Current Events > Just blindly bought a 1/144 Gundam kit. What to expect?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I honestly have no idea how these work other than that it's pieces and you build them.

Long ago, I always wanted to get the large $150 perfect grade Wing Zero, but I never did.

I saw a smaller one on sale for $25 and just bought it. I can still cancel.

Are these supposed to be difficult/annoying or is it fun? I'm gonna be building it casually as best I could and definitely don't want to get too frustrated.

---

Get some Tamiya glue with the little brush.

So much better than the tackier cement with the little steel nozzle

---

Kakapo posted...

Get some Tamiya glue with the little brush.

So much better than the tackier cement with the little steel nozzle

Huh? Glue? While my research was very brief, I read you don't need anything extra.

I'm considering this practice if anything. Might get better stuff if I like it. Hope stuff like glue and cutters don't make too much of a difference for a total newbie.

---

It sounds like you purchased a high-grade kit. Those are pretty simple to build. Youll be fine if you simply follow the instructions. If you find you want something more detailed and more challenging, a master-grade kit is the next step up.

---

archedsoul posted...

Huh? Glue? While my research was very brief, I read you don't need anything extra.

I'm considering this practice if anything. Might get better stuff if I like it. Hope stuff like glue and cutters don't make too much of a difference for a total newbie.

Oh heck yes finally a topic for me. First off, great idea gunpla is a ton of fun. Second, what kit is it exactly? Is it the wing gundam proto zero? If you can find a pic that would be cool. Anywho, I highly recommend getting a nipper. It's basically a small tool to clip out parts from runners. Go to target, hobby lobby, or Barnes and noble and you'll find a beginner one that'll do just fine. Pay close attention to the pictures on the instructions, if something doesn't feel right when putting a piece together it probably isn't. Go slow, be gentle, and have fun. Gunpla is freedom, gunpla is life.

---

You generally don't need glue for gunpla, but it can be nice for a few loose pieces.
Is it an HG or a RG? If it's an HG, you can expect an easy and quick build. If it's an RG you'll have a more complex build in your hands, but the final product looks much better. Overall, it's not much different from building a Lego set, but the end result is much better.

If you're just starting out, get yourself some side cutters and a hobby knife, as you'll need them to cut the pieces off the runners and clean them up a little bit.

If you have any more questions feel free to @ me or check out the Gundam board here. It's full of friendly and helpful people.

Welcome to the hobby and I hope you like it.

---

High Grade kits are pretty simple and it would be pretty hard to screw that up. But I will advise to at least get a clipper like this:



Hobby knife is optional.

---

Piece of cake, couple hours and some flat top coat. Can't really mess it up if you just follow the directions.

High, Master, and Real grade models are all pretty simple. As mentioned, clippers are helpful because you don't want to be twisting all the pieces out because A) It leaves little lumps which can be unsightly and might even hinder pieces fitting together and B) You might break pieces (I've done this far too many times). But they don't require anything outside tools; everything is included. They even have tiny little decals with the writing and stuff if you want to make it even more accurate.

These models are a good way to kill time, and are pretty fun to make. And this just reminded me that somewhere in my room I have a MG 00 Qan[T] Full Saber that I got from my trip to Japan that I never opened lol

---

YugiNoob posted...

High, Master, and Real grade models are all pretty simple. As mentioned, clippers are helpful because you don't want to be twisting all the pieces out because A) It leaves little lumps which can be unsightly and might even hinder pieces fitting together and B) You might break pieces (I've done this far too many times). But they don't require anything outside tools; everything is included. They even have tiny little decals with the writing and stuff if you want to make it even more accurate.

These models are a good way to kill time, and are pretty fun to make. And this just reminded me that somewhere in my room I have a MG 00 Qan[T] Full Saber that I got from my trip to Japan that I never opened lol

I support all of this however I must say please get a cutter. It's 8 bucks don't twist out parts with your fingers use scissors if you need.
I've built so many kits and have so many in my backlog you guys would disown gunpla*person* because she gives a terrible name to my literal passion

---

I bought a HG kit accidentally a couple of years ago thinking it was a figure. I said what they hell and put it together. Now I'm absolutely hooked and have done a ton of them.

