Mostly Harmless

My son completed another model. This time the 1/200 Speed Grade Wing Gundam.

I have to slow him down or we’ll run out of models for him to work on. This one is his third model this week.

It’s great seeing him concentrate on the parts and following directions. He gets very focused on what he’s doing and so far has not run into any problems.  I’ve broken pieces before and even cut myself so I keep an eye on him.  He’s only 6 1/2 and I don’t want him to get frustrated.

You can see more pictures on my Flickr! set.

The set of First Grade 1/144 models from Hobby Search came today and my son wanted to get started.  After dinner we sat down and he got to work. I think he did pretty well for someone almost 7 years old.

All I had to do was show him how to clip the pieces off the plastic mold and make sure he followed the instructions in order.  Except for helping him with the torso, he assembled the whole thing himself.

As he got closer to completing the model he wanted to skip ahead but I was able to convince him to keep to the instructions. I know how he feels; I like to jump around too.

In the middle of assembling his model, he realized that he was working on Char’s Zaku II.  I’m working on the MG version and that got him excited. He completed his model and wants to do more.

We’ll work on a few more FG models before trying the speed grade models. He’s very proud of his work and so am I.

My soon to be 7 year old son is fascinated whenever I build a model.  He really enjoys just watching me and examining the parts I put together. It’s part of that whole son dad thing and I like him watching me too.

His school teacher wants him to work on things that have  step by step instructions to get him to work on his patience.  She knows about the models so we agreed that I would work with him on some easy models.  After looking some over with him, I ordered a set of  Speed Grade models, 2 of each, and tomorrow I’ll start one with him.

It’s going to be interesting.  I’ve explained that he will make mistakes and should not get frustrated.  He is really pumped about working with me on this.  He knows the difference between models and toys and I know he’ll work on this seriously. Today we picked up some clippers so he can remove the pieces from the mold.

These are pre-painted and meant for small kids. Once we’ve completed one I’ll post it on Flickr.

I ordered some 1/144 scale FG models from Hobby Search and was excited to see they arrived. I ordered 6 and each one was 285 yen, so with EMS shipping charge of 2,800 yen I spent ~$47.

What I actually got instead of 6 FG Gundam models was two Tamiya 1/48 scale German 3ton 4×2 Cargo Truck Kfz. 305 each worth 1,900 yen.  All six FG models combined were 1,710 yen.

Gah. I’ve never been into WWII models and I’m out my 6 FG models. I’ll e-mail Hobby Search and see what they want to do.  They’re in Japan so this should be fun. I’ve ordered from them before and never had any problems.

Somewhere someone probably received my 6 models and is miffed that they did not get the two trucks.

Update: Hobby Search is the best. I sent an e-mail to them and they replied almost immediately.  All they have requested is that I send them a picture of what they shipped to me which I just did.

I’ve picked up on making the Zaku II version 2.0 again and have completed the torso and head.  It’s a good model and when I have it complete I’ll put the old 1995 version next to the 2007 version for comparisons.

My kids love watching me build these.  I have some left in the basement *cough* 25 MG, HG and a couple of PG models*cough* waiting to be made. The kids have picked out a few that they want to go into their rooms when their made.

I don’t have the time to spray paint my models anymore so I’ll sand the seams and nubs to make it look as good as I can.  Maybe I’ll put the decals on too.

The second season of Gundam 00 has begun.  No huge surprises yet but this season seems to be imitating Zeta Gundam more and more.  I’m pretty sure we’ve just met the group that will be this series Titans.

I wonder how long it will be before Bandai produces a Master Grade 1/100 scale version of the Exia?  The Exia looks like this episode is it, so that ought to make it a good candidate.

60 foot tall fighting robots.  The kids and I will have fun watching this one.

When I can I like to work on my Gundam models.  It’s a hobby and it’s not computer related so that makes it a good thing.   Both my kids enjoy watching me assemble the models and as an added bonus I build some just for them.  They get to keep the models I make for them and they take good care of them.

