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RG Aile Strike Build Day 8

Outside Arm

Introduction

Welcome to “RG Aile Strike Build Day 8” where I am building up an RG Aile strike model. If you haven’t read any of the other parts I would recommend going back to the start. You can find that here. In the first post I covered the box, runners and provide the manual.

I am taking my time to ensure I clean up all the marks that can be cleaned up. As with any build like this, if you end up with discolouration or a small white “stress” mark you are likely to need painting to get rid of those. I may have a look at simple quick methods of dealing with those items, especially as I find that it has a habit of happening on the grey pieces. I also accept I may need to work on my cutting style as I’m sure that will contribute to it!

The Process

Unless otherwise noted I followed this process for each piece:

  • Cut off roughly leaving plenty of nub
  • Trim back the nub with my better nippers
  • Apply water to my wet and dry sandpaper and sand the nub marks down
  • Dry the piece
  • Brush it off with the tooth brush to remove any bits
  • Re-apply the matt finish using the Gray Balancer
  • Prep the part with the green side of the White Balancer
  • Shine the part up with the white side of the White Balancer

If after this I wasn’t happy I would repeat the sanding steps down, and keep iterating until I was happy with the finish.

Todays Parts

Nubbed Parts
Nubbed Parts

I decided to take a slightly different approach tonight as I knew I could finish this arm off. Taking this approach also allowed me to take less photos which sped the process. Again I may look into getting some sort of setup to help with that. However, at the moment I only have my phone, table, and patience 🙂

Clean Parts
Clean Parts

So, as I knew I was approaching this differently, I also cleaned up all the parts I had to work with tonight. I actually found this a nice change to the pace. Rather than cut 2 – 3 pieces, clean them, put them together, photograph them, rinse and repeat, I found doing multiple sets of pieces together meant when it came to the assembly I could just enjoy the build of the arm.

The Build

As I had approached it differently I had multiple bits to put together. Building this arm up was a really excellent experience. Seeing the parts layer on top of one another, and finally forming into the arm was a really enjoyable experience. I did have to consult the manual a couple of times, and work out which bits went where, but when in the right place the went together beautifully.

I have said it before in this build, and I’m sure I will say it again, but the armour on this build is an absolute pleasure to work with. The way the white parts clean up when you have that little bit extra time on them, they look really stunning.

As can be seen in the pictures above, the arm, in my opinion has come out really cleanly.

Articulation

The other main thing on these parts, after how stunning and detailed they are, is the articulation you get with these pieces.

Inside Arm
Inside Arm
Outside Arm
Outside Arm

As can be seen in the images above, the arm has solid articulation as well. Bending nicely, allowing for various poses.

Conclusion

So in summary. So far I have the legs, waist and an arm. However, there is not a piece in there at the moment that I am not happy with. The build has been really smooth and enjoyable so far. Apart from me wanting to examine by technique on removing the grey pieces from the sprues, I am super happy with this. I definitely think that extra bit of time, and making use of the GUNPRIMER Balancers really does make it shine.

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Lightening Stock Update 21/02/2023

RG_WING_ZERO_EW_2

So this should, again, have been the next step in the Aile Strike build, but I have just sorted my next invoice and wanted to share some details! So instead of that, welcome to “Lightening Stock Update 21/02/2023”!

On the HG side I will have the ChuChu Demi Trainer, the Dilanza Standard, Dom RickDom, G Armour, GM Command Space, GM Sniper II, Gundam Psycho, Guncannon RX-77-2 Revive, and Kampfer.

That is just the HGs that are coming in. As normal as a small company slowly growing I will have limited numbers of items so if there is something there you are interested in then you will want to be on the ball!

I will also have the MG DeathScythe coming in.

DEATHSCYTHE
DEATHSCYTHE

Again this is an absolutely awesome looking model. It looks outstanding!

Talking of MG models I will also hopefully have a spare MGEX Strike Freedom looking for a home. So if that is your sort of thing then you may want to get on that one as I’m sure that will go fast.

On the RG side, I will be having the GOD, Exia, RX-78-2, Wing, Wing XXXG-01W EW, OO QANT. Z’Gok Char Custom, Zaku II MS-06F and Zaku MS-06S also coming in.

Conclusion

As always the invoice is paid, I just need it to ship. Now as you all know I tend to have what I lovingly call hit and miss luck with UPS packages coming in to the country. However, I’m going to be hopeful that this is a smooth one and I will be seeing these all very soon!

