[REVIEW] Dragon Momoko MG Strike Freedom MB ver.

To start off this new year, let's take a look at one of the most awaited bootleg kits since it's announcement around 2 months ago. The Dragon Momoko MG Strike Freedom Metal Build ver.

I was lucky to get one quite early during its initial release. Currently, it comes bundled with the Wing Expansion Effect parts for both the Strike Freedom and Destiny Gundams.

I guess it more appropriate to call this a preview or unboxing review since I have yet to build this and won't be able to give any comments about its build quality. 

For starters, Its got quite a thick manual.

The manual is quite thick but most of it are just product images.



Compared to Daban's chrome plated inner frame DM molded their inner frames in gold which unfortunately doesn't look too good. But no worry since I'll be painting this anyway.





I just noticed there's some difference in the detail quality in some parts. I'm not sure if they're just the design but I'll just have to see in the finished model.



















Overall the detail quality of the kit is very good. Details are crisp. Panel lines are thin and deep. No excessive flashes. Armor parts are molded in glossy plastic. Similar to the RG Sinanju but of course this would appear less glossy.



Dragon Momokos' waterslide decals are quite good. And this kit even comes with gold ones. I'm definately using these.



It also got some foil stickers. These look like detail parts on the armor.



Also included in the kit is a version of the wing effect parts. Similar to the ones the Destiny had. Another proof that the Wing Expansion Effect parts this came bundled with would eventually be sold separately.

I'm really excited to start working on this but I need to finish first my ongoing Bandai MG Strike Freedom. Good thing it's nearing completion so I wouldn't have to wait long.

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[WIP] Mechanical Chain Base LED custom WIP 5

Just a small update regarding this project. 

Aside from painting the base with gun metal. I've tried my hand on masking/ painting.

I've decided to add warning strips at the floor of the chain base. The flooring already had those details so I just followed them during the masking.

First thing I did was mask the flooring, exposing only the areas where I want to paint the black stripes.

Next thing was to mask the part again. This time covering the areas where I want to keep the black paint.

This can actually be done any other way. If desired, The yellow parts could be painted first so it's just a matter of preference.

Once the paint dries, we can now peel off the tape.

I really looks good when seen from afar but upon closer inspection, we can see the imperfections. Apparently my masking was a bit off that's why some areas over the details were painted.

This was a really tedious task but the results are very satisfying. Next time I'll have to be more careful when masking to have cleaner details.

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[WIP] MG Strike Freedom Gundam WIP 1

Since I've ran out of ideas on how to proceed with my current projects, mainly working out how to wire the remaining parts. I've decided to start another project until I can come up with ideas for the remaining pieces. 

Another reason is since I'm running low on my LED stocks, my projects will have to be put on hold until my orders arrives. And with that, I'll have to do more that just LED mods for this project. Since this is a gift from my girlfriend, this'll have to be my best work yet.

For this project, instead of just wiring this with LEDs, I'll be fully painting this using Zurc paints.

I'll be doing mostly metallic finish for this project. Here's a test using some of the runners. The white has that metallic/pearl effect to it. I''m really liking this paint.

But I'd still be lighting this up.

I'm basing my LED mods on how the suit was lit up in the anime.

This is a screenshot from the anime. Aside from the eyes and thrusters, it appears to be lit in various areas like the chest, knee areas and a few areas in the backpack. I've already worked on the knee and chest areas. I'll still have to plan the shoulders and the backpack areas.

For the colors, I'll be keeping the original colors albeit making them metallic. I'd also like to add some color tone differences.

For the tone differences, I just masked and painted the desired areas with grey base color, then painting them all with white.

It's a bit hard to get the metallic/pearl effect in the cameras but really looks good in actual. Also the exposed frames are painted using Tamiya Acrylic Gold Leaf.

With the busy schedule I have right now, I'm lucky that I can still find the time to work on this bit by bit. I'm expecting this project to be a bit slower than my regular projects so I can plan what I want to do and execute them without problems. I want this to be my best work yet.

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