So I have a dilemna…Bandai’s Gundam models are molded in color and snap together, right? Well, this leads me to the quandry of whether I should paint them and glue them together or not. I know the pros do both, and they get spectacular results. I was wondering what the rest of you guys/gals do for yours?
That’s entirely up to you!
What do YOU want to do?
Me, I’d paint it…but that’s just me!
I paint & glue all my Gundams.
Why?
Well, mostly because even with the fine snap-together mechanisms that Bandai comes up with they can still get loose and fall apart. And becasue I have yet to build a Gundam that was the color it was supposed to be.
I usually neither paint nor glue them, but than I build them for fun and to have a testbed for new techniques.[;)]
I would say it also depends on the kit:
The 1/144 & HG kits while molded in colour don’t come close to the finished colour scheme.
MG and higher grade kits you could do without painting but the colours will still be off and in some details be totally missing.
Like J-Hulk said it is up to you what you want to do.
Do you see them as a quick in-between build between more serious builds or do you want to have the best Gundam that you possible can have.
Said that even the MG & PG kits can still be greatly improved with a bit of scratchbuilding and/or AM parts.
HTH.
Well I guess I look at them a little differently than everyone else… Gundam to some people is very serious doo-dah… For me, it is my kid factor play-time!.. I do an awfull lot of real models, and sometimes have 2 or 3 projects on the go at once… I love Gundams, and they are proudly displayed (But not played with)… So when I am feeling a little tired of having to actually build a model, and smell glue and paint fumes, then my Gundams are a great escape!..
I dont paint them , but I do use my Gundam pens to do the black lines and have a rubbing tecknique to make thge parts and the black lines looking weathered…, I also fill in chip marks, and weather them,. and they look how I want them to look… I do however paint what needs to be painted such as gold parts on swords and the like, and parts that are not represented with the final build!..Infact most people ask if they are just toys, and surprised when I say they are actually model kits… I guess it just depends on what is acceptable for you… And I like to think mine look decent!
ps, I have painted one… I got the Strike Rogue in HG 1/144 scale… The reason I painted it was that I wanted to do a custom Strike, that used the IWSP back pack the the Strike Rogue… But for some reason… no matter how well I did the base coat, and then the white top coats, pink always managed to bleed through… By the time I was happy with the finished paintwork. The paint was kinda on the tick side, and the parts weren’t a snug fit… The arms are very difficult to move… Now that’s not the fault of the model, but it is just an example of why I choose the easy way out, and do my best with what they give us!
Chris in Japan
Just as an example, here’s my Sazabi.
I’m making the effort to paint my little Blitz Gundam, I need the practice before I start on my HG Wing Zero Custom. I see no problem with not painting them, I’m just anal-retentive! [:P]
Kylwell, as the Dark Lord of The Sith would say,“Impressive, most impressive.” I have only built one Bandai Gundam kit, and until recently I was mis-spelling Bandai. But my Doctor says I’m all better now.[:D]. I did a Master Grade Zaku II and would like to put it in a dio with another kit, not sure what. The idea would be to have some of the armor off, like getting repairs, with damaged buildings all around. SO I would say painted but not glued. Yeah.
That’s different… (And decals from Bawoo, cool! )
Here’s mine: http://www.blue-devil.net/chaosgear/God.html
My only first place winner, the God (Only real comp I’ve been to, though )
http://www.blue-devil.net/chaosgear/DSHC.html (Need to take new pictures, though these are ok… )
Two small examples… I’ll post my 1/144 HG Serpent whenever it’s done (A week or so, I think )
Heh…actually those are custom decals I had made at Models4U. I had a larger version of the symbol printed out for the shield but buggered it up so I had to use the smaller version (when getting custom decals made always have extra made up).
Um… Bawoo is the owner of Models4U 
Ah…I thought you meant the AMX-107
Glad to be of service! [;)] [;)][:D][:D]
Heh, he goes by Bawoo… Didn’t mean to confuse you… (He posts at Child of Mecha, so I’m used to calling him as such )
Though the Bawoo is an awesome machine, too 
i didnt paint or glue my gundams… but now i regret it and wish i did … so 4 the love of god man do both… plz
So why don’t you pull them apart and redo them??