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RG Aile Strike Build Day 7

Fitted Parts

Introduction

Welcome to “RG Aile Strike Build Day 7” where I am building up an RG Aile strike model. If you haven’t read any of the other parts I would recommend going back to the start. You can find that here. In the first post I covered the box, runners and provide the manual.

Round about now you are probably thinking to yourself … blimey he is not a fast builder I would have had that done days ago! However, in my defence I am working full time, plus running my company, and then building after I have done everything for those. I am also really taking my time, and if I’m not happy re-visiting parts and re-doing them. I used to take months to paint a single model, to the point where my friend offers to paint them for me so that he can play against painted minis 😀 (Thank you Steve 🙂 )

So my normal steady pace aside, I do want to really enjoy the build and not rush at any stage. I want to show how stunning the model is, not just to build, but how beautifully clean it looks once complete.

Without further ado, lets just outline my process on each part so that I don’t repeat is throughout the post 🙂

The Process

Unless otherwise noted I followed this process for each piece:

  • Cut off roughly leaving plenty of nub
  • Trim back the nub with my better nippers
  • Apply water to my wet and dry sandpaper and sand the nub marks down
  • Dry the piece
  • Brush it off with the tooth brush to remove any bits
  • Re-apply the matt finish using the Gray Balancer
  • Prep the part with the green side of the White Balancer
  • Shine the part up with the white side of the White Balancer

If after this I wasn’t happy I would repeat the sanding steps down, and keep iterating until I was happy with the finish.

First Parts

So this section is the build up of the arms. The first thing I had to do was build up the two shoulders. Then it steps into building each arm individually. The core of the shoulder is really simple but the plastic cleans up from the nubs really nicely and fits together nicely.

Second Parts

Next up is the armour that wraps around the core of the shoulders. Now I love these shite armour pieces. With the GUNPRIMER Balancers they clean up so nicely and shine back up to new. The pictures show how clean these pieces end up after a little TLC even given those horrendous first rough cuts of mine!

Third Parts

Ok there is no running away from it. These are, for me at least, not my favourite part of any build. I can, however, appreciate the quality and skill that has gone into making these pieces. The articulation and the fact they are moulded like this on the runner.

However, I just don’t like these bits. Thankfully once they are done it will be back to the bits I enjoy. The first image shows exactly how the piece comes off the runner. Pay very close attention to the manual, and where it says to cut. I then had to detach the hand, and the top part.

As you can see I managed to detach more than I was meant to, so I had to reattach the joint. However, I really didn’t enjoy getting the top piece out. Once that was done, all I had to do was twizzle and push bits into place. I have to admit I do enjoy that bit.

You have to pay special attention to the piece that in the first image is on the right hand side. That teeny piece actually bends in the middle, and the outer piece actually forms the part that clicks into place when you bend the rest up.

Fourth Parts

Ok so this was the last bit I got to work on. The upper arm armour. Again, this shows the detail, the layering of parts to add more detail, and the beautiful way the parts clean up. I know I have said it before but, I am very happy with the way this has been cleaning up so far!

Conclusion

I am really enjoying the build, and the pace. The parts are cleaning up beautifully and the parts are all cleaning up so nicely. That concludes “RG Aile Strike Build Day 7”.

If you wanted to pick up an RG Aile Strike to do the build yourself at the time of writing I have a few in stock available here. I also currently have both the Gray and White Balancers in stock (Gray White).

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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RG Aile Strike Build Day 5

Side Legs

Introduction

Welcome back to “RG Aile Strike Build Day 5”! After yesterdays little break, I’m back with the latest update. For anyone catching up, I have made a few posts saying how fantastic I thought the RG Aile Strike model is. However, I hadn’t actually built one yet. So I decided it was time for me to put my money where my mouth was.

This series is documenting my build of the Aile Strike along with plenty of pictures.

The Update

Ok well today I was working on the other leg, as Day 4 was the first leg. As this is a carbon copy of the previous post (you can find it here) I didn’t do all the pre and post nub cleaning pictures. Feel free to check out yesterdays post to catch up on that. Again, I can’t say how great the Gray and White Balancers are from GUNPRIMER. They really help polish parts back up to a fantastic finish.

As you can see from the pictures these parts have also come together really nicely. So far the build hasn’t had anything other than nicely fit together sections. The detailing on the neg parts is brilliant, and I can’t wait to do the panel lining on this model. I think it might take me a while though with all those bits!

Conclusion

I believe the next part is the waist. I often find these sections some of the least interesting parts to build, so I am looking forward to seeing how this one holds up. So far, this build has been a pleasure, and the outer armour has been cleaning up beautifully. Possibly my only niggle so far is I could argue the feet feel a little weird. But once posed the look brilliant.

