captain america Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 For those Gundam fans among you who have the Perfect Grade GP01, I'm sure you'll agree that it's an absolutely spectacular model: sooooooooo many parts (1250 in total, to be exact) and all that wonderful engineering. It's without a doubt the best plastic model I've ever purchased. Having said this, I'm left with a bit of a hollow feeling. Why, you ask? Well, quite simply, the kit gives you parts to build one and a half Gundams, and that "half" is the problem. I have all the FB parts laid-out, built, but unused. My fear is that due to the enormous complexity of the PG, the constant "swapping" of parts will eventually cause something to pry loose, or break, and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile at all to simply order the parts trees necessary to build another gundam "frame", and simply build that one as an FB. Has anyone else considered this option, and if so, is it worthwhile to just buy the twenty-odd sprues, or is it simply cheaper to just buy a whole new kit. If anyone has any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear 'em Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechamaniac Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Well, you can order spare sprues from HLJ, but being such a new kit, it may cost you an arm and a leg. And that kit isn't cheap to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain america Posted January 14, 2004 Author Share Posted January 14, 2004 Hmmm, I don't think waiting until the item is no longer "new" will affect the price of parts. Rather, it's probably a better idea to try to procure them while the kit is still being produced and the dies are all set up. I doubt Bandai would bother to re-set all their machines to pump-out a handful of spues once it's off the production list. Rather, my question was aimed at anyone who may have already tried to order the parts, and whether this is cheaper than just purchasing a whole new kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anubis Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Unfortunately, the kit was designed so you could build EITHER of the two versions. It probably wasn't really intended for parts swapping. If you want to build both you may end up having to buy a new kit altogether. It may end up cheaper and easier than pleading for the parts you need, which tend to be very expensive buying them like you're thinking of doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Rogers Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 My friend tried to order parts from HLJ and they never responded after over a year. I think it's a lost cause regardless of what they say on their site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcy Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 I've purchased sprues of parts from HLJ for PG kits in the past, and it was relatively simple - specify the kit and sprues you need, and within two months, I had them. I forget how much I paid for them - when I get to work, I'll see if I can dig up the confirmation email... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcy Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Alright, found it. It was a sprue of Zaku II PG parts - I forget which sprue, and it's in none of the emails I have. If I remember correctly, it was a moderate sized sprue (I want to say arm or shoulder parts), and the sprue itself cost $5, plus $5 for shipping. My advice - try it, and see what happens (someone needs to be the guinea pig! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfunk Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Alright, found it. It was a sprue of Zaku II PG parts - I forget which sprue, and it's in none of the emails I have. If I remember correctly, it was a moderate sized sprue (I want to say arm or shoulder parts), and the sprue itself cost $5, plus $5 for shipping. My advice - try it, and see what happens (someone needs to be the guinea pig! ) I just ordered a bunch of sprues from a MG kit and the price for each sprue was $10 and the kit was $25, kinda pricey but not the price of the whole kit. This was from HLJ, so expect to pay the greater part of a third for each sprue, but it could be less, they dont tell ya till its shipped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jolly Rogers Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 The way this business actually works is you specify the parts you want and clip out the parts-order coupon from your assembly manual and mail it in to Bandai with the appropriate fee for the parts you want (usually less than 100 yen each, depending on size). If you have a friend in Japan then I recommend you go this route, as you get exactly the parts you want without buy entire sprues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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