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Posted on February 15, 2023February 14, 2023 by Mark

RG Aile Strike Build Day 3

Introduction

Ok so I know this is called “RG Aile Strike Build Day 3” but I’ll be honest I wasn’t happy with the feet when I saw the pictures. So after spending hours sorting images, rotating them, re-sizing them, I then settled down with those darn feet!

What are they like now?

I started by stripping the feet back down. I took the front piece off to give easier access. Before starting on the red, I gave the rear grey pieces a fresh sandpaper. I wasn’t happy with how they were showing so I decided to do those again. After some sanding I applied the gray balancer, then the green side of the white balancer before finishing with the white side of the white balancer.

Once that was done I took apart the front of each foot. Those, to me, were the worst offending parts. I separated them so that I could get into the joint and sand them down further. I also used the zoom on my phone, along with a new LED lamp to help me see any of the imperfections. Once I was happy with the sanding I followed the same balancer routine as on the grey parts.

I don’t mind admitting I put them together and took them apart a couple of times and repeated the process until I was happy. I am determined this will not be a rush job. Interestingly this also gave me a better feel for taking the foot apart and re-assembling it.

Once I was happy with the front section I proceeded to sand the middle and rear sections. I left these in place as I didn’t have issues around their joints. Once I was happy with the new sanding I again applied the balancers to bring the shine back up.

Conclusion

I hope you will agree with me that they have a far nicer finish after the second round of cleaning up. I certainly am a lot happier. They polished nicely, and I also found that I managed to just make them look smoother.

I am definitely glad that I went back and re-did those parts. As I said this won’t be my fastest build, but it will be interesting to see the overall finish on the model.

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Posted on February 14, 2023February 13, 2023 by Mark

RG Aile Strike Build Day 2

Introduction

RG Aile Strike Build Day 2 covers what I managed to do in the first section of the build.

This build, unlike my “Guess the model” builds is going to be more evenly paced. As long as I have enough to warrant posting an update I will. Otherwise I’ll pickup a different topic and then follow on when there is a decent update.

What comes first

Well I already did a post about the tools, the box, the runners, and the manual. I even included a link to a PDF of the manual that I put together in case anyone is desperate to read the RG Aile Strike manual. You can find that post here.

So now that pre-amble is done, lets get on with the build!

First Bits

As you can see the main “bulk” part of the foot and ankle are cast as a single part. The ball joint is cast as part of this, and I still have no idea how they manage to cast a fully working ball joint! I then cleaned up the nubs and flipped the parts over. The smaller parts attach to the under side of the larger part. The fit together fairly snuggly, but once clipped in feel really nicely placed.

Second Bits

As you can see my first “rough” cut leaves a fair amount of nub. My second trimming cut leaves a much cleaner cut. At this point it is starting to look a bit better. After the second cut I then added some water to my wet and dry sandpaper and cleaned them down flush. Once I could run a finger nail over them without it catching I then did 5 passes with the Gray Balancer, 5 passes on the green side of the White Balancer, followed by 5 passes on the White side of the White Balancer. This left me with the “Cleaned Parts” picture. Any discolouration left is from the plastic / moulding and would need painting to hide. However the parts are smooth and shiny, just like they were on the runner!

I then needed to attach the parts. Each “foot” has a flat part which has a small plastic column that slots into a hole in the black piece. In “bottom plate fitted” above you can see one ready to be put in place and one attached. The cover / second piece (as you can see in the final photo) attaches to the 3 posts on the flat piece and clips firmly into place.

Third Bits

The next section was the middle section of the feet. As you can see I started with the wider cut, then the trimmed cut and finally the sanding and cleanup. Now I will say that these closeup pictures don’t, in my opinion, do them justice. However, as this isn’t a speed build I’m going to go back and clean them up even further to see how clean I can get them. As you can see the red piece attached from underneath, and the white piece then slots in on top. Once the white piece was lined up properly it slotted straight in.

