First day of summer vacation which means it's the first day of work for me. Work on Gundam! haha yeah I'm just exchanging one job for another now. Granted I don't get paid for this but I can at least sleep in. And it's fun. So let's get started!
I say 'core' in the title because some extra parts will be added after but this is just the basic transformation mechanism at work.
Before I start this project I must clean my work area!
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From VF-27 Basic tools, 2 types of a nippers and 2 cutting knives, multi-vitamins and Omega-3 capsules, homemade sports drink, watch, speakers to connect to I-Touch, and miscellaneous tools/markers/pens in the blue drawers. VF-25G oversees all! I had a couple Real Touch Markers laying around from when I bought SD Justice and Aegis a life time ago (bought before I started this blog so no link unfortunately). So I decided to use that for working on the nubs.  This is basically what it looks like before and after. As you can see it's not perfect but it's certainly better than leaving the nubs as is. Generally what I like to do is shave the nubs down with the knife, then run my fingernail over it to smooth it down a bit. Then I use the marker and blend it in with my nail again. I know... it's a bit... organic but it works.  Here are the parts that I'll be assembling first.  There are quite a few small pieces so it's very important to cut the nubs down properly in order to leave the transformation mechanism unimpeded. Very small parts. Repainting these kits would be a true feat. The nubs are a bit glaring but they're on parts that probably won't be seen. You have to decide for yourself just how detailed you want to be. Also because the pieces are so small its very easy to lose them. Please be extra careful concerning that. One lost piece could have disastrous implications, as in the entire transformation mechanism may not work without it.  The next couple shots will just show how much movement and articulation you can get from the assembled parts in this section. Everything moves it seems. It's quite a bit different from building a Gundam in that sense. Gundams generally move like people and have joints in the same places that we do. Macross kits are like that as well but x10. Every other part can move somehow. That said, it is a relatively stable build and can be played with without much concern of breakage.     This kit is a masterpiece of engineering and everything fits together perfectly. If there's one piece of advice that I can give you about assembling this kit it is this; If it doesn't seem to fit right you made a mistake. The engineers didn't. Everything should fit together and move perfectly. So for god sakes don't force anything to happen that the engineers didn't intend to happen. You may ruin one of the many transformation mechanisms in the kit. The parts are small and can break with a bit of force, please be careful of that. Check and double check the manual if you have to but if you're going to force something into place make sure that's what the manual is telling you to do. |
Often the telling sign of a misplaced piece is that it's not fitting perfectly, and to this day I marvel at the engineering of Gunpla kits for that reason. Things fit to within less than a tenth of a millimetre and it amazes me. This build is pushing the right buttons for me so far Bb!
ReplyDeleteThis post came through in extra wide format in my RSS, FYI. I had to scroll across for miles to read each line.
Have you tried sanding your nubs? I swear by it. The 400 grit I use to make my sanding sticks can be a little coarse at first but it becomes perfect within 30 to 50 pieces sanded. I clean my current in-use stick with a toothbrush every few pieces to keep it from getting clogged.
Hey tonzo not sure why that happened with your RSS. it came out ok in mine. not sure whats going on there.
ReplyDeleteyeah ive tried sanding my nubs but im probably using too heavy a grit. im just using the stock files i have around but my old ones actually work best because they've been worn in a lot. i'll try what you suggest though.