1/60 PG Gunpla's biggest question ever
Sun 2009/10/04 15:40 JST
Now we all know, love and appreciate gunplas ranging from 1/200 to 1/60. FG, HG, MG, or PG.
Now, 1/60s are really way radical and big. I dunno to some of course but they corporate good to great manufacturing processes to give us great quality. Size does matter. Now, my question comes into play.
How durable are they? MG or PG as long as it is 1/60 I could not care less. I'm looking for a durable gunpla. I'm well aware that gunplas are not made for toys (although some of it) but for display, but I need to know if some are made with durable plastic or metal capable of wacking someone's face while the model is still intact. (joke)
So all experienced modellers, fill me with your knowledge! How durable are they?
actually, i don't own a 1/60, i'm not a fan of that big scale..^^;
but for 1/100, no grades or MGs, they're pretty durable, i had my No Grade Dynames fall off from the top of my computer desk, (above head height when you're sitting down) bounced on my keyboard and on to the floor, but there wasn't even a scratch.XD and my Wing gundam zero, fell two times but from a lower height, some parts got disassembled but still, there were no broken pieces..^^
oh, i forgot, where did you get that picture of the strike freedom?i'm loving that color scheme..:D
well I found it somewhere in flicker. But that aside, thanks. Although my curiousity still tickles me, I need more results....But dont get me wrong, your info helps.
I myself have never experienced my gunpla falling from the cabinet. I think it depends on the design itself and how you build the gunpla.
for example, mobile pod ball, with the round shape, I think it's very durable, compared to unicorn with very long v-fin which is very fragile.
The fact that you question about gunpla durability leads me to a question my self.. what do you intend to do to them for you to ask how durable they are.
well, call it as my personal thesis. So that I can determine which is the most durable. it's like testing a stress and strain of different kinds of paper. ^^
Well, if you're gentle and treat gunpla right, then you can get some good poses, but at the end of the day, these are models, not toys, so if you start treating them like your run-of-the-mill action figures, they're just gonna break. Simple as.
I have a MG Destiny Extreme Burst version which got knocked off accidently from my desk (and it's perched rather high) several times. No scratches so far. However, the stand it came with broke when a strong wind blew it and dear Destiny rather violently off my desk. Destiny remained unscathed. I'm still figuring out if the stand is salvageable.
really? how about the butterfly wings?
The wings occasionally come off after a fall but no lingering damage. I just put them back on. I'm pretty amazed by the kit's durability
Biggest one i have so far is my 1/100 HG Gundam win.. fell a lot of times.. and the V on its head is the only broken piece..
PG's are more durable since they have more layer of plastic parts than MGs. i have a PG rx-78 for almost 15 years and it's still fine
layered in plastic parts? Now that raises a question....with layered plastic comes more durability....how durable are they....flimsy durable, medium durable, or strong durable?
I have the PG RX-78 and Zeta.
My RX-78 has loose thigh-to-hip joints so the legs fall off pretty often.
And during one of my play with it one of its ankle joints broke, fixed with superglue.
Must have been me being too rough back then.
PG Zeta can't balance well because of its bulky backpack.
To me PGs are big, heavy, bulky and their boxes take up too much space :P
Not sure how they have improved recently.
Was doing a photoshoot one time..
Had my 1/100 Astraea on a 4 feet high table, accidentally knocked it down and it fell.. It did a nasty faceplant, nothing was broken =P
Forgot to say that aside from the thin parts, no matter what grade the gunpla is.. It's pretty durable.
The bottom part of the shield (thin protruding pieces) from my MG RX-178 did broke once after falling from a height of 2 feet.. Easily fixed with some plastic cement, a bit of sanding and some topcoat and it's as good as new.
Am talking bout the kits these days..
thanks for sharing...looks like what you did seemed simple yet no joke.
The new PGs are quite durable. You wouldn't have to worry about them if they fell off a table or something.
The newer models are pretty durable compared to kits that were released many years ago. I noticed with the 1/100 HG Exia I bought last year that the quality of plastic was much better and had more pieces for better articulation as well as more layers - for an HG kit it was almost comparable to an MG 1/100 that came out...say 10 years ago. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better unless you're upgrading from HG to PG. I bought an HG 1/60 Wing Gundam a long time ago, and while the detail is pretty good (could probably have been better had a panel-lined then), the quality is crap compared to what you'd find in even the most standard of kits these days. The reason being that basic kits today at the 1/100 level regardless of HG or MG provide at least some sort of inner frame to build extra layers and give it a better look, whereas older kits are literally empty shells with pieces that you just snap together, they're completely hollow inside.
I Agree with kli, I have some old models, like a Gundam Sentinel no grade that you wouldn't recognize out of the box unless you painted parts of it. I also have a FAZZ that has no color at all except for the white parts of plastic that pass of as armor. These old models compared to no grade 1/100 00 gundams are more brittle and in a sense more challenging to assemble and paint. It really varies on what type of gundam you are willing to spend time making, be it a 1/60 that you could just play with out of the box or an old relic 1/220 scale asimar (sic) that you are willing to fortify and add parts to make it more durable or detailed.
thanks you two...I do have some old kits and new. Kli's analysis speaks the truth.
