Saturday, December 18, 2010

GNY001F2 GNHW/A Gundam Astraea Type F2 GNHW/A


Photobucket




       Okay, let's start with this one. Here is my entry for the Bandai Model Kit World Cup 2010 which was held in the Eastwood Mall from November 5 to November 7 2010. This was one of the distractions I mentioned earlier and it even caused to be sick for almost a week due to lack of sleep from working on it.



Photobucket


           I didn't win the competition but at least I got a certificate for my participation in the event. Of course winning wasn't my original intention for joining the competition (although the idea of winning is a nice thought.) but to get some actual practice in painting a Gunpla with the idea of the competition looming ahead serving as a deterrent for slacking off. This was originally an HG 1/144 Gundam Exia converted to an Astraea from the conversion parts included in the Dengeki Hobby Magazine a couple of years back. With the release of the HG Gundam Astraea I decided to experiment on this one as an entry for BMKWC 2010 as I no longer had the fear of messing up and losing my unique but now obsolete Astraea. I decide to use purple for the main colors as I found some inspiration in purple bad guys like Galvatron and Kamen Rider Ohja. I also added some special equipment to the Astraea which I will discuss later. So here's the details on my entry. Pardon the crappy pics as I was using a different camera when I took these.


GNY001F2 GNHW/A Gundam Astraea Type F2 GNHW/A 


Photobucket

This is a GN Heavy Weapons (GNHW) version of the Gundam Astraea that I thought off where A means Assault. Designed to increase the firepower and defense capabilities of the Astraea and also give it the ability to adapt to the conditions of its current mission. Here's some info on the equipment of the assault pack.

GN Variable Launcher

Photobucket
      
    The main weapon in the GNHW-A system. A customizable beam launcher that can change its output and rate of fire through various attachments. The Default  form  of the launcher allows it to fire blasts similar to Seravee/Virtue which also consumes a lot of energy. It has an onboard GN Drive to supply its own energy requirements without relying on the mobile suit's GN Drive. TransAm can be activated for the weapon itself to increase its capabilities three times . Recharging can be sped up with some help from the mobile suit's GN Drive. It also has two beam guns for missions not requiring high energy bombardment and four GN blades in front for piercing GN Fields with the GN Drive providing additional thrust, making it an effective stabbing weapon.The launcher can also function as an additional booster unit.

GN Variable Launcher Gatling Mode


Photobucket


 The launcher equipped with the Gatling attachment. It allows the launcher to fire weaker rapid fire shots.


GN Variable Launcher Saber Mode

Photobucket

The Launcher with the Saber attachment equipped. It focuses the beam energy into a large Beam Saber.

Anti-Field Grenade Launcher

Photobucket


I was originally going for missiles but I felt it was overused so I went with Anti-Field grenades instead. Anti-field grenades are the ones used by the GN-X III in Gundam 00 season 2 during 00 Gundam's debut  that diffuses beam weapons. I figured this was a weapon worth having on a gundam to protect itself from beam attacks or screw your opponents over if they are using beam weapons.

GN Shield II
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket



An upgraded GN Shield capable of emitting a GN Field large enough to cover the entire mobile suit. The field strength, however, is inferior to that of  Seravee/Virtue and can't hold up against powerful beam blasts (e.g. GN Mega Cannon, GN Bazooka). It mounts a hidden beam saber and contains two GN combat knives for closed range combat.


So that covers all the stuff about my GN Heavy Weapons Astraea. Overall, I'm not completely satisfied with the way this project turned out  but then again I only had two months to work on this. There were also other factors like budget restrictions, schedule conflicts  and the weather being uncooperative. The good part though is that I learned how to spray paint my Gunpla and I was able to apply the stock knowledge I had accumulated through tutorials and hobby magazines. This also my first success in kitbashing/ scratchbuilding custom parts which I found to be a difficult yet enjoyable activity. This would be the last time I paint using Spray cans as I am moving on to Airbrushing which would prove to be inexpensive and less wasteful in the long run  as soon as I have my AB setup prepared. I'll probably revisit this design again once my I get some new ideas.
 
 The rest of the pics can be found here:
 





No comments:

Post a Comment