He Got Legs

20 Oct 2024 - Clint Fandango

Tags: Bandai Gundam Gunpla RG Unicorn_Gundam Gold_Plated

I was wary of this model at first for a couple reasons. First, the obvious: it’s gold plated and the danger of stress marks and other marks is really high with a model like this. Second, I’ve never really had a Real Grade that I enjoyed putting together.

I’ve just never had any real luck with the RG models. Either a few pieces never fit quite right and constantly fall off, or they’re just not fun to assemble.

So I’ve been putting this one off for awhile. I think I bought it during one of the Gundam Base’s online sales a couple years back, but after going through a couple other Real Grades, this one kept finding itself at the bottom of the stack.

I’d glance at it occasionally, knowing I’d have to get to it at some time, but another model would catch my eye instead and be placed atop this one. And then another. And another.

After completing my new hobby area, I figured it was time to bite the bullet and finally assemble this model. The gold plating gave me some pause, mostly because it was a Real Grade model. I’ve completed the Hyaku-Shiki and it’s one of my favorite builds, but that was a Master Grade, with larger pieces and a step-up in design and manufacturing. I was worried that the RG wouldn’t have the same attention to detail and would be more susceptible to visible mars that I’d have to correct.

I’m happy to report that after assembling one of the legs, this has been one of my favorite builds. The quality of this Real Grade is amazing and I haven’t run into any issues with the plating. The pieces are under gated where they need to be, and those that aren’t have their connection points positioned in a way that any visible marks are covered by other pieces.

The piece design and assembly have been a joy, and I had to stop myself to take a break. It became quickly apparent that this is one of those builds where you want to take your time and savor the process, instead of just getting through it.

The pieces fit together snugly and there aren’t any awkward connections or weird fits. The finished piece is solid and there isn’t a fear that parts will start falling off if I try to manipulate the joints on the leg.

I still have the other leg to finish, but like I said, I’m going to be taking my time with this one and I really hope the rest of the model remains as fun as the leg has been.

RG Unicorn Gundam (Gundam Base Gold Plated)