Recently I was invited to participate in a very special Build Group organized by the people at PLAMO. I do believe this is the first of its kind here. There are a total of eight participants including myself:-
Erix 93, Whitebase, G-net from Malaysia,
Izakku81 and Pazu from Singapore
Eday from Hong Kong
Nath_1977 from Philippines
Fantastic modellers in their own rights, I would expect nothing less from them. It is definitely both exciting and intriguing to see what type of variations they can do!
With GN-001 Gundam Exia [NG] as the base kit, members are required to modify, detail, scratch-build, kit-bash or whatever they can think of. Having seen some WIPs from Erix 93 and Whitebase, I am pretty sure that this Build Group [BG] will be beneficial to many. I have already learnt something new!
Personally, I'm pretty excited about this whole thing since it is not everyday that you get to have a "friendly" with these folks. It is also a great opportunity for me to learn and try new techniques.
I have assembled the Exia and was quite impressed by the kit although it's not MG. However, some parts are rather flimsy and makes posing difficult. That is something I need to look into soon. The major joints look good but I thought something could be done to the waist and shoulder joints. Articulation are reasonably good.
The detailings on this kit are remarkable too! I thought Bandai has done a good job here. It leaves very little room for me to work on. And I really need to do something about those rubbery parts!
Head: Very unique design
Body: The same goes for the body, not your usual Gundam design...
Rubber parts!!! I hate those!
Legs: MG-ized?
I have spent some time looking everywhere for inspirations but the Exia seems to be a tough nut to crack. I do recall one episode titled "Seven Sword" or "七剑" and kinda like the sound of it. I could re-create seven blades to pack more punch and "up" its coolness.
I am a big fan of the Gundam Unicorn and can't help myself but to siphon some ideas from it.
Some preliminary ideas/ concepts of my entry:-
Two modes, the "Exodus" Mode and "Exile" Mode
Exodus Mode - Normal mode with seven detachable blades to be used separately.
Exile Mode - Berseak mode with one long sword as main weapon (by combining all seven blades).
The Exia in "Exile" Mode will look bigger in size just like the Unicorn Gundam in Destroyer Mode.
Some of the ideas seems like a tall order to me. But since I'm still in the conceptual stage, any ideas goes! I will slowly weigh my options for the next few weeks and try to do something as close as I can to my ideal version.
I have already bought myself another box of the Gundam Exia so that I could attempt the two different modes and will post once I have some decent updates. Watch this space.