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Build Intermission

Falling HG

Ok I admit I didn’t do any building last night. I had so many things on it just got skipped. So this is a mini intermission between the build parts.

Of course that leaves me with the question of what to do to fill the blog! Well thankfully I had a little something in my back pocket.

So I have been trying to work out how to take better photos of my kits. Again, I feel there are going to be a lot more posts on this topic as I learn more.

So before I leap in to what I was playing with let me show you the starting picture.

Ok well after searching my hard drive and my network storage apparently I didn’t keep my original image.

So lesson number 1: Remember to keep the original image!

I will, however, try and describe it.

I posed by RX80-BR figure on one of my stands in front of a green screen. Then I took some pictures. After moving them to the laptop I proceeded to open them up in GIMP and choose what I wanted to work with. After filtering through the images I picked my favourite and got to work.

First I had to set up an alpha channel. Then I used the colour select to select the green and remove a load of it. This highlighted lesson number 2. Lighting is all important. Without good lighting making everything consistent you end up with different shades and bits and pieces of green left. I then moved onto my second tool of choice. I zoomed in and proceeded to use the multi select tool to trace the edges and remove any colour too close to the model.

After an hour or twos work I finally had something I could work with … wait I may be able to show you …

No Background!
No Background!

This brings me to lesson number 3. Always do things in layers, that way you can add and remove them from the view, or even junk them and start again if needed.

My final step was to select a background and add a blur to it. This gave me the final image which looks like this.

Falling HG
Falling HG

For a first attempt I was quite happy with this. I think it is something that I would enjoy working on improving, and coming up with more ideas for.

If you would like me to do a post in more detail on the GIMP steps I used, and the whole process let me know. I can do a step by step guide for beginners (like me).

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RG Aile Strike Build Day 4

RG Aile Strike Leg

Introduction

Welcome to “RG Aile Strike Build Day 4” where I am building up an RG Aile strike model. If you haven’t read any of the other parts I would recommend going back to the start. You can find that here. In the first post I covered the box, runners and provide the manual.

If you want to skip that and just get up to speed. I had in previous posts gone on about how nice I think the RG Aile strike model is. I had gone on so much I decided I should put my money where my mouth was and build one myself. This ongoing series is that process. I am not rushing, as can be seen in the earlier parts, and if I am not happy I will go back, disassemble and re-clean and re-build anything I am not happy with.

With that all out of the way lets get to it!

The process

Unless otherwise noted I followed this process for each piece:

  • Cut off roughly leaving plenty of nub
  • Trim back the nub with my better nippers
  • Apply water to my wet and dry sandpaper and sand the nub marks down
  • Dry the piece
  • Brush it off with the tooth brush to remove any bits
  • Re-apply the matt finish using the Gray Balancer
  • Prep the part with the green side of the White Balancer
  • Shine the part up with the white side of the White Balancer

If after this I wasn’t happy I would repeat the sanding steps down, and keep iterating until I was happy with the finish.

First Parts

As you can see the next thing to build was this leg. The inner frame is straight off the runner. You need to take your time on this. The manual shows you the bits you want to cut. Pay special attention to this as the nubs are tiny and you don’t want to snip anything by accident. The first two parts go on either side of the leg. They clip right on and fit really nicely.

Second Parts

The next pieces start to attach the armour. As you can see I was leaving healthy nubbage on each piece. I followed the process outlined at the top of the article. Once clean, and seated I moved on to the next armour parts.

Third Parts

As you can see this section is adding more armour on to the frame. Each piece fits really nicely. I did have to slow down and double check how everything was sliding in to place. But after slowing myself down a little it all slotted together really nicely. Again I was really happy with how the white armour pieces were cleaning up.

Fourth Parts

Next … you guessed it more armour parts. Each one I’ve tried to show the nubbed parts and the cleaned parts. Hopefully the end result warrants all this time … I feel that it is looking really nice so far.

Fifth Part

The final set of armour pieces on the leg really do complete the piece. Also look at that articulation!

Conclusion

There are several parts here that have to slide or clip into specific places. However, I found that slowing down, have a close look at the manual, the structure of the grooves and ridges on the parts led to them fitting together beautifully. I am really happy with how the parts have cleaned up, and the current state of the leg.

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RG Aile Strike Build Day 3

Balancer and Foot

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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Cheap Stands or Bases

Front Blown Away

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):

Standard Action Base
Standard Action Base

The cheaper options normally look something like this:

Unbranded Stand
Unbranded Stand

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

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.

