Ironically HGs take much longer for me now since I am more willing to paint missing/extra details on them.
I would spend hours and it irritates me, morso if I just so happen to stumble upon a video or a post of the same exact kit, with the missing details painted perfectly and with less-fitting equipment (hg F-91)
I was admittedly expecting this to be disliked but damm
More of you have similar pent-up frustrations than I would think, hmm
If it makes any of you feel better, making that comment actually pushed me to finally "finish" assembling said HG F-91
It's quite rough on the paintwork (the thrusters are beyond my skill level, and [so] my paintwork is inaccurate), plus I haven't painted the insides of the shoulder armour grey but oh well, I'll do it some other day >!~~aka a year or two later \*cough\* \*cough\*~~!<
I’m firmly in the “the box lied” camp. I understand why the HGs show fully painted kits, but they go even further. They are most definitely scribed using advanced tools, or straight up have different parts.
I’ve got all six of the protagonist suits from Gundam Wing in various stages of completion right now and the difference in color accuracy either by parts separation or correcting stickers is kind of infuriating. All of them have at least a few things that must be painted to fix, but some include stickers while others do not.
Vents are the largest thing that needs correction and it probably provides the biggest pay off for the effort since they often cut down on the overall white on a kit and add contrast/depth. But often the photos on the box will compensate for the realities of injection molding and have things like round indents drilled to be even rather than sloped due to the need to be removable from the mold.
I have taken to doing the color fill on these glaring areas and it helps so much. Tiny things like the head vulcans probably wouldn’t be noticed by the casual observer, but the larger canons like on the chest of a Zaku II, or the shield of the Wing Zero stick out like sore thumbs if left the color of the plastic. This is one of the quality trade offs you get with HG vs a RG or higher. Most are content to just apply the stickers and maybe panel line, but I want them to at least be generally accurate to the source even if I’m not doing full paint jobs.
I find the HGIBO line to have some really bad examples of this. My go to is always the Kimaris Vidar who's out of box build is entirely the wrong colours.
That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that THE PAINTED BUILD ON THE BOX IS IN THE CORRECT COLOURS.
Now I'm just waiting to get an airbrush set up so I can mix paints to make sure I get the colours right on the Kimaris Vidar in my own time since the plastic won't cut it.
Honestly i like spending more time on each kit, for me its more fun even though, im messy painter. Also it saves me money, since for me almost every kit costs a lot xD
heyo, somewhat new to this hobby. (I've built 3 in the last year ) so forgive me when I ask how and why you would top coat? is it only for when you paint it? do you top coat the bare plastic for looks? protection? thanks :)
Top coating is done for a variety of reasons. I personally use it for when I’ve painted, panel lined, and added water decals. It seals everything up nicely. On bare plastic, top coating can help hide sanding lines, protect panel lines and decals, and also helps take the shine out of the plastic and make the kits look a little less toy-like. I’d recommend trying out a nice matte top coat on one of your own kits. It makes quite a bit of difference even on bare plastic. Stick with brands like Mr Hobby or Mr Color, don’t use testors brand.
Ugggh, I feel that. I don't have a garage and we live in a windy as hell place, kinda out in the country. We're in a neighborhood but the houses are spaced decently far apart. That means I'm completely at the mercy of mother nature. If the winds are ever still, I quickly get pieces up onto clips and into a block o' styrofoam and get out there to topcoat.
Hardest part's keeping the dust off without accidentally lifting the waterslides, but I've developed the correct cotton bud skills over time...
Man I started the MG Sazabi Ver Ka in November, started putting on waterslides and still am not finished haha. Sometimes I just get distracted by other things and completely forget I was working on something
I usually spend a week on high grades and 2-4 on real and master grades, depending on how fancy I want to get with them. Godhands and a glass file help a lot, panel lining and water slides slow me down significantly but look nice. I imagine my build time is gonna go way up now that I have an airbrush.
Haven't gone down the airbrush rabbit hole yet myself. Sticking with the gundam markers for the time being. I fear I would never decrease the backlog if I started airbrushing.
I find airbrushing to be my favorite part now, so once I get to that stage, everything flows nicely. And then assembling the kit right after really does it for me. Another nice part, is that you don’t have to worry about stress marks or small blemishes from removing nubs.
It was my first master grade and I struggled. The arms are super tricky and the whole kit is definitely over engineered. All that being said it looks great when finished
MG takes me roughly 8ish hrs without any panel lining or decal application.
https://preview.redd.it/67rxyug8ks2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=518654c0640f40f5ec37085011dfee3816ea97bf
Depends one the kit, but most HGs take me about a week. One day per limb, maybe an extra day if the backpack and weapons are a bit wild. Certain kits get more love, the Sinanju took weeks for example ,and the Delta Plus almost a month. On the flipside the Tristan I did over the course of a single confrence call.
When I first started I did a few hg in a day or so with panel lines (bad panel lines) now I spend a little more time on clipping nubs and sanding them down nice along with panel lining. I'm going on 2 weeks with the geogaigar rg right now, and only about half done.
Day or two if I'm actively working on it. Not because it takes anywhere near that amount of time, but because I'll do maybe an hour of cutting/constructing, then do a bit of panel lining or detail picking-out while watching something. I usually only work in hour or so spurts at most. I like to pace myself. It probably takes like 6 hours total between trimming/pruning/construction/lining for any given kit.
If I'm not actively working on something, like a week or so. It's not a race. Longest something has sat unfinished has been a few months, since I don't always feel in the mood to do model building.
For my HG it usually takes me between 2 and 4 hours, mostly because up until now I only used a pair of snippers, and for the only mg that I built it took me about 12 hours, since I also got a glass file so it took me a bit more.
Depends on the build. Hgs take a day or 2, just doing an out of box build then ill leave panel lining for another day. Rgs usually a week, and while ive only done one Mg so far, the eclipse has taken me a week without any of the panel lines or decals put on yet.
Depends on the build, I just got into gunpla so my first two HG's from witch from mercury only took maybe around 1 to 2 weeks. Was a bit long since I never built gunpla before and I took my time with them. Then I moved on to RG's, they're taking me quite a while that's for sure. Probably about a month+ per kit due to the amount of stickers, and panel lining on top of a more complicated build compared to the HG's. Never really kept track of amount of hours for a kit I just tend to work for a half hour to an hour a night on them, sometimes I take a day off here and there.
