Jestas 2 - Main Assembly Complete

All done and it was a lot of fun.  Prepping the parts wasn't so enjoyable but it has to be done.  Nubs all over my clothes.  On the desk.  In the box.  On the table.  On the carpet.  Sanding.  Blah.  Messy.

But it was a nice opportunity to enjoy listening to music, talking to friends or family, watching stuff on TV.  Sometimes I wonder if it's not the Gundam's so much as being able to do the other things at the same time.

No way.  It's the Gundam's!  But it really is such a relaxing hobby sometimes...  I've learned a lot of stuff while building Gundam's and goodness knows it helps with women because they can just keep talking and I can actually pay attention to what they're saying because I'm doing something else at the same time.  Weird how that works.  Can't give a woman your full attention.  That's just ridiculous! (jk to all my female readers.)

Anyways, onward!  To the pics!

After the cleaning I brought out all the parts and organized them by section.  Guess work but when you've built as many Gundam's as I have this part is actually pretty easy.

Very fun!  Trying to think of names and which one is going to be #1 and which one is going to be #2.  Hard to decide since they were both made at exactly the same time and parts from either box have been intermixed.

Oh yeah!  Alternate configuration.  Ngee and I don't have anything in common there.  I NEVER want to do it the standard way like it is on the box.  I'm going to switch it up if I can.  I need to do it my way.

U.C. 0096 Big Boss.  I have 6 suits from that era now and they are all GREAT.

Tag Team Champions

Sinanju vs. Jestas x2.  Who wins?

Yes!

 Totally worth it!!!

Unicorn OVA Sinanju

I like it! It looks quite sturdy and strong. Powerful. Like a Sinanju should. I think what they're going to do in Ep.2 is going to be really good. Too bad we have to wait until Autumn to see it though.

Kshatriya / Unicorn Diorama

ASM actually saw this in real life but here are some up close images from last months Dengeki Hobby.

This photo courtest of ASM.

Very dynamic. Love the sense of movement in this. It really does feel like its a moment frozen in time. I have never seen the Unicorn look so menacing in it's regular mode! Or the Kshatriya look so... afraid! Love the way the funnels were done with this.

Era with the Best Zeon MS designs!

Back in early April this year, I asked whether most of you were Feds or Zekes. It turns out that most of you are Zekes.

Then, starting way back in early June I asked this question and I've been whittling away slowly and patiently trying to get to this final era.

Finally, after hundreds and hundreds of votes it's been decided.

Char's Counter Attack - 34 (27%)
Unicorn - 91 (72%)

U.C. 0096 is the BEST era for Zeon MS designs
*according to the readers of this blog.

Can't say I'm surprised. When I polled to about what the best Gundam series was, 00 won by a significant number. It's the popular things! So because of that... I'm pretty sure I can predict what the answer is going to be for the next poll. That said... I have been surprised before while doing this! I could happen again. But that's not likely :)

Customary pics of the winners!

Damn this pose is sick! I'm totally stealing it.

Loving the Unicorn's Transformation Sequence

At around 1:40.

This animation is going to be GOOD. I can feel it.

Poll Winners: CCA and UC 0096

Not that I was really surprised. Out of 106 votes about 85% of you choice CCA/UC96 over Zeta/ZZ for best Zeon MS designs.

New poll is CCA vs. UC96. As usual I'm going to take the first 100 votes. Eventually we'll get to the best U.C. MS of all time (as voted by your peers) and I have a strong feeling I know where it's going to end up.　Anyone want to take any bets? We know it's a CCA or UC96 Zeon suit.

So here's a glimpse at the winners. All pics are from MAHQ. Props to anyone who can guess what the red MS at the bottom is (my new favourite Zeon suit).










And before you get your panties in knot about why blahblahblah wasn't included in the pics, I intentionally chose MS that you might not immediately associate with their respective eras.

But I think we all can agree that it's all about the Hobby Hi-Zaku. Stripped of weapons and made for the public, it's a "sports" mobile suit. Kinda makes you wonder how much people are paying to get one. Even if it's fictional, I am curious. I can't even hazard a guess.

