Gunpla: The OZ-06MS(MPD) Leo NPD (HGBD)

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.

Gunpla: Faffing about with the Action Base 5

So, here's the story, I got myself a Real Grade Tallgeese. I kinda love the Tallgeese. It was a joy to put together, and I decided to get a flight base for it, as a bird's gotta fly. The stand arrived several weeks later, only for me to discover that the Tallgeese had somehow suffered a catastrophic breakage on a key piece of the spine, splitting it in two. I don't know how this happened, but I'm pretty sure that it should not have happened, given how central it was to the kit. As you might imagine, this was somewhat of a kick to the nuts. However, this does mean I have a base going spare, so I used it for my Portanova review, and then started prating about. So here's a few shots of me trying to use it.

I'm not going to talk too deeply about the the stand, its an entirely functional device, with a variety of adapters for older/quirkier kits. Its mainly intended for a single robot at a time, although the instructions do highlight a method to handle two at once.

A quick word on the Alto, which has benefited from the “Arm Unit Rifle & Large Claw Weapon Set”, which offers a few arm/hand replacements. With the rifle, you can plug the main barrel into a segment with a side-handle and stand, giving something of a "squad support weapon" feel. I felt it worked for a Sniper Alto, although the fit of parts is a little loose. Do however be mindful of the claw, as I reversed a part by mistake, and things went a bit wrong. Before you ask: no, this isn't what happened to the Tallgeese. Not a part you can reverse, yes? ;)

Gunpla: The MS-06 Zaku II (HGUC)

 Righty, I keep mentioning the Zaku 2, time to talk about what I'm referencing.


The Zaku II or Zaku 2 is iconic. Real iconic, not Ubisoft iconic. We're talking Mario iconic. Arnie in The Terminator iconic. Perhaps not as iconic as the titular Gundam, but they don't necessarily revamp the Zaku as often, so it's kept its lustre over the years. Fictionally, it's the giant robot equivalent to the Panzer 3. In execution, it's a Stormtrooper out of Star Wars. If you do gunpla, you are obliged to build at least one. Therefore, it pains me to say this one was less than exciting once I'd finished it.

I can't quite remember when I started this one, TBH. It may have been sitting on the table, limbless, for two years. Not the first project I forgot about, but hold that thought, it may be important. Anyways, this fellow invites immediate comparisons with review subject #1, the Hizack. Because this kit came out six years later than that one, and is, ya know, iconic, and therefore got more love, its not a comparison the Hizack does well in. I'd say it was like looking at an Mega Drive 2, versus one with the 32X addon. The Hizack does have a waist joint, while today's MS omits that on aesthetic/lore grounds, but the Zaku 2 is a much more complete package. You've got the gun, which can be held by both hands, an axe that stores, a bazooka that stores, and two sets of leg missiles that stay on. Kinda. The axe is a little loose in hand, although that supposedly happens alot.  It's all nicely done, with a rotating drum for the monoeye. Have you noticed the elephant in the room yet?

Yes, this attempts to replicate the actual 1979 vintage animation cels, as opposed to tarting things up, which often happens with the titular Gundam. So, traditional proportions, no new technogubbins, minimal added detail, and no backpack thrusters. This makes it a marmite. It also means that detailing the kit is somewhat redundant, because there's so little meaningful to do with the endless smooth surfaces.  I tried to panel line this, but there are hardly any panels, and I couldn't be bothered with the hoses. Just attempting to detail the thing feels contrary to its design principles. You do need to paint the axe, but given that it's in a fairly neutral grey, and you'd need to do it purple, why bother? Otherwise, it's good on its own terms, has a fairly complete selection of accessories, and nothing to really apologise for on the posing front. A solid build too, more complicated than it looks. There's definitely more joints in it than they actually needed, which was a pleasant surprise during construction. Otherwise though, its an example of how competency can be boring.

All in all? It's perfectly fine, but I didn't find it especially engaging. Sorry, Zaku, its not you, its me.  You're fine, its just you aren't quite what I'm after in a model. Fortunately, there's plenty more versions of this.

Plamo: 30 Minute Missions Portanova (Yellow)

I eventually brought another, and no, I didn't time myself this time. Yes, it's the Portanova. The Zaku 2 to the Alto's GM. Or possibly the Desert Zaku, given colours. And yes, this one is also a great kit.

In the name of modularity, the Portanova goes together in a largely identical fashion to the Alto. Brilliantly, in other words. Be mindful of the feet, I managed to mark one, but that was my fault. A Portanova does favour slightly bulkier and rounded parts versus the Alto's skinny angles, but you'll notice the B joint sprue is the same, so the only barrier is colour. This also means that posability is in exactly the same goldilocks zone as the Alto, just with subtle differences arising from external design. Most notably, the chest/ab joint has more freedom, but with a regrettable tendency to pop out in the extremes. Another modest variation is Roy Roy storage, this kit not having a dedicated butt port, although there's more ports on the back in general. Meanwhile, the swordhilt remains a weakness, but this version is squared towards the top, so it's easier to wedge in place. Also, I need to get better at photoing these things, the mustard yellow was a wee issue.