HGs shouldn't be difficult at all besides maybe a stubborn piece or two. Have fun.

---

Be careful with the hobby knife. Those things are wicked sharp, and you sometimes don't feel it when they cut you.

---

https://youtu.be/Dh_xl3P8sUg

---

The instructions likely won't have any English at all, but it's super easy to follow the pics. Here's a breakdown of some of the symbols you might see which was probably the most helpful thing for me when starting. The site also has English translations of a bunch of the instruction manuals but that's not super necessary.

http://www.mech9.com/2009/10/meaning-of-the-symbols-found-in-a-bandai-model-kits-manual.html

I've never felt so wholesome on CE than I have with these tips.

---

I did a few of these when I was a kid. I either twisted them out or used scissors. Was cool. When they fell over they dismembered.

---

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I was hesitant when I made the topic, but now with all the positive and encouraging responses, I'm super hyped for it to arrive.

This is the one. Wing Zero Custom from GW Endless Waltz. Bandai Hobby #17 RG Wing Gundam Zero EW Model Kit (1/144 Scale)



Wing Zero was $10 less and I felt that would have been the perfect starter, but I never liked Wing Zero and love Custom, so I went with that.

I'm definitely gonna pick up the cutters. If there's any recommended on Amazon that people have personal experience with, it would be really helpful.

Also, I'm assuming perfect grade is the toughest because there's way more pieces. Glad I never got it back then. I would have been overwhelmed.

One last thing. Can these be disassembled to be built again later?

bknight posted...

Piece of cake, couple hours and some flat top coat. Can't really mess it up if you just follow the directions.

Who is that? I only have early Toonami exposure to Gundam.

---

Oooh, you're starting with a RG. They're not that hard really, at least the ones I've done. Just more pieces and takes a bit longer. You can still do it casually.

I got some cheap cutters that came with a kit of various little tools like tweezers and such. They're fine. I never tried any of the more expensive ones, but I hear good things. You can possibly take them apart and reassemble, but I imagine it would be kinda hard to get some of the pieces undone with some breakage.

archedsoul posted...

Who is that? I only have early Toonami exposure to Gundam.

The Sazabi from Char's Counterattack, which is a sequel to the original series. Awesome kit too.

---

why didn't you buy a to scale model? what kind of fan are you

---

Oooo that one might be a little rough for a first experience. Real grade is essentially the bigger master grade sized kits but in high grade size. What that means is you'll be building an inner frame first then putting the armor on. It's not too difficult however some real grades, especially the early ones, are notorious for being very flimsy. Like parts easily fall off.
Also these kits cannot be disassembled. I would love to hear your experience with it once you finish!

---

I was literally just about to drop a hundred bucks on them just because. Built one a while back and wow, 3 hours never flew by fester

---

Oh hey, Wing Zero Custom is my favorite. It was my first model too. My uncle bought me a MG one when I was in elementary school so it was way too advanced for me so I messed up royally, but I had so much fun with it. That really sparked my love for these kits and Gundam stuff.

Over the years I bought a RG and another MG one. The RG one turned out okay, but the MG one still didnt come out as well as I wanted. Just a heads up: the wings are a bitch because theyre so heavy. They tend to make the model fall backwards unless you lean it against something or have a stand lol

Also no, you cant take these kits apart and remake them

---

If you have any experience in modelbuilding outside of gunpla, you'll find gunpla to be ezpz, the skill level required to put them together and make them look good, even for the highest grade ones, is super low.

---

Oh hey, others covered my basic advice. Both about the grade being really hard for beginners, and at least wanting a knife or clippers to get the parts off the plastic things better.

---

Get a few High Grades to get you some eperiance. After you do a few, then mess around with painting them and scribing in panel lines. After that, move up to Real Grades then Master Grades. Only do Perfect Grades if you are experienced with painting, even though it's not required. Be prepared to be sticker shocked though. Expect those to run from $150-$300.

---

What's the model?

---