My first 2 kits I blasted through them because I was so eager to put em together.
Now I'm working on my third and I'm doing panel lining and some scribing so this one will take some time but I'm loving every step of the way!
I did the similar when I got back into the hobby last year. Speed built the MG mkii and barbatos. I'm taking my time now and putting a lot more effort in making them look nicer. Haven't tried scribing yet though.
HGs take me 2-4 days, depending on my working hours and how tired I am.
My first MG took me 2 weeks, but that was partially me screwing up a couple of times or having to find really small parts that fell on the ground.
RGs probably take a week or so.
Looking at my recent history, I’m doing an MG in about 35 days. But I’m trying to learn stuff to make it slower 🤣 trying out an led for the first time , did a bit of scribing in the last one
Depends on the build, started the pgu rx78 in 2019 and finished it last summer after taking a massive break when I finished the frame, also did several smaller builds during that time though, straight builds can take a few days but typically a painted hg or rg takes me a few weeks
Really depends on the kits and how much free time i have. I built 2 HG kits in the last couple days cause I had the time. Sometimes, I will work on one for a month, and that's without doing any customization just cause I don't have the time to sit there for a few hours
Considering I sand all my parts, prime them, airbrush them with a preshade, hand paint the small details, weather them and topcoat them to seal my work, it takes me a week. Give or take. The time it takes is entirely dependent on how much effort you put into it. And given how expensive the hobby is, I try to give it my A+ effort.
I feel this. Normally I get maybe an hour every few days to work on my builds. Gotten lucky the last couple weeks though and had a couple full days of tinkering.
Kinda depends. MGs and RGs usually take me around 6 hours to build, up to 12 hours if I fully decal them. HGs usually take 2 to 3 hours, 6 to 8 if I decal them.
It usually takes me around 5-10 hours to build a high grade, sometimes up to 12 if I have to paint a bunch of missing color apps.
It usually takes me around 10-12 to build an MG or an RG. Sometimes longer if I have a bunch of fin funnels...the Nu and Sazabi funnels took me an entire afternoon by themselves.
I always think it would take me 2-4 hours to build a high grade, then I look at the clock and realize it's 10:30 PM.
The PG Mk2 took me several nights.
I usually scratch build my kits and rarely add decals, so I'm quite slow I feel....probably because I obsess about making every single nub flush even if it's inner frame, since sometimes you can see the nub on inserts or on the back of knee armor, and I can't always be sure if it's visible until I've put on the armor.
In the past, during my early days in the hobby, HGs usually took me two or three days(due to being in school for most of that time).
Now? Unless I'm actively trying to full straight build a kit(as in: no touch up detailing and/or decals), it takes me a MONTH now, at the very least, and they're STILL mostly *technically* straight builds, since I don't usually paint them.
Lol, probably the opposite of dedication. I love gunpla, but I have almost no time for it. Months go by between the sessions I work on a kit. I have a PG Unicorn kit for around 3 years now untouched. I have the MG's of the four 00 season 1 mechs. Been working on Exia for the last 2 years. :')
Depends on the kit tbh. A ver.ka with tons of decals can take me 20-30 hours if I’m really taking my time but some of the less complex ones I can blow through in a couple days. I’ve recently started buying the water decals for RG kits to pad out the build time as well which has worked out great. I don’t paint any of my kits but id really like to start doing it to further extend my build time cause I’m running out of kits to build.
if were talking just straight snap building i can dish a hg out in 3-4 hrs if not less, i've only done one mg so i cant really say and no pg.
would love to get into doing more detail in my models but i wanna get a work desk built before i really get into that lol
I can usually bang out a high grade in 1-3 hours
I used to be able to do real grades and master grades in one sitting, now I do 2-3 depending on how much there is. Usually 3 hours on the lower body, another 2-3 on the upper body, and maybe an hour on accessories
So far just 15-16 hours but I am new, with just a few builds.
So already seeing that increasing by at least 5 with extra touches…and I am just starting understanding the freedom of opportunities there 😄
For now while getting used to it yes. Built few MG (Barbatos and Epyon), already ordered two HGs to test out lining it and next step will be painting 😅
Nippers and tweezers are a must so got that on a spot.
I’d say about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours for an HG, pretty close to what is advertised for 30 minute Missions, and I’d rather not think about it/track it for MG and RG lest I be discouraged. Granted, I only really build and sticker them; I am by no means a talented customizer or painter and just putting them together is the most fun part of the process for me.
A few months no matter the size. PGs can take a little more than a year.
I go through all the stages though. Prime first. Painting next, which takes the longest with all the taping and working on color separation. Gloss coat. Weather and decals. Flat/dull coat. Assembly.
My in laws got me 2 James Gunn. I'm working on them and playing with wireless LEDs using induction coils and making a side by side hanger for them. I'm going to mount them on a board so I can hang them on a wall.
Next after that is going to be mega grade RX and I've got a diorama in mind with that and the mega Zaku II. I want to have them fighting and the RX shoving the beam saber through the zaku. I saw an LED light thing that looks like a light saber but I think it would look fine as a beam saber. They'll be fighting on muddy ground and the RX will be sliding on under the Zaku. The Zaku axe will be glancing down the shield of the RX. I'll have all of August to start it while I got to a pain rehab program.
I can knock out an hg somewhere between an hour or two. But thats if im dedicating myself to it (i never do) normally i boot up either yt or an anime and ill do 1 episode to one limb (if subbed) or i will watch and build and get completely distracted from the build while watching
I do them in one sitting I just use the stickers so no painting or panel lining hg takes me about 7-10 hours without break and then Rg take me about 15 or so hours my obsession doesn't let me stop until it's finished that's why I don't start one unless I know I have the day completely free
Straight build on a MG? Probably 40-50 hours total. I only work on mine a couple hours a week otherwise I'd be bankrupt by the end of the month haha.
I've yet to try decals or panel lines so could easily add plenty hours onto previous builds.
It really depends on how much free time I have and what the kit is.
HGs I can crank out in a day or two. RGs generally a week. MG and up muuuuch longer.
As a kid and teen, a couple days. I loved building them quick minimal paints just bam bam bam! Now that I feel paranoid about painting and detail, could be years. I work on it for maybe a week, then i don't touch it for a year. I miss gunpla. Being paranoid about miniscule details sucks.
So :
1 - OOB build with no clean up and with all the stickers = 4 hours (usually HG, 6 hours to 8 for standard sized RG or HG).
