#30mm gun

[nocternalrandomness]

GAU-8/A Avenger

[athena-gunpla]

HG 1/144 Earth Free Army Captured Demi Trainer (GBWC project)

Another Demi Trainer?? This weekend, a bunch of Sydney university-based anime clubs were sponsored by a local hobby shop for a collaborative build to generate submissions for the Gunpla World Builder's Cup.

With the event only lasting 4 hours, I needed a kit I was already familiar with to customize and kitbash, and so I went with another HG Demi Trainer. The HG Demi Barding I built a few months ago came with a lot of extra sprue parts for both Chuchu's custom Demi Trainer as well as the base model. I've previously build both of these kits, and given that all three have the same basic structure I felt very confident I could spend extra time on customisation and painting instead.

I used the shoulder shield, kneepads, blade antenna, and base Demi Trainer head spares from the Demi Garrison in the deep blue/grey, and clipped these onto the base kit. I also used the Bandai HD Sight Lens Green and the 30MM/MS Customize Material - Pipe Parts to add some extra detail. I was able to use an extra large gun that was also included in the Demi Garrison kit.

This was my first time weathering a gunpla kit using rust-effects. I was lucky to get Tamiya Weathering effects kit D, which includes a metallic blue for heat blueing as well as a really good brown for oil and rust stains. I also sponged on some rust orange and brown to give the kit a nice used look. I also added some graffiti and other custom markings to make the suit look more unique.

My made-up backstory for this kit is that it's a Demi Trainer captured by freedom fighters on Earth to fight against the corporations. I chose a vibrant bright blue to contrast with the deep blue from the Demi Garrison parts, which makes the kit somewhat resemble Nika Nanaura's hair.

Overall I had a lot of fun customising this kit, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs in the Australian section of the GWBC.

[deutschland-im-krieg]

Business end of a Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6. Note twin MG 131 13mm (.51 calibre) machine guns and either Mk 103 or Mk 108 30mm cannon. For more, see my Facebook group - Eagles Of The Reich

[enriquemzn262]

Leopard 2 A-RC 3.0 main battle tank, also unofficially known as the Leopard 3, a massive upgrade to the Leo 2 tank that swaps the turret with a new, unmanned one, reducing the crew from 4 to 3, which allows the tank to fire with both lower and higher angles, has the capacity to swap the gun for a larger 130mm or 140mm one, has an integrated active protection system, and an autonomous 30mm gun designed to deal with drone threats.

[captain-price-unofficially]

B-17 from the 398th Bomb Group damaged by the 30mm guns on a Me 262

[toaster-boi]

being knowledgeable about firearms/vehicle weapons and how they work has been an unexpectedly useful skill in terms of thinking up dope weapon designs for mecha because i can take mechanisms that work in real life, but haven't been combined because of things like ergonomics, recoil management and the strength of one person limiting how much ammo you can carry, and then slam them together into something mechanically plausible.

ADEN-style revolver autocannons mounted to a mech's forearm as an auxiliary weapon system shredding targets with 30mm fire.

hipfire automatic shotgun with a 75-round belt-feeding drum mag that loads like a Thompson/RPD hybrid, with a 45° canted foregrip and LMG-level fire rate (think 500rpm minimum) churning out a continuous stream of several depleted-uranium darts per shotshell.

120mm smoothbore anti-materiel rifle with a stock that splits to center the weapon between both shoulders, like the 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns on WWII-era warships, paired with recoil shovels that drop down either from the mech's back or its legs so that the firing stance is basically leaning back with both arms forwards while retaining the ability to fire from a more conventional stance.

taking inspiration from ammunition feed systems alone gives you so many stylistic and mechanical options that just aren't available for anything smaller-scale than an armored vehicle. chain-drive automatic cycling, Gatling-style rotating breech/barrel assemblies, mechanical autoloaders for high-caliber single-shot cannons, ammo chutes instead of continuous belt-feed, i could go on for hours. it only gets more customizable if you adapt vehicular ammo systems to gigantic mechanical hands and electronically-actuated moving parts on the guns themselves, or hand-based reloading systems to more complex hardware.

if you can't tell i really like guns that are really fucking big but not quite ship-scale.

[oshlet]

More Zeon desert mobile suits, starting with an MS-09F Dwadge, a late war model of the Dom with a number of small incremental improvements to improve its general combat ability: Dust filters on the thrust units, larger fuel tanks, antennae to aid in communication and four 30mm head vulcans for close quarters combat and point defence.

This Dwadge is running light, with just a 90mm machine gun, heat sabre and a pair of Sturm Faust disposable rocket launchers, focusing on the impressive speed of the machine to close the distance to melee, while eliminating priority targets with its rockets.

[l-crimson-l]

I'd love to get into girlpla, I'm just a bit too broke to afford any kits; however, if you'd like to talk about it as a whole, I'd be more than happy to hear.

So…let me try this again. I had a whole nice post written up and I swapped off for a moment to check something and I completely lost the post.

Mecha Musume has a pretty long history that I’m not going to go into but here’s a little video if you’re interested.

Now when most people think of Mecha Musume there’s basically one standout line above them all: Frame Arms Girl.

This line is a bit old now but its popularity has set the aesthetic style for the market as it stands now. The build of these are…ok. Kotobukiya was definitely learning with these kits but they’re still solid at the end of it.

