There's a capsule toy series called "Machi-bouке" where
they put licensed characters in a sitting position,
and there's a Gundam version of it
Since there are only 4 types, I've completed the set.
Moreover, I have multiple figures of every character.
If you ask which mobile suit looks best in a sitting position,
naturally the Acguy was chosen first,
Zaku II (mass production type)
Gundam (with a mean expression)
Gym
That's the lineup.
I took a photo with a Cateye H-34 light bracket as a size reference that cyclists would relate to.
This is about the size they are.
I was thinking about adding a horn to the mass production Zaku's head
and repainting it in Char's colors,
but when I thought about the masking process and all the steps involved, it seemed like a real hassle,
so I threw in the towel.
Instead of that, I decided to modify the Gym instead
↑Here's what I ended up with.
Can you hear me? I'm sure you can hear me.
～Production Process～
I noticed that the head and the thruster section on the back
can be removed.
It really helps make the work easier.
The connection points are shaped like a rectangular form with a notch,
so the head and thrusters can't be attached
in the wrong orientation.
This capsule toy was made in the Philippines.
Filipino people might be familiar with Voltes V,
but they might not be too familiar with Gundam.
I attached a nozzle-type detail-up part from Kotobukiya
to the ear section
and filled in the Vulcan cannon hole on the forehead with putty.
To see the fine surface details, I've been
spraying Mr. Surfacer 1000 from Gunze
and repeatedly brushing on the liquid bottled version,
then sanding with sandpaper.
↑Like this
The body is PVC (vinyl chloride), so
water-based and enamel paints don't adhere well,
so I went with lacquer paint instead.
If it had been plastic, I would have tried
brush-painting with water-based paints like Citadel or Vallejo,
but I gave up on that.
This is also why I abandoned the idea of repainting the mass production Zaku
in Char's colors
(it might be possible to paint over a lacquer surfacer,
but that's another story).
This is a T-shaped section cut from a plastic model sprue.
It's floating in water
for wet-sanding the sandpaper.
The origin of the name is unclear, but I'm calling this sprue
"Space Runway."
↑The part on the left in the image is 120-grit, rough-sanded.
Since the sprue was 3mm in diameter,
I left just the part that goes into the head unsanded
and drilled a 3mm hole in the head
to insert the Space Runway into it.
I'm using Tamiya epoxy putty to build up the crest higher.
The circle opening in the back of the ear was 4.8mm in diameter, so
I painted it red first, then applied circular masking tape
in 0.2mm increments and painted the whole thing white.
After that, I painted the visor section in metallic blue.
The clear part on the forehead is a detail-up part from Wave,
and when I applied it as-is, the white backing showed through,
so I painted the back side with Mr. Color's "Dark Green (Kawanishi Type)"—that's the official color name.
Dark Green (Kawanishi Type) is a Japanese Navy aircraft color from Kawanishi Aircraft,
but I don't have any particular attachment to this green—
it's just the only dark green I had on hand.
This is a square duct detail-up part from Kotobukiya with plastic sheet glued to it.
The reason it's the duct part plus 3 sheets of plastic is because
that happened to match the Gym's shoulder width perfectly,
and this forms the part extending upward from the shoulder.
I applied strong-stick double-sided tape to a rod,
attached the shoulder-top part,
and sprayed surfacer on it.
Then I painted it red, sprayed clear coat on top,
and even did panel wash with Tamiya enamel paint.
Since it's over the paint film, the enamel paint is fine.
I did the panel wash first since it would be hard to apply later,
but painting over the gray surfacer was a mistake.
The body from the neck down is painted gray surfacer → white → red,
and because the base color is different, the red looks different—
this part is darker.
The white and red, plus yellow on the upper body and neck area
are painted with Mr. Color's Gunpla-specific colors:
MS White, MS Red, and MS Yellow, used straight without mixing.
Gaia Notes makes Ideon-specific lacquer paints with
two versions of the red main color
(Original Red reproducing the anime color, and
Aoshima 1/450 model kit molded color Red),
but why am I talking about Ideon now when I'm modifying a Gym?
I drilled 0.5mm holes in the toe tips using Tamiya precision drill bits.
This comes in 4 sizes from 0.2 to 0.5mm
for a 1mm shaft diameter.
Since the target is PVC, the drill bit advances easily
even without attaching it to a pin vise handle.
I was careful not to drill all the way through the bottom of the foot.
When I rotate it to prevent the bit from advancing, the shavings come out,
and you can feel when you've made a clean hole as the rotation becomes lighter.
What's shown on the right in the image is
an edge-type part from Kotobukiya's detail-up parts,
and on the left is the same thing after I rounded it with a half-round file.
I could make something like this with plastic sheet,
but since it comes with a 0.5mm mounting pin, which is convenient for gluing,
I went with this part.
In the image above, there's a slight step on the sleeve of the right arm,
that's because I applied masking tape to the sleeve area
and to the front of the shin,
and when I remove it, white will show through.
↑The white parts of the body are areas I masked before painting red
↑The shoulder part is a darker shade
A hint of yellow visible around the neck—
this is a pain to do, but I'm glad I painted it.
The edge on the toe is a silvery gray,
and I was supposed to paint the foot section in dark blue,
but I only used Mr. Color Black Iron, which is lazy work on my part.