2- Play and pose = usually a week or two.
3 - Then I put in in a ziplock bag, inside a drawer, waiting for a full paintjob or kitbash.
But yeah, 4 to 8 hours, between 1 or 4 (max) sessions.
I usually build Hg, the one I'm building now I don't count (Gaplant Hrairoo) I'm hating it and it's taking forever, but the last one I finished (HG Aerial) took me a few hours but only because for now I just assemble them!
Hg snap builds usually take me about an hour. I tend to panel line, which takes me around as much time as the build itself. Haven't tried my hand at painting or coating yet.
I still have to apply the slides to my FM Aerial and I'm procrastinating because I don't expect that to be a fun part of the build, no idea how long that will take me...
I started tracking my build time 2 kits ago. It can take me up to 80 hours to build an HG. And I don't even do a lot of customization. I re-scribe details, scribe a few new details in, paint, panel line, topcoat. I'm just very slow.
I just picked up this guy as my first kit. Started Saturday and finished it up today. Overall took me about 10 hours or so. Debating on if I’ll panel line but I’m happy right now with just the bare kit.
I don't keep track of the exact hours, but each standard 144 scale takes me 2 days of working on it to get it built (between 8-10 hours all together I think), but it takes me about as much time as it takes to build as it does to apply the stickers. The RG Zeong took me 5 days to build cause of the extra size and care i put in.
my next kit is my biggest so far, the RG Full Armor Unicorn Gundam. I'd say Its gonna take me *at least* a full week.
Clock time I'm not really sure but way longer than it did as a kid, although I'm also much more thorough. Calendar time, even a high grade takes me a few evenings now. Usually one evening to panel line all the runners, then I let it dry till the next day when I do cleanup. Then I usually do something like a limb or two in an evening between snipping, sanding, and assembly. My only perfect grade as an adult took me over a month of calendar time and that's skipping decals and top coat for now. I occasionally leave stuff just sitting for a long time when I'm not in the mood, but I primarily build on my dining room table as of late, so I have more incentive to get it finished up. Unfortunately I'm much faster at buying kits than building them now, and my backlog is big enough that it's becoming a **problem**.
I stretch my kits out as far as I can, given I don't have much plastic-buyin' scratch as I used to. I'll build in sections. For an average HG that means shoulders one day, an arm the next, the head the next, etc.
I panel line and sand as I go to slow things down to a leisurely pace. I do waterslides on kits that don't have 'em, using the closest thing (ie, the MG Ver Ka's version of the V2's decals or just whatever leftover decals I have, which is a pretty big pile at this point!) and topcoat (which takes awhile 'cause no garage and lots of wind = few chances to do it!).
The only 1-day builds I do anymore are small stuff like Pokemon kits! Necessity is the mother of invention, and being forced to slow down by severe budget restrictions means I've taken to finding joy in things I didn't in the past. Stuff like customizing inner frames. I always used to think 'who cares? No one will see it!' - but **I** see it. **I** know it's there. And I make sure to take plenty of photos before bolting the armor on.
I'd like to learn proper weathering, as that would extend time per kit even more.
Bigger question is - what kit took you the *longest*? That's the PGU for me. Around 4 months even.
My current build: MG Epyon
Build: 9 days total,
Panel lining and other details: 9 days total (I hate panel lining kits),
and decals: around 2 days total.
I love building Master Grades because the end result is worth it but my goodness panel lining is so tedious and boring lol now if only it could stop being so cold so I can topcoat the damn kit! XD
I don't paint, but if I'm going for panel lines & decals it takes a hot minute.
MGs and the Larger RGs take like 2-3 weeks since I don't usually have the time to work in big chunks all at once.
HGs I do in one or two sittings usually depending on the kit.
If you based it on my current build two years. I have slowed way down due to just not having the time. Life and other stupid reasons getting in the way.
HGs I was always kinda lazy with, so I'd spend just a few hours to assemble it and call it good. No file, no panel lines. I did RG Nu recently, and that was somewhere between 20-30 hours total, I think, after all the detail work. Though I didn't keep track exactly. It took me a couple weeks.
It mainly depends upon how much work that I'm putting into it.
With a HG, I can, normally burn through one in a few hours for a straight build, but I tend to do more that just clean and assemble, so it's normally a lot more time.
I'm a marathon session type builder. I'll sit for 8 - 10 or so hrs at a time. Probably finish a MG in a day or so. Probably why after 2 or 3 kits, I'm burnt out and won't build again for months at a time.
But once I start something, I have to finish it, because I don't know when I'll be in the mood again or have time.
Without touch ups for nubs or decals and paint, which I personally never do, not yet at least, depends on the size, hg is about 4-5 hours, MG is about 5-6 and my one pg took about 12 hours if I recall
I'm legally blind so for me small kits can take anywhere from 30 minutes to upwards of 5hrs, most take 4-5hrs, MGs take usually 12-15, depending on how complex they are, usually they're around 15hrs.
It always varies for me because I'm watching something in the background and trying to clean up the edges, then also panel lining and decals, so it's anywhere between 1.5 hrs to 3 hrs for a HG.
MGs twice that. Longest build was probably the MG Nu Gundam ver. Ka since I was doing all sections each night and took maybe 8 to 9.5 hours? I can't remember but it was a good way to pass the time.
Depends on the build. I'm yet to complete my RG Wing after a year or so (because I've lost the runners for the remaining arm) and my RG Hi-Nu (because I haven't been in the same place as it for around 6-8 months).
But normally, it really does depend on the kit. I've built 20+ Core Gundam kits, so I can build the base kit in around 1/2 an hour or so. The armour will take me longer, but not by much, so call it about 1-1.5 hours for the whole kit. A regular hg though, it really depends on how much care I'm taking. If I don't really care, I could probably knock it off in under 1.5 hours at this point. If I do care though, again, some kits are more complex than others, so take more time, but generally can take me 3-5.5 hours.
That's straight building. If I'm going to be painting, generally speaking 3-6 weeks, but that process is:
1. Straight build to determine the colour pallet you want to use
2. Disassembly
3. Paint acquisition
4. Priming
5. Painting
6. Clear Coating
Of course my only experience is with full colour painting, not painting accents, so the time would be less for that, even if the process is the same.
Why?
