Kit Information :
Scale : SD
Grade : SD
Made by : Bandai
Completed : 26th April 2006
Box Art :
SD Z'Gok (Char Aznable Custom)
I've played around with SD models before, well one, a SD Strike Gundam that I snapped together and painted with Gundam Markers (yeah, I know), but I really had an urge to build a SD U.C Mobile Suit.
I managed to find this kit while on a shopping trip so I snapped it up as it was ideal for what I was wanting to do.
This kit took alot longer to finish than I hoped for due to a massive error in judgement and Tamiya Basic Type putty. I thought I'd fill the jet pack with the putty but it decided to try and eat it's way out of the other side through the plastic of the piece. I managed to fix it evenutally, using small plastic pieces cut to size and puttied in. I wont be using that putty for that sort of job again.
The legs and arms were painted in Gun Metal, the claws in Chrome Silver and Black, the visor in Black whilst everything else was painted in Red (for Char's Custom). Shading was done with the Tamiya Weathering Pastels. I used the Soot colour and brushed it on the edges to give a post-shaded look without having to air brush any on.
Finally, small detailing was done. Dry Brushing the vents with Chrome Silver, painting the missle turrets by hand with a Black turret / Gun Metal Missle combination, and the rear visor windows painted Black.
The Diorama ....
My inital thoughts for the diorama was to just have the Z'Gok hovering just above the ground. When I really thought about it, well, it sounded real boring. Then I thought, how about an action shot involving the Z'Gok taking off in a direction using the jetpack? Bingo!
The setting for the diorama is in the caves of Jaburo during one of the famous battle scenes in the orginal anime, where Char infiltrates the Earth Forces Jaburo Base with his custom made Z'Gok.
I added a rock pillar with moss and used Woodland Scenics grey Ballast as ground cover to give the look that the diorama is in the underground cave network of Jaburo.
The jet stream was a bit tricky. I have heard of many different ways of doing this sort of thing, so I decided to try it with thin wooden skewers as a base for the streams. They didn't want to hold properly so I decided to use wire instead. This also gave me some flexibility when it came to postioning the model. I added some double sided tape to the wire, attached the cotton wool and glued the jet pack to the ends. I also heaped the Ballast around where the jet stream was hitting the ground to give the impression that the force of the jets was strong.
The last little touch I added, was the little fellow. I thought he would be ideal to be standing there, watching the Z'Gok take off.
Click the appropriate link on the right sidebar for a detailed in-progress and, most importantly of all, the photo gallery!
Update 07/08/10 :
This kit was entered into the 2010 Australian BAKUC and I am proud to annouce that it won 1st place in the SD Category!
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