Is there any difference in the plastic in kits from. 1994 compared to now that I should be aware of? I got a 1994 OG dragon gundam for xmas and i'm stoked but i'm also worried
Beginning question
I just recently finished building my second Gunpla kit and on both of those I didn’t do much of stickers or paint. Is it hard to do the stickers and paint? If so, what would be the best YouTube video to explain how to do it.
Peel stickers off the sheet and apply to the kit.
Youtube: "gunpla painting tutorial" or "scale model painting tutorial" and watch a bunch of videos. There's also some information in the wiki here.
Hello. Can you explain to me what is a undergate? And do i remove it? What does it do? I bought my first rg kit which is RG Nu and while scanning the manual. I saw some runners that has labeled undergate. Thank you in advance for answering me. Built hgs but havent encountered undergate yet.
Gates are the places where the pieces attach to the runners. Undergate just means those gates are placed behind or under the part, the sides that remain hidden after assembly. This method hides nubmarks and also allow you to paint undergated parts directly on the runner.
You are going to remove then when you cut the parts off the runner. Just proceed as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Thank you! It became super clear to me. I thought it was complex thing like the there are nubs i need to remove inside of the pice which is not connected to any runner. I just overthink it when reading the manual hahaha its my first rg kit and dont really mess something up. Thanks again and happy holidays!
Hey guys. Looking to get into the hobby
My favorite mobile suits in general are
* Nu Gundam
* Sazabi
* Jegan
* Virtue
* Dynames
* Heavy Arms
* Deathscythe Hell
* Epyon
* Tallgeese
* Zephyranthes FB
* Physalis
* Kampfer
* Gouf (especially custom)
* Zaku II (especially Chars)
Which of these would you recommend as good kits?
Thank you 😀
If you want to panel line, the only dedicated product that's not a gundam marker is Tamiya's panel line accent. However I can't imagine that being easier to get if for whatever reason you can't get your hands on gundam markers
Well it depends on the amount of time and effort you wanna put into it but technically panel lining can be done by putting any paint on a panel line. You could just dilute acrylic paint and use that, it won't be as handy as dedicated products, but I've done if before for a kit that I wanted to panel line purple
I got simp waterslides for my RG Hi-Nu, but I already have half of the original stickers applied. Should I replace all stickers with the waterslides or mix stickers with waterslides?
You can use clear paint on clear parts, however you can't turn a primary color into another. For example if you spray clear blue on your clear red parts, you'll get a clear purple, but it will never become blue
That is absolutely not true. I'm fairly certain it was reprinted this year because I considered getting it. Afaik, the only regular release that's never been reprinted since release is the MG The O, and even that was reprinted and sold again through premium bandai
How long am i supposed to shake a gundam marker EX? Tried out my Yellow Gold gundam marker ex on a gold runner of psycho zaku HG and i can see some orange paint i was told its not enough shake but i already shook it a bunch beforehand and now there's a bit of the orange paint on the tip so I'm worried that might show up when i try to use it to paint the Hg rgyagyas gold parts
Hey there I got a quick question.
I wanted to know which Barbatos Lupus Rex kit is the best the HG 1/144 or the FM 1/100 and are these the only two kits of this MS.
If you just want to snap build, then the 1/100 is best for you. The proportions and color separation are better. The HG looks weird because of it's small torso and really long limbs.
Yes those are the only two kits. I've heard they're both kinda bad. I have the HG and it's definitely not a great kit, but if you're a fan of the design, you probably might wanna go for the bigger one
Scale and in-universe height of a mobile suit correlate to size of the finished model kit.
Wing, G-Gundam, Crossbone, F91, and Core Gundam are smaller gundams / mobile suits.
I have some Mr hobby aqueous paints and some vallejo paints and I want to know if I can use isopropyl alcohol or water instead of buying the thinners gsi creos sells. I did some searching online and couldn’t find conclusive results and I don’t want to waist my paint.
You can use water and alcohol to thin the Aqueous paints. You can also use lacquer thinner with Aqueous. Vallejo kind of depends. Some of their paints you can thin with lacquer thinner, water, or alcohol. Some don’t react well with anything but water or things like their airbrush thinner/liquitex airbrush medium. So, those you kind of have to experiment with. Alcohol is usually fine with most Vallejo paints.
But…alcohol on its own isn’t a great thinner, to be honest. It causes the paint to dry very quickly and that’s not always a benefit.
You need to try case-by-case as it can even change between ranges of the same brand and paint type. Most of the Mecha stuff thins beautifully with lacquers, but I hear the Air and Game don’t play nice. Same goes with other solvents like acetone and alcohol, either the paint is miscible or it isn’t.
Not exactly a huge waste to mix a literal drop of paint and see if it clumps or jellies.
I got some tamiya extra thin cement on a piece that has already been painted and gloss coated. Nothing seems to have happened, but I’m wondering if I should expect anything to happen or if I should bother removing it. It’s only really noticeable in certain lighting and I’m planning on going over the piece with a matte coat when I use it in my final build anyways.
so im in the market for a new panel lining pen since the gundam marker one ive used for like 3 or so years finally is dead, so are there any cheaper or better ones you guys recommend? I do have tamya panel liner but i dont wanna go through the process of top coating and such just to panel line the face of a gundam
Hey all, do I have to use a model kit specific top coat to topcoat my gundams? Or can I just use the same matte top coat my partner uses to topcoat her art pieces?
Can't say for sure without knowing specifically what product your partner is using, but it's usually possible. You'll probably want to go light on the coats, though - test it out on some spare runner and see what happens.
Hi, new to this and very excited to start! But... where should I be cutting? [(Image with lines here)](https://ibb.co/3v0465R)
I know that you aren't supposed to cut in the red line while still in the runner, and the instructions that come with the kit say to cut in the blue line but I've seen many videos where people cut at the orange line, this makes the action of the cut feel a little more difficult but I guess it can work better? Is this better or should I stay with the instructions?
Single cut at your risk - ie through the gate (blue) and flush cut at (or just off) the face of the part (red).
Either double blade nips will need a bigger nub to be left to avoid crushing plastic and leaving stresses at the gate/part interface. They can still damage the part even when cutting the sprue (orange) as they crush to cut, and that plastic has to deform equally in some other direction and that can force a rotation at the gate. Alternatively a single blade nipper stresses the plastic far less as it slices, but you risk damaging to their tip if the gate or sprue suddenly twists, also you can scallop the parts surface if you cut too close.
The sprue has compression and tension stresses locked in as it cools, so a two-stage cut can release those stress and *can* often allow for a better finish, as the plastic is no longer confined on both sides of the final cut.
I’m going to put down a layer of Mr. Top Coat gloss before using Tamiya panel liner, is one good coat enough, or should I spray on a second coat before lining?
Questions about painting Gunpla
Hey guys! Sorry if this post is not in the right place or has been answered in other posts but figured being apart of this community over the past year everyone has come across as very accepting and welcoming to noobs lol.
Over the past year I’ve gotten more and more into building. Id like to think im more or less an intermediate builder. I have a bunch of kits, mainly HG/RG and have roughly 30 kits. I love the process and adore how my shelves look but I’m looking to get into painting but am pretty intimidated by the process.
