@LizardofDoom yeah no it's just one of the tiers as you could say of Gunpla. There's Entry Grade(for those that are new to Gunpla), High Grade(which is like the normal standard for Gunpla), then real grade(which is above High grade in terms of detail and how long it takes), the Master grade(basically this is like for Gunpla building Masters), and finally Perfect Grade(which is like for the elite of the elite of Master Gunpla builders).
I'm really into gunpla kits, the reason the kit you got had so many oeices is it is a Real Grade kit (shown by the RG on the front of the kit). I believe the RG line is designed with the intent of showing what they'd look like if they were real, meaning all the exoskeleton beneif the armour panels and such. If you're looking for a less detailed, though more reasonably designed kit i'd say look into High Grade, they're cheaper as a bonus too due to the less demanding design engineering and lower peice count ^^
Not quite on the RG front. RGs are intended to bring the feeling of the Master Grades (which are actually intended to be quasi-screen accurate) to the size and price range of High Grades.
@@Scaevola9449 He isn't entirely wrong. RG is both a more "realistic" design and a midpoint between MG and HG. This is according to Bandai themselves: "Real Grade kits or RG as the moniker on the box indicates, are fairly new to the Gunpla community. Introduced in 2010, in celebration of the 30th Anniversary, RG kits focus between the skeletal inner frame of Master Grade's, and the size of an HG (1/144). RG kits have more detail, like color separation, and articulation to give a more realistic approach; they also come with a hefty number of decals."
It is really funny seeing Warhammer model kit builders try gunpla for the first time. The level of detail and amount of plastic in the box for a fraction the price of gw infantry kits is always pretty funny. Also the fact that they always seem to unintentionally start with advanced grade kits is always a bit of fun. Also painting is super common in the hobby. Like, the slogan of the community is "gunpla is freedom", meaning you paint it and customize it however you want. There's even a whole sub community of people making them into princesses which is so common there have been official kits released for them
Having gone from 40k to Gundam myself, I'd say most 40k builders worth their salt should have all the technique they need for gunpla, and even a good amount of the tools. The most important paradigm shift is when they figure out nub removal and why you'd do it, which is a pretty foreign concept to 40k hobbyists. Most gunpla tools (and even a lot of the modern runner engineering) is predicated on nub mark prevention.
As a regular Gunpla builder it was surprising to see you paint the kit fully assembled, I'm used to painting parts individually and then assembling them. also great work on the posing! It looks really imposing.
Thank you mate, some times in warhammer we paint in sub assembly but never really piece by piece and it’s easier to get the directional lighting in if it’s together 🙂
Love the paint work, but I am not sure who gave you the idea who gave you the idea that people don't typically paint their Gunpla, it's a huge part of the hobby.
This^ It’s convenient that Bandai gives us colored pieces and have been getting better at parts separation. Painting and modifying it up is the next step. As they say, GUNPLA IS FREEDOM
@@SergiOrtiz It depend on the model. If the joint is too loose then take apart said joint and drop a tiny amount of super glue onto the joint part and Let it dry in pieces. Once the glue is dry rebuilding and it should be more stiff. I have done this and it works. I also used this on a lego build. They are still come apart but it was a weak connection before.
Seeing you talk about customizing the model and apologizing for what you're doing was funny. A common phrase in the gunpla community is "Gunpla is freedom" meaning that customizing you kits is absolutely something you're free to do and is completely encouraged! Also, the finish model looks sick! Definitely gives strong Tau vibes but could just as easily be a desert spec Gundam!
So I've seen that others have definitely explained why your kit has so many parts to it, Real Grade vs High Grade and all that. But as a casual gunpla fan (and Bandai kits in general), the joy for me doesn't come from the model itself once it's done. They just sit on my shelf and look nice, but I don't do anything with them after that. For me, the fun is all in the assembly process. The more intricate and detailed a kit the better. Plus the engineering on some of those Bandai kits, their newer ones especially, is insane. When I first saw an articulated joint come off the sprue, I was amazed and played around with it for a while, wondering what kind of sorcery they did to pull that off.
First Tau army I saw after the came out was painted as a UN Spacy Macross theme. The doors to the Devilfish and the Fire Warriors shoulders had the Red/White kite. The Battlesuits done up in all colors the different hero Valkyries.
There's a TON of customizing in GUNPLA. Yes, if you build a kit "out of the box", they're considered color correct, but look around youtube and there are many channels dedicated to GUNPLA customizing. By the way, great job on the Tau/Gundam. It's always fun to see the two worlds come together.
Theres a series of gundam kits from the build fighter series that are the same height that lets you seap out parts (arms, weapons, heads, accessories etc) that might be worth looking into for different loadouts. Also same company has a brand called 30 minute missions which are a breeze to build and is also made to be customized. Just some options, fun video great paint job!
That's an amazing piece! The Gundam Mk.II that you built is one of my favorite gundams, and you absolutely did it justice. Don't be afraid to alter and customize any gundam models, it's a massive part of the model building community. Also, in my opinion, Tamiya panel accent is definitely helpful, but not at all essential. For the longest time I did mine with sharpie and wiped off the excess. The AK stuff you used does just fine, so I wouldn't worry about getting the Tamiya stuff unless you just want to use it.
I picked up an amazing thing from gunpla kits they always back the eye lenses etc with a shiny metallic sticker and they look great once the clear plastic goes over so now when i paint lenses or anything like that on models I basecoat them with my brightest silver then glaze over them with a nice translucent paint...they look so much better
@@LizardofDoom I know this is late, but also it helps to apply the panel liner over a gloss varnish (and then if you don't like the glossy look you can hit it with matte after).
Usually with gundams we like that they are pose able but I enjoyed seeing the clueless curiosity while you built one of the most complicated gundams you could buy, I’d def recommend buying a high grade before trying kits like RG and MG
Beautiful work. As Gunpla fan fan 8 years and Warhammer enjoyer of two I was always thinking of painting a Box of Kriegsmen in Zeon colours. Green and black WW2-esque uniforms with red sleeves and a gold trim. But for some reason I've never even thought of painting a Gundam in a Warhammer style.
