This seems like a pretty nice spread for a High Grade. Right?!?
At the very least it seems like the color separation is going to be solid.
Now, let’s zoom in on that sticker sheet:
All those shiny blue sections on the body are made using these stickers, which honestly is one of the better ways to use stickers to truly enhance the look of a model. Especially in this case, where they’re applied to simple, flat surfaces, meaning they should look very nice when we’re done.
I also want to briefly point out that this model has quite a few beam effect parts, far more than a normal High Grade. That’s pretty cool all on its own, but more importantly, it says something about the design of this mobile suit.
I mentioned this briefly in the last post, but it shows just how much Mao worked on fixing one of his biggest blind spots by putting more effort into close range combat, instead of merely relying on overwhelming (and long, long) ranged firepower.
Real Touch Markers and Weathering
So how did the Real Touch Marker go for weathering. Turns out it really does work exactly how the manual explains. You just draw onto the plastic and use a cotton swab to rub it all around. Do it enough times, and it will spread and “stain” (in a good way) the plastic until it looks nice and worn. I’ll note a few things about this process:
- The ink comes out looking a bit more brown than grey, but it looks different once you spread it around.
- The weathering effect isn’t quite the same as what you’d get with weathering compound or paint washes. It’s a bit hard to describe; I guess I’d say it does a good job of getting into crevices and the like, which leads to a weathering effect that feels really natural.
- I read something that said that, since the marker is water based, it wouldn’t play nice with topcoat. But in my experience it looks just fine.
It’s a nice little tool in the toolbox, and I look forward to seeing how else I can use it.
Now, onward to the build.
Weapons
Since this kit has so many weapons - and since they’re basically the same as the ones we once saw with the Real Grade Crossbone - I just dumped into a pile to go over them all at once:
We’ve got the combat knives, the boot knives (not pictured here, but they exist), the gun, and the sword.
In the case of the latter two, they’re both made of light grey plastic, so you’ll have to paint them if you want that light grey/dark grey contrast. There’s also a seamline on the pistol, though I found that the parts on this kit fit so tightly together that it’s not super visible.
And yes, just like on the Real Grade version, they combine together to create a beam rifle:
All things considered, they did a great job of replicating all the expected functionality without much of a loss in visual fidelity.
One more thing - you might have noticed a pair of dark grey, slightly larger than usual beam saber handles in that pile of weapons. I have no idea what they are used for. The instruction manual doesn’t have them crossed out, so presumably they have some purpose, but I just don’t know what it is. I’m not even sure if the model would be able to hold them.
Crossbone Gun/Sword
These weapons get their own section since they’re new:
There’s another seamline here, but otherwise these are pretty simple. I tried using the Real Touch marker to make them look more like weathered old bones, but as you can see from the photo above, you can’t really tell. So I went back later and tried it again, partly to make it look better, and partly to see if the marker would still work well when applied after top coating.
The thing about applying paint or ink atop top coat is that it can smear really badly if you try to wipe it off. Normally that’s a bad thing, but in this case it’s exactly what we want. I wouldn’t say you should only use the marker after topcoating, but it seems like it’s certainly an option, depending on what kind of finish or effect you want.
Feet
Pretty simple. There’s no toe bend, as is common with High Grades, but there’s also no seamlines:
We also get our first glimpse at some of those shiny blue stickers, and I can tell you that you’ll want to be very careful when applying them; because of how shiny they are, any crinkles and tears will be extra visible. Though admittedly, this is easier said than done, as I myself introduced both some crinkles and some tears.
Legs
I forgot to take some WIP photos here. The main thing I want to highlight is that the yellow vents are color separated, and that the entire front half of the leg is one big part, so there are no seamlines(there is one small one in the back, but again, the parts fit so tightly that you won’t really be able to tell)
Skirt Armor
Very very simple, though the stickers do give them a bit of life:
I highly suggest that you do not try and snip the two front skirts apart, as I found that once separated, each one is very floppy, and is liable to just fall out completely. I ended up adding copious amounts of super glue just to add enough resistance to keep them in place.
Upper Torso
Here is the chest without the giant skull:
Other than the obvious holes where the skull parts are supposed to slot in, this looks really good! It’s full of detail and color separation and everything, and we can see the big black void in the center, where the Satellite Cannon is embedded.
Now we add the skull:
As you can see, if you put some weathering around the head, and some panel lines around the teeth, you can make it look damn piratey.
Now, how exactly does the skull open up to fire? It’s actually as simple an idea as you can get. The top part of the skull doesn’t snap fit into place on the chest. Rather, it plugs in somewhat loosely, with room to move, so that all you have to do is simply lift it up a bit:
Head
Like so many High Grade Gundam heads, there’s a seamline running right down the middle of this one, but according to the lineart (as well as the photos in the manual), it’s actually supposed to be there, which makes the build process so much simpler:
We’ve got some little vents on the sides of the face you can fill in, but other than that this looks perfect out of the box.
Arms
Nothing about the assembly is any different than any number of other High Grade builds I’ve done.
It kind of looks like there is a seamline in the forearm, but I think it’s supposed to be there. There’s also a tiny one on the top of the shoulder armor, but since it’s so flat it’s very easy to remove.
Holding Hands
This kit comes with seven - seven! - holding hands, which is extremely uncommon.
These include special holding hands for using with the pistol, as well as “peace sign” hands, a gesture that Mao is quite fond of using.
(Side note - more Gunpla need to come with peace sign hands)
Backpack
The backpack is made out of two halves that plug together:
The top half is where we mount the special beam saber arms. These are built by stringing together a number of different joints, giving them quite a lot of articulation in multiple directions.
Meanwhile, the bottom half is where you mount the bone-shaped energy collectors. But before we do that, let’s plug the two halves together and fold the arms up all nice:
With the arms tucked in place like this, the Crossbone Gundam finally has traditionally mounted beam sabers, which is a nice touch.
Now, about those energy collectors:
They’re made of just two parts, with one fitting into/underneath the other, meaning there are no seamlines. And each one uses just one blue sticker which wraps around from the back to the front.
Finished
This model was originally from 2013, which makes it roughly the same age as the last three High Grades I’ve built. And yet this one was a much, MUCH better build experience, the kind that I’d expect from a kit of this vintage.
Now of course, the differences in my experiences probably boil down to personal perception more than anything. The builds I dislike might be entirely pleasant to someone else, and vice versa.
And yet, I wonder …
As much as I do believe that there are certain “eras” of Gunpla that are better or worse than others, that doesn’t mean that every model from a certain era is going to be exactly the same as the rest. That is, a given kit could be even better or worse than the rest of its cohort. And if that is true, I can’t help but wonder why and/or how that happens.
Is it possible that certain Gunpla simply have more love and care put into them? Is it at all driven by certain staff members and their approach to design? How much do budget and time constraints factor in?
These thoughts are driven further by the fact that the High Grade Build Fighters line a whole is all over the place in regards to quality. For example, the Crossbone Maoh was excellent, but the Wing Gundam Fenice was … just OK.
And while I haven’t yet built it, I know for a fact that the HG Star Build Strike is a nightmare when it comes to color accuracy. Of all the Build Fighters Gunpla that you’d think they’d try and make as good possible, it would be that one. But that’s clearly not the case.
So what do you all think? Is there anything to my musings, or is does this really all just boil down to personal perception?