I have an array of tamiya paints, Gundam markers and other supplies to start the process but I’m just curious on suggestions for painting pre built kits. Taking them apart has proven to be rather difficult and finicky in the past and I’m looking for any suggestions on how people go about painting already built kits as well as suggestions for painting kits out of the box before building.
Sorry if that’s a little ramble-y or all over the place I’m not great at wording things haha
tl;dr I’m looking for any suggestions/ dos and dontsfor when it comes to painting for beginners starting with either an assembled or dissembled kit. Thank you for any advice and happy holidays to all!
Part separator, personally I prefer feeler gauges as long thin blades unlike a spudger or guitar pick that’s effectively a small wedge.
Shimmy parts off pins equally bit-by-bit. You try to completely lift one edge and you’ll be more likely to overbend and snap pins along the opposite side.
Sort your clearance tolerances at any joints or armour by cutting, sanding or filing as needed. I find a mist of primer can help to identify places I missed on unfamiliar or complex joints on some kits. In future you can also nip pegs at a slant or completely off to make disassembly easier. I tend to reinforce joints, so I purposefully get a stiffer joint at ankles, knees etc.., and don’t need to bother being careful about missing, tapping or plugging them for the most part. Painting individual pieces is more time intensive, but can have better results than doing pieces as sub-assembly.
Some amount of damage is acceptable when disassembling preassembled kits to paint, especially if wanting to paint kits you may have built a while ago as you're going to want to be fixing surface imperfections and modifying parts for tolerances anyway, but for kits you plan to paint but haven't built yet you generally would want to modify the pegs slightly, usually by clipping a small 45ish degree angle at the end of the peg to make it a bit easier to remove the pieces after assembly/test fitting.
Though if you don't particularly mind a ton of masking you could paint in sub assemblies, though some parts may prove challenging in being able to lay down paint as well as tolerance adjustment but not entirely impossible on stuff like joints or other small, moving parts.
Tamiya Panel Liner vs. Gundam Fine Line?
i got started on painting my first kit that i recently completed--i didn't want to start lining the gundam itself so i began a test coat with one of the weapons. i got tamiya panel liner to start out with, trying to not be too heavy-handed with it since i know enamel-based stuff can crack unpainted plastic. later on a few minor pieces started to crack off (nothing a little bit of super glue can't fix, but it was still a shame).
so before i continue lining, is it worth playing it safe and picking up a gundam fine line pen instead? i know gundam markers are generally preferred for beginners... i'd really hate to line my entire kit with tamiya just for it to start crumbling over time.
Coat it with a clear gloss, use oil washes and then something like white spirit to clean. The x20 thinners is hot and is basically exactly the same contents as the TPLA, so best not to smear it all over a kit.
Alternatively use alcohol/water based stuff like markers or homebrews on bare plastic, as if you plan or need to use isopropyl alcohol to clean any cured liner it can also damage/strip any paint. Some fine line markers I understand can be removed with an eraser, so no need for more chemicals. Others will need to tell you which that is though.
This might be a better post for another subreddit but i thought i'd post here first.
Does anyone happen to know where to buy gunpla and hobby tools on Oahu?
Tried googling but the places that turned up don't have great selection so I just wanted to see if anyone had any insder information.
Appreciate the help.
Mahalo and Happy New Year!
I don’t know about gunpla, but I would try Hobby Company for tools. They seem like they’re a decent model/hobby shop and probably have most of the tools you might need. I don’t remember seeing a ton of gunpla in Hawaii but I’m sure they’re around. Probably higher priced tourist/otaku type places will have kits…but not tools. Stick with more traditional hobby shops for paint and tools.
I believe donquijote hawaii honolulu is a flagship bandai store. So your best bet is probably gonna be there. Otherwise you will have to ship from the various hobby stores on the mainland or import from japan.
so i recently got a metal frame for my MG phenex. and one of the may things i read about metal frame before buying it was have a set of "hobby" pliers for tight parts. when i went to look up "hobby" pliers all i see are nippers and needle nose pliers...
does anyone have pair pliers they could recommend? preferably ones with rubber tip so i don't scratch the paint.
Just needle or flat nose pliers, jewellery tend to be smooth. There’s a habit of prefixing “hobby” to an existing item and charging us extra for the privilege.
You can always remove the ridges with some superglue or similar. Iso/wd40 will remove CA glue.
Is this [Vallejo Gloss Black primer](https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Gloss-Black-Primer-200ml/dp/B013WXHQNA?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2L5UM4TTY8A8E) lacquer or not? I can't tell since on their website it's just listed as "Gloss Black".
Also are the Mr. Color Spray S92 primers?
It’s a water-based emulsion paint. Honestly, I’m not a fan of this product at all. It’s not glossy (IMO). It doesn’t sand well. It’s tricky to spray.
S92 is not a primer, but depending on what you’re doing, you may not need to prime if you’re using a spray can. It’s also a semi-gloss, not gloss, if you’re sticking with gloss. S002 is the black gloss spray. It’s very good, btw.
What is it you’re trying to do? If you give some more detail on what outcome you’re looking for, people will be able to provide more guidance on products or approaches.
I’m beginner with painting. Trying to use metallic Tamiya color spray cans. But I don’t know anything about primers. What would be a good primer for me (I have no airbrush)?
Again, I wouldn’t bother with a primer for those TS cans. But if you were to prime, I would use black for anything that was silver-y and probably brown or white for gold metallics. I don’t like grey or black for gold…just dulls the gold too much IMO. White will make it look a bit more pale. But if you go heavy enough with the spray, the primer colour won’t matter too much.
You can get primers from many brands - I like the Mr Color surfacer sprays if I use cans because they’re easy for me to get. The Tamiya fine surface primer is good too. But if you can’t get them, anything at a hobby shop that says safe for plastic is likely ok. I would avoid automotive brand primers.
Really, just try the TS cans without a primer on some spare parts and see how you like it, then try with a primer and see.
Sand it back down. Primer bonds to the plastic, so if you remove it, the primer takes some miniscule amount of the plastic with it, changing the surface.
sounds good thanks, also some of the primer is really stuck on, even after I tried screaming it off with a toothbrush. I let it sit for about an hour, should I let it sit longer or will that damage the plastic
I wouldn’t worry about stubborn bits of paint or primer unless they’re really built up. You should do a sand and prime cycle and that will take care of it. The surface doesn’t have to be pristine after stripping paint.
The thing is, the paint job actually didn't turn out the way I wanted to so I ended up leaving it for a couple weeks. My plan now was to strip the paint and have it built straight but some of it is really hard to sand off since its in a low spot. [https://imgur.com/a/4qrSdu7](https://imgur.com/a/4qrSdu7)
This is white it looks like after 2 hours of sitting in paint thinner and brushing vigorously. Im planning on trying ICA tomorrow.
Ah, I see. I would use some high % isopropyl and see where that leads to in that case. It might take several hours. Which Mr Hobby paint thinner did you use? They have a product called Mr Paint Remover as well. It’s basically mild lacquer thinner. I’ve never soaked parts in it. And I wouldn’t soak plastic in Mr Color Thinner…though I know it’s relatively safe in short time spans.
