The first really complex gunpla I attempted, the Banshee Norn proved to be a major challenge and a test of the skills I learned on prior kits. Completing this figure took about one month, versus the two to three weeks of others. This was a full re-paint, mostly via airbrush. Sorry in advance for the less-than-great pics - I had a difficult time balancing the light levels of the dark armor against the bright, reflective gold details.
Closeup of the shield - this was a complex piece of equipment, with numerous small sub-pieces that were all painted individually. The outer fins are designed to slide closed and I'm happy to say I was able to get it so the sliding motion did not scratch the paint. You can also see a detail on the beam saber - not as good as other gradiant effects I've applied, but still cool-looking.
Rear views - so many little details! The shoulder fans were especially challenging, as they're supposed to be gold on the front and black on the back. Problem is, they're not just flat one way or the other - there are all these little protuberances that extend over the silhouette, creating a challenging masking scenario.
The beam rifle. I added a few hits of copper, which I think enhance the look.
Such a cool figure! Again, I had picked this first batch of SD models based solely on aesthetics, having never seen the actual Gundam series most of them came from. However, I watched Gundam Unicorn shortly after finishing this kit, and became even more enthralled by it.
Unfortunately I had some odd reactivity on my final gloss topcoat on the V-fin, which created the ugly blob you see just to the left of center. Worse, I tried to clean it up with a q-tip and some of the cotton threads became permanently stuck in the blob, though you can't see this in these photos. I definitely feel sometimes like all the most apparent errors happen right at the end!
As I've discussed on other kits, I don't mind stickers (as opposed to decals) on these small SD guys. However, the transparent borders of the stickers were more apparent in this case on such dark armor.
Before and after shots.
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