RG 1/144 GAT-X105 Aile Strike Gundam - Review (Part 3)

RG 1/144 GAT-X105 Aile Strike Gundam (Release Date: Apr. 30th 2011, Price: 2500 Yen) 

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REVIEW (PART 1): HERE, REVIEW (PART 2): HERE, RUNNERS PREVIEW: HERE, HOBBY MAGAZINE IMAGES: HERE

Preparation for painting the RG Aile Strike Gundam is underway.  This includes the initial sanding and priming of the kit.

Here are some images of the kit after it had been primed with a can of surfacer.  A lot of details can be seen now.  Some parts on the legs I had loosely put back together to allow me to easily take them apart again for the painting phase.

I know I had already said this in my previous review, but would like to mention again just how amazed I am that the RG Aile Strike Gundam could be packed with so much small details.  A lot of these details cannot be painted using an airbrush, so I will need to resort to handpainting all the small intricate parts.

I had also mentioned that the upper torso (chest) of the RG Aile Strike Gundam looks a bit bare in term of details when compared all the other parts on the kit.  I am looking into adding some panel lines on the chest area to look like the ones on the PG 1/60 Strike Gundam.  But not sure if I would do that yet.

I am planning to spice up this build by adding a simple diorama to be the display base for the RG Aile Strike Gundam.  The diorama is consist of parts from various Kotobukiya Mechanical Chain Base & Wave 1/144 Moble Staff set.  Some of the parts I need to customize myself like cable that the maintenance workers are attached to using a very thin bendable pla-plate (tube), and will also apply additional pla-plate to detail some of the diorama parts.

The cockpit could fit a 1/144 sitting figure inside, which would be quite nice to have for this diorama.  Currently I am debating whether to do some extra details inside the cockpit area. 

Maintenance crews are buzzing around working on varous tasks...  Painting these 1/144 figures is going to be a challenge since they really are quite tiny.

Here are more shots of my simple diorama at various angles...

Next: Painted Build.... Is going to take at least a week to finish painting the RG Aile Strike Gundam.  And then I will work on the diorama. Stay tuned.