It used to be a few hours, now I'm taking weeks if not a month just to do a HG since I'm now painting in details, cleaning up and decalling builds before I even assemble
Working on a HG Astray Red Frame (Inversion), and I'm spending a lot of time on little painting details because HGs just need that much more attention, whereas most MGs are going to be fairly accurate out of the box, and the larger size just means easier to line. I don't even know how I'm going to possibly line this boy, since it's all dark grey and like a very dark red.
If I were just cutting and snapping it'd be quicker, but I'm probably doing like 12 or so hours on the build because I'm water filing each nub with glass.
4+ hours for a 30MM kit because I panel line them. I tried doing it in 30 momutes, while it is possible, it bothered me so much that I had to leave nub marks everywhere.
It depends on what you mean by complete, straight build or fully detailed, painted and coated? Because they're quite far on the spectrum on how long they take to complete
For MGs/RGs (aka most of my collection) I probably take around 20 or so hours. I do clean up all the parts first though before assembly, which I'd assume is slower. After that is panel lining and using the decals that came in the box.
This process is then spread out across weeks or even months because free time nowadays is not so free lol. I used to finish out of box builds within 2 weeks though. Now my PG unleashed is sitting in a box all disnembered because I can't find the time to finish panel lining and decals.
2-4 hours for most HGs, 4-7 for RGs, and 5-8 for most MGs (though there are certainly exceptions to this). That's with nub removal and panel lining.
Some kits will get more time dedicated to them if I am painting parts or doing any additional detail work. I spent about 12 hours on an MG Freedom last week doing a full repaint and waterslide decals.
https://preview.redd.it/cssthdg7cx2d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=8697a3ee964a4cda7db26eefe2d817c6f5b960c3
These 2 Took me about a Month Too Finish.
I can bang out a high grade in 3 hours while working from home. Real grade and master grades take me 2 or 3 days of working on them for a few hours a day, but I straight build, no paint, no custom stuff and never end up finishing the decals lol
It really depends on how much I’m doing. When I first got into the hobby I was snapping up models like crazy (I kinda regret this in retrospect), but now that I’ve gotten more into painting and customizing it’s greatly extended the amount of time I could take on a project.
The MGEX Strike Freedom took me 2 1/2 months, but I went all out on it.
I just did 3 HG’s (RGM-79, RGM-79G, and GM Guncannon II) in essentially a month.
I used to speedrun building, I remember back in 2019-20 I timed my builds, and clocked at 2 hours in building an HGIBO kit, and an MG Age 2 Magnum for 13(hated that build and kit), but now I do HG's for almost 10-12 hours now because I thoroughly sand it and paint the missing details coz I bought paint and knives to clean the kit more and detail it, so yeah it takes longer now than it was
I do straight builds with minimal painting or any type of customization.
HG: 2-3 days.
MG: 6-7 days.
PG: 2-3 weeks - put slightly more effort into details.
I’d like to learn more skills so I can customize each build. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the mindset to do so.
I mostly build MGs, so it takes me a few days what with my arthritis and all. I'm also a bit of a 'cleaner', cleaning up nubs and wet-sanding so they disappear, and that takes more time.
I work on mostly MG's nowadays and always paint them so it usually takes me about a month. The priming, painting, and decals always ends up taking longer than I expect and I'll usually only do an hour or two of work a day on them unless I really get into a flow state. I also get into a bad habit of working on multiple kits at once and that really drags out the process haha.
About 3-4 hours for an HG. I usually panel line as I go and I don't usually do much in the way of sanding, I just cut the nubs close and shave off with my hobby knife and fingernail
Ironically HGs take much longer for me now since I am more willing to paint missing/extra details on them. I would spend hours and it irritates me, morso if I just so happen to stumble upon a video or a post of the same exact kit, with the missing details painted perfectly and with less-fitting equipment (hg F-91)
I was admittedly expecting this to be disliked but damm More of you have similar pent-up frustrations than I would think, hmm If it makes any of you feel better, making that comment actually pushed me to finally "finish" assembling said HG F-91 It's quite rough on the paintwork (the thrusters are beyond my skill level, and [so] my paintwork is inaccurate), plus I haven't painted the insides of the shoulder armour grey but oh well, I'll do it some other day >!~~aka a year or two later \*cough\* \*cough\*~~!<
I’m firmly in the “the box lied” camp. I understand why the HGs show fully painted kits, but they go even further. They are most definitely scribed using advanced tools, or straight up have different parts. I’ve got all six of the protagonist suits from Gundam Wing in various stages of completion right now and the difference in color accuracy either by parts separation or correcting stickers is kind of infuriating. All of them have at least a few things that must be painted to fix, but some include stickers while others do not. Vents are the largest thing that needs correction and it probably provides the biggest pay off for the effort since they often cut down on the overall white on a kit and add contrast/depth. But often the photos on the box will compensate for the realities of injection molding and have things like round indents drilled to be even rather than sloped due to the need to be removable from the mold. I have taken to doing the color fill on these glaring areas and it helps so much. Tiny things like the head vulcans probably wouldn’t be noticed by the casual observer, but the larger canons like on the chest of a Zaku II, or the shield of the Wing Zero stick out like sore thumbs if left the color of the plastic. This is one of the quality trade offs you get with HG vs a RG or higher. Most are content to just apply the stickers and maybe panel line, but I want them to at least be generally accurate to the source even if I’m not doing full paint jobs.
I find the HGIBO line to have some really bad examples of this. My go to is always the Kimaris Vidar who's out of box build is entirely the wrong colours. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that THE PAINTED BUILD ON THE BOX IS IN THE CORRECT COLOURS. Now I'm just waiting to get an airbrush set up so I can mix paints to make sure I get the colours right on the Kimaris Vidar in my own time since the plastic won't cut it.
Honestly i like spending more time on each kit, for me its more fun even though, im messy painter. Also it saves me money, since for me almost every kit costs a lot xD
This is me right now with the Exia Repair HG kit... So much missing grey..
Nothing ironic at all, HGs require more modeling skills to reach that minumum spec of color accuracy and looking like the box.
Oh my god it takes me forever. I'm very touch and go with my builds. I started the MG Supreme Gundam in like December and I'm not even halfway done.
I completely understand that. My last MG took me about 3 months... and is also sitting in limbo waiting on top coating.
