How to get into the Gundam anime

Here's a little something I stumbled upon while browsing /r/gundam and it is a must-read for anyone who wants to get into the Gundam series but have no idea where to start (as there are a lot of timelines/series). I actually just started watching Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 and will be following the suggested list below.

• Mobile Suit Gundam 0079
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
• Mobile Suit Gundam: MS IGLOO - The Hidden One Year War (PART 1)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: MS IGLOO 2 - The Gravity Front (PART 2)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: MS IGLOO - Apocalypse 0079 (PART 3)
• Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket
• Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
• Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
• Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (NOTE: Start on Episode 2 / Skip Moon-Moon Story Arc)
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
• Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
• Mobile Suit Gundam F91
• Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
• Others (X, Wing, G, your choice) 

To view the full write-up by WackyModder84, click here.

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Gunpla Panel Lining Practice

I've been collecting Gundam model kits for only a few months now (starting with a First Grade Red Zaku from SEED Destiny) and I've just reached kit number 5. I'm mostly in it for the building process; collecting next. So far, I've avoided doing any sort of polishing after I've completed the kit.

However, a friend has successfully nagged me into at least panel lining my kits and during one of my trip to GreenHills (surprise, surprise), I got me one of these bad boys:

GM01 200 Gundam Marker 

A fine tip Gundam Marker for panel lining. I actually got two. One black (GM01 200) and  one grey (GM02 200) marker. I got them from Wasabi Toys for 125 PHP each.. along with a 1/144 HG Gundam GP02A Type MLR-S. :)

I've done my homework and have been reading/watching tutorials on panel lining online. It seemed simple enough; fill in the panel lines using the marker. On to my first victim:

A 1/144 HG Gundam HeavyArms (Endless Waltz Edition). It's a really old High Grade released around 1998. I got it for cheap at Best Toys in GreenHills (supplies, supplies) for 650 PHP.

I've always wanted a HeavyArms kit, and I really did want to do more than just assemble kits. I was just afraid of ruining them. However, at the price I got this kit for, it was the perfect practice platform along with my Red Zaku.

I won't go into the details of panel lining as there are plenty of resources available online to get you started. Here are the results of my first attempt:

The only thing I could panel line..

Not much going on up top.

More places to panel line in compared o the upper body, but not by much.

White everywhere; decided to panel line out of the grooves as well to add more definition.

There aren't that many panel lines to fill in this kit. Most of the lines are in the legs which really needed additional detail as they were predominantly white. For the upper body, I only had to line the inner elbow of each arm. I initially used the GM02, but would apply a second coat using the GM01 so the lines would stand out.

A shot of the panel lined HeavyArms. Again, there isn't much to work with.

Posing with quad Gatling guns.. which will probably make their way to a kit-bash at some point. 

Gatling guns in action. 

Being a really old it, it doesn't offer much in terms of detail specially when compared to the newer Gundam 00 kits. Even additional panel lining, it really didn't change that much but I do think it definitely looks better than it did stock (specially around the legs which previously looked like one massive chunk of plastic).

Overall good practice. Definitely went better than I thought it would. For anyone reading this who would like to give panel lining a shot - go ahead. My only tip is to start out with a kit you wouldn't mind messing up a bit.

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Bootleg Bom Bom Star Wars Walker Review

Finally a got a chance to work on this kit. It's a Chinese knock-off which I got from one of my trips to GreenHills. 

BOM BOM Star War

8712

8202-6A

The kit itself is pretty simple and is made up of around 62 pieces. Once completed, you should have one walker, one mini figure, and some pieces to build a stand. Unboxing to completion took around 10 minutes. 

As you would expect from a Chinese knock-off kit, the plastic is nowhere near Lego quality. At 150 PHP (that's around 3 US dollars), you do get what you pay for. 

Some parts either fit too tightly or not at all. Luckily enough the legs of the walker are tight enough to actually allow the thing to stand on its own. 

As you can see from the pictures above, some of the pieces also have excess plastic sticking out of them. They can get in the way when you're putting pieces together but they do help out at spots where pieces are too loose; I didn't bother sanding them out. 

There's also some discrepancy between the box art/manual and the actual pieces included which can be a bit confusing when you're putting it together. I was promised different shades of gray (not 50) dammit! 

It may seem like I'm nitpicking on knock-off kit but to be completely honest, I actually like this kit. It's actually an okay kit. I went in expecting it to suck and was pleasantly surprised. 

The parts are complete. It doesn't quite match the advertised color scheme on the box but it's not atrocious - at least it didn't come in neon orange. The fitting can use some work but you can pose it for photos (just be careful with the legs).

It was a fun build and it does look good once put together. 

I'm actually looking for other 'Star War' kits as a type this so this review probably won't be my last bootleg kit build. 

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