Gundam Artifact: Zaku III

Uncertain, Unwilling, And Empty.

Over the last year or two, we have been experimenting with Flames of Orion, a mech combat game designed by Steve (sovthofheaven). Last month, we finally converted and painted a model for the game, Dark Spirit, a mech that Greg has used in various forms for most of his time playing the game. The game recently completed a successful Kickstarter, prompting me to consider creating a small group of mechs to play in future games. Years back, I assembled a Gundam Artifact Rick Dias model, which is at a scale suitable for Flames of Orion, and I decided I could assemble a few more to make a Combat Unit for the game. This led me to assemble a Zaku III from their Phase 2 line of models!

Gundam Artifact: Rick Dias

A True-Scale Space Marine next to a Gundam Artifact Rick Dias.

Last year I got back into the Gunpla hobby, building a few 1/144 scale Bandai Gundam kits, like the RX-78-2, a Gouf, and a Zaku II from the Gundam Universal Century timeline. It was a fun change of pace from Games Workshop models, due to Bandai’s different design philosophy. Unlike the majority of GW models, Gundam model kits can be built without glue, while maintaining a vast amount of articulation and, best of all, do not need to be painted (but many still do). While most Gundam models are quite a bit larger than a single Games Workshop figure, with the smaller High Grade (1/144 scale) models being roughly 6 inches tall, Bandai recently introduced its smallest line of scale models: the Gundam Artifact line. This new line really excited me, because they are only slightly larger than the standard Games Workshop model. I purchased the first model from the set, the Rick Dias (from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam), and wanted to let people know about the build process.

Building a RX-78-2 Gundam [Beyond Global]

The RX-78-2 [Beyond Global] HG 1/144

Last year I was reintroduced to the Gunpla hobby, partially due to discovering the Cutting Mat podcast. As a result, I ended up building a few Bandai plastic kits, including a Gouf and a Zaku II from the Gundam Universal Century, and Eva Unit 01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Gunpla, Bandai created a redesign of the original RX-78-2 Gundam, deemed the [Beyond Global], in their HG 1/144 scale. The model was intended to show how far Bandai has come since 1980 with their injection molding technology. For less than $25, it seemed like a great kit to build and see what Bandai could achieve for such a low price point!

Inquisitorial Arvus Lighter: Finished

”We're in the pipe, five by five.”

A few months back, I found an old Forge World Arvus Lighter, forgotten and unassembled in a box, and decided to assemble it. With that hurdle surmounted, I decided to do the last step, and paint the model! I do not have much experience painting larger models, having only painted a scale T-26 for Iron Sleet’s Thorn Moon project. Like that model, I really wanted to experiment with using more scale modeling techniques, rather than the more traditional ‘Eavy Metal style. When planning the paint scheme, I watched a lot of YouTube videos by the scale modeler Night Shift, and would strongly encourage you to do the same if you are interested in pushing your painting skills.

Building a RG Eva 01

“God's in his heaven. All's right with the world!”

Over the last few months, I have started to build various Bandai Gundam kits. Not needing to paint the models and their impressive level of articulation makes them a nice change of pace from Games Workshop models. Although I have always loved Gundam, particularly the Universal Century, due to its exploration of how war affects people, my favorite animated series growing up was Neon Genesis Evangelion. While the series has its share of mecha battles, its look at depression and mental illness is was what gave it its most lasting impact. Therefore, I was excited to see that Bandai started to make Real Grade versions of the different Evangelion Units, the first of which being Shinji Ikari’s Eva 01. Having assembled two RG models so far, a Zaku II and Char’s Sazabi, I decided it would be fun to see how the Eva Units compared, and got Eva 01.

Building a Bandai RG MS-06F Zaku II

"Victory is the greatest tribute we can pay those who sacrifice their lives for us! Rise, our people, Rise! Take your sorrow, and turn it into anger!" - Gihren Zabi

Last month, I rediscovered the world of Gunpla when I built a MS-07B Gouf model created by Bandai. It was a fun learning process, one that resulted in a nice looking model with relatively little time investment. The Gouf was one of Bandai’s cheaper models, a High Grade (HG, 1:144 scale) kit with relatively few parts. Taking what I learned, I wanted to try to build one of their more complex kits, seeing what sort of articulation and color differeationation the kits could have. This led me to their Real Grade (RG) line of models. RG models maintain the 1:144 scale of their HG counterparts, but have an increased part count and many have an internal skeleton underneath the armor plates, reminiscent of the larger Master Grade kits (1:100). I found one of the original RG models (circa 2010), a Zaku II, and wanted to let you know what I think of it.

Building a MS-07B Gouf (1/144 scale)

Zeon!