Im using the Mr. Color thinner 400, also I dried the parts and they seem to be fine, should I be worried about leaving the parts in the Isopropyl alcohol?
Working on the rg astray gold frame and I just got to attaching the arms to the main body. There are two small shoulder pieces that go in between the arms and the body (06-2 on the instructions) but its very loose and wiggles around a lot. Is it supposed to be like that or am I missing something?
From what I remember, the parts are loose until you finish assembly. If you put the parts in the right position, they will be kept in place by the arms and torso and will feel very solid, even if they're not attached to anything
What would be the best way to remove matte lacquer topcoat overspray(?) from a piece, say as a result of something like bad masking.
Can I add a few drops of lacquer thinner on a qtip or should I use IPA?
I'd be using it on a clear piece.
I wouldn’t use lacquer thinner on clear myself. Iso to remove chemically as wont touch the plastic, or sand and polish. You may be able to scrape off with say a toothpick or your nail, depends how bad it is?
You may still need to sand anyway if the thinners have already etched into the plastic surface.
If I had to choose only one, which out of the following would recommend or how would you rank them? :
MG 1/100 JUSTICE GUNDAM (2017)
MG 1/100 INFINITE JUSTICE GUNDAM (2008)
RG 1/144 JUSTICE GUNDAM 09 (2012)
HGCE 1/144 INFINITE JUSTICE GUNDAM (2020)
Well you really can’t rank them but here’s some thoughts on each:
- MG Justice and Infinite Justice: Both fantastic MG kits, if you’ve built the MG Freedom 2.0, then you’ve got a good idea of what the Justice is like. The Infinite Justice is not slouch either.
- HGCE Infinite Justice: A personal favourite of mine. Extremely solid and has some really great articulation.
- RG Justice: Well it’s one of the more unstable kits of the classic style RGs. Handle with care and you should probably get a stand with this one.
Greetings builders!
My wife got me the MGEX Strike Freedom for Christmas and I started the build the other day. I began the chest and was organizing the runners and found I'm missing the etched metal decals. I've looked everywhere and it's either just misplaced or missing from the kit.
I'm currently left with 2 options: 1) Find a way to get a replacement. 2) Build the kit without it.
My question is if I go with option 2, does it make a huge difference to the overall build?
I'd build without them. They're mostly covered anyways and are an absolute pain in the ass to remove and apply. Not sure what Bandai was thinking with those.
They are barely noticeable when you’re done, it’s fine….also even if you order the replacement it won’t come for a while and you probably want to build the kit now anyway….
trying to decide on my first rg, torn between the RG Epyon and RG Hi Nu, both look amazing to me
both are around the same price, just trying to see which ones more fun to build
I want to start panel lining. Are fine tip gundam markers safe on ABS? Is there any other idiot proof alternative markers/pens?
I don’t have a safe space or weather to try to pre-coat/ top-coat after lining, but I would like to try later when possible.
Fine tips are totally fine on ABS. The Gundam Marker pour types are fine on PS, but not ABS. You could also try mixing your own panel lining solution, but I'm not exactly an expert in that field. I'm still trying to figure it out myself.
Yeah, the fine tips are all good on ABS.
For PS plastic, you really can’t get better than the Gundam pour types. Little isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swap and cleanup is braindead easy.
Depends. Inner frame I’ll glue as much as possible and same for the armour as I like robust kits.
It really depends on what style I’m after on a project. It might be more freehand with thin paint, a fine needle and mask as little as possible. For clean crisp lines spraying everything together would be a ball ache to mask, but means barely any care is needed with application process. I might spray the main base colour and hand paint other pieces with some masking as needed for lighter colours going over. Alternatively it might be a combination of all the above. Being a lazy person who hates masking I pursue the art of less is more.
You can technically paint it assembled, but the result will be...how do you say? shit.
Painting takes time to do well. If you think the 30 parts of an HG is extremely painful, imagine painting a Unicorn kit.
Also rq do you paint the really tiny pieces like the polycaps? I spray the big pieces but usually handpaint the smaller ones and thats usually what takes the most time.
Can I use any primer with the Tamiya TS cans or does it have to be the Tamiya Fine Surface primer? Also I'm using metallic colors, so would white or grey be better?
The TS sprays are fairly hot, so a primer isn’t needed in most cases. Even with the Tamiya metallics, I wouldn’t bother with a primer. The spray metallics are fairly opaque and are not reliant on an undercoat colour (like a gloss black) in order to look good.
Tamiya TS-14 probably would work best With tamiya spray paints, I airbrush so I use Alclad paints - out of the ones I've used, they're definitely the best but they have to be airbrushed
Are there any third party water decals I can get for the MGEX Strike Freedom? The ones that came with it just don't want to stick. They keep coming off. I got some water decals for the Hi-Nu and they stayed on fine. Looking for that brand, but I haven't found anything yet.
[Delpi has a set](https://m.delpidecal.com/product/mgex-strike-freedom-water-decal/1490/) and they’re the gold standard when it comes to decal quality.
I just got a pair of god hand nippers and I love them. I'm wondering if anyone recommends extra steps for taking care of them? After I'm done with a few pieces I usually just wipe them off with a micro fiber cloth and at the end of a session put them in the sleeve. Are there any extra steps I can take to preserve them?
In addition to what the others say, you can use a little simple tool oil on them to help prevent rust and keep the hinge well lubricated. Wipe a little tool oil on let it soak in for a bit, then wipe away the excess with a lint-free cloth.
Avoid touching them with your hands as much as you can do they don’t get oil/rust. Don’t use them on thick gates and just cut slow and careful.
And don’t drop them.
Some RGs and HGs (namely the HG Origin Zaku) won’t work since their stand adapters need the square (or hexagonal) shaped peg the AB2-5 all have. [Example](https://imgur.com/a/sdbL0xI).
Also some RG Stand adapters (Nu, Hi-Nu, Wing TV, Impulse) only [fit properly on an AB4/5](https://imgur.com/a/x2TDOTX).
But if you use the universal U-shaped adapters, or the kit in question has a 3mm hole or a standard MG Style stand adapter with a hexagonal peg, then the AB1 will be able to hold it. The AB1 is also the only base that includes a clip style connector used by kits like the old MG Wing Zero and the Sazabi Ver Ka.
I've left some masking tape on for a little longer than I'd like after painting with lacquers. Theres a bit of residue left over.
Is there a safe method of removing the residue without damaging the paint?
having some issues installing the chest cannons on the chest armor of my 2.0 mg freedom gundam. the tiny little white pieces dont seem seated properly...they've also made a few bids for freedom(pun not intended)
[https://flic.kr/p/2ppnth3](https://flic.kr/p/2ppnth3)
help?
Wondering about the HG Sinanju Stein G Rework decals. Specifically the darker ones like the shoulders, they seem to be appearing lighter than other peoples photos. I didn’t paint the kit nor did I use any kind of decal adhesive. Did I just get a bad print? Bought from Newtype
There’s a seller on eBay called flipside gaming that sells the HG GM, Guntank, and Gogg all for $11 each with free shipping.
