A Look Back at 2020

 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And so the new year begins with an oft quoted classical novel line that aptly describes what happened to me last year. Worst due to the ongoing pandemic, enough said. Best because I got to spend (and actually still am spending) more time with the missus due to general work-from-home orders. Meanwhile, hobby-wise I didn't get much done apart from mostly finishing projects that were already near-complete towards the tail end of 2019. These then are the scale models and miniature figurine that I painted in 2020.  

Scale Model and Miniature Figurine projects completed in 2020

 First past the post last year was my very first Gundam project i.e. the Bandai Master Grade 1/100 scale RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 model kit (see below). Grandpa Gundam was an extremely time consuming project that involved the painting of a multitude of tiny parts prior to assembly. But I believe the end result of painting the kit is so much better than an out-of-the-box build. Without a shadow of doubt, the RX-78-2 Gundam has been one of my most satisfying painted builds in a long while.

RX-78-2 Gundam holding its pilot Amuro Ray in its hand

Also known as Grandpa Gundam, the RX-78-2 shown here in various poses

Equally impressive were the weapon accessories (also painted) accompanying the RX-78-2

 After working with the hard edges of an inorganic entity that is the RX-78-2 Gundam, I turned my attention to finally completing a miniature figurine in the last calendar year. This came in the form of the atelier iT 1/12 scale Race Queen figurine (see below). It was the first time I had ever used an airbrush to paint skin tones (in addition to the traditional hand painted methods). Going forward, this airbrush-handbrush combo will be my technique of choice in painting skin tones on figurines.  

Race Queen is a 1/12 scale miniature figurine; she's another 2020 project

Here the Race Queen is posing against a dark (black) background ...

... versus a light (azure) background; both had a slightly different effect on skin tone

 Another project that took a long time to complete was the Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon model kit that was modeled after the one in The Force Awakens (see below). In fact, 'a long time' is a serious understatement. Begun way back in January 2016, this Star Wars project was shelved in the middle of that same year before finally resuming in October 2019 and then finished in May 2020. But finished it is. And while the Millennium Falcon's colored panels consist of applied water decals, the ship still looks good as the rest of it is indeed fully painted and weathered.      

Bandai Star Wars 1/12 scale Millennium Falcon from The Force Awakens

Millennium Falcon is fully painted with the exception of its colored panels, which are decals

Closeup of the detailed exterior of the 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon

 Nice as it is to bask in the satisfied glow of completed projects, it's better still to look forward to ones that are ongoing or yet to be started. Personally, I've always felt it important to plan for the year ahead while conceding that there will be the occasional unforeseen miniature figurine or scale model kit project that takes my fancy. More often than not, a failure to plan will result in many half-worked-on projects that eventually sit on shelves gathering dust. In other words, not good. So the coming few days will determine which projects will start, which will continue and which will shelved indefinitely. For now, here's wishing you and yours a better (and safer) year ahead. 

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.3.0 [Part 2 of 2: Completed]

By now you would probably be sick of the sight of Grandpa Gundam aka RX-78-2 Gundam with its many work-in-progress as well as previously completed photos. So you'll be glad to know that these are the final photos for the Bandai Master Grade 1/100 scale RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 plastic model kit as painted and modeled by yours truly. Let's get straight to it then.

Bandai Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 [Completed, with shield and weapons]

Posing Grandpa Gundam with its weapons and shield was anything but easy. Not all was bad. By itself the RX-78-2 had numerous points of articulation equating to impressive freedom of movement. Moreover the joints were stiff enough to maintain most poses. My beef was with the ability of either hands to sufficiently grip the weapons and shield. In all fairness, Bandai had offered a solution by way of an extendable piece of plastic from either hand that could slot into holes on the Beam Saber hilt. This solution was reversed for the Beam Rifle and Hyper Bazooka in which both had extendable pieces that fit into the hands. Meanwhile the Shield had extensions that the hand and arm could slot into for a secure hold. But as you can tell already, there was a caveat to these solutions.    