A few years after the three of us started playing Warhammer 40,000, the Japanese animated series Gundam Wing started airing on television in the USA. This was our first exposure to an animated show with a mature storyline, one with a long-form narrative that evolved over nearly 50 episodes. It was also our first real exposure to giant mechs (outside of a precursory knowledge of them in Warhammer 40,000 in the form of Titans). Gundam Wing is a science fiction war drama that sought to humanize the horrors of war, which is something that Games Workshop often misses with its focus on grimdark spectacle. Despite being very involved in building plastic models from Games Workshop, we never really got deep into assembling Gundam models (Gunpla), partially because the kits were not readily available where we lived. Our recent interview with the Polysmith, a master of creating cool mechs, got me to start thinking about trying my hand at building one of the Gundam kits, along with discovering a Gunpla-themed podcast called the Cutting Mat. A few years back I experimented with integrating scale model tanks into Warhammer 40k. These model kits are a lot different from Games Workshop kits, containing substantially more pieces, all rendered in very thin plastic, a feature that Gundam kits share. I ended up building a HG 1/144 scale MS-07B Gouf, a mobile suit I always liked from its appearance in the 08th MS Team.

Thorn Moons Crusade: Painted T-26

The Rhani of Yhanzi march next to the T-26.

A while back I posted my efforts at repurposing a 1:35 scale Russian T-26 for use by the human elements during the Thorn Moon Crusade. After some deliberation, I decided to try painting it using some scale model techniques, primarily involving various oil paints and some enamels. For one reason or another, there seems to be somewhat of a gulf between scale model (tanks, airplanes, trains, etc.) painting and miniature wargame painting. Possibly this is because GW’s line of paints are all acrylic ones, and are the easiest to find if you are already involved in the wargaming hobby. While it was quite a learning experience, I am glad to report the tank is complete, and wanted to talk a little about the painting process.

MasterClub 1/35 metal tank tracks: Impressions

"Wherever you are, death will find you, even in the looming tower."

Earlier this year I built and modified a Russian T-26 tank for use in the upcoming Thorn Moons Crusade. One of the most challenging and time consuming aspects of the entire build was assembling the plastic tracks for the tank, since they were assembled link by link and fixed with tiny plastic bolts. I entertained the notion of building another tank for the Thorn Moons project, but wanted to find an alternative to the plastic tracks, one that still looked good but was easier to assemble. After a little research, I discovered that there are aftermarket metal tracks available, and decided it would be fun to see what they are like. There are two major companies that produce these tracks, Friulmodel and MasterClub. I decided to get a set of T-26 tracks from MasterClub because they use resin pins to hold the metal tracks together, rather than cut-to-fit wire (Friulmodel). Read on if you wish to learn about my struggles with building these tracks.

Thorn Moons Crusade: Building a T-26

"That which I cannot crush with words alone, I shall crush with the tanks of the Imperial Guard!"

Earlier this year I started to explore the possibility of using scale tank models in Warhammer 40k. I discovered that both 1/35 and 1/48 scale models work alongside 40k ones, with 1/48 being best if the tank is a medium or heavy one (such as a Russian T-34 or German Tiger respectively), or 1/35 if it is a light tank (such as a USA M5 Stuart). With this in mind, coupled with Adam’s work at creating some Imperial Guard for the Thorn Moon Crusade, I thought that it would be fun to build a tank for them. I have always loved the T-26, a Russian light tank, that despite being largely obsolete at the outset of World War II, still saw widespread use (including use in the Spanish Civil War and the Winter War). Therefore, I decided to get a 1/35 scale T-26 and try to convert it into something for the beleaguered defenders of the Thorn Moons.

Tor Megiddo: scale tanks in 40k?

Find a more reasonable tank?

Those of you that frequent the Ammobunker forums, or follow Inq28 scene, might be aware of a new collaborative event called Tor Megiddo. In an event hosted by Alexander Winberg and Helge "Wilhelminiatures," a group of extraordinarily talented hobbyists are building warbands and ramshackle vehicles to race across the sun scorched ruin that is Tor Megiddo. While certainly conjuring images of Mad Max, the primary thing that came to mind when reading about the project was GorkaMorka (old GW skirmish game with Orks) and my early years in the miniature wargaming hobby. With memories of orks crashing rusted buggies and trucks together on the open sand, I decided that we needed to take part in Tor Megiddo in some way. With some thought, I realized it would be a great opportunity to explore a concept that I have been meaning to for quite some time, can scale historical tank models be used to build Warhammer 40k vehicles? Surely the blazing sands of Tor Megiddo would have a few tanks cruising around, alongside war rigs and motorcycles? Long before the rise of Games Workshop, with people building scale models of airplanes and tanks, particularly ones replicating vehicles from World War II. To see if using a scale model might work for 40k, I decided to build a Tamiya 1943 T-34 Russian tank. Read on to see what I learned!