Most of the time when faced with marketing images and messages, I simply ignore them. I’ve been around long enough to know that the promise of “better” or “now with 37% more!” rarely ends up being all it’s touted to be.
And it generally works that way with models. I see photo, and while it may look cool, when I balance it against things I’ve built, things I have, knowledge of the likely build process… 99% of the time I can say “thanks, but no thanks.”
Not this time
I don’t know exactly why the promo image for this P-Bandai RX-78-4 Gundam G04 grabbed me, but it did. The voice of reason was trampled down by 10 year old Jon running across Reason’s back shouting “Gotta have this! Gotta have this one!”
Now, truth be told, it’s a Gundam. It’s only slightly different than an RX-78-2 Gundam, the one where it all started. The colors aren’t weird or out there in any way.
But something about that punchy blue, the big honkin’ gun, and just the general look of it caused me to mash teh buttonz so it would be on its way to me.
Except 2020…
I ordered it in February, and while it was a pre-order, it took longer than either I or the seller planned. In a year like this, you shrug and say “what can you do?”
Happily, it did arrive – and I am so happy I ordered this kit.
The Build
While Bandai kits are always good, this one is special. The amount of color separation – meaning different colored plastic essentially – is excellent. A few stickers are supplied to round out some areas, most notably the shield, but apart from that, you could snap it up as-is and it looks awesome.
And there very few seam lines to deal with. The only one on the mobile suit is across the head – and that one turned out to be quite simple to address. The guns and fuel tanks have some, but those are also easy to deal with.
While I’d originally planned to give this model some light weathering, the more I worked on it, the more I liked the clean look. So aside from paint, decals, and panel lines, I left it “factory fresh”.
P-Bandai kits aren’t always easy to get, but if you can find this one – grab it!
Leave a Reply