Sigur in Space! - Update: Gundams!

[Daeothar]

Those are really awesome!  The paintjobs really make them shine though.

Considering the very exacting fit of the parts; did you paint them on the sprue, or after assembly? And if the former; did you have to mask off a lot? I can imagine that taking at least as long as the painting itself...

I've been ogling Gundams for years now, but I have no way of properly displaying them, which is the sole reason for me to not pull the trigger (so far)

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Daeothar: Yeah, to be honest one of the reasons (beyond curiosity and learning new stuff) was that I wanted something new and somewhat appealing to bring to wargames shows and other events at which I display stuff. At home I don't really display figures at all, apart from what I happen to have standing around the photo setup. The process couldn't have been more laboursome: First I put the models together (cleaning all the parts and so on), then I looked at what had to be taken apart again for painting separately, took bits apart, mounted them on sticks (because most had to be airbrushed), primed, basecoated, highlighted, shaded, filtered several times, etc., painted details, varnished (that I did with stuff put together), decals (which I had to wait for for a while. The Zaku is decaled, on the Gundam I tried the stickers from the box, because I felt adventurous. They work somewhat OK, but decals of course are better. Funnily enough, Bandai only include proper decals in more expensive or limited edition boxes), varnished, battle damage, weathering, battle damage, varnish. Halfway through painting the Gundam I realized that the amazingly-engineered, but super-fragile hand just won't work for holding the hefty shield in place, so I ordered two boxes of hands for a lot more than they should have cost, realized that the ball joint on the new hands didn't fit the old socket, so I had to grind the joint to fit, paint the new hand again, and so on. It was quite the process. Add to this all the extra details I added to the Zaku.... yeah, quite a few hours went into these chaps. On the plus side, I didn't have to mask much, because you can take them apart pretty easily. Some bits I masked off (like when I did the thicker white stripes on the Zaku's shield and left upper arm), but not much. I vaguely remember masking some stuff at one point, but I can't quite recall what it was. Probably something on the Gundam. I'm not fully happy with what they look like, but I'm happy enough to call them done for now.

Thanks very much for your comment; I'm really not sure if these look any good, if I'm silly for enjoying these toys or not, because when I do a certain genre I like to honour that genre's conventions and so on and not just paint them as I would paint a Space Marine, if only to learn new stuff and do something 'outside my comfort zone' (even though in the end it always boils down to figure painting). I also joined a bunch of Facebook groups to ask things and look at things, but they didn't prove to be extremely helpful I think. Maybe it's just because I prefer exploring new stuff on my own. I was surprised though how rampant ordering from Aliexpress and Temu is on there, including counterfeits and all, which I find just boring and ungraceful.

Anyway, a very interesting experience, and I have to admit that I bought three more kits in the meantime. All High Grade. They're very reasonable in terms of price, a great thing to just get out on a Sunday night and put together, and in terms of engineering alone, these funky little toy robots are just a joy to behold. Once you do several of a similar kind you'll notice repeated build patterns, but these also improve over the years, which is really interesting to see. So much so that from now on I'll suggest Entry Grade gunpla models to people if they ask me how to introduce their young'uns to scale modelling/model making. They're easy to put together, don't break the bank, and in the end you even got something to play with. Especially Entry Grade kits feel like basically "the best Kinder Surprise ever". Didn't paint the EG Gundam though, but it is a favourite among experienced modellers as well because it's such a rock solid kit and a great basis for customizing.

[hubbabubba]

Awesome, especially the red one

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Nice work on them.

[OSHIROmodels]

Fantastic updates but those mecha are something else 

[majorsmith]

Love those gundam!!!

[syrinx0]

I agree they look fantastic.  Never apologize for having fun building models and painting. That is what we do no?

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@hubbabubba: Thanks very much! Oh yes, you gotta love a Zaku II. It's such a funky design.

@Ultravanillasmurf: Thank you.