They’re 5 and 6 years old. Sometimes they get out of control (like all kids do) but when it’s important to them they really are well behaved.

I’ve completed the HG Dynames from Gundam 00.  Not quite as good as the HG Exia but not bad either. Here is the picture.

Finishing the HG Dynames freed me to let my girl pick one from her pile.  She asked me to assemble the HG Gundam Astray Red Frame.  As I assembled it, she would look at the finished pieces.  She sat right next to me as I completed it and really admired it when it was finished.

It’s not often that I can get my girl to appreciate what I am doing. But when she and her brother do give me their undivided attention, it’s great.

Since I completed the girls model, the boy wants me to start working on one for him.  He’s selected the 1/144 HG Strike Rouge + IWSP.  It’s bigger than the other 1/144 models so he might be asking for it as a competition for his sister.  He always asks for me to build him model that have large back packs.

Just finished assembling the HG Gundam Exia. It’s good and when the weather is warmer I’ll probably paint it. Except for the shoulders, the whole thing breaks up for easy painting.

The Exia was built right after the HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam was completed. Here is a picture of the completed model:

Behind it are the MG Zaku II ver 2.0 and the MG Perfect Gundam; their not mine Stefan brought them over.

The last pictures are of the HG Justice and HG Savior Gundams:

The Akatsuki was for my girl, the Justice Gundam was for the boy. They’ve both asked me to make more .

Last week in Flushing I picked up a couple of MG Gundams with the kids. Both kids know I will build models for them so the boy picked the HG Justice Gundam and the girl picked the HG Shiranui Akatsuki Gundam. I built his model first last time, so this time she gets her model before he does.

I should have learned from the last time I did a Gundam with shiny gloss finishing. I usually cut the parts from the spruce tree, trim the parts with a jewelers file and maybe sand the nub off.

Not with shiny gold colored pieces. The file and sand paper leave scars. I have to cut off each piece with room to spare, trim the excess carefully with the side clippers, and then use an exacto knife to shave off what little is left. Without taking too much off or scratching the finish. I’m almost half way through and it is really tedious.

I’ll post finished pictures once it is done. The model is shiny and it has seams everywhere. A “serious” Gunpla modeler would soak the model in a bleach and water mixture to remove the paint. Then you glue the seams together, mask it and re-paint.

Lucky for me I’m not that serious.

Here are the two Gunpla models I recently finished. The pictures are not that good; I’ll blame the camera instead of my shaky hands.

The first one was a HG Ginn Type Insurgent from Stargazer.

It’s my daughter’s model. I made a HG Saviour Gundam for my son, so I also made this one for her. They are both very careful and do not play with the models.

She’s 4 and he’s 6 so that is amazing. They get the difference between toy and not toy. They treat all my models with care and respect so I can leave all 50+ Gunpla models in the basement without worrying that they’ll damage any of them.

Toys they can and do destroy.

The next model I completed was the MG Nemo. I started it months ago and would work on it on and off.

The Nemo’s joints make it easy to pose. Lately all the recent MG’s I have been building have really stiff joints. Stiff enough that I could probably stand the Nemo on one foot with it’s arms out without it falling down.

The shoulders are just like the MG Gundam MK-II RX-178 v2.0, only the model is just not that flashy. That makes sense since the MK-II was the star of the show until the Zeta arrived.

The mass produced Nemo’s are the Zeta Gundam equivalent of the Star Trek guy in the red shirt. Of course in Japanese anime, main characters get killed all the time so that might not be a really good comparison.

The original Zeta Gundam was depressing, filled with death (war is bad and 50 episodes later, yep still bad) and left things hanging for Double Zeta. Double Zeta was the power rangers version and I’m glad Char was left out of it. Char’s Counter Attack was the next time we see him which is where he and Amuro get killed off.

The Zeta movies were better. They rewrote some of the story line and made the ending more upbeat. I might let the kids see the three movies sometime but no way am I showing them the Zeta TV series.