[WIP] MG Phenex WIP 1

It's ironic that most of the thing we're not looking for are the ones that keep popping up.

I wasn't actually planning on getting another mg unicorn since I already have an MG Banshee Titanium Finish but when this popped up with a steal price, I didn't even hesitate of getting it. I thought that even if I didn't like the kit, I could still resell it and even earn a bit of extra.

Well, I decided on keeping it anyway. I thought it will look good with my banshee seeing as they have the same finish. Plus the blue pychoframe would look good lit up. Now I have more reason to get an MG Unicorn with the same finish.

Checking the manual, Bandai was kind enough to show us a way on dealing with the nubs. Unless we are able to do chrome plating ourselves, I think it's impossible to fix the nubs 100%. Here Bandai tells us to paint the nubs using Gold(100%), then Clear Yellow(100%) + a small amount of Clear Orange. I don't have those colors yet so I'm currently unable to test how well this looks with the plated parts.

Bandai used white plastic (1st image) for the armor parts unlike the MG Banshee Titanium (2nd and 3rd images) that has the parts molded in their respective colors. I'm hoping the white nubs wouldn't be as obvious since the Gold plating will produce a lot of reflection, hopefully blending with the nubs.

The MG Phenex inner frame and some armor parts for the backpack and feet area (1st and 2nd image) are molded in regular plastic unlike in the Titanium finish version (3rd and 4th image) which has all the armor parts in titanium finish and the inner frame parts molded in a metallic finish plastic.

At least Bandai was kind enough to pack each runner in its own plastic bag to prevent scratching the finish.

I've already worked on an MG unicorn frame before and I think I did a good job planning the wiring on that kit so I think I'll just be doing the same procedure here as I did with my MG Banshee Titanium Finish. I don't plan to document this as detailed as most of the procedure can be seen with the Banshee WIP. I'll still get pics as much as possible but I'll be highlighting more on those areas that I think I have improved on from the previous build.

I started working on the feet areas since those are one of the easiest parts.

Yes the pic is a bit too dark, I was trying to capture how the light would look in personal and this is as close as it gets to the actual part. Think of it as seeing that light but only on a regularly lit room.

The ankle parts require quite a lot of LEDs since it needs to light up 360 degrees of clear part. here I used 3528 and 0603 SMD LEDs. The thin magnet wire really helped keep the wirings neat.

I plan to keep the transformation gimmick so I can still display thin in either Unicorn or Destroy mode. The SMD LEDs and thin magnet wires really work well in going around the parts avoiding the moving pieces.

Working on the arms was the same with the MG Banshee. Though I think it's much cleaner this time.

I've had to sacrifice some articulation in the arms to give way for the joint to still be able to bend the whole way. Unfortunately, the slack for the elbow extension now prevents the arm from fully straightening. Only a minor issue for me since I still get a good amount of articulation.

Since the inner frame parts are molded in regular grey plastic, I decided to paint the inner frame pieces that will be exposed like the joints and other parts not covered by the gold plated armor. I'm using a custom gunmetal mix of polyurethane paint (commonly used in cars). I got this from a local car paint shop where the owner is also a gunpla builder. 

The progress on this post was done only on a weekend. I've been able to finish both arms and legs, and have started working on the waist section. Wherein my previous take on the MG unicorn frame, this amount of work would have taken a few days to even weeks. It really pays to having a well thought plan which makes execution a whole lot easier.