Entering the 2016 Gunpla World Cup

[Melphina]

Hey everybody, you might know me from the other Gundam-themed thread that I made a while back, I've decided that I'm going to settle down on one single kit that I plan on detailing and entering into the Gunpla World Cup for the 2016 year since today was the deadline for American Entries.

 

Right now I'm working on what I want to use as the base, there's so many choices and I want to use something more vague so it feels special. Something that isn't overused (Like Wing Gundam/Zero, RX-78, SEED gundams, etc etc) so I've been taking some picks here and there and jotting them down as I went.

 

I want to keep it slim too, not slapping on a metric boatload of weapons and boosters. It'd be able to stand upright, but in terms of realism I'd like it to look like it could function in the anime without being too bulky. So far my picks are:

 

Victory Gundam Hexa (With an ice motif, I plan to learn on how to paint a frost effect on the armor)

 

Gundam Sandrock (Not sure what I'd go with this one.)

 

V2 Assault Buster Gundam (More or less wth a lightning-theme going on for it, but it's a bulky model so I don't know if I'll use it.)

 

Gundam Airmaster (Although I will be severely revamping it, such as taking the jet mode out of it and scratch building a lot of parts for it, including new shoulders, backpack, and maybe a torso if the remains are too skeletal without the stock parts.)

 

Taurus Mobile Suit from Gundam Wing (Though this is a giant maybe if I want to order one, but I might be able to get my mittens on one if I am lucky and want to shuck out the money. Seriously one of these costs like $60+)

 

I don't want to do anything Zeon-looking, even though I love them more than anything, a lot of their suits don't click with me aesthetically (Looking right at you Dom.)

[murasaki]

Zaku, Geara Doga and Kampfer are my fav mobile suits. I reckon they offer a lot of room for creativity.

 

But if you are looking for the more Gundam side, the ones I can think of are Land Battle Gundam, Land Battle GM, GM Sniper. Considering they are mass produced models that were used in long campaigns, you can go to town on mods and whatnot. Give them a desert paint scheme, jungle paint scheme, improvised weapons and rigs. Anything that's been done IRL since WW2 would most likely work. The sky is your limit

[Melphina]

Now that you mention it, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a gundam ground type if I can find one...

[Melphina]

I have made my choices for the Gundam.

 

 

A mixture of Gundam X and Double X, along with some parts I'll be ordering online. The overall theme of the suit is more or less an ice-theme, with it having a specially-made weapon that can reach temperatures of -273.15 Celsius (0 Kelvin, absolute 0) and I'll be making the plastic have a gas-like effect coming off of it (Think of the fog that liquid nitrogen makes) and the theory behind this weapon is based off of Gundam Sandleon's Hi-Cold Shotels that were said to be able to shatter Mobile suit armor like glass due to the extreme cold making the metal brittle. I'll be scratch building this weapon once I figure out what I want it to be. (More than likely a modified gouf heat sword)

 

However I am also going to be making a diffusing cloak (Like Sandrock's) for the Double X's shoulders since they'll be the template I'll be making. I plan on using a thin cloth that will be very flexible won't look stiff like you'd see in barbie doll clothing.

 

So all in all here's the makeup of the design.

 

Head: (Either Gundam X, and my customized Gundam X Maoh head)

Torso: Double X

Shoulders: Double X

Arms: Gundam X

Hands: TBD

Legs: Double X

Feet: Double X

 

Confirmed Weapons:

 

Modified sword (I'll be naming it the GXC-01 Gundam X Cold Sword)

Modified sword (GXH-01 Gundam X Heat Sword)

 

Possible Weapons:

 

Beam Rifle (I am putting this here because I don't know what model I want to use)

Shield (Again, picking the model)

Twin Satellite Cannons (Will be optional armaments, I don't want to base my gundam off of these weapons, I prefer to build the body, then select the weapons.)