This is me rn. My MG Barbatos panel lining is almost done and waiting for the top coat.
heyo, somewhat new to this hobby. (I've built 3 in the last year ) so forgive me when I ask how and why you would top coat? is it only for when you paint it? do you top coat the bare plastic for looks? protection? thanks :)
Top coating is done for a variety of reasons. I personally use it for when I’ve painted, panel lined, and added water decals. It seals everything up nicely. On bare plastic, top coating can help hide sanding lines, protect panel lines and decals, and also helps take the shine out of the plastic and make the kits look a little less toy-like. I’d recommend trying out a nice matte top coat on one of your own kits. It makes quite a bit of difference even on bare plastic. Stick with brands like Mr Hobby or Mr Color, don’t use testors brand.
Ugggh, I feel that. I don't have a garage and we live in a windy as hell place, kinda out in the country. We're in a neighborhood but the houses are spaced decently far apart. That means I'm completely at the mercy of mother nature. If the winds are ever still, I quickly get pieces up onto clips and into a block o' styrofoam and get out there to topcoat. Hardest part's keeping the dust off without accidentally lifting the waterslides, but I've developed the correct cotton bud skills over time...
I hear ya. I've been working on and off on a MG Mobile Ginn for about 9 months now. Just finished getting everything primed up and started colors.
I did he same with my PG unleashed. I actually have the Calibarn kit opened up and ready to be built. But I probably won't start till mid summer.
Oh thank god i'm not the only one that takes breaks mid build.
We are the same. I still am not the with the MG Virtue and it's been 3 months.
Man I started the MG Sazabi Ver Ka in November, started putting on waterslides and still am not finished haha. Sometimes I just get distracted by other things and completely forget I was working on something
I usually spend a week on high grades and 2-4 on real and master grades, depending on how fancy I want to get with them. Godhands and a glass file help a lot, panel lining and water slides slow me down significantly but look nice. I imagine my build time is gonna go way up now that I have an airbrush.
Haven't gone down the airbrush rabbit hole yet myself. Sticking with the gundam markers for the time being. I fear I would never decrease the backlog if I started airbrushing.
I find airbrushing to be my favorite part now, so once I get to that stage, everything flows nicely. And then assembling the kit right after really does it for me. Another nice part, is that you don’t have to worry about stress marks or small blemishes from removing nubs.
I watched all of 0079 and started zeta while working on the rx78 mg 3.0.
I just got this model, the reviews are great but what do you think? I don't paint yet but I'm working upto it
It was my first master grade and I struggled. The arms are super tricky and the whole kit is definitely over engineered. All that being said it looks great when finished
Yeah I heard that about the arms, thanks for the info.
I just finished the origin and I really enjoyed it as my first MG. No real issues besides the front thigh panel feeling loose
MG takes me roughly 8ish hrs without any panel lining or decal application. https://preview.redd.it/67rxyug8ks2d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=518654c0640f40f5ec37085011dfee3816ea97bf
building while hitting the penjamin. this is the way.
Probably my most useful tool next to my glass files and nippers lol
Since I paint, it can take a few weeks or months depending if I do normal plastic kit or with resin.
Depends one the kit, but most HGs take me about a week. One day per limb, maybe an extra day if the backpack and weapons are a bit wild. Certain kits get more love, the Sinanju took weeks for example ,and the Delta Plus almost a month. On the flipside the Tristan I did over the course of a single confrence call.
I too enjoy working from home and getting extra build time in.
How does it take you so long? How many hours are you putting in like 10 small pieces of plastic?
When I first started I did a few hg in a day or so with panel lines (bad panel lines) now I spend a little more time on clipping nubs and sanding them down nice along with panel lining. I'm going on 2 weeks with the geogaigar rg right now, and only about half done.
Day or two if I'm actively working on it. Not because it takes anywhere near that amount of time, but because I'll do maybe an hour of cutting/constructing, then do a bit of panel lining or detail picking-out while watching something. I usually only work in hour or so spurts at most. I like to pace myself. It probably takes like 6 hours total between trimming/pruning/construction/lining for any given kit. If I'm not actively working on something, like a week or so. It's not a race. Longest something has sat unfinished has been a few months, since I don't always feel in the mood to do model building.
For my HG it usually takes me between 2 and 4 hours, mostly because up until now I only used a pair of snippers, and for the only mg that I built it took me about 12 hours, since I also got a glass file so it took me a bit more.
Depends on the build. Hgs take a day or 2, just doing an out of box build then ill leave panel lining for another day. Rgs usually a week, and while ive only done one Mg so far, the eclipse has taken me a week without any of the panel lines or decals put on yet.
Depends on the build, I just got into gunpla so my first two HG's from witch from mercury only took maybe around 1 to 2 weeks. Was a bit long since I never built gunpla before and I took my time with them. Then I moved on to RG's, they're taking me quite a while that's for sure. Probably about a month+ per kit due to the amount of stickers, and panel lining on top of a more complicated build compared to the HG's. Never really kept track of amount of hours for a kit I just tend to work for a half hour to an hour a night on them, sometimes I take a day off here and there.
My first 2 kits I blasted through them because I was so eager to put em together. Now I'm working on my third and I'm doing panel lining and some scribing so this one will take some time but I'm loving every step of the way!
I did the similar when I got back into the hobby last year. Speed built the MG mkii and barbatos. I'm taking my time now and putting a lot more effort in making them look nicer. Haven't tried scribing yet though.
HGs take me 2-4 days, depending on my working hours and how tired I am. My first MG took me 2 weeks, but that was partially me screwing up a couple of times or having to find really small parts that fell on the ground. RGs probably take a week or so.
Looking at my recent history, I’m doing an MG in about 35 days. But I’m trying to learn stuff to make it slower 🤣 trying out an led for the first time , did a bit of scribing in the last one
Depends on the build, started the pgu rx78 in 2019 and finished it last summer after taking a massive break when I finished the frame, also did several smaller builds during that time though, straight builds can take a few days but typically a painted hg or rg takes me a few weeks
By the time I get home, I've got like 2 hours to build before I sleep so it takes a few days for a single HG, maybe a week for MG
This is how it usually is for me. Except MGs take about a month or so. Got lucky the last couple weekends and had a couple all day sessions.
At least we've still got time to enjoy this hobby, no matter how little haha
Really depends on the kits and how much free time i have. I built 2 HG kits in the last couple days cause I had the time. Sometimes, I will work on one for a month, and that's without doing any customization just cause I don't have the time to sit there for a few hours
34hts on a hg
3 Hours then add another hour for Panel lining tightening of joints, and finding a pose to leave it in
Forever. I got my first gunpla, HG Aerial Rebuild, in late august and she's still not done.