This reminds of WH40k way back in the day before they had actual vehicles in the game. White Dwarf had a section where players shared their vehicles they added to the game. You had ZOIDS as troop carriers, WW1 and WW2 tanks as IG and SM tanks, hell there was even a drop ship made from a deodorant stick! I'm certain if we had gunpla available back in the day it definitely would have found its way onto the tabletop.
I've been building gundam for a few years now,my aim was to paint them all but i enjoy building them so much that ive acquired near on 70 , i dont think my 5 Warhammer units amount to the gundam i have . Ive only painted 2gundam 1 is zaku 2 in a similar paint sceme. Great video keep up the good work. My first time painting 40k in my adulthood was tau pathfinder kill team 😊
The intricacy and detailed instructions were something that I immediately fell in love with from my first japanese kit compared to GW, and that one was just a small Deathstar desk ornament... I can definitely understand why so many people are into Gunpla, even if the anthro-mech aesthetic doesn't particularly do it for me, the kit building tickles a very specific part of my problem solving brain. in so far as there's a problem that someone else has already solved for me and I just get to retrace their steps and marvel at the end result like monkeh wif a stik trying to get at a treat...
Former hardcore Gundam builder here. Oh, we definitely do paint the model kits. Sometimes in the most wild colors imaginable. The best of the best Gunpla builders (magazine photoshoot layouts) even cut out armor or make brand new pieces of armor for the models. I envy those contest winners who customized their kits to the point of literally brand new creations.
What an awesome paint job! The weathering was really well done. Ive been building gunpla for a while and i havent had the confidence to paint myself, so youre already a natural for your first kit. I would love to see you paint a high grade zaku ii origin as a space marine for your next build!
To answer your question at the 4 minute mark there are so many parts because you got a Real Grade kit which are designed to have as much detail as possible which results in a ton more pieces a High Grade kit is the same size but much less on the detail side and fair bit cheaper in cost as well.
Gunpla is freedom. There is no wrong way to customize them. Painting them is a big thing in the community, but for accessability they are as you see molded in colour so you can get by just with what you get in the box
Funny enough, there was entire TV show called Gundam Build Fighters that was entirely about building modelkits and using them in fights (it's a bit of scifi/fantasy thing - kits would become controllable and fight in special arenas) but the main draw were different custon designs. One guy in the show actually used one of more ridiculous designs (ZZ ( Or Double Zeta) Gundam) and literally transformed it into a super-robot, with its own theme and fight was one of most emotional battles in the entire show. The idea of the show was - Gunpla is not about following rigid instructions in design, but to build your own Mobile Suit the way you want it to look, while using standard parts. So you can say that this kit redesign is nothing unique to Gunpla fans. Not saying that it's nothing special - it's just fun. And yeah, it's totally fine to turn model into a statue if you want it. Also yeah, RGs are considered Advanced Kits so they are not fitting for newbies. Additionally - without V-fin model doesn't really looks less "Gundam" IMO - it just looks like another custom Federation Mass-Produced mobile-suit, kinda like, maybe RGM-89De Jegan ECOAS type or RGM-96X Jesta
Im actually planning to get a couple 30 Minute Missions kits to do something similar to this. They're very much like the High Grade kits and are significantly cheaper to buy than a Real Grade gundam kit.
Thank you I wasn’t aware what the grading system was when I purchased this because it was my first Gunpla kit, thanks to the relentless comment section I am now aware 😅😂
hahaha yes indeed, the cinematic bit with that music was insane! As a T'au player this definitely made me want to create something similar@@LizardofDoom
This is probably just a carry over from what you know, but more often than not, gunpla painters will disassemble the kit to and paint in pieces, then rebuilt to retain the movement while everyis coloured.
Hiya mate someone else said this in the comments too. It’s painted as a 40K model and by keeping it assembled I can ensure that I’m airbrushing in the correct directional light on all pieces. From what I understand Gunpla painters don’t really take in to account directional light usually.
I also could not find tamiya panel liner, so bought AK panel liner (AK12020) but it is in the same pot with a brush as the tamiya one, only the brush was all split and a total mess. Will keep looking for the Tamiya one.
If you want to see something close to a direct size comparison for what size a gundam actually would be compared to GW minis, I believe that the Megasized kits are the closest for equivalent scale, but the Gundam. Most RG kits include a pilot figure so you can get some of the scale from it
Unfortunately I didn’t own any tau kits at this point and I’d bought the gundam as a breath of fresh air to break my hobby burnout, it did spawn a whole army though and the human kitbashes have tau weapons
Seeing a Gunpla kit get painted like a Warhammer mini was wild. I've personally never painted a Gunpla, but I know from watching that they're almost always disassembled to a certain extent to paint each part individually. Of course there are no rules to painting tiny plastic mecha, but this was a new experience for everyone involved
Aye I got questioned by someone asking why I didn’t do each bit disassembled. My answer was because I’d of had to line up the zenithal lighting. They informed me that’s not usually a thing in Gunpla. 😂
Straight-building (just putting the kit together without glue/paint) is the most common way people build Gunpla casually, but painting is a huge part of the hobby for a lot of people. The main way they're painted is in pieces before assebly; doing base coats with air brush and some free handing/weathering with individual pieces held on sticks before assebling and maybe doing some final touch-ups. But thats mainly to maintain the part seperation and the mobility unique to Gunpla kits. Casual fans might even just paint small sections to increase color accuracy to the show, such as eyes being blue but only having green eye stickers, or having yellow vents that should be black on the inside. I do think that the RG Gundam Mk-II was the wrong choice for this project. Between the complexity of the RG line, the questionable durability of the early RG line (Mk-II was like, 3rd/4th/5th RG ever, around there somewhere), I think that grade was the wrong pick. High Grade would have been a more sensible pick for its simpler build and cheaper cost. My second criticism is the choice of the Gundam Mk-II itself, it doesnt have the same feel to me as Tau battle suits. The Gundam Ground-Type would have been the perfect choice I think, or the more recent Demi Trainer or Demi Barding kits, as they all have a more bulky upper body with the blocky look similar to Tau technology. Still, you made it look good, I could even imagine this in Gundam lore as a kind of GM Quel Ground Type that the Titans could deploy against Karaba's hand-me-down Rick Dias units.
