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Reviewed by Adam Rehorn
1/100 Scale
Maker: Bandai
Kit Number: 4 (in the F-90 series)
Price: $27.00 CDN from Vincent Tang
Type: Injection-moulded styrene with poly cap washers
Aftermarket: Sheet styrene from a printer cartridge box
Above: You call that a gun? THIS is a gun! The completed F-90 II L-Type gives new meaning
to overcompensating. As you can see, this mech sports one of the longest cannons ever to adorn a Gundam, as well as
a funky clear blue beam saber for close-in defence.
The Gundam franchise has been an ongoing affair in Japan since the original TV series went on the air in 1979. Since
that time, there have been a large number of spin-offs, sequels and alternate-universe stories that have capitalized on both
the Gundam aesthetic and (more lucratively) the Gundam name. It seems that in most cases, attaching the word 'Gundam'
to a show is a good way to guarantee ratings. (Yes, I know Gundam X is an exception.)
However, there's a lot more to
the Gundam universe(s) than just anime. There are manga side stories galore, as well as another type of side story:
the model-based side story. That's right; there are actual fan-designed Gundams that have starred in their own adventures
in the pages of Japanese modelling magazines! Some of the newer stars of mecha design have started their careers this
way, actually.
One such model-based side story is that of Gundam F-90, which takes place before the events in the
F-91 movie. I unfortunately don't know much about the storyline to F-90, other than the main mecha in the story are
a new breed of smaller Gundams designed around interchangeable equipment sets. The idea is that rather than having to
design one mech for space fighting, one for heavy artillery support, one for close-quarters combat, etc., there is one Gundam
designed as a multipurpose unit that acts as a 'core' of a total weapons system.
Because of this, the first three
kits in the F-90 series are all just variations on a theme. Mind you, they are very cool variations on a very neat theme,
but there's an inescapable fact that you're essentially buying the same core kit 3 times over. (Bandai no doubt did
this to save costs and sell more kits. It works. I bought them all.) However, the fourth kit in the
series is quite different from the others.
This fourth kit, the F-90 II, looks closer to the F-91 or Neo Gundam than
it does to the F-90 A/D/S/P/V types. It is a bit leaner and more rounded, with a different head, torso and legs than
the others. This kit is the first in the series that I have built. The others are all in my stack, awaiting the
day they can join their cousin on display.
Above: The F-90 II L-Type is stylistically quite different from the other kits in the F-90 series. The
rounded chest, full span vents and lithe proportions give it almost organic qualities from some aspects.
The Kit:
The F-90 II L-Type (henceforth called the "II-L") was, for its day (1990) a very advanced
kit. There are a lot of features on this kit that are now taken for granted, and some technology which isn't even used
much any more. Some examples of this include the "System Injected" parts that have multiple different colours all moulded
onto the same part, extensive use of specialized polycaps and many different colours of sprue all in one box. Thus,
while it might not seem that special now, it was really something else when it first came out.
In many ways, the kits
of the F-90/SF-91 series are the precursors to the 1/100 High Grade (HG) kits that would be produced for G Gundam, Wing Gundam
and Gundam X. While not quite as nice as them, the F-90s are certainly better than their precursors.
Being in
1/100, there are a lot of pieces in the II-L's box. There are sprues in blue, red, white, black, grey, clear blue and
of course one rack of System Injected parts. There's one rack of polycaps and two clear blue beam sabers are also included.
There are extra parts for the II-L kit's main selling point - its HUGE cannon - moulded in black on a separate sprue.
Foil decals are provided, although to use them is to invite trouble as they are strongly self-adhesive, and once they're on,
they're on for good.
Despite being a 15 year old tooling, the parts in the II-L kit are crisp and clean, with no flash
anywhere. There are some engraved panel lines (although no where near as many as on a Wing or X 1/100 HG), and all of
these are straight and well-defined.
Above: This rear view of the II-L shows some of the detail to be found on this kit. There is at
least as much outlining as one finds on the Seed 1/100 kits, and probably a little more if you consider the detail on the
gun as well. Note in particular the ankle and knee blocks, which are very nicely detailed.
Apparently, the demand for these kits has dried up somewhat. Seeing as there's no animated component to the F-90
story, and with the SEED franchise dominating the Gundam world right now, it seems that most in Asia have forgotten F-90,
while most of us here in North America have never even heard of it! Needless to say, this makes getting the kits somewhat
difficult. As I write this, they are not something that even www.hobbylinkjapan.com can guarantee getting. Thankfully, I had Vincent Tang on my side. During a trip to Hong Kong, he personally managed to root out ALL FOUR of the F-90 kits for me.
Apparently, two were in the storage room of a little, somewhat outdated shop in the middle of nowhere. Given that I'd
always wanted these kits, it was a minor miracle that I was finally able to acquire them. For this, I need to thank
Vincent. However, if you want these kits, you might be out of luck. It seems I might have gotten the last ones
in Hong Kong, so you're going to have to look elsewhere! Building the F-90 II L-Type:
There isn't much difference between the II-L and other more recent 1/100 HG kits in terms of construction. As
always, there are some tricky areas that need some skill to work around, but overall, it is a very straightforward kit.