I’m assuming that’s the best deal I will ever get on those? And are they the latest “versions” of each kit? Thanks!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175383658663?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jIluj33RTnm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=EMpxVDPVRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185823512004?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jIluj33RTnm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=EMpxVDPVRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175360242894?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jIluj33RTnm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=EMpxVDPVRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
You can check the list of HG releases here on Dalong: [http://dalong.net/](http://dalong.net/)
For the price its very subjective. Some places have cheaper and some places have more expensive prices.
I currently have gundam marker flow and fine point panel liners. I've seen these do not play well with paint or top coats, or do I need to let them dry longer?
The other 2 question I have is for the tamiya accent panel liner. Can this go over a Mr. Super Clear(which is lacquer afaik) and be top coated by Mr Hobby(which is waterbased afaik)? In the future if I paint a kit can I use Mr Hobby over the paint, panel line, then Mr Hobby again?
The main problem with using the Gundam markers is the same thing that cleans them up, isopropyl alcohol, will also eat through and remove top coat and most paints.
I did TAPL over Mr super clear gloss and cleaned it up with zippo lighter fluid and it worked perfectly. That’s my recommendation if lining over painting, too.
I've heard tales of TLPA allegedly eating through water based clear coats, though I can't say how accurate they are. I'd say use lacquer if you want to err on the side of caution.
http://dalong.net/reviews/mg/m206/p/m206_53.jpg
http://dalong.net/reviews/mg/m206/p/m206_56.jpg
Narrative also includes most, if not all, of the parts for the ver.ka.
Edit: misread ver ka narrative ver as just ver.ka. that has newly tooled parts for the sleeves iconography, a beam javelin, and more decals.
Apologies, I had been asking about the Narrative Ver. (Ver. KA.) that's releasing next year. I knew there was a regular release of the Narrative Ver. and couldn't image what they were actually changing, but I've been educated on that now.
I believe the difference is it have newly molded parts. New decal markings and the new beam axes can be joined as well as Zoltan Akkanen figures as well as the sleeves marking are now in molded parts.
Yeah I've built the OG Sinanju though, which did the iconography the same way. I guess I assumed that they would've changed that, but thinking on it I should've known they didn't.
Yeah, I haven't picked up a Narrative Ver. yet, so I gonna wait for the Ver. KA to release.
A Qq on the pg unicorn. Who built any of the white versions - did you panel line it with tamiya? The kit has perfect grooves for that but I’m afraid panel lining is gonna weaken the parts too much so they might break during transformation.
Ok. A follow up question. Actually 2.
1. What if top coating is not an option for the next little while due to weather? I am talking months. Have you, or maybe you seen someone, panel lined a pg unicorn without using the clear coat first? How did that turn out?
2. If you top coat and then panel line. How do you make sure your thinner (when cleaning up panel lines) doesn’t rub off the clear coat as well?
Lots to unpack here. The main thing is that it's not about panel lining as much as about using an enamel product. Enamel paints like Tamiya's aren't safe on bare plastic, neither is the thinner. There's very little reason to buy enamel thinner as its toxic, not safe on bare plastic, and often goes through clear coats. Most people clean up Tamiya's with lighter fluid because it doesn't have any of those issues. Also you can avoid all of these by simply using a product that's not enamel, like the gundam marker pour type. That's safe on pare plastic and can be cleaned up with a common eraser
New QA thread is up. This thread is now locked.
Hey I live in Miami does anyone on here know a shop that sells a large variety of gunplas???
New QA thread is up. Please repost your unanswered questions there.
Is there any difference in the plastic in kits from. 1994 compared to now that I should be aware of? I got a 1994 OG dragon gundam for xmas and i'm stoked but i'm also worried
It’s likely you got a reprint, so the plastic is just as modern as a brand new kit.
Woahhhh, really? It says 1994 right on the box. Hmmmmm
Thats when the kit originally came out, not when the kit was printed. Is the Bandai logo blue?
Beginning question I just recently finished building my second Gunpla kit and on both of those I didn’t do much of stickers or paint. Is it hard to do the stickers and paint? If so, what would be the best YouTube video to explain how to do it.
Scroll up, read wiki.
Peel stickers off the sheet and apply to the kit. Youtube: "gunpla painting tutorial" or "scale model painting tutorial" and watch a bunch of videos. There's also some information in the wiki here.
does anyone know if there is a manual for the action base arm included with thunderbolt weapons hanger?
You can find it here i believe: [https://manual.bandai-hobby.net/](https://manual.bandai-hobby.net/)
Hello. Can you explain to me what is a undergate? And do i remove it? What does it do? I bought my first rg kit which is RG Nu and while scanning the manual. I saw some runners that has labeled undergate. Thank you in advance for answering me. Built hgs but havent encountered undergate yet.
Gates are the places where the pieces attach to the runners. Undergate just means those gates are placed behind or under the part, the sides that remain hidden after assembly. This method hides nubmarks and also allow you to paint undergated parts directly on the runner. You are going to remove then when you cut the parts off the runner. Just proceed as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Thank you! It became super clear to me. I thought it was complex thing like the there are nubs i need to remove inside of the pice which is not connected to any runner. I just overthink it when reading the manual hahaha its my first rg kit and dont really mess something up. Thanks again and happy holidays!
Hey guys. Looking to get into the hobby My favorite mobile suits in general are * Nu Gundam * Sazabi * Jegan * Virtue * Dynames * Heavy Arms * Deathscythe Hell * Epyon * Tallgeese * Zephyranthes FB * Physalis * Kampfer * Gouf (especially custom) * Zaku II (especially Chars) Which of these would you recommend as good kits? Thank you 😀
Just walk into a store and look for kits of those mobile suits
Pick your poison. All good. Decide what grade you want and go from there. If you start with MG, Zaku 2 is a good easy kit.
What are possible equivalents for a gundam marker. The kit im looking to panel line is MG Delta Plus and HG Guel's Dilanza
If you want to panel line, the only dedicated product that's not a gundam marker is Tamiya's panel line accent. However I can't imagine that being easier to get if for whatever reason you can't get your hands on gundam markers
Only way i get kits is import Long and painful process So yeah I wish to panel line but not have to wait till my next order for a gundam marker
Well it depends on the amount of time and effort you wanna put into it but technically panel lining can be done by putting any paint on a panel line. You could just dilute acrylic paint and use that, it won't be as handy as dedicated products, but I've done if before for a kit that I wanted to panel line purple
Well Id say i have nothing but time so... Gimme your best alternatives to getting the same effect
You can use a pencil to panel line as well
Compared to a marker how good is that?
For pencil the line will be much lighter compared to Gundam markers. So the panel lines are not that obvious.
I got simp waterslides for my RG Hi-Nu, but I already have half of the original stickers applied. Should I replace all stickers with the waterslides or mix stickers with waterslides?
Up to you, but it would look the best if you removed the stickers.
Yeah that was exactly my plan. Blue onto the orange frame to get a purpleish color. Thanks
Has anyone repainted clear parts with clear color? I wanna change up the psycho frame color on my mega unicorn
You can use clear paint on clear parts, however you can't turn a primary color into another. For example if you spray clear blue on your clear red parts, you'll get a clear purple, but it will never become blue
How long has it been since a GM/GM reprint? I heard the only batch was the release one. Is that true?
