sunsanvil
Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2010
- Messages
- 490
Grendels noted that for a few participants this is their first Bandai mobile suit kit and asked me to do a short primer. This is NOT meant to tell you how to do things or be any sort of authoritative or definitive guide. The intention rather is to point out a couple unique characteristics of these kits and give you some thoughts to take into your build.
These kits are unique in two ways:
- The finished piece is designed to be fully “poseableâ€. In other words the joints and other fixtures move, flex, weapons are interchangeable etc.
- The kit pieces are (to a large extent) broken down by color.
Operating on the assumption that you want the finished kit to have said articulation there are few conventions which have come about. A typical build will go something like this:
“Pre-buildâ€
Many Gunpla enthusiast will actually build the kit “dry†with no paint so that they can see and understand how it goes together, and also be able to identify areas where there is no tolerance for a thickness of paint (and would thus result in scratching when the joint is moved/articulated). Appropriate action may included grinding, sanding, etc. They then take the kit apart completely. Going this route requires special attention to many, if not all, of the part interfaces as most employ pins-sockets which are so tight that subsequent separation is impossible without damaging/destroying the parts in question. In such cases “boring†out the sockets with a pointed knife or appropriate drill bit will be required.
Another way to approach this is to study the directions thoroughly and repeatedly, preparing and matching up all parts but not fully assembling things, or perhaps only partly (those parts which will not need to be separated for painting). This method is more streamlined but requires good mechanical/spatial understanding.
“Forest of Parts†painting.
Because of the unique by-color breakdown of parts, the typical approach to painting is to paint each piece separately, working by color (all the red parts, then all the white, etc). To do this most Gunpla enthusiasts will mount small alligator clips to a large number of bamboo skewers or other similar material, and griping each part in an inconspicuous place (which wont be visible later), paint them one at a time, sticking the skewers in a sheet of Styrofoam to hold them (thus the “forest of partsâ€). For a typical MG kit, a single color may require anywhere from 30-60+ depending on if any partial assemblies are made or not. Some parts may be attached by just forcing the blunt end of a skewer in a socket, others may be too small to be practically held by an alligator clip and will require silly putty, “blu-tack†or other material to hold it on the end of the skewer.
As for other processes such as decals, detail painting, weathering, etc these can be done either before or after final assembly. Its really up to the modeller, though generally speaking doing details and decals while the parts are still separate makes for easy work, while weathering after final assembly should provide a more uniform result.
These kits are unique in two ways:
- The finished piece is designed to be fully “poseableâ€. In other words the joints and other fixtures move, flex, weapons are interchangeable etc.
- The kit pieces are (to a large extent) broken down by color.
Operating on the assumption that you want the finished kit to have said articulation there are few conventions which have come about. A typical build will go something like this:
“Pre-buildâ€
Many Gunpla enthusiast will actually build the kit “dry†with no paint so that they can see and understand how it goes together, and also be able to identify areas where there is no tolerance for a thickness of paint (and would thus result in scratching when the joint is moved/articulated). Appropriate action may included grinding, sanding, etc. They then take the kit apart completely. Going this route requires special attention to many, if not all, of the part interfaces as most employ pins-sockets which are so tight that subsequent separation is impossible without damaging/destroying the parts in question. In such cases “boring†out the sockets with a pointed knife or appropriate drill bit will be required.
Another way to approach this is to study the directions thoroughly and repeatedly, preparing and matching up all parts but not fully assembling things, or perhaps only partly (those parts which will not need to be separated for painting). This method is more streamlined but requires good mechanical/spatial understanding.
“Forest of Parts†painting.
Because of the unique by-color breakdown of parts, the typical approach to painting is to paint each piece separately, working by color (all the red parts, then all the white, etc). To do this most Gunpla enthusiasts will mount small alligator clips to a large number of bamboo skewers or other similar material, and griping each part in an inconspicuous place (which wont be visible later), paint them one at a time, sticking the skewers in a sheet of Styrofoam to hold them (thus the “forest of partsâ€). For a typical MG kit, a single color may require anywhere from 30-60+ depending on if any partial assemblies are made or not. Some parts may be attached by just forcing the blunt end of a skewer in a socket, others may be too small to be practically held by an alligator clip and will require silly putty, “blu-tack†or other material to hold it on the end of the skewer.
As for other processes such as decals, detail painting, weathering, etc these can be done either before or after final assembly. Its really up to the modeller, though generally speaking doing details and decals while the parts are still separate makes for easy work, while weathering after final assembly should provide a more uniform result.
