I had a moment and decided to order an Ecopla version of Lfrith. I think at the time I thought I was cool for doing so, but I’m not so sure in the end. They are kinda of neat, but the downside is that that the color scheme might be a bit neon/monochromatic in the end. But it’s still a very nice kit, and I’ve got the “vanilla” one in the backlog as well. So at some point I will have a normal Lfrith built:)
I think it’s worth taking a little trek into tangent territory before we jump into the (amateur!) photos etc. Lfrith is one heck of an odd name, isn’t it! Feels odd compared to the much more English names for the vast majority of the mobile suits from this series. Turns out the Japanese name for this Gundam is ルブリス, which for the lazy reads out as Ru Bu Ri Su. I definitely think Gundam Rubris would have been a better name. Thought it would have been interesting if it had tied in better with Ur and Thorn. In fact the whole Vadanis Institute felt like a very cool idea that just, went nowhere. So many references (that I for once understood) lost, like tears in the rain…
About halfway through built. I still hate stickers, and one can be seen on the shield (very cool shield btw, but the monochromatic colors kind of makes it less exciting). A similar one is suppose to go on the shoulder, but it is split into several different pieces. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO LINE THAT UP! I do not enjoy that inevitable failure. I haven’t tried any water transfer stickers yet on Gunpla, but I am hoping that it will be a not easier since one has some time to move it around before it settles,
The same can be said for the “graphics” behind the transparent upper chest piece. It’s a big deal from the show, where it isn’t just lit up but animated. I got mine added a bit wonky. Can’t see it in these photos (I think), but it’s there and it’s burning my soul. These Gunpla models looks very very good, so messing up the stickers gives it kind of a cheap toy feeling. Not fun:(
I also opted to not panel line this one. Plan is to do so to the next build coming up. Again with so much dark shades there’s nowhere left to go. So it’s difficult to add that additional exaggerated contrast. It’s the same with white, where adding highlights becomes an impossibility if one has already reached peak whiteness. But I haven’t seen anyone outside of pro painted Gunpla care much about such details, and what I’ve seen has been airbrushed which is quite different from brush painted.
Time for a trek again. Why exaggerated contrasts? Because it’s to scale. To fool our brains that it’s actually an 18-20 meter tall mobile suit, the light needs to scale as well. Feels a bit backwards to add *more*, but it works:) Preferably look at examples of pro painted miniatures/Gunpla for more proper examples.
The final build! The shield is taken apart into pieces and added to the back. Another thing from the show. I think they did a fantastic job with the design of all the mobile suits, and their features. I really wish we could have gotten more episodes as I really like this particular universe.
But not photo of the back? Well I just realized I forgot to take one:) I need to improve my setup for taking photos in general. I have since procured a camera stand thing for my iPhone, and one of those fancy little things that spins around slowly. The idea being that future builds can get little animations (movies?) of them spinning. To get a proper 360 degree view. I think that I should probably also find a good black background to take the photos against, and some not so terribly lights. In this case it *is* bad tools, because the person that is handling the tools is not very good at this:)
So until next time, do you like Ecopla and other special editions? Or is the Gunpla most true to the shows the best? Like the Witch from Mercury mobile suits, or is another show your favorite?
