Forum - View topicGunpla Help
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Donovan The Brave
Posts: 6 Location: Michigan |
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Hello.
I'm curious if there is anyone out there who is into assembling Gundam models. If so, what you be kind enough to give me some information? Recently I've felt like giving it a try myself. First off: Is there a website where I can take a quiz to figure out what gundam model best suits me? Second: Where would you recommend the best place to purchase Gundam models online? Finally: Which scale should I focus on, 1/100 or 1/144? I've looked around and they both seem pretty common. Sorry if Gunpla isn't exactly supposed to be in the anime forum, but I didn't see any other forums that would relate to it any more, and I know of no other forum where there would most likely be a person that does this kind of thing. Thanks. |
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TranceLimit174
 Posts: 958 |
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I would suggest going to MAHQ, since they have several model reviews. As far as websites any well known online store would be a good bet. I would start with 1/144's since they are not very complex. As you go up in size so does the complexity. They only problem with 1/144's is that they're generally small, making painting small details a bit of a pain. You can also do as little or as much as you want with them, some are happy just building them while a friend of mine actually uses his garage as a shop and uses an air brush. Generally though you do want to paint them. I would reccommend just getting some cheap 1/144s (not HG) just to get familiar with the whole process that way as you go up in scale or price your skill level will more or less match. I don't know if you like SEED, but the simple 1/144 Astray models are great for practicing.
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Here are a few pointers. I stopped building 1/144 when the MG series began to come out. One big issue I have with kits that cost under 1000 Yen is that shipping ends up costing almost as much as the kit. With the more expensive kits shipping becomes a smaller factor. The 1/100 MG kits look so much nicer than their 1/144 counterparts.
In general look for when the kit was initially released, since I feel that the quality of MG kits improved dramatically around 2000. This is often more of a factor than the kit price since some of the older and more expensive kits like the Sazabi (parts keep falling off) and GP02A (can't hold it's shield) are not very good at poses. Some of the cheaper new MG kits (I love the Nemo kit) are really nice and affordable in comparison. As of the last couple years there seems to be another step up in the MG quality with the amazing 2.0 versions of the older kits. These are really nice, although somewhat expensive compared to their 1.0 counterparts. The more recent Gundam Seed HG 1/100 kits are about as good as first generation MG kits, but otherwise I would avoid non HG 1/100 kits, The quality of various MG (and HG I assume) vary greatly. If you want a solid kit that you can pose in many cool positions I highly recommend the Gundam Mk-II 2.0 or the Strike MG kits (I have yet tot buy the new Zaku 2.0) which have amazing arm and leg joints. If you want something huge and involving I would suggest the Ex-S (original Zaku kit goes to it's waist) Gundam Sentinel. This thing took me longer to put together than any other kit, and despite it's looks it does stand upright without the stand and isn't rickety! As far as pretty I enjoy the coating versions of many kits, although the Zeta 1.0 is very fragile and has problems standing upright, the 100 Shiki is absolutely gorgeous with it's reflective gold. If you are looking for One Year War kits the 08th and 0080 kits are much more solid than most 0079 kits which were first generation MG kits. Likewise the 3 original Char's Counterattack kits are really overpriced for what is now mediocre kits (ReGZ doesn't articulate, Nu's Fin Funnel is loose, Sazabi funnels are a joke) but I have yet to buy this years Hi-Nu kit. I can also give you a big breakdown on the Gundam Fix series since I own a good number of those toys which really vary in quality, but not (in general) in orice. |
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Donovan The Brave
Posts: 6 Location: Michigan |
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Thanks for the replies. I'm thinking of taking TranceLimit174's advice and will start small and cheap. And Randall Miyashiro, I'm going to write down your recommendations for future reference; I looked at some and they are pretty neat.
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linlinchan
Posts: 286 |
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I occasionally build for fun, but it's my husband's main hobby... most of his money and time devoted to hobbies gets poured into his Gunpla collection. He is the type to spend dozens of hours on a single kit, and has build so many that our shelves are flowing over with them.
Anyway, that aside, I'll tell you what he told me when I first expressed interest in getting started: I have to repectfully disagree with TranceLimit. HG and other 1/144 sized kits are usually molded in a mediocre way. The parts are not always entirely color seperated, and to make the model look remotely like the original, painting will be necessary. In order to get a hang of building first, I'd recommend starting with MG kits. Ideally, PG would be even better, (if you're loaded) as they require basically no work outside of building to look AMAZING. That said, try just building first, and once you get comfortable with that and start to enjoy it, consider painting. Additionally, bouncing off what Randall Miyashiro said, the older kits are VERY different in quality of molding than the newer kits. In addition to the already provided examples, I've got a terrible looking ZZ Gundam which cannot support itself or its weapon. In addition to newer kits posing way better because of the new joint pieces, you'll also notice that the general proportions are way better looking than the older models, which tended to be unpleasantly boxy/squarish. ANYWAY, that's a lot so I'll kind of stop here, but like I said, try some of the newer MG (you can get many for 3000 yen now) first. |
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Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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The main issue I have with the PG line is that the selection is very limited. One reason I've gotten really into the Fix offshoot Zeonography line is that I'm tired of all the RX/Gundam MS in my collection. I would love to see a Jagd Doga, Gaplant, or Doben Wolf MG. Those oversized MS tend to be more available in the HG line (The- O, Psycho Gundam) but I would love to see more MG kits like the Ex-S, Jeong, or Sazabi.
