Blu Duel Gundam (GAT-X1022) - Introduction
Hi Everyone!
Finally I’ve got my hands on this 2006 release of BANDAI’s 1/144 High Grade kit of Blu Duel Gundam - one of the few new mecha introduced in Gundam SEED C.E.73 Stargazer mini-series.
My special thanks go to Morishita Naochika for the very nice illustration featured on the box. Guys, whoever knows this artist personally, please give him my “thumbs up” 
BANDAI did a good job (as they continually do with HG kits) in terms of quality of details, although I found that the dark blue molding is made of somewhat brittle plastic - please be careful while cutting it.
The completed model will consist of
- 148 details on 7 runners, including polycaps (you won’t need all of them, because some parts are interchangeable - like palms and beam-sabers in on/off state)
- 20 foil stickers (should you choose to use them).
As always with the High Grade kits - details come molded in coloured plastic:
Another nice feature of this kit - the stand. I know - it is pretty simple stand but nevertheless - a very good addition to the model:
One thing I noticed right from the start - there would be a lot of careful sanding required with the “claw” By the way, the same applies to antennas:
Plans, plans…
So the plan is
- to make a “dry run” making the model “as is” so you could see what it looks like with no paint (and glue) at all and just the stickers applied.
- paint it properly
- compare results
I know serious GUNPLA modelers don’t do that, but I think there are plenty of us out there, who would gladly invest their time in putting a model together hoping that it will look great… and then spend months painting and re-painting… until it actually looks good :).
Well, at least you’ll have my post to come back and see if it was worth it
I am going to make my comments along the way as to where you may need to pay some special attention, where to be careful, some time-saving hints - anything that is worth mentioning in order to make your life a little bit easier.
Next post will be about the completed model with no paint applied. So stay tuned
Some anime and Gunpla-related videos for you here: