MG FAZZ ver.Ka build retrospective

Hello all! I’ve been busy chipping away at this monster of a kit over the last month and a half. Besides the PG Exia, this is the largest kit I’ve ever built since I started painting 10+ years ago and storing all the parts in progress took three 90-litre storage tubs.

It’s also been about 2 years since I built the original ZZ Gundam ver.Ka, and I always felt like I needed to have a second chance at that kit. This build gave me the opportunity to do that, and this time was not without drama either. I did end up oversanding some parts which I luckily managed to fix, I messed up some decals and had to poach some from my leftover ZZ ver.Ka, and I actually broke one of the leg armours (which I miraculously managed to fix somehow), and hence I would still consider this to go onto my “cursed kits” list. Also I’m still pretty worried that the ankles would somehow self-destruct like my previous ZZ even though I didn’t paint those parts this time.

Like the original ZZ Gundam, the only seamline on the entire kit is on the beam rifle.

I quite prefer this version of the Enhanced ZZ compared to the normal one, the lack of the arm shields make it a more pleasing design.

There are some extra parts meant to go onto the “vents” on the feet, I decided to omit them as they have a more 3-D look without them.

I’ve yet to equip the armour parts on, I’ll have to finish a full photoshoot of the base kit before I can move onto that.

Painting

White – Mr Color Grey FS (???) base coat, Mr Color GX Cool White is used for shading/highlight effect

Mega Cannon Black – Mr Color GX Ueno Black (90%) + Mahogany (5%) + Neutral Grey (5%). White is added for shading effect. The resulting colour is more of a dark brownish black.

Backpack – Mr Color Russian Aircraft Blue 2 + Mr Color Blue FS 15044. The Russian Aircraft Blue is a dark almost purplish/reddish blue, and the FS 15044 is a dark navy-ish colour. When mixing the two together, the final colour becomes a dark bluish black. The resulting dark blue might be suitable for a Nu Gundam / Gundam MkII / Freedom if lightened a bit. You could also potentially mix this using Blue + Red + bit of black.

Yellow – Base coat Mr Color Orange (100%), followed by starter white technique, then Mr Color GX Yellow (30%) + Mr Color Orange Yellow (70%) mist coat. White and yellow added for further hightlights.

Dark Grey – Mr Color Grey FS 36118 (100%), white added for shading effect. The resulting grey is more Neutral than the default bluish grey.

Blue – Mr Color GX Susie Blue + Purple + A Tiny bit of Mr Color Cobalt Blue. White is added for shading. The resulting colour is a “Blurple” which is a nice alternative for a Gundam Blue.

Beam Rifle/Ammo chain Grey – Mr Color GX Ueno Black (90%) + Neutral Grey (10%), followed by Mr Color GX Ueno Black (70%) + Neutral Grey (30%) for highlights

Elbows / Knees internal joints / hands – Gaianotes EX Black base coat, followed by light mist of SMS Stainless Steel

Other internals – Gaianotes Starbright Iron + bit of EX Black

Chest sensors – Gaianotes EX Black base coat, followed by SMS Blue-green pearl. I did end up using the sticker for one of the lights.

Missile Red – Mr Color Shine Red