Home » The Rest » The Ascent of the Chimera

Share This Post

All Models | Gundam | The Rest

The Ascent of the Chimera

gunpla-gundam-bandai-hobbylink-HLJ

User Content (UC): The Ascent of the Chimera / MG Unicorn
Submitted By: MatX

The Chimera is a mythical creature that is comprised of a Lion, a Dragon and a Goat (Ram) with a Snake head for a tail.  It is sometimes also depicted with the Wings of a Bat.  The creature has become the main basis for the modifications for this kit.

As a personal preference, I didn’t like the MG Unicorn at first because of the proportions, getting the Wing vKa rather than it during a purchase decision.  Later on, I had two opportunities of getting the kit, both at a much lower price, one which remains up to now unbuilt, and the other half-built.  The latter became what you see now as the Chimera.

This project started more as an itch to improve the articulation bend of the Unicorn’s knees so I may be able to pose it kneeling or in a more dramatic flight.  It became apparent later on that I had to modify more than just the knees, because as a test fit showed, a kneeling Unicorn looked awkward.  The proportions needed to be fixed, and along with it, articulation added to the torso was done.

The V-Fin was modfied and combined with a scratch-built one to make a distinct-looking version that, along with the slight cheek armor improvement, simulates the head of a Dragon. The Chest was later modified to simulate the head of a Lion with the chest vents as eyes.  The pilot hatch still opens as if it was the Lion’s mouth. With no place to put the likeness of a goat, I opted to use the shield (someone also suggested it at almost the same time) by adding Ram horns to it, using the shield holes for eyes.

For an MG kit, the Unicorn vKa lacked the usual crystal eyes.  The eye-part was molded from gray ABS, so making my usual “LED inside” mods won’t cut it.  Since I was using the Unicorn mode’s face, I simply mounted a Surface Mount LED onto the faceplate, glued a piece of clear red runner over it and later painted it with Tamiya Clear Red, to mute the brightness of the green.

gunpla-gundam-bandai-hobbylink-japan

To facilitate a back-swept arm-mounted blade design, I modified the elbows to rotate the Unicorn’s saber hilt mounts 90 degrees.

Extra Modifications :

• Improved the articulation of the knees; modified the calves to expose the thrusters
• Added height and volume to the abdomen; modified the front skirts
• Added height to the neck
• Added a monoeye LED, powered by 2 AG1 button cells hidden within the modified backpack
• Modified the V-Fin/cheeks (somewhat the likeness of a Dragon)
• Modified the shield; added the likeness of a Ram
• Modified the Chest; added the likeness of a Lion
• Modified the hands to include Retractable (Lion) Claws
• Scratch built melee weapons; The Dragon Blade and the Ram Daggers

Share This Post

15 Comments

  1. beast ………..this is truly awesome

    Reply
  2. Awesome work, I saw your WIP at figure.FM 🙂
    Very impressive. I like the idea and look of the kit!

    Reply
  3. Thanks guys!

    Reply
  4. Thanks guys! I appreciate the comments.

    Reply
  5. TRULLY AWESOME!!
    Can’t imagine how you built those scratch built parts… truly a very talented artist!!
    Really great master piece!!

    Reply
  6. Amazing work MatX… your custom mods are always mind blowing.

    I think the thing I like the most is the proportions you changed. It is subtle if you not looking for it, but it makes the model seem that much more… menacing? 😛

    Great job again!

    Reply
  7. Holy cows! This is freaking incredibly. I especially like the result you got on the head with the V-fin and LED.

    Reply
  8. OMG… THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are an awesome modeller!

    Reply
  9. This is the reason I wish I had more custom modeling skills… truly awesome! I always likes how unicorn looked, but this just looks so much more cooler! Great job!

    Reply
  10. Bad ass sirt matx quite inspiring

    Reply
  11. Thanks everyone! I appreciate the comments.

    Reply
  12. Thanks, everyone!

    Reply
  13. You already passed professional level~!!
    I really wanna make like this…..

    I think you will be awarded from contest

    Reply
  14. Excellent Masterpiece!

    Reply
  15. I wish I could do something as epic like that :'(

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.