My first TT Hongli: 1/144 High Grade Seravee/Seraphim Gundam, Trans Am Ver.

Some of my fellow fans in the Gundam universe may have not noticed this yet, but aside from Bandai kits, I also collect a few knock offs. Recently, I've bought a Model Comprehend (MC) kit, a knock off brand making imitations of NeoGrade kits. NeoGrade is a Korean manufacturer of exotic resin kits. You may check their website here.

Other than the Model Comprehend line, probably the most famous knock-off brand in the industry since the Ben Di era, is the TT Hongli series. There's been a debate on how these guys could continue production of knock-off kits, and questions on how they are able to produce such complex material and "toy engineering" that are almost as exact as those from Bandai. Only that, TT Hongli plastic is of a lower quality in several parameters. That, I will discuss later on.

So anyway, the very first TT Hongli Gundam I've ever bought, is the 1/144 High Grade Seravee/Seraphim Gundam, Trans Am version.

Seravee Gundam, Trans Am ver.

Truth is, I'm only intersted in getting a Seravee Gundam that time. From the review done by popular YouTube user Prime92, when it was mentioned that the Seravee can do a lot of poses even though it's got a bulky body, it instantly caught my attention and my "inner hunger" for Gundam kits. So I went online and browsed for Gundams, and I was led to the online store/ads site sulit.com.ph, where a certain member was selling this and available for shipment. I got nervous, of course, for it was my first time ordering from this site. So I joined the site, made a few inquiries, and made the deal. Here's something interesting: I was living in an apartment in Los Baños, Laguna that time, and I was so excited that I couldn't wait for the weekend, and so I didn't demand for the package to be delivered at my provincial address, and I did not know my college address either. Instead, I ordered for the package to be delivered right to my laboratory in the Biological Sciences Building in UPLB! Pretty awesome! Imagine the torment of keeping myself focused on my laboratory work while I anxiously wait for my package to come. And finally, it arrived.

So anyway, indeed this kit could do a lot of poses. In terms of articulation, it could do pretty much the same as like in the Bandai version. Head movement, Shoulder rotation, double joints of the elbows and knees, and the feet could also wiggle. The hands, however, could not, and would only be able to rotate 360°.

Seravee Gundam holding its GN Bazooka

Being a knock-off, of course this kit has several problems. First, the head basically looks like the Bandai version from afar, but a closer look shows that the face armor mold has a slight glitch near the eyes (Apologies for not having any photo of the feature). The upper part of the body should be able to move below the chest, but the polycap joint was just too tight to allow movement. The hand armor (the piece below the knuckles) is too loose and pops off quite easily, so it needs a bit of gluing. Nevertheless, for display purposes, I love this kit.

Gundam Seravee Action Pose

One more reason why I bought this kit, is that it includes another model kit, hence it's a "two-in-one" kit, as how the seller kept telling me (yeah, it's obviously salestalk). In the Bandai version it's also a two-in-one kit, but it's kind of hard to find here in the Philippines (I think). The other model is the one detached from the Seravee in one episode in Gundam 00 Season 2.

The Seraphim Gundam.

1/144 High Grade Seraphim Gundam, Trans Am ver.

This kit has got a lot to offer in terms of posability. Head rotates well and goes up and down farther than that of Seravee's, shoulders move higher, knees are also double jointed and if you tinker with it more you could actually make it's foot reach it's own ass. This feature is necessary since it could transform back to its backpack mode, then could also be attached to the Seravee.

Problems with this kit, is that one, it's hand armor is also very loose. I used thin cement on this one too. I refrain from using superglue (Mighty Bond, Bulldog, etc.) since from earlier experiences as a gundam collector, whitening occurs on some areas of superglue application. Another thing, which is also a problem with the Bandai version, is that it's feet are way too small for independent posing on a standing position. So I display it on my room, mounted on an action base. Still, it could do poses excellently.

Seraphim Gundam, Action pose

So, in comparison with the Bandai version which, I have actually seen because my twin brother bought one from HongKong thru a friend of mine, overall articulation is pretty much the same, except for the loose parts. Those loose parts from the TT Hongli version, are very secured and perfectly fitted in the Bandai version. One thing you should expect from TT Hongli lines is that its plastic is not too bad, but slightly below average. From what I've experienced in building TT Hongli kits, pieces are a bit hard to cut off from the runners, a little painful to peg into proper holes, and has those several markings which are not too significant in terms of building but can catch your eye when in display, and will be obvious that it's a knock off.