1/100 scale RX-78-2 Gundam with its Beam Saber and Shield

Firstly, I had already painted the hands, weapons and shield. Frequently moving the extendable pieces as well as inserting and removing them from the corresponding pieces increased the likelihood of paint chipping with each attempt. Something I didn't want happening. Secondly, I couldn't for the life of me get the hand/arm to securely hold the shield. In short, Bandai's solutions didn't work, for me. Instead, I used tiny amounts of adhesive tack (too much and paint tends to peel off when the tack is removed) to secure the Beam Sabre hilt into place. As for the rest, I posed Grandpa Gundam in ways that placed minimum stress on the hands. Not an ideal solution but thankfully it did the job.

For poses, the RX-78-2 Gundam was attached to the Bandai Action Base 1

In hindsight, perhaps painting the Beam Sabre's blade would've given it a better shine effect

Of all the weapons Grandpa Gundam wielded, the Beam Rifle was perhaps the most underwhelming. It looked meh so I only bothered to take one sole photo of the rifle and Grandpa (see below).

Grandapa Gundam brandishing the Beam Rifle, which is the least impressive weapon in its arsenal

In contrast, the Hyper Bazooka looked cool and awesome in the hands of the RX-78-2. I guess size does matter, especially if you're a Gundam. The pose with the bazooka (see below) was intended to mimic a battle situation in outer space in which Grandpa Gundam was bracing himself to fire the bazooka. The left hand is on the trigger while the right hand is braced against the top of the bazooka in order to stabilize its aim. This RX-78-2 Gundam pose ranks as my second favorite after the one with it holding Amuro Ray in its hand. In my opinion, both convey a sense of immense size.

RX-78-2 Gundam wielding the Hyper Bazooka, a beast of a weapon in terms of size

Front view doesn't convey the body shape required cushion the bazooka's recoil

While the right hand is on the trigger, the left rests atop the bazooka to stabilize it when aiming

Floating in space, the RX-78-2 adopts a pose to best absorbed the eventual recoil of the bazooka

Hyper Bazooka's bottom section (near the rear) is shaped to fit onto the RX-78-2 Gundam's shoulder armor

In a previous post I had expressed my doubt as to whether the custom connector provided with the kit could securely hold the RX-78-2 Gundam onto the Action Base. As you can see from the poses, all of which had the mecha secured onto the base via the connector, it was a needless worry. Even poses without the weapons and shield looked more dynamic when done using the base (see below).

Secured on the Bandai Action Base 1, old Grandpa Gundam can adopt dynamic poses without fear of falling over

As is almost tradition now in all my figurine scale model kit poses, the "Arghh! I've been shot and am now falling backwards dramatically" pose is adopted here too by the RX-78-2 Gundam  

For now, the RX-78-2 Gundam is being displayed inside an IKEA DETOLF glass cabinet that has been self-sealed against dust accumulation (see below). I have left it secured to the Action Base with the Core Fighter, Shield, Hyper Bazooka and Beam Rifle also arranged on the base. 

Bandai Master Grade 1/100 scale RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 ...

... secured on an Action Base and being displayed in an Ikea Detolf glass door cabinet ...

... with the Core Fighter, Shield, Beam Rifle and Hyper Bazooka resting on the base

Gundam kit projects are time consuming on the basis of the need to manage and paint many small parts before assembling them. Despite this, I wouldn't have it any other way because the alternative may be easier in the short run but would result in a kit that looks plasticky and toy-like. To me that's the antithesis of what the scale modeling and miniature painting hobby is all about. Leave Gundams in their original state and I could imagine them saying what Formula 1 Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner told owner Gene Haas after a monumental f**k up during the pit stops saw both cars drop out of the 2018 World Championships's opening race ... "We could have looked like rock stars". So do your Gundams a favor and paint them. Make them the rock stars in your hobby collection!  