MSN-06E - Ebon Enforcer / MSN-06S Sinanju: Work Log Compilation

Since I took the time to write them up I can at least take the time to compile them together. Here they are organized for posterity. Hopefully my notes will be of use to some modellers out there.

Work Log 1 - Cleaning

Work Log 2 - Feet and Legs

Work Log 3 - Torso and Arms

Work Log 4 - Hands

Work Log 5 - Thrusters

Work Log 6 - Painting

Work Log 7 - Armour

Work Log 8 - Shield Part 1

Work Log 9 - Shield Part 2

Work Log 10 - Backpack

Work Log 11 - Torso

Work Log 12 - Waist and Skirt

Work Log 13 - Forearm/Shield Modification

Work Log 14 - Wing Joint Modification

Final

MSN-06E - Ebon Enforcer

Started around Christmas. Finished yesterday.

All major operations on this kit are now completed.

Here's the write up.

Notes:

1. Very sturdy kit. Joints are stiff and well fitting. Maintains poses well.

2. Be careful when separating the fingers. Use something VERY sharp and narrow otherwise you may screw yourself like I did. The bottom two fingers of the right hand need to be glued in place.
3. Insane amount of details on this kit. I couldn't tackle them all but hit about 80% of them.

4. TOPCOAT, TOPCOAT, TOPCOAT. If you're going to spend all that time painting, topcoat the damn thing! And do a thorough job. Multiple times. I didn't and the gold chips away constantly. Especially if you're posing it a lot. Blah.

5. Modifying the arm to incorporate the shield assembly was the best thing I did for this kit. SIGNIFICANT improvement.

6. Repaired/reinforced backpack/wing elbow joints. Katoki's design was too weak and both part broke on me!

7. If you are SEARCHING for places to put decals and the answer doesn’t come to you immediately because you've already put about... 200 on already, just stop. Let the decals go. You can use them for another project.

Comparison:

Hard to compare this to anything in a 1/100 or MG scale. It out classes anything that I've seen or built myself. It's PG quality in 1/100 scale. Considerably larger/taller than any MG or 1/100 scale MS that I’ve seen with my own eyes. I think only the RX-0 and RX-93 come close.

Concept:

Originally I was going to go for white but then I realized that the decals wouldn’t show up at all so I went the opposite way with black. I had this... dark angel image in my mind when I first saw it. I decided to stick with black and gold for everything to really accentuate the gold trimmings.

Story:

Model # MSN-06E, officially known as the “Black Sinanju” but commonly known as the “Ebon Enforcer”. Nicknamed the “Double E Anti Gundam” by Neo Zeon soldiers, it is a play (or mockery if you prefer) on the ZZ Gundam which, Newtype ace, Judau Ashta piloted to infamy.

This prototype Sinanju was made primarily for the continuation of research on “Newtype Psycommu Technology”. Militarily, it serves as a defensive escort for ships transporting people of extreme importance. It does not see much combat because of the already heighted security around such ships.

The gold plating is an experimental hybrid liquid-polymer enhancement/upgrade of the full psycho frame employed in the MSN-06S Sinanju and the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. This plating enables the pilot to operate the suit with increased mental 'awareness' of the battlefield.

Preliminary experiments done with non-Newtype subjects resulted in various trauma ranging from mild headaches to death.

Newtype pilots fared better but often described the experience as 'overwhelming'. Extensive mental conditioning and training is required to fully utilize the system. Inside the suit the pilot can feel hostiles at extreme ranges and can neutralize them before they ever become a threat to ship being defended.

The PsyCo-RPX (Psychic Communication Receptor Polymer - Experimental) is applied in a way similar to a proton exchange/electrolyte membrane except with embedded microscopic PCR’s and without the incorporation a membrane electrode assembly. This process is time consuming and expensive making this suit entirely unfit for mass production.

Because of the random phenomena occasionally caused by psycommu systems used in especially heated battle situations, this Sinanju never sees any frontline combat.

Inspiration:

My imagination I guess.

