So, about a year ago I got the idea in my head that I might like to assemble a model kit of some sort. Unfortunately I wasn’t too enthused about the prospect of gluing and painting and I was sated by completing a snap together Gundam model and a Lego B-Wing. It is unfortunate that the Ultimate Collectors series X-wing that I couldn’t afford when it came out was nowhere to be found (for less that 2x the original price), the Star Destroyer was too big (no place to put it), and the Y-Wing is poor consolation at $150. But this is really about the Gundam model and the steps I took to make mine suck less.
Right, so having never put together Gundam kit before, I kind of butchered my Gundam GP01 Master Grade (got it cheap at Big Lots, so I don’t feel too bad…it’s not really that cool of a Gundam unit anyway). Anyhow, since it was snap together and precolored I figured I was golden, but I didn’t invest in proper tools and the parts weren’t separated from the runners all that cleanly 
. Also, no one I’ve talked to seems to think it’s a good idea leave the colors as is. In any case, here’s the result:
It sat like this on my bookshelf for nearly a year, but now that I’m getting ready to do some different Gundam models it was time for that to change. It’s too late to paint it or correct extraction errors, but I never really did any finishing work on it and that should be good practice. So I took out my Staedtler 0.1 pigment liner and inked the panel lines. Then I also took the time to apply the stickers and decals I had left off. The result was a much more respectable Gundam (at least from a distance):
So, since this was all practice here’s what I learned:
1) I’m definitely inking the panel lines on future projects, the difference is amazing, but I need to take panel inking slower. It’s very easy to become sloppy, and while I wasn’t too worried on this one (it was already sucking up the place) I really want to be more careful on future projects.
2) Next time I’m going to try a 0.005 Micron pigment liner, it will give me better detail. This will probably be even more useful for the 1/144 scales.
3) Decals are a pain and I need to be careful when applying them. I was glad that the decals were dry transfer, but it was difficult to tell when I had gone over them enough to get a full transfer and some of the decals got messed up. Also, some of said decals were painfully small and in hard to reach places.
4) Not sure I like the effect of applying all the stickers. That is to say, I’m not sure adding the unreadable “caution” messages, etc really add anything to the model. The large readable text is nice, but the stickers get ridiculously small and I doubt they were even animated often if at all in the OVA. Also, these stickers do have a clear bit around them that does remain visible. I’ll cross that road when I come to it (my practice kits don’t have any of these), but I’m seriously considering NOT adding these next time I come across them.