HGUC 1/144 GM Quel Work In Progress

This HGUC 1/144 GM Quel is kinda rare. It is a kit released more than 6 years old and I got lucky to recently bought it from a Japan online store.

Progress after an hour. Relax while having lunch break.

Continued at night! Finally I’m done with the snap fit.

GM Quel Photo session!

Just to have fun with the space background. Please bear with the photo quality, all these photos are taken with hand phone in bad lighting environment.

Erm… wait, I’m not done yet! This is just a snap fit. There will be kit bash and custom colour for this fella. Let’s wait for part 2.

My favourite GM face, GM Quel & GM Custom

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 Promotion Video

If you don’t know what’s going on, please watch this video about MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 = RG 1/100 Scale

Let’s compare the features:

Overall it is a slight improvement from the old MG, but compare to RG? Not impressive at all, especially when you are paying 4750 yen for its quality.

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 Expansion Pack

This is the part I HATE the most. Another evil scheme to milk the fans money! Package the main body in a cheaper price, then tease us with the “weapon set”, “extra armor”, “effect parts” are the common tricks for Super Robot Chogokin series. But why this happen on Gunpla? >___<

In the MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 Expansion Pack there are LED Unit, Gundam Hammer, Hyper Bazooka, Beam Javelin and water decal?? Why can’t you just package them together with the kit? Fans better pray that this thing is not Bandai Online Shop limited edition.

MG Revolution Conclusion

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 = RG 1/100 Scale

Trust me, Gundam Ver Origin is coming really soon. What do you think about this Ver 3.0? *looks at the comment below*

To be honest, with such amount of mods it is so hard to tell how it is done… definitely the kit is built based on HGUC 1/144 Delta Kai, with massive amount of pla-plates as the additional details.

The knee modification is similar to S Gundam design. The ultra high heel reminds me a lot of Zeta II Gundam

Overall the Gundam Delta Kai seems to be extended and look slimmer than the usual MS proportion. The upper torso is added with energy pipes at the black colour area.

Updates from Shizouka Hobby Show 2013 about MG Revolution

LED gimmick is confirm!

I would like to say my prediction is correct but… it is packaged as part of MG GUndam Ver 3.0 Expansion Pack. I’ll draft a post and talk about the update news. Overall impression, still a disappointment. Just a upscale RG with a bit more parts.

This is the link to part 2 – MG Gundam Ver 3.0 VS RG

New MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 is the bigger version of RG

As per usual, in any new series we know that it is always started with RX-78-2 Gundam (a.k.a. the Grandfather). However, based on the current information released by AmiAmi, a famous toy & figure e-commerce site in Japan, there are some preview of the features included for the new MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0. Unlike how the fans predicted , it is disappointing.

• New MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 will remain 1/100 Scale

  Unlike what Bandai claimed to be “big”, the MG series remain at 1/100 scale. Since it is the same size, the good news is that the price won’t increase much. So MG lovers can continue the collection at the same size and price range.

• Movable Amor Plates on new MG series

  All those who built Real Grade kit will know that when you bend the knee and leg, the armor will slide and showcase the inner frame details. So the new MG series will have the same feature. That’s why I’m calling it a bigger version of Real Grade.



• Better colour seperation for armor parts

  One reason why Real Grade kit is torturing is because of the size of the tiny parts which are painful for those who have big or clumsy hand (my hands are pretty clumsy). But… those are the main points that give beautiful colour tone and armor details, making it much more realistic. If the new MG is following the same trend, we can see more parts to be fix compare to a standard MG kit.

• When can we get the MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0? And how much?

  According to AmiAmi, the selling price will be 4725 yen (~USD48). Sounds reasonable to me if it is a bigger RG quality kit. The kit is currently open for pre-order. Tentative release date is August 2013.

Too little enhancement for “MG Revolution”

Non of my prediction of features are added to the new kit. Overall this MG Revolution is a disappointment since I thought it will be something that “wow” us. Hopefully Bandai can at least package the LED unit together with the MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0.

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver 3.0 Details on AmiAmi (in Japanese)

You can check the Bandai Hobby Site announcement page here.

EO’s prediction on Bandai Master Grade Gundam Model Kit Revolution

• Go Big! 1/72 scale MG Gunpla

  Since Bandai mentioned it is going to be “big”, it is safe to say 1/72 scale will be one step up from the usual 1/100 MG. 1/60 is unlikely since it will clash with 1/60 DX series and the Perfect Grade lineup.

• LED as built in gimmick for MG series

  If you noticed many of the newer MG Gunpla kits have gimmicks that allows LED to fit in (for the eye and glowing sections). High chances the new MG series will have the LED come together with the kit itself.

  Good example will be MG Gundam OO’s GN Drive and MG Jesta’s head gimmicks.

• Interchangeable MG Kit Inner Frames

  Real Grade has detail inner frames but mostly come in one big piece, e.g. the whole arm or the whole leg. However kit bash seems to be difficult with that. It will be cool if MG Gunpla can be kit-bash friendly by making its joints and inner frame interchangeable.

  This concept stands high chances since Bandai recently encourage kit bash between HG and RG series. If this happens we can easily switch the limbs and torso between different MS.

