Bandai 1/100 FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam

[mz3]

So I started this project a few weeks ago, before I got the email. It's Bandai's master grade FA-78-1 Full Armor Gundam. The kit has armor pieces that attach in various ways over the normal parts. Most of them slide or click into place. Some were attached with 2 sided tape. Not good at all. So I decided to use magnets for these parts. I want to be able to display the kit with or without the additional armor. I also decided to paint a digital camo on it to do something different.











I've painted all the mobile suit armor parts. I haven't touched the additional parts yet. I'll be painting the frame, I have to go through some of the armor andcsand them down a bit here and there so they don't scratch the paint in the frame. Still a ton of work left even without figuring out magnet placement.

[chromdome35]

Love it!

What is the difference in the different grades of these models?

[mz3]

Feb 15, 2023 22:12:59 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Love it!

What is the difference in the different grades of these models?

High grade and real grade are both 1/144 scale and on average are about 4-5ish inches talk. Real grade has lots more detail. Master grade is 1/100 scale and are 6 inches to a foot tall. There are No Grades with are watered down versions of the mechas, they are 1/100. There are Full Mechanics that are 1/100(some 1/48 in different animes kits) and have very good details, but not as good as the Master grades. There are RE100 which are 1/100 and are a step below Master Grade. Then there is Perfect Grade which is 1/60 and are usually over a foot tall. These usually have the most detail. There is Mega size which is 1/48. I've never actually seen one in real life and they seem to be hard to get.

Older Master Grades are less detailed then the newer ones. They are much easier to build but can have issues with joints.

I think that's the short version of it.

[chromdome35]

Feb 15, 2023 22:59:46 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Feb 15, 2023 22:12:59 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Love it!

What is the difference in the different grades of these models?

High grade and real grade are both 1/144 scale and on average are about 4-5ish inches talk. Real grade has lots more detail. Master grade is 1/100 scale and are 6 inches to a foot tall. There are No Grades with are watered down versions of the mechas, they are 1/100. There are Full Mechanics that are 1/100(some 1/48 in different animes kits) and have very good details, but not as good as the Master grades. There are RE100 which are 1/100 and are a step below Master Grade. Then there is Perfect Grade which is 1/60 and are usually over a foot tall. These usually have the most detail. There is Mega size which is 1/48. I've never actually seen one in real life and they seem to be hard to get.

Older Master Grades are less detailed then the newer ones. They are much easier to build but can have issues with joints.

I think that's the short version of it.

Thank you, I didn't know any of that.

[mz3]

It gets more involved then this, but that's the gist of it. There's a Super Deformed grade, basically small bodies with big head. I don't touch those things. There are like 10 different types with probably over 1000 different kits.

[reserve]

I always think of these as "Space Guys". I've not done one in a long, long time.

It seems you're one of the guys who improves the model and what you've done so far is pretty impressive

[chromdome35]

Feb 15, 2023 23:41:36 GMT -5 mz3 said:

It gets more involved then this, but that's the gist of it. There's a Super Deformed grade, basically small bodies with big head. I don't touch those things. There are like 10 different types with probably over 1000 different kits.

I've always been fascinated with the idea of massive robots battling it out. I've never built one of these kits but I'm going to. What grade kit do you recommend for a newcomer to Gundam but with experience building scale models? Do any of the Gundam models look like tanks?

[mz3]

Feb 17, 2023 1:29:30 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Feb 15, 2023 23:41:36 GMT -5 mz3 said:

It gets more involved then this, but that's the gist of it. There's a Super Deformed grade, basically small bodies with big head. I don't touch those things. There are like 10 different types with probably over 1000 different kits.

I've always been fascinated with the idea of massive robots battling it out. I've never built one of these kits but I'm going to. What grade kit do you recommend for a newcomer to Gundam but with experience building scale models? Do any of the Gundam models look like tanks?

There are models called Guntanks. They are basically the upper half of one of these units and a tank lower with tracks. I'm not sure of the availability of those though. They seem rare at times. There's also weird things going on with distributors and Bandai.

But, there are 2 recommendations I would give. The first would be the 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam. Like the one in the Gallery I posted. They are available pretty regularly, I got that one at Hobby Lobby. And they are all over amazon and othe Gundam specific site for pretty cheap. It has a nice mix of build processes for all the kits with little bits of inner frame(mostly knees and elbows), seamlines/moldlines to remove, parts to glue(even though they are snap fit, glueing some parts is needed to make a good fit). If you want a little more in depth build, Master grade RX-78-2. Either a version 1.5 or 2.0. They are a little more pricey, I just got the 1.5 at Hobby Lobby for $26ish on sale, the 2.0 is more. They both have inner frames, the 2.0 has a complete frame under the armor parts. Anything older has joint issues(I know the feeling)and can't stand well and anything newer start to get pricey and hard to find. The kit in this thread is a 2.0 with extra parts added on the exterior. I'll be doing more with the base model and frame this weekend and posting pics up.

The RX-78-2 is the first Gundam from the late 70's. If you've ever seen anything Gundam just in passing, it was probably this. Pretty good starting point.

[chromdome35]

Thanks for the insight and recommendation!

[mz3]

Here is the frame under the armor. The base kit is the mg RX-78-2 version 2, just in different color plastic. This is the part I've been dreading the most. Bandai engineers the crap out of these kits. The space in between some parts is tight enough a layer of paint won't fit. I've gone through and sanded down where ever this was happening and hopefully got all the areas.





