot, or I pulled the scriber over the tape. I didn’t even consider trying free hand.
With the plastic guide tape I could push much harder against the tape with no fear of deforming it or pulling the scriber over it. The tape did slip a bit with the pushing, especially for short lines where there was very little surface area under the tape but just holding it down with my thumb kept it in place just fine.
I also found that for curved surfaces, it’s better to pull the scriber up the plastic, like walking up a hill, rather than pulling it down. Gravity helps keep the scriber on the plastic and gives more control. The other way risks pulling the scriber away from the plastic and going off course.
Overall it went smoother than I expected. The end result isn’t perfect but I’m more than happy for a first attempt.
Yeah the ‘Dymo’ type label maker embossing tape does work much better than layered masking tape. I’m not that great at it period but the tape does make a BIG difference for me.
Didn’t even know there was such a thing as scribing guide tape. [:|]
When searching for it one of my newly favored tapes showed, capton. It’s a heat resistant tape used in transfers and electronics. It’s fairly rigid with good adhesion. Most importantly it doesn’t leave a residue behind when removing it. Good to know there may be another use for it other than Sega Game Gears I’m refurbishing (whole other hobby there).
I’ll have to keep that tip about pulling up in mind. Ran into the issue of pulling away when improving existing panel lines. Will give that a try the next time I have to restore some panels.
