Gundam Model Kit Contest 2011 / Bankee Caravan

A rainy Sunday did not prevent me from attending the contest and see my friends from the Gunpla Hobby today. Arrived at 1pm and waited for 2 customers to claim their MG Unicorn OVA and MG Epyon kits, then we went straight to Toy Kingdom to have fun and support our friends Doy and Edward who participated in the contest. Some photos:

My friend Myk hard at work, the Bankee Caravan is a box-build contest. Organizers would provide you with an SD Red Frame kit, side-cutter and panel liner. Its up to you how much and how clean you would detail it

Myk's winning entry, this would be the 3rd time he landed 1st place in the contest haha

My friend Ed winning 5th Place for the Open Category, would try to get some photos of his kit in action and post it here

And of course, we have photos of us just goofing off inside Toy Kingdom. These guys make the hobby 80% more enjoyable for me.

 

MG Unicorn Gatling Gun/Sinanju Bazooka legit and bootleg comparison

Allow me to show you guys the differences between a legit Gatling Gun/Bazooka compared to a bootleg GG/Bazooka. I purchased the bootleg GG and Bazooka coz to be quite honest, finding the original is tough these days. Ebay seems to be the only option, but with the help of my friend, I managed to secure 2 original Gatling Guns and a Bazooka. Here's the photos and some notes:

Legit (left) and the bootleg (right). Decided to use an MG Unicorn OVA box to serve as my background hehe. One thing I don't like with the legit is: the manual is inside the magazine, so you really have to open it to get the instructions where as the bootleg has a separate sheet of paper for the instructions

The legit runner's not that glossy, no excess plastic, details are smooth

The bootleg parts seem to be shiny and as seen in this photo, darker in terms of color

Smooth, no excess plastic too

This is where the fun begins for a bootleg: excess plastic (red circle in the left) and the shine shows how rough the parts are up close

Another downside to the bootleg is the uneven areas on flat surfaces, and what worries me is the proportions of the part. The left part (legit) has a thicker dimensions compared to the right (bootleg), I wonder if fitting the bootleg parts would be a problem because of this

And let's take a look at the Sinanju's Bazooka add-on too:

The legit packaging includes a sticker, whereas the bootleg has, uhh, nothing but plastic

Just like the Gatling Guns, the legit has a lighter color compared to the bootleg. The gloss would also be the same, the bootleg has a brighter plastic sheen to it as well

A legit part up close, details are smooth as expected, no excess plastic

Bootleg part up close reveals the uneven/rough areas and the detail seems to be quite a bit rough too in this photo

But wait! There's more! The bootleg has a 2nd red colored runner, which gives you an option to build 2 Bazookas or mix them for a custom-feel

Here are my thoughts:

Getting the legit add-ons would be beneficial if:

• You think of quality and not the price
• You want to give your Unicorn/Sinanju justice and respect (which is my primary reason BTW)
• You have no plans to paint/customize them

On the other-hand, the bootleg would be a great choice if:

• You are price-conscious, the Bootleg GG and Bazooka combined is just about half the price of the Legit Bazooka here in the Philippines
• You can't find these add-ons anywhere, sans eBay
• You don't mind sanding and painting the parts
• You wanna build 2 Bazookas with one purchase

What do you guys think?

Movies to watch out for

Some movies that I will be waiting for:

MG Red Frame Kai Metallic Version

This kit would actually be my 1st project. Started this crazy hobby last year. Spent countless hours watching YouTube tuts and asking people in Gunpla Forums about this and that.

Finally had the guts to build, sand, paint and detail this guy. Took me 3 months to finish coz of the rainy season that time and of course, my work. Quite happy with the results. The pictures below would be from the very 1st stages of the WIP up to the completed model, can't find the other photos and forgot exactly what happened with each stage or part. Thanks for viewing!