Fourth Bits

Again as you can see, I went for the leave a nub, close cut the nubs off, then clean the pieces up. The heel consists of the flat piece that attaches underneath the foot onto a peg, and then the rear piece that curves around the heel and slots into place. Again, at the risk of sounding like a fan boy, these pieces go together really satisfyingly.

Fifth Bits

The final part of the foot was, in my opinion, the most fiddly. The two initial side pieces clip on to the sides of the grey piece. Then the final section slides over the top giving it more stability, and completing the stylistic look.

Conclusion

That concludes “RG Aile Strike Build Day 2”. However, as I said, I am going to revisit the feet. This isn’t a “fast” build, rather I want to see how clean a build I can make it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 13, 2023February 12, 2023 by Mark

RG Aile Strike Build Day 1

Introduction

RG Aile Strike Build Day 1 is the first part in the RG build. In a previous post I said I needed to put my money where my mouth is and show off this model. I think it looks stunning, and I am really looking forward to this. I will post up the progress I make on this. However, unlike my “Guess the Model” series I won’t be ensuring I complete a section in a day. I will rather focus on more detail.

The setup

Before starting the build I wanted to show the box, parts tools, etc.

The Box

RG_Aile_Strike_Box_Contents — RG_Aile_Strike_Box

The box, like many RG boxes, is relatively compact. When you open it up you are greeted by the usual clear plastic packed Runners. I have to say I’m a little unsure as to why the runners are packed into clear plastic bags. It doesn’t seem to add anything. However, that is a different disccussion!

When you unpack everything you get to see what the kits is actually going to be made of.

As you can see the kit consists of 8 runners, a decal sheet (stickers) and the manual.

The runners

Here is a closeup of the individual runners and the decal sheet.

RG_Aile_Strike_Runner_B — RG_Aile_Strike_Runner_A

As you can see you have runners, A, B, C, D1, D2, E, F, and G. So far so good!

The Manual

Next up on the list of items is the RG Aile Strike Manual. This consists of 16 pages, including the front and rear cover.

RG_Aile_Strike_Manual_Page_02 — RG_Aile_Strike_Manual_Page_01

Although the manual only has 16 pages I added some closeups on the Decal page on the rear of the manual. I also ombined the above images into a single PDF that you can get here if you need it.

The Tools

Everything above covers the box, and its contents. Next up are the tools I plan on using to complete the build.

As you can see they are pretty standard fare. The Red handled nippers are for first cuts. The orange handled ones for the closer cut. The knife in case I need to shave anything closer. The 600 grit to smooth things down and the dropper bottle of water as it is wet and dry sandpaper so adding water prolongs the life of it. the Gunprimer balancers and brush for cleaning up after the nubs and removing particles from the balancers. The Oral-B to clean up bits from the model after sanding. Finally the tweezers and parts separator. The tweezers are to help me place decals, and the separator in case I need to split anything back apart.

I think, I will likely also use my panel lining pens and various top coat cans. I will include those when / if I use them.

Conclusion

I am really looking forward to this build. After all the bigging up I have done on how great I think it looks, I am super excited!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 12, 2023February 11, 2023 by Mark

Advert / Stock 12/02/2023

Welcome to “Advert / Stock 12/02/2023” this weeks update on any changes in stock and a blatant advert for the shop 😀

So I have had a mini box with a few items in this week which was nice. However, before I leap in there I should remind everyone, that if they are after this beast:

It is still (at the time of writing) available at the shop here.

So moving on from the Unicorn we have had some HG, MG and RG action this week!

I was fortunate enough to manage to snag a HG Age-2 Normal, and HG Age-3 Normal, as well as another Brady Hound to replenish stock there.

On the MG Side I got MG Astray Red Frame and MG Barbatos.

On the RG side of things I got the RG Aile Strike, RG Astray Red Frame, and RG Destiny.

This all is on top of the items I got last week!

Why not pop across to the shop https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop and have a browse on what we have in. If you want to jump to a specific topic/type of kit the links are below.

