Making GUNPLA Tutorial Part 1: How to Assemble GUNPLA, Cutting Parts from Runner and Snapfitting

Hi all! (●￣(ｴ)￣●)

This post is the first post for my Making GUNPLA Tutorial serires.
ヽ(∀゜ )人( ゜∀)ノ

In this series of tutorials, I will be explaining everything from basics to the most advanced things (that I know ヽ(´ー`)ﾉ), and will be updated together with my customization of my PG Strike Gundam, so expect that all parts shown here will be from that certain model ヾ(-_- )ゞ. 

I chose the PG Strike Gundam as the material to be used in this series of tutorial because PG models are so complex and includes almost every single gimmick that BANDAI has, thus allowing me to cover almost all knowledge that you must posses to make your very own customized GUNPLA. (ﾉ≧∀≦)ﾉ.

Now, the final goal we have for this PG Strike is to modify it to an extent where the level of details is near RG. Also we will custom paint it into black and gold ｍ（．＿．）ｍ I know its hard but with perseverance and time I know we can do this  ヽ(｀⌒´メ)ノ. 

I hope that by the end of series, you will be able to make your own customized GUNPLA. (ノ°ο°)ノ
So without further ado, let us start with the first tutorial {{|└(>o< )┘|}}

How to Assemble GUNPLA

Assembling GUNPLA for me is very straight forward. (⌒▽⌒)☆

Every GUNPLA contains an instruction booklet and basically you just follow the instructions.  (；￣Д￣）

Here are the important things you need to know when reading the manual. A Legend if you will:
1. Boxed Number in the upper left corner of each panel : Denotes the step number
2. Letter with Encircled Number on the Right : Denotes the letter of the runner where the part can be found as well as the number of the part in that particular runner.

Part A8

Runner A

Part 8

3. Numbers inside Diamonds : Denotes the order you should attach the parts. If there are no numbers in diamonds in a panel, that means you can attach the parts in any order.
4. Arrows : Shows where the part will be attached
5. ヾ (Or something like that ⊂(^(工)^)⊃ ) : Denotes that you should pay attention on how the part needs to be attached. Normally, this mark appears when you can attach a part in more than one way but only one of those ways is correct.

That's basically it. If you know these you should be able to follow the manual no sweat (─‿‿─)

Cutting Parts from Runner

Cutting parts from the runner is a long ardous task to do properly. Perhaps, it's the second most boring part in creating your own GUNPLA only beaten by sanding (◑‿◐).

Why is cutting parts from the runner so hard? It's because if you don't do it properly you leave all kind of marks on the plastic (aka Nub Marks).  (✖╭╮✖)

Nub Marks will appear for sure no matter how you cut the parts and cannot be removed completely without sanding. However, we still need to minimize the nub marks before sanding to prevent more work later on. For me, there are 3 kinds of nub marks:

1. Discolored Mark : The parts becomes very discolored (normally in white).
2. Engraved Mark : The part where you cut has been engraved (meaning deeper than the normal mold).
3. Embossed Mark: The part where you cut has been embossed (meaning higher than the normal mold).

So how do we cut these parts to reduce nub marks?
Well that's easy (but ardous (#+_+)). Just follow these steps:

1. Find the Part and cut it on the gate. Basically the gate is the part where the runner suddenly things out to connect to the part.

Found the part! Now cut it on the gates

If you cut it on the gates, the part should now look like this.

 2. Get your cutter, if possible, not the precision cutter but the large cutter because it should be sharper and more resilient (For reference on the tools for making GUNPLA, click here!). Also, this kind of cutter eliminates any chance of the blade popping out and hitting you which might cause your death ψ(｀∇´)ψ. Well, not really your death, but if the blade pops out, it might end up cutting you and in bad cases really injuring you (Imagine if the blade hit your eye >_< ). So be safe and use this gigantic cutters.

Now, what you want to do is to cut off the nub slowly. Make sure to cut from the base of the nub going upward, slowly shaving of the nub until you can finally cut in a straight line. Basically cut like this / and slowly decrease the angle until you are cutting like this _. Never ever cut downwards!(*-`ω´- )人 If you do, then you will end up engraving the plastic which will then give you more problems in the end because you will have to putty it up and everything.

Part and Cutter

Cleaned up part ^_^

Snapfitting

Some people call building the GUNPLA OOB as snapfitting but I don't really agree with that because you're not really just fitting out the gundam, you are already building it (｡･｀ω´･｡).

For me, Snapfitting is building the GUNPLA in a way where you can easily disassemble it. This is important especially if you are going to customize or paint your GUNPLA. It is important to do this because seeing the finished model is better than just relying on linearts. It also gives you a better idea on how the GUNPLA will look like in the end than any pictures found on the internet. 
Without seeing the model itself, I doubt you can plan on your modifications perfectly, thus, if you don't have a completely similar Gundam lying around, do this! (;´・`)>

To snapfit a gundam, you just need to cut all male pegs (The one that gets inserted to the holes (－ｏ⌒)) diagonally. 

As a rule, cut 3/4 of the top of the male peg and leave the base intact. Make sure that the angle you are cutting will allow you to cut all the way to the base (but the base is left intact) since if you just cut halfway through the male peg then there would be no point in doing this.

6 Male Pegs

See the yellow line in one of the pegs? No? Zoom it then :P. Now that is how you should cut it.

6 Male Pegs cut diagonally :)

 Now here is a snap fit sample.

Check pegs before cutting them off

No male pegs seen through here

No male pegs can be seen through here either

After cutting of the pegs they will look like this

Assembly

You will know if you did it right if the parts fit together very easily and can be disassembled easily. If disassembly is difficult then you did it wrong so cut the male peg some more ヽ(。_°)ノ.
 
Make sure to check how a part fits before cutting!ヾ(×× ) ﾂ Do not cut male pegs that will end up showing. Because then, the end result will look unsightly. Don't worry, normally pegs that show up do not have any real grip that will make removing the part difficult. Also you can use those exposed pegs anyway when disassembling parts by pushing on them.

Two parts that will attach to one another

If you place them in top of each other you see two male pegs will end up showing

Cut only the male peg that will not end up showing.

End result

That's all for now! I hope you guys learned some stuff from the Part 1 of my
Making GUNPLA Tutorial. If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment below （・∀・）. I will answer your questions there as soon as I read them |_・)

For now, Goodbye to you all! (,, ･∀･)ﾉ゛