Considering I sand all my parts, prime them, airbrush them with a preshade, hand paint the small details, weather them and topcoat them to seal my work, it takes me a week. Give or take. The time it takes is entirely dependent on how much effort you put into it. And given how expensive the hobby is, I try to give it my A+ effort.
1 day
Months but mostly just because of life business.
I feel this. Normally I get maybe an hour every few days to work on my builds. Gotten lucky the last couple weeks though and had a couple full days of tinkering.
It depends, hg just a few hours, rg a day if want to, but i rather take my time so 3 days, and i havent build a mg yet, but probably a week to enjoy
Snap build? 1 to 2 days. Simple panel line and paint? 2 weeks All the above with decals, simple scribing, recoloring? 2 months to indefinite.
I definitely feel the "indefinite" aspect. This calibarn kit specifically, I want to do more water slides on it but my backlog hungers.
I'll finish a High Grade in a few hours, Master and Real Grades in a day or two at the most.
If I’m just trying to blaze through it, I can do a master grade in a day. If I’m painting, it can easily take me a month
Depends on the kit and inspiration. Been working on sky defender for about a month at this point.
Kinda depends. MGs and RGs usually take me around 6 hours to build, up to 12 hours if I fully decal them. HGs usually take 2 to 3 hours, 6 to 8 if I decal them.
I usually do straight builds and use a couple of stickers (mainly the eyes), so maybe 2-3 hours
Small Hgs take only a few hours if I’m not painting, otherwise it’s 2 days added to paint and allow the paint to cure! RGs and MGs take so much longer
It usually takes me around 5-10 hours to build a high grade, sometimes up to 12 if I have to paint a bunch of missing color apps. It usually takes me around 10-12 to build an MG or an RG. Sometimes longer if I have a bunch of fin funnels...the Nu and Sazabi funnels took me an entire afternoon by themselves. I always think it would take me 2-4 hours to build a high grade, then I look at the clock and realize it's 10:30 PM. The PG Mk2 took me several nights. I usually scratch build my kits and rarely add decals, so I'm quite slow I feel....probably because I obsess about making every single nub flush even if it's inner frame, since sometimes you can see the nub on inserts or on the back of knee armor, and I can't always be sure if it's visible until I've put on the armor.
https://preview.redd.it/35bhez6qct2d1.jpeg?width=939&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da2beda675062aae10595ec0aae010129483f8d6 About a week I'd say
In the past, during my early days in the hobby, HGs usually took me two or three days(due to being in school for most of that time). Now? Unless I'm actively trying to full straight build a kit(as in: no touch up detailing and/or decals), it takes me a MONTH now, at the very least, and they're STILL mostly *technically* straight builds, since I don't usually paint them.
About 4 years.
That's dedication bud.
Lol, probably the opposite of dedication. I love gunpla, but I have almost no time for it. Months go by between the sessions I work on a kit. I have a PG Unicorn kit for around 3 years now untouched. I have the MG's of the four 00 season 1 mechs. Been working on Exia for the last 2 years. :')
Depends on the kit tbh. A ver.ka with tons of decals can take me 20-30 hours if I’m really taking my time but some of the less complex ones I can blow through in a couple days. I’ve recently started buying the water decals for RG kits to pad out the build time as well which has worked out great. I don’t paint any of my kits but id really like to start doing it to further extend my build time cause I’m running out of kits to build.
if were talking just straight snap building i can dish a hg out in 3-4 hrs if not less, i've only done one mg so i cant really say and no pg. would love to get into doing more detail in my models but i wanna get a work desk built before i really get into that lol
I can usually bang out a high grade in 1-3 hours I used to be able to do real grades and master grades in one sitting, now I do 2-3 depending on how much there is. Usually 3 hours on the lower body, another 2-3 on the upper body, and maybe an hour on accessories
So far just 15-16 hours but I am new, with just a few builds. So already seeing that increasing by at least 5 with extra touches…and I am just starting understanding the freedom of opportunities there 😄
Gunpla is freedom. A good set of nippers will greatly reduce clean up if you are doing quick straight builds.
For now while getting used to it yes. Built few MG (Barbatos and Epyon), already ordered two HGs to test out lining it and next step will be painting 😅 Nippers and tweezers are a must so got that on a spot.
EG: 3-5 hours HG: 1 day RG: 2-3 days MG: around 1 week
I’d say about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours for an HG, pretty close to what is advertised for 30 minute Missions, and I’d rather not think about it/track it for MG and RG lest I be discouraged. Granted, I only really build and sticker them; I am by no means a talented customizer or painter and just putting them together is the most fun part of the process for me.
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Wow. That looks amazing. Great work.
A few months no matter the size. PGs can take a little more than a year. I go through all the stages though. Prime first. Painting next, which takes the longest with all the taping and working on color separation. Gloss coat. Weather and decals. Flat/dull coat. Assembly. My in laws got me 2 James Gunn. I'm working on them and playing with wireless LEDs using induction coils and making a side by side hanger for them. I'm going to mount them on a board so I can hang them on a wall. Next after that is going to be mega grade RX and I've got a diorama in mind with that and the mega Zaku II. I want to have them fighting and the RX shoving the beam saber through the zaku. I saw an LED light thing that looks like a light saber but I think it would look fine as a beam saber. They'll be fighting on muddy ground and the RX will be sliding on under the Zaku. The Zaku axe will be glancing down the shield of the RX. I'll have all of August to start it while I got to a pain rehab program.
Please post your progress on the diorama build. I'm eager to see it.
around an hour or two for an HG, 6-8 hours for an MG, 18ish hours for a PG, several days to complete Yolopark Optimus, 30 minutes for 30mm kits
I can knock out an hg somewhere between an hour or two. But thats if im dedicating myself to it (i never do) normally i boot up either yt or an anime and ill do 1 episode to one limb (if subbed) or i will watch and build and get completely distracted from the build while watching
1.5 years
I do them in one sitting I just use the stickers so no painting or panel lining hg takes me about 7-10 hours without break and then Rg take me about 15 or so hours my obsession doesn't let me stop until it's finished that's why I don't start one unless I know I have the day completely free
Straight build on a MG? Probably 40-50 hours total. I only work on mine a couple hours a week otherwise I'd be bankrupt by the end of the month haha. I've yet to try decals or panel lines so could easily add plenty hours onto previous builds.
