Plamo: Another Portanova

Righty, we've had a fair few rather wordy gunpla-centric articles lately. And a fawning article about a model advert. And some more wordy gunpla-centric posts in the pipeline. So, let's break things up with a light article about a 30 Minute Missions kit I've previously talked about. But in fancy colours.

This project is mainly based on what I already had, what I could grab, or otherwise add into a order before the world shutdown. You may recognise parts from the Portanova Weapon set I used on the Hornet, while the grey components are from the “Option Armor for Special Squad”. Here I ran afoul of my tendency to rush things when I'm in a bad mood. I tried the “gasmask” piece, although it didn't sit well with white of the main kit. One spraypaint mishap later, yes, another, and I decide to pass on the part. Fortunately however, Corax White spray worked very well on selected armour pieces.

As can happen with my more creative projects, another idea came to me. I had basically picked up a Portanova with colours reminiscent of the Transformers character “Galvatron”, specifically the white/lavender/grey version. One element it lacked was orange, and as that was a paint I currently had to hand, I used that to detail a few bits. Possibly/probably an orange marker would have worked better, but you never know until you try. There was another happy coincidence with respects to the hands. These where in the same grey as the leftover dynamic hands from the “30MM Option Backpack 2”, hence the Portanova's pose. Paints used also include Vallejo Game Color Silver, Orange Fire, and Citadel Soulstone Blue for sensors. The nature of the white was a challenge, and the reason why I have not done too many panel-lines. A minor slip-up dulls the finish, although the plastic is quite forgiving of cutmarks.

I don't normally go for bright and shiny, but I'll make an exception here.

Gunpla: The RGM-79 GM (HGUC, and its pronounced “Jim”.)

As the originator of the so-called "Real Robot Genre", Mobile Suit Gundam laid down many new staples and tropes. The one that annoys me most, in a misnomer sort of way, is the idea that prototype mecha are always better than one built by the dozen. On some level, this makes sense, as a new weapon should be designed to be better than something that already exists. Quality versus quantity, and all that. Then again, prototype more properly refers to something that isn't finished, so such a machine would be buggy like a PC game in beta. What First Gundam ended up doing in the name of good storytelling was imply the former interpretation. Yes, the GM is a simplified and mediocre robot versus the Gundam, but that was the point. A Doylist reading says this guy dies like many do in a war drama. The Watsonian reading says we need quantity NOW, but this is still better than a Zaku on paper. But what people a actually heard was that mass produced mecha, especially Feddie ones, were crap.

What was I talking about? Oh right, the model. My first impression of the kit was "Yikes, is it meant to be that colour?". I'd looked it up on Dalong.net, so I knew it wasn't actually white, but really, it's that minty in person? And the box makes it look more like a grey? Greenish is canon, I checked, but you can pick your frame and end up with white too. Anyways, this kit is pretty old. Not the most aged I've talked about, but old enough to buy beer. This possibly explains the plastic colour, and certain simplicities in its engineering. Its very straightforward kit with 2 runners, polycaps, and a single sticker. Unfortunately, it also predates translucent plastic for the beam saber, lacks a full selection of weapons, "tilt forward shoulders" and other quality of life improvements. It is the least technically impressive kit I've written about. That's not automatically the same thing as saying its bad however. Don't overpay or anything, but there ALWAYS is something to be said for a quick, no-nonsense build experience. It's soothing, and I do this stuff to relax. Although, I did end up drilling out the "inactive" saber hilt to accept a more modern beam effect. 

The end product certainly isn't bad either, adjusting expectations. It's not especially well-articulated, but it's got the basics, and enough to use its accessories. The shield lends itself pretty well to posing thanks to a flexible arm mount and handle, with a storage mount on the backpack. The Beam Spray Gun has only the one trigger hand, but it looks nice, and you do get an expressive left hand. The main argument against this kit however is the amount of finishing it needs, specifically in the area of seamlines. So, after a therapeutic build, I did some research, got some new tools, and tried to fix it. I figured, "it's a cheap and simple kit, even if I mess it up, it'll be a learning experience, better this than something complex. " 

 

It went about as well as that time Father Ted tried to fix a car. The thing about seamlines is apparently you have to be really careful, otherwise you are committing to paint. Via applications of glue and file, I was able to minimise the majority of the seamlines, but those same tools can obliterate detail easily at this scale. So, out came the white spraypaint. This behaved oddly with the green plastic. So out came the black spraypaint. Which also didn't take, which is there are only pictures of this kit before the paint. 

So, to summarise: its a fun-if-basic kit, which I'm sad I made a mess of.