While
technically a snap fit kit, all the parts were glued together. This
ensures that the seams can be filled and sanded
smoothly, and that the kit will actually hold together. Most of the major subassemblies can be completed separately
and then combined at the end. However, the upper/lower legs are an exception. They both need to be built around
the knee block! To do this would require more masking than I'm willing to do, so I figured out an alternate method.
I
cut out the tops of the mounting supports in the lower leg so the knee block could just be 'popped' into it when the lower
leg and knee were done. This was quite easy, and is a trick I've used before. (In fact, a similar trick is needed
for the ankle block!) However, the upper leg was more problematic. To ensure proper placement of the knee in the
upper leg, it was essential to build a truss onto which the knee block would rest when completed. This was done using
spare bits of sprue, and was, despite its ad hoc nature, a complete success!
The elbows also posed a difficult problem
in that the grey rotator parts had to be painted first, and then fit into the lower arm. Normally, this is fairly easy
to do, but the lower arms have large projections that have to be painted white, and there's no way to mask or prevent sloppage
the way it was designed. Also, there's no work around, because the lower part of the elbow hinge is a polycap, and that
rubber can't be glued to anything and expected to stick! Thus, I filed down the flanges on the lower arms to allow the
grey parts to be cleared when the entire assembly was completed.
The only other major trick used was in the face, where
I modified the eyes so that they could be inserted after the face was done rather than before. This required cutting
a few braces from spare sprue as well, and was, once again, successful.
Above: This shows the inside of the front half of the head. The white dot in the middle is a torn
out mounting post, and the white line under the eye opening is a brace made out of spare sprue. This is basically a
'stopping block' to give the eyes something to rest on, since the mounting post was removed, and there was nothing else to
stop them from riding up too high into the head.
Despite the number of workarounds needed, building the kit was still pretty easy. The fit on the parts was quite
good, and only a minimum of filler was needed. In an attempt to battle the insidious 'seam sink' plague, I CAed every
seam when I was done. So far, so good, but the long-term effectiveness of this approach remains to be seen.
The
only real disappointment I ran into on this kit was that so much of it was HOLLOW. By this, I mean that parts which
should look solid when done have one of their sides 'open,' as it if were really just a half-piece. This is exceptionally
annoying, and makes the final product look really cheap and toy-like. The worst offenders in this category are the shell
clips for the long gun and the energy clips that fit on the Gundam's legs. As it turns out, the leg-mounted clips are
no biggie - it's hard to see they're hollow.
The waist-mounted and gun-mounted shell clips, though, are clearly hollow.
To rectify this, I cut some sheet styrene from a printer cartridge box and glued to the open side. After a little bit
of sanding, the shape was right, and it's now very difficult to tell that the pieces were hollow. I did the same for
the shoulder mounted sighting unit on the gun arm, as well.
Above: This shows the shell clip for the II-L's cannon: on the right is the original clip, on the left,
the one with the spare styrene added. While being hollow is not really a big deal for the hip-mounted clip, it would
have shown horribly when in place on the cannon. Clearly, while a good kit, there were some corners being cut when the
people and Bandai planned out the II-L's parts.
Just a note: the beam sabers on this kit are both very cool and very disappointing. I've only seen clear blue sabers
twice before, and I only have one of those kits. Thus, I was thrilled to see that there were two clear blue sabers with
EVERY kit in the F-90 series. However, the sabers are badly moulded and require extensive sanding to get the production
seam out of them. While I was sanding, I came up with a new idea for finishing the sabers. I only used really
fine grits at the top of the blade, and left the bottom a bit rougher and more opaque. This was done to simulate the
'dense' energy at the base of the sword. Did it work? Kinda. It is a neat trick, and I might try it again,
but it wasn't as effective as I thought it might be. Painting the F-90 II L-Type: The paint
scheme on the II-L is conventional Gundam all the way: red, white blue and yellow with some Virsago Black thrown in for good
measure. The white is the same white I used on my little 1/200 Nichimo Valkyrie, which is a mix of Tamiya, Badger and Testors colours. While seemingly an intractable mix, the new Gundam White works
really well. It is tough and touches up well, and it goes on nice and smoothly. All white parts were primered
with the Floquil Reefer White lacquer I got from Broughdale. The only exceptions are those parts that are white on a
Virsago Black component, such as the white packs on the guns. These were just painted by hand, first with old all-Testors
Gundam White, and then with Frankenwhite (as I call the new version). To ensure the paint was smooth, I sanded it down
with 2000 grit paper, and hand applied several coats of thinned Future floor polish. I then resanded to 8000 grit, and
applied one final smooth coat of Future to fill in the scraze marks. This technique works very well, and this Gundam
has the best shiny finish of any mech I've ever built.