I building gunpla for a ten years, and i just getting into 40K. The snap fit of gunpla is far more superior compared to GW push fit, when i build a gunpla is like *click* it done.
That's an RG or real grade to show off Bandai's engineering skills. If you want something that looks similar to a Tau battlesuit, i recommend the MG GM Sniper 2.
I literally picked the T'au army cause it had Mech suits. Only reason.... now with the cost of WH40k I was going to build 3 Gundam Serpent models for replacement for Riptides. Why Serpent's, cause they have all the guns already built on them. Now the issue is to find 3 Serpent models.
🫡 RESPECT for choosing an RG for your first build and first custom, lol. People in the comments mention that it's typical to paint by parts or sections because Gunplas are poseable since part of the fun is oggling at your work and playing to see how it looks in different poses. Great for a first gunpla project and always nice to see people see Bandai's sorcery with their plastic model kits.
You mentioned difficulty cleaning but it looks like you were using a knife. For gundam sanding works much better for cleaning nubs and mold lines. Also we paint these things all the time lol
i find it so hit and miss, the paint on stuff while more effort seems to mist up less than spray on which is what I unfortunately used in this instance
The age old adage for varnish is to start with gloss and then once it's dry, to apply matte over it. Apparently the smooth surface of the gloss varnish helps the matte apply without misting.
Just started watching the video BUT I will say gunpla aren't miniatures per-say they are more action figures for dynamic posing and display, the reason why they have so many parts is 1 posing as i mentioned and show accuracy. Lastly people like myself repaint gunpla kits all the time so there's no reason why anyone would come for you so your all good 😄
Former 40k guy, now gunpla for life. I've been seeing a lot of these "paint a gunpla like a 40k mini" for a while and I might just give it a try. For one thing, I kinda' like the Sa'cea Sept (I think that's the white and red one) colors. From the Gundam side it also fits because, according to the original creator, the Gundam was _supposed_ to be all-white (white being the color the Japanese most closely associated with death), but got primary-colored up by marketing. While the idea of a Tau Gundam seems to make a lot of sense to a lot of 40k guys not well-versed in Gundam lore, I kinda' want to go to the exact opposite end of the warp-exposure spectrum and make a Chaos-tainted Barbatos. Just look at the size of that mace and that particularly primal, almost animalistic gait and tell me that's _not_ the steed of a particularly "blessed" Chaos Lord...
@@LizardofDoom The Ork one would be awesome as always. "If dere'z a mek, an' if dere'z a tinboy, dere'z a way to make dat tinboy proppa' orky. Dem Minov- Mino- (*annoyed ork noise*) dem parti-cul fingys hide dem tinboyz from da gitfindaz like bleedin' zogwitz who ain't know a good scrap if it done choppa dem in da skull! Dey say dem Gundam boyz great at blastin' stuff, but dey hatez waaaagh. Dey stoopid! Dey ain't no good at killin' stuff cuz' dey ain't ded 'ard like orkz be, so we'z gonna' krump dem squishy gitz fasta' den a trukk wot got no stoppa'-stompy. Den we take dem snazzy tinboyz so dey'z can get some proppa' fightin' done 'fore dey rust up. But youz runty lot betta' not loota da red tinboyz! Even da' naffest squig-fer-brain humie knowz dat red ones go fasta'! WAAAAAAAAGH!"
Gunpla builds are SO nice. They're so much more satisfying than minis, imo. You choice in kit definitely made things a little difficult for you, though. Real Grade is a higher difficulty and their 'general' line, High Grade/HG. They're also usually about half the price :p Generally, for gundam kits, you don't typically have to actually remove mold lines as the line is worked into the design of each piece. You also generally don't need to remove glue. My favorite thing is that the gates on Gunpla kits are almost always waaaaaaaaaay smaller than GW kits. GW kit gates feel MASSIVE in comparison! The paint job is really nice, too! Painting is a big part of the Gunpla hobby. Usually on that side of the fence we use enamel and lacquer paints, from brands like Tamiya, Mr. Hobby, and Gaia Notes, but acrylics and oils can do a great job for the tabletop!