There are tons if moving parts in the kit. Excuse the over spray. I sprayed some of the armor parts attached to the frame for easy with the camo layout and usingbthe over spray to find the areas that scratch.

[Steve Zuleski]

I never knew how extensive the under frame was, impressive.

[buddho]

Wow...what an intricate kit with so many parts. Ive never seen so many pieces on a Gundam!

[mz3]

Update...

I had to wait a couple of days to paint the frame. I decided to use mr. surfacer mahogany 1000 to prime it and ordered it from a website.





I found the primer color to be really nice, so I didn't paint much over it. Not much of it shows anyway. I made a mix of flat brown and dark iron with a pinch of gloss to spray over the joints and areas that show. I'm doing detail painting today.

Tomorrow I start the part I've been dreading. Gloss coat on all the separate pieces. I ran out of paint clips for the first time ever. 90+

[chromdome35]

I can't wait to see how this looks after you paint it.

I am a huge fan of the Mr Surfacer Primers, I've never had a single issue with them and they spray oh so nicely.

[mz3]

Mar 1, 2023 17:35:22 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

I can't wait to see how this looks after you paint it.

I am a huge fan of the Mr Surfacer Primers, I've never had a single issue with them and they spray oh so nicely.

I rarely use anything else. I started airbrushing it again on this kit.

[mz3]

Frame painted.




I went through and picked out some details that will show through the armor. I'll go over it with the primer again for touch ups where I oversprayed some small areas. Then a flat coat on the details. All the first layer of armor is glossed up and drying until tomorrow morning.

[mz3]

I haven't touched the hands yet. I hate cleaning the mold lines. That will probably be one of the last things I do.

[buddho]

The frame looks fantastic.

[mustang1989]

Somehow I missed this update. You seem to have gotten alot of stuff done to this one! And quality work at that!!!

[mz3]

Thank you.

Gloss and decals are done for the base kit. I keep forgetting that there is another 70ish parts left to paint and I still have to work out magnets.






Decals are a mix of dry tranfers that come with the kit and water slides from various generic sheets.





I started an oil wash on the frame. Raw umber, basically to help blend the detail painting in a little. Since I brushed a majority of those details on, the paint is a little rough. The oil wash really helps cover that. I'm still trying to decide on how heavy to go with the weathering. One thing I was planning on was scratches from the outer added on armor parts. So I will work those into the weathering. Somehow.

[mz3]

Progress...

I drybrushed the visible sections of the frame.




I went a little bit heavier on the hands. I used tamiya chrome silver with a drop of retarded.




Used my favorite brush. 20+ years old trusty, dusty Testor brush. Never fails me. I have tons of other brushes, but these are my favorite. Not the best for some stuff, but completely indestructible!

[mz3]

All the armor parts are painted, chipped and matte coated.




I used lighter tamiya colors on the parts then hit them with a 2000 sanding sponge to make them look like chips and not paint blobs. I used a brush and sponge to apply the chips.






I also used the sanding sponge to wear off buts of paint on corners and other areas to show some wear.

Today I started laying the magnets and and WOW what a pain in the ass it it!

[mustang1989]

Somehow, I managed to miss all of these latest updates completely. I'll tell ya this though....I'm sure as heck glad I saw it today. The detailing and weathering that goes into these gundam builds is nothing short of amazing!!

Glued to the set man.

[mz3]

Hopefully it will turn out good. I'm kinda stuck on further weathering. I don't want to go overboard, but it still needs more. The last one I built I went WAY overboard on purpose. It looks cool but not good.

Anyway, here's the result of a few hours hacking magnets and finish nails...




And I have started assembling parts I know can go together at this point...






Now that I'm into the magnet part of the build I may need to buy some different shapes and sizes.

[mustang1989]

This is gonna turn out to be so dang cool when it's all said and done. Looks like you've got just enough weathering goin' on here.

[Mence]

Lovely stuff, somewhere I have a 1/48 perfect grade RX-78-2, you're making me want to build it.

[`Boots`]

I`ve only gone and snuck an `ickle one of these in my Ebay watch list since watching this , can`t afford a bigger one.....YET!!

Top work fella but your a bad influence on my wallet

[mz3]

Mar 27, 2023 16:13:54 GMT -5 `Boots` said:

I`ve only gone and snuck an `ickle one of these in my Ebay watch list since watching this , can`t afford a bigger one.....YET!!

Top work fella but your a bad influence on my wallet

If you wait a bit these kits are being reprinted by Bandai for MUCH cheaper. I was thinking about doing a second one and could only find them on ebay. I'm NOT paying that much for one of these. I got this when it first came out years ago for like $50ish.

[mz3]

Blah!




So,I still want to add some more weathering. I couldn't figure out what to do with it in pieces, so I assembled it. I have an idea where to go now, but I have to put it on hold for a week or so. I have to move to a new apartment because property management companies suck here! When I get settled there are a few parts that will get repainted and touched up a bit.

For the added armor I'm thinking of doing something a little drastic that may or may not be cool. Once I get settled I'll paint some test parts and see if it's bad or not.

[mustang1989]

This is turning out very well so far and I'm looking forward to seeing the weathered panels installed when you get the chance.

Ah yes!!! The joys of moving!! I've been through so many dang moves I can't remember how many times my wife and I have done it. My grandpa used to have a saying that went something like, "Five moves is equal to a burnout." There's alot of truth in that because we've either given stuff away, lost stuff or broken stuff in all the moves we've been through. Hopefully you'll get some better property management where' you're going.