Would I recommend buying knock-off kits? Well yeah, for a few reasons:

• If you are a beginner and doesn't have much money, you could opt for these. Some High Grade kits cost only 200, and thus you could expect a lower price for lower-grades. But still, for beginner gundam collectors, it's much better for you to buy those First Grade or No-Grade Bandai kits. It's your choice; either will do you good.
• If you are an advanced collector and wants to try out modding gundam kits - either by paint job or by doing the battle-damaged modification, you should definitely buy these knock-offs. I wouldn't recommend damaging the precious Bandai kits. Moreover, modding these knock-offs to create a better one will also improve your modding skills.
• If you're really, really, really, really, really, really, really (yeah I totally love My Girlfriend is a Gumiho) desperate to add gundam kits to your collection, and you don't have much money to begin with, then this is a must buy. As mentioned, knock-off kits are sold at very low prices, especially if you buy from the stalls directly instead of buying online (Online stores have mark-ups and added fees - you pay for the shipping, of course). I have my own share of buying knock-offs from Divisoria. Click here if you'd like to hear my story. There's an extra flavor there. :D

My reason for buying knock-offs? The last two.

Resurrection: 1/144 FG Gundam Virtue

Yes! I gave this particular blog the "resurrection" headline, as it deserves to be called like so because I haven't blogged for a LOOOONG time. I have been busy the past few months, sans the continued collection of my treasures, and here we go.

To start off.. again, I give you, the 1/144 First Grade Virtue.

It was bought out of impulse, actually. I never really planned to buy first grades at some point, since I thought it was a waste of money to spend on something that's not so articulate. However, this model does not disappoint at all. True, it could only do a few basic poses here and there, but considering the bulkiness of the unit, it could actually do a lot more that what you might think. Here are a few poses:

Most of the molds were only in a few colors, and there were only white ones, black molds, and a few yellow pieces. Therefore, I had to use Metallic Green Gundam Marker to give detail to the GN drive, and I tried to do a titanium finish on the part along the waist, using the method recommended by Prime92 (from YouTube, see references at the bottom): I painted the bottom layer Aluminum Silver Tamiya Paint, allowed it to dry, then added a thin layer of Clear Red Tamiya Paint on top of the aluminum layer. I allowed it to dry well first before adding a second layer of the Clear Red paint to make it appear clean and evenly spread out.

For the GN Bazooka, I used a Flat Black Tamiya Paint, and a Lemon Yellow Tamiya Paint.

Yeah, I use tamiya paint most of the time. It's cheap!

Of course, as how I've always believed, mounting it on an action base makes it more alive,

since it gives a lot more room for poses.

So there you have it, the 1/144 First Grade Virtue Gundam. I plan to set up one album per kit from this point on, and other pictures too. Well, except for my thesis shots, of course.

Paint technique learned from:

Prime92: http://www.youtube.com/user/Prime92

How-to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EbBVuHZNE&feature=relmfu

GUNDAM: Just the few shots

This time around, I decided to upload a few shots of my humble (literally; I lost several of them a few years back) collection of Gundams. I tried a few poses here and there after being delighted at the sight of two of my Gundams: one, successfully panel-lined, and the other, color-painted a bit amateurish. Oh well. Still made good poses though!

Model: Gundam Exia

Appeared in: Season 1

The thing about this model is that it is only a First Grade (FG). That's what made it important for me to paint some parts to add detail to the gundam. I used acrylic paint mixed with water and a few Tamiya paint, but somehow the texture seemed wrong. Maybe I did something wrong. But it was also panel-lined, and that did the job on some parts.

Gundam Exia, full body rear angle view

Model: 0-Gundam, Rollout Colour Version

Appeared in: Season 1, Ep 1

This Gundam is a rollout colour version of the 0-Gundam, the very first gundam which appeared in the Gundam 00 series, piloted by Ribbons Almark. It came in the box with mostly only grey and white-colored gundam plastic (gunpla) parts, a few red pieces, and a clear piece to cover for the GN Drive in its chest. Of course the polycap pieces are included, but the thing is the version doesn't contain much colors to add enough life to the model. But adding the panel lines just made it look more multi-dimensional, in my opinion. The yellow pieces you see in this shot are just stickers, and you do have the option to paint them, but I decided not to because I haven't experienced much gundam painting yet. From my experience in the Exia, I'm glad I decided not to.

0-Gundam, front view semi close-up. Panel lines in detail.

Here are more action shots of the two models:

Battle mode, 0-Gundam vs. Gundam Exia

One great item included in the 0-Gundam package is the GN feather. This is like the "wings" of the gundam, and based on the series these are particles emitted from the engine of the gundam. In the series, though, the particles were released so elegantly from the 0-Gundam that it did seem like wings. The GN feather did come in colored, with the inner section and some sections of the item transparent. Some dots in the item were also transparent, to give the effect of the "particle release" and showing a rather realistic effect. However, you'd only get to see the effect when light is behind it, so I tried using my laptop as the light source. I sprayed green on a blank canvas in Adobe Photoshop, and it added effect to the GN feather.

These are only some of the poses I came up with for my gundams, and later on I'll be posting some more action poses for these. I have to come up with a good background though. I only had my working table as a background. It'll surely be great! Keep visiting!