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Advert / Stock 05/02/2023

MG_BUSTER_1

Advert / Stock 05/02/2023 is a quick update on the stock and the shop and a blatant advert for the shop 🙂

I have had, what could be called a mini re-stock of some items. This week a got a handful of MG and RG kits in. At the moment I also have the HG Guels Dilanza in stock here. I also have an MG Buster and MG Justice available also. Why not use the links at the bottom to have a browse and see if something takes your eye. I still have the PG Unicorn available if you fancy a challenge!

The items below you will need to contact me directly, however, I have provided quick links to the store and the specific grades at the bottom of the post for all other models.

As you may be aware I still have some models that the boxes were damaged from packing / transit. I’m trying to shift them directly if possible so that it is easier to communicate any box damage. If you are interested in any of them they are:

RG Freedom £26.99 + P&P

RG_Freedom_2
RG_Freedom_2

HG Setsuro £25.99 + P&P

SETSURO
SETSURO

HGUC Gundam RX-0 Unic Full Arm Dest Red 1/144 £34.99 + P&P

HGUC_Unicorn_Red
HGUC_Unicorn_Red

BB Gundam Destiny £9.99 + P&P

Destiny
Destiny

They are all stunning models which would look fantastic in any collection. You can also just browse the shop which is available here. Note the models above are not listed there at present due to the boxes. However, if you are interested in them please contact me directly. I also have lots of other models available on the shop, as well as the awesome GUNPRIMER Balancers and starter kit and Raser products. You can see them here.

Conclusion

That concludes this weeks “Advert / Stock 05/02/2023” roundup. 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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How many is too many

GX-9901-DX GUNDAM DOUBLE X

Introduction

I will be honest, I had a few options around this post. I wasn’t sure whether to just look at it from the point of how many is too many when looking at the model count. But then I could look at it from the backlog point of view. Then I realised I may as well write a paragraph or two on each!

Total Model Count

So I guess the first angle I should look at is can you have too many models? I mean the obvious answer is obviously no! However, should you look at packing / storing some and displaying a select few models, or would you rather get them all out? I think, the reality, for a lot of modellers, is that their display space is limited. If that isn’t the case then I say go wild! Shelves, display cases, even from the ceiling or magnetised! If you have the space then go for as many models as you are happy with.

As I say I think for the majority of us we have limited display space. At the moment I’m using the top of my freezer to stand 3 models and a Harry Potter Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes shop model. The space there is limited. I will, I think have to look at a system. Ultimately I think I may look to break them into seasons or months, and cycle them round. The only model that I have that will survive this drastic measure is the Double X. It was my first Gundam and I love it nubs and all.

GX-9901-DX GUNDAM DOUBLE X
GX-9901-DX GUNDAM DOUBLE X

I often see people shifting their collections to either make space, or to make room for other models. There certainly seem to be plenty of people who are happy to buy pre-built models. Some to display, some to use as parts, some for kit bashes, and others to practice techniques on. So I guess once you have had your enjoyment from a model is it best to just let it go and find a new home?

Ultimately I would say, if you are happy, then there is no count that is too high!

Backlog

I recently asked a variation of this question on a forum. Ultimately the feedback would seem to be that there is no such thing as too big a backlog. For some people they buy build and buy again. Others prefer to ensure that there is no chance they will ever run out. Whichever side of the fence you fall, or if you are somewhere in between, it is fair to say that there is no right or wrong answer.

Again, as with display space, having space to keep your backlog can become an issue. A lot of people are working with limited space, and I get the feeling that a lot of peoples backlog size is dictated as much by available space as it is desire to not have too many there.

My backlog isn’t too bad at the moment. I have 1 MG, 1RG, and the USS Voyager to build. I have however also got a Kotobukiya Muv-Luv Shiranui Second Yuya Bridges model coming from ebay. I also put in an order with my supplier to try and get a hold of some of the models for the shop … well ok I ordered 2 of 1 of the models… the other 6 or so were for me … I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it!

Conclusion

How many is too many is a very subjective question. There are likely to be people in your life who tell you that you have too many models, or kits to build. I would say it is your hobby and as long as it is not disruptive, as long as you aren’t spending money you need for food, heating, rent etc. then where you spend your money is your decision. A bit like the gambling adverts say, when the fun stops stop. It is similar with the models. As long as you are enjoying the hobby then carry on. Personally I am loving all the options, and exploring the painting, lighting, and dioramas, as well as just straight builds. As long as I am enjoying myself then I will continue to build!

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