After ages of doing what felt like nothing but repairs and custom action figures, I finally found some time to finish up a few of my kits! The ones that took up most of my time were a pair of giant 1/4 scale Gundam characters, the first of which is probably the most recognizable: Char Aznable, the popular antihero antagonist of the original series!

At 43 cm, Char cuts an imposing silhouette no matter where he’s placed. After I get a base on him, I’m going to let someone else put him on a shelf because apparently, Char thinks I’m a Zabi. I must have done something to upset him since he tries to thwart me at every turn. Indeed, as soon as these pictures were done being taken, he fell right over and chipped his helmet spikes! I shake my fist at you, Char.

Of course I should have suspected something was up when most of his paint process went smoothly. I ended up working on this figure away from home mostly, so he was completely hand painted, with shading done with a combination of paint and pastels. As soon as I started putting on the finishing touches, Char must have heard me plotting my next project and decided I just wasn’t done, because everything started going south from there.

From glue failures to paint curing improperly and causing me to have to repaint entire pieces, this figure (and his sister, which is I hope coming soon) showed his extreme need for attention. Just when I thought something was done and I could move on, a piece would fall off or hit the desk before it was dry and screw up my last coat of paint, anything to require me to have to work on him more.

Still with all the troubles and mishaps, the person he was intended for is happy with him. I tried to do a mixture of shading to fit each color change and make everything seem more realistic. It doesn’t show up in the photos, but parts of his hair had to be remodeled as they’d chipped off at the factory and there were no broken pieces in the box. This is probably the first and last time I buy a G-System kit. Too many recast practices in their shop that I ended up having to repair.

Many jokes were made about Char overcompensating for something with the comically large gun. Maybe I’m starting to see why he dislikes me.

For anyone thinking of attempting this kit, expect to need more paint and do a lot of repairs to seams that won’t show up until after you prime! The tassels and cape were a new level of headache for me as they had a lot of flashing and seams in very delicate places. Every piece required some level of resculpting on my end.

If I go missing, you’ll know Char’s finally gotten his revenge. He’s plotting against me right now, I can see his little mind working.

Tell him! Tell him I’m not a Zabi! I only wanted what’s best for him! For sure he’s not getting placed anywhere near my food or my bedroom.

Have you ever had a project that was just out to get you? Do you have them as often as I seem to? Can you help me prove to Char I’m not a Zabi?

Check out Char’s entry for more information on the kit, or view a few shots of him in progress!