105 Slaughter Dagger
Reviewed by Adam Rehorn
Scale: 1/144
Maker: Bandai
Type: Injection Moulded styrene
Aftermarket: None
Cost: about $20 is a good price
The completed Slaughter Dagger strikes a suitably aggressive, yet murderously jaunty pose. While it may not be immediately apparent, this particular kit is the first of its kind for me: a mech with an airbrushed, non-glossy finish! As you can see, it works very well to convey the sinister nature of the Mobile Suit.
When a Gundam series is successful, it is inevitable that not only will there be a lot of models from it, but there will also be some kind of sequel. In the case of Wing Gundam, this sequel was the OVA series "Endless Waltz". However, there has been no Gundam series as successful in recent times as Gundam Seed. The original TV series of 50+ episodes was followed by a second series of similar length. Apparently even that isn't enough, because now there is a new Seed anime out there: Stargazer.
Stargazer is a bit unusual, in that it was originally delivered as an "Original Net Animation", or ONA, a term which really hasn't come up officially in any way in anime fandom yet. Apparently, there are three fifteen minute episodes, and they are available on DVD in Japan . Hopefully, they will also be released here!
Despite its very short runtime, there have been a number of models made from the designs in Stargazer, including at least one Master Grade (the Strike Noir). However, this review is not about that kit, since I've never seen it in the flesh. Instead, this review is of one of the 1/144 High Grade (HG) kits from Stargazer; the 105 Slaughter Dagger.
The Slaughter Dagger not only has what is surely one of the most evil sounding names in all of Gundam history, but one of the most violent roles as well. A squad of these particular mecha are used to invade a refugee camp and slaughter everyone in sight, with the ostensible aim of killing terrorists hiding, and training, among the refugees. It is for this reason that there are two vulcan cannons, normally seen on a Gundam's head, installed in the tops of the feet! You're more likely to hit scurrying refugees if the guns are lower down, closer to the targets, I guess. Clearly, the name of the mech says it all, and the kit doesn't disappoint.
Here you can see the Vulcan port in the Slaughter Dagger's right foot. There's one on each foot, and their only purpose is to kill 'soft' targets at roughly ground level. Nasty, but cool...
The Kit:
The Slaughter Dagger is typical of a new generation Bandai HG. It has excellent full-colour moulding with very good part separation. There is, as expected, no flash to be found anywhere on the kit, and the panel lines are all nice and crisp and straight. Of course, that makes sense since this kit is copyright 2006!
There is a single rack of polycaps that I'm assuming is standard for all Seed, Seed Destiny and Stargazer kits. There are also some decals, including both foil-type and the horrible clear, self-adhesive-type. The latter are only for special unit markings, and you're better off to just leave in the box.
The plastic is standard Bandai fare, although the clear yellow beam sabers are a little softer than what they used to use. Safety, I guess. That brings up another point, actually: the wings on the Aile-Striker pack mounted by the Slaughter Dagger have the same blunting as on the toy Aile Strike Gundam. This consists of an additional wingtip 'blob' that is grafted onto the end of the wing. Now, this is tastefully done, and it looks like an old-fashioned trim tab, so it could be worse. However, I am of the opinion that while a toy might need such safety features, a model does not!
Here you can see one of the fins on the Aile Striker pack both before (top) and after (bottom) I trimmed off the 'safety tab'. In reality, the tab doesn't look terrible; it's just so lame that something like that would be included on a kit. The few anime shots in the instructions clearly show no such thing present at the end of the wings, by the way.
The colour separation on this kit is amazing, and you can probably get a really good replica just by assembling the thing out of the box. There's almost nothing (beyond the thrusters) that's not the right colour. The kit even has two clear yellow beam sabers (with separate hilts), and clear sabers on a small scale kit is not something I'm used to seeing.
This closeup allows you to see the separate piece beam saber blade to good effect. You can also see the crisp detail on the inside of the shield, although the circles are actually injector pin marks, not intentional details. Note too the oil-washed hand - a first for me!
Building the Slaughter Dagger:
One of the first things I did was to remove the wingtip safety blobs and file the wings down nice and pointy! Other than this, only the torso required some slight adjustment. This was done to make it so that the maroon part could be inserted after the grey part was done, rather than having a build around situation.
The order of assembly on this kit is very nice and simple, and there is very little to complain about. I was surprised with the amount of build around on the upper arm/shoulder areas, though. The upper arms and shoulder thrusters have to be done first so that the shoulders can be built around them. Strangely, I could not find a workaround for this. Nearly every other piece can be completed separately and put on afterwards. I cut the pins of the Aile-Striker pack's wings so they could be inserted at the end.
Looking down on the Slaughter Dagger from this angle, the poorly laid out shoulder engine is clearly visible. You can also get a good idea of how much the Aile Striker pack sticks out the back of the kit. Surprisingly, this does not result in as big a balance issue as you might think, and the finished kit is quite stable.
There is really very little else to say about the assembly of this kit. It is straightforward, simple and overall very fun to put together. It's a nice change from some of the older dogs that I've been working on, I can tell you that much!
