Armored Core : Mirage AC01-GAEA [Custom Paint]

"Here kitty kitty~"

Hi folks~ So this is going to be something like a review on the Armored Core model kit, Mirage AC01-GAEA, which is made by Kotobukiya. The reason why I said it's like a review is that I'd touch on some articulation stuff here and there. Not much though. This post is more like a complete update on my custom paint job. There are related posts like this, this and this as well.

So, let's begin~

Here's the box front cover art. A striking pose of the mecha and loads of labels plastered all over. It doesn't have a diorama background like burning buildings or ruins and stuff. But it's okay 'cos the mecha is that good-looking just by itself.

Let's open the box! And there's a nicely-painted assembled mecha standing in the box... ALREADY? Instead of a bunch of runners?? Haha, so as I said, this post is not really a review.

So, you'd most probably noticed that the mecha's primary color is green instead of the tacky blue. That's the request of the commissioner. He wanted to have a military feel to it. And I felt that'd be more in-tune with the armored core game style as well.

Mirage AC01-GAEA is the poster boy for the game Armored Core: Last Raven. Hence, there's a wide array of weapons available for this model kit. And the weapons are:

1. FUNI [連動ミサイル]
(These are on the shoulders. I guessed it translated to Chain-shot Missile launcher)

2. MAGORAGA [超小型ミサイル]
(This one is on the right back, mini missile launcher)

3. CR-WB91LGL [リニアガン]
(On the left back is the railgun, I think... the japanese katakana is RINIA GAN, so you figure it out yourself)

4. CR-WR93RL [リニア・ライフル]
(The main weapon on the right hand, RINIA RAIFURU... Rail Rifle??)

5. WL-MOONLIGHT [レーザーブレード]
(The blade thing on the left arm. I think I got this one. it's Laser Blade [Reezaa bureedo])

"HQ, this is AC01. Core Initialized. System On. Ready to move out. Over."

This is some very impressive details done on the mecha by Kotobukiya. I'd just let the pictures do the talking. On the down side, there are a lot of mirco-mini parts just to assemble another micro-mini part. But I guess that's just part of the work to make this mecha looked this great. So, I'd recommend keeping all your parts in little pill boxes and keep your workdesk tidy, or you are bound to lose some pieces along the way.

Pilot: "Ore wa aamaa koo des..."

HQ: "Shut the fxxx up and get your ass working, soldier!"

The major letdown would be the finger articulation which is no articulation at all. You could swap some gundam hands over here with some moddings. Kotobukiya does provides you with a few hands to play around with. The hand with the gun is a single piece, meaning you don't slot the gun into the hand but you assemble 'em up.

Mecha is marching out of base...

Armored Core model can't really pose much. But I think that's okay 'cos the mechas in the game don't have much flexibility too. So, it's pretty accurate to the actual mecha, in that sense. lol.

"Damn wires on the floor."

"Whacha lookin' at, punk?"

"Eat this~"

"Finally made it to the gate~ Let's rock and roll!"

I played around with some photoshopping here, newbie here~

"Your country needs you! Sign up now at ac-pilot-sign-up.gov now!"

"Come on, ladies~ CHARGGGGGGE~"

AC Pilot: "Optimus Prime said meet up at the Pyramid... Where are they?"

Prime: "Dude, you're at the wrong pyramid..."

Background noise: *Devastator's metal balls knocking at each other*

Final words... so I'd say it's a very spectacular model despite some articulation limitations. But if you should ever get an Armored Core mecha, this is the one to have. It captures all the essentials of an Armored Core mecha. Not even the White Glint tops it. Just my opinion.

So, thanks for looking~ 'till next time~

Armored Core : Weathered Paint Effect on Core [Mirage AC01-GAEA]

Yo. It's me again. I'd be sharing some pictures of the Mirage AC01-GAEA core, C01-GAEA. And it is painted with the same weathered effect, of course.

And here it goes~

Ya, just in case, you want to know what paint I'm using. So, I painted fully in dry-brush, no airbrush, and the paint are Tamiya's Flat Black (base), Black Green, Flat Aluminum and Copper.


This is the back top-down view~ There are two holding slots at the back, for some kind of droids. I will show it later.


The exhaust pipes seemed to have a shade of green but that was just the lighting.

Nothing much to say here... lots of scratches and worn metals.


Okay, I admit I did a bad job painting the copper on the chest [right side]. That area was smeared, and I will repair it later... maybe only.


