So, this is, what?
Model blog post number 10? Does that count as a milestone? Perhaps.
So let's mark this event by looking at my first Mental Health Gunpla,
the Leo NPD. A variant on the Leo from my old favourite Gundam Wing,
this is apparently some form of drone Mobile Suit used in a fictional
online RPG. NPD in this case is seemingly a play on "N.P.C",
non-player character. While its an easy way for Bandai to double-dip
on a mould, it's not without its charms.
You'll excuse me if I avoid making an especially deep commentary here, I'll have an article on the regular Leo shortly, and would prefer to save that stuff for then. In brief: the NPD bares many similarities to the 30 Minute Missions line of kits, which were released at approximately the same time. Its maybe not quite as good as 30MM, mainly due to the ankle guards and a tiny leg panel that effing vanished, but its still a quality kit. And from a purely functional perspective, its better than the original Leo release, although perhaps not as good looking.
As a "Build" kit of a generic dude, the NPD is designed with an eye towards customisation, and this greatly adds to the appeal of things. The new torso adds a backpack which attaches by a standard 2 point mount, with is own mounting points, thus significantly improving compatibility with other kits. The showstopper however is the choice of three styles of shoulder guard, and three heads. Each with a choice of eye colour. I picked my favourite and then stained the transparent bit blue. Then I realised the original torso/head remained and did this. And that the shoulder guard was the wrong way up.
The detailing of the kit came, much, much later, as part of the preparation for this article. I realised then I'd made a bit of mess of seperating parts from the runners. It was after this kit that I decided to buy new clippers, IIRC. Still, hard to tell from the crappy pictures, I suppose.
I'm not a huge fan of the purplish & blue/green shades, and the new parts don't match that well with the traditional Leo parts. But, assuming the colours are no issue for you, it's very hard to dislike the Leo NPD as an entry level kit and conversion fodder.
You'll excuse me if I avoid making an especially deep commentary here, I'll have an article on the regular Leo shortly, and would prefer to save that stuff for then. In brief: the NPD bares many similarities to the 30 Minute Missions line of kits, which were released at approximately the same time. Its maybe not quite as good as 30MM, mainly due to the ankle guards and a tiny leg panel that effing vanished, but its still a quality kit. And from a purely functional perspective, its better than the original Leo release, although perhaps not as good looking.
As a "Build" kit of a generic dude, the NPD is designed with an eye towards customisation, and this greatly adds to the appeal of things. The new torso adds a backpack which attaches by a standard 2 point mount, with is own mounting points, thus significantly improving compatibility with other kits. The showstopper however is the choice of three styles of shoulder guard, and three heads. Each with a choice of eye colour. I picked my favourite and then stained the transparent bit blue. Then I realised the original torso/head remained and did this. And that the shoulder guard was the wrong way up.
The detailing of the kit came, much, much later, as part of the preparation for this article. I realised then I'd made a bit of mess of seperating parts from the runners. It was after this kit that I decided to buy new clippers, IIRC. Still, hard to tell from the crappy pictures, I suppose.
I'm not a huge fan of the purplish & blue/green shades, and the new parts don't match that well with the traditional Leo parts. But, assuming the colours are no issue for you, it's very hard to dislike the Leo NPD as an entry level kit and conversion fodder.
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