#project rivalry

[g-29astarothtrinity]

MS-06S Zaku II Type S [Char Aznable Custom]

Principality of Zeon Customized Limited Production Mobile Suit

1/144 High Grade the Origin

Mobile Suit Gundam the Origin, Mobile Suit Gundam

Full Build Showcase

I am excited to finally showcase my build for Char’s Zaku II. Some of my absolute favorite Gundam battle scenes are Char blazing his way through the E.F.S.F. fleet at the Battle of Loum. The Zaku II was the mobile suit with which Char earned the legendary title of “Red Comet” and was also the first mobile suit he would use to fight Amuro Ray’s RX-78-2 Gundam, starting off easily the best rivalry of the Gundam multiverse. So of course it was an obvious choice for my first Char mobile suit, as well as his first entry into my Project Rivalry. 

I won’t really be reviewing this kit in depth since this is the third time I’ve built and showcased the HG the Origin Zaku II. I will reiterate that the reason I chose this kit over the Real Grade was that this kit handles way better than the Real Grade does, while being very nicely detailed and having great articulation. In terms of content, HG the Origin MS-06S Zaku II [Red Comet Ver.] includes all the weapons (the standard 120mm machine gun with two detachable magazines, the belt-fed machine gun, the ASR-78 rifle, Bazooka type A2 with 3 detachable magazines, and the heat hawk in active and stored modes). It is the quintessential Char’s Zaku II. 

For this build, as I detailed in my Gunpla WIP posts, I removed the seams lines on the legs and spiked shoulder, and on the weapons. Furthermore, I painted in the details for the thrusters on the legs and backup, the inside of the shoulder shield, the mono-eye, the weapons optics, and finally the chest-mounted 30mm Vulcans. I especially enjoyed how the Vulcans came out which I painted dark grey and then lightly dabbed the tiny barrels with a little titanium silver. Did some very light weathering on the weapons and in some areas of the mobile suit as a nice final touch.

I really enjoyed this build, even with all the challenges and mistakes I made and had to correct. I’d say that this is my best work so far in terms of a build complete with paint, decals, topcoat, and even some slight weathering work. I definitely feel more confident about doing more custom builds coming out of this.

[g-29astarothtrinity]

Soon...

[g-29astarothtrinity]

First to last rendezvous point following the assualt on Titan's HQ at Kilimanjaro - Universal Century 0087.

[g-29astarothtrinity]

Gunpla WIP: Real Grade RX-93 Nu Gundam

Build Status: 90%

Just about finished with this awesome kit. All that's left to construct are five more fin funnels. Hoping to complete that tomorrow so I can photograph and produce a Out of Box showcase by either Thursday or Friday. The decals are really nice. However, I'm going to forgo any stickers because I'd rather wait till I get some water slides before I decal the suit up.

This kit took me quite a long time to build as I was taking my time. Probably could have finished it sooner, but I got to savor the build process more than I usually do. Bandai Spirits has really nailed scaling down Master Grade level quality into 1/144 scale kit.

[g-29astarothtrinity]

RX-93 Nu Gundam 

Londo Bell Unit (E.F.S.F.) Amuro Ray’s Custom Mobile Suit for Newtype Use

Real Grade 1/144

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack, Gundam Evolve 05 

Despite only having a relatively moerate screen time presence, the RX-93 Nu Gundam is one of the most acclaimed and popular Gundams of the multiverse. It’s a physical manifestation of the will of Amuro Ray, having been designed by the legend himself and thus mirroring his growth since the fateful day he assumed the controls of the RX-78-2 Gundam. The Real Grade Nu Gundam more than lives up to this legendary status. 

Much like what I’ve heard of the Real Grade Sazabi, this kit is a culmination of Real Grade development that has increasingly perfected the art of scaling down Master Grade level build into a 1/144 scale kit. This kit is amazing to look at in terms of detail and colors, especially in dynamic poses where the armor moves to reveal glimpses of the superb mechanical detailing of the inner frame. If there is any cons to this kit’s detailing, it’d be that some of the panel lines are deeper than they need to be but that’s really not much to complain about. Additionally, this initial release version of the kit does not come with effect parts which have to be bought separately. There will be a version of the kit that includes effect parts and a action base, and a P-Bandai version that comes with the full fin funnel wing and Amuro Ray signature action base. However, buying the effect parts separately gives you the freedom to choose what color effect parts you want to use. I prefer the blue instead of the yellow that Bandai will be using, but I got both to see how they would look and the yellow definitely stands out more.