I straddle the line of gunpla and 40k. I definitely feel the balance of building and painting shift between the two. For all the techniques they share, there are deep differences in the details that some work and some dont. - With scale, there is less greebly bits in gunpla than 40k tanks or terrain of similar size, leading to large flat or large smooth curved surfaces. These areas don't lend to acrylics as well, but are still serviceable (especially with drybrush). However, this means contrast paint is disastrous, and you are best severed with sprays, airbrush, or enamels/lacquers if you can't escape from brush application. these large panels mean a good leveler (not just thinner) will ensure a better basecoat. These fumes are toxic, though, so you need a vent method and proper gear. Though the finished product is showroom car quality and sometimes worth the effort for adept/expert painters. - WH paint styles really focus on small detail and layers that simulate realism with shadows and highlights. Something that the scale of gunpla sometimes struggles with and instead, opts to emphasise panel separation and multi-panel tones (you've noticed the RG line likes to mix off-white and blinding white...HG line has less of that unless they find it too 'toy-looking'). Advantage WH. - With panel separation, you have increased ability to custom color scheme and to use the airbrush for whole areas that feel like a color-by-numbers. Great for beginners, but unless you find a zen in it, can stifle your technical painting growth (NMM, blending, highlights do not give that wow factor at this scale, I find). Spraying the whole model with this articulation like a WH scale also leaves a lot of play for missing coverage (primer and spray). The best solution if you don't lock in your joints with glue is a "buttload of subassembly". - push-fit is making it's way through 9th edition, but it has much to learn from Bandai (seam lines! articulation! reduction of spare bits! sprue balance for machining!). In the converse, model stability is the drawback, as moving your gunpla as a piece may lead to accidental re-posing, age in PS plastic may cause arms to droop, and the feet are big in-universe for stability, but that doesn't translate the best for table-top weight balance. They do make "action bases" to work around this (mainly for impossible action poses and space-faring movement). There's even a line of Space marine heroes produced by bandai, but I haven't had the opportunity to check them out. Also, being able to separate parts again and again is a hidden advantage when repurposing old models for repaint/kitbash projects. - The kitbashing in gunpla seems like a nervous barrier. You spend 2-10 hours building a single model, but to take it under the knife for greenstuff to bring in different parts makes gunpla builder squeamish (they seem to hate glue/plasti-weld, too). Like upgrade sprues, there are also "builder's parts" to add new weapons, hands, hard-point attachments, greeblies, etc, but its still makes me squeamish to cut a kit's molded part to glue on another. There is some mitigation where you can take the arms of this gundam or the head of this other, but not all are compatible or even scaled right. I think this human riptide could benefit with some stormsurge-like missile shoulders (see Heavyarms) or gatling cannon upgrades (see "powered arms powereder"---not a typo) - If your FLHS does gundam too, check the bits bin. Chances are the beam saber parts (often discarded as many duplicates are produced) fill a whole drawer and make great "lasgun/cannon" firing effects. If you catch them on sprue, the green ones make good necron 8th edition gauss parts! - I see it all the time in GW stores and GW model build videos. Using the moldline scraper tool. for a similar cost, delve into the gunpla land of single-bladed nippers. Normally, they make butter of nubmarks, reducing the "whitening" of stress marks on the colored plastic, but they also allow closer shaves and can get into narrower clearances. Also, fear not the glass files and curved sanding bands, as they can deal with moldlines and nubs in a far smoother fashion. pun intended. I will say not worrying about stress marks because of the "We're just going to paint it anyway" mentality is a point for the WH side.
Speaking of hooves, there are some hg witch from mercury sets that have hooves. The Dilanza or schwarzette for example. On a side note, that full inner frame is tech from older Real Grade kits and is known to be soft and become loose as time passes. So you may want to glue some of the joints!
you got the "real grade" that's the "what if it was real" stuff. probably the one best for beginners are the "high grade" model kits, less parts, less detail, but similar pose ability.
As others have told you, the Gundam model comes in different grades, and the prices and detail go up at the same rate. I would love for GW to use this pricing method. I find that I have gotten faster as I built them. One time I built three of the same HG kits at the same time in a short time. Alsom there are tool you use the to make new panels.
I like how he had no idea what he got himself into when he picked up a Real Grade kit of all things lol
I said I was new 😂 I thought real grade meant like “official merch” 😂
@LizardofDoom yeah no it's just one of the tiers as you could say of Gunpla. There's Entry Grade(for those that are new to Gunpla), High Grade(which is like the normal standard for Gunpla), then real grade(which is above High grade in terms of detail and how long it takes), the Master grade(basically this is like for Gunpla building Masters), and finally Perfect Grade(which is like for the elite of the elite of Master Gunpla builders).
@@LizardofDoom The most important part of grade is size, master grades and perfect grades are at a larger scale to high and real grades
I'm really into gunpla kits, the reason the kit you got had so many oeices is it is a Real Grade kit (shown by the RG on the front of the kit). I believe the RG line is designed with the intent of showing what they'd look like if they were real, meaning all the exoskeleton beneif the armour panels and such. If you're looking for a less detailed, though more reasonably designed kit i'd say look into High Grade, they're cheaper as a bonus too due to the less demanding design engineering and lower peice count ^^
Put together the HG Aerial for a real good building experience.
Not quite on the RG front. RGs are intended to bring the feeling of the Master Grades (which are actually intended to be quasi-screen accurate) to the size and price range of High Grades.
@aristedes9449 the current rgs are but the older real grades like the rg unicorn where supposed to be what it would look like irl
Hg are easier and more assessable to new builder of models.
@@Scaevola9449 He isn't entirely wrong. RG is both a more "realistic" design and a midpoint between MG and HG. This is according to Bandai themselves:
"Real Grade kits or RG as the moniker on the box indicates, are fairly new to the Gunpla community. Introduced in 2010, in celebration of the 30th Anniversary, RG kits focus between the skeletal inner frame of Master Grade's, and the size of an HG (1/144). RG kits have more detail, like color separation, and articulation to give a more realistic approach; they also come with a hefty number of decals."
It is really funny seeing Warhammer model kit builders try gunpla for the first time. The level of detail and amount of plastic in the box for a fraction the price of gw infantry kits is always pretty funny. Also the fact that they always seem to unintentionally start with advanced grade kits is always a bit of fun.
Also painting is super common in the hobby. Like, the slogan of the community is "gunpla is freedom", meaning you paint it and customize it however you want. There's even a whole sub community of people making them into princesses which is so common there have been official kits released for them
I heard of a game that player are using gundam as the base for the unit in it/
My bet is that they start with the higher (and more expensive) grades because they see prices closer to WH and assume it's like that everywhere else.
"Gunpla is Freedom" is literally one of the main plots of the Gundam Build Series
Having gone from 40k to Gundam myself, I'd say most 40k builders worth their salt should have all the technique they need for gunpla, and even a good amount of the tools. The most important paradigm shift is when they figure out nub removal and why you'd do it, which is a pretty foreign concept to 40k hobbyists. Most gunpla tools (and even a lot of the modern runner engineering) is predicated on nub mark prevention.
@@draketheduelist KiriothTV was talking about clear plastic kits and I told them to cut away from the part so stress will not affect it.
As a regular Gunpla builder it was surprising to see you paint the kit fully assembled, I'm used to painting parts individually and then assembling them. also great work on the posing! It looks really imposing.
Thank you mate, some times in warhammer we paint in sub assembly but never really piece by piece and it’s easier to get the directional lighting in if it’s together 🙂
Yeah we do that in gunplay because we want all prices fully painted while here it's more like painting a statue. It won't be posed
Love the paint work, but I am not sure who gave you the idea who gave you the idea that people don't typically paint their Gunpla, it's a huge part of the hobby.
