Kit Information :
Scale : 1/35
Grade : UC Hard Graph
Made by : Bandai
Completed : 27th Dec 2007
Box Art :
1/35 ANTI MOBILE SUIT SQUAD
 |
'Target secure! Recovery team move in!' radioed the member of the 4th Anti Mobile Suit Squad. After a battle of epic proportions between the RX-79[G] Mass Produced Gundam Ground Type and Zeon's MS-07B Gouf, the Gundam's arm was hit by enemy fire and blown away from the rest of the arm at the elbow. To protect the Earth Forces secret, the nearby 4th MS Squad were ordered to move in and secure the arm, and the Earth Forces technology, before the Zeon forces could move in to capture it....
This was my very first attempt at anything in the 1/35 scale that a lot of military models are scaled in. I have always wanted to start modeling in this scale and, thankfully, Bandai have begun producing the Universal Century Hard Graph line of kits so I wont have to stray too far from Gundam at all!
After waiting 60+ days for my order to arrive (due to Customs holding it up), I began straight away with the plan I had in my mind. Since I had already seen many versions of this kit already and them all being in the Jungle, I decided to opt for the Urban backdrop for something a little different. My original plan was to have the hand falling through a building of some kind and have the hand landing on top of one of the soldiers. Although this sounded good in theory, it was pointed out to me that the hand would definently do more damage than I had planned to depict. I still wanted the arm through the wall scene, so I adjusted it to suit.
For the wall, I used a 1/35 Brick wall set from Tamiya. It was cheap and easy to destroy. I set up where I wanted the wall and arm to be and then made the arm fit in the gap. I originally supported the wall with styrene strips but it was suggested that pinning the wall together would be stronger and less visible, so I went with that option.
Once the wall and debris were made to the approximate sizes I wanted, I came up with the idea that it would be good to have the hand holding a weapon of some sort. Beam Rifles would probably be way too big, so I decided to scratch build a 1/35 scale Beam Saber out of old garden saprinkler hosing. I measured up the pieces and cut and glued them to the size I wanted. I also added a small piece of styrene for the Beam activating trigger.
Next up was the road. I thought about using sand or ballast for the road base but when looking through my junk in the shed, I found a piece of 120 grit sandpaper which I attached to the base with double sided tape and then cut the crater out where the hand was to land. Cracks were added by stratching them in the sandpaper with a sharp knife.
The rubble was made with a mix of ballast, sand and crushed brick. This was all glued down and air brushed with brown and a light coat of red. Once the arm was in place, the other rubble from the wall, roof, gutters and window was added.
Damage to the elbow was done with my trusty soldering iron which I used to melt away the edge of the elbow to simulate explosion damage. I added wires to the end to show the exposed electrical wiring after the explosion. Scratches on the arm and hand were done by actually scratching the paint off back to the primer and then dusting with Soot coloured pastels.
The figures were next and they were done with a coating of Black for the base coat; Dark Yellow for the uniform; hand brushed Flesh for skin, Flat Earth for the packs etc, Dark Gray on the belts, Brown on the boots, Red on the cuffs and collars. The buckles on the belts and straps where done with Mr Metal Aluminum.
Once everything was pinned and glued down to the base, I finished it all up by adding a few more small details, such as the house number and electrical wiring into the house.
All in all, I really enjoyed making this kit. The details on the arm and figures have to be seen to be believed. This was my first 1/35 build and I dare say it will not be my last.
Update : 25th May 2009
This kit was entered into the 2009 ScaleACT Model Expo and Competition and I am proud to annouce that this build managed to snare 3rd place in the Science Fiction Category!
 |