Above: This close-up of the upper chest and head area shows how smooth the final gloss coat really is.
The reflection of the beam sabers can be seen on the shoulders. Only sanding super fine to 8000 grit allows this kind
of finish to be achieved when using hand brushed paint and gloss coat.
Custom Touches:
The II-L is really supposed to be a customized and upgraded 'stock' F-90 II,
so you wouldn't think that there'd be a lot of customizing I could do, right? Well, really, the changes I made to the
machine were fairly minor.
The most obvious of the changes is on the right shoulder. Normally, there would be a black pack there
with a pair of beam sabers sticking out of it. I didn't like the idea of having the mech reach all the way across its
chest to have to get a sword. Not only is it un-Gundam like (they usually draw from the back or the hip, like Samurai),
it would also be PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for the mech to actually reach the saber hilts at all! Clearly, the Ph.D. Engineer
in me balked at such a clear violation of physics, and I restored the sabers to their rightful place on the backpack.
The backpack is another area of concern. According to the instructions, the II-L should have a 'double layer'
backpack - basically there's supposed to be a second backpack bolted on top of the normal one. This provides more thrust
and is an extra bit of greeblie junk Bandai can throw in to entice you to buy the kit. Coming off this backpack should
be a long, L-shaped arm with a sighting unit on it. This sighting unit is similar to the ones often seen in MS cockpits
in the Gundam animes. At first, I thought this was cool. However, a dry fit of the parts showed that the sighting
arm not only didn't really fit all that well, it also obscured the head hopelessly!
Clearly, this was not good, since
I like the F-90 II's head quite a bit. So, I decided to axe the sighting arm, and mount the sight itself on the right
shoulder, in place of the saber container. To do this, I filed down a piece of sprue so that I could make a post, and
then drilled a hole in the sight. I then inserted and glued the post in place. Unfortunately, the sight was hollow,
so the post showed badly. This was rectified with printer styrene, the same way I fixed the shell clip problem.
With
the sighting arm gone, I didn't see any reason to include the extra backpack, which really did look dumb. Thus, I got
rid of it too. This change cleaned the mech up quite a bit, and made it look more like a Gundam with a big gun than
a refugee from a UC remake of Sanford and Son. Also, the suggestive way in which the second backpack was mounted to
the first led me to expect guardianship of a lot of little baby backpacks (lunch pails?) at sometime in the future.
Nobody needs that.
I slightly modified the head. I love Gundams with red under their eyes. The F-90 family
does not have this, but they do have a curious nose-like piece. I sanded this off and etched in the line for the red
under eye treatment. The result is a Gundam that has more thematic connection with the original RX-78 than it's supposed
to.
Above: This close-up of the head shows the red under-eye trim that I added, as well as the blue sight
in the crest. For some reason, the crest was supposed to be blue, but that didn't strike me as being very Gundam-like
so I changed it back to red. The head now has a much more UC feel to it, and helps the mech blend in with its older
brothers.
I also decided to use the spare hands from the F-90 P-Type kit. These hands are of the standard 1/100 Wing/X articulated
finger-type, and usually are not my favourite type of hand. However, the pre-moulded hands of the II-L were not able
to actually HOLD the gun correctly, making them of only dubious value. Thus, I used the opening hands which proved to
be an excellent upgrade. The P-Type doesn't need them anyways.
The last modification was to the cannon, where
I cut off the extra side handle. I didn't like it, so I tossed it. The red piece midway along the gun was the
attachment point for the handle. Since there are red vents on the back, I figured a splash of red near the front was
called for. How do I explain it? I just say it's an integral AMBAC (Active Mass BAlance Control) system for the
cannon, thus dispensing with the need for two-handed support. That's the great part about sci-fi: no-one can say you're
wrong!
Above: This shows the AMBAC pack installed in the cannon. Note too the clip: you're looking at
what would have been the hollow part of the clip had I not done the mods I listed earlier.
Conclusions:
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with how the II-L turned out. I tried a lot
of new little tricks, and they all worked out. As a kit, this mech is a bit more challenging than some newer offerings
if you want to try and preserve nice modular assembly and avoid build-around.
The fit of the model was quite good,
and it's a nice colourful piece, even unpainted. With that in mind, this kit (and any of the F-90 series kits) would
be good for someone who is new to Gundam and wants to work with a fairly simple, large scale kit. That having been said,
though, there are a number of pitfalls on this kit that can make it very aggravating for modellers of average skill, but less
than average patience.
I have been told that the F-90 series are dogs, and that they take a lot of work to make look
good. Having built this one, I agree with the second part of that statement. The difference between a fair and
a good build on this kit is a lot of effort. However, seeing as these kits don't get popped much anymore, and finding
them is a bit of a problem, they are clearly worth the effort required.
Above: Don't look directly into it! This view emphasizes the size of the II-L's cannon, as well
as the very colourful nature of the mech itself. It is quite cartoony, actually, but it makes for a nice display piece
if you've got the patience to work around its flaws.
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