This^
It’s convenient that Bandai gives us colored pieces and have been getting better at parts separation. Painting and modifying it up is the next step.
As they say, GUNPLA IS FREEDOM
Looks awesome man, as someone else said, a High Grade kit would get you basically the exact same results with a fraction of the build complexity.
Also, the HG Gundam mkII kit would likely have been cheaper than the RG kit
And probably tighter joints right?
@@SergiOrtiz It depend on the model. If the joint is too loose then take apart said joint and drop a tiny amount of super glue onto the joint part and Let it dry in pieces. Once the glue is dry rebuilding and it should be more stiff. I have done this and it works. I also used this on a lego build. They are still come apart but it was a weak connection before.
In gunpla, we tend to paint the parts individually before assembly (Not everyone but a lot of us). It was fun watching your painting method
As a gunpla builder, gunpla is freedom is usually a slogan we say so you good by doing what you did :)
Seeing you talk about customizing the model and apologizing for what you're doing was funny. A common phrase in the gunpla community is "Gunpla is freedom" meaning that customizing you kits is absolutely something you're free to do and is completely encouraged!
Also, the finish model looks sick! Definitely gives strong Tau vibes but could just as easily be a desert spec Gundam!
So I've seen that others have definitely explained why your kit has so many parts to it, Real Grade vs High Grade and all that. But as a casual gunpla fan (and Bandai kits in general), the joy for me doesn't come from the model itself once it's done. They just sit on my shelf and look nice, but I don't do anything with them after that. For me, the fun is all in the assembly process. The more intricate and detailed a kit the better. Plus the engineering on some of those Bandai kits, their newer ones especially, is insane. When I first saw an articulated joint come off the sprue, I was amazed and played around with it for a while, wondering what kind of sorcery they did to pull that off.
That’s exactly how I felt about the already made ball joints, sorcery.
First Tau army I saw after the came out was painted as a UN Spacy Macross theme. The doors to the Devilfish and the Fire Warriors shoulders had the Red/White kite. The Battlesuits done up in all colors the different hero Valkyries.
There's a TON of customizing in GUNPLA. Yes, if you build a kit "out of the box", they're considered color correct, but look around youtube and there are many channels dedicated to GUNPLA customizing.
By the way, great job on the Tau/Gundam. It's always fun to see the two worlds come together.
Theres a series of gundam kits from the build fighter series that are the same height that lets you seap out parts (arms, weapons, heads, accessories etc) that might be worth looking into for different loadouts. Also same company has a brand called 30 minute missions which are a breeze to build and is also made to be customized. Just some options, fun video great paint job!
Thank you mate great suggestions 🙂
Many gundam kits also use the same size joints, hands and weapons so kitbashing is a lot more fun
Good on you mate, you picked a great mobile suit. The Mark II has such a great look. One of the best from Gundam.
That's an amazing piece! The Gundam Mk.II that you built is one of my favorite gundams, and you absolutely did it justice. Don't be afraid to alter and customize any gundam models, it's a massive part of the model building community.
Also, in my opinion, Tamiya panel accent is definitely helpful, but not at all essential. For the longest time I did mine with sharpie and wiped off the excess. The AK stuff you used does just fine, so I wouldn't worry about getting the Tamiya stuff unless you just want to use it.
Oh God, now I need 2k points of gunpla-as-tau
We’re on the same boat 😂 bright side is that you can get two of these for less than the price of one riptide.
I picked up an amazing thing from gunpla kits they always back the eye lenses etc with a shiny metallic sticker and they look great once the clear plastic goes over so now when i paint lenses or anything like that on models I basecoat them with my brightest silver then glaze over them with a nice translucent paint...they look so much better
Oil washes are a great substitute for Tamiya Panel Liner in my experience. Also works out much cheaper in the long run!
i will be investing in some oil paints the next time I'm near an art supplies shop
@@LizardofDoom I know this is late, but also it helps to apply the panel liner over a gloss varnish (and then if you don't like the glossy look you can hit it with matte after).
Usually with gundams we like that they are pose able but I enjoyed seeing the clueless curiosity while you built one of the most complicated gundams you could buy, I’d def recommend buying a high grade before trying kits like RG and MG
Beautiful work. As Gunpla fan fan 8 years and Warhammer enjoyer of two I was always thinking of painting a Box of Kriegsmen in Zeon colours.
Green and black WW2-esque uniforms with red sleeves and a gold trim.
But for some reason I've never even thought of painting a Gundam in a Warhammer style.
This reminds of WH40k way back in the day before they had actual vehicles in the game. White Dwarf had a section where players shared their vehicles they added to the game. You had ZOIDS as troop carriers, WW1 and WW2 tanks as IG and SM tanks, hell there was even a drop ship made from a deodorant stick! I'm certain if we had gunpla available back in the day it definitely would have found its way onto the tabletop.
Welcome to the world of Gunpla!
And Always Remember: “Gunpla is Freedom!”
I loved building this kit it was a ton of fun. This kit is basically the perfect example of the best that gunpla can be.
Despite me not realising what real grade meant it was a lovely first introduction to Gunpla for me and I will definitely be continuing with it
I've been building gundam for a few years now,my aim was to paint them all but i enjoy building them so much that ive acquired near on 70 , i dont think my 5 Warhammer units amount to the gundam i have . Ive only painted 2gundam 1 is zaku 2 in a similar paint sceme. Great video keep up the good work. My first time painting 40k in my adulthood was tau pathfinder kill team 😊
The intricacy and detailed instructions were something that I immediately fell in love with from my first japanese kit compared to GW, and that one was just a small Deathstar desk ornament... I can definitely understand why so many people are into Gunpla, even if the anthro-mech aesthetic doesn't particularly do it for me, the kit building tickles a very specific part of my problem solving brain. in so far as there's a problem that someone else has already solved for me and I just get to retrace their steps and marvel at the end result like monkeh wif a stik trying to get at a treat...
Noted, i should get some of those star wars kits.
I build gunpla, so it should be the same.
❤ I love the concept when you combine gunpla with 40k paint techniques.
