Ran out of photo space here and there's no way to pull from flickr, so here's a sample. Rest of the picks can be found here: Hi-nu E.V.O. Gallery.
Thoughts on the kit...
For a non Bandai kit, I was pretty happy with what I got. I really like the look of the kit. The larger size and added detail really make this kit look amazing. There were a few seam line issues to deal with, but other than that everything fit well and the kit feels pretty solid. The base for the stand is pretty good. The rest of the stand, not so much. So many dimples in the plastic. That was a bummer. But I think if your only real complaint is the stand, the kit is really good.
Thoughts on my work...
I fairly pleased with my work. The two things that really stand out to me is the dust and the scratches. I have no idea how so much dust got on this kit. I tried really hard to prevent it, but half way through I just stopped caring. Once the parts are washed for painting, they are always covered unless I'm painting. I just cleaned the room and covered it in plastic. I don't know what happened, but this guy is a magnet for dust. As for the chipping, that was my fault. I just got carried away building it. I mean I put so much time painting and detailing that I couldn't wait to see it together. So when parts were a little snug, instead of trying to find what the problem was, I went with brute force. It got the job done and there wasn't anything too bad, but there are a few spots that I have noticed.
I also tried detailing the inner frame on the kit. Well really just the legs. It's the only frame parts that are exposed. It was actually kind of fun. I didn't really want to do it, but so much of the leg armor was exposed, I felt I had too. I was really nervous when I started. Would look at photos over and over to make sure I was getting the right spots. But after a while I stopped looking at the boxes and just did whatever I thought would look good. I will definitely be doing this again for kits with exposed frames.
In the end I'm happy with this kit. Tried detailing for the first time and found out it's something I really like. Had some issues with dust and scratches, but I don't think it's anything too major. I don't think this kit is better than my Marasai, but it might be my second best kit. If you have the resources to build tis kit, I highly recommend it.
