SD Sinanju – Custom Painted Gunpla Kit

I took on custom painting this SD Sinanju gunpla kit to stretch my detail painting skills and purchased it because I wanted the Super Deformed (SD) Neo Zeong for another kit bash.

The kit was released in 2014 by Bandai (Here is a review of the kit by Gunpla 101) and included a lot of details and not so many stickers. Bandai chose a different gate method for the sprues on this kit that made snap building really easy, and I built mine while in the back seat of a Mitsubishi Delica returning from the Red Bull Billy Cart Race in Melbourne.

Roughing Out

(In the background: Inspiration from ZakuAurelius building the MGSD Freedom)

Beginning by roughing out what accessories to finally pose the kit with. There was everything you’d expect for the Sinanju included and because of the simplicity of the SD line the final pose was also going to be simple. The great amount of details on the kit also started to high light the great impending effort for mould and seam line clean up.

Clean Up

Every limb (& more) on this kit used the two part sandwich technique for assembly, so there was plenty of seam lines to clean up. Mould lines also found their way into the kit as well as a couple sinks on the feet.

The hands on the kit used the two part sandwich to lock them in. This presented the biggest risk of paint chipping when posing, while also being difficult to paint behind.

To fix this and allow the seam line on the arms to be cleaned up, a poly cap was added to the forearms and the hands were customised to have a peg connection. I used spare poly caps and modified them and the forearms to accept the peg connection. For the hands I glued and pinned on left over runner to create the peg, then sanded down the original connection feature. Creating the peg in this order allowed everything to stay as round and concentric as required.

Customizations

I kept a lot on the kit original and most of the work under taken was for clean up. Two parts did I add were the large thruster to the backpack (kit bashed from the original MG FAZZ) and a scratch built lens for the weapon.

I hand painted in the details for the lens initially, but decided I didn’t like it. I found some clear green runners (from the RG Full Armor Unicorn Gundam) close to the right diameter and filed and polished it to a lens shape.

To clear gloss coat this tiny part I used a DIY part holder, a drop of super glue and one sewing needle with some Blu Tack.

3D Printed Parts

Great for repairing your Gunpla!

3D printed parts found their way into this project to repair broken joints. User error was responsible for the breakages. However, I will note that this kit has ball joint pieces moulded in two different materials which matters when it come to ease of assembly and dis-assembly.

To fit the printed part a gusset needed to be removed from the shoulder part which was done by doubling up saw blades and a chisel. Removal of the gusset allowed the printed part to slide over the cracked joint and provide continuous ring of plastic around the joint to stop the crack opening up.

Painting

The tiniest of my brushes got a huge work out from this kit. While detail painting was the objective for this kit, I did attempt a reverse wash (as seen here) on the forearms to get the white base coat down easier.

A lacquer top coat from Mr Hobby was used for the reverse wash, while White Knight rattle cans were used for base coating. Details were brush painted with Citadel and Vallejo acrylic paints taking care to apply multiple thin coats. The fluoro pink had average coverage and took its time to become nice and bright.

More images can be found in the gallery.

Final Photos – SD Sinanju

The stand included with the kit made taking final photos super easy and was critical to getting any pose to look dynamic.

I went for a gloss finish as I felt this would bring out the details better. I partially still feel this way but I will attempt in the future to up my masking game and try a mixed flat and glossy finish to bring out more of the details.

I went very light handed with the panel lining on this finish as some areas would’ve been very difficult to clean up. Looking back, there are some areas that look as if the panel line is missing/forgotten about. The thrusters on the rear were not intentionally weathered, and the finish was my best attempt at recovering from a failed smoky/sooty effect.

All these considered I’m happy I persevered completing all the details!