Glad you like it! 🤘😄
Former hardcore Gundam builder here. Oh, we definitely do paint the model kits. Sometimes in the most wild colors imaginable. The best of the best Gunpla builders (magazine photoshoot layouts) even cut out armor or make brand new pieces of armor for the models. I envy those contest winners who customized their kits to the point of literally brand new creations.
The gundams are alot of pieces but they are easy to put together
builds the so many pieces kit: "why are there so many pieces?"
What an awesome paint job! The weathering was really well done. Ive been building gunpla for a while and i havent had the confidence to paint myself, so youre already a natural for your first kit.
I would love to see you paint a high grade zaku ii origin as a space marine for your next build!
The color palette and without the v fin made it felt like transformers rather then gundams. Love it though, what a skill.
To answer your question at the 4 minute mark there are so many parts because you got a Real Grade kit which are designed to have as much detail as possible which results in a ton more pieces a High Grade kit is the same size but much less on the detail side and fair bit cheaper in cost as well.
I always dig your content! Thanks for the high quality!
I really do appreciate that thank you mate ❤️🤘
Two works that took from Starship Troop militar fascist critic together in a painting.
YES 🗿
This was a cool idea. Good job
Great idea and great execution. Great weathering too
Thank you mate 🙂
@LizardofDoom not a problem.
Gunpla is freedom. There is no wrong way to customize them. Painting them is a big thing in the community, but for accessability they are as you see molded in colour so you can get by just with what you get in the box
That looks feakin awesome! Love the idea! Can't wait to see hiw it will continue.
Funny enough, there was entire TV show called Gundam Build Fighters that was entirely about building modelkits and using them in fights (it's a bit of scifi/fantasy thing - kits would become controllable and fight in special arenas) but the main draw were different custon designs. One guy in the show actually used one of more ridiculous designs (ZZ ( Or Double Zeta) Gundam) and literally transformed it into a super-robot, with its own theme and fight was one of most emotional battles in the entire show. The idea of the show was - Gunpla is not about following rigid instructions in design, but to build your own Mobile Suit the way you want it to look, while using standard parts. So you can say that this kit redesign is nothing unique to Gunpla fans. Not saying that it's nothing special - it's just fun.
And yeah, it's totally fine to turn model into a statue if you want it.
Also yeah, RGs are considered Advanced Kits so they are not fitting for newbies.
Additionally - without V-fin model doesn't really looks less "Gundam" IMO - it just looks like another custom Federation Mass-Produced mobile-suit, kinda like, maybe RGM-89De Jegan ECOAS type or RGM-96X Jesta
Kitbashing and custom painting is very common in gunpla for the more advanced builders.
Zaku Ork would be cool. Spiky bits all over those kits I think the HG Leo would be a good Tau kit, minus the weapon
As a Gunpla fan/builder/painter, very cool video!
Im actually planning to get a couple 30 Minute Missions kits to do something similar to this. They're very much like the High Grade kits and are significantly cheaper to buy than a Real Grade gundam kit.
dude, gunpla it's about doing what you want, there's no sacrilege here, only fun. i like to paint my kits, even when i suck at it.
Customization is a big part of the gundam community tbh I would have liked seeing you add/delete parts to make it more tau but it does work
looks badass
Beautiful and way to go tackling a Real Grade!🎉
Thank you I wasn’t aware what the grading system was when I purchased this because it was my first Gunpla kit, thanks to the relentless comment section I am now aware 😅😂
@LizardofDoom Hey, gunpla is freedom! You don't let them stiffle your creativity!
The outro is so goddamn fire 🔥
Thank you mate, I’m assuming you’re talking about the cinematic shots of the gundam not the bit where I hurt my shoulder by pointing too fast 😂
hahaha yes indeed, the cinematic bit with that music was insane! As a T'au player this definitely made me want to create something similar@@LizardofDoom
"why are there so many pieces?"
I paid half my month's savings for this kit, my man
I want my complexity addiction fed 🤣
Really cool!
This is probably just a carry over from what you know, but more often than not, gunpla painters will disassemble the kit to and paint in pieces, then rebuilt to retain the movement while everyis coloured.
Hiya mate someone else said this in the comments too. It’s painted as a 40K model and by keeping it assembled I can ensure that I’m airbrushing in the correct directional light on all pieces. From what I understand Gunpla painters don’t really take in to account directional light usually.
Also this whole model is glued in place, I’m not concerned about movement it’s a warhammer mini now 😂
I always paint my taus like gundams.
There are so many peices cause building is the point of the kit, having the model is secondary to the experience of building them.
Very cool concept.
I also could not find tamiya panel liner, so bought AK panel liner (AK12020) but it is in the same pot with a brush as the tamiya one, only the brush was all split and a total mess. Will keep looking for the Tamiya one.
If you want to see something close to a direct size comparison for what size a gundam actually would be compared to GW minis, I believe that the Megasized kits are the closest for equivalent scale, but the Gundam. Most RG kits include a pilot figure so you can get some of the scale from it
I saw the little pilot in the kit, may use it as a bobble head on a 40k dashboard somewhere.
Love it
I love what you did here
Thank you mate 🙂
Ah I'd have loved to have seen a kit bash of Tau Weapons on that as well
Unfortunately I didn’t own any tau kits at this point and I’d bought the gundam as a breath of fresh air to break my hobby burnout, it did spawn a whole army though and the human kitbashes have tau weapons
Consider me inspired time to dust off my old Gundam backlog
that looks great
Thank you! 😄
the reason there's so many parts is because of the grade you bought and people do paint their gundams
This AWESOME 🤩
Thank you mate 😎
Spicy take: Tau are based more on Patlabor than Gundam
Seeing a Gunpla kit get painted like a Warhammer mini was wild. I've personally never painted a Gunpla, but I know from watching that they're almost always disassembled to a certain extent to paint each part individually. Of course there are no rules to painting tiny plastic mecha, but this was a new experience for everyone involved
Aye I got questioned by someone asking why I didn’t do each bit disassembled. My answer was because I’d of had to line up the zenithal lighting. They informed me that’s not usually a thing in Gunpla. 😂
*choosing RG Mk ii AEUG Gundam as the first kit
"You got my attention"
I put together the MGEX Strike Freedom this weekend so that's barely any runners lol.