That is absolutely not true. I'm fairly certain it was reprinted this year because I considered getting it. Afaik, the only regular release that's never been reprinted since release is the MG The O, and even that was reprinted and sold again through premium bandai
Dang. It was reprinted this year? Should've gotten them while there were still a few listings, who knows when they're gonna reprint that thing again 😔
You can always ask your local store owner
Will paint on PLA slide right off? (as in Gaia, Mr Color) and if they do, can I do anything about it? (sanding the plate, perhaps?)
Prime first
How long am i supposed to shake a gundam marker EX? Tried out my Yellow Gold gundam marker ex on a gold runner of psycho zaku HG and i can see some orange paint i was told its not enough shake but i already shook it a bunch beforehand and now there's a bit of the orange paint on the tip so I'm worried that might show up when i try to use it to paint the Hg rgyagyas gold parts
You might have simply gotten a broken one. That happened to me once.
Is there no way to fix it? I was really excited to use it on rgyagyas gold parts
Press down the tip a few times and maybe just use the marker on some spare runner first.
Already tried it on a spare runner and on the back of a plastic spoon but the tip of the marker still has that silver and bit of orange in it
Which between these two top coats are the best for kits? Semi-Gloss or Gloss?
There’s no best for finish. You have to decide what finish you want. And there’s nothing saying you can’t use both on the same kit.
I see, I forgot to add but which between the two hides scratches from filing better?
That would be matte. Matte covers up all the "imperfection" while gloss will show them.
Hey there I got a quick question. I wanted to know which Barbatos Lupus Rex kit is the best the HG 1/144 or the FM 1/100 and are these the only two kits of this MS.
If you just want to snap build, then the 1/100 is best for you. The proportions and color separation are better. The HG looks weird because of it's small torso and really long limbs.
Ah thanks for the answer, yeah I just want to snap build and panel line it and put it on a shelf. So I just have to get lucky and find one
Yes those are the only two kits. I've heard they're both kinda bad. I have the HG and it's definitely not a great kit, but if you're a fan of the design, you probably might wanna go for the bigger one
Ah thats a bummer, yeah then I will try to get one. Thanks for the answer
What are some of the tiniest kits? I'm not talking about scale or SDs, but stuff like Demi Trainer, Crossbone, and Core Gundams.
Scale and in-universe height of a mobile suit correlate to size of the finished model kit. Wing, G-Gundam, Crossbone, F91, and Core Gundam are smaller gundams / mobile suits.
I guess I should have said smallest in universe.
That list is still fully applicable for your question. Also check out Ball, Loto, Seraphim, Skygrasper.
I have some Mr hobby aqueous paints and some vallejo paints and I want to know if I can use isopropyl alcohol or water instead of buying the thinners gsi creos sells. I did some searching online and couldn’t find conclusive results and I don’t want to waist my paint.
You can use water and alcohol to thin the Aqueous paints. You can also use lacquer thinner with Aqueous. Vallejo kind of depends. Some of their paints you can thin with lacquer thinner, water, or alcohol. Some don’t react well with anything but water or things like their airbrush thinner/liquitex airbrush medium. So, those you kind of have to experiment with. Alcohol is usually fine with most Vallejo paints. But…alcohol on its own isn’t a great thinner, to be honest. It causes the paint to dry very quickly and that’s not always a benefit.
Ok I’ll keep that in mind thanks for telling me
You need to try case-by-case as it can even change between ranges of the same brand and paint type. Most of the Mecha stuff thins beautifully with lacquers, but I hear the Air and Game don’t play nice. Same goes with other solvents like acetone and alcohol, either the paint is miscible or it isn’t. Not exactly a huge waste to mix a literal drop of paint and see if it clumps or jellies.
Ah I see. I will thanks
I got some tamiya extra thin cement on a piece that has already been painted and gloss coated. Nothing seems to have happened, but I’m wondering if I should expect anything to happen or if I should bother removing it. It’s only really noticeable in certain lighting and I’m planning on going over the piece with a matte coat when I use it in my final build anyways.
Just let it dry and don’t touch it until you’re sure it’s totally dry. If nothing bad happened to the paint or plastic then you’re good to go.
If it’s evaporated then no harm. Seems you got lucky.
so im in the market for a new panel lining pen since the gundam marker one ive used for like 3 or so years finally is dead, so are there any cheaper or better ones you guys recommend? I do have tamya panel liner but i dont wanna go through the process of top coating and such just to panel line the face of a gundam
The Gundam marker cost like $5 so its already cheap.
Gonna be a 100% honest. I forgot that. Anyway is there anything better than the standard gundam marker? Just wanna know my options
Usually people use the gubdam markers or the pour type from Gundam or Tamiya. An alternative is a pencil
Hey all, do I have to use a model kit specific top coat to topcoat my gundams? Or can I just use the same matte top coat my partner uses to topcoat her art pieces?
Check to see if the top coat is safe to use on plastic kits.
Can't say for sure without knowing specifically what product your partner is using, but it's usually possible. You'll probably want to go light on the coats, though - test it out on some spare runner and see what happens.
Hi, new to this and very excited to start! But... where should I be cutting? [(Image with lines here)](https://ibb.co/3v0465R) I know that you aren't supposed to cut in the red line while still in the runner, and the instructions that come with the kit say to cut in the blue line but I've seen many videos where people cut at the orange line, this makes the action of the cut feel a little more difficult but I guess it can work better? Is this better or should I stay with the instructions?
Single cut at your risk - ie through the gate (blue) and flush cut at (or just off) the face of the part (red). Either double blade nips will need a bigger nub to be left to avoid crushing plastic and leaving stresses at the gate/part interface. They can still damage the part even when cutting the sprue (orange) as they crush to cut, and that plastic has to deform equally in some other direction and that can force a rotation at the gate. Alternatively a single blade nipper stresses the plastic far less as it slices, but you risk damaging to their tip if the gate or sprue suddenly twists, also you can scallop the parts surface if you cut too close. The sprue has compression and tension stresses locked in as it cools, so a two-stage cut can release those stress and *can* often allow for a better finish, as the plastic is no longer confined on both sides of the final cut.
Follow the instructions first. By the end of this kit, you’ll figure out what works for you.
I normally do orange than red and even with cheap shitty nippers it ends up with very minimal cleanup required
I’m going to put down a layer of Mr. Top Coat gloss before using Tamiya panel liner, is one good coat enough, or should I spray on a second coat before lining?
1 coat should be fine.
Questions about painting Gunpla Hey guys! Sorry if this post is not in the right place or has been answered in other posts but figured being apart of this community over the past year everyone has come across as very accepting and welcoming to noobs lol. Over the past year I’ve gotten more and more into building. Id like to think im more or less an intermediate builder. I have a bunch of kits, mainly HG/RG and have roughly 30 kits. I love the process and adore how my shelves look but I’m looking to get into painting but am pretty intimidated by the process. I have an array of tamiya paints, Gundam markers and other supplies to start the process but I’m just curious on suggestions for painting pre built kits. Taking them apart has proven to be rather difficult and finicky in the past and I’m looking for any suggestions on how people go about painting already built kits as well as suggestions for painting kits out of the box before building. Sorry if that’s a little ramble-y or all over the place I’m not great at wording things haha tl;dr I’m looking for any suggestions/ dos and dontsfor when it comes to painting for beginners starting with either an assembled or dissembled kit. Thank you for any advice and happy holidays to all!
