As teased in my HG Gundam EX build completion post, I’ve finally caught up with the latest mainline Gundam series as I started building the HG GQuuuuuuX. I wanted to get my hands on the Delpi Decal’s waterslides before starting and since I got my decal sheet on hand last week, I went right in.
Oh and I will be finally able to watch Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- later this week, but more on that in a separate post.
And it took me a couple of days just to build the two heads included with this kit. That might be a little hyperbole, but since I have a couple of hours, give-or-take, to build during weekdays, the two heads took me two days. What’s not hyperbole is the complexity of building these. Not because of internal mechanisms or anything, but rather due to the sheer amount of small parts and the unique build process. And it still needed additional paint for the main blade antenna and the side vents.
The other thing I wanted to point out, and this is while giving Bandai Spirits all the credit for the engineering and parts separation, is that you’ll still need to paint some parts for color accuracy. I am talking about several areas needing orange or blue paint. I am also not counting the multiple shades of white seen in some illustrations of the GQuuuuuuX as these are subject to personal interpretation. Don’t get me wrong, the kit still looks great if you decided to do a straight-build, but if you want color accuracy to a good extent, then you will definitely need to paint.
This also one of those kits that would’ve benefited from a dedicated water slide decal sheet from the time of release because of all the pin stripes. And while the marking stickers can definitely be used, there are certain surfaces where the stickers would definitely peel off. I know there would be official water slide decals by September, but that’s a little late if you want to build the kit ahead of the anime premiere in April.
The “partial painting” needed for the main mobile suit is nothing out of the ordinary, but the same can’t be said for the Core Fighter and the shield. Especially for the shield, and I’ve researched the several layers of masking some Japanese modelers have done to best approach painting the details at the back.
