The Unicorn Gundam Head Display Base is a bonus item that came with the January issue of Dengeki Hobby and as such, it is pretty much impossible to find without paying a shiny penny for it.
The issue of Dengeki Hobby. Instructions. Almost-impossible-to-replicate techniques on detailing the base. The parts.
Also picked up the clear stickers for the base from a later issue. Ultimately, I only end up using the warning and body detail stickers and skipped the color stickers for the eyes, V-fins, and camera (I decided to paint them in instead). I didn’t take any WISP photos because there wasn’t much to show so let’s just jump right into the completed model ^^;
UNICORN MODE
I assembled this model with displaying the Destroy Mode in mind so the red panel lines (done with Tamiya Clear Red paint) makes the normal version of this Gundam look a bit funky.
I wished Bandai included an extra solid horn for the Unicorn mode since the V-fin is a bit hard to straighten out. Good thing I applied the detail stickers otherwise this thing will be oh so plain and white!
I think the proportions are great and there are plenty of panel lines to fill in the details.
You can peek inside its visor (or lack of one) and see its Gundam face. It is actually kinda hard to close that gap because there is nothing that holds it in place.
DESTROY MODE
Ore wa Gundam…
Transforming into its Destroy Mode is almost exactly like its MG counterpart only except you have to take out more parts (head piece below V-fin) and take some extra time to adjust the V-vfin’s center piece since it can rotate and becomes crooked.
So who is surprised that I modeled this head display after my own MG Unicorn? xD
I made a bold move with paneling the entire kit with just red paint and trying to leave just enough residue to produce some sort of “glowing” effect (Psycoframe) but it’s actually so light you can only see it if you really look for it in person >_<.
The only armament this model comes with is a pair of vulcans.
I painted the eyes in with Gundam markers from my Fine Point set and I think it looks much better than using the thin clear stickers. I also made sure to not paint too many layers of the Clear Red on this time so that the parts are still very transparent.
Comparison with the MG Unicorn.
Which head design do you like more?
I don’t intend to pick up the HGUC Unicorn nor use it as a display base so I didn’t bother sticking the crane arm on its back. This head display will be just that… a head display on my desktop. I think I could have done a better job and cleaned it up more since some of the panel lines are a bit shoddy but overall, I’m more than pleased with how it looks and glad that I actually used it to experiment with a few new things that I normally won’t do on regular models ^^;. I could use a USB-powered LED setup to light this thing up to give it a bit more life though…
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March 14, 2010 at 5:02 PM
This thing is crazy mon…too bad I didn’t grab it when I still had the chance…..
March 14, 2010 at 5:21 PM
Looks really sweet. I was sure you would be doing the exact same thing as you did with your MG.
March 14, 2010 at 6:25 PM
kewl. actually i prefer to have a body for the head tho… maybe that’ll happen? XD
March 15, 2010 at 12:58 PM
yea a body would actually be nice
March 14, 2010 at 6:45 PM
Think I’ll make good use of this stand, by putting a 4-port USB hub underneath it. Now my gf won’t nag about it afterwards. =)
March 15, 2010 at 12:59 PM
oh i guess the stand can make a good usb hub too.
March 14, 2010 at 7:49 PM
It looks great with those red panel lines. Another great one by Z. *thumbs up* =D
Now, if Bandai would mind to make a Mega Sized 1/48 Unicorn… >D
March 15, 2010 at 12:59 PM
Forget that! gimme my PG Unicorn! (I am sure it is in the works at this rate…)
March 14, 2010 at 9:08 PM
LOL go get Formania Nu Gundam.. XD
March 15, 2010 at 1:00 PM
I was thinking about that actually…
March 14, 2010 at 11:04 PM
mmm…I don’t think the red is working for the normal mode. Big red cheeks makes it look a bit like a clown (not meant to be offensive). The line work itself looks okay, only minor excess. Good job overall.
