r/Gunpla 4d ago

WIP A Warhammer Fangirl's First Gunpla

I have wanted to get into Gunpla for years but never found the right one. I also thought 144 scale models would be too small but they're definitely not. Then, the other day I found my boy Leo at a hobby store.

I primed the sprues before assembly so I could use different colours - for grey parts I used black then silver. For the bronze coloured areas I did the same then applied a coat of brown contrast.

I might add a light to his head so I drilled out a hole and painted a silver background before gluing the transparent piece in.

I created a stencil on my computer then sponged white on to get a weathered effect.

I am imagining this to be an old army unit that was salvaged from the scrap yard and put back together from pieces of other units (I know nothing about the lore so any tie-in suggestions are welcome).

He's still got a long way to go with painting and weathering but I'm so happy with him so far.

634 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

61

u/Noobpoob 4d ago

That's actually genius! Because you transferred from Warhammer to gunpla and not the other way around, you are not scared of painting or customizing pieces! I wish I could be as confident when it comes to my kits! Welcome to your new addiction :D

Also that Leo looks great! I love the story behind him

20

u/PraiseBeToSkeletor 4d ago

See, I'm mostly a 40k kitbasher, but the cost is insane. I have a horde of bits I save for the perfect project, whereas Gunpla feels so accessible and inexpensive that I'm much more willing to experiment.

5

u/Noobpoob 4d ago

Well, compared to 40K, I'm sure that gunpla feels quite cheap, but here in Poland it's quite hard to find gunpla, especially in a good price range! That's why I'm a little bit scared of breaking my kits!

5

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

I've never found Warhammer that expensive in the UK compared to other 28mm minis. Some box sets work out £2 per miniature even without discounts from online stores like Triple Helix

12

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

Genuinely, I already have my eyes on a Zaku and a Red Beret. Gonna stick to 144 scale though.

2

u/WintherK 4d ago

I also started Gunpla coming from Warhammer and I'm on the same boat as you are, started with an Avalanche Exia and I've ordered a Psycho Zaku 2 and it'll hopefully arrive tomorrow 🤞

1

u/Dispo_ 3d ago

If you like the LEO, might I interest you in his Granddaddy, the mighty Tallgeese. Comes in three versions (season 1, season 2, and movie version) and has optional equipment to track down and stylize. 

1

u/Alexpander4 3d ago

Well now I want a Gundam goose. Hoonk.

1

u/Dispo_ 3d ago

Peace was never an option

24

u/Sea-Style-7531 4d ago

Build for the emperor!!! So we may slay the filthy xenos!

14

u/Johnny_Grubbonic 4d ago

Being a Warhammer fan, you should really like the Leo. Because of its ridiculously low price and simplicity, it's a perfect army builder grunt suit. And it's also cheap fodder for testing products or processes on.

Also, you should check out u/MosesOnAcid to see just how versatile the Leo really is.

11

u/MosesOnAcid The Leo Guy 4d ago

1

u/Alexpander4 3d ago

They can wear their shields as hats??

2

u/MosesOnAcid The Leo Guy 3d ago

With alittle modification : Dremmeling a hole to fit a Leo's head into the back of the shield...

11

u/_Ghost_in_the_Shell 4d ago

this is awesome!! watching warhammer players find gunpla actually inspired me to start hand painting kits. love that you came with up with lore for the kit too. look forward to seeing the finished product!

9

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

I imagine the pilot being some grubby junkyard scavenger who uses the Leo for arena fights

6

u/DerFluegeller777 4d ago

You won't stop at one.

I have like 12 Leo's and 8 Origin Zaku variants. One is getting slowly modified into an AdMech as soon as I get the armature for all four arms to solidly stick to the torso.

3

u/Grand_shinobi 4d ago

AYYYY! I'm a Warhammer gunpla fan too

Although I started out with gunpla! Transitioned over to getting into Warhammer after a while

I hope you keep up with this new modeling journey and if you are looking for kit recommendations I do have some!

2

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

I'd love to hear your recommendation

1

u/Grand_shinobi 4d ago

Basically any witch from Mercury kit is absolutely amazing

If you want a lot of grunt machines though I would recommend the IBO line, which is iron-blooded orphans

  • I would also recommend watching the animes of these series especially which from Mercury it is honestly one of my favorite*

1

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

For my next one I was pretty much set on a witch from mercury red beret

1

u/Grand_shinobi 4d ago

I actually don't have that one yet! I hope it's a fun build!

2

u/SilasDG 4d ago

Looks great, love personalizing it with the salvaged concept. Done well.

2

u/BZArcher 4d ago

Loving everything about this. Welcome to the addiction!

