I've got a bunch of kits that I've finished building but haven't weathered yet, but here's my two most recent builds:

@Minamik This is why I always encourage people to weather their kits if they like that look. Drybrushing is as easy as you describe and weather pastels are even easier (but they can be messy, so use them outside). Weathering also has the added bonus of helping you hide any nub marks or other mistakes you made during the building process.

In honor of the EZA Gunpla stream I figured I'd post my most recent builds, Barbatos Lupus and Gusion Rebake Full City:

@Minamik said in Mobile Suit Builders:

Do you guys think a gloss coat would make my Hyaku Shiki a little nicer, or should I just leave it as is?

I've gloss coated some stuff that I've painted gunmetal grey and it looks really nice, but I'm not sure how it'd look on gold plastic. I'd say go ahead and give it a try. If you don't like it, you can always flat coat over it to remove the effect.

Sadly, I won't be able to finish all the cool shoulder stuff on this guy for a couple months, since I won't have access to my brother's airbrush. I've finished, the main body though. This is the first kit I'm airbrushing, and I've tried some other techniques for the first time (like the reverse wash for the trimming on the right hand).

@Faaip said in Mobile Suit Builders:

I'm curious what you guys do for displays?

I have grand plans for an epic display of all my odds and ends/movies/games but don't really have the space or the means to do it right now.. I love seeing good displays though!

I've just got a cheap bookshelf that I just try to cram everything on to. For stands, I use some cheap fence-post wood that I chopped up with my dad's woodworking tools. I then drill a hole into them and stick a barbecue skewer into it, since I've found some that were the perfect size for mounting Gundams.

Just finished up these two kits. I love all the IBO designs.

Album

@Minamik Looks great, I'm gonna have to get a real grade one of these days.

@Minamik If you have any leftover sprues those are the perfect thing to test on.

@edsortiz I usually buy from either Amazon or Hobbylink-Japan. Hobbylink generally has the better prices, but shipping can be expensive if you aren't buying a lot. If you want to support a local hobby shop, they generally have them as well, but are generally a bit more expensive than Amazon.

Also, once you find a kit you like, I'd suggest looking it up at 1999.co.jp/eng/. They have better pictures of the kits than most sites, along with pictures of the uncut-runners and instructions.

@Faaip That looks amazing.