Conclusion:

This kit is demanding and not for beginners. It pushed the limits of my skills and forced me to learn and try new techniques. It was a very rewarding experience and I learned a lot about modeling in the process but... I'm definitely ready to move on. It was almost too much for me and I felt like giving up a couple times.

I'll have to tackle this kit again, later on down the road, to fix a couple of minor problems that happened during the photo shoot but right now, it is functional and I am quite satisfied with what I’ve done with it.

Even though I tried to do things 'perfectly' I couldn’t in the end and no matter how great it looks standing in one place... once you move it around the paint is going to fade a bit in certain areas.
The adult in me says “It’s a model and you spent a lot of time working on it so just don’t touch it and admire your work.” But the kid in me says... “It’s cool and it’s a toy and toys are meant to be played with.”, and if I think about it... I’m doing this BECAUSE of the child in me... so I won’t be entering him into any modeling contests but I am definitely going to enjoy playing with him for the years to come.

RGM-96X Jesta

jesta-6
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

More U.C.0096 goodness. A pic from last months Hobby Japan that I meant to put up but didn't get around to until now. Love this suit! If you missed my previous post on the Jesta, check it out here.

MSN-06S Sinanju - Work Log 9 - Shield / what to do about the gold detailing

Ok, the shield is completely finished now. Disassembled, and re sprayed all the components again. Painted the inside and outside. Hand painted in all the little details... and then did it again. Dry decalled and top coated. This is my first time to use top coat. I did it on OYW Gundam but had to scrape it off because it ruined my lining job. Applied it too soon.

I'm done with it the shield. There might be more I could do as a bit of the red is still showing through on the underside of the shield but... it's really not worth it so I'm just going to let it go.

About the decals. Foil or Water slide? The answer is neither. I went for hand painted.

Reasons:

1. I tried to apply the main crest foil sticker on the front of the shield first. But I wanted to cut out the black parts first. Too troublesome. Faster to paint. Couldn't stand the idea of having that extra black sticker on there.

Start painting and realize that I'm going to need a couple of coats to get it even. Screw up a bit, shave off the excess paint, using Gundam markers on the edges to get them even and get clean lines. Paint chips off occasionally, need to do touch ups on it.

2. After that try using the foil stickers on the long lines on the edges. Does NOT match the colour of the hand painted crest. Easy? Yes. Acceptable? No. Foil stickers have too much reflection compared to the paint and are a bit lighter. Water slide or just way too yellow. In the end the included decals will be going in the trash. I have no use for them. It doesn't look good and I realize that I have to stick with one and go all the way with it. Can't mix and match. I can't at least. Probably better that way though. Things will be the same colour across the board so the model will have a uniform look upon completion.

I'm glad to have this first major component done. I want to keep my Sinanju in poses while I'm working on it so I'm moving onto the back pack next. Slow and steady! That said... I'm going through a LOT of paint. Already on my 2nd can... Big re-recolouring job...

In the meantime, OYW Rx-78-2 is taking care of the rifle.

Can you imagine what Amuro would have done with this rifle if he had it during the One Year War? By the time the Sinanju is created the 78-2 is TOTALLY outdated but still... it's kind of funny to think about it. It's like double the size of the regular beam rifle!

RGM-96X Jesta

rgm96x
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

Alright, I'm going to start with the best as far as I'm concerned. This months Hobby Japan has got a large feature of scratch built 0096 suits and they look good! The Sinanju featured in my U.C.0096 gallery is actually not the MG that a lot of us are building now but actually a scratch built one made months and months ago. If you compare the two side by side (they did this in the magazine) the differences are very slight so I suspect that if future U.C.0096 suits are released they'll look very similar to these scratch built ones.

The one that I was taken the most with was this Jesta. Reminiscent of the RGM-79SP GM Sniper II or the RGM-79SC GM Sniper Custom. Take your pic. Except this is not a Sniper unit. On the contrary it’s a regular infantry suit.

Although it was made 10 years after Gundam Mark II (stats in italics) let’s do a comparison of the numbers.

Propulsion: 81200kg vs. 89030kg
Sensor range: 11300m vs. 14200m
Generator: 1930kw vs. 2710kw
Base Weight: 33.4t vs. 24.8t

I know. 10 years but still... When I look at this suit I don’t see a GM. The GM Custom from 0083 was actually comparable in power to Amuro's RX-78-2 just to keep things in perspective. This machine would smoke a Mark II easily in every category.