MG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.3.0 [Part 1 of 2: Completed]

Relief more than elation, although the latter feeling is definitely present, greets me at the journey's end for the Bandai Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 scale model kit project. Relief that I could pull off the task of airbrushing and putting together a kit with so many small parts; something I sincerely doubted I could do before this project began. Here then are photos of Grandpa Gundam sans his weapons (that comes in Part 2). Apart from the standalone shots of just the RX-78-2 Gundam, there were also some taken with Amuro Ray (the pilot) and the FF-X7 Core Fighter.  

Bandai Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 [Completed, sans weapons]

With hindsight, I cannot believe I had actually contemplated just clear coating the plastic model kit without doing any painting at all. I'm sure doing so would have resulted in pretty decent results depending on the quality of the clear coat used. However, trust me on this, there is just no way a clear coated plastic kit can look just as good or better than a painted plastic kit. Now this might seem to be a no-brainer but the temptation to be lazy and go the former route is so strong that you'll start giving excuses to try and convince yourself to not paint the kit. I certainly did. But I'm glad I resisted the urge to take the easy route and went ahead to paint each and every part of this kit.

Main sub-assemblies of the RX-78-2 Gundam prior to final assembly

Below is a series of photos showing a 360 view of the fully painted RX-78-2 Gundam.

If you were to nitpick, you could say the RX-78-2 Gundam was bottom heavy ...

... but despite that it still looks pretty awesome on the whole, in my opinion

Joints on the RX-78-2 Gundam are extremely flexible thus allowing for various poses

Bandai Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 (back view)

Exposed metallic innards of the RX-78-2 Gundam (e.g. back of knees) give it a cool look

Bandai Master Grade RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 (side view, from the left)

Pose adopted by the RX-78-2 Gundam is one of the mecha taking a step forward

Most important in any scale model display is to give it proper context in terms of an appropriate reference object for scale comparison purposes. In this case, the objects came in the form of the 1/100 scale pilot Amuro Ray and the similarly scaled Core Fighter. When displayed next to Grandpa Gundam, both showed how big the mecha is when compared to a human and a fighter plane.

Grandpa Gundam holds Amuro Ray in the palm of his right hand

What's that on the ground? Why it's the FF-X7 Core Fighter

Flexibility of its leg joints allows the RX-78-2 Gundam to get down on one knee ... 

and reach out its left hand for the FF-X7 Core Fighter on the ground

Like Amuro Ray before this, the Core Fighter represents a readily identifiable object for scale comparison purposes

When folded up, the FF-X7 Core Fighter actually fits into the hollow torso of the RX-78-2 Gundam

  
Long forgotten perhaps is the LED gimmick (see below) that lights up Grandpa Gundam's eyes and his headpiece. Unfortunately, the LED lights were too dim for my taste and were near unnoticeable when the whole mecha was placed under strong photography lighting (aka plain IKEA lamps). Access to the LED switch was via the back of the mecha. And this switch was only accessible when the Ransel (Backpack) was removed from the kit. All in all, the LED gimmick held no wow factor for me because the lights were too dim to be seen unless you were looking for it in the first place.   

Total blackout except for the LED lights shining through the eye and headpiece of Grandpa Gundam

With the camera lighting back on, the LED lights are still visible but less so

LED lights from the headpiece is more noticeable when Grandpa Gundam's head is tilted slightly forward

To access the LED light switch, the Ransel (Backpack) had to be removed first

Zoomed out view of Grandpa Gundam with its back exposed and the Ransel on the ground

RX-78-2 Gundam aka Grandpa Gundam cuts an imposing figure even without its weapons

Bear with me though as I'm not yet done with Grandpa Gundam. He still has pose with his weapons and shield à la the scene in Ready Player One, which made me want to start the project in the first place. Although the weapons and shield have been painted, decaled and assembled, it will be difficult to pose them with the RX-78-2 Gundam without some stabilizing anchor. This said anchor comes in the form of a specialized display base. I plan to assemble this base and cover it with a high quality flat clear coat before using it for poses. (And yes, I know that sounds contradictory seeing that I said clear coating can never beat painting. But there is a reason I'm doing in this way and all will be explained in the next post.) So that's next for this project. A final lull before the last storm.