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Old 12-16-2015, 08:39 AM   #11
SanMiguel
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

Thank your for the detailed build & review, very interesting kit, sometimes it does go on sale at Amazon Ca
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Old 12-16-2015, 10:13 AM   #12
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

Hey Multiplex,

Thanks for posting this. I currently have my mouse hovering over "buy now" on the 3PO. I know its a model kit but my main question is: Is there any articulation? Not that I will be playing with this figure in a sandbox or anything, but Id like to be able to get a few different poses out of him for display and photos.

Im not too concerned about any articulation below the waist, just wondering if there is any head/neck/shoulder/elbow/wrist/abdomin articulation.

This thing makes the recently announced 6" black series figure look awful...and that red arm
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Old 12-16-2015, 11:12 AM   #13
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

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Originally Posted by turtle power eh View Post
Hey Multiplex,

Thanks for posting this. I currently have my mouse hovering over "buy now" on the 3PO. I know its a model kit but my main question is: Is there any articulation? Not that I will be playing with this figure in a sandbox or anything, but Id like to be able to get a few different poses out of him for display and photos.

Im not too concerned about any articulation below the waist, just wondering if there is any head/neck/shoulder/elbow/wrist/abdomin articulation.

This thing makes the recently announced 6" black series figure look awful...and that red arm

Yes there is articulation in those areas. I think the only area you mention that doesn't is the elbow, but only the swivel aspect due to the pistons. But the shoulder swivels and so does the upper bicep. I'll verify at home later. Edit: looks like the shoulders do not abduct. Only rotate/swivel.

There are two sets of arms that are included. One is stationary and can only be rotated at the shoulder. The other set has some (but not a lot) of bicep flexing. The pistons on the arms can actually be moved out of the way to achieve more bicep flexing.

C-3P0, as a character, has little articulation in the movies to begin with so this figure I think is true to his robotic poses. You can pretty much achieve those classic 3P0 poses that we've come to know. There's even a bit of ab crunch.

I would suggest watching a YouTube review to get a better idea of the articulation.



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Old 12-16-2015, 11:35 AM   #14
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

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Originally Posted by MULTIPLEX View Post
Yes there is articulation in those areas. I think the only area you mention that doesn't is the elbow, but only the swivel aspect due to the pistons. But the shoulder swivels and so does the upper bicep. I'll verify at home later. Edit: looks like the shoulders do not abduct. Only rotate/swivel.

There are two sets of arms that are included. One is stationary and can only be rotated at the shoulder. The other set has some (but not a lot) of bicep flexing. The pistons on the arms can actually be moved out of the way to achieve more bicep flexing.

C-3P0, as a character, has little articulation in the movies to begin with so this figure I think is true to his robotic poses. You can pretty much achieve those classic 3P0 poses that we've come to know. There's even a bit of ab crunch.

I would suggest watching a YouTube review to get a better idea of the articulation.




Thanks for the reply. Totally agree that he doesnt need a ton of articulation due to his robotic movements in the movies...just looking for a little so he doesnt feel too static. Probably going to buy this kit, looks great...maybe even the Vader too, cuz I hate the helmet sculpt on the black series version, he looks so sad.
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Old 12-16-2015, 06:13 PM   #15
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread



With all the excitement of Episode VII opening this week, I thought I'd throw in one of the newer TFA Bandai kit sets for discussion.

For those that already own the Imperial Stormtrooper Bandai kit, I can honestly say that this First Order Stormtrooper kit is better built and more thought out. I found it much easier to build. The racks are clearly labelled and they organized the parts for each step to be close to each other, most times right beside each other. So it made the build much faster.

I really like how they handled the armor around the waist and collar. Much better than the Imperial Stormtrooper kit did. A lot of the guts of the figure are built similar as well, like waist, shoulders and knee joints, feet etc...

The figure itself if stunning. It's like this figure was meant to be a model kit just because of the glossy armor. Only when you compare the Hasbro version to this do you realize how dull the finish on the Hasbro figure really is.

The articulation is good but I do wish the knees had a bit more bend like the Hasbro version does. You can only get about 90-100 degrees bend. However, the oppsisite is true for the arms. The Bandai kit has superarticulated elbows. So there is some good with the bad.

The best and worst thing about this set are the accessories. Although the Tonfa stick and gun have amazing detail, there is much painting required to make it look movie accurate cause the entire gun is cast in black! And Bandai failed to provide any stickers/decals for the blaster.

The Tonfa stick does have some colour off the rack, the white prongs but that's about it. There are some decals but I decided to paint instead. I do love that they included a shield and Tonfa

stick and blaster but why is there no hand gun like the Hasbro version? Maybe the movie will reveal that reason.

