Nekko Basara

The results were actually ok. The clear coat thinned the Sharpie... ink? It washed a little off the pommel and made one of the blades a little splotchy, but for the most part the Sharpie stayed put. After the clear coat dried, the color stayed even after handling (although I don't plan on handling it more than I have to).

Neat! I suppose that tells us something about how "hot" the Sharpies are. My guess is that the Tamiya Clearcoat dissolved the Sharpie, so what you get when it dried is a finish with the adherence of the Clearcoat. By comparison, doesn't dissolve the Sharpie and dries on top of it, so what is adhering to the plastic is just the Sharpie underneath (which is fairly weak).

Nils is looking very sharp there! I hear you about the engineering, though. I had much the same impression building the HGUC Ez-8. It was a big step up from the Gundam Wing kits I remembered from the late 90s, but just not even in the same class as the RGs.

So, I was kind of wondering about those metallic Sharpies. I get that they'll rub off with handling, but would a clear coat over top of it prevent that? Because Bandai only includes stickers for the pommels, handles, and blades of the katanas, but for some reason not the hand guards.

In my experience, topcoating them with Future does not help. Weird, I know. You could still try it - the upside to the Sharpie that if it rubs off, reapplying it is super simple.

I've found Gundam "Markers" (really paint) to a be lot more resilient, although I don't like their silver and gold as much, and they are quite a bit more expensive.

Probably for the best... just look at Max. His hair's blue for the sake of a blatant aviation in-joke.

Do you think they were really making the Immelman / "Pour le Merite" reference? I always assumed that was a coincidence.

What if Max is himself half-Zentraedi, and he's a space wizard from the future, traveling backwards through time like Merlin? That would explain his uncanny skills and why he didnr't look any older in M7!

Nice work! Glad Char has somebody to boss around, too.

Hikaru, you are totally right and the Unicorn is going together much faster and easier than I expected. Just rather short for time, unfortunately.

I'm going to assume that Misa's hair color is just following the normal anime trend of not actually meaning anything.

We'd have some baffling questions about Max's ethnicity otherwise.

dafuq?

I'm pretty sure he meant Takatoku. Even if he didn't mean Takatoku... he meant Takatoku.

(Apologies if it was technically Bandai's by the time of Jetfire. I'm not veef, I dunno.)

Okay question, I've been seeing it more and more, people using some kind of a silver liner on black and blue parts yet Bandai never made a silver sharpie. What gives?

I've had some luck using the chisel-tip silver Gundam marker (GM83) to run paint into panel lines, and then wiping away the excess while it is still wet, followed by some cleanup with an alcohol-soaked cotton swab. But it's a big hassle compared to a proper panel-line marker.

More often, if I am panel-lining a very dark part I use Tamiya's Gray Panel-Line Accent Color, which is essentially just pre-thinned paint with a built-in applicator. I just found this tutorial if you are interested. I also have the black version for light-colored parts, but I generally prefer to work with a marker.

Sorry to here about Miss Sazabi! I've never used nail polish remover on a Gundam kit, but other polystyrene kits I have seen it damage the plastic surface a bit. It might be worth trying to scrub with alcohol first; not sure if it will work, but it surely won't do any harm.

I'm taking a break from RG for my next project, because I have this MG Unicorn that my wife really wants to see built. It's only my second MG (the first was a Shin Musha Gundam). Cripes, this thing has a lot of parts.

Now I need to go watch Firefox.

Re: stealth. Technically, it refers to ALL forms of detection. Infra-red being the big one after radar. No point in having a radar-proof plane if a heat-seeker can lock on from 10 miles away. AFAIK, infra-red was another place where the -23 was notably better than the -22. (no thrust-vectoring means it could have those ceramic(?) brick-lined exhaust troughs) Plus, just plain being sleeker means less heat/friction from skin-drag.

You're absolutely right, and I apologize for implying that stealth only referred to radar technologies; that was just the type discussed in the article.

The part that concerned me was this:

"If a stealth aircraft attempts to intercept these photons and resend them in a way that disguises its position, it would inevitably change the photons' quantum properties - revealing any interference."

Intercepting and re-sending radar signals isn't generally considered part of "stealth." It's an advanced type of jamming or spoofing that has been carried out since at least the Vietnam war, where a receiver/emitter countermeasures system detects incoming signals from an air-defense system and then responds with modified emissions that mimic those of the ADS, tricking the defender into thinking it is receiving the normal reflected signal. Sort of like in a comedy, when someone in a cave yells "echo" and someone else fools them by yelling back. The system in the article would essentially let the first person say, "Hey, that's not really my voice."

Point here being that "stealth" aircraft don't typically use active countermeasure systems like that; they rely on returning as little signal as possible, not emitting a false one. The technology in the article sounds more like a great counter to the defenses used by jammer pods, ECM aircraft, and basically every attacker that specifically isn't a stealth aircraft.