• Joint Lock / Tougher Joints for MG series

  Well… any Gunpla modeler will know the MS joints will eventually loose. It happens a lot on MS with big weapons. Joint Lock feature is tested on Perfect Grade OO Gundam before to prevent loose joints, although many plamo-er complaint it doesn’t work XD.

  If Joint Lock is too complicated, an alternative will be tougher joints similar to Revoltech. What I mean is the “tik” “tac” gimmicks which can hold much better than standard Gunpla joints, not the ugly ball design.

The sexy Unicorn Gundam 2 Banshee

HGUC 1/144 RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 2 Banshee Overall. To my surprise, Nan Nei mentioned there is no modification at all! Just pure solid painting skill!

How to get this sexy metallic purple, blue and black tone?

Many thanks to Nan Nei, he shared the “magic formula” on his Facebook Page. Since his FB page is in chinese, I gotten his permission to re-post and translate some of his sharings and techniques in MVPFigure.

Purple Blue Armor

• Primer: GSI Mr Surfacer 1200 Grey
• 1st coat: GSI Mr Color GX2 Ueno Black
• 2nd coat (main colour): GSI Mr Color XC04 Amathys Purple + GSI Mr Color XC05 Sapphire Blue + GAIA EX-03 Ex-Clear
• Mix Ratio: 1:1:1
• Top Coat: GAIA EX-03 Ex-Clear

Gold Parts

• GAIA 122 Star Bright Gold (50%) + GAIA EX-03 Ex-Clear (30%) + GSI Mr Color 49 Clear Orange (20%)
• Top Coat: GAIA EX-03 Ex-Clear

Red Eye

• GAIA GP 02 Premium Red (50%) + GSI 171 Fluorescent Red

Others

• Metallic Black: GSI 78 Metallic Black
• Silver: GAIA 123 Star Bright Duralumin
• Chrome: GSI SM08 Plate Silver NEXT Metallic
• Black (touch up): TAMIYA Enamel X-1

How Vanz customized the Gerbera Tetra?

From what I know, Vanz build this kit based on 1/144 Gerbera Tetra, kit-bash with the head from HGUC 1/144 Xekueins + arms from HGUC 1/144 Kshatriya.

The joints are replaced with new ones, and added a lot of silver rings at the corner of parts as extra mechanical feel. Overall decay is from Sinanju.

He uses the Neo Zeon Sleeves’s design (from Kshatriya arm) and added the Neo Zeon logo at the chest, near the neck area.

Overall this kit is great and nothing look like the original 1994 kit. Great job Vanz!

Oh Yes! Brunei Plamo Group just decided a new group build, which is GM VS Zaku! Time to utilize the new tools that I bought recently

GM VS Zaku Group Build Updates – May 20 2013

Wow seems like now things are spiced up quite a bit. We have 5 entries on GM side and 3 entries on Zaku. However… there are a lot of snipers from both side. Let’s see if anyone willing to try something special

Zaku Group

• Kevin Goh – RG 1/144 Zaku II Char’s Custom
• Saiful Ahmad – RG 1/144 Zaku II
• TL – RG 1/144 Zaku II Char’s Custom

GM Group

• Hazim Murad – HGUC 1/144 GM Sniper II
• Zulfadhli Zainal – HGUC 1/144 GM Custom
• Selipur Jepunku Lawa – HGUC 1/144 GM Cold District Type
• EO – HGUC 1/144 GM Quel
• Chubbybot – HGUC 1/144 GM Sniper II

How to join BPG group build

1. Get a Gundam Model Kit (Check the details above)
2. Take photos of the new kit, and take a few more photos while you are building it.
3. Post your updates to the BPG Group
4. Remember to complete your kit and post the final photos on BPG album before 24 August 2013, which is BPG 2 Years Anniversary!

GM VS Zaku Group Build Details You Need to Know

• High Grade (HG) 1/144 OR Real Grade (RG) 1/144
• Any variation as long as the MS comes with the name “Zaku“. E.g. Zaku Mariner, Black Tri Star Zaku II, Zaku I Sniper
• Any other MS like Dom, Gelgoog, Gouf, Marasai etc are NOT Zaku.
• Any variation as long as the MS comes with the name “GM“. E.g. GM Striker, GM Custom, GM Cannon, GM Sniper
• Any other MS like Jegan, ReZel, Nemo, Jesta etc are NOT GM.
• Any kind of modification is allowed. E.g. Scratch Build, Painted Build, Metal Parts, Custom Colour, OOB, Kit Bash
• Any part is allowed. E.g. Conversion Kit, HD Parts, Weapon Set, M.S.G. Detail Parts

For your information, some of the good work will be featured in mvpfigure. I’ll inform the owner of the kit if that happen.

My first impression of this kit is… Angelo’s Custom Sinanju? The purple and purple red makes me think of Rozen Zulu. I prefer the “Sleeves” pattern to be white than the original gold colour.

Nice Gatling guns, silver tips and black /steel body. IMO, as compared to the nicely done Gatling guns, the grey on the 3 Bazookas seems plain.

I really like the mini wreckage diorama. If I remember correctly it should be MS stand + Kotobukiya Mechanical Chain Base’s wall. It is used as the model stands for the sinanju as well.