I quickly found out there are few reference pics at this point of the blaster and Tonfa stick so I have to use the trailer and some youtube cosplay videos to help.

NOTE: The only part I would be cautious when cutting off the racks are the helmet jaw pieces. Two of the cut points are not ideally located and if you look very close at my pics, you will notice a slight gap. That was a lesson learned. The next set I get, I will know to trim more carefully around those parts.

Having said that, you just can't compare the extra detailing on the Bandai kits. Even the shield window is see through. Painting the accessories was a bit of a pain. But I really like how things turned out, especially those three tiny red lines on the blaster. I used a very fine tip paint

brush. I believe it's called a 20/0 tip? Found it in a military model store. And then used a spudger to scrape off the excess.

So all in all, I have to say this figure is great. Sometimes I feel the shoulder armor is a little bulgey but you can adjust them quite easily. It's not easy to find a Hasbro FO Riot Control Stormtrooper so this set gives you that option as well.

Verdict

I'd say this set would be a solid 8 because the painting was a huge pain but they included so many accessories to make up for it. It was a very enjoyable build and the figure itself is very movie accurate from what I can tell from the trailers.

Here are some work in progress pics...





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Old 12-16-2015, 06:13 PM   #16
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

Hasbro on right









Here are the instructions and how I painted the details on the figure









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Old 12-16-2015, 06:14 PM   #17
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

The accessories after they were painted (Habro on left)




The riot shield (Hasbro on right)



and the completed figure...






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Old 12-16-2015, 06:14 PM   #18
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

Reference pics for accessories







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Old 12-30-2015, 12:49 PM   #19
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

I got my 3 kits in the mail yesterday, so excited - but also a bit overwhelmed/intimidated at first glance into the boxes! Do all these tiny parts really just snap in place, no glue?

Multiplex - at what point do you decide where you want to apply paint? From past experience with doing car models, I know it is often easier to paint the parts while they are still on the sprues, and then touch up the connection points afterwards once they are cut off. But typically a car model will tell you what parts need paint, and what colour to use, so you can easily paint out most parts beforehand. With paint being optional for these Bandai kits, how do you decide what to do? For me, I'd almost have to assemble the kit first before seeing areas that I think need paint. But I am guessing it's not recommended to take things apart again in order to get the paint into tricky spots. Curious to hear how you approach that.
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Old 01-03-2016, 02:36 AM   #20
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Re: Star Wars Bandai Kit Thread

Hi wedge, it's been a busy last few days. Happy new year to you. Which sets did you get? I may be able to recommend a few strategies.

Question #1 - Yes, they literally, just snap together. Surprisingly with extreme precision It's beautiful thing to experience the model come to life.

Question #2 - There are a few factors for me when I try and decide if I want to paint vs. apply the stickers. I'll try and explain how I approach it.

First thing I always do is look at the sticker sheet and assess how many details could be painted and if I have the right colours on hand. Sometimes you don't need a lot of colour, cause you can create your own by mixing.

Second I usually assess how easy it will be to paint on the detailing. Are the details just solid shapes or is there some convoluted or minuscule shapes that are not practical with stickers. Darth Vader is a perfect example. The stickers are completely useless for the buttons on his chest. Laughable really. It's way easier to a few touches of paint. Sometimes it's not so easy, like the Scout Trooper and Speeder Bike kit or R5-D4's head. I would opt not to paint some of those details.

Another important factor to me is movie accuracy. I always try and use the source material to nail down the detailing or get the colour the way I want it. In many cases, even add more detailing that the stickers omit. For example, R2-D2. I didn't like how light the blue so I created my own darker blue and added more detailing that I noticed from Episode IV. Vader was a good example of how I added two tones of black on his mask just like the movie. I had no idea until another customizer mentioned to me his helmet is not all black!

Effort is another factor. Some sets require a lot of work. For example, Boba Fett. He clearly need to get that worn in look and there is no stickers that will ever do his battle damaged look justice.

When it comes to actually painting, I prefer to paint on the racks. Most of the cut points are in areas that will not be seen once snapped together. But for those don't follow this, I sometimes cut it right off and paint it. I usually don't touch up cut points once it's snapped together. Mostly because they usually don't show anyways.

One other practical aspect of painting is you rarely have to paint an entire piece. Only apply paint to the area that will be seen. This saves time and paint.

I forget if I mentioned this before but I like to use the tooth pick method. Sometimes the area being paints is so damn tiny, you can't help paint over the boundaries. I just wait till it dries and then scrape off the excess with a toothpick. Doesn't damage the plastic and you get a perfect edge.
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