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Goddamnit. I've had a big raise recently and had completely forgotten about hlj.com. Those Bandai Mecha Collection kits add up faaaaast.
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Jan 13, 2020 08:46
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Solkanar512 posted:This is the one thing I really hate about gunpla - having to shop from store to store looking for someone that has what you want and no shop allows you to filter out “out of stock” items from their search results. Ugh. I use HLJ.com once a year or so, they've got a stock status filter on their search results.
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Jan 21, 2020 02:07
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I build models at my desk on some lunch breaks. One of the new hires noticed and mentioned that he had a Gundam kit gathering dust in a closet, and did I want it. I said sure, of course ! Turns out some well-intentioned person had gifted the guy an RG Justice Gundam. That would have been a tall order for a first build ! I gave him twenty bucks for it, because our contractors get paid poo poo. I took it home because I have my 30mm build at work, and now I can't find my drat modelling glasses.
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Feb 16, 2020 06:52
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Bees on Wheat posted:Nice! I've considered bringing kits to work that I can build at my desk, but yeah an RG would probably be out of the question since there's so many tiny fiddly parts. Maybe an SD kit or a Haro or something would be better, since I have to share space with a couple other people. I've got a $10 toolkit tucked in a drawer, and I can eat and get a leg or arm done on an HG kit in a reasonable lunch break. I say go for it. Just plan ahead for shelf space for completed models.
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Feb 17, 2020 00:17
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MJP posted:It's really wonderful what Gunpla and scale modeling does for mindfulness and mental wellness. It allows us to focus in a world where countless things deny and sap that focus. There's nothing as refreshing as a mandatory uni-task in the multitask era. This is exactly why I try to get in 2 or 3 building sessions a week at my desk. And here's what I've been working on !  I'm thinking panel lines, some black checkerboarding, swap in a weapon that actually looks cool, get a good pose in, and some terrain.
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Feb 18, 2020 22:38
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Did some panel lines on my 30mm at lunch. I also stole a proper Mobile Suit weapon from another kit; the stock will need some modification but it looks right to me. I may make a third pass on the knees, they're still sloppy.
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Feb 19, 2020 22:00
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RG Evangelion UNIT-0 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZTFNHDS/ $52 is downright reasonable, and I'll probably be on 4 days a week WFH by the time it ships.
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Mar 15, 2020 10:23
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And to think, most of us were about to become postapocalyptic warlords based on our build backlogs.
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Mar 17, 2020 04:00
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Oh crap, I left my 30mm build at work.
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Mar 22, 2020 10:21
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Monaghan posted:I'm buying a house with an unfinished basement. I get to have a modelling room and I need ideas/inspiration about to finally have my dream of having a bomb rear end model workstation room. You'll want better lighting. No, better than that.
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Mar 30, 2020 23:25
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Metal Gear Anubis by JT Smiley
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Apr 2, 2020 16:27
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Bad News: My RG-EVA-01 got backordered. Good News: I dug up my partially completed MG MSZ-006C1. That should help tide me over.
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Apr 3, 2020 08:14
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That Gobbo posted:I finished my entry for my local gunpla group's build off where everyone had to use a MG Ball kit. I kitbashed it with a bunch of stuff to create a Warhammer 40k Ork Morkanaut which was a ton of fun to do. You can check out the full imgur album here and I also wrote an article on the process here! That's baller as hell.
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Apr 12, 2020 01:02
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The top ten cheap gunpla tips video included a section making display bases out of empty sprues, I'm thinking of trying that. I just got an email from JapanPost, they say they've delivered an order I placed through Amazon on March 25. This is just the handoff to USPS, but that's pretty fast in my book.
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Apr 14, 2020 00:38
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I have box envy and I got it bad. I ordered a Sinanju Stein Narrative based solely on the box size. Well, it is a cool looking MS, but my motives were not pure.
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Apr 14, 2020 06:08
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Queadlunn posted:Not truly plamo, but I received an amazing VF-1J from SDF: Macross in Millia Falina's colors today! This one's one of Arcadia's 1/60 Hard agree. More Macross kits at a modern standard would be In non-transformable kits, the 1/100 VF-25 fighter-mode is also a gorgeous kit. Not a lot of pieces, all really well formed. It really shows off the beauty of the VF-25. but it's an amazing amount of stickers or masking paint to get all the details of the paint job. The black and red details highlight the white paint job, but are an amazing amount of work to apply. Looks drat good when it's done, and it's only about a $20 kit.
