• Manufacturer: Bandai
• Part number: BAN905569
• Year of production: 2001
• Gundam in-universe model number: MSZ-006A1
• Scale: 1/100
• Series: Zeta Gundam
• Kit type: MG
• In-universe role: Test version of a prototype transformable mecha
• Build date: 2010 ???

• Tamiya TS lacquer (for the cream/beige)
• Tamiya clear semi-gloss (for the original orange colour)
• Standard in-box dry transfers
• Gundam panel line pens

My first ever Master Grade kit… and in hindsight…. not the best.

I think the design looks fabulous in various manufacturer images, but in the flesh, it really doesn't work. Since it is one of the earliest transformable designs that Bandai made, it's really clunky in terms of articulation; the hip joint wants to fall apart all the time, since it's where the legs pivot up and under when transforming. Compared to all of the other Master Grade kits I've since had any exposure to, the hands are also rubbish - there's no way you can get it holding the ridiculously long rifle securely. The shield/nosecone also doesn't fit very flush on the arm - leading it to stick out a silly amount.

Really it should have just been made as a non-transformable design, with better articulation for more dynamic posing.

Still, it was my introduction to MG models, and I'm reasonably happy with the finished outcome considering the limited amount of experience I had at the time (most of my painting before then was wargame miniatures or 1/72 military stuff with just a brush or a single colour); I used a spray can of beige/off-white to match the box art, and a clear coat of semi-gloss on the unpainted orange parts. Along with some panel lines from a marker and the standard decals (dry-transfers, which are totally inferior to waterslides) it came out looking alright.