HG 1/144 GUNDAM AERIAL

This kit is excellent for an HG in that the parts are finely divided and look realistic. Therefore, I tried to emphasize the realistic impression by simple crafting and a little modification.

The Theme of Building

Real Grade Style with Simple Crafting

Gate finishing

After cutting the gate with nippers, smooth the gate marks with a sponge file.

*The nippers I use

*The sponge file I use

Line engraving

The greatest feature of the real grade is the fine division of the armor panels. Therefore, I reproduced the panel divisions by adding line engravings.For simple work, only straight lines were used for the line engravings.  

For the line engraving, I used an engraving knife and a guide tape to guide the edge of the blade.

Making holes

I drilled small holes in several places, assuming there would be bolt holes for attaching parts.

*The tool used was this.

Adding Parts

The round molds on the shoulders are too small to ink neatly, so I glued round parts that I purchased separately from the kit.

Before

After

*Here are the parts used.

Parts were added to make the circular shaped parts under the chest stand out.

*Here are the parts used.

Brush Painting

I painted the frame in silver to create the texture of steel.

*Here are the paints I used.

This paint has a realistic gloss after polishing, and even when applied with a brush, it does not show unevenness and gives a beautiful finish.

To emphasize the divided armor panels, I painted some of the panels a little darker than the color of the adjacent panels.

Inking

Ｉ used Tamiya’s special paint for inking.

Decal

Commercially available water transfer decals were applied to increase the amount of visual information.

*The water transfer decals used are these.

Coating

The armor was coated with a matte finish.
The frame was coated with a semi-gloss finish to preserve the texture of the painted steel.

*Here is the coating we used.

flat finish

Semi-gloss finish

These coating is not difficult to use and the finish is excellent. It is very easy to use and the finish is excellent.

After completion

A real grade look was achieved through simple crafting.