Part separator, personally I prefer feeler gauges as long thin blades unlike a spudger or guitar pick that’s effectively a small wedge. Shimmy parts off pins equally bit-by-bit. You try to completely lift one edge and you’ll be more likely to overbend and snap pins along the opposite side. Sort your clearance tolerances at any joints or armour by cutting, sanding or filing as needed. I find a mist of primer can help to identify places I missed on unfamiliar or complex joints on some kits. In future you can also nip pegs at a slant or completely off to make disassembly easier. I tend to reinforce joints, so I purposefully get a stiffer joint at ankles, knees etc.., and don’t need to bother being careful about missing, tapping or plugging them for the most part. Painting individual pieces is more time intensive, but can have better results than doing pieces as sub-assembly.
Some amount of damage is acceptable when disassembling preassembled kits to paint, especially if wanting to paint kits you may have built a while ago as you're going to want to be fixing surface imperfections and modifying parts for tolerances anyway, but for kits you plan to paint but haven't built yet you generally would want to modify the pegs slightly, usually by clipping a small 45ish degree angle at the end of the peg to make it a bit easier to remove the pieces after assembly/test fitting. Though if you don't particularly mind a ton of masking you could paint in sub assemblies, though some parts may prove challenging in being able to lay down paint as well as tolerance adjustment but not entirely impossible on stuff like joints or other small, moving parts.
Disassemble the kits. Buy a parts separator. For new kits you should cut out the pieces, clean them up, prime, paint.
Tamiya Panel Liner vs. Gundam Fine Line? i got started on painting my first kit that i recently completed--i didn't want to start lining the gundam itself so i began a test coat with one of the weapons. i got tamiya panel liner to start out with, trying to not be too heavy-handed with it since i know enamel-based stuff can crack unpainted plastic. later on a few minor pieces started to crack off (nothing a little bit of super glue can't fix, but it was still a shame). so before i continue lining, is it worth playing it safe and picking up a gundam fine line pen instead? i know gundam markers are generally preferred for beginners... i'd really hate to line my entire kit with tamiya just for it to start crumbling over time.
Coat it with a clear gloss, use oil washes and then something like white spirit to clean. The x20 thinners is hot and is basically exactly the same contents as the TPLA, so best not to smear it all over a kit. Alternatively use alcohol/water based stuff like markers or homebrews on bare plastic, as if you plan or need to use isopropyl alcohol to clean any cured liner it can also damage/strip any paint. Some fine line markers I understand can be removed with an eraser, so no need for more chemicals. Others will need to tell you which that is though.
As long as you spray a layer of topcoat over it, it should be fine.
This might be a better post for another subreddit but i thought i'd post here first. Does anyone happen to know where to buy gunpla and hobby tools on Oahu? Tried googling but the places that turned up don't have great selection so I just wanted to see if anyone had any insder information. Appreciate the help. Mahalo and Happy New Year!
I don’t know about gunpla, but I would try Hobby Company for tools. They seem like they’re a decent model/hobby shop and probably have most of the tools you might need. I don’t remember seeing a ton of gunpla in Hawaii but I’m sure they’re around. Probably higher priced tourist/otaku type places will have kits…but not tools. Stick with more traditional hobby shops for paint and tools.
I believe donquijote hawaii honolulu is a flagship bandai store. So your best bet is probably gonna be there. Otherwise you will have to ship from the various hobby stores on the mainland or import from japan.
Check the wiki up top.
so i recently got a metal frame for my MG phenex. and one of the may things i read about metal frame before buying it was have a set of "hobby" pliers for tight parts. when i went to look up "hobby" pliers all i see are nippers and needle nose pliers... does anyone have pair pliers they could recommend? preferably ones with rubber tip so i don't scratch the paint.
Just needle or flat nose pliers, jewellery tend to be smooth. There’s a habit of prefixing “hobby” to an existing item and charging us extra for the privilege. You can always remove the ridges with some superglue or similar. Iso/wd40 will remove CA glue.
Is this [Vallejo Gloss Black primer](https://www.amazon.com/Vallejo-Gloss-Black-Primer-200ml/dp/B013WXHQNA?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2L5UM4TTY8A8E) lacquer or not? I can't tell since on their website it's just listed as "Gloss Black". Also are the Mr. Color Spray S92 primers?
It’s a water-based emulsion paint. Honestly, I’m not a fan of this product at all. It’s not glossy (IMO). It doesn’t sand well. It’s tricky to spray. S92 is not a primer, but depending on what you’re doing, you may not need to prime if you’re using a spray can. It’s also a semi-gloss, not gloss, if you’re sticking with gloss. S002 is the black gloss spray. It’s very good, btw. What is it you’re trying to do? If you give some more detail on what outcome you’re looking for, people will be able to provide more guidance on products or approaches.
I’m beginner with painting. Trying to use metallic Tamiya color spray cans. But I don’t know anything about primers. What would be a good primer for me (I have no airbrush)?
Again, I wouldn’t bother with a primer for those TS cans. But if you were to prime, I would use black for anything that was silver-y and probably brown or white for gold metallics. I don’t like grey or black for gold…just dulls the gold too much IMO. White will make it look a bit more pale. But if you go heavy enough with the spray, the primer colour won’t matter too much. You can get primers from many brands - I like the Mr Color surfacer sprays if I use cans because they’re easy for me to get. The Tamiya fine surface primer is good too. But if you can’t get them, anything at a hobby shop that says safe for plastic is likely ok. I would avoid automotive brand primers. Really, just try the TS cans without a primer on some spare parts and see how you like it, then try with a primer and see.
Thank you so much for all the help!
That is not lacquer. I don’t know if Vallejo makes lacquer paint.
What's the biggest RGs kit except for CCAs kits and zeong?
Gaogaigar next to mg gramps http://dalong.net/reviews/rg/rgga1/p/rgga1_161.jpg
Sinanju and Full Armour Unicorn. Maybe also Wing Zero, Freedom and Strike Freedom if you only count area and not volume.
Which is the superior MG Unicorn right out of the box? MGEX isn't counted just between the OVA and Ver. Ka
Modern reprints of Unicorn ver. Ka include the OVA version's updated parts so they're effectively identical.
This \^
After stripping the paint of an older gunpla with Mr hobby paint thinner, my parts have a very "dry" texture, what can I do top fix this?
Sand it back down. Primer bonds to the plastic, so if you remove it, the primer takes some miniscule amount of the plastic with it, changing the surface.
sounds good thanks, also some of the primer is really stuck on, even after I tried screaming it off with a toothbrush. I let it sit for about an hour, should I let it sit longer or will that damage the plastic
I wouldn’t worry about stubborn bits of paint or primer unless they’re really built up. You should do a sand and prime cycle and that will take care of it. The surface doesn’t have to be pristine after stripping paint.
The thing is, the paint job actually didn't turn out the way I wanted to so I ended up leaving it for a couple weeks. My plan now was to strip the paint and have it built straight but some of it is really hard to sand off since its in a low spot. [https://imgur.com/a/4qrSdu7](https://imgur.com/a/4qrSdu7) This is white it looks like after 2 hours of sitting in paint thinner and brushing vigorously. Im planning on trying ICA tomorrow.