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Apr 19, 2020 00:02
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Oh, I just finished the arms on the MSN-06S-2 Sinanju Stein. There's one tricky bit on the forearm where I broke one of two posts on each arm. Fortunately that part is held in place by other bits sufficiently to not worry about it (or need glue). What really terrified me were the one-piece hands. I was so sure I was going to break something while rotating the fingers into place. Amazingly, the worst that happened was one finger popped out of joint, but it popped back in just fine. These things are marvels of model kit engineering, I have no idea how you injection mold a ball and socket joint, must be 3D printed. I'll give them a lot of credit for including both stickers and decals in the kit. Covering both options was very nice. Having only built and stickered the head, torso, and arms I'm going to give it a good rating as a quality kit - despite the assembly issues on the forearms - but beware ! This is a hard kit with a shitton of sprues.
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Apr 29, 2020 06:26
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Unlucky7 posted:On the one hand I like the prebuilt pieces because of the mad engineering that went into them, but on the other I don't because it is prebuilt mad engineering which to me sort of takes away some of the appeal of building. For now I will just settle with respect. The prebuilt mad engineering hands take enough care to get everything rotated just right without breaking that I feel invested in them. For transforming kits, Bandai's Macross series has some excellent kits, http://cjinsblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/172-vf-25f-messiah-review.html This is an excellent kit, somewhere between HG and MG in difficulty and detail, and a really beautiful design. Just be prepared to put on a LOT of stickers. I'd ahve mine finally completed if I hadn't, err, mislaid some parts.
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Apr 29, 2020 20:57
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1/144 on the left, 1/100 on the right. That's more of a difference than I was expecting.
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May 7, 2020 05:21
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Captain Invictus posted:is that a REALLY BIG robot on the shelf in the background above the western digital box? Good eyes ! There is in fact a ComicCon exclusive Cylon Warrior back there. Amongst other things that aren't robots/mobile suits. 
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May 7, 2020 09:37
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So I'm finishing up my MG Sinanju Stein. Goddamn this is a nice model. What really stands out as I get the weapons together is that the non-poseable hands meant for gripping weapons fit better than the ones on HG models do. All in all this kit was worth the 3xHG price and 3xHG time to assemble. I only get one cool new thing to display, but it's bigger and does more. If you've been on the fence about stepping up to MG kits, the fun appears to increase directly proportional to the cost. How does this MG kit rank against the others ?
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May 9, 2020 07:05
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chiasaur11 posted:Honestly, I thought it was a digimon at first. I was wondering which Angel that was. Banjo Kaczynski posted:What colour should I use to panel line a Zaku II? I've got the standard black/grey/brown markers and paints. Try brown first, then gray. If those don't work for you, black will go over them nicely. mllaneza fucked around with this message at 08:05 on May 13, 2020 |
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May 13, 2020 08:02
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Do your panel lining folks ! A fine-point sharpie will do just fine. These needs some cleanup still. A q-tip with rubbing alcohol on it will remove the surface marks nicely, and will leave most of the ink down in the actual panel line.
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May 15, 2020 03:52
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Puddin posted:Building the Yamato final battle version and i want to kill the person that decided that all the largest of the turrets needed to be a three piece part instead of a single mould. Which kit, and e. oh there it is
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May 16, 2020 08:08
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My first airbrush is on its way in pieces, but it's coming. In the meantime I did an EVA Unit 02. Unpainted but with panel lines. It's the 1996 HG model and the age shows in places. For starters, the build instructions don't have the sequence information. It's possible to figure it out, but adds to the difficulty of the kit. Some of the assemblies are very tricky to put together. This is definitely a notch above a modern HG kit, but it's worth the effort. The torso behind the head lifts and opens to reveal a removable plug for the pilot. The stickers and panel lining aren't perfect, but I'm happy with it.     
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May 16, 2020 19:31
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The Notorious ZSB posted:I am quite sure the Gundam pens I ordered for a friend are trapped in forever limbo somewhere in Japan. Comrade, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019QBPDS2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They're mediocre for large areas but I put some color details on a mecha collection Cosmo Tiger with Sharpies at work and it looks pretty good. Just don't get dry erase.
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May 21, 2020 03:51
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I'ma just leave this right here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spGpo6tH-Fc
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May 22, 2020 04:26
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I think I;m going to shift over to the higher grades for the most part. I do like the selection at HG, but a $60 MG kit takes me at least as long to build as 3 HG kits, costs about the same, and uses a third of the display space. That's important.
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May 31, 2020 08:01
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Mephiston posted:GM/GM Really takes a liking to even half arsed panel lining, too. That looks at least three-quarter arsed compared to my Evas (I decided Unit 02 need company, so 00 is coming together even now).