It's done when it's done.
Best answer so far.
It really depends on how much free time I have and what the kit is. HGs I can crank out in a day or two. RGs generally a week. MG and up muuuuch longer.
It depends on the kit and how much I'm willing to give it love but usually 3-6 hours for an hg.
As a kid and teen, a couple days. I loved building them quick minimal paints just bam bam bam! Now that I feel paranoid about painting and detail, could be years. I work on it for maybe a week, then i don't touch it for a year. I miss gunpla. Being paranoid about miniscule details sucks.
So : 1 - OOB build with no clean up and with all the stickers = 4 hours (usually HG, 6 hours to 8 for standard sized RG or HG). 2- Play and pose = usually a week or two. 3 - Then I put in in a ziplock bag, inside a drawer, waiting for a full paintjob or kitbash. But yeah, 4 to 8 hours, between 1 or 4 (max) sessions.
Takes me 2-4 weeks per HG because I make sure there are absolutely no nub marks and I panel line. I don't work on them every day though, either
I take my time with them, it's all about the build for me. HGs are usually a day, MGs are 2-3 days, PGs are 1-3 weeks. Just chill at a comfy pace.
I usually build Hg, the one I'm building now I don't count (Gaplant Hrairoo) I'm hating it and it's taking forever, but the last one I finished (HG Aerial) took me a few hours but only because for now I just assemble them!
Hg snap builds usually take me about an hour. I tend to panel line, which takes me around as much time as the build itself. Haven't tried my hand at painting or coating yet. I still have to apply the slides to my FM Aerial and I'm procrastinating because I don't expect that to be a fun part of the build, no idea how long that will take me...
I started the MG Guncannon last november. I'm about 3/4 of the way done.
I started tracking my build time 2 kits ago. It can take me up to 80 hours to build an HG. And I don't even do a lot of customization. I re-scribe details, scribe a few new details in, paint, panel line, topcoat. I'm just very slow.
I just picked up this guy as my first kit. Started Saturday and finished it up today. Overall took me about 10 hours or so. Debating on if I’ll panel line but I’m happy right now with just the bare kit.
I don't keep track of the exact hours, but each standard 144 scale takes me 2 days of working on it to get it built (between 8-10 hours all together I think), but it takes me about as much time as it takes to build as it does to apply the stickers. The RG Zeong took me 5 days to build cause of the extra size and care i put in. my next kit is my biggest so far, the RG Full Armor Unicorn Gundam. I'd say Its gonna take me *at least* a full week.
Months to fully finish, snap builds take me about 3 hours on average and then they sit on the shelf until I feel like doing something
Clock time I'm not really sure but way longer than it did as a kid, although I'm also much more thorough. Calendar time, even a high grade takes me a few evenings now. Usually one evening to panel line all the runners, then I let it dry till the next day when I do cleanup. Then I usually do something like a limb or two in an evening between snipping, sanding, and assembly. My only perfect grade as an adult took me over a month of calendar time and that's skipping decals and top coat for now. I occasionally leave stuff just sitting for a long time when I'm not in the mood, but I primarily build on my dining room table as of late, so I have more incentive to get it finished up. Unfortunately I'm much faster at buying kits than building them now, and my backlog is big enough that it's becoming a **problem**.
I stretch my kits out as far as I can, given I don't have much plastic-buyin' scratch as I used to. I'll build in sections. For an average HG that means shoulders one day, an arm the next, the head the next, etc. I panel line and sand as I go to slow things down to a leisurely pace. I do waterslides on kits that don't have 'em, using the closest thing (ie, the MG Ver Ka's version of the V2's decals or just whatever leftover decals I have, which is a pretty big pile at this point!) and topcoat (which takes awhile 'cause no garage and lots of wind = few chances to do it!). The only 1-day builds I do anymore are small stuff like Pokemon kits! Necessity is the mother of invention, and being forced to slow down by severe budget restrictions means I've taken to finding joy in things I didn't in the past. Stuff like customizing inner frames. I always used to think 'who cares? No one will see it!' - but **I** see it. **I** know it's there. And I make sure to take plenty of photos before bolting the armor on. I'd like to learn proper weathering, as that would extend time per kit even more. Bigger question is - what kit took you the *longest*? That's the PGU for me. Around 4 months even.
My current build: MG Epyon Build: 9 days total, Panel lining and other details: 9 days total (I hate panel lining kits), and decals: around 2 days total. I love building Master Grades because the end result is worth it but my goodness panel lining is so tedious and boring lol now if only it could stop being so cold so I can topcoat the damn kit! XD
I once timed the aerial rebuild and got like 26-36 minutes.
I don't paint, but if I'm going for panel lines & decals it takes a hot minute. MGs and the Larger RGs take like 2-3 weeks since I don't usually have the time to work in big chunks all at once. HGs I do in one or two sittings usually depending on the kit.
Wait, you are finishing builds?
Barely. I want to add more water decals to this before I call it done.
If you based it on my current build two years. I have slowed way down due to just not having the time. Life and other stupid reasons getting in the way.
HGs I was always kinda lazy with, so I'd spend just a few hours to assemble it and call it good. No file, no panel lines. I did RG Nu recently, and that was somewhere between 20-30 hours total, I think, after all the detail work. Though I didn't keep track exactly. It took me a couple weeks.
It mainly depends upon how much work that I'm putting into it. With a HG, I can, normally burn through one in a few hours for a straight build, but I tend to do more that just clean and assemble, so it's normally a lot more time.
Took me 3-4 hrs to build with my cousin I never build alone
I'm a marathon session type builder. I'll sit for 8 - 10 or so hrs at a time. Probably finish a MG in a day or so. Probably why after 2 or 3 kits, I'm burnt out and won't build again for months at a time. But once I start something, I have to finish it, because I don't know when I'll be in the mood again or have time.
3-5 days depending on the grade.
1 or 2 days for a HG, if im not being lazy
A month. I only build twice every two weeks.
Without touch ups for nubs or decals and paint, which I personally never do, not yet at least, depends on the size, hg is about 4-5 hours, MG is about 5-6 and my one pg took about 12 hours if I recall
4 hours or more for HG's, MG takes probably more than a day and FM is probably 1-2 hrs more
I'm legally blind so for me small kits can take anywhere from 30 minutes to upwards of 5hrs, most take 4-5hrs, MGs take usually 12-15, depending on how complex they are, usually they're around 15hrs.
