Despite this being a simple build of a mobile suit I don’t particularly like, there are a bunch of topics I still need to cover before starting the build!
Gunpla Evolution Project
When we last left off, I mentioned that the HG Leo was part of something called the Gunpla Evolution Project, and specifically featured a gimmick called “Evolution Fine Point Build”.
Here is a page from the instruction booklet that kinda-sorta explains what this means:
The parts are organized on the runners in roughly the same place where they appear on the mobile suit. I’m not sure how exactly this makes it a “fine point build”, but it is a cool idea nonetheless. I imagine that a seasoned builder could put this thing together without an instruction manual.
Colors
Let’s talk about colors. After all, I spent months thinking about how to recolor this Leo. Color was by far the greatest challenge during this build.
First, I want break down my issues with the Leo’s coloring:
- As I already stated in the intro, I don't like the red on the head.
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A bunch of the Leo's body parts are colored brown, which looks perfectly fine in illustrations like this:
However that same color in this model kit looks more like a greenish-brown. I think it looks too similar to the actual green used for the body:
- Speaking of which, there is a lot of green, and as usual, too much of one color causes the details on a model to blur together.
Here is my plan of attack (the one that was months in the making):
- I thought that all the brown parts of the Leo would look better as a darker color, so as to provide better contrast with the green. I decided on a very dark grey, with a dull metallic sheen. For some reason I thought the shoulders in particular would look good in this color, and the rest followed from there.
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I still want there to be some brown on this kit, so I am going to put it elsewhere. Specifically, I want to "center" it by putting it in the midesection (and on the shield):
Here's my bad photoshop job showing where the brown will go. Most of it will wind up in the center of the body - I want to have even further color separation, and since I was already planning to use green and brown, why not add in khaki and (light) grey to create a full-on camo motif?
- I figured grey would also be good for panel lining.
- I think I'm going to gamble and use multiple types of metallic paint. I'm a bit worried that this will make the model look too busy, but for some reason it feels right.
- I need to add a very little bit of black shading around some of the green parts.
I have no idea if these plans are going to work out, but for now I remain cautiously optimistic.
Premium Bandai Leos
Premium Bandai has been a thing for a while now, but I’m not the only one who feels as if Bandai is making more and more kits and accessories P-Bandai exclusive. The Leo is a particular victim to this trend, as P-Bandai was home to things like the Space Leo:
The Leo Flight Type:
And the Leo with full weapon set:
That last one is the one I’m most interested in. The idea of the Leo being a versatile, adaptable unit is something we technically see in Gundam Wing, but there are lots of things the show does technically, but also poorly. Having a Leo kit tricked out with lots of weapons would give me an opportunity to pose the heck out of it, and quite possibly convince me of its greatness. But no, I was a day late and a dollar short.
I get that none of these variants was likely to sell as well as a cheap base Leo, but the problem with P-Bandai is not one of price, but availability. Once they sell out of a particular model, that’s it. It’s gone. Anyone who either couldn’t afford to get one at the time - or who became interested in the hobby after the fact - is screwed. I’m not saying they should print thousands of these special Leos, but would it kill them to leave a few dozen in the warehouse to sell online?
Conclusion
Okay, now I can get to the build, which should be much easier to write about now that all this miscellanea is out of the way.