Gunpla: The D-50C Loto (HGUC)

If you can rely on Bandai for anything, it's bolting on new bits to the lengthy Universal Century saga. And, as they do, creating a dozen new mobile suits and a few continuity issues/retcons. Gundam Unicorn is one of these, hitting the market just as I was taking a break from anime, although I was nominally aware of what it was. While having a few interesting ideas, I find it extremely difficult to take the thing seriously when one of the characters is actual Char clone called Full Frontal. Is his third name "Nudity"? The Loto is one of those interesting ideas, and also a continuity retcon, because it pre-empted a similar design from the ill-fated Gundam F91, and is smaller than than it should be. It's also an APC for special forces, and back in the day, I actually borrowed the design for a role playing game I ran. I picked up this kit partially for that familiarity, but also because it was a twin pack.

Two things are actually kind of impressive here. The first is that all equipment options for both suits are present, granting numerous spare guns for the bitzbox. It would have been easy for Bandai just to have had a single weapons runner, as that would still have left more loadouts than both could use at once, but they went extra. Colour separation between parts also suggests a high level of care, with only a modest sticker sheet. Meanwhile, the combination of high detail and small size is attractive, but also a challenge for detailing it. Painting some small details on the head that even the sticker sheet ignores would require a level of skill or tools I don't currently have. The model pictured have been subject to Gundam Markers and a Nuln Oil Wash to dirty up the tracks. However, like the Astaroth, this kit was assembled before I started blogging, and detailed months later. I mention this to excuse certain flaws.

 

The second impressive thing is the engineering. Polycaps are largely ignored in favour of friction joints and materials I didn't immediately recognise. A lot of the more modern kits I've dabbled with seem to be going this way, and I presume this approach is used due to a Loto's dimensions. Pleasingly, the transformation doesn't cheat, unlike many much larger kits, with no partsforming at all, almost like a good toy. I kinda wish it had locking tabs and rolling wheels, to complete the effect. On the other hand, posability in robot mode is quite limited due to balance issues. A Loto has a big backpack and stands on tippy-toe, and is prone to keeling over like an inebriate at 2am, halving itself in the process. Posing it was something of an arse. This is perhaps the only real weakness of the kit, but it is a significant one. Still, at least with two kits you have options, like putting the most unbalancing guns on a tank mode, and the smallest gun on the one with standing issues. At least, I assume so, I still haven't built the other :)

So.... If you like the Mechwarrior-meets-Guntank stylings, you'll like this. If want something that is more interesting and probably better value for money than a typical HGUC, you'll like this. If you want something that can pose dramatically, you'll like summat else.

What? I SOMEHOW like Gundam Build Divers Re: Rise?

 

Oh damn. Damn, damn, damn. I didn't mean for this happen. I suppose it was inevitable that I would try Gundam anime again. And eventually find one I like. I just wasn't expecting it to be this one. I mean, I recently gave Iron-Blooded Orphans a go, and decided it wasn't for me. Why this one? Why? Is it just that its good?

Anyways. Build Divers Re: Rise is the latest in the "Build" subfranchise of Gundam. Here, Bandai drops all pretense, and makes the merchandise the main thing. Gunpla, the models, and building them is the entire point. It's honest in a late-capitalism sort of way. Re: Rise is the most recent installment, where the action has moved into a highly immersive online game. Microtransactions may be involved. But, you know? It's free on youtube, and it's better than the news. And before we go further, this is not a review. This is a stream of consciousness where I try to process why I like my first actually new anime in a decade. If it was a review, trust me, I'd have a few more critical things to say.

 Characters, left to right: Hiroto, Kazumi, May, and Parviz.

So, I went in with no expectations beyond a servicable-if-highly-derivative distraction, but ended up really enjoying it. For the most part, Re:Rise is concerned mainly with the dynamic of forming a team from social misfits whom were just LFG, rather than obviously fixating on the Gunpla. The Mecha bits are fun, don't get me wrong. But as a social recluse even before 2020, I'll admit I recognised myself in one or two of the characters. Main character Hiroto was traumatised by a still unclear tragedy involving a girl, making him disinterested in others as he searches for her. Kazumi is an enthusiastic Leeroy Jenkins whom talks a good game, but can't back it up. Parviz is a painfully shy newbie, with fox ears, whom sadly can't get out much. And May is distant-if-mature, but she's lying by omission about some important things. Its an odd mix on the surface. Hiroto is the closest thing to a leader by right of being protagonist, but managing people is not something he really does. Kazumi meanwhile acts like he's leader but thinks in cliches, if he thinks at all, Parviz is passive due to a lack of confidence/experience, while May matches Hiroto in the area of not communicating. They are individuals, casual new acquaintances, a D&D group that answered an ad. They aren't hostile to each other, but they aren't a team. By the time they begin to be one, something terrible happens.