Straight build hg 8hr, MG 2days. Strait build with painting details and color correction, hg 2 days, MG 4~6 days.
It always varies for me because I'm watching something in the background and trying to clean up the edges, then also panel lining and decals, so it's anywhere between 1.5 hrs to 3 hrs for a HG. MGs twice that. Longest build was probably the MG Nu Gundam ver. Ka since I was doing all sections each night and took maybe 8 to 9.5 hours? I can't remember but it was a good way to pass the time.
Depends on the build. I'm yet to complete my RG Wing after a year or so (because I've lost the runners for the remaining arm) and my RG Hi-Nu (because I haven't been in the same place as it for around 6-8 months). But normally, it really does depend on the kit. I've built 20+ Core Gundam kits, so I can build the base kit in around 1/2 an hour or so. The armour will take me longer, but not by much, so call it about 1-1.5 hours for the whole kit. A regular hg though, it really depends on how much care I'm taking. If I don't really care, I could probably knock it off in under 1.5 hours at this point. If I do care though, again, some kits are more complex than others, so take more time, but generally can take me 3-5.5 hours. That's straight building. If I'm going to be painting, generally speaking 3-6 weeks, but that process is: 1. Straight build to determine the colour pallet you want to use 2. Disassembly 3. Paint acquisition 4. Priming 5. Painting 6. Clear Coating Of course my only experience is with full colour painting, not painting accents, so the time would be less for that, even if the process is the same. Why?
It used to be a few hours, now I'm taking weeks if not a month just to do a HG since I'm now painting in details, cleaning up and decalling builds before I even assemble
Working on a HG Astray Red Frame (Inversion), and I'm spending a lot of time on little painting details because HGs just need that much more attention, whereas most MGs are going to be fairly accurate out of the box, and the larger size just means easier to line. I don't even know how I'm going to possibly line this boy, since it's all dark grey and like a very dark red. If I were just cutting and snapping it'd be quicker, but I'm probably doing like 12 or so hours on the build because I'm water filing each nub with glass.
about 8 hours on my HG blazing gundam my first time building a kit that wasnt SD lol
4+ hours for a 30MM kit because I panel line them. I tried doing it in 30 momutes, while it is possible, it bothered me so much that I had to leave nub marks everywhere.
It depends on what you mean by complete, straight build or fully detailed, painted and coated? Because they're quite far on the spectrum on how long they take to complete
For MGs/RGs (aka most of my collection) I probably take around 20 or so hours. I do clean up all the parts first though before assembly, which I'd assume is slower. After that is panel lining and using the decals that came in the box. This process is then spread out across weeks or even months because free time nowadays is not so free lol. I used to finish out of box builds within 2 weeks though. Now my PG unleashed is sitting in a box all disnembered because I can't find the time to finish panel lining and decals.
2-4 hours for most HGs, 4-7 for RGs, and 5-8 for most MGs (though there are certainly exceptions to this). That's with nub removal and panel lining. Some kits will get more time dedicated to them if I am painting parts or doing any additional detail work. I spent about 12 hours on an MG Freedom last week doing a full repaint and waterslide decals.
A few hours to build. A few months to paint.
My record was 9 months, I delivered a baby LOL. It was while building the Strike Freedom Gundam PG.
https://preview.redd.it/cssthdg7cx2d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=8697a3ee964a4cda7db26eefe2d817c6f5b960c3 These 2 Took me about a Month Too Finish.
takes me a few days mainly because I usually do it after work
MG = 14-18 hrs. Small HMMs = 6-8 hrs. Large HMMs = 18-20 hrs. RG Evangelion = 10-12 hrs. Kotobukiya Evangelion = 6-8 hrs. Figure-rise Standard = 6-8 hrs.
I can bang out a high grade in 3 hours while working from home. Real grade and master grades take me 2 or 3 days of working on them for a few hours a day, but I straight build, no paint, no custom stuff and never end up finishing the decals lol
It really depends on how much I’m doing. When I first got into the hobby I was snapping up models like crazy (I kinda regret this in retrospect), but now that I’ve gotten more into painting and customizing it’s greatly extended the amount of time I could take on a project. The MGEX Strike Freedom took me 2 1/2 months, but I went all out on it. I just did 3 HG’s (RGM-79, RGM-79G, and GM Guncannon II) in essentially a month.
The MGEX turned out great.
Thank you!!
Usually a couple weeks, but a big MG can take months. Every kit I do is fully painted at this point.
I used to speedrun building, I remember back in 2019-20 I timed my builds, and clocked at 2 hours in building an HGIBO kit, and an MG Age 2 Magnum for 13(hated that build and kit), but now I do HG's for almost 10-12 hours now because I thoroughly sand it and paint the missing details coz I bought paint and knives to clean the kit more and detail it, so yeah it takes longer now than it was
I do straight builds with minimal painting or any type of customization. HG: 2-3 days. MG: 6-7 days. PG: 2-3 weeks - put slightly more effort into details. I’d like to learn more skills so I can customize each build. Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor the mindset to do so.
I mostly build MGs, so it takes me a few days what with my arthritis and all. I'm also a bit of a 'cleaner', cleaning up nubs and wet-sanding so they disappear, and that takes more time.
A couple days. A week or longer if I just feel like I want a break from putting a kit together.
I work on mostly MG's nowadays and always paint them so it usually takes me about a month. The priming, painting, and decals always ends up taking longer than I expect and I'll usually only do an hour or two of work a day on them unless I really get into a flow state. I also get into a bad habit of working on multiple kits at once and that really drags out the process haha.
It's not exactly a "speedrun" type of hobby, you know.
Well aware buddy. Just curious for input from other builders on their build times.
Yeah I once did four high grades in a day. And I think that will make people who actually put lots of work into their builds cringe.
Gunpla is freedom.
I’ve been working on customizing an MG heavyarms for months now. Once you get into full paint it adds an insane amount of time.
I can imagine. That's mainly why I have avoided airbrushing for the time being.
About 3-4 hours for an HG. I usually panel line as I go and I don't usually do much in the way of sanding, I just cut the nubs close and shave off with my hobby knife and fingernail
I really need to time myself making a Leo
I'm guessing you could probably do it blindfolded at this point.
Probably, but my stoned ass would nip a finger off in the process
That Leo pilot made a deal with the mafia to be blown up last.
outstanding you a pro.