Bandai PG RX-78 GP01/fb – 02
Time to start working on the legs for the RX-78 GP01, and still unsure if one whole side will be left with very little armour on to show all the painting I plan to do on the legs inner frame.
The top of the legs main parts were painted in Metallic smoke, then highlighted with pale brass and red in some of the recesses. The shock absorbers on this part of the leg are not separate, but moulded on a front piece. As I wanted to show these I took time to paint the top of the shocker unit. First I masked around the whole section was masked off & sprayed it chrome with a satin black base. Masked off the shafts only & sprayed the bottom joints gold from the Vallejo “Metal Color” range, and the top part of the shock absorbers were given 3 light coats of candy red to produce the metallic shade I wanted. Do not overtighten the screw used at the bottom as you could damage the plastic.
There is a rubber piece that needs some braided covers fitted over them & use the dimensions of 30mm as advised in the manual, and I found sharp scissors the best thing to cut the braiding. Some highligthing with was done on the mounting piece in case some of it will be visable.
When you come to fit the spring when putting the lower legs to the earlier upper unit it is loose to start with and my part number “O21” did need some sanding to get it to move up and down freely, but that is most likely down to me painting it.
To match the painted shock absorbers on the top leg I painted the knee shockers in the same colour scheme. Again take care with the screw when tigtening.
Take care when fitting the articulating covers as they are shaped with cut outs that need to overlap to work when the knee is moved.
The articulated knee joint was first painted in Metallic smoke, then after masking off the top & lower sections sprayed with brass to give a two tone look. The cap of the knee was done with a matt black base, then sprayed with chrome and 3 coats of the candy red.
The knee section fits in a groove in the lower leg and you just turn it 45 degrees to get the fixing lugs to sit in the recess.
I’ve not put any of the outer armour on as with it being sprayed white I first don’t want to mark it, and secondly still not sure if going to leave all the armour off one leg, or have sections showing on both.