I can't comment on Perfect Grades because I don't own any, but as far as Master Grades go, it really depends on the kit. "Simple" kits such as the RX-78-2 and its various evolutions, Zakus, and the sort will be fairly tough to shaking and such. Other kits, such as my Wing Zero Custom, aren't really fragile, but you certainly won't be able to play with it, because it has several pieces that are just too finicky. Pretty much any Master Grade will be durable and hold a pose until the end of time. It's when you decide you want to change their pose every day that some of them get worn out.
nice pointers. As for the zero custom, are you pointing out the wings or other parts?
The wings mainly. They will hold up fine if you have it displayed in a good spot, but if you shake it a bit too much they will fall (it's really not that bad, it just makes posing it a pain. Once you have it posed it will be perfectly fine if you leave it alone). The hands are also a huge pain in the arse. Posing it with its buster rifles is probably the most annoying experience I've ever had with a Gundam model because Wing Zero Custom was made before they thought up the peg in the hand idea, so all you have supporting the huge gun is a slight ridge in the hand and the model's forearm.
and the rest durable I presume?
Yeah. The whole thing is durable and holds poses fine, its just posing it in the first place that makes you want to pull your hair out. I've had mine in the same pose for quite awhile and it has no sign of sagging or anything despite being shaken every now and then.
rensho, my thirst has been quenched....you had my thanks...
I guess this comes to a close. ^_^
here's a tuna roll for your thought! ^^
no problem :)
Wow, that Amuro custom Wing is beautiful....
About durability though....eventually Gunpla will get brittle up to the point that it's easier to break the joints when you play with it (like say, after 5 years).
Don't generalize..
I have a 11 year old 1/100 Gundam Wing and God Gundam but they're not brittle as you've said.
shouldn't the thread creator credit some of the pics he used, since some of them are original works (like I know the forum member, though not personally, who did the wing ver.ka mods in the first pic, and I swear I seen that S-Freedom before)
oh right, my apologies...I looked somewhere at flicker...I don't think I might be able to recognize who made them but I ure do give them some credit.
i think the wing ka are by a dood who lurks around gamera's site
he has made some really sick stuff
Looks like based from all of the comments I read, I guess I gained some answers. But ofcourse, additional info is still a blessing. Thanks for the comments people. ^_^
PG are as durable as any other gunpla kits
newer gen models are of better quality... like all of the mg 2.0 out there
BUT
if you use certain types of paint and topcoat- it is possible the plastic will become brittle
adding cement or minor mods can make the PG even sturdier
of course it also comes down to how well you put the kit together
if you want to look at how the gunpla are constructed/engineered- head over to dalong
which PG did you want to get btw?
The wing zero custom...although old, I like to have.
As for the process of fortfying the plastic, both old and new in any scale, can you please share some "methods" for me pretty please?
wow.. what is the name of the gundam in the first pic? looks awesome..
They're modified version of Gundam Wing 0 Ver. Ka. made to look like a Crossbone Vanguard Gundam and the Hi-Nu Gundam. Just the color scheme and a lance from the Vanguard unit if I'm not mistaken. Or is the lance from a JinX(Gundam 00). Hope this answers your question.
the lances are resin shot-lancers meant for the MG Crossbone Gundams.
Id say theyre pretty durable. My MG Strike freedom fell because I posed with the Hi/Mat/dragoons fully opened and it fell from my shelf (about 6 feet high) and nothing broke.Granted, it fell on carpet, but a 6ft. drop is no joke either. If it were hard wood or tile Im sure there would have been a gruesome mess.
if we're talking about falling off i think it depends which part it will land on and the surface too.. the horns especially will break easily if it tumbles on the table from which it stands.. there are weak points in some peg connections where you can break if you press just a little too hard (which i did a few times).. i guess the best way to test its durability is not to test it at all, treat it with utmost care and let it just sit in the display glass in all its glory.. nuff sed..;)
I think it's pretty durable as long as you don't play around with it too much ^^
else the pieces starts falling all over the place and breaking =(
My Unicorn torso (frame) broke due to the transformation part and I have yet to mend it >.<
Gunpla durability is differs from person to person. Since it is a Plamo, it is less durable than normal action figure. Should you feel urge to play excessively, go for Robot Damashii or MSIA instead. Excessive play I would define as spending about 5 minutes or more for atleast 5 days or more in 1 week.
Possable fingers of 1/60 PG is abit prone to break if you are not careful or overly exerting force to them.
I have a PG Strike and it is very durable: inner frame construction is solid at sturdy while maintaining all of the articulation, outer armor might be hard to attach at some points but you can be sure that it won't just fall off. I think the only weakness of a Gunpla is the V-fin XD. Mine fell from a 3-5 foot drop but unfortunately fell face first which resulted in the one of the white V-fin to snap and the yellow one semi bent :(. I also have a PG Zeta and the same goes for it. Even the Wave Rider form is quite solid.
It's also dependent on the model you get. the Strike Gundam is detailed and durable, and since it's a simple design, it should be OK. Meanwhile, a PG Wing Zero is gorgeous, but those wings suffer from a tenet of Murphy's Law: "The more moving parts an object has, the more chances for it to fail."
Seriously, though--where in heck do you live, that you have the space to buy solely 1/60 scale gunpla?
Murphy's law, got it! Thanks!
lol, I like those awesome model kits! The master grades here cost over 300.00 dollars, and it's for the simpler ones and the real detailed go to 400! I admit you still shame me in collection revoltechs and cheap speed model kits. (some of which fall over for no reason and a Hi Nu Gundam HCM model dominated my mouth this morning)