HG 1/144 OZ-06MS Leo - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing [Custom Painted Build Completed; Photos + Video]

 Painted, panel-lined, and assembled. Slowly but surely I am moving more model kits from the 'box-gathering-dust-on-shelf' to the 'completed-for-display' category. While it great to have that complicated standout piece on display, I will always have a soft spot for the grunts. If possible, I intend to include a grunt mobile suit from any Gundam Universe that's represented on my display shelf. In this case, the finished Bandai High Grade (HG) 1/144 scale OZ-06MS Leo comes from the Mobile Suit Gundam Wing anime series. Below are some thoughts on my full-painted build of the grunt suit.

High Grade (HG) 1/144 scale OZ-06MS Leo: Custom Painted Build Completed

 In terms of color accuracy, I can never seem to mix the exact same paint color as the plastic mold despite using the suggested paint ratios in the color guide. So the paint job hues you see here slightly vary from the plastic mold color. Moreover, most of the grey and dark brown parts have been custom painted using metallic lacquer paints. So in a sense the Leo has been custom painted to a degree. All the colors used were from the Mr.Hobby Mr.Color lacquer paint line.

OZ-06MS Leo custom painted build (front view sans weapons)

In Gundam Wing lore, the Leo is a grunt suit designed for ground combat ...

... hence its predominantly dull green and brown color scheme.

 As color schemes go, the Leo has a pretty basic one comprising largely of dull green and brown for its body with a dash of red and yellow on its head. And I don't quite get why a grunt suit would have vivid reds on its head, which would stand out in a battlefield. I'm assuming grunts would generally wish to stay inconspicuous during war. Granted you would've the occasional oddball with too much bravado, but the majority would want to stay camouflaged. But from an artist's point of view, the reds do make the color scheme more attractive. Since it's all make-believe, aesthetics win over realism.

One thing that's aesthetically pleasing but is perhaps a tad illogical is the fact that ...

... the Leo grunt suit has a generous splash of rather vivid red on both sides of its head ...

... which in my opinion makes it that much more visible to enemy units in the battlefield.

 Apart from painting and panel-lining, the only other thing of note I did was to place a shiny foil behind the mono-eye. No decals were included with this model kit so applying markings on the Leo was a non-starter. I'm sure there are some good third party decals you could use for the Leo but Ï didn't have any at hand so I just left the Leo alone without any decal markings whatsoever.

In terms of its general silhouette, the Leo grunt suit has a profile that is largely unspectacular ...

... but I'm fond of this design because its similar to one of my favourites i.e. the OZ-00MS Tallgeese 

 As you can probably tell from the first and last photos on this post, the Leo also come with weapon and shield accessories. While the gun and shield has been repainted, the beam saber is in its original molded plastic state with some panel lining only on the handle. Because the Leo has a simple design, it actually looks better when it's wielding its weapons and shield. So if my custom painted Leo is to have its own space on the display shelf, it will be one in which it's striking a pose with either the gun or the shield and saber. In the future, I might even paint another one so I can have both.

OZ-06MS Leo custom painted build (front view with saber and shield)

 Below is a YouTube video on my custom painted build of the OZ-06MS Leo showcasing its details in a 360 degree view. In this video I'll also put together the Leo's accessories, do a final short review, and display the grunt suit in various poses. If you like the video, and would like to see more of the same kind of videos, please do subscribe to my YouTube Channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures.

 So that's one more kit completed and off my ever growing storage pile. It's a small win but a sorely needed one. Next I'll be moving on to some figurine plastic model kits based on the Demon Slayer (鬼滅の刃, Kimetsu no Yaiba) anime series. Recently I watched all three seasons of the series, and was inspired to do figurines of two main characters from the show. More on that in the next post. For now I'll take the personal win, and end this post with my usual wishes. Be well, be useful, and be happy.