SD Blue-Destiny Unit 1

SD Blue-Destiny Unit 1

December 15, 2009 |  by Jacques  |  Finish Line
Seeing how 5thluna and Evaritus has been working their magic on their SD kits, I have decided to try my hands at them too. This is my very first attempt at doing a kit conversion. Presenting it to everybody, The SD Blue-Destiny Unit-01.

SD Blue-Destiny Unit-01

(Left) Normal mode, (Right) E.X.A.M activated!

The SD Blue-Destiny Unit-01 is a mod, converted from SD Sangokuden Ma Chao, BB Senshi No.321. As you all have already seen, there are plenty of rough edges and uneven surfaces in this job that are visible in the photos. To make things worse, the paint job was a mess; the kit was initially airbrushed with 2 hues of blue but after realising some missed spots, I attempted to touch up with gundam markers, but ended creating more unneccessary hues of blue instead of the original 2.

This is the ‘before’ photo before the kit was painted.

SD Blue-Destiny Unit-01

Below are some amendments which was done to the original Ma Chao:

  • Saw off the top-front portion of the head (area above the eyes) and lengthen them with pla-plates
  • Widen area arounds the eyes
  • Filled up the 2 holes just above the eyes
  • Crest of the head was also cut and remodeled
  • Shorten the chin/beard, flatten the top of the mouthpiece to make it less sharp
  • Added vulcan guns to the side of the head
  • Shoulder armour was cut and lengthen with pla-plates
  • Scuplt the chest-mounted machine gun with epoxy putty
  • Added elbow and ankle joints, as well as, ankle guards
  • Shield was also modded to make to possible to be mounted on

Overall, I think I have learnt quite lot from this build although the finishing in the end was far from satisfactory. This project is far from over though, I plan to rework on this kit and create a version 2 in the future to clean up all the flaws and shortcoming of this current version.

The entire set of photos in higher resolution is available on my flickr album;  SD Blue-Destiny Unit-01

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  • This looks quite nicely done, mate. Improve on the sanding part and you should have smoother results on the model kit's surface. But other than that, awesome work.
  • Thanks Mark. Aiming to do better for my treatment process which I'm currently lacking. With more hands-on experience in future, I hopee I will be able to get the hang of it and sort them out.
  • @Jacques - I usually go to a local hobby store for most of my items, but as for scratch build items, I've gone to HLJ - but they're kinda slow.
  • I see. I have tried both HLJ and HobbySearch so far. Amiami and gunpla.sg are next on my list for my next online purchase.
  • bandai really released blue destiny right I have sd blue destiny unit 01/02(2 head included)
  • Unforunately, Bandai did not. This Blue-Destiny was converted from the existing Ma Chao from SD Sangokuden.

    Cool, I have the SD Blue-Destiny Unit 3 at my side. I was looking for the Unit1/2 in the past but failed to find them. :(

    Actually, I've been waiting for Bandai to release a SD version for quite awhile already. Deciding not to wait anymore longer, I tried my hand at modding one.
  • Spray a few thin layers of surfacer before airbrushing the thing. It would help even out the tone of the paint. Also, do use some tamiya putty to even out the surface further. Using grit #320-#1000 helps too. Lightly sand the entire kit with all grades of sandpaper and spray the surfacer over.

    Here's the process:

    Putty -> sand(#320-#1000) -> surfacer -> if desired, paint
    if not, sand down
  • thanks for the tip, will keep them in mind for future paintjobs. Gonna get some tamiya putty for similar jobs in future.

    by the way, sentinel011, is there any better means to sand down epoxy putty that I used on this kit. I realise that it clogs up my sanding file after awhile and find it tough to unclog them from my file.
  • An easier (and riskier) way would be to scrape off the excess putty with the blade of a very sharp craft knife. Any potholes made can be covered over by tamiya putty (grey color). Do not use epoxy putty for this job, as it would defeat the purpose. Normal tamiya putty is way smoother, and diluting it with mr color thinner (gaia thinner works as well) can actually work like mr surfacer, just be sure to dilute it properly, otherwise it will clog your airbrush.
  • Noted, will keep them in mind and make sure to apply them in my future mod projects.

    Sentinel011,
    Thanks alot for all the advice that you had offered, really appreciate all the help you've given.
  • Hi Jacques, I initially had the same problem but here is how I overcame the problem. I sand till I find that the sand paper/file clogs up I use and old tooth brush and dust away the epoxy on the sandpaper. It will work even better in water provided the sand paper is water proof (tamiya brand).

    Hope that helps!
  • Thanks for the advice. I did try it with a toothbrush and a metal brush before, and it did work to a certain extent but not completely.

    I will attempt to do the cleaning in water the next time round to see it if it helps. I've learn yet another new thing today, thank you, Chubbybots :)
  • Oh your this build reminded me of my own Sousou gundam which I did plenty of mods for the first time!! But heh it really looks good with all the stuff that you did!!! Hope to see version 2 soon!!

    Anyway I have a suggestion, I noticed your surfaces are uneven, I think it will make an excellent kit to do weathering which all those rough surfaces will help!!
  • Version 2 is a must, since I feel very bad for the kit for the way it turns out. It will take time though, to work out and think of better ways to improve of it.

    Thanks chubbybots, great suggestion there, I must take note of it so that it might come in handy for future projects.
  • Nice! Looks great! I like the poses - where do you get your pla-plates? I've been looking for a new place to get them.
  • I've got them from Hobby Art Gallery from Sunshine Plaza. If I didn't remember wrong, M Workshop also carries them and it usually carries more scratchbuilding material as compared to H.A.G.

    Aptkane, where did you used to get you supplies from?
    I find scratchbuilding materials like pla-plates and strip styrenes are kind of inconveninet in Singapore since they are not available readily in the heartlands where it's closer to our home. And I've also heard in forums that Daiso offers alternatives for pla-plates, though I'm not to sure on it compatibility.

    Anyone can confirm on this?
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