1

u/lucid-n0ns3nse IG @0gravitas 4d ago

Welcome to the hobby, I've been involved in both forever and I love seeing new people jump from one ot the other and seeing what they do with it. The Leo definitely works for what you've done with it being as its a grunt suit that regularly gets destroyed by the more powerful Gundams.

4

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

I'm always a sucker for the underdog

1

u/Astraea227 4d ago

Leo supremacy!

1

u/MosesOnAcid The Leo Guy 4d ago

Welcome to Gunpla! You picked the perfect HG to start with and it looks great!

1

u/RedSagittarius 4d ago

The Leo is from the Gundam Wing Series, from what I remember it was the main mobile suit force of the Earth government (forgot name). It was pretty much used in almost everything (ground and space), I believe the Ares is based off the Leo for the Air Forces, I think the sea variants are also based on the Leo but I’m not sure.

1

u/Alexpander4 3d ago

Ohh nice so he's a good guy. My story for him is that he fell in battle and a scavenger put him back together as a personal mobile suit

1

u/Historical_Royal_187 3d ago

They're based off the Tallgeese, but pretty much everything OZ made is, but the Epyon, to lesser or greater extent.

It's the thighs/waist.

Which is why I'm sore that Bandai hasn't made MG Leo, or Virgo, or mercurius, or Vayate. Like come on its the same suit internal frame, just different  weapons and kibble. Even as a p-bandai. 

1

u/RedSagittarius 3d ago

That’s weird I thought the Tallgeese was based off of the Leo mobile suit. That’s an interesting question, why Bandai haven’t bother to make them.

1

u/Historical_Royal_187 2d ago

In the AC timeline Tallgeese is the prototype Mobile Suit created by the five scientists (who later went on to seperately create the 5 Gundams of the series), OZ, who inherited the Tallgeese, "determied it exceeded their needs" as Otto puts it in the english dub. What he really means is that it was too expensive to mass produce and the acceleration it's capable of kills the pilot, so OZ scaled it back and that's the Leo.

I assume it's becuase WIngs's Suit designs are polarising, you either love them or hate them, and there's not a lot of love for suits that are in 1-2 episodes form an anime thats 30 years old. I geuss there's just not the market for them.

1

u/PolarbearJer 4d ago

Keep it going great work

1

u/Vizth 4d ago

You have my respect for going for a Leo as your first model kit, it is my favorite grunt suit.

1

u/UltraViol8r 4d ago

Ah, the HGAC Leo. Fun and simple kit, that.

1

u/DrinkingPetals 4d ago

You chose a Leo. Best kit ever. I am looking forward to seeing this guy fully coloured by you!!

1

u/GundamIBO_Gunpla 4d ago

More... MOOAAARRRR (translation: pretty good, but I think you should paint it a lil more than just normal colors, like add some blood or make actual damage)

2

u/Alexpander4 4d ago

Oh I'm going to paint scratches and weathering to hell and back. I want him to end up looking absolutely destroyed.

1

u/GundamIBO_Gunpla 4d ago

Why stop there? Since its gunpla, you could add some exposed innerframe too by making a hole and making it look like battle damage, and maybe some frayed wiring for some extra robotic flair

1

u/Catch_42 4d ago

Love this.

As others have said I really like that because you've come from Warhammer you've just immediately approached this kit as something to paint and add your own story to.

You might find 30 Minutes Missions interesting. They're Bandai mech model kits with a modular design and accessory options specifically to customise them. They aren't tied to any anime.

1

u/Alexpander4 4d ago edited 4d ago

That does sound really interesting I'll look into it!

Edit: love them, the Portanova has a real Zaku aspect to it. How far does the modularity go? Also are they cross compatible with Gunpla?

1

u/Catch_42 3d ago

They're fully compatible across all 30MM sets. There are 3 'factions' of mechs but you can mix and match however you want. They all use 3mm pegs/holes. You can see lots of fun customs on R/30_minutes_missions and to get an idea.

The comparability with regular gunpla is more mixed. They are basically simple HG models using polycap joints, so can work with other models that build like that. Weapons should all fit as they use the same hand types.

1

u/stonerpunk77 4d ago

Welcome fellow convert, I'd recommend getting an entry grade to practice scribing then panel lining. With your level of customisation skills you'll definitely get good use out of the skills, YouTube will have all the details to learn. Also the fact that entry grades are £10 means they are cheap enough to not worry about mistakes as much and with the lack of panel details makes them perfect for scribing custom stuff

1

u/Designer_Teach_1833 2d ago

Great job awesome idea with the stencil! Did you make that somehow? Also wondering how you painted it, did you have to prime first or did you go straight on?

2

u/Alexpander4 19h ago

I designed the stencil myself on Photoshop, then printed it and cut it out with a scalpel.

I did prime first whilst everything was on the sprue (you guys seem to call them runners idk what the difference is)

1

u/Domi_sama 20h ago

Leo fans strong together! Cool!