Lead Gundam of UC

I just thought I would show some pictures of the lead Gundam of UC.



Original Gundam


Zeta Gundam


ZZ Gundam


Nu Gundam


Unicorn Gundam (Unicorn mode)



All photos from Dalong.net

New Gundam!

I just placed an order on Hobby Link Japan for a Gundam G-3 Ver. 2.0, an action base ver. 1 in Black, and an action base ver. 1 in Clear.

Something you might ask is, how is the G-3 any different from the original Gundam?
Well, here is how the storyline goes. When the design for the Gundam was finished, the Federation forces built three of them. One, was piloted by Amuro Ray and put aboard the White Base. The other two didn't get much further than test units. In other words, they were destroyed by the Zeon forces. So where does the G-3 come in? From these destroyed Gundam, the Federation salvaged enough parts to build one more Gundam: The G-3. They ended up using it to test the Magnetic Coating System later used on Amuro's Gundam in the war of A Baoa Qu.

G-3

Dalong.net

Gundam for Beginners.

You should always do a lot of research before you buy a Gundam model kit. I have heard that many peoples' first Gundam is a Master Grade (MG). I think that the first Gundam you get should be a High Grade Universal Century (HGUC).

If you need to know what tools you need, view my Supplies post.

The first Gundam I ever built was the HGUC Zaku I. I would recommend this Gundam because: It has good flexibility, it comes with lots of weapons, and it is a relatively easy build. Of course, the newer HGUC models are incredible, and could actually be compared with early MG's.

Some HGUC Gundam that I would recommend are:
Gundam GP03
Dom Tropen
Z'gok E
Gundam NT-1 "Alex"
Advanced Hazel
Zaku I
Zudah
Acguy
Re-Gz
Nu Gundam (HWS)
Sazabi
Hi-Nu Gundam
Jegan
Full Armor Gundam 7th
Unicorn Gundam (Unicorn or Destroy mode)
Geara Zulu

My favorite of these is probably the Jegan or the Unicorn Gundam.



You can see reviews, pictures, and even scans of the instructions on Dalong.net.

MG rating

Borrowing the idea from Dalong, I have decided to make a rating chart for my next MG.

Flexibility:
0/20
Ease of Build:
0/10
Inner Frame:
0/20
Color Scheme:
0/10
Weapons:
0/5
Gimmicks:
0/5
Proportions:
0/10
Accuracy:
0/20

Total:
0/100


Any of the numerators can be higher than the denominator if it is good enough.
I plan to make a rating for High Grade (HG) also.

Gundam vs. Transformers

Many Americans seem to think that Gundam is simply a mechanics and design copy of Transformers. If anything Transformers was probably influenced by Gundam.

For starters, The original Gundam idea surfaced in 1979, Transformers began in 1984. Another difference is genre. Gundam is a Real Robot Series. Transformers, however, is an Alien Robot Series.

One thing that not many people know, is that Gundam was the first robot design that perfected realistic mechanical transformation. An example of this is the Victory Gundam and most of the Mobile Suits (MS) from Zeta Gundam. Another amazing transformation feat of Gundam is the Core Block System featured in many Universal Century (UC) Gundam.

Core Fighter:

This is transformable into a roughly box shaped core for a Gundam.

Matte Finish

The plate on the left has been sprayed with the Matte coating. As you can see it turned out very well. (Sorry about the blurry picture.)

This is just a test to see how the coating looks for when I get my Gouf. Unfortunately, this might not be for a while.

Plan

The next time I get a MG (master grade) I know exactly what I am going to do. I will locate the parts for the Outer Frame and spray them with my Matte Finish. While I am waiting for them to dry I will build the Inner Frame. When the Outer Frame pieces are dry, I will put them on the Inner Frame and I will be done.

I hope the next MG I get is the Gouf Ver. 2.0





Also, you can view part trees and scans of instructions at Dalong.net.

Supplies

For the first Gundam they ever build, people usually don't use any tools. I have built many Gundam and would place myself as an "experienced beginner". Here are a few of the tools that I use.



Clamps.

You always need clamps to hold stuff together when you glue, the pliers can be used for almost anything.


Gundam Panel Liners.

In this case I have both black and gray to make the panel lines stand out.

Sandpaper.

In this case it is "Fine", I don't remember the exact grit though.

Plastic Nippers.

These are used to cut the pieces off of the plastic "trees".

Hobby Knife.

This is used to trim the excess after you cut the pieces off the trees.

Update

My new Gundam is almost finished.

This picture was taken on my back porch.

I first primed it all in gray, then I painted the parts shown above in white. Afterwards I will panel line it and give it a matte finish.

Size of a Gundam

Some of you wonder how large a Gundam is...

Well, for you Americans, they are just under 60 feet tall (not the model kits, the real size)

But for everyone else, they are 18 meters tall.

Here is a 1/1 scale Gundam.

notcliche.com

See the people?

For model kit sizes there are: 1/200, 1/144, 1/100 and 1/60 scale.

Gundam Unicorn

Gundam Unicorn episode 1 is out, and 2 is coming soon.

RX-0 Unicorn Gundam.

japangeeks.files.wordpress.com

Unicorn Gundam in Destroy and Unicorn modes.

gwing-online.com

You can watch episode 1 of Gundam Unicorn at this fellow bloggers site:

http://gundam00videos.blogspot.com/2010/02/gundam-unicorn-episode-1.html

This is also a good website to watch Gundam 00 on.

Websites

Reviews:
http://www.dalong.net/ (in Korean)
http://www.gundam.tk/ (awesome video reviews)

Buy Gundam:
http://www.gundamstoreandmore.com/ (better price)
http://www.hobbywave.com/ (more stuff-high shipping)

Progress

Progress on the Gundam is slow...

I decided to scrap the idea of wings and I just primed it all. A few problems happened with the priming (the existing paint on the torso and the feet rejected the primer) so the right side section of the box is for all the parts I need to re-prime.

Luckily I got a new can of primer and some Krylon Matte Finish (I've been looking for this for a while).

Wish List

I was surprised by the fact that I have no intact Gundam at the moment. This has encouraged me to create a wish list to decide what gundam to get to "restock" my collection. By the way, when I say "Intact" I mean that they haven't been destroyed for parts.

HG:
Nu Gundam
Hi-Nu Gundam
Jegan
Full Armor Gundam 7th
Geara Zulu

MG:
Gouf Ver. 2.0
Gundam Ver. 2.0

Etc.:
Action Base Ver. 1 Black (probably several)

Unnamed Gundam

This is my prototype kitbashed Gundam.

Rear view.

This gundam is made mostly from the HG Gundam mk. II.
It doesn't have a face because I am going to paint it soon.

An example of its flexibility:



I plan to add some kind of wings to the back and create some weapons.
Its color scheme will be in roll-out colors (shades of gray)

First Post.

This Blog will primarily focus on Gundam that I recommend, but I will also show reviews and pictures of my Gundam (plural by the way).