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Jun 2, 2020 01:14
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I liked my EVA Unit-02 so much I got a Unit-00 from the same line. This time I took a picture of the weird arm sprue and thought I'd share. That's both arms cast in blue and white plastic, plus white rubber (note the flexible bit being lifted by the file), and a little grey in the shoulder sockets. You cut the whole assembly off of the sprue, then pull both arms off of the blue X piece. You pull the blue plugs out of the wrists - there is no shower of blood as you might expect from an Eva - with pliers, they're in tight. All of this is in service to casting the blue blades as part of the arm. Working on EVAs really does do funny things to your head. The recessed areas around the upper arms and on the lower arms will be filled in with black pieces. On the one hand, this pose looks exactly like the classic slumped shoulders and dangling arms Eva pose. On the other hand, this is an HG kit with zero arm articulation at the elbow. Other than the elbow issue, this is at least as detailed a kit as your average HG. The torso articulation is very nice and emphasizes the not-quite human nature of the EVA units. Next unit, the RG EVA-01 that finally showed up !
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Jun 3, 2020 01:32
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Moai Ou posted:Believe it or not, but the elbows do have (slight) articulation. It's a little stiff and there's not a huge degree of movement, but it's there. I don't have the instructions handy but I believe it's pointed out in there. Then that's an even more impressive molding job. And so they do move. Dangit.
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Jun 5, 2020 05:28
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Metrofreak posted:
That's all split up for airbrushing ?
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Jun 7, 2020 22:21
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chiasaur11 posted:On an unrelated note, saw Gunpla at a Target today. Seems like they've been selling, unless they set up a whole SKU for orders of just one item. Only thing they had was Barbatos, but they had one each of the original HG and the Lupus Rex, and two of the Master Grade. Interesting to see the kits just sitting in a toy aisle. I'm coming due for a TP replacement, I'll look around next time I'm at Target.
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Jun 8, 2020 08:00
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Burns posted:I think i may have a problem: You're okay. I'm okay. We're all okay. 
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Jun 9, 2020 01:53
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Gripweed posted:What Legion you doing? I haven't decided. I did my old Epic scale Warhounds in blue with yellow accents or red - hey I never finished that Reaver - probably also yellow accents. Either Loyalist or just changed sides and haven't gotten all spikey Heretics. They're also my first magnetization project, which is going well so far.
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Jun 9, 2020 04:56
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HG Eva box for scale. Not as many runners as I would have expected, but lots of odd little bits and bobs in the box. I also had a practical moment today. I got my blue-tac in and realized I needed some sticks about 4" long to blue-tac parts to. 10 minutes with a box of empty runners and I've got a couple of yards worth. That's right, hang on to everything.
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Jun 11, 2020 07:19
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grassy gnoll posted:To my tremendous surprised, HLJ shipped out my fancy Eva-00 this morning. Maybe they either wised up after the 01 launch, or Bandai just made a hell of a lot more of the things. Anyway, there's a data point in case something else gets fucky this time. I've got one on order with Gundam Planet, it may be coming over on the same boat. The high end Eva kits just became a hell of anticipation. I've started airbrushing and goddamn is even an HG kit a lot of extra work. One of the high-end Eva kits is going to take forever and needs to be perfect. I just had to start with the White Giant. Not perfect, but better than bare plastic.  The legs are basecoated and I have a 4-day weekend. I suspect they're going to come out better than the arms did. That square shoulder was tricky to lay down even layers of paint on. 
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Jun 19, 2020 08:43
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Midjack posted:A little blob of blue tack and a pair of tweezers can also amplify holding power, and you can stick the tweezer handle in a binder clip, helping hands, or other stronger grip if you’re worried about damage and those are the tool you have at hand. Blue tack is super handy, but I used to to affix pieces to sticks for painting, and that lasted about a day before I broke down and ordered 50 alligator clips for  They hold a grip surprisingly well on the barest hint of a protrusion.
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Jun 19, 2020 22:22
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Mephiston posted:It's kind of funny, but I was speaking to my therapist earlier and mentioned that I'd taken this up as a hobby again after 25 years, and he pointed out that given how I spend my time on this activity, it would most certainly count as a mindfulness exercise; something I've sorely needed for a long time, and I've only ever really otherwise achieved while plinking away on guitar or drums. This is truth. It's a very Mindfulness-y hobby. As a bonus there's that delicious 3d tactile thing your brain does while working out how pieces fit together.
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Jun 20, 2020 02:46
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 21:22 |
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While I am kinda ashamed at using Amazon as a Gunpla source, it did lead me to be able to make a seller recommendation. Smile&fun Japan - Amazon Marketplace I ordered a kit that ended up being sourced by these people back on March 25. it took so long getting across the Pacific that Amazon sent me an automated message that I was up for a refund. I messaged them and ended up agreeing that under present circumstances we should give it another month. Still no package. I got my refund a week and a half ago. The package arrived today. I messaged them about payment and they said to keep it. So if you have a chance, throw some business Smile&fun Japan's way.
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Jun 20, 2020 04:15
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