That seems like a hugely misleading article. If I read it correctly, it's talking about a technology to defeat active jamming/spoofing, not "stealth," although it repeatedly uses the term and even reports a test carried out on a stealth-bomber-shaped object.

I was under the impression that "stealth" referred to passive technologies that either minimize radar returns and/or limit them only to specific observation conditions (i.e. angles).

I guess that's where I have to agree to disagree... I don't think it's a weakness at all. Granted, better color separation and better range of motion in the head and waist would have definitely improved the kit, but more complex construction just means more tiny pieces to lose or break, and gimmicks like Core Fighters, crazy backpacks, and transformations have brought a lot of the other RG kits down in my eyes. Zeta is the best example... if they'd have skipped the transformation gimmick instead of trying to recreate the MS Master File's design in a 1/144 scale, it could have been fantastic. Instead, I'm afraid to touch the thing because if I look at it the wrong way the chest will unpeg, the head will retract like a scared turtle, and a leg will fall off.

I think calling the (relative) simplicity of the Mk.II a weakness was overstating things on my part. In terms of the finished product, the Mk.II is perfect for what it is, and I wouldn't want it to have more gimmicks to potentially make it more fragile and less handle-able. It's only in terms of the build experience that I though the kit was a bit weaker than the others I have done. There was less clever engineering to enjoy (but still plenty). So, not my favorite RG build, but in terms of the finished product I have no complaints (outside of maybe the head articulation).

Well? Did you like is as much as I thought you would?

Hang on - I need to restart my brain. It was shorted out by how gorgeous Mike's GN-X is.

Ok, so, the Mk. II. Yeah.

I have to say that in terms of the overall look, it's the nicest of the four RGs that I have built. The silhouette, the proportions - it's just perfect. It's like a robotic linebacker. And when loaded up it looks like a credible war machine to me, which is surprising for something in traditional Gundam clown colors.

Things I liked:

- Nothing falls off or flops around while posing.

- Has lots of gear and places for all of it (well, only 3 of the 4 rifle magazines, but still plenty).

- The tubing looks so nice.

- Armor moves very well

- Pure badass.

Things I didn't like:

- Simpler construction than other RGs, particularly less use of color separation.

- Relatively few gimmicks. Aside from what I already mentioned, there's the openable cockpit, but that's about it.

- Head movement is pretty limited (it can barely look up), especially with the vulcan unit attached.

Basically, the kit's greatest weakness is also its greatest strength. It doesn't have an over-complex construction that falls apart, and it has no over-heavy backpack or complex transformation gimmicks to mess with posing. I wouldn't want all my RGs to be like this, but I am so happy that this one is.

Oh, and the album is updated here (thanks for looking!)

BTW, would you know of any good alternatives to Alclad and kosutte for realistic metal finishes? It's next to impossible to import Alclad (haven't tried to do so, but it seems most online shops don't ship volatile liquids by air), and HLJ doesn't sell kosutte ginsa.

Sounds like you have some great ideas now (thanks, CrazyDude). Personally, I've never had the guts to mess with Alclad and the like, so I have avoided doing large areas of metal like a bare aluminum aircraft. I've seen demos, but can't work up the nerve, haha!

I limit my metal to small areas like chipping, where I feel I can get away with the combo of metallic paints and graphite pencil. Regarding the latter, you can also just mark directly on the subject, and they make "silver" pencils in addition to the normal dark color.

Just as examples of my approach, here are a P-47 (around the gun bays and cockpit) and an unfinished N1K1 (supposed to look like heavy sun weathering):

I've poked around regarding that turret, but haven't had any luck. I found some other pictures of the Danbury vehicle, and my guess is that the turret has a pair of TOW tubes in the side of it, but I haven't found any hard info.

I love the TKS! Didn't know any were still running. My only "experience" with them was in the Battlefield 2 mod "Forgotten Hope," which included both the MG and 20mm AT rifle versions on a map simulating the Fall Weiss invasion of Poland. I don't catch the appearance in GuP; funny that anybody would deploy that in a competition where a Maus could also participate.

Generally speaking, tanks from the 20s and 30s are my favorites, because the inter-war designs got so crazy without the trial of combat to weed out bad ideas. You had the tankette craze sweeping many countries due to tight budgets, but on the other end of the spectrum Russia, Britain, France, and Germany were also messing with multi-turret monsters like the T-35 and Neubaufahrzeug. There were also lots of amphibious tanks, and the fast convertible Christie-style tanks taking shape in the Russian BTs. And rivets! Riveted armor everywhere, so dangerous but so cool looking. I may have a modeling bias, but I just find that era so compelling.

Sorry to post so much, but the Mk. II is done.

Maybe I'll take some better shots and update its album over the weekend.

Oh man, that adorable little Z'gok is building... another Z'gok!