HG Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=hg

RG Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=rg

MG Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=mg

SD Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=sd

EG Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=eg

FM Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=full-mechanics

PG Kits
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=pg

Tools
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=tools

Bases
https://modelkitsltd.co.uk/shop/?swoof=1&product_cat=bases

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 11, 2023February 11, 2023 by Mark

Put my money where my mouth is!

Put my money where my mouth is! Ok that sounds like a click bait title. But let me explain!

So in my previous post I was banging on about how amazing I think the RG Aile Strike is. I also, in previous posts have banged on about how great I think the GUNPRIMER products are.

So to this end I have decided to quite literally put my money where my mouth is. My next series of posts are going to be centred around the RG Aile Strike.

What is the plan I hear you cry. Well I think it is time to start showing off everything start to finish.

Step one is the prep. I have just ordered what I hope will be a workable mini green screen style box to improve my sometimes shonky photos. I will also pop to my storage and pickup an RG Aile Strike for the build. I already have the GUNPRIMER Gray and White Balancers here so that gets it ready to go.

From all the images this looks to be a truly outstanding model. So I thought why not take people through the build, and give honest feedback on the whole process. This isn’t going to be a rushed job, and I will have to take slight detours from time to time. However, hopefully, the end result will show what a fantastic model this is.

For anyone interested you can pickup the model in the shop (at the time of writing) here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 10, 2023February 9, 2023 by Mark

RG Gundam Aile Strike 1/144

Introduction

I currently have a box in my living room. In that box should be 5 RG Gundam Aile Strike models. I picked them up partially because I think they look amazing, and partially because I may nab one for myself!

If you haven’t seen it the model looks like this:

Background

The model was originally released in April 2011 and featured the latest advancements in joint technology. It was also the 3rd model released in the commemoration of 30 years of Gunpla.

The suit itself was first introduced in Gundam Seed (a show I still need to watch despite having already watched Gundam Seed Destiny … yes I know the wrong order:) ). It was originally piloted by Kita Yamato.

If you want to see a full detail of the kit, and the parts, and the general makup have a look at the information on dalong.net. Note you will want to have your translation software/plugin/extension of choice to hand unless you happen to read Korean.

One of the items I found interesting reading through the information there, is that like other RG models the hand consists of multiple parts. As a result this leads to it being split into a palm, the thumb as it’s own jointed part, the index finger as it’s own jointed part, and the middle, ring and little fingers all forming the final jointed part. Subsequently the separation provides a much larger range of posing and options with the hand. It is one of the items I find absolutely amazing with these kits.

Conclusion

As can be seen by looking at the model images, and the quite comprehensive images on the dalong website I think this looks like a phenomenal kit. The little details, like the styling on the shield, and the slightly tapered in calf / lower leg, all give this a really unique and stylish look. As a result I think I may just be talking myself into getting one into my backlog!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 9, 2023February 8, 2023 by Mark

Custom Decals – My First Attempt

Introduction

I was curious, about making some custom decals. Now this wasn’t a case of I had to, this was purely an experiment. As the sticks are sometimes a bit jarring when they are applied, I thought I would look at how hard it would be to make my own decals.

Tools of the trade

After some research I found that really, you don’t need a lot of things to do this.

Water slide decal paper
A printer (suitable for use with the paper you bought)
A graphics application
Some topcoat

Water Slide decal paper can be bought online. It isn’t the cheapest, and it normally stipulates what type of printer it works with (for example inkjet). The printer, topcoat and graphics application I actually already had. So the only thing I had to buy specifically for this was the paper.

For the graphics manipulation I chose to use GIMP (available here) as it is free, and there are plenty of online tutorials that can help you get the best from it.

Making the images

To create my sample page / decals I decided to do some googling. I found some great examples that I used as inspiration for creating my first sheet. The final A4 page looked like this:

I realise there is a lot of wasted paper here but I just wanted to test it all out. Next I used the waterslide paper I purchased off ebay and printed the above image onto it.

I left it overnight then just to make sure the ink had dried. I realise this is overkill, but I wasn’t in a rush.

The next step was to apply top coat to the sheet. I opted for 3 coats leaving it well over 10 minutes between each coat.