While obviously a Zeon inspired kit, the Portanova does manage to have its own character. The armour plates on the legs for example meet and separate with movement, suggesting that a standing pose is more resistant to attack. Similarly, while the gun looks rather sci-fi, an angled slot on the forearm accepts its stock for a more stable firing pose. Its more hightech up close than the monoeye might suggest. Another thing that struck me while assembling this was a kind of 3rd hand orkiness. The discs and hemispheres put me in mind of tankbusta boms and mekboy gubbins, something which I'm sure is entirely coincidental. Both the Orkz of WH40K and the Zeonic factions of Gundam draw on German military motifs, so it's not a surprise that a not-Zaku might be like this. This of course prompted some experimentation. Due to the scale difference, its not especially practical to give this Ork weapons, but I did find this old knife from a Frame arms model. Bit of filing later, and the stabber fits.

I opted to use a Gundam Marker this time for detailing, which generally produced good results. The calves however defied both marker and inkwash, the detail being rather soft. Mephiston Red and Nuln Oil was used to tart up the Roy Roy. I also got a weapon set at roughly to same time as this kit, but I decided to drop it from this article. Its the case that half of it was for the Alto, and I broke the other half. I didn't want that to colour this write up on the Portanova unduly, hence its omission. I'll come back to that, and other option kits, in a future article.

To reiterate: very much worth your time.

Plamo: The Last Gorkanaut (Warhammer 40,000)

Thinking about it, this was an early mental health project, wasn't it? Twas May 2018, and I was in need of something, anything really, to distract myself creatively. So I went for a Warhammer 40,000 model which I hadn't done before, and fit my obvious biases. As you will probably guess, I have loads of Ork walkers, but I'd put off the Gorkanaut/Morkanaut kit on cost/performance grounds. I'm not going to go into great detail regarding the assembly and painting, it was some time ago and I didn't record much of the process. I did however take some passable photos, so, easy blog article! 

The primary metallics are, IIRC, based on a brown undercoat, followed by successive drybrushing, followed by a custom inkwash to dirty things. The guns started out with a shinier first coat, and a different inkwash, the intent being that these should stand out a bit more. No Ork would willing clean a machine, but guns would be made of different alloy, and burn off some of the crap while overheating. On that subject, experienced WH40K players will note some non-standard parts from other kits, as I feel that building any ork unit without some conversion to be missing the point. Especially when it's Deathskulls, which the blue should give away. One touch I was especially proud of at the time was the big red eye. This was a "self-adhesive gem" from a craft store, and I followed an online guide, to great success. I declined to add crew, as I felt this was unnecessary for a Deff Dread on steroids, and wasn't in the mood for painting green skin at the time. I consider myself to be pretty good, and fast, with metals, but given the choice, I'll skip infantry as I haven't found a quick and effective way. 

The Gorkanaut/Morkanaut is pretty typical example of how Games Workshop used to produce vehicle kits of this size. There's opening doors for a modest interior, separate assemblies for each limb, and parts for two variant robots. If you are so inclined and sufficiently skilful, you could trim some tabs for a more dynamic pose, or magnetise it so you choose a variant on the fly. I opted against either option, but left the door open to change variant later if I felt the need. The Last Gorkanaut is currently optimised for easy transport, with each arm and some of the smaller guns being detachable.

Why is it The Last Gorkanaut? Well, I was gonna call it Beergutz, then its debut battle happened. It was the last model standing, so I allowed myself a bit of pride.

Gunpla: The Gundam Astaroth (IBO HG)

A thought occurs, I should probably do a Gundam for a gunpla article at some point.... OK, Gundam Astaroth. then. 

I probably should give Iron-Blooded Orphans a go at some point. It's on Netflix, so it's not like there's any real barrier. Except its got a reputation for being excessively bleak, and that's not what I'm doing this for. My gunpla habit is meant to be one of relaxation and self-care, so an anime about child soldiers, with themes of fustian pacts, is not of much interest. Then again, it turns out this is from a spin-off manga, so watching the show wouldn't be nessecary, but my relecutance stands. I mention this for context. I have no prior connection to this particular Gundam, and its named for a baron of hell. I do hope that it doesn't turn out that this one squishes kittens for money, or something similarly edgelord. With that in mind, I picked up this kit for the following reasons.

1) 'twas cheap.
2) It was asymmetrical.
3) It came with a stupidly large anime sword, CALLED A DEMOLITIONS KNIFE, and a big oven-mitt to help hold it.
4) It's blue, and blue is lucky. WAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!