The thing I like about this suit is that it’s not special. It’s standard for its time. Maybe above average and it’s not overly armed. Grenades, Beam sabers, Beam rifle. But where’s the shield? That’s the only thing I’m concerned about. I'd like it to have a shield. Even the one the GM custom, Quel or Hazel used would be fine. This suit reminds me a lot of those one. It harks back to a time when grunt suits where GOOD and not cannon fodder like what the GM's and Zaku's eventually became. I guess that's just time though. All machines become obsolete eventually.

I also like the fact that this suit isn’t flashy. It's functional and has now become a personal favorite of mine.

MSN-06S Sinanju - Work Log 7 - Armour application complete

uc0096
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

Very hard session tonight as I could finally start to see the finish line. Last night and today I did the 2nd coat of paint on the leg and waist armour pieces. I decided to push it and just put all the armour on. I have the base colour down so I can get a good idea of what it looks like... and it looks awesome if I do say so myself haha! I am in love with this kit! I should say I'm in love with my kit because of the things I've done to it. The re-colour was a good idea.

But I think it all hit me when I attached the finished wings. Then the true majesty of the kit really struck me. The armour fits together perfectly. It's intricate but not overly complex. This kit was designed with symmetry in mind. There's no distiction between left and right parts until you put the armour on. I was really impressed with that aspect of the design. It would make things a lot easier to make production wise. A couple things become redundant in the process but... it would definitely save on manufacturing time on the whole. This is my first Ver.KA kit so I don't have a frame of comparison but if they're all like this... wow.

Everything is very sturdy. No problem holding poses. It is heavy though, which should be expected from a kit like this. I must say... this kit is a joy. Beautiful in so many aspects. If I had paid for it I'd say it's worth the money. But more importantly... it's worth the time. Beautiful. And the time you put in to it will be rewarded with the time you spend looking at it and the feeling that it gives you. Then you can change the pose and the accesories and feel it all over again haha. I'm just so... impressed!

I'm broken my work method down into stages:

Stage 1 - Washing, priming, 1st coat of paint
Stage 2 - Frame assembly
Stage 3 - Armour application, 2nd coat of paint (not always in that order)
Stage 4 - Detailing, Fine Tuning
Stage 5 - Decaling

I'm almost finished Stage 3. I'm going to do Stages 3-5 at the same time on each individual part. So I have the basic look down but I'm going to work on each part individually now. Feet, legs, waist, body, arms, shoulders, and backpack. The head is already done.

It was quite ambitious of me to think that I could get this all done before work on the 5th. There's no way. But I'm not going to rush it. If the kit looks this good now then it's going to look way better once I get everything the way I want it.

This kit will be my masterpiece so I'm going to give it the time to get it right.

I will not be posting pics of my WIP henceforth, so I'm going to get back into my regular routine of magazine pics and scans. I'm going to start with spreads of other U.C. 0096 suits and then back to the Rasiel/Sefer stuff that I initially wanted to post about before my life got consumed by this kit.

Sticking with the U.C. 0096 theme here is the poster spread from the February issue of Dengeki Hobby. I really hope a Unicorn animation is released eventually. It seems like it would be such a great series!

Year in review

uc96
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

Happy New Year's everyone. I end 2008 with this majestic shot of the two main suits for Unicorn Gundam. Perhaps Gundam 00 overshadowed this series but I'm pretty sure the most popular suit of 2008 was the Unicorn Gundam.

This year (Gundam wise) has been an exceptional one for me.

I started this blog in January, and proceeded to get deeper and deeper into the Gundam scene as time progressed. I bought all 4 HG versions of Althun Zala's Gundams which, almost one year later, are still not even built yet.

In February I assembled my GM Custom which I bought in 2007. Finished up working on my beam rifle for the RX-78-2 OYW and concentrated heavily on content about the Plutone from Gundam OOP.

