Giant Samurai Robots!

G'day folks 

Finished work on my RG Astray Red Frame earlier this week, oh is she a beautiful kit to put together. In terms of both detail and posability, the kit is above the average, my only complaint would be with the Gerbera Straight Katana in general. The Yellow-Gold bits don't look the best and one could consider them plain ugly. It is the same type of "gold" platic that is seen on the inner frame of the RG Strike Freedom Gundam. I probably will paint them with a coat or two of the krylon gold Plate I have laying around to make them look better. 

Another thing I noticed were the nub marks on the Katana's blade in general. While they can be removed without too much of a hassle, you can still see where they were clear as day in the right lighting conditions as the blade is prepainted in this georgeos chrome plate. It would have been nice if they had bothered to remove the blade from the sprue before they painted it, but it can't be helped I suppose. 

I ended up dry brushing Vallejo's Matte Earth, German Grey, and Nuetral Grey onto the edges of the model and then putting two layers of dull coat onto the mecha. It gives it the look of being fully painted, with minimal effort (And Time!) put into it.  

My apologies for the photos, I do intend to build a light box. (Soon.) 

After obstaining from the internet to avoid spoilers, I got to see the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens! There wasn't anything to huge I could pick at like I was hoping lol. There were a few minor plot holes that I picked up on so the movie isn't perfect by any means, but they aren't so gawling that they keep you from enjoying the movie. I'll probably list the ones that I noticed later so as to not spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet and are planning to. 

Real Grades A Plenty!

G'day folks... Has been a while hasn't it? 

My apologies for the lack of post lately, just have been caught up in the average everyday dealings of real life. 

Went to the hobby shop today and got some new Gundam loot... The new RG Astray Red Frame and the RG Gundam MKII Titans version. 

The Real Grade Astray is the latest, of this post, in the RG lineup, and so far, the build has represented just how far these kits have come.... it it is truly the pinnacle of how far Bandai has come with the modeling techniques they use. 

An interesting gimmick that I have never seen before in all of the RG kits I have built is located in the waste unit. The mount for the upper torso section swings upwards to allow greater mobility. 

One thing that I was dissapointed with immediatly upon opening the box was the detail on the extra sets of hands they give you... It is seriously dissapointing. You could expect this amount of detail in the average High Grade release. I justed expected something more. 

One excellent detail that I think particularly stands out on the MKII is the fact that they give you actual nylon tubing to use for the thrusters, it is a detail that will really pop once the kit is built. 

These two kits will be straight-bullt in the months to come, I feel that real grades don't need paint to be a display quality piece. I will however be dullcoating them as well as weathering them. 

More to come soon. 

Have a good one. 

Tobe! Gundamu!

In other news, I stopped at the local hobby shop to pick up the paints for my next project, and I happened to pick up the Gunpla starter set with the RX-78-2 gundam instead. Lol. 

My apologies for the photoquality, just got a new camera and am still struggleing to figure out how to use it properly. 

I've opted to go for using only the mace included with the kit. It's a giant space samurai robot weilding a mace... What's not to love? 

Because I've already got the Revive version of this iconic Mobile Suit, thought I'd compare them.  can say this on the get-go the starter set edition focuses primarily on being more detailed, while the revive version focuses solely being entirely accurate to the original 0079 anime. 

Showing the overall posability of both revive and standard issue HG. The revive definitally wins hand-over fist in terms of posability because the socket joints rotate up, instead of forwards, making some iconic poses much more achievable. 

Both are very solid kits, and stay together very well. However, which ever kit you decide to go for relies on what you want in a highgrade. The starter-set edition has lovely detail while the revive has greatest posability. If you want a jack-of-all trades, the Real Grade RX-78 would be your best bet. 

Also, I've been threatening to show off my finished MWO banshee for a while now... Here she is in standard second sword of light colors. I aimed to achieve the look in seen in most mecha anime so extreme panel lining was the name of the game. 

You guys be careful out there; and I'll be back with another post, real soon. 

Progress is progressing... Progressively..? And other ramblings

The Tristar Zaku build is going pretty good, I've almost finished the job, all I've to do is paint the right arm and then she's good to go. I got the idea to use a sponge and brown paint to put rust spotches on the sheild. I then painted around the splotches with various shades of blue, building up to a light blue. This gives the look of the blue layer of paint chipping off and the edges reacting with the light. 

It's a solid kit of which I should have complete by the end of this month. 

In other news, got the chance to start watching One Punch Man, and Heavy Object from this fall's anime season; both are very worth the time to check out when you get the chance. One Punch Man is worth watching just to see the animation alone, it is easily the greatest animation I have seen in an action based show in a long time. Heavy Object's three episode-long plots definetally keep you interested as combat scenes don't get the point where they are stretching it and the generous time for plot really gives the viewer a chance to get absorbed in every minut detail of the plot. The two main characters; Quenser and Heivia's constant "We're totally screwed!!" Attitude makes things all the more so entertaining to watch. I've still got to watch the latest addition to Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans, I'll post my thoughts by the end of the month when I've got the zaku done and ready to show off. 

That's all for know. Thanks for looking! 

Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans first thoughts

Finally got a chance to watch the latest Gundam series Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron blooded orphans. 