I finally had my sheet to try!

Testing

Ok I won’t lie. My first test was a disaster. But I think that was more to do with me not understanding how to apply them, and less to do with the decal. Applying them was, once I had some practice, easy enough. I ended up adding some to my heavy arms leg launchers.

On the images above the little nuclear sign, and the red triangle and “caution” sign on the left image were custom ones from my print. The one on the image to the right is also a custom one.

Conclusion

All told I think the experiment was a success. I definitely found they worked best on lighter/white backgrounds but other than that I was very happy with the end result.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 8, 2023February 7, 2023 by Mark

Shiranui Second Yuya Bridges Ki

Introduction

So today this little gem (the Shiranui Second Yuya Bridges Ki kit) arrived with the postman:

The kit is by Kotobukiya and is from the MUV-LUV alternate total eclipse range. After watching the series I really liked some of the suits in there. I had a look around and found this one. I decided to take a chance and pick it up to see what it was like.

Riders

Before I get into it I should point out some riders. The kit is not to a specific scale so like the Bandai SD kits. I have never built one of the Bandai kits so I don’t have a benchmark to put it against. So my comments come with no real standard to measure against. So with that out of the way lets head in to it.

How was the build

The build was quick, which I expected. I still need to perform a strip down and cleanup, but it went together quickly and simply. I think that all these kits are likely to have similar build times. I have seen some Bandai kits like the Neo that look to be more complex in terms of number of parts, but I haven’t been fortunate to build any of those. My favourite part of this build were the semi transparent blue cast pieces. I found they add some real contrast to the model, and help it stand apart.

Although simple to build, I would say the instruction manual would benefit from some tweaks. In particular there are some steps that you need to do in specific order, and just a 1, 2, 3 etc. on them would make the build go more smoothly. It wasn’t a “massive” problem but it was a little irksome.

The joints all went together smoothly and the ball joints have a nice combination of friction and ease of movement.

So what does it look like?

As you can see from a straight build it looks ok. I think some panel lining on it would really make it come alive though. Also to be fair the pictures don’t show off the blue pieces which also add a nice dimension to it.

Conclusion

I think I would like to build a Bandai SD so I can compare and contrast. I would also like to get and build one of the bigger versions of the Kotobukiya kits to also compare. On the whole the build was a building version of a palate cleanser. It was simple, and fun. Ultimately a build should be fun. I found it a welcome change of pace to the MG and RG builds. Now, after my mini diversion, I’m ready to dive back into the painting and possibly my next RG on the list. With maybe a little trip to panel lining on this mini kit to just give it a little bit more of a lift.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 7, 2023February 6, 2023 by Mark

MG Heavyarms Foot

Introduction

Today I am going to strip down a MG Heavyarms Foot and build it back up. On the whole this isn’t a difficult process, but for anyone who hasn’t built one and curious, here it goes!

The Parts

With a little help from a parts separator I split apart the pieces. As you can see the MH Heavyarms foot consists of 8 separate parts.

First Step

How The foot will look — Foot Body and top cover

I decided to show you the first two images to show what is happening. When the main foot bod (the big solid grey piece) is in place you will get a small “nub” style post sticking up through the hole of the red top cover. The first step is to attach the main body to the flat bottom of the foot.

Step 2

Bottom of foot together — Foot bottom and top cover

Next you need to attach the top red cover over the top. As you can see the small post sticks out of the hole. Everything should fit snugly. Any problems and the likelihood is nubs that need to be sanded back / removed.

Step 3

The next piece that needs to be attached is the white section of the heel. This slides into place and is quite snug. I found that it fits perfectly though.

Step 4

Next is the heel piece. Again this fits in snugly and isn’t a problem. I found that all the pieces clipped together in a really satisfying way.

Step 5

Attached Front White Piece — White Front Piece

After the heel I started to build up for the rest of the foot. The white section fits down into the post that sticks up from the hole in the middle of the large red part.