The adhesive from the ankle duct part is bleeding through and affecting the color,
so I might touch it up.
they put licensed characters in a sitting position,
and there's a Gundam version of it
Since there are only 4 types, I've completed the set.
Moreover, I have multiple figures of every character.
If you ask which mobile suit looks best in a sitting position,
naturally the Acguy was chosen first,
Zaku II (mass production type)
Gundam (with a mean expression)
Gym
That's the lineup.
I took a photo with a Cateye H-34 light bracket as a size reference that cyclists would relate to.
This is about the size they are.
I was thinking about adding a horn to the mass production Zaku's head
and repainting it in Char's colors,
but when I thought about the masking process and all the steps involved, it seemed like a real hassle,
so I threw in the towel.
Instead of that, I decided to modify the Gym instead
↑Here's what I ended up with.
Can you hear me? I'm sure you can hear me.
～Production Process～
I noticed that the head and the thruster section on the back
can be removed.
It really helps make the work easier.
The connection points are shaped like a rectangular form with a notch,
so the head and thrusters can't be attached
in the wrong orientation.
This capsule toy was made in the Philippines.
Filipino people might be familiar with Voltes V,
but they might not be too familiar with Gundam.
I attached a nozzle-type detail-up part from Kotobukiya
to the ear section
and filled in the Vulcan cannon hole on the forehead with putty.
To see the fine surface details, I've been
spraying Mr. Surfacer 1000 from Gunze
and repeatedly brushing on the liquid bottled version,
then sanding with sandpaper.
↑Like this
The body is PVC (vinyl chloride), so
water-based and enamel paints don't adhere well,
so I went with lacquer paint instead.
If it had been plastic, I would have tried
brush-painting with water-based paints like Citadel or Vallejo,
but I gave up on that.
This is also why I abandoned the idea of repainting the mass production Zaku
in Char's colors
(it might be possible to paint over a lacquer surfacer,
but that's another story).
This is a T-shaped section cut from a plastic model sprue.
It's floating in water
for wet-sanding the sandpaper.
The origin of the name is unclear, but I'm calling this sprue
"Space Runway."
↑The part on the left in the image is 120-grit, rough-sanded.
Since the sprue was 3mm in diameter,
I left just the part that goes into the head unsanded
and drilled a 3mm hole in the head
to insert the Space Runway into it.
I'm using Tamiya epoxy putty to build up the crest higher.
The circle opening in the back of the ear was 4.8mm in diameter, so
I painted it red first, then applied circular masking tape
in 0.2mm increments and painted the whole thing white.
After that, I painted the visor section in metallic blue.
The clear part on the forehead is a detail-up part from Wave,
and when I applied it as-is, the white backing showed through,
so I painted the back side with Mr. Color's "Dark Green (Kawanishi Type)"—that's the official color name.
Dark Green (Kawanishi Type) is a Japanese Navy aircraft color from Kawanishi Aircraft,
but I don't have any particular attachment to this green—
it's just the only dark green I had on hand.
This is a square duct detail-up part from Kotobukiya with plastic sheet glued to it.
The reason it's the duct part plus 3 sheets of plastic is because
that happened to match the Gym's shoulder width perfectly,
and this forms the part extending upward from the shoulder.
I applied strong-stick double-sided tape to a rod,
attached the shoulder-top part,
and sprayed surfacer on it.
Then I painted it red, sprayed clear coat on top,
and even did panel wash with Tamiya enamel paint.
Since it's over the paint film, the enamel paint is fine.
I did the panel wash first since it would be hard to apply later,
but painting over the gray surfacer was a mistake.
The body from the neck down is painted gray surfacer → white → red,
and because the base color is different, the red looks different—
this part is darker.
The white and red, plus yellow on the upper body and neck area
are painted with Mr. Color's Gunpla-specific colors:
MS White, MS Red, and MS Yellow, used straight without mixing.
Gaia Notes makes Ideon-specific lacquer paints with
two versions of the red main color
(Original Red reproducing the anime color, and
Aoshima 1/450 model kit molded color Red),
but why am I talking about Ideon now when I'm modifying a Gym?
I drilled 0.5mm holes in the toe tips using Tamiya precision drill bits.
This comes in 4 sizes from 0.2 to 0.5mm
for a 1mm shaft diameter.
Since the target is PVC, the drill bit advances easily
even without attaching it to a pin vise handle.
I was careful not to drill all the way through the bottom of the foot.
When I rotate it to prevent the bit from advancing, the shavings come out,
and you can feel when you've made a clean hole as the rotation becomes lighter.
What's shown on the right in the image is
an edge-type part from Kotobukiya's detail-up parts,
and on the left is the same thing after I rounded it with a half-round file.
I could make something like this with plastic sheet,
but since it comes with a 0.5mm mounting pin, which is convenient for gluing,
I went with this part.
In the image above, there's a slight step on the sleeve of the right arm,
that's because I applied masking tape to the sleeve area
and to the front of the shin,
and when I remove it, white will show through.
↑The white parts of the body are areas I masked before painting red
↑The shoulder part is a darker shade
A hint of yellow visible around the neck—
this is a pain to do, but I'm glad I painted it.
The edge on the toe is a silvery gray,
and I was supposed to paint the foot section in dark blue,
but I only used Mr. Color Black Iron, which is lazy work on my part.
The adhesive from the ankle duct part is bleeding through and affecting the color,
so I might touch it up.