Oddly enough I have a MG ZZ unassembled. My FAZZ seems to stand relatively well even with it's big cannon. I'm tempted on displaying the ZZ kit (once assembled) in it's G-Fortress mode. This might be in several weeks since I plan on working on the Green Divers Zeta 2.0 next! One nice (or awful to some) thing about the MG line is that a second copy of a kit can be used for the transformed version, or to display the striped away version since most MG kits have neat inner works complete with actuators and skeletal frame. This is also true with the Fix line where a kit can be converted into 2+ different units. |
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linlinchan
Posts: 286 |
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Well, the MG skeleton (or lack thereof) is one of the issues I feel with the older kit's durability. Good to know about MG FAZZ, though, since I love the suit's design and it's one of the kits I've had my eyes on for a while. I'll have to pick it up when I'm back in Japan in August.
I'm about to start the MG Zeta Gundam Karaba Prototype version. Fun times. |
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SarcasticPirate
 Posts: 35 |
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Here are some good sites that should help you with Gunpla:
http://dalong.net/ (it's in Korean but it is still the best place to find reviews for Gunpla kits) http://www.fichtenfoo.com/02GiantRobots/02c-MGHowTo.html (The best place to find help on basics as well as making your model into something very cool) |
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TranceLimit174
Posts: 958 |
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Personally I've had bad experiences with 1/100 models. Particulalry the MG Zeta. I spent hours upon hours trying to make it look respectable, but I was still encountering so many problems that I just gave up. The two big issues were that A. the joints were very loose right after assembly and B. it was extremely top heavy. So what this means is that it really can't do much outside of stand. And even then the design is extremely poor so it can hardly even hold any of it's accessories. My friend who I mentioned earlier has also had trouble here and there with some 1/100s. So really it seems like those kits are really a 50/50 shot. But after what Randall just said I guess the quality has improved greatly.
I reccommended those simply for the lack of complexity and because they're cheap. Personally I would rather screw up a 1/144 than an MG 1/100. Then again the beauty about painting is you can pretty much always fix any errors. Normally I don't do this but I hear that using paint primer on a model before painting or building can really work wonders for the end product. Also though when you get down to it building the kit is never difficult. If you have any experience with Legos or K'Nex or any other tinker toy type of product than it should be a breeze. The only thing was when I got started I often got mixed up when building arms and legs, so I would wind up building two left legs instead of a left and a right. Easily fixable but a little troublesome. |
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EVA fiend
 Posts: 314 Location: Somewhere in the UK. |
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Not all 1/144 scale Gundams are crap IMO. I agree that the bog standard High Grade 1/144 models are rather poor, & if left unpainted they look utterly naff, but if you're gonna build in 1/144 scale, then the High Grade Universal Century range of kits is the way to go. Considering their diminutive size, the amount of detail is pretty amazing & the casting of the pieces are of a good quality too.
Curiously enough, I had the same problem with the MG Zeta too. Mine kept tipping off the shelf because it was top heavy & the joints in the ankles were loose. Ending up junking the kit & buying the PG version instead. The PG has no problems at all. 
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Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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The part that is the worst with the Zeta is where the legs connect. It is just really wobbly. The hinges on the back binders are also very floppy. I think I'll keep the 1.0 Zeta in Waverider and the 2.0 in MS mode. The Zeta Plus kit is much more sturdier I love the detail on the Gundam Fix toys which are about the same size as the 1/44 but are sadly non-scale. Although some Fix like the Gelgoog are limited in flexibility, and others like the ZII and Zeta Plus keep falling apart there are a few really solid Fix toys out there. The proportions on the Fix kits seem better than the MG line. They do tend to be a bit expensive at 3000+ yen each though. |
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EVA fiend
Posts: 314 Location: Somewhere in the UK. |
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Since you seem to be a fan of the toys, what do you think of Bandai's HCM Pro line of figures? I have a couple of them, & even though they are tiny at 1/200 scale, the posability & detailing of these little figures is simply amazing IMO. 
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Randall Miyashiro
Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I tend to shy away from the HCM and MSIA lines since once again you will end up spending almost as much on shipping as on the figures. The original HCM and MSIA lines were fairly rough looking to me, but the MSiA Extended and HCM Pros do look much better, although the Fix and Zeonography lines still look better than the non-scale MS in Action Extended although they cost close to twice as much.
The HCM Pro line came out only a couple of years ago, and I have considered starting a 1/200 Pro collection since the proportions on these kits look fantastic. The 1/200 Sazabi looks far more like the model sheets compared to the overpriced MG kit.. I'm waiting for a Zeonography Sazabi. |
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