I know I just spent a ton of words complaining about my recent trip, but despite all the issues, crises, and calamaties we faced, there were still some fun moments and good memories. Just like my trip to Disney World for my honeymoon, I wanted a memento with which to remember it by, and because I lack creativity, I did so by getting the same thing. Remember how I just said that the Gundam Mk-II would be my last model kit or “a while”? Yeah, I was wrong about that.
Since the site was previously spammed with Gunpla Chronicles posts, and because I found it tiring to both build and blog at the same time, I intend to do things differently this time around. For one, I don’t plan on building this kit nearly as fast as the last one, so posts regarding the process will be less frequent. I also plan on not posting every time a single section is complete, instead opting for general status reports when I have something worthy of showing.
With that out of the way, let’s get to some initial observations:
This is the first kit in the Real Grade line which transforms. According to the reviews I read, it actually works, though you have to be very careful, and you must perform the transformation steps in a specific order. Failure to do so will cause something to break.
My reading also suggests that, due to having to support the transformation feature, the frame isn’t great at supporting the model while standing, so it can be a bit wobbly. That might not be good on my desk, which tends to vibrate quite easily.
The Zeta Gundam is the last kit in the Real Grade line that I’m actually familiar with (not including the Zaku, which since I already own a variant of, and not including the Gundam Exia, which isn’t out yet). This is the main reason why I chose it over its siblings. The other reason is that I have always been a little prejudiced against the Zeta, mostly due to the fact that it replaces the Mk. II as the protagonist’s mobile suit in the show. That isn’t really fair of me, so I thought that by building it, I could become more familiar with its design, and thus come to a more fair and informed opinion. Already I am warming up to it - its overall design is markedly different than both the Mk II. and the original Gundam, yet it remains simple and streamlined.
I’m curious to see how this build differs from the rest. The Zaku was challenging because it was my first kit, while Gundam was challenging due to the complex interactions between some of its pieces. The Mk. II, on the other hand, was fairly easy to assemble; you just slapped pieces of armor onto the frame one at a time, until it was finsihed. It remained a challenging build due to the color of its parts, which required a greater sense of finesse when trimming and sanding. In regards to the Zeta, the transformable frame should present its own unique hurdles to overcome.