March 15, 2010 at 1:02 PM
The red is not supposed to work for Unicorn ^^;. Like i said, meant to be for the Destroy mode since the beginning and just thought I show the Unicorn version just for the heck of it.
March 15, 2010 at 12:49 AM
You didn’t paint the neck area grey! What’s up with that?!
Looks great, really matches your MG. You should try displaying it on top, it looks pretty nice.
March 15, 2010 at 1:03 PM
Didn’t like the idea of painting the body and neck gray… too much work. I think the white neck is fine xD
March 15, 2010 at 1:49 AM
How do you manage to make the clear red paint so equally distributed? I always ended up with some uneven blotches. Desperately need advise now. XD
March 15, 2010 at 1:03 PM
Thinner paint and make it fast.
March 15, 2010 at 6:02 PM
I dont really understand what is “thinner paint”. I used to mix thinner with my clear paint but it failed, the paint became something sticky. I am using both mr hobby’s paint and thinner.
March 15, 2010 at 8:51 PM
Did youbtry levelling thinner, i heard this thing is for the fucntion you mentioned, even painting…
March 15, 2010 at 11:01 PM
Leveling thinner? What is that? Mind to tell me more?
March 15, 2010 at 11:10 PM
Well what I did was just add drops of rubbing alcohol into my paint until I like how fast it just drips off the stir stick, then I apply it. I never heard of leveling thinner before ^^;
March 16, 2010 at 8:31 AM
So what you mean is dilute it until it is very diluted? So mixing the clear paint with thinner is a bad idea after all huh?
March 15, 2010 at 4:23 AM
I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo jealous right now -_-
Either way, nice job buddy.^^
Time to plan operation ‘steel Z’s unicorn head.’
March 15, 2010 at 5:48 AM
haha I wasn’t surprised you were going for the same effect with the V-fin. ^^;
the “display case” looks good. I also agree that bandai should have made the lights built in like the lightning base. as for sure it will look better. ^^
March 15, 2010 at 7:14 AM
very nice, now combine it as a stand with the HGUC one and make it more awesome
March 15, 2010 at 7:22 AM
Needs some grey :(
Red panel lines are cool though, reminds me of GVGN+.
March 15, 2010 at 7:50 AM
I have to say the 1/48′s head design wins by functionality. the head can actually go up and down better because the parts beside the chin don’t touch the neck area like the MG’s do. =/
March 15, 2010 at 8:02 AM
I didn’t knew the February edition has decals for the unicorn head! How unfortunate.
Btw I spent about $18-19 for the unicorn head and the magazine. How much did you spend for it, Z? Just curious because you said ‘shiny penny’.
March 15, 2010 at 3:14 PM
haha… i paid the regular yen price but got nailed by even SAL shipping… so about 30 or so. Forgot. Don’t want to think about it xD
March 15, 2010 at 9:32 AM
Im fed up with your poison,Im buyin me a unicorn +the MScage to poison YOU back! ^^;;;;
March 15, 2010 at 3:15 PM
You can do better than that to poison me :D
March 15, 2010 at 3:24 PM
I just realized that an all white unicorn with vivid red panel lining would make for a good paint scheme.
If I had a spare HGUC Unicorn, I’d copy you. :x
March 15, 2010 at 6:01 PM
ACK… shit… turning back into a unicorn zombie… must… resist… urge >.< … MUST BUY UNICORN!!! :D
March 16, 2010 at 9:09 AM
the collar was a bitch to color correct [mine's black] the stupid tamiya black paint leaked through the tape. oh well.
yours looks fantastic though!
good job z!
March 16, 2010 at 9:10 AM
oh Z, would you mind letting go of those spare stickers? i mainly just want the eyes…
March 16, 2010 at 2:21 PM
o0o… I threw the sheet away along with the pile of q-tips and skewers I used painting this model >_<. But trust me… you are a lot better off painting the eyes in. It's easy!