#mgex

Probably the biggest pain in the ass kit that I have built so far. Largely due to my fear of breaking the LED strip. This did have a lot of challenges due to the restriction caused by the LEDs. Everything being built directly on the torso instead of separately before being put together made space to maneuver around the build tedious. But it is beautiful when complete.

I don’t care enough to make a clean background but I need to catalogue all of these details and gimmicks that I love because I feel like a character trying to comprehend a Lovecraftian horror

Also included Heterosexual ™ Couple for scale because I like this image a lot

Anyways, I may end up doing the decals at some point down the road but I need a break from this beast. I am happy with how he turned out though, I just hope my friends don’t get annoyed with me spamming absjwjdmwmwmfma now I just have to decide what kit to start next ha h.a …

MGEX ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam

So I started working on this guy at the end of November. I didn’t finish it until December 31st. I ended up doing a daily art challenge over on the bird, and that ended up taking up almost all my free time considering my work hours double during December. However, I’m glad I finished it before the year rolled over.

The Good: This was a fantastic build. The interior frame was a ton of fun to build, there are a bunch of small mechanisms, interesting parts layering; just a stellar experience all around.

To aid in the build process, it actually came with a small, cardboard “Multi Stand” to hold your in-use sprews. I ended up using it for all the plated and painted sprews.

Speaking of the painted and plated, the number of interesting materials was very cool, and something you don’t get to see if you stick to just HG or standard MG builds. The stickers were metallic foil, there were raised metal stickers as well, there were a full four sprews that were either fully painted or chrome plated in gold. It was honestly one of the things that drew me to this kit.

The layout of the runners was also very well done. With a few small exceptions, almost every part was either undergated or gated into a place that would be covered later by other parts. I had to quickly become very adept at shaving parts with a knife rather than a file.

I was a little bummed that I had to cover up all that gold with armor, and found myself wishing the armor parts were clear so I could see it all better, but after it was finished I was impressed by just how much gold showed through. While I still think I’d prefer clear armor, I’m not upset with what we got. Oh, and it comes with a tiny Lacus and Kira. I don’t care, but maybe you will.

The Bad: I only really have three issues with this kit. The first is the bits: the bits are not designed to be displayed. They have no way of accepting any type of stand adapter to hold them up, and the kit itself has no added display piece for them.

Second is the articulate hands. They’re actually very well articulated (I managed to get a very good snapping pose out of them), but the fingers pop off all the time. All the time. It’s a bummer, since they’re required to use the Beam Sabers.

Lastly are the metallic raised stickers. They just don’t stick well, and if you flex them at all they may stick worse. You also don’t really need most of them, since the armor covers a lot of them up. You just need the chest ones, which get held in place by the vents, and about 3 on each knee. I didn’t end up needing to add glue, but you might.

The Details: Because of how this kit is meant to be built, I only added panel lining. I specifically avoided lining the gold plastic because I’ve had issues with gold plastic degrading over time when ink is added. I did add it to a few tiny “hole” spots, like the head vulcans, but that’s it. I did use all the included standard stickers, though didn’t use the decal stickers they included. I find they can make a kit look too cluttered or marred, and they tend to peel or fall off more easily than normal stickers. I’ve found I prefer building kits without them unless there’s a standout interesting design.

Overall, even though it took me forever to build (which it shouldn’t have), it was probably the coolest build I did in 2022, and a great way to cap it off. It is a very expensive kit, but I do think it’s worth it if you can swing it. It’s an amazing build, a fantastic final product, and is meant to be straight built if that concerns you.

BTW, Fun Fact, I’ve brought up that I play Gundam Breakers Mobile a few times. Strike Freedom is the most common non-custom build to run into. Like, you’re more likely to run into one than a painted custom. Guess it’s popular.

Just finished the MGEX Strike Freedom. It’s a little big for the shelf that I have it on (´∀｀)

I didn’t use many water slides as I hate them but even with a couple large ones on it looks nice!

Honestly with the different build style this has compared to many other kits it was a refreshing change. Especially after building stuff like the MG Dom, kampfer schwartz, and MG stark jegan.

It’s also crazy to see the changes that are capable in roughly 17 years

バンダイスピリッツ　MGEX 1/100 ユニコーンガンダム Ver.Ka　機動戦士ガンダムUC