Description
By implementing the technique of Top Coating, you can do a great deal to help preserve the longevity of your models. This process will protect the original plastic of your model kit and prepare it for any additional modeling techniques to follow.
You can drastically improve your results by making the details pop on the FX-550 Skygrasper with Panel Lining. The simplest solution for this is Gundam Markers or Tamiya Panel Line Fluid. Making your own panel wash is always a great option too! It is always recommended to Topcoat with clear gloss beforehand, as some of the products commonly used for Panel Lining will degrade the untreated plastics over time.
Another way to keep adding detail is by applying Stickers/Marking Decals. Top Coating before application will help decals stick to the surface much better. Using Top Coat after application will help hide the seams on traditional sticker decals as well as waterslides. This additional step will also keep them from peeling over time. Using Decals is a great way to add an even greater level of detail to your scale models.
General Safety Warning:
Suitable Age: 8+
Assembly required. Snap together, no glue needed.
Products shown in photos may have been professionally painted or computer rendered images. They may differ from the actual product.
WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD, Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.
Jose Soto (verified owner) –
A very different build experience if you are like me and have only built mobile suits models and not many planes. It’s a Real Grade due to the color separation, no stickers are required at all although it does come with a lot of sticker decals for adding details. Using a fine line panel liner though is enough to make it look great. It has some articulation with the 3 beam cannons being able to move plus the 2 wing binders being able to move back and forth slightly, as well as the cockpit hatch being able to open and overall looks very good. It comes with an attachment to put on an action base and 2 sets of landing gear to display on the ground; one for just the Skygrasper by itself and another set for when the Skygrasper is equipped with a Striker pack since it adds some height to it.
It comes with the Launcher + Sword Striker parts to use with the RG Strike Gundam(the backpacks are also compatible with the RG Akatsuki) plus a stand piece to display one of them on its own. It also comes with 2 open fists to use with the RG Strike that makes holding the weapons from these 2 packs easier as the retail release of the RG Strike only comes with the poseable Real Grade hands for holding weapons. They also work with holding the shield handle for the shield that the RG Strike comes with although its not the best at holding the beam rifle. The tab in the rifle on my RG Strike does not fit into the open peg on these hands, you can put the rifle in the hand without the tab but it doesn’t fit tightly and droops forward a bit so depending on the pose may not look good. So my right poseable real grade hand is just gonna be dedicated to holding that beam rifle which is fine since the early real grade hands are kind of finicky if you manipulate them repeatedly.
The weapons + backpacks can be mounted on the Skygrasper itself and generally look very good on it, and it comes with parts to mount the Aile Striker backpack + shield/rifle if you own the RG Strike Gundam. Between mounting 1 Striker set on the Skygrasper, 1 on the RG Strike and one on the provided display base you can have all of them on display so you can avoid having one in a random drawer/box.
Unless you are a big fan of SEED designs or support crafts this might not be worthwhile to get on it’s own, but if you own the RG Strike Gundam it’s almost mandatory due to the potential display options the other packs provide. I almost removed a star because I feel like the price for the plane is too much but Bandai bumps the price up by including the 2 other Striker packs it’s known to use in the anime and they never provided an option to buy the Skygrasper without them. Despite being an early Real Grade it uses no advanced MS joint parts and it has limited articulation so it will stay very sturdy for a long time as long as it’s cared for.