Straight-building (just putting the kit together without glue/paint) is the most common way people build Gunpla casually, but painting is a huge part of the hobby for a lot of people. The main way they're painted is in pieces before assebly; doing base coats with air brush and some free handing/weathering with individual pieces held on sticks before assebling and maybe doing some final touch-ups. But thats mainly to maintain the part seperation and the mobility unique to Gunpla kits. Casual fans might even just paint small sections to increase color accuracy to the show, such as eyes being blue but only having green eye stickers, or having yellow vents that should be black on the inside.
I do think that the RG Gundam Mk-II was the wrong choice for this project. Between the complexity of the RG line, the questionable durability of the early RG line (Mk-II was like, 3rd/4th/5th RG ever, around there somewhere), I think that grade was the wrong pick. High Grade would have been a more sensible pick for its simpler build and cheaper cost. My second criticism is the choice of the Gundam Mk-II itself, it doesnt have the same feel to me as Tau battle suits. The Gundam Ground-Type would have been the perfect choice I think, or the more recent Demi Trainer or Demi Barding kits, as they all have a more bulky upper body with the blocky look similar to Tau technology.
Still, you made it look good, I could even imagine this in Gundam lore as a kind of GM Quel Ground Type that the Titans could deploy against Karaba's hand-me-down Rick Dias units.
Gunpla is freedom :)
I building gunpla for a ten years, and i just getting into 40K. The snap fit of gunpla is far more superior compared to GW push fit, when i build a gunpla is like *click* it done.
That's an RG or real grade to show off Bandai's engineering skills. If you want something that looks similar to a Tau battlesuit, i recommend the MG GM Sniper 2.
Make your own panel liner with oil paint from a tube (burnt umber) and mineral spirits. Works great and you decide how thin you want it.
I’ve already decided I’m picking up some oil paints the next time I’m near an art supplies shop 😊
@@LizardofDoom I heard of washes being made the same way.
@@randomusernameCallin I have since tried an oil wash in my Maw-Crusha video 🙂
I want to get a tau mech, and then paint it in Char's colors, and have it be the commander unit.
YOU GLUED THE JOINTS TOGHETHER?! C'MON MAN😭
It’s a Tau Riptide now 😂
I literally picked the T'au army cause it had Mech suits. Only reason.... now with the cost of WH40k I was going to build 3 Gundam Serpent models for replacement for Riptides. Why Serpent's, cause they have all the guns already built on them.
Now the issue is to find 3 Serpent models.
I think you did really good.
Thank you 😊
🫡 RESPECT for choosing an RG for your first build and first custom, lol.
People in the comments mention that it's typical to paint by parts or sections because Gunplas are poseable since part of the fun is oggling at your work and playing to see how it looks in different poses.
Great for a first gunpla project and always nice to see people see Bandai's sorcery with their plastic model kits.
When the Human auxiliaries get to have their own dedicated battlesuits.
You mentioned difficulty cleaning but it looks like you were using a knife. For gundam sanding works much better for cleaning nubs and mold lines. Also we paint these things all the time lol
A pass of micro sol on those transfers will help them look a little less stuck on (maybe some matt varnish afterwards too) Otherwise, looks ace man :)
the matt varnish is sprayed on went a little misty which worsened the appearance of the transfers and that's why they look so stuck on 😂
@@LizardofDoomany vanishing tips? I’ve given up with it as it always goes misty.
i find it so hit and miss, the paint on stuff while more effort seems to mist up less than spray on which is what I unfortunately used in this instance
The age old adage for varnish is to start with gloss and then once it's dry, to apply matte over it. Apparently the smooth surface of the gloss varnish helps the matte apply without misting.
@@bocatt9202 thanks for the wisdom. Looks like I’ll be getting a bottle or two of gloss too now 😄👍👍
Just started watching the video BUT I will say gunpla aren't miniatures per-say they are more action figures for dynamic posing and display, the reason why they have so many parts is 1 posing as i mentioned and show accuracy. Lastly people like myself repaint gunpla kits all the time so there's no reason why anyone would come for you so your all good 😄
I had this same thought
1st, your fine, many of us still paint them. but many also kitbash as well. 2nd If we gunpla fans watch the video its cuz we wanna see your idea~
Former 40k guy, now gunpla for life. I've been seeing a lot of these "paint a gunpla like a 40k mini" for a while and I might just give it a try. For one thing, I kinda' like the Sa'cea Sept (I think that's the white and red one) colors. From the Gundam side it also fits because, according to the original creator, the Gundam was _supposed_ to be all-white (white being the color the Japanese most closely associated with death), but got primary-colored up by marketing.
While the idea of a Tau Gundam seems to make a lot of sense to a lot of 40k guys not well-versed in Gundam lore, I kinda' want to go to the exact opposite end of the warp-exposure spectrum and make a Chaos-tainted Barbatos. Just look at the size of that mace and that particularly primal, almost animalistic gait and tell me that's _not_ the steed of a particularly "blessed" Chaos Lord...
I’ve been contemplating doing an ongoing series after I tie up a few projects: painting a Gunpla for every 40K faction
@@LizardofDoom The Ork one would be awesome as always.
"If dere'z a mek, an' if dere'z a tinboy, dere'z a way to make dat tinboy proppa' orky. Dem Minov- Mino- (*annoyed ork noise*) dem parti-cul fingys hide dem tinboyz from da gitfindaz like bleedin' zogwitz who ain't know a good scrap if it done choppa dem in da skull! Dey say dem Gundam boyz great at blastin' stuff, but dey hatez waaaagh. Dey stoopid! Dey ain't no good at killin' stuff cuz' dey ain't ded 'ard like orkz be, so we'z gonna' krump dem squishy gitz fasta' den a trukk wot got no stoppa'-stompy. Den we take dem snazzy tinboyz so dey'z can get some proppa' fightin' done 'fore dey rust up. But youz runty lot betta' not loota da red tinboyz! Even da' naffest squig-fer-brain humie knowz dat red ones go fasta'! WAAAAAAAAGH!"
its your model you can do what you want with it and alot of people paint their gundams
oh no we paint them alright sooooo many custom paints or just the colors they are supposed to be but better than colored plastic
Can't believe the A.E.U.G. teamed up with the Tau... I don't remember that part of Zeta Gundam.
