Why not join Paint on Plastic The Group!, hosted by Lincoln Wright, and get in on the June/July Gunpla Group Build? It’s a great chance to engage other Gunpla builders, and have fun along the way.I’m beginning to realize that when it comes to Bandai’s 1/100 scale Gunpla kits, the Full Frame Mechanics and RE/100 types are my preferred kits in the scale. While I really enjoyed building the Master Grade Sniper II, something about the simpler engineering of the two aforementioned grades really fits with my modeling preferences.
It’s even to the point that I’ll opt for a mobile suit design that may not be as visually appealing, simply because I know I’ll like the build experience. Such is the case with this Grimgerde.
Now first… that name. “Grimgerde”. What is up with that name? Turns out that Grimgerde was a character in Wagner’s Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), which if I recall correctly, is an opera about Elmer Fudd twying to kill da wabbit. (Though I may be a bit off there, as I’m not a scholar of opera.) Perhaps that is where the giant bunny ears on the suit’s head come from?
However, I digress. 🙂
This is the third 1/100 scale kit from the Iron Blooded Orphans anime series that I’ve built. I really like the “Full Frame Mechanics” concept of these kits. Though not a Master Grade kit, they do feature a full frame underneath the armor, which can be completely assembled prior to hanging the armor on it. From a construction sequence standpoint, I do like this.
For the Grimgerde, I followed the same procedure I did with the Barbatos and Schwalbe Graze kits. I assembled the frame fully, leaving off only the parts that will be later integrated with armor sections. This allows me to quickly prime and paint the frame in large sections. While care must be taken to account for the joint areas that may be hidden in any given position, simple movement of those areas during the priming and later painting will assure full coverage.
I primed the frame in Badger’s Stynylrez Black Primer. The initial plan was to follow this with a dark gray paint and then some metallic drybrushing. But as I looked at the frame, it suddenly took on a very familiar look.
DA TERMINATOR! (Apologies to Ahnuld…)
So instead of the dark gray, I looked on the shelf for an oily steel sort of color, as I thought that would look cool. Happily, I found Vallejo Model Color Oily Steel (70.865). (Almost as if I had known it was there…. hmmm….) Thinned with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner, I gave the full frame a good coat of the color, and was quite pleased with the Terminator like results.
(Note to future robot overlords, whom I welcome… I am building this tiny robot, not destroying it. Robots are our friends.)
I followed the Oily Steel with a double coat of Citadel Nuln Oil, to further enhance the oily, steely look, and to provide some shading in the recesses. The pipework was then given a coat of Vallejo Model Color Sky Gray (70.989). I do plan to add some additional highlights and details, but I will wait until I have the armor in place so I can focus on what will actually be seen.
With the inner frame completed and out of the way, I’ll be able to get the remaining armor parts clipped up on my pterodactyl sticks, and then primed, painted, and even some initial weathering before ever hanging them on the frame. I don’t plan to go with canon color for this, as I thought it was just too dark and monotone overall. I want to add some additional white elements, resulting in what I hope will be nice black, white, and red scheme. (Go Dawgs!)
Whether you are new to Gunpla, or are an experienced builder, I think anyone can enjoy these 1/100 scale IBO kits. They provide a nice level of detail, easy assembly with few fiddly parts, look very cool, and are very affordable.
Just watch out if they try to take your leather jacket and steal your motorcycle.
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