The RG Nu Gundam handles like a dream with fantastic articulation complimented by a solid build that guarantees it will hold almost every pose imaginable. This is most likely thanks to a constructed inner frame instead of those pre-articulated, molded Advanced MS Joint frames that made of a majority of the inner frame for early Real Grades, in addition to what I believe to be tighter tolerances for increased friction at connections and joints. None of these are new, since this has been a trend since at least the Real Grade Unicorn Gundams.  However, it really shows how far the Real Grade line has come because it handles this big mobile suit design exceptionally. Where this Real Grade really outshines the Master Grade (Ver. Ka. to boot) is how well the fin funnels stick together when being stored on the backpack. The kit also has no problems standing with the fin funnels attached if the legs are posed to accommodate the extra back weight, albeit it will have a very slight tilt at the torso. The one issue with the build of this kit is the backpack connection to the torso which will loosen up severely if disconnected and reconnected repeatedly. I would really recommend thickening up this connection or just gluing it in altogether if you don’t plan on detaching the special base stand adapter that plugs into the back. This is not a deal breaker though, as this really only becomes a major issue if you have the kit angled facing down to near 180 degrees flat.

This kit was a joy to build, and fun to pose. The RG Nu Gundam marks both the second mobile suit for my Project Rivalry, and the second entry for Amuro Ray in said project. Having built the RG RX-78-2 Gundam, I can really appreciate how far the Real Grade line has come with the both the latest Real Grade and final mobile suit of Amuro Ray.

[g-29astarothtrinity]

Rise, Red Comet.

Music: Big Smoke Live Pt. 1 by Tash Sultana

This was a challenging but fun build, and I'm looking forward to showcasing it.

[g-29astarothtrinity]

Gunpla WIP: Real Grade RX-93 Nu Gundam

Build Status: Inner Frame + Head Unit

Continuing Project Rivalry with Amuro Ray's ultimate machine, the Nu Gundam. As with the RG XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X1, I wanted to showcase the inner frame for the Nu Gundam before I cover it up with the armor. It is by far the most beautiful, mechanically detailed inner frame I have ever had the delight to build and panel line. I am seriously considering picking a second one later down the line just to display with panels off, and that would also give me the full set of fin funnels too.

Additionally, I acquired a Bandai Builder Parts System Base 01 which is a mobile suit hanger cage. It took me way longer to detail and clean it than I anticipated, but now I have something to put my WIP builds on instead of having them lay around the table. Makes for slightly better organization at least for me. It also makes for a great way to showcase WIP builds like this one.

On a final note, I think my phone's camera is desaturating the colors a bit.

[g-29astarothtrinity]

MSK-008 Dijeh [Amuro Ray Custom]

A.E.U.G./Karaba Prototype Mobile Suit

Custom Showcase

High Grade Universal Century 1/144

Mobile Suit Gundam Zeta

The Dijeh is a lowkey favorite non-gundam type mobile suit. It’s design is most likely based on the Gelgoog which is my favorite Zeon mobile suit from the One Year War, and it’s the funky, chunky mobile suit that Amuro Ray piloted for the duration of the ground war in the Gryps Conflict. Some of the best battle moments for me in Gundam Zeta were of Amuro Ray bringing the hurt to Titan forces in this mean green machine.

As a stock build, the HGUC Dijeh has solid articulation and joints. The arms especially have an interesting design that allows them to be pulled out and swiveled for additional range of movement, which gives this somewhat bulky kit the dexterity hold its weapons with two hands. This is also handy for achieving extreme poses especially with all the bulk on the right shoulder. The legs have about average range of articulation for a modern high grade so they can’t pull off the extreme poses that maybe more high end High Grades and Real Grades can but it’s still sufficient. I feel that the dual thrusters on the back unit could have benefitted from a joint system similar to the HGUC Sinanju and Sinanju Stein to provide a better range of movement, but it’s still solid enough.

For the customization aspect of this kit for #Project Rivalry, I noted in my WIP posts that I wanted to create a “retro-anime accurate" appearence. Since the default colors of the kit are for Amuro Ray’s unit, I kept them the same but added more red to match it closer to the RX-78-2 Gundam color layout with red in the shield and feet areas. Also added minimal markings and decals. This helps the kit fit in a little better with the Real Grades while also standing out. I’m proud of the results of my work, and this marks the third kit that I’ve painted. However, there are a few things I would do differently if I decided to make another custom Dijeh that was more stylized and closer to Real Grade appearence.

I am satisfied with the markings layout, but I think that I would want to add more for a stylized and less anime accurate custom Dijeh for Amuro Ray. Probably more caution markings, and a squadon unit marking as well. Maybe some trim markings. There are also a few other color scheme ideas I would be interested in: A simplified color scheme that replaces the yellow for more cohesion or a realistic color scheme based on real life air force color schemes. Finally, I’d also want to add additional geometry and panels with some pla plates. Mainly the feet guard and backpack.

I really enjoyed this build. It was also a very nice change in pace to build a high grade again. I consider High Grades to be the heart of Gunpla kits, since they are the most accessible and have the greatest potential for customization all while remaining economical. With the completion of the Dijeh Amuro Ray Custom, Project Rivalry is now basically half complete. I’m already setting up to start on Char, the Red Comet.