Step 6

Connected Ankle Joint — Ankle Joint and Foot

Now the main body of the foot is attached it is time to connect the ankle joint. The top of this part has a small ball joint to go into the bottom of the leg, and a larger ball joint that goes into the socket in the foot. This clicks in really snuggly, and I found, gives a good combination of friction and articulation.

Step 7

The front section of the foot has a clip/connector that slots onto the front grey section of the ankle joint. Again I feel Bandai have done a great job as the pieces slide together and hold really nicely. That concludes the build up of the foot. A simple part of the build, but for me I always find them really satisfying due to the way the pieces go together, and the speed with which you see that model part take shape.

Articulation

As you can see in the images above the articulation is pretty good. I don’t think it is “the best” but it is certainly good enough for Heavyarms! Lets be honest, with all that weaponry the suit is likely to spend most of its time in some form of standing position. The left and right articulation on the ankle is adequate, and the arching on the foot is about the same, in my opinion.

Conclusion

There we have a mini tear down and rebuild of the foot on the MG Heavyarms. I found taking it apart and rebuilding it oddly therapeutic. However, as soon as I had it apart I had it back together again! As you may have noticed I haven’t panel lined this model. I may do that at some point, but first I need to put on a matt coat!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Posted on February 6, 2023February 5, 2023 by Mark

Cheap Stands or Bases

Introduction

Recently I got asked about the cheap stands or bases, and whether they were a real viable alternative to the more standard bases. You can often, if you shop around, get 3 or 4 of the cheaper bases for the price of one of the standard ones.

The standard ones look like this (or some variation on this):

The cheaper options normally look something like this:

Both sets of bases can be purchased in a variety of colours. I’ll admit I favour clear bases as I can always paint them if I want them a different colour.

The “Standard” base

There are loads of reasons to get one of these bases. They have a nice aesthetic to them, and if you want one, they aren’t crazy expensive. They have the attachments to allow you to connect them to a variety of models with no fuss. But this isn’t an article about those!

Unbranded Base

However, despite the reasons for getting a standard base, there are other options, and they can be just as effective. The generic unbranded stands normally comes flat packed, with multiple screws and parts to put together. As in the image above these are normally assembled with the grasping arms on the end. However these can sometimes cause problems where the models like to split. The torso and upper part goes one way and the waist and legs go another. This can be a real pain when trying to post a model. So what can we do with them.

Total Custom Base

Closeup Zaku Rear Stand — Zaku Rear Stand

As you can see in the images above I used the arms and grabber from the cheap base to provide the hold for my Zaku. The whole process for making that base can be found here.

Use it as is

As you can see from the images above the two pieces along with the grabbing arms allow me to elevate the model and provide a lot of options for poses. However, these still have the issue that the model will often have a tendency to come apart at the waist while tightening the arms of the stand to hold the model.

Remove the Hands / Grasper

As you can see from the images above, I only used 1 of the two arms, and then rather than connecting the graspers, I used the adapter that goes into the grasper to go into the hold in the under side of the model. It was, I admit, a tight squeeze, but it did go in without any filing. This again offers a whole range of dynamic poses.

Conclusion

If you like the standard bases, or one of the more scenic bases then go for it, they are lovely. If however, you want to make the most of the cheaper bases then as you can see above, there are a lot of poses you can get with them where they will look awesome. I’m going to have a look and see if I can do more around the options to use them with other models. I may put up a post on that after I have had chance to look.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you haven’t already done so please like and follow us on our social media platforms and checkout our website!

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Introduction

What are they like now?

Conclusion

Introduction

What comes first

First Bits

Second Bits

Third Bits

Fourth Bits

Fifth Bits

Conclusion

Introduction

The runners

The Manual

The Tools

Conclusion

Introduction

Background

Conclusion

Introduction

Tools of the trade

Making the images

Testing

Conclusion

Introduction

Riders

How was the build

So what does it look like?

Conclusion

Introduction

The Parts

First Step

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Articulation

Conclusion

Introduction

The “Standard” base

Unbranded Base

Total Custom Base

Use it as is

Remove the Hands / Grasper

Conclusion

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