Completed Build - MG 1/100 RX-78-02 Gundam The Origin

Finally had a chance to build the Granddaddy Gundam. Tackled a lot of gunpla first with this build. First Master Grade, RX-78-2, waterslides, panel line washes and more. Having never built an MG before, the amount of detail and engineering was surprising. Let's get onto build.

Name: Gundam The Origin

Model: RX-78-02

Grade: Master Grade 1/100

Build:

Being an MG, there isn't much painting to be done as colour separation is really good out of the box. The only parts I painted were the weapons and small details like the thrusters. As always, everything was hand brushed.

• Vallejo Metal Color [Gunmetal] - Weapons/Backpack
• Vallejo Metal Color [Duraluminium] - Thrusters/Backpack/Detailing
• Vallejo Game Color [Red] - Thrusters inner
• Vallejo Liquid Gold [Rich Gold] - Detailing

I also debated on painting the inner frame or not, but because the build instructions have you build sections at a time (instead of frame, then armour), I didn't know how to paint it in pieces. I will probably do a quick on the runner dry brush for the inner frame for the next MG.

Even though I want to do stickerless builds, I did end up using the foil stickers for the weapon optic sights. It was cleaner and quicker to use the stickers and since they are covered by a clear plastic piece, I didn't have to worry about them peeling off.

All the panel lining was done with Tamiya Panel Line Accent [Gray, Black, Brown] and top coating was hand brushed using Future/Pledge for weapons and Vallejo Polyurethane Matte for everything else.

Issues:

I ran into a couple issues with the build that I thought I would mention. One was my fault while the others were due to the kit itself.

1. I panel lined the seams on the arms because I wanted more contrast. That was a huge mistake. The enamel paint seeped into the seams and cracked the plastic as I couldn't get at it to wipe the excess. Lesson learned.
2. One of the rifle barrels had  a very loose fitting connection to the rest of the rifle body. I ended up cementing it in place.
3. The emotion manipulator hands are very fragile. Range of motion is awesome but the ball and socket joints at the base of the fingers is prone to getting loose. Fingers keep falling off when attaching new weapons. I put a coat of future on them but they are still pretty loose.

Decals:

This is the first kit I ever tried water slide decals on. The kit comes with normal stickers and because there is no official set for the Origins kit, I ended up buying GD-97 (RX-78-2 ver. 3.0) and GD-60 (RX-78-2 ver. Real Type) to try out.

The 3.0 set does not fit the Origins armour straight from the sheet. The shape and details are completely different so I ended up taking bits and pieces and trimming the shoulder decals before applying. The shield decals work without issues. I added a few icons and names from the Real Type sheet to keep it interesting.

All water slides were applied over a gloss layer using Micro Set and Micro Sol and then sealed again with future and matte coat if appropriate. The clear water slide film largely disappears after the matte coat.

All in all it's a very cool kit. Very well engineered and enough details and gimmicks to keep the minimalist style interesting. I'm really looking forward to the next MG build.