March - The biggest thing for me that month was finally finishing the OYW. The first Gundam (or even model for that matter) that I was really serious about. Custom paint scheme, lined, repaired and decaled. A milestone for me.

April - Getting excited for the MG Impulse. Consider getting limited edition FG 0 Gundam but decide it's not worth it.

May - Start going to the Gundam Bar more, getting more in U.C. 0096 designs, start work on MG Impulse

June - Reflections on women making Gundams. I officially become a Miyuki Uehara fan.

July - Working really hard on the MG Impulse

August - One of the best vacations I've had in a while. No posts but not Gundam free. Re-unite with my old model kits back in Canada. Brought two back to Japan with me. Have barely touched them. Like I need more kits to work on! lol

September - 2nd half of the year starts. Big month. News of MG Infinite Justice is released, finish my Impulse and I'm introduced to the Red Warrior for the first time. Working on my G04 Gundam occasionally.

October - I get a subscription to Japan Hobby, G04 is stil in the mix, and I toss HG GNX-III in there too. MG Infinite Justice takes priority near the end of the month.

November - Just working on a bunch of projects. MGIJ gets assembled but that's as far as I go.

December - Rasiel and Sefer are on my mind a lot, but really just waiting for Sinanju to come. It does and I sink my teeth into it pretty hard. Highest post count since March and shattered records for both my highest monthly and daily hits. Awesome news is the PG Astray will be released in March... I am so happy about that one. Post count for the year: 129.

And that's the year! Time sure does fly doesn't it? 1 year doesn't really seem that long but... it is. If you're not careful time can really get away from you. There just never seems to be enough. That's why it's so important that we treasure the time we have. Enjoy yourself and enjoy your life! Don't waste your time on bull**** and haters because it's not worth it! Just keep doing the stuff you love! and in my case... in OUR case, it is GUNDAM!!!

Happy New Year's everyone. Stay safe, don't hurt yourselves and dont hurt anyone else! Much peace and love!

Sayonara 2008! Helluva year.

AMS-129 Geara-Zulu (Guard Custom)

gzulu
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

Yes. Yes. I'm really liking this one. This is more my style but I'd like it to have a shield. Maybe like a Gouf gatling shield. Simple. Functional. Not flashy but the subtle bordering and insignia design give a little bit of class that separates it from the rest of standard grunt suits. Nice thruster placement. Definitely a suit maybe for space combat. Extra ammo on the front skirt is a bit of a hazard. I'm assuming it's explosive. Not the safest place. Would be better on the back skirt as there is nothing there at all. Highlight for me is the extra armoured shoulders with the spikes. Symmetry. It's not over-rated. The plain assault rifle gives it a grunt suit feel but the spikes give it a feeling of power that most of them don't have. This suit would look amazing with a bit of weathering. Love the stock colours. One of my favourites. If I had this kit I'd swap in a beam rifle or bazooka and find a shield for it.

Very pleased with this design.

AMS-129 Geara-Zulu (Angelo Sauper Custom)

pzulu
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

As I understand it the Geara-Zulu descended from the Geara-Doga. A fine suit in it own right. I've seen variations of this Zulu from dark purple to pink. Personally I think a purple MS is quite a bold statement. The pilot must have extra ordinary confidence to pilot a suit like this. I like the double spikes, reminiscent of the Gouf and the large rifle kinda reminds me of the Tallgeese. I'm not sure about those large fuel tanks though. Kind of an eye sore and what's the point of that fin on the opposite side of the rifle? That said I do think its a very nice suped up grunt suit. Does anyone know of another purple MS? Now that I think of it... I don't think I've ever even seen a purple CAR.

NZ-666 Kshatriya

nz36
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

This thing is really strong. Look at these numbers.

22.3 m
29.7 t
16540 kw
197800 kg
12 mega beam cannons
24 funnels

compared to Delta Plus

19.6 m
27.2 t
2360 kw
92400 kg

8x the power, 2x the propulsion. Quite the beast eh. This thing is descended from the Quin Mantha

Not the biggest fan of this design. I mean just look at the head haha if you can find it!

In other news.