Painting:
Due to the genocidal nature of the Slaughter Dagger's mission, it is, essentially, an instrument of terror. To reflect this 'angel of death' role, the mech is painted in shades of greys and blacks, with a little bit of maroon thrown in for good measure.
The light grey parts of the kit are done in Testors Model Master Acrylic Light Ghost Grey. This colour is nearly perfect for the job, and adds the right level of somber, militaristic leadenness that characterizes the Slaughter Dagger. The darker parts are done in MM Acrylic Gunship Grey, and the black on the Aile-Striker pack are done in my latest batch of Virsago Black.
The maroon on the feet, torso and head is actually a mix of Badger Milwaukee Maroon, some red, Tamiya Flat Base and some Tamiya Flat White. This turned out to be a very nice colour to work with, despite its rather Frankenstein-like origins.
The entire kit was primered using the Wal-Mart Colour Place primer. Once the paint was on, details were picked out using MM Acrylic Jet Exhaust. The insides of the thrusters on the Aile-Striker pack and the engines on the mech itself were done in Badger SP Daylight Orange. I used the Jet Exhaust/Orange treatment on the backpack even though the instructions do not show this. I just think it looks a lot better and more realistic this way.
This rear three quarters view shows most of the orange-painted and black-washed thrusters too good effect. The Jet Exhaust coloured patches on the leg were also supposed to be grey, like the thruster housings, but that's just too boring for me to contemplate. With this treatment, the Aile Striker pack looks much more realistic and much less cartoony, too.
All engines, the hands, ankle, knee and elbow blocks, and the beam cannon were blackwashed. However, instead of being done with acrylic blackwash, an oil wash was used. This is the first time I've ever used oils. While the effect is not exactly what I was expecting or hoping for, it does look good. The oil was very easy to put on, although I found out that Odorless Thinner is a better bet than Turpentine as a carrier for he wash. Not only does it not smell (No duh!), but it will not attack plastic. The turpentine caused one of my upper arms to crumble, so I was glad to be rid of it!
This closeup of the right hand and beam cannon shows my first attempt at using oil washes. I was pleased with the hands, but the gun still looks a bit off. I think I should have wiped off some of the excess black on the barrel - that would have left the black in the panel lines, but not on the surface of the cooling jacket. Oh well, something to know for next time.
Finishing:
If you have ever read any of my other reviews, then you know that I ALWAYS put a high-gloss finish on my mecha. The reason for this is that it gives them a "3-D anime" look, in other words, like cartoons come to life. This is not simple, as car builders can tell you, and is generally very frustrating to try and achieve.
At the HeritageCon show in Hamilton back in February, Dave Guertin and I were discussing my mech kits. At the time, he challenged me to put an aircraft finish (satin or flat) on a mech. His description was something along the lines of "your mecha are built well, but look like candy." There was also the threat of licking them involved.
Now, this was more than enough of a wake up call, believe me! I can't really back down from a challenge like that, and it didn't hurt that I was having massively frustrating problems getting the gloss coat on the upper legs and rear skirt to go well at the time. Thus, I decided I would make the Slaughter Dagger my first official flat mech (not counting the desert Zaku FZ I did, which was aged and thus flat).
Every part of the mech was flat coated using Gunze Acrylic Clear Flat. This is GOOD stuff, and resulted in a very, very dead-flat finish. Now, while this is good for airplanes, I wanted something with a little more life. I thus took some very thin Future (about 30%:70% Future:Water) and brushed it over the airbrushed Gunze Flat Coat. This gave a nice satin coat, without being too shiny or flat. Exactly what I wanted!
Unfortunately, while this worked well on the legs, it was a little hard to control on the entire mech. Thus, there are some parts of the kit that are a little shinier than others, but overall the effect is great. I think I'll try and find a more controllable and repeatable way to achieve this in the future, though.
Normally, when viewed close up like this, my mecha are very shiny; so shiny in fact it is often possible to see the mech's head and face reflected on the chest armour. Well, starting with this kit, that treatment is no more. You can compare this with some of the pictures in my Freedom Gundam review. This new flat look is really nice, and far easier to achieve than the shine on my earlier kits.
Conclusions:
The Slaughter Dagger is one of the nicer small kits that I've had the opportunity to build. It is the first of the new generation of 1/144 HG kits (I've never built an HGUC kit before) I've built, and I hope it won't be the last. It is a very well engineered and well-fitting model.
It's also a very good model for builders of all skill levels. While some of the colour separation makes life a bit more complicated than it's worth for the experienced modeller, it will help relative neophytes. In addition, the mostly well-thought-out part separation makes life really easy. The best part is that this kit, unlike a lot of others, can really be as hard or easy as the builder wants.
For someone new to modelling or someone looking for something different, the Slaughter Dagger is a great kit. For a Gundam modeller tired of white and blue mecha, it makes a nice change of pace. Of course, the best part is that it looks cool and can be posed in all kinds of different ways. Rockin'!
This side view shows off the shield's front. The bright yellow spike is an interesting juxtaposition to the rest of the paint scheme. Note again the overhang afforded by the Aile Striker pack!
