Gunpla Building Tips
Knowing some tips can make your first experience with Gunpla go more smoothly. These kits can be very complex so its best to take your time and do research on what you're unsure about. Take your time with your builds and most importantly have fun building them.
The kit I will be showcasing in these tips is HGIBO 036 Gundam Bael
Tools
To make the most of your building experience, you'll want to pick up some tools to help make the process smoother and to make your finished model look great! Heres the most basic beginner tools I reccomend one to purchase first.
1. Nippers- Used to cut pieces from the runner
2. Exacto Knife- used to cut excess plastic from pieces
3. Sanding Tools- Used to sand off excess plastic and leave your model with a smooth finish.
4. Tweezers- Used for positioning and applying stickers to the model
5. Microfiber Cloth- Used for polishing pieces after sanding
6. Panel Liners- Used to add detail to your model and to enhance shadows
7. Q-tips- Used to soften panel lining
8. Paint Brush- Helpful in erasing small panel lining mistakes
9. Alcohol- Erasing panel lining mistakes
I reccoment buying a beginner kit that contains all the tools you'll need to start. This is kit I own and These are the panel liners I use.
Removing Pieces From the Runners
Its best to cut as far away from the pieces as you can. This helps prevent stress on the plastic which can help prevent discoloration.
Panel Lining
Panel lining can completely transform how your model looks. For my models, I like to use my black liner on blue and dark grey pieces, my grey liner on white pieces, and my brown liner on red and yellow pieces. Theres no rules on what you can or can't do so do what you think looks nice. My general process goes like this:
1. Sand and smooth out the piece you want to panel line
2. Apply panel lining to the areas you want
3. Smooth panel lining using Q-tips and paintbrush. Use alcohol to fix mistakes
Posing
Gunpla are super posable and figuring out how to display your models is something a lot of people struggle with. As a start, I recommend copying the example poses on the box or from the anime. If you have multiple, you can try making a battle scene with them.
Posing can be hard. Just keep trying and you'll find a pose you like.