Builders Diary - January 2015

Happy new year, everyone! It's Jin from Karaba Mechanics again, I disappeared for a good long while but it's time for another episode of Builders Diary!

*FANFARE! (¡Alé!)*

The past month has been a really hectic one - I'm graduating from uni in March, so I've been handling senior year workloads and job hunting, so I didn't have much time to work on any of my kits for the majority of the month. (I finished the Amazing Exia in December, more on that later) However, I did manage to get a couple of nice things before the month ended:

*MORE FANFARE! (¡Alé!)*

Gundam Breaker 2! I played the original Gundam Breaker demo when the first game came out, but couldn't manage to snag a copy due to limited stocks back then, but I managed to get this one (the second to last copy in the local game store). I really enjoyed the whole customization thing, but for gameplay purposes I stuck with the Build Burning Gundam on the lower levels. Still working my way through the game, though, but enough of that - it is a builder's diary after all. Next up is...

OH BABY!

I got the HGUC Banshee Norn a couple days ago when the new stocks arrived. Due to a pricing error in the store's POS system (first scan showed a higher price, and manual scanning showed that it was actually cheaper than the tag price), I ended up having enough money to buy new tools, too. The side cutters are Buffalo side cutters, and the hobby knife's a Lotus craft knife (it comes with a box filled with 25 spare blades, which is cool).

I've been wanting to get the kit for a good long while now (and not just after seeing THIS amazing Banshee Norn build), and after snagging it, I couldn't help but build it on campus. An hour later I ended up with this:

Half the battle.

The next day, I decided to keep going, since I had a longer break. I got fired up and basically ended up...

...accidentally finishing it.

I suppose that's about it for this edition of Builder's Diary. Up next will be detailed posts on the HGCC Turn A, the HGBF Build Strike Full Package and the HGBF Amazing Exia, like I promised. See you next time!

Builder's Diary - December 2014

Hello again! It's Jin from Karaba Mechanics, sorry for the long dry spell ^^; I've been a bit busy with life (although that's left me with enough time to work on Gunpla, at least) so I haven't been posting as often as I should. In between this and the first post, I'd actually won third place in the local 1/144 build off (more on that later). So without further ado, I present to you, the first installment of Builder's Diary!

*fanfare goes here*

1/144 Real Grade Zeta Gundam (WIP)

I got the Real Grade Zeta Gundam together with the Gundam Mk-II from an old acquaintance, but never actually got around to building it until I finished the Mk-II Excellent (at least the main frame anyway).

First things first - I had a lot of trouble building this kit - stuff would fly out every once in a while, and I'd have to go look for the part that went MIA, leading to further delays with this kit. I'm actually holding off on the completion of this kit, since I have plans to scratchbuild Lightning Gundam parts and stick 'em onto this one, SOON. Never mind the fact that the Lightning was actually based on the Re-GZ instead of the Zeta itself, GUNPLA HAS NO LIMITS!™

1/144 HGCC Turn A Gundam (Snap build)

The local Gunpla club had a Christmas party, so I went there to have some fun and meet fellow Gunpla builders and maybe learn a tip or two from the "Meijins". We had a nice little Gundam Extreme Vs. Tournament, and I came out third place on the Strike Noir Gundam. There was also a bingo game and a raffle, and this is where the Turn A came from.

The kit, along with nice little bag tags from our friend King.

...CALLED "TURN A" GUNDAM!

Okay, enough joking, here's the kit.

I'll go into further detail once I finish painting (and possibly modding) this kit too, so please look forward to it.

1/144 HGBF Build Strike Gundam Full Package

The local Gunpla scene is pretty nice - we give out kits during parties, bring in nice ones as prizes during contests, and we're overall pretty chill folks to hang out with. I got this kit from the latest 1/144 build-off, when my entry, the Gundam Mk-II Excellent, got third place. I'm pretty happy about this, considering that that was my first proper painted build that didn't get messed up ^^; Anyway! Before I go off track, here's this section of the builder's diary!

 Somehow, I really like the design of the Build Fighters boxes!

I LIIIIIIIIVE!

DO YOU EVEN GUNS, BRO?

I'll be going in depth with this kit with my review/build walkthrough post, so stay tuned!

Coming Soon

It's Christmas, and I'm starting on the kit I bought for myself as a gift - the 1/144 Gundam Amazing Exia! I'll be documenting the process as well so you get a nice look at how the kit is built and what to look out for, so keep this blog bookmarked!

See you next time! Merry Christmas!

1/144 Real Grade RX-178/EX Gundam Mk.II Excellent "Karaba Color Ver." [WIP]

Hello!

Hello, Jin from Karaba Mechanics here.
I'll be posting my kits and illustrations here from now on.
First, here's my 1/144 Real Grade RX-178/EX Gundam Mk.II Excellent "Karaba Color Ver." kit.

The base kit is the 1/144 RG RX-178 Gundam Mk.II.

Choosing the color scheme

I initially chose this color scheme for the Gundam Mk.II Excellent. When I headed over to my friend's house to paint, though, I decided to keep the chest vents the same color (yellow) and paint the chest piece grey. I had also changed the colors on the arms, which you will see later in the post.

The colors used in this kit were:
Bosny No. 68 Primer Grey
Bosny No. 30 Rose Pink
RJ London Primer Grey

I exclusively use spray cans, since I don't have the money for an airbrush kit. However, I might get one in the future once I have my own place and won't need to fear for the lives of my 20+ parakeets upstairs.

The remaining white and off-white parts were kept as is, since we were coming dangerously close to the deadline of the local Gunpla club's build-off. We decided to just spray with flat coat instead.

Snap build

The 1/144 RG Gundam Mk.II is probably one of the most satisfying yet easy to build kits I've made ever since I started Gunpla as a hobby.
Despite the tremendous amount of detail in the kit, it took me 6 hours from start to finish to snap build this kit (and do rough nub cleanup etc). I highly recommend this kit for beginner Gunpla builders who've gone through a few High Grade kits as a step forward in Gunpla building.
There are a lot of parts but the assembly is straightforward and the finished kit is very stable and fun to play with. The color separation is pretty good and the final straight build's detail exceeds that of the Master Grade 2.0 version of the kit. I'd say the articulation is on par with the Master Grade or even the Perfect Grade version, so make sure you pick one of these up when you have the time.
One problem I had with the kit, though, is the mesh tubing behind the knees - if you cut them too short, they fray and fizz up like all hell, frustrating you to no end. I made that mistake here and decided to remove them altogether.


Work in progress

Test fitting of the first few painted parts. We had also ended up only including the beam rifle in the initial presentation of the build due to the time constraint.

The kit was panel lined with a fine-point Gundam Marker and a 0.3mm black Copic marker. We were unable to apply decals to the kit due to the time constraint. So, a lesson to all you fellow Gunpla builders: TAKE YOUR TIME!

Final test fit, posed along with my friend's HGUC Gouf Custom and HG GN-X. Team Try Fighters!

Completion (Tentative)

All in all, the build took around 6 hours to snap fit, and around 2 hours to paint and panel line (from start -> topcoat) for a total of 8 hours. I am still considering adding weaponry, a different backpack and custom waterslide decals for the Gundam Mk.II Excellent, so check back in the future for more!

Credit goes to my friend Flickr/Poixquared for taking the photos, and for J_Adrian of Gundam Australia for helping paint the kit on a rainy day. See you next time!