MG Hi-Nu Gundam

[Mindless]

I bought this MG Hi-Nu back when it was first released and intended to make it how it should have been from the start. But I'm the type that quickly looses interest after that initial building frenzy so the kit was quickly re-introduced to the box and confined in the depths of the stash.

I brought it out a couple of weeks ago to tinker with it a bit, resulting in this:



However, it didn't feel right using a half of a perfectly good kit for a kitbash. Then I realized I still had that crappy B-Club Hi-Nu recast with 50% of the parts missing (which I intended to use from the start on the kit).

So, I started tinkering with it...



After a while I ended up here. One thing with the MG kit I absolutely hated was the head so it definitely had to be fixed.



Said and done, a bit of styrene and epoxy putty later and this is what I had.

Next up was getting the chest and backpack ready so i started to build a "base" for them using the funnel holders from the MG kit and the conversion kit.



Chest base finished (detailing and such will come later).



Here's the current state of the backpack.

Some may or may not have noticed that the left shin / lower leg has been replaced (or rather covered) using parts from the MG Nu kit. I think the shape of it fits much better than the original part (will fit better after some putty) given the boxier / more angular look that I'm giving it.



I embedded a polycap in the back of the torso and glued together the resin parts from the B-Club kit with the funnel holders and the blue part that goes over the neck area to get some stability. The resin funnel holders and funnels are pretty heavy so they need quite a bit of "contact area" in order to stay in place. Not to mention the fuel pods. I'll still need to support it with an acrylic rod in the back due to the weight.

That's all for now I think.

Comments / critique / questions are much welcome.

[Marc]

I like the slender silhouette/huge funnel racks contrast.
The chest is really cool too.

From these pictures, the feet look too big to me.

[Mindless]

I like the slender silhouette/huge funnel racks contrast.
The chest is really cool too.

From these pictures, the feet look too big to me.

The feet are indeed quite big but I think that bulking up the lower leg (which I intend to do) as well as the calves will "fatten" up the legs enough to make the feet look a bit smaller in contrast to the rest of the kit.

[mjbolin]

Ha I really like the kitbash, reminds me alot of the Sinanju. But i do understand the economic viewpoint. Too bad the b-club didnt have the more lengthy and pointed feet of most Hi-nu kits. Anyway, good job so far, and the only comment is that in my opinion the slender legs compliment the kit better. but yeah what do i know I dont have a kit that looks that good so far 

[Mindless]

Update.





Lengthened the thigh to fit the longer parts from the MG Nu (better proportions, and looks more similar to Vicious Projects Hi-Nu, which I like) and started working on beefing up the calves a bit. Shame the putty takes so long to cure. 

Also started working on widening / broadening the shoulders a bit so they don't look to small in contrast to the larger chest, skirts, legs and feet.





More to come.

[Mindless]

Got the basic shape of the shoulder finished, now I just got to mirror the same thing on the right shoulder.



And I'm pretty much finished with the calves now as well. Quite tough to get them symmetrical but it's getting there.



(comparison between stock and new)



Current state of the build:



Also started working loosely on the shield a bit, removing the ugly separation between blue and white and making a new mount for it.

More to come during the weekend.

[GlauG]

I love this.  Going to blow my own Hi-Nu away when it's done, that's for sure. :)  Are you planning on recasting the modded calves or just trying to putty them all uniformly?

[Mindless]

I love this.  Going to blow my own Hi-Nu away when it's done, that's for sure. :)  Are you planning on recasting the modded calves or just trying to putty them all uniformly?

Thanks. 

I actually wish I had a bit of resin (well I do, but no mold material) to cast them and just use those for the right leg, but I'll probably end up doing the same procedure (putty) for that leg too, but who knows, I may end up doing some molds out of putty. Would definitely save time.

[GlauG]

I actually wish I had a bit of resin (well I do, but no mold material) to cast them and just use those for the right leg, but I'll probably end up doing the same procedure (putty) for that leg too, but who knows, I may end up doing some molds out of putty. Would definitely save time.

All things considered, wouldn't an epoxy mould be fairly dangerous due to the chance of having undercut in the part?  It's just one of those things where I'd absolutely hate for it to get stuck were it me doing it, as you'd then have to sculpt the thing all over again and then try and recast THAT one. @_@  I didn't have any RTV while I was making my Hi-Nu, so I ended up doing all the mods I was making to the shins twice, but I think they're even enough now (poly putty sands easily, thankfully...)

[Mindless]

Update on the Hi-Nagano gundam.





I did some rapid "prototyping" of the right leg calves. I made the molds out of chemical metal which is basically a metal putty and simply casted the calves with epoxy putty.





Needs some refinement now but the shape is the same as the left leg.

More to come.

[GlauG]

Nice to see the casting worked out well, was it a two-part mould?  I'm really liking the overall look of this piece. :)

[nico]

Very nice, your work really improve the design of the model.

[Mindless]

Minor update.



Skirts widened / filled in a bit and pretty much done with the shape of one of the funnel racks.

More to come.