It's a gray goo scenario! The end times are here!

Thanks for explaining, Nekko!

I wonder if lightly sanding the area of priming it might help with better adhesion. I almost always flat coat my Gundam kits, so touching up after flat coating might help with the adhesion.

Do you think that might work?

That I have not tried. It might work!

By all means, even regarding the FFP, don't take my word for it - experiment and let me know if you find anything that works well. I was so excited (and surprised) when I discovered the Sharpies and what a believable metal finish they produced, but it broke my heart when I began to see them come off of areas I handled (like the backpack verniers, which you touch prettymuch anytime you pick up a gundam - and those are sometimes ABS, too, so they take paint especially badly). I still use them, but I just have to think carefully about whether the part will be handled or not.

Is it possible to brush a coat of FFP over a part that's been painted over with a Sharpie? I've heard that FFP doesn't work with Gundam markers, and will dissolve it if you tried to clear coat FFP over them. Does this happen with Sharpies, too?

Funny, I use Future over Gundam markers all the time, and I haven't had any trouble with it. I only use the markers on small details, though.

As far as FFP over the Sharpies, I have tried that extensively, hoping it would stop them from rubbing off. Simply put, it doesn't. I try to imagine what is happening, and my guess is that the Sharpie doesn't adhere as strongly to the underlying plastic as most paints do. With that weak "foundation," no amount of Future on top seems to make a big difference. The Future doesn't interact with the Sharpies in any negative way, though, so if you want to do it just for the shine or a to make a good surface for washes/decals, go for it.

I don't want to make it sound like the metallic Sharpies aren't drying/adhering to the surface. They are - they just aren't as sturdy as paints and, in my experience, they will rub off with handling.

This weekend I'm hoping to finish my FA Unicorn Awakening, and begin prepping a completely customized MS for a friend of mine who has been begging me to make her a Mobile Suit.

I thought to counter my Hi-Nu ver Kai I'd make her a Sazabi version kai using the Miss Sazabi retool from BF and add some additional flare.

This will be a big revamp as I'll be purchasing the extra posable hands, probably going the MG rate since this kit is about 1/100 scale for a 1/144, a completely different weapons package since the BF version focuses on melee combat and will be changed to a multirange New type combat unit using a duel bit funnel shield system, one will be of course attached to the forearm while the other will be used as skirt armor for the rear.

The backpack I haven't decided on yet on what it'll be...this is a tough one due to the scale of the suit being so damn large! So I'm completely open to suggestions.

I really want to see how that comes together! Love Aila, love Miss Sazabi, and love mobile suits as gifts!

Thanks! It was the shipping I had in mind; I should have stated it better. I was hoping maybe they consolidated the items and shipped them together with one charge. Oh well!

I'm a bit late, but I have a Mandarake question as well. I see that they sell stuff from various sources/locations in Japan, and each listing tells you where the item is coming from. Are there added costs if you mix sources in one order, or is that just for general information/local use?

Not being intimately familiar with the source material, I didn't notice the missing colors on the GP01. It does seem to have relatively few markings, though. I do find mine looks a lot more cartoonish than the other RGs that I have.

I think that your comparison shot bears out what you were saying about the look of RGs. It doesn't need the panel lines marked in order to look much more complex and interesting than the High Grade - the intricate construction and fine detail are enough.

As far as the Sharpies go, I would say it's a more yellowish gold. All three colors cover in one pass and produce a more realistic metal look than most paints I've used (which often look more like metal flake). As long as you aren't handling the part, they do a great job. And they're cheap!

I believe that your mysterious "Test Recon Vehicle" is the XM800T. (Thanks to Google, not my brain.)
You can even see a working example here!

Although I don't have any info on your mystery IFV, I love the idea of an armor enthusiast thread. Your photos look great; I really regret not getting over to the museum when I was in that area for the AMPS show a few years ago.

I'm also bumming that I couldn't get into Aberdeen when I was in DC last summer (to see, among other things, the other MBT-70). Their website said that even though the Ordnance Museum was moving to Fort Lee, the outdoor exhibits were still open. It wasn't so; they turned us back at the gates!

Anyways, I'm more into the WW2 armor, but by all means, let's talk some tanks!

I paint all parts that I think are verniers or hot exhausts in regular Testors "Metal Copper" (RM11511-0611). It's a pain because I prefer acrylics and have to keep thinner around just for that one color, but I tried several other kinds of copper paint that didn't give results I was happy with. The metallic Sharpies also look really good and are easy to use, as long as they are in spots you won't touch - they rub off with moderate handling. Those come in a nice gold, silver, and copper.

I also just realized that I have the wrong sticker smack dab in the middle of my Mk. II's chest. That is supposed to be on his head vulcan! Ah well, it looks good to me. Gonna sleep on it and decide if I want to replace it.