Last Shooting WIP 1: RX-78-2 Gundam

I've posted most of these pics in a bazillion other places, already. Buuuut, this is kinda my main hub for this hobby, so let's get to it!
Once again, this project was started way back in January, but the move and subsequent struggles following sent this to the back-burner for much of the year. But with no other models to work on right now, it's about time I finish this. Starting with...

LSP-001 - "Escape" Work in Progress Report

Episode 1: RX-78-2 Gundam

Front and back views of my modified HGUC 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam. I used the Animation Color version from the first Gunpla Starter Set that came with the MS-06 Zaku II. The beam was taken from my scrapped RG 1/144 RX-78-2 Gundam.

Here, you can see some of the modding I did to the torso, including some serious retooling of the right shoulder to tilt it higher and stabilize it there. I used two thin runner sprues to serve as pistons in the exposed opening. I also separated the upper torso from the waist on the right side to complete the necessary arching for the arm to go almost straight up.

The neck was filled with putty and scraped at a bit to achieve the head's blown-off look. ^ ^
I painted the neck the same off-white/green (color accurate to the anime), and dry-brushed some black and silver. Then highlighted the highest parts with a combo of red, orange and yellow to make it appear still heated.

The arm was treated similarly to the neck. However, it required me to cut off the peg from the shoulder bock, and puttied the cavity to make it look marred up.
Painting was also similar treatment, but I didn't use the lighter highlights, since the arm was blown off many moments before the head, so the heat would likely have dissipated quite a bit. The shoulder armor simply had a few dings added to it with some "burned" paint treatment, since it is near the wound.

These were all very easy modifications, and I like this cleaner look versus the overly dirty look I originally approached these projects with. This better accentuates the damaged parts and draws your eye to those rather than disguises them within a chaos of messy paint streaks. ^ ^

The compact size of the HGUC makes this much easier on my paints, since I don't have to mix a whole lot as compared to an MG.
And, as I'm sure you're probably going to ask, why didn't I use the RG since I had it.
Well, that reason is 2-fold. 1: The HGUC is more accurate to the original anime in simplicity, making it feel more nostalgic. 2: Because I didn't like the RG. At all.

I'm not going to speak for the whole line, but I felt the RG was too flexable for such a small size. I couldn't pick it up without accidentally altering it's pose in, like, 12 different points. >_<

But, that's all for the RX-78! The next part had a lot more going for it, mod-wise. Despite being smaller in mass...

STAY TUNED!!