MG Impulse is coming along nicely. The skeleton is looking SO good right now. Everytime I look at it I feel a sense of pride. A joy to build and the more details I add to it the more the character of it comes out. Pics to come. Eventually haha.

MSN-001A1 Delta Plus

msn001
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

This suit also made quite an impression on me. It reminded me so much of what I liked about the Hyaku Shiki. The feeling of speed and lightness. The exposed leg frame. The pipes and tubes. The wing binders. I like the grey as well. The monochrome scheme suits the design I think. Or is that just my personal preference talking again? Well take a look at this silver custom Hyaku Shiki "Cannon".

Does that not look cool or what? The gold is nice but damn…

Unfortunately this Delta Plus model doesn't transform because I’d love to see it in “wave rider" mode. It’s like a combination of the Zeta and Hyaku Shiki. If there’s one thing that I'll always love about Zeta Gundam it’s that it was the series that brought us the MSN series of suits. Another one of my favourites but I have to withhold my judgement on this suit until I see it in wave rider mode. From what I understand the Hyaku Shiki was supposed to be THIS suit but couldn't be developed at the time do to the weak frame so they just made it into the non transforming Hyaku Shiki. The project was re-opened later and about 10 years after the Hyaku Shiki the Delta Plus was finally realized but had trouble being placed in squadrons due to its uniqueness. It’s a prototype for mass production purposes so I think there are a couple of these suits floating around. Maybe 4. Don't quote me on that though.

MSN-06S Sinanju

msn06
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

My apologies for the recent lack of posting. Some of you know that I've recently celebrated a birthday that's somewhat of a milestone in my life. A lot of stuff has been going on. I spent a lot of time preparing the next couple of posts so you can expect them to come in quick succession for this U.C. 0096 series after this one. Preparing these double layout spreads takes a bit of time, as I have to scan them, crop and sometimes rotate, then place them together, then crop again, then change the image size and reduce the file size a bit. It takes time but I'm pleased with the end result. Especially when it's a work of art like this.

MSN-06S Sinanju

Return of the Red Comet. Scratch built from various different kits. MG Hi-Nu, Unicorn, Black Tri-Star Zaku v.2, and Gouf but most of it is from the Hi-Nu, particularly the frame. I like this suit because it looks like something made for an ace. It reminds me of the first Tallgeese in a way because it contains a certain "majesty" that other suits don't really have. That and the massive rifle. It looks strong. It looks fast. It looks like it's not a suit that'd be wasted on a B rank pilot. It was made for an ace and it commands respect. There will be no mass produced versions of this suit. I like how the Neo Zeon MS have designs that reflect the uniforms of the pilots with the more powerful suits having more detailed "embroidery" for lack of a better term. I'll be including some action poses of this suit but won't for the others. There were only action pose photos of this and the 4x Gat Unicorn in the magazine. I've never been a large fan of Zeon MS but if this one every gets a MG version made out of it, I'd definitely buy it. I'm not holding my breath though. There are so many things about this suit that I like that it'd hard to pin point what it is that I love about it. The subtle molding of the thrusters on the outer legs and skirt. The fuel tanks that are stark white on the red yet somehow don't distract from the design and seem to totally fit the frame a problem I've had with many MS that use fuel tanks. Particularly Hi-Nu. The suit seems to be a work of art, that blends function with design. A truly fearsome opponent. I know I'm probably in the minority but for once, I like the antagonists suit more than the protagonist in a U.C. series. Never been a fan of red MS as a lot of you know but I am quite fond of this suit. Naturally, like I think of most MS... I feel it would be better in black.

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam w/ Beam Gattling Guns x4

rx-0
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

This thing... is a monster.

I love it.

If the Unicorn came with the all of this I'd have bought it easily. Unicorn channeling Heavy Arms Custom. Really sweet. From the June issue of Hobby Japan. I took a look at this months Dengeki Hobby as well but thought that the Hobby Japan issue had cooler stuff. And it's cheaper. For the next little while I'm going to be getting away from OO stuff and getting more into the U.C. 0096 Era suits. This issue has some GREAT scratch build suits. I love the U.C. 0096 designs. Particularly the Neo Zeon suits but more on that later.