Now if you’re like me you’re not too much a fan of the pantsu out look, and other kits in the line don’t exactly do anything to mitigate that feeling (looking at you Durga I).

The next line Koto would release would be better at this tho. The Megami Device line features all original designs as well as collabs from new and old mecha musume brands alike.

First thing off the bat this is that they’re pricey. At an average cost of $70 you’re basically buying a Bandai MG gunpla. That said, they all typically come with a bunch of option parts. These are usually in the form of unarmored limbs, different chest pieces, face plates (with water slides to make your own) and extra connectors to help with kitbashing. Koto also has released option body segments to let you swap any part of the body you might want to if the right option isn’t available in the box (~$12). It should be noted the newest kits in this line have brought the price down to $50 as well as reengineered the build to add a lot more articulation and pose-ability.

Also in this lines favor is the articulation and build quality. You’re going to get a nice range of motion with or without armor and some of the smaller details also sometimes come pre painted.

That said Kotobukiya is a company that favors more complex character design over an Out Of Box experience so there’s some smaller details that are etched into the kit but unless your paints them won’t be color correct. I would say this is pretty common across most Koto lines.

Both the FAgirls and Megami Device are scaled at 1/12 so Little Armory guns and the whole market of 3rd party accessories will work with these kits.

Next up is Koto’s Sousai Shoujo Teien which is simple girls as plastic models

A little cheaper and at 1/10 scale instead of 1/12. I’ve not built any but I do know they can bash with Megami Device and Hexa Gear lines just fine. If you take a peek at the JP girpla community there’s actually a niche but healthy group dedicated to taking nice photos of their kits dressed up in everyday scenarios.

Finally the newest line of Koto girl kits is the Arcanadea line.

Purely in a fantasy take these are Incredible kits. I’ve only built one (Lumitea) but it was far and away a much better build experience than the FAgirl kits. These are actually designed by a vtuber artist iirc which is why the designs are so different than other Koto kit lines. If you have the cash and want to try something different I would highly recommend.

Now finally we get to Bandai. After learning from their failures with the Hg Build Fighters girls they went back and designed something solid and what got me into mecha musume: 30 Minute Sisters

Right off the bat with an average price of around $30 the barrier to entry is much easier. While not as refined as the Megami Device line, these simple kits cram in a lot for the price. You’ll get an armored and unarmored form, as well as face plates. However the biggest selling point is How Damn Easy they are to bash. Being apart of the 30M line means they’re completely compatible with the 30MM line of mechs. Which also means all of those extra weapon and armor sets transfer over for the most part. And that’s not even talking about the dedicated 30MS option sets like hair parts, body parts, etc.

This is a Very beginner friendly line of kits and the place I would suggest most people starting if they’re looking to get into mecha musume.

This example I think uses about 5 different kits to build and I don’t believe any serious modifications were needed.

Another Bandai line to mention is the Standard Figurise line which you’ll be familiar with if you’ve picked up the Sulletta, Miorine or ChuChu kits. Typically pretty solid kits (uma musume excluded, only get the 30ms version of that one) they usually include characters from a variety of different shows. These are still of course bash-able but not without modification.

With the explosion of popularity with these kits means we have even more companies now joining in the race. ATK and MS General have a bunch of kits to offer and we see new companies pop up some really sick looking kits (see tgat Galahad)

We even have Plamax giving us the really cool looking GODZ ORDER kits and soon character kits from Blue Archive, Konosuba and others.

For these smaller/third party companies I would suggest doing plenty of research before buying one. The ATK kit that I made was Especially frustrating and required a lot of extra work to make parts fit right or to clean them up so they fit at all. Not to mention the extra detail work required to really make them look like the box example. Just do your homework.

I hope this helps!! It’s a growing market so there’s always more kits being announced. This should have covered the majority of kits out there but IMPORTANT! Check sites like AmiAmi for sales or resales on kits. You can sometimes find an unbuilt kit that retails at $70 going for $30.

USAGS will regularly get Koto kits in and new releases but by no means believe them when they say a kit is USAGS exclusive. Remember to check HLJ as well. Let me know if you have any other questions and I’ll do my best to answer them!!

[yyh4ever]

Yu Yu Hakusho x Oshi to Ame Special Collaboration at FavoteriA

The lollipop saga continues. Now, it's cute chibi chara!

This is the second collaboration of the candy brand "Oshi To Ame" (Ouchi de) and Yu Yu Hakusho. This time, it's a Yu Yu Hakusho Café that will take place at FavoteriA, in Ikebukuro. Drinks, Candies and Goods will be available. Some merch from the 1st collab are going to be sold at the cafeteria, and some merch from this event will also be sold on "Ouchi de" at a later date.

I'm impressed by the number of characters from this collab. Practically, the most important characters from all the seasons are here, even some members of the Reikai SDF. Eikichi on the top of Kuwabara's head is too cute.

🔶Official Site (menu): Favoteria

🔶Period: June 30 to July 12, 2023 (it's a short period)

🔶Venue: FavoteriA Ikebukuro

🔶Drinks & Novelty:

🔳DRINK MENU

Price: 750 yen

Yusuke Urameshi

Take this!!! Spirit