Now entering spoiler zone.

If you kinda see a plot development coming, and are still affected by it, that's good drama, right? You recognised foreshadowing, maybe half-remembered something you read somewhere, and its still a punch in the gut? That at least says you've invested in a series, doesn't it? At first, Re: Rise does not appear to have any stakes at all, just character growth. But it drops hints something is going off from episode 1, with the Missions they play seemingly being new and somewhat non-standard. Then, we are reminded that the game is so complex it has its own life. Also, the game world inside the Missions is persistent. And then Hiroto receives an injury that he takes home with him. And then the confrontation with the "final boss" goes badly wrong. They don't win this time. And it's not a game either.

The “Missions” the players complete in Re: Rise actually take place on an alien world, and Hirato's little group have fucked up so bad an entire city of actual living creatures is now a crater.

Episode 13 has no combat, the same event having knocked down the world's communication networks and thus the game, instead seeing the characters meet in the flesh, as it were. It gets spelled out for the Kazumis in the room. Yes, the World of Eldora is real. Somehow, details remain unclear. Its possible to be trapped there. If you go there you may not come back. Death is seemingly an actual possibility, you've been in mortal danger the whole time. You wanted high stakes? THERE THEY ARE. The group has a mixed response to this revelation, but here's what made the series for me. They go back anyway. They are still a team, and one way or another, they will stop the conflict. Each with their own reason, but with a common cause. Nicely done, Re:Rise. You are a model advert, but you made me care.

When it becomes available, I hope season 2 lives up to my new expectations. But that's tomorrow, apparently. Not long to wait.

Gunpla: The EB-05s Schwalbe Graze (IBO HG)

A common design archetype in Gundam is the idea of a commander type. This is a mobile suit closely related to a rank & file machine, but with maybe a new head, a new model number, and a few performance improvements. This is closely related to the "Ace Custom" trope, although is not necessarily the same thing, as a commander type is usually an uncommon variation, not a personalised machine. The Schwalbe Graze is one such mobile suit, one explicitly intended for leaders and talented pilots. Its also blue and has a weapon on a string, which puts me in mind of the Gouf/Zaku dynamic. And its a good kit, but I fell down a rabbit whole of indecision.

I'd like to ramble for a moment to ask rhetorical questions about detailing gunpla. Consider blue boys model here, which is in a conventional 2D, and especially the areas around the thrusters. 

Are these areas actually black, or is this just suggesting shadow? Or is it dirt/burnt-bits that accumulated around the thrusters? Was it ever painted? The art style does allows for several interpretations. And then there's the kit, it's 1/144 scale, so design elements have to be fairly obvious or exaggerated to stick out. And then you ask which came first, the model or the kit? Are they both interpretations of the same idea, equally valid? And what my point actually is? Well, the point is you'd have to choose between realism and screen accuracy, and I'm still finding that balance. Or, how much do I paint, if at all? 

With the Swallow here I tried a few different techniques to detail it. First, I decided that the shoulder thrusters would indeed have a black around them, laying it on thick, then drybrushing with Game Color Silver to highlight then and the edges of the axe. I used stickers for the yellow bits, this being a colour I find troublesome, especially when its used in fiddly areas like the eyes. Meanwhile, I used my first big blue Gundam marker for some areas, and felt tips for clean up, before opting to ink wash the thing. The majority was done in the old standby that is Nuln Oil, layered thick on the skeleton, but otherwise moderated with a cotton bud. The blue segments were treated with Macragge Blue. The end result certainly isn't bad, but clearly I've done for “realism”, and not “anime accuracy”. My which I mean, its messy rather than clean.

The actual construction makes for favourable comparisons with the Astaroth, having a similar internal skeleton gimmick going on, but with colours more immediately pleasing and significantly less stickers. Some areas like the shoulders were a little annoying to cut & assemble, with some obvious seam lines, but little that's actually bad. Articulation is also in the goldilocks zone, moving well for something in such high heels. Where the kit starts to falter is with those design elements unique to it, as opposed to the regular Graze. The wired claw is weedy and prone to popping off, when I feel this should be a centrepiece. I ended up halving the length and applying Ard Coat to stop it flopping around. Something something your mum. The weapons inherited from its grunt sibling have more presence and did not require additional work.

In summary: it's definitely a nice kit, and I'm starting to understand why IBO models have such good reputations. But maybe there's another variant that's more up my street. And I still have much to learn. Especially with the damn robot photography.