This series is a lot grittier than series before it and shows a lot of promise. The first ten minutes or so of the episode is devoted to the standard character and plot introduction, every pilot episode of just about any series has. The rest of the episode ends up in a battle between the two main forces (haven't gotten the chance to remember there names) and without spoiling anything, we see the new MS Barbatos in action. All in all this episode has left me with a feeling that I haven't gotten with a lot of gundam series before it. It definitally shows promise and we'll just have to see where the series ends up. If you haven't seen the pilot episode, I'd give it a go, it's totally worth the watch when you get the chance. 

I should have some updates on the Zaku II as well as a painted MWO banshee to show off in the next few weeks. Until then, stay safe out there. See you soon. 

MWO Timberwolf For sale!

G'day folks,

 here to mention that one of the Mechwarrior online mechs I posted last week is now available on ebay for a limited time, so if you've wanted a MWO sculpt but haven't found one, here is your chance. 

Here is your chance to own a model of the infamous Gold Kahn edition timberwolf, at a fraction of the price! 

~Auction can be found here~

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=141792071378 

Thanks for looking! 

Battletech PC game kickstart Project!

G'day folks, here to share an anouncement some have already heard of, Battletech is getting it's own tactical PC game! Here's what arrived in my inbox not 10 minuted ago... Check it out and if you're interested, please donate for this worthy cause. 

Ya'll stay safe out their, and I'll have another post up, real soon. I'll see you then. 

"Hello from Harebrained Schemes!

We have launched our BATTLETECH Kickstarter today!

 

We love BattleTech, and are excited to make the first turn-based, classic BattleTech game on PC in over 20 years!  Our BATTLETECH game is a single-player, turn-based, tactical 'Mech combat game for PC, Mac and Linux that will be set during the 3025 Succession Wars Era of the BattleTech Universe - a period often referred to as "Classic BattleTech.”

 

For more information about the game, our funding goals, and rewards, please check out the BATTLETECH Kickstarter page.

 

Thanks!

HBS"

Sexy Resin Heavy Metal Action!

G'day folks...

 Here to show off a package that arrived in the mail yesterday... 

"3D printed" versions of the 'mechs from the popular F2P PC game MechWarrior Online, based off of the tabletop game Battletech! 

The mechs from mechwarrior online are essentially redisigned versions of the original battletech mechs, of which most haven't held up well with age. If you're not familar with Battletech, you will see what I mean when I show a comparison between the old Banshee assault mech and the redesigned MWO version. 

I should have pics of these painted up as well as other information on them in the next few months, this probably will set my backlog well beyond May of next year with the gunpla I've to build. Lol 

The package consists of the followin designs 

-2 TimberWolf Heavy Mechs

-1 Vulture Heavy Mech 

-2 Shadowhawk Medium Mechs 

-1 Victor Assault Mech 

-1 Highlander Assault Mech 

-1 Banshee Assault mech

Battletech is my favorite Hard-Scifi franchise and to see these classic designs updated is a dream come true... 

If you are interested in these designs, drop me a line... 

That's all for now, ya'll stay safe out there, and go out and paint something! 

This Isn't no Zaku, Boy!

"This isn't no Zaku, Boy"

 This is a double negative... So it means that it is a zaku..? Hooray! That means I didn't botch the title! 

G'day folks, 

Wanted to show off my most recent build, the HG:O Tri star zaku II. This is going to be my first painted gunpla kit, so it's going to have a learning curve to it. Bear with me folks! :P 

Construction was quick, as I got the torso and head constructed and primed in under 45 minutes. With minimal time spent on this kit, I can already tell this is going to quickly become my favorite version of the Zaku, and my favorite kit out of the Hg lineup as well. 

The only things I can't say I like about the kit are very minor and shouldn't be an issue, just nitpicking. Lol. 

       >I would have preferred the arm polycaps to rotate upwards instead of forwards as the left and right torso move inwards and have this covered fairly well. 

       >The monoeye is just a sticker that is applied to a rounded plastic peice in the head. I would have preferred an indintation for the eye sticker so that I could paint it instead, but it's a highgrade kit, what can you do? 

Here are a few images of the primed kit as of yet. 

Gotta love that backpack's detail! 

I painted the backpack jumpjets in Testor's magnesium Buffing metalizer, here's a picture with one painted and one not. I think you'll agree the painted one is better ten fold. After this I applied a wash to dirty them up a bit. Sorry, forgot to snap a few pictures for you. 

I'll do an indepth review once I've got the kit fully assembled and painted, until then stay tuned. 

Thanks for looking and stay safe out there! 

Welcome to Watanabe Mechworks!

G'day folks, 

Happy to start off my new blog, Watanabe MechWorks. 

Brief Q&A 

Q:Why does this blog exist? 

A:

-Here at Watanabe we focus primarily on larger scale mecha from anime franchises such as Gundam (and others) as well as Tabletop wargames such as Battletech and anything else romotely related to Giant Stompy Robots!! 

-To replace my old blog, Mechwarrior/Battletech Related models inc. as the introduction of gundam model kits earlier this year made the blog go astray from it's original purpose. I created this blog so I can talk about Battletech/Mechwarrior, and mecha anime in general without the fear of going too far off of a pre-chosen blog topic. 

Q:What should I expect to see here? 

A:You can expect in depth reviews of model kits, (Gimmicks, articulation where applicable, over all thoughts on assembly, ect.) A showcase of the 'Mechs I've painted up for Battletech, and random ramblings about modeling in general. 

Q:When will the blog be updated? 

A: Every so often. I'll try to post when ever I have something to share, which judging from my last blog should be about once or twice a month depending. 

Thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more updates!