1/44 High Grade Leo

Mobile Suit: OZ-06MS Leo
Release Date: May 2018
Series: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Start Date: April 5, 2019
Finish Date: April 16, 2019

This is the generic suit for the Organization of the Zodiac in Gundam Wing, and shares the same number designation as the classic MS-06 Zaku II from the original Mobile Suit Gundam. Unlike the Zaku, they built this thing out of thermite and dreams and they're destroyed en masse pretty much every episode. Despite the poor showing this is one of the strongest visual designs for an enemy grunt suit they've done - definitely up there with the Zaku for me personally.

I bought this kit because I wanted to try a simple, limited-paint build to develop some techniques for another kit that I wanted to build this summer - the RG Tallgeese. This is a pretty cheap kit, coming in under $12, and forms a great canon pairing with the Tallgeese. Due to the simplicity of the design, the color separation on the kit is very good; the only parts that could have used some extra contrast are the rifle muzzle, rifle handle, and the bar over the chest, which I touched up with silver enamel.

I also used metallic copper enamel to hit the inside of the verniers, which I liked a lot. I also used leftover dry transfer decals from the MG Wing Gundam, which added detail to some of the plainer surfaces; the shield especially was crying for it.

I did some basic seamline removal with Tamiya extra thin cement and very high grit sandpaper (up to 2000). While the leg seams didn't quite clean up, they're still totally invisible at a normal viewing distance, and I improved the technique on the arms. After the top flat coat, you really can't tell that there was any sanding at all.

Overall, the kit quality is great as well; while it's simple, there was clearly the thought put into the joint construction, and most joints have the good stiffness that makes it easy to hold poses... other than the ankles, which are terribly loose. I could have used some clear nail polish to thicken up the ball joint, but it's only really a problem when messing with the pose - it holds perfectly well.

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