Recent Work: XN Raiser swords and 3x Bazooka

I've got to make at least one post this month about what I've actually been doing as far as modeling goes.

Recently in the Gundam Australia forums we've been talking about 'weapons block' in regards to the Sinanju Group Build. Weapons Block refers to the lack of motivation to complete the weapons of a kit as the main part of the project nears completion or is in fact completed.

I'm going in the opposite direction entirely now. I'm working solely on the weapons. And to make matters worse, these weapons are optional.

Anti-weapons block in action so to speak.

First the XN Raiser swords:

Base swords with clear pla-plate. I know. I was surprised when I first saw it too.

Drilled some holes.

Then removed the center sections.

Why did I do this?

This is why:

I loved the idea. Techically, it would make the blades lighter if this were real. Not as stable but offset by a decease in weight, increase in blade speed coupled with a superior cutting edge. Not a bad trade off. And it looks cool. So I thought why not... I'll give it a shot. And so far so good! I've done a test fitting and it looks like it'll work but there's the issue of painting. I'm still thinking of the best way but it looks like painting the easiest way will force me to give up on the seam lines, otherwise it will be a large pain the butt to keep paint off of the clear pla-plate.

No pictures of this but I did work on the edges of the blades. I removed that extra nub at the tip of the blade and sanded down the cutting edge and tip until it was actually sharp.

I still want to do a bit of putty work to remove some of the small mistakes I made while I was removing all that plastic, but I'm worried that my basic putty will weaken the plastic too much. I don't think epoxy will really be effective for the small amount of puttying I want to do. Dilemas.

For now my main effort of going into the 3x 1/144 bazookas:

We've got a 360mm, 380mm and 400mm. One from my Powered GM, one from the Odaiba Gundam and the last is from a Kotobukiya weapons set.

Special effort went into eliminating the seam lines for these.

The outcome was acceptable. Not perfect but pretty good.

Nothing better than erasing a seam line from existence!

I sanded them pretty hard with 240 grit paper. I like having a bit of a rougher surface before I prime and I wanted to get a bit of texture.

Primed with Mr. Base White 1000 (Mr. White Base? Amuro? Bright? What?) then sprayed with Gundam White (paint ran out just as I finished the 3rd bazooka. Awesome timing.) I thought that the resulting white was a bit too 'cold' so I did a light coat of "Racing White" on top of that to make the white a bit softer.

These weapons will be used by the Odaiba Gundam and the O Gundam so while the white I've achieved doesnt watch the armour completely, it is a close approximation. All things considered.

I've already hand painted the non barrel parts in gun mental. Should have done some masking but who can be bothered. That **** takes a lot of time!

So I'm getting there! Slowly but surely. I've given up on trying complete things at fast paces. Life just gets in the way too much. But I'm still working! Still plugging away just at my own pace, such as it is.

That's all for now but I want to leave Gundam Guy a present.

Decided! "Super" XN-O Gundam w/ 30th Anniversary RX-78-2

Only July 8th, I first made this post about the XN Unit. Technically I shouldn't call it the XN Raiser unless it is combined with the O Raiser. In the manuals they call the unit by itself the XN Unit so that's what I'm going to refer to it as from now on. As you all know I ended up getting the O Gundam but not for the purpose of combining it with the XN Unit. I got it because I loved it and wanted to do a simultaneous build with the 30th Anniversary RX-78-2 (which, hence forth I will refer to as Odaiba Gundam).

After working on them both in Canada I came back to Japan when my XN Unit arrived shortly thereafter. After assembling the unit by itself (which gave me a surprising amount of difficulty! Backwards parts and I swear the instruction manual is actually incorrect in one section and can be a bit confusing at times.) I tried combining it with the O Gundam. It can fit into the slot on the back of the waist armour and in the slot where the GN Drive connects. I elected to leave the GN Drive in place and set it in the back skirt. I changed the configuration a bit and I finally got the XN Unit into a position that I was satisfied with. I intend on paint the XN Unit in the same colours as the O Gundam (modified roll out) and making it the "Super XN-O Gundam" paying homage to the "Super MK2 Gundam" I mentioned in the previous post. Take a look at some of my pics.

Yeah I know what I said about "No Flash" but I'm leaving those flash pics in just so you can see the details a bit clearer and to blot out the background nonsense (although I wouldn't call Milla Jovovich in her underwear nonsense)

Now you can see the core concept of what I'm going for with this project. The Odaiba Gundam is similar to my MG OYW isn't it? What can I say... I'm a fan of the 'Mace Muffler'!

What to do with the XN Raiser?!

This?!

Reminds me of Super Gundam a bit. I'd like it if the XN Raiser faced down but that would require putting it where the GN Drive is... Not sure what to do... maybe add it to the Cherudim GNHW/R? I was going to buy that too. Or just the O Raiser? Blah... not sure... For now I'm just going to assemble it and see what I can actually do with the thing.

XN Raiser

Just as I'm about to leave for the week look what comes directly to my door (I had to sign for it).

They have some really good shots of it combining with the other 00 MS. Pretty cool actually. I'm going to think about what I'm going to do with it while I'm gone.