Completed: Hyaku-Shiki HD Version with team AEUG

Jumped right into the Hyaku-shiki after finishing the Zeta Gundam kit.  As mentioned by Lupes, the Hyaku-shiki is a very fast build.  This makes sense as this kit is several years old, and was released simply with a new coat of paint (literally).  I find the coloring to be excellent on the kit though, that I think pictures really can’t do justice.   Good points about this kit is that about 95% of the gold parts are connected to the runners by undergates, which basically means you can snip them from the runner without fear of sprue nubs.  This is incredibly good because as this is an extra finish version, if you damage gold parts you get the crappy yellow/brown color underneath, that stands out.  Of course there are still 5% of those gold parts that aren’t undergates, but the kit is engineered so that they aren’t visible or hidden by other pieces.

Other than that, the internal frame is basic compared to the MG’s that are released now.  This is noticable especially with the hands, and the fact that some parts have too tight a fit, but in a way, helps to make it a quick build.  The seals/decals were easy to put on, but as I mentioned with the HD version of Zeta Gundam, the HD waterslides are for the most part really shoddy.  This time around though, I picked up some Mr. Mark Setter, which helped out much more than Mr. Mark Softer on the HD waterslides.   I actually screwed up the regular 百 seal on the left shoulder so ended up using the HD 百 seal instead.  Other than that, I used a black Gundam Marker panel line marker in a few areas.  

Overall, while the internal frame is basic, the new shine and quick build makes for a great kit, and you can’t go wrong with it.  Highly worth your while.

Check out below for my pics, but I would suggest checking out Lupes review as he finished building it just recently and took some excellent pictures.  One thing to note in my gallery is that I broke out my Gundam Mk II along with Zeta Gundam to finish up the AEUG “Gundam” lineup.  Take a look below.

Zeta Gundam – Final notes

I realized that I forgot to list the tools I used when building the Zeta Gundam HD vers. kit. 

I used the following tools:

For the eyes, sensors, and some areas on the armors and legs, I used the following Gundam Markers – Zeta Yellow, Meta Blue, Meta Green, Gundam Black.

For panel lining, I used the black fine tip Gundam marker.  I also used a new pen this time around.  The Copic Modeler, a 0.02 pen, and I have to say, it’s absolutely great.  The problem with the fine tip Gundam marker, no matter how fine tip you call it, is that it tends to bleed out of the line, leaving clean up to be a mess sometimes.  The copic modeler, which comes in various sizes, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.05, and doesn’t bleed out at  all.  I used the warm gray marker this time around on white parts, and I think it came out very well.

I used a dessign knife to trim leftover sprue nubs down flush to the pieces, simply because, I’m too lazy to sand, ha.

Lastly, I used Mr. Mark Softer to help “glue” down slides and seals.    Again, as I mentioned before, the special HD waterslides, while nice, simply do not stay on, even using Mr. Mark, and tend to rip apart when trying to adjust them.  The original included waterslides didn’t exhibit this problem at all.  But I guess nothing is perfect right.

In other news, I started on the Hyaku-Shiki, and it looks to be a pretty fast build, about half the runners then Zeta had.  However, I ended up picking up Ryu Ga Gatoku 3 on the way home from work, so Hyaku-Shiki is the back burner for a few days.  I played the first one, but just the loading got to be a nuisance.  The reviews and buzz is good though this time around, so I guess it’s time to get down to wandering around Kabukicho!

Completed: Zeta Gundam HD Version

Without further ado, the review for the MG Zeta Gundam V2.0 HD Version kit. 

 

 

First off, I love the colors on this kit, the brighter “animation” style coloring looks good on the Zeta Gundam. I will admit there is a limit, like I’ve said before, it looks good on a 1/100 kit, but anything bigger in this color would look more like a cheap toy.  However, when building this kit, I realized how muted some of the colors on other kits are in general.

 

Building it was a breeze, and for the most part there were no complaints.  However, upon completing it, there are a few points I have to nitpick.

• The shoulders just suck.  Take a look at the pictures here, and you’ll note that the shoulders connect to the arm, by pushing it into place around the O of the arm/shoulder piece, which you shove into the shoulder joint on the body.  In theory, this should work fine, but the shoulder will simply not stay there, and pops off the little O ring easy.  Pretty much glue is the only way to go, but you lose some movability.           

 

 

• They give you a stand for a reason, the MG simply won’t stand on its own two feet.  Unfortunately, if you set both the front part of the foot and the heel flat on the table, the leg ends up being about tilted back, and with the wings and tail stabilizer attached, Zeta’s going to fall right over.  To adjust for it, you’ll have to bend the knee abnormally forward, which then looks kind of bleh.  The solution then is to use the stand, or leave it in wave rider mode.

 

• Speaking of wave rider mode, they don’t give you landing gear! (unless I missed them and accidently threw them out with the sprue sheets.  On top of that, unless I’m a moron, the pictures showing the Zeta in Wave Rider mode with the Hyper Mega Launcher attached on the bottom, attached to the stand is a liar, because it’s not possible.

 

 

Anyways, overall, these are minor points, and probably stand out to me more because I built the PG version first, before this one.  Comparing the MG with the PG though made me realize how good these models have been designed, and the difference between MG and PG become more apparent to me as well.  Especially since I was pretty rough getting my PG back from WR mode to MS, took me a while to remember how to do it.   Also, you’ll note by the gallery, that, yes, the PG is HUGE, and even I was surprised after comparing the two.  Also, as an aside, I built and completed the PG, but still technically need to do seals and cleanup, but don’t mind that so much!

 

Anyways, pictures speak a thousand words, so check out the gallery below.  I do apologize for not being able to take better pictures, but I’ll hopefully improve on that, and try to avoid using the living room kotatsu as my photography studio (when it warms up that is!)   

Zeta Gundam

Just a quick post, as I finally finished up the HD Version of Zeta, seals and all.  Overall the seals were pretty balanced out and easy to put on.  Unfortunately, the special waterslide decals that come wtih the HD version are fairly shoddy.  While you’ll notice the one on the right leg in the picture below, the left leg decal simply fell apart…  Still, over all, the regular waterslides and seals were no problem. 

Anyways, just a couple of teasers, and hopefully I’ll be able to take some pictures (and compare them to the PG Zeta as well) in the next couple of days.

New Zeta Gundam release this week

The Master Grade kit for Zeta Gundam V2.0 HD Color version is scheduled to be released this Thursday.  Images from Gundam Base shows the new colors to be a lot more brighter than the original model.  Supposedly these colors are based off the actual anime colors.  While Zeta Gundam is my favorite gundam, I’m not quite sure I’ll pick this up yet or not.  I’ve still got two Zeta’s on my back log as it is.   

The box art

The completed Zeta Gundam

News via Ngee Khiong, with images courtesy of Gundam Base.