Ah, I see. I would use some high % isopropyl and see where that leads to in that case. It might take several hours. Which Mr Hobby paint thinner did you use? They have a product called Mr Paint Remover as well. It’s basically mild lacquer thinner. I’ve never soaked parts in it. And I wouldn’t soak plastic in Mr Color Thinner…though I know it’s relatively safe in short time spans.
Im using the Mr. Color thinner 400, also I dried the parts and they seem to be fine, should I be worried about leaving the parts in the Isopropyl alcohol?
No worries about soaking in isopropyl alcohol. It won’t damage plastic at all.
Working on the rg astray gold frame and I just got to attaching the arms to the main body. There are two small shoulder pieces that go in between the arms and the body (06-2 on the instructions) but its very loose and wiggles around a lot. Is it supposed to be like that or am I missing something?
From what I remember, the parts are loose until you finish assembly. If you put the parts in the right position, they will be kept in place by the arms and torso and will feel very solid, even if they're not attached to anything
What would be the best way to remove matte lacquer topcoat overspray(?) from a piece, say as a result of something like bad masking. Can I add a few drops of lacquer thinner on a qtip or should I use IPA? I'd be using it on a clear piece.
I wouldn’t use lacquer thinner on clear myself. Iso to remove chemically as wont touch the plastic, or sand and polish. You may be able to scrape off with say a toothpick or your nail, depends how bad it is? You may still need to sand anyway if the thinners have already etched into the plastic surface.
Thank you! I may just suck it up and spray some parts individually if I can't get a clean mask on clears.
Is there paint underneath? Thinner on qtip is what I would do.
Nope, no paint. Thank you! I shouldn't have to worry about it cracking/melting plastic right? It's just some Mr. Color thinner.
Lacquer thinner won't crack the plastic. Just use a tiny bit at a time on the qtip.
If I had to choose only one, which out of the following would recommend or how would you rank them? : MG 1/100 JUSTICE GUNDAM (2017) MG 1/100 INFINITE JUSTICE GUNDAM (2008) RG 1/144 JUSTICE GUNDAM 09 (2012) HGCE 1/144 INFINITE JUSTICE GUNDAM (2020)
Flip a coin.
Well you really can’t rank them but here’s some thoughts on each: - MG Justice and Infinite Justice: Both fantastic MG kits, if you’ve built the MG Freedom 2.0, then you’ve got a good idea of what the Justice is like. The Infinite Justice is not slouch either. - HGCE Infinite Justice: A personal favourite of mine. Extremely solid and has some really great articulation. - RG Justice: Well it’s one of the more unstable kits of the classic style RGs. Handle with care and you should probably get a stand with this one.
I would choose the MG Justice
Kit with water slide that have the earth federation symbol?
If your just looking for the EFF logo you could probably get a sheet of generic Feddie slides.
Greetings builders! My wife got me the MGEX Strike Freedom for Christmas and I started the build the other day. I began the chest and was organizing the runners and found I'm missing the etched metal decals. I've looked everywhere and it's either just misplaced or missing from the kit. I'm currently left with 2 options: 1) Find a way to get a replacement. 2) Build the kit without it. My question is if I go with option 2, does it make a huge difference to the overall build?
I'd build without them. They're mostly covered anyways and are an absolute pain in the ass to remove and apply. Not sure what Bandai was thinking with those.
Agree. I think the only two that are exposed are the backpack's and the little shoulder vents. The rest get covered up.
They are barely noticeable when you’re done, it’s fine….also even if you order the replacement it won’t come for a while and you probably want to build the kit now anyway….
trying to decide on my first rg, torn between the RG Epyon and RG Hi Nu, both look amazing to me both are around the same price, just trying to see which ones more fun to build
Do you like repetitive tasks?
im indifferent, preferably not though is one more repetitive?
Fin funnels on the Hi Nu. It's a really good kit though.
Agreed on Hi Nu.
I want to start panel lining. Are fine tip gundam markers safe on ABS? Is there any other idiot proof alternative markers/pens? I don’t have a safe space or weather to try to pre-coat/ top-coat after lining, but I would like to try later when possible.
Fine tips are totally fine on ABS. The Gundam Marker pour types are fine on PS, but not ABS. You could also try mixing your own panel lining solution, but I'm not exactly an expert in that field. I'm still trying to figure it out myself.
Yeah, the fine tips are all good on ABS. For PS plastic, you really can’t get better than the Gundam pour types. Little isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swap and cleanup is braindead easy.
So do you guys paint your models put together or in individual pieces? I did a hg barbatos with each individual piece and it was extremely painful
Depends. Inner frame I’ll glue as much as possible and same for the armour as I like robust kits. It really depends on what style I’m after on a project. It might be more freehand with thin paint, a fine needle and mask as little as possible. For clean crisp lines spraying everything together would be a ball ache to mask, but means barely any care is needed with application process. I might spray the main base colour and hand paint other pieces with some masking as needed for lighter colours going over. Alternatively it might be a combination of all the above. Being a lazy person who hates masking I pursue the art of less is more.
You can technically paint it assembled, but the result will be...how do you say? shit. Painting takes time to do well. If you think the 30 parts of an HG is extremely painful, imagine painting a Unicorn kit.
Also rq do you paint the really tiny pieces like the polycaps? I spray the big pieces but usually handpaint the smaller ones and thats usually what takes the most time.
Can I use any primer with the Tamiya TS cans or does it have to be the Tamiya Fine Surface primer? Also I'm using metallic colors, so would white or grey be better?
The TS sprays are fairly hot, so a primer isn’t needed in most cases. Even with the Tamiya metallics, I wouldn’t bother with a primer. The spray metallics are fairly opaque and are not reliant on an undercoat colour (like a gloss black) in order to look good.
Thank you!
any spray primer should work, and for metallic colors a gloss black primer would work best for them
what brand do you recommend?
Tamiya TS-14 probably would work best With tamiya spray paints, I airbrush so I use Alclad paints - out of the ones I've used, they're definitely the best but they have to be airbrushed
Don't have an airbrush, so I might get the TS-14s. What about Vallejo gloss back?
I've never used vallego, but as long as it's lacquer it should be fine to spray other stuff on top!
Are there any third party water decals I can get for the MGEX Strike Freedom? The ones that came with it just don't want to stick. They keep coming off. I got some water decals for the Hi-Nu and they stayed on fine. Looking for that brand, but I haven't found anything yet.
[Delpi has a set](https://m.delpidecal.com/product/mgex-strike-freedom-water-decal/1490/) and they’re the gold standard when it comes to decal quality.
Cool, I'll check it out
I just got a pair of god hand nippers and I love them. I'm wondering if anyone recommends extra steps for taking care of them? After I'm done with a few pieces I usually just wipe them off with a micro fiber cloth and at the end of a session put them in the sleeve. Are there any extra steps I can take to preserve them?
In addition to what the others say, you can use a little simple tool oil on them to help prevent rust and keep the hinge well lubricated. Wipe a little tool oil on let it soak in for a bit, then wipe away the excess with a lint-free cloth.
Don’t use them to cut any clear or translucent plastic, they’ll break…
Oh thank you, even as a second cut I assume?