These are the droids that I was talking about earlier. I didn't play the game, so I got no idea what were they for. Some spying/surveillance droids, I guessed.


Here's a shot of one of the droids secured on the core. It was a pita to put it on the core. There's only one way to get it in and once you have done it, you wouldn't want to take it out again. It's that much of a pita.


Here's another picture on the droids. So, if you look at the right side of the empty"landing pad", there's a groove and you need to fit the droid into that position and push it down in a certain way. I only hope the paint is still intact after the brute-force shoving.

Close-up of the cute little droids. Actually, I think they can be piloted since the front looks awfully like a cockpit? Or maybe they are escape pods? If you got a clue, tell me, m'kay?


Nothing much to comment here~


Another rear shot, this time with the droids on-board.


Sneak peek head shot! The visor is so highly reflective that the glow looked almost LED-ish.


Solemn pose~ I hate to brag, but it does looked realistic, right?


Okay, that's all for now. Time to knock out~ k thk bye.

Armored Core : Weathered Paint Effect on Legs [Mirage AC01-GAEA]

Welcome again to my blog, folks~

This is my 2nd post, and it is a continuation from this post. I will be showcasing the weathered effects on the legs, LH09-Cougar2. These legs belonged to Mirage AC01-GAEA, an Armored Core Mecha.Here's a reference picture of the unpainted mecha, very plastic-looking... not my taste.


So now, let's check out the military-style scheme. Much better, isn't? At least I think so. Bleh! Click on image for larger size.

Similar to the head paint, 4 colors were used here, Flat Black, Black Green, Flat Aluminum and Copper. All colors except the Flat Black (served as base coat), were dry-brushed onto the legs.


See the scratch marks over all the foot? Simply dry-brush the black surface with the flat aluminum and you can achieve this very easily. And dry-brushing is NOT as hard as some make it out to be.


The calf design on most Armored Core mecha are to die for~ And the model assembly for the legs are, probably the most complex of all the mecha models I have built. Some parts are less than 1mm in size and I even did dry-brushing on them individually. *sweat*

Here's a wedding proposal high-kneeling pose.

"Will you... let me have my body, no??"

All Armored Core mechas got big feet, and the soles are highly detailed. I didn't add any mud/dirt effect because I was lazy to do it.


Looks confusing, eh? The shot was taken from the left heel up. The details are all hidden under the pants' leg hole, but you wouldn't see it unless you peel down the foot.


Up next, the infamous Saturday Night Fever pose~


ACs are highly posable but they can't do cross-leg. Pity.


Okay~ you are looking at the knee caps now. I added more copper here, or else it would look a bit dull. And check out the detail on the leg-to-hip axle in the picture below. I always think that it's the little hidden surprises which make the model shines.


The all-time favorite crotch view, camel toe? Just kidding, lol! The exhaust vents were all painted copper since most heat sinks and fans are made of copper. I didn't just paint blindly. *smug grin*


Moving to the top, there is an air vent on each hip. The vents were blackened with smoke.


I tilted the camera angle a little bit down, to capture the connecting axle to the core (body). If you look close enough, there is a rim of scrapped surface effect around the axle. And that's the highlight for this portion. But all will be covered up when the core is joined up with this legs portion.


And that's all for this post. I hope you like it and have a nice day ahead.

Armored Core : Weathered Paint Effect on Head [Mirage AC01-GAEA]

Hi guys, here's a custom paint of my Armored Core Mirage AC01-GAEA head, H-11 Queen. The picture on the left is the original scheme.

The effect I want to achieve is a weathered paint look, which means dull paint and exposed metal under the scrappy paintwork. I started off by coating all the parts with Flat Black. It served as a primer as well as the darker tone base for dry-brushing.Additionally, I painted Black Green over the areas that were supposed to be blue. That would give a military feel to it.


Once the base coat is dried, I dry-brushed the weathered effect. The colors used are Flat Aluminum and Copper.


And here it is, the weathered effect in its full glory! Click on the images for larger size.


Can you spot that cracked lens effect on the helmet? Yeah? It was totally unintentional. The fogging of the model kit glue made it so. I thought it looked matching to the weather effect.


I thought I did a fine paint job at the back of the helmet. The head was miserably small to work with.


So, yeah, that's about it. Check out my other post on the legs, arms, core and the weapons. If you can't find, it means I have not write it. Ha~