@OSHIROmodels: They certainly are. As mentioned before, I was interested in them for years, now I took the plunge and it was a cool experience.

@majortsmith: Glad you like them! I enjoy them too. Now the question is: Do I stick with the 1:144th scale or do I get one in 1/100th scale as well? The latter would be showier and I could put LEDs into it and so on (in general I have opinions on LEDs in model kits, but these big plastic robots very much seem to be made for gimmicky stuff like that), the former is handier and of course less expensive. Or I do something with the kits I still got lying around here before I get new stuff.

@syrinx0: thank you!

Right, I got two conventions coming up the next two weekends, so there's loads of stuff to do. First show is more of a thing to introduce kids to roleplaying games, tabletop games and painting. I'm volunteering to show them the latter. The tricky thing might be finding figures to display which are a bit more cheerful and kid-friendly.

Good test run though for the show in 2 weeks, which will be Comicon Vienna.

I got some nice fantasy figures I just got done, but unfortunately they'll be picked up before the shows, so I can't show them there. But at least I got them gundam robots and I have to scramble to get a bunch of Space Orks done in time for the shows as well.

[HerbertTarkel]

I was in Japan in September, the level of Gundam awesomeness was unreal. Yours surpass them!

[Battle Brush Sigur]

I was in Japan in September, the level of Gundam awesomeness was unreal. Yours surpass them!

Oh, thanks, that's very kind! Surely I would get sneered at for imperfect filing or some assembly mistakes.

I would love to go to a modelling show in Japan some day. I follow several Japanese figure painters and modellers on Twitter (because they do amazing things and it sometimes helps not understanding what people write on social media right away. It's just less distracting. ).

[mikedemana]

I read somewhere that the current PM of Japan is a modeler. It would be cool if he was a gamer, too! 

Mike Demana

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@mikedemana: As long as he's a capable PM, I don't care what he does in his past time. No, that's cool. A few days ago I watched a few videos of the All Japan Model & Hobby show 2024. Really impressive.


The other night I found the Mobile Suit Skirmish Rules online.  I suppose that, using 1/144th scale kits, would make for a looker of a demo table. I skimmed the rules, they look very utilitarian. The sales point clearly isn't clever gameplay mechanics, but it looks like it might do a good job in putting that stuff on the table. I signed up for their forum (hooray, forums!), but it's sealed behind several doors to keep spammers out. My request is pending moderator approval; I hope it's still active at all.

Right, to get back to more familiar grounds - due to end-of-year-panic and a general fondness for Orks (and this army specifically. I've been working on it since 2017 after all), I made good progress on the Orks. Here are two first pictures of a Trukk and a handful of Nobz:





Hope you like them!

[Codsticker]

I'm not an avid fan of Gundam stuff but I do love those paintjobs Sigur.

I read somewhere that the current PM of Japan is a modeler. It would be cool if he was a gamer, too! 

Mike Demana

Tis true! His Wikipedia page comments on it; apparently he has presented foreign dignitaries with models he has built as gifts.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

I'm not an avid fan of Gundam stuff but I do love those paintjobs Sigur.
Tis true! His Wikipedia page comments on it; apparently he has presented foreign dignitaries with models he has built as gifts.

We're wargamers and thus modellers and modellers like chipping.   That's a thing I started thinking about a few months ago, when my niece inquired why so many things I paint ends up looking dirty and old. Right now I'm doing these Orks which are fun and all, but not even an Ork would call that gear 'working order'. Or maybe they would. What do I know about Orks.


@Japanese PM: Let's just hope he's really and doesn't pass Space Marines with mold lines, un-drilled bolter muzzles and huge, wonky eyes to world leaders. Not to sound like a dillweed looking down on people who don't spend all their life painting little toy figures, but the thought of the Japanese prime minister giving out very sloppy versions of GW's miniature of the month at a diplomatic enquete tickles me.

[YPU]

Did someone say Gundam?!

Not sure why I missed this treat until now, fantastic work on, well, everything!