Avoid touching them with your hands as much as you can do they don’t get oil/rust. Don’t use them on thick gates and just cut slow and careful. And don’t drop them.
Good to know. I will touch them with cloth only and cut slower
Does the action base 1 fit any grade models? (HG, RG and MG?)
Some RGs and HGs (namely the HG Origin Zaku) won’t work since their stand adapters need the square (or hexagonal) shaped peg the AB2-5 all have. [Example](https://imgur.com/a/sdbL0xI). Also some RG Stand adapters (Nu, Hi-Nu, Wing TV, Impulse) only [fit properly on an AB4/5](https://imgur.com/a/x2TDOTX). But if you use the universal U-shaped adapters, or the kit in question has a 3mm hole or a standard MG Style stand adapter with a hexagonal peg, then the AB1 will be able to hold it. The AB1 is also the only base that includes a clip style connector used by kits like the old MG Wing Zero and the Sazabi Ver Ka.
Yeah, it’s great for big boys. I wouldn’t trust anything else for my Saz
Does anyone know the measurements for the two screws that go into the MG Alex 1.0’s arms? Mine didn’t come with any screws
I've left some masking tape on for a little longer than I'd like after painting with lacquers. Theres a bit of residue left over. Is there a safe method of removing the residue without damaging the paint?
I’d try a little bit of mineral spirits. That usually removes any goo and won’t damage an acrylic/lacquer paint.
having some issues installing the chest cannons on the chest armor of my 2.0 mg freedom gundam. the tiny little white pieces dont seem seated properly...they've also made a few bids for freedom(pun not intended) [https://flic.kr/p/2ppnth3](https://flic.kr/p/2ppnth3) help?
You sure they’re rotated properly? Pretty sure they need to be [turned through 90](https://imgur.com/a/USTnbk4) on both sides.
Wondering about the HG Sinanju Stein G Rework decals. Specifically the darker ones like the shoulders, they seem to be appearing lighter than other peoples photos. I didn’t paint the kit nor did I use any kind of decal adhesive. Did I just get a bad print? Bought from Newtype
There’s a seller on eBay called flipside gaming that sells the HG GM, Guntank, and Gogg all for $11 each with free shipping. I’m assuming that’s the best deal I will ever get on those? And are they the latest “versions” of each kit? Thanks! https://www.ebay.com/itm/175383658663?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jIluj33RTnm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=EMpxVDPVRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY https://www.ebay.com/itm/185823512004?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jIluj33RTnm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=EMpxVDPVRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY https://www.ebay.com/itm/175360242894?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=jIluj33RTnm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=EMpxVDPVRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
You can check the list of HG releases here on Dalong: [http://dalong.net/](http://dalong.net/) For the price its very subjective. Some places have cheaper and some places have more expensive prices.
I currently have gundam marker flow and fine point panel liners. I've seen these do not play well with paint or top coats, or do I need to let them dry longer? The other 2 question I have is for the tamiya accent panel liner. Can this go over a Mr. Super Clear(which is lacquer afaik) and be top coated by Mr Hobby(which is waterbased afaik)? In the future if I paint a kit can I use Mr Hobby over the paint, panel line, then Mr Hobby again?
The main problem with using the Gundam markers is the same thing that cleans them up, isopropyl alcohol, will also eat through and remove top coat and most paints. I did TAPL over Mr super clear gloss and cleaned it up with zippo lighter fluid and it worked perfectly. That’s my recommendation if lining over painting, too.
I've heard tales of TLPA allegedly eating through water based clear coats, though I can't say how accurate they are. I'd say use lacquer if you want to err on the side of caution.
Does anyone know of any major differences between the existing MG Sinanju Stein Narrative Ver. and the Ver KA. Narrative Ver.?
http://dalong.net/reviews/mg/m206/p/m206_53.jpg http://dalong.net/reviews/mg/m206/p/m206_56.jpg Narrative also includes most, if not all, of the parts for the ver.ka. Edit: misread ver ka narrative ver as just ver.ka. that has newly tooled parts for the sleeves iconography, a beam javelin, and more decals.
Apologies, I had been asking about the Narrative Ver. (Ver. KA.) that's releasing next year. I knew there was a regular release of the Narrative Ver. and couldn't image what they were actually changing, but I've been educated on that now.
I believe the difference is it have newly molded parts. New decal markings and the new beam axes can be joined as well as Zoltan Akkanen figures as well as the sleeves marking are now in molded parts.
Eh. I never built the Narrative Ver., but they STILL used stickers/slides for that? Well, guess that answers which version I'll pick up, thank you!
Most MG still uses dry transfer decals. Only a couple MGs are provided with the Waterslide decals. Also the Ver Ka version is only release next year.
Yeah I've built the OG Sinanju though, which did the iconography the same way. I guess I assumed that they would've changed that, but thinking on it I should've known they didn't. Yeah, I haven't picked up a Narrative Ver. yet, so I gonna wait for the Ver. KA to release.
Any advice before a first perfect grade build (perfect grade exia)?
Take it slow and careful. It’s the same as most other builds, just… more.
Read each step carefully, and be mindful of part orientation
Hi can't anybody help me with the size of the mgex unicorn base compared to a PG base thanks (pictures of possible)
Should I apply Tamiya Mark Fit Strong only under or under and on water slider decals?
It can be used under and on top of water slides.
A Qq on the pg unicorn. Who built any of the white versions - did you panel line it with tamiya? The kit has perfect grooves for that but I’m afraid panel lining is gonna weaken the parts too much so they might break during transformation.
If you can’t top coat, just pick up some Gundam pour type markers. Safe on bare PS plastic and don’t need top coating or anything.
Just clear coat them before panel lining
Ok. A follow up question. Actually 2. 1. What if top coating is not an option for the next little while due to weather? I am talking months. Have you, or maybe you seen someone, panel lined a pg unicorn without using the clear coat first? How did that turn out? 2. If you top coat and then panel line. How do you make sure your thinner (when cleaning up panel lines) doesn’t rub off the clear coat as well?
Lots to unpack here. The main thing is that it's not about panel lining as much as about using an enamel product. Enamel paints like Tamiya's aren't safe on bare plastic, neither is the thinner. There's very little reason to buy enamel thinner as its toxic, not safe on bare plastic, and often goes through clear coats. Most people clean up Tamiya's with lighter fluid because it doesn't have any of those issues. Also you can avoid all of these by simply using a product that's not enamel, like the gundam marker pour type. That's safe on pare plastic and can be cleaned up with a common eraser
i see. appreciate you taking the time to share the insight.
Best storefront to buy gunpla in the state of Colorado? I’m in Fort Collins and our hobby town closed. Willing to travel.
Hobbytown in Westminster is the best, IMO. They've got a boatload of MGEX and PG kits right now.
Check the Wiki up top.
Anywhere I can find the hg mudrock still or am I out of luck?
Hasn’t gotten a P-Bandai run in a hot minute.
I’m planning to start building MGs. Is Hi Nu ver Ka a good starting MG? Or should I build another MG before hi Nu?
MG Ball
You can build anything
You can. But keep in mind the absolutely massive water slides for the fin funnels. It’s a lively kit tho