Anyways, let's talk robot skeletons, or more properly, Mobile/Gundam Frames. These are something that gunpla modellers can have a bit of a fetish about, such things being considered a mark of quality. Seriously, people love the Master Grades and so on for letting you build a Gundam with no armour, but lots of pistons. The Iron-Blooded Orphans line is notable for doing that sort of thing at 1/144 scale, its a gimmick of the setting, and Atas here is a beneficiary of that. You build it up bones first, and then plate the armour on top. This makes for a fun build, especially as the Astaroth has unique parts for each limb. While I have applied stickers and Gundam Marker, and it looks great, I almost want to go skin it and inkwash the whole thing, just to make the mechanics pop. As it stands, this approach does make the Astaroth look malnourished from some angles, but this does mean that articulation is largely unhindered and number of the joints is high. Sure, it could have a toe joint or summat, but the Gundam Astaroth moves exactly as well as you'd expect something like it to move. Correction: there is a toe joint, my mistake. It does not cheat by having swing out shoulders or trick hips either, it's just got a good range of motion. And while I've not had opportunity to try, customisation and parts swapping with other Gundams should be easy. 

So, we're looking at a kit that goes together well, my cackhandedness aside, looks great with basic techniques, and poses like a boss. What does it do wrong? Well, a sword longer than the robot is tall is a little impractical. I know, who would have thought it? You have to disassemble the left hand, then fiddle with the over-hand, and finally use the side handle in the right to get the suit to hold it properly. You may wish to apply the joint tightening hack of your choice, but it's not unexpected, and not actually an unreasonable failing. I would however comment that the vast sea of white plastic does make things look extremely plain, and some of the stickers aren't great. I didn't actually start to like the look of things until I went back, weeks later, the panel line all THAT. There are also two alternate weapons, a much tinier knife, which I have misplaced, and an assault rifle. These are perfectly OK, but lack the storage option the sword has. 

Gundam Astaroth probably benefited from me writing this up shortly after I'd done 2 much older kits, but it is good. Makes me want to pick up a few more from the line, TBH.

Plamo: 30 Minute Missions Alto (Dark Grey) & Long Range Sniper (Dark Gray) Armor Set

Yes, yes, I know. 30 Minute Missions is not gunpla. Its Plamo. I am already going off topic. But its a Bandai robot kit of comparable size and complexity to a High Grade, so sue me.

Anyways. 30 Minute Missions has been on my radar for a while, as I became aware of it while looking into gunpla. The concept is one of a fast build robot kit, one achievable in 30 minutes, and a highly customisable one. There are at time of writing only 2 main robot types, but many colours, upgrade sprues, variants, and all have compatibility with similarly modular Gundam kits. There is no supporting fiction that I can determine, which depending on where you stand, can be a good thing or bad thing. These guys seem to be grunts, with the focus of this review resembling a night combat GM series mobile Suit. Personally, I like that you can make your own story, and there isn't any baggage. So, one Sunday, I chanced on these in a local nerd shop, got home, did my chores, and finally got out my clippers and went to work.

My time: 1 hour 21 minutes.

<sigh>

This is probably not a reflection on the kit. I never consciously rush anything, and I was taking the time to cut cleanly as I went. A "practised" build time would logically be much faster, if only for how the plastic runners are laid out. Components are grouped together and numbered in such a way that each bodypart can be assembled quickly. It's the elegant sort of simple, offering few surprises but no annoyance. There's even a precut sheet of transparent stickers for squadron numbers, happily more than even I would need in my acts of clumsiness. The only change I would make would be to the lower legs, which ended up suffering the only obvious cutmarks, but your mileage may vary on that one. Regardless of how long it takes you to complete though, the Alto is something special. Articulation is largely ideal, as well as it being a looker as far as generic mecha plebs go. The 3mm expansion ports can be a downer, but posability is at that point where asking for more seems honestly unreasonable. I'm just gonna let the pictures speak for me now. 

The one weakness of this kit is in the area of accessories. You get a submachine gun looking blaster, plus a "Roy Roy", a tiny spider drone that stores on the butt. These are perfectly serviceable-to-good in the Alto's mitts. The sword-hilt/knuckleduster is not. Its a round peg in a square hole, and sits quite loosely. It also looks odd by itself, and so, without realising you could add a blade from another kit later, I added a spare beam effect with a dab of glue, and 'Ard Coat to thicken the handle. My Alto now has increased resemblance to a GM, although possibly one that has seen the knife from Cobra. This leads us to the matter of customising.

I chose the Dark Grey Alto purely on its colours, but like I said, there are others and expansion kits. I also picked up the Sniper Armour kit at the same time, for much the same reason. This featured mainly an alternative face, shield, and armour. I quickly realised this was too much grey, but common paints like Citadel Chaos Black spraypaint sorted that right out. I'd recommend that you pick a sprue with a colour that contrasts well with the two main colours of the kit, if you don't wish to mess with paint. The additional parts do however change the character of the kit, without hampering it's advantages, which is nice. Additional paints used include Citadel Macragge Blue and Soulstone Blue for lenses/sensors, and Vallejo Game Ink Black for the head. I ended up using Nuln Oil rather than Gundam Marker to detail things, partially as an experiment, but also because I didn't think going for an anime look would necessarily work on plastic this dark. The effect varies from subtle to dirty.

In brief: I've had to stop myself on three separate occasions from buying more.