Beam Scattergun (I wanted to try and get one from the Sazabi kit, but I'm not sure if this part'll fit in the hands unless I do some resizing.)

[ɴᴘᴄ]

Subscribed. Look forward to seeing your progress!

[Melphina]

So right now I'm doing my research on what fabrics would be very flexible (As I want the cloth on the cloak to drape down the model instead of looking stiff and scratchy looking.) I am thinking of getting a little bit of silk or something like that and then making measurements so I can get it just right. I might take a shot at making some mounts for the cloak to attach to the shoulders like Sandrock.

[Nataru]

Duuuuude! Best of luck! Can't wait to hear how ya do.

[Melphina]

Well good news, I was able to pick up the Gundam X locally, no need to actually order one now, but I gotta order the Double X online. Until then I'm going to be getting some outlines made, along with a backstory for it.

[Melphina]

 

Just thought I'd drop this here, not what I'm using for the contest, but I found this at my hobby shop and had to have it for nostalgia purposes

[Melphina]

So I was able to get my Gundam X fully assembled and I took a good look at it. Overall the model is very loose in terms of articulation, sometimes I find it annoying when I try to pose it and it just goes all over the place. This isn't to say it's a bad thing, I've gotten quite a few epic yet accidental poses during my playing around. I hope the Double X is a scooch tighter in this area.

 

 

Also, I love the equipment on the X, although the panels on the satellite cannon get in my way a lot. I might remove the panels on the Double X and just keep the cannons, but I'm not 100% sure. 

 

Next update will have a picture of each and every plastic rifle, gun, beam saber, weapon, shield, anything at all. I'll be arranging them and deciding what I'll be using for my mech.

[Aldotsk]

http://gundamguy.blogspot.com/

 

I suggest you to check this site to check other gunpla builders and follow their example if you are intending to go Gunpla World Cup 2016.

 

At least it helps you what kind of skill you need to be even be accepted in preliminaries.

[Melphina]

Yeah I've been looking at that and stuff all over the internet, took a look at some of the models in the actual finals, neat looking stuff. My double X actually came in today, so we'll officially begin building!

[Aldotsk]

If you have any airbrush tools, I suggest using them since they will be essential to the modeling. Even paint bottles work too:

 

http://www.gundamplanet.com/tools/paint.html

 

I'd choose airbrush over paintbrush and Gundam marker at anytime. Heck even paint brush bottle is better than Gundam Marker

 

Also dont forget to coat it afterwards.

[Melphina]

Gundam marker is the absolute worst imo, I've used it and it messed up my wing gundam. I like to use spray paint in the form of Tamiya sprays (The acrylic paints ofc) and I've painted a few pieces and found to love the sheen it  gives off and how lovely the coats are.

[Melphina]

So I've begun working on my Double X, I'm happy it's going so smoothly. A couple of things because I'd also like to do a review on the model kit itself before I get down to the nitty gritty. 

 

I already assembled the parts for the Double X, I just haven't put it all together yet. From what I've seen and felt, the limbs offer a good amount of articulation despite appearing so bulky, and I might focus on either making the suit look bigger or slimming it down (More than likely the latter since it'll have a melee weapon in the form of a sword.)

 

Overall I LOVE the backpack of the Double X, it adds a bulk to the suit that makes me feel intimidated to some extent. The boosters are mounted by a slit-style peg, which you have to be careful not to knock them out of their slots. The backpack also came with two round slots for mounting equipment, these are ideal for my ideas of mounting things like optional weapons, or even making adapters so that my rifles can be mounted on the back for when they're not in use.

 

T was originally going to be using the X's head because of those nasty looking whiskers the Double X sports, however after getting some ideas, I took some cutters and gently snipped as close to the face mask as I could, then took about 10 minutes to smooth out each space where the whiskers used to be, and now they look like added plates to protect the face. I like this a lot better than the original. I'll post some pictures of both styles to compare.

 

 

 

If you have any suggestions or comments, please I'd love to hear them!