Probably ZZ
I think there are so many pieces because you got a Real Grade
I said I was new to it 😅😂
Gunpla builds are SO nice. They're so much more satisfying than minis, imo. You choice in kit definitely made things a little difficult for you, though. Real Grade is a higher difficulty and their 'general' line, High Grade/HG. They're also usually about half the price :p
Generally, for gundam kits, you don't typically have to actually remove mold lines as the line is worked into the design of each piece. You also generally don't need to remove glue. My favorite thing is that the gates on Gunpla kits are almost always waaaaaaaaaay smaller than GW kits. GW kit gates feel MASSIVE in comparison!
The paint job is really nice, too! Painting is a big part of the Gunpla hobby. Usually on that side of the fence we use enamel and lacquer paints, from brands like Tamiya, Mr. Hobby, and Gaia Notes, but acrylics and oils can do a great job for the tabletop!
My vote is for [The Principality of Miga]
I straddle the line of gunpla and 40k. I definitely feel the balance of building and painting shift between the two. For all the techniques they share, there are deep differences in the details that some work and some dont.
- With scale, there is less greebly bits in gunpla than 40k tanks or terrain of similar size, leading to large flat or large smooth curved surfaces. These areas don't lend to acrylics as well, but are still serviceable (especially with drybrush). However, this means contrast paint is disastrous, and you are best severed with sprays, airbrush, or enamels/lacquers if you can't escape from brush application. these large panels mean a good leveler (not just thinner) will ensure a better basecoat. These fumes are toxic, though, so you need a vent method and proper gear. Though the finished product is showroom car quality and sometimes worth the effort for adept/expert painters.
- WH paint styles really focus on small detail and layers that simulate realism with shadows and highlights. Something that the scale of gunpla sometimes struggles with and instead, opts to emphasise panel separation and multi-panel tones (you've noticed the RG line likes to mix off-white and blinding white...HG line has less of that unless they find it too 'toy-looking'). Advantage WH.
- With panel separation, you have increased ability to custom color scheme and to use the airbrush for whole areas that feel like a color-by-numbers. Great for beginners, but unless you find a zen in it, can stifle your technical painting growth (NMM, blending, highlights do not give that wow factor at this scale, I find). Spraying the whole model with this articulation like a WH scale also leaves a lot of play for missing coverage (primer and spray). The best solution if you don't lock in your joints with glue is a "buttload of subassembly".
- push-fit is making it's way through 9th edition, but it has much to learn from Bandai (seam lines! articulation! reduction of spare bits! sprue balance for machining!). In the converse, model stability is the drawback, as moving your gunpla as a piece may lead to accidental re-posing, age in PS plastic may cause arms to droop, and the feet are big in-universe for stability, but that doesn't translate the best for table-top weight balance. They do make "action bases" to work around this (mainly for impossible action poses and space-faring movement). There's even a line of Space marine heroes produced by bandai, but I haven't had the opportunity to check them out. Also, being able to separate parts again and again is a hidden advantage when repurposing old models for repaint/kitbash projects.
- The kitbashing in gunpla seems like a nervous barrier. You spend 2-10 hours building a single model, but to take it under the knife for greenstuff to bring in different parts makes gunpla builder squeamish (they seem to hate glue/plasti-weld, too). Like upgrade sprues, there are also "builder's parts" to add new weapons, hands, hard-point attachments, greeblies, etc, but its still makes me squeamish to cut a kit's molded part to glue on another. There is some mitigation where you can take the arms of this gundam or the head of this other, but not all are compatible or even scaled right. I think this human riptide could benefit with some stormsurge-like missile shoulders (see Heavyarms) or gatling cannon upgrades (see "powered arms powereder"---not a typo)
- If your FLHS does gundam too, check the bits bin. Chances are the beam saber parts (often discarded as many duplicates are produced) fill a whole drawer and make great "lasgun/cannon" firing effects. If you catch them on sprue, the green ones make good necron 8th edition gauss parts!
- I see it all the time in GW stores and GW model build videos. Using the moldline scraper tool. for a similar cost, delve into the gunpla land of single-bladed nippers. Normally, they make butter of nubmarks, reducing the "whitening" of stress marks on the colored plastic, but they also allow closer shaves and can get into narrower clearances. Also, fear not the glass files and curved sanding bands, as they can deal with moldlines and nubs in a far smoother fashion. pun intended. I will say not worrying about stress marks because of the "We're just going to paint it anyway" mentality is a point for the WH side.
The Amica-Guevassian 1st
"The Loyalists"
Speaking of hooves, there are some hg witch from mercury sets that have hooves. The Dilanza or schwarzette for example.
On a side note, that full inner frame is tech from older Real Grade kits and is known to be soft and become loose as time passes. So you may want to glue some of the joints!
Good to know! He ain’t going anywhere he’s very glued 😂
1:20 "...with human...nous..." I think the word you're looking for is morphology
Correct 😂
7:07 I actually prefer this approach. I always wanna paint my mechs anyway lol. ( I never do tho )
and honestly I consider warhammer painters THE BEST in business when it comes to miniatures so this is just a PLEASURE to watch.
you got the "real grade" that's the "what if it was real" stuff.
probably the one best for beginners are the "high grade" model kits, less parts, less detail, but similar pose ability.
tamiya panel liner isn't available in the uk sadly. I use MIG dark wash as my panel liner
Great video. Keep going. I love watch them.
Thank you mate! 🙂
As others have told you, the Gundam model comes in different grades, and the prices and detail go up at the same rate. I would love for GW to use this pricing method.
I find that I have gotten faster as I built them. One time I built three of the same HG kits at the same time in a short time.
Alsom there are tool you use the to make new panels.