1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam

[mz3]

After my 4-5 year break, this was the first kit I painted and weathered. It's not perfect and I made some mistakes. I finished it a few months ago. I used to build tons of armor, and just used those skills on this, just srunk down.





I really enjoy the freedom of building, painting and weathering these types of kits. There are basically little to no rules to follow.

[reserve]

Rules? Bah as long as it's plausible you're golden. I like this alot

[mustang1989]

It just goes to show how one genre of modeling can lend itself to helping in a different genre. Fantastic painting and wear & tear effects.

[chromdome35]

Man that looks great! Excellent job weathering it without over-weathering it.

I've always wanted to see one of these done in a camo pattern like German Ambush. It might end up looking like crap; however, I bet excellence could be achieved with the right approach.

[Whiterook]

Love this! The weathering is magnificent, in how it gets dirtier the lower you go. (…That didn’t sound right.) I think you really nailed it…and such a fun build, too! I’ve never seen these in the store or online…good buy! …have yiu built many of these subjects in the past?

As an aside, I find it interesting so many folks I’m seeing here, who’ve been away from the hobby a half-decade or more…which includes me, too. It’s wonderful to see so many returning to not only the hobby, but this forum as well. And all the new modelers is heartwarming, to see the interest in this hobby is strong!

[Steve Zuleski]

Fine weather works!

[chromdome35]

Feb 17, 2023 11:13:43 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

As an aside, I find it interesting so many folks I’m seeing here, who’ve been away from the hobby a half-decade or more…which includes me, too. It’s wonderful to see so many returning to not only the hobby, but this forum as well. And all the new modelers is heartwarming, to see the interest in this hobby is strong!

Well said!

[mz3]

Thanks everyone.

Chromedome, I may have a kit that a german ambush could work on. I might try it.

Whiterook, over the years I've built probably 40 or so of them in different scales. Funny thing is, I actually started doing armor so I could learn weathering for gundams. Then stopped building gundams because I got bit by the armor bug.

[Whiterook]

Feb 17, 2023 16:36:40 GMT -5 mz3 said:

…Funny thing is, I actually started doing armor so I could learn weathering for gundams. Then stopped building gundams because I got bit by the armor bug.

That’s hilarious! That armor bug is a beastie! I can’t honestly recall if I ever built and armor piece as a kid…it was all military ships, aircraft, and a few civie cars. Few decades pass and I restart building and start with an armor piece and that’s dominated much of my building, haha. Branching out now, though.

[Real G]

Whiterook's observation about how the weathering gets heavier on the way down is a point that I like to see, but don't see very often.  Bravo!  Yes, the Gundam is the strongest Federation mobile suit!  The GM is weak and sucks.  

A lot of people say there are no rules in Gunpla, but there are.  Some pretty specific ones at that.  BUT, the genre is unlike airplanes and armor.  As Morpheus once said "Some rules can be bent.  Others can be broken."  But you have to take the red pill first.  And then load the Jump program.  

[Real G]

Oh yeah, speaking of bending rules - zimmerit and ambush schemes are acceptable.  Just don't forget the panzerfausts!

A lot of designs that artist Kazuhisa Kondo did incorporated such themes.  Camo netting too.  Gunpla make for really cool looking grubby ground-pounders.  And remember, Zeon mobile suits look waaaaaay better in such finishes than the Feddies.  Just saying.  

[mz3]

The only rules are put there by people trying to control others.

[`Boots`]

Heck yeah!!......that is terrific and the weathering is superb,love the heavier effects at the lower part to.....excellent.

[moramartht]

Whiterook's observation about how the weathering gets heavier on the way down is a point that I like to see, but don't see very often.

Donkeys years ago (many decades!) I recall a correspondent in an ancient wargaming magazine commenting on the idea of clouds of dust obscuring the numbers of troops to observers.  While I accept that the nature of dust may vary, he had visited the site of one of Alexander the Great's battles (Gaugamela?) and had noted that any dust raised generally only rose little above the knee. (The battle as reconstructed in the 2004 movie "Alexander", although filmed in Morocco, generally validates this.)  However, there is no empirical evidence on which to base the dust-raising properties of heavy, fast moving gunpla...

On a similar point, wargaming Mechs in low-viz camo shade from very light grey at the top to very dark grey at the bottom.

Cheers,

M

[brandonk]

Wow, that's pretty cool and the weathering is on point. Well done.

[Medicman71]

Very nice! I’ve build a couple of these and have a couple more in the stash. Love the weathering!

[mz3]

Watch for the post I've got going in the scifi section. I'm about to start the weathering on that gundam.

[406 Silverado]

May 20, 2023 14:34:21 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Watch for the post I've got going in the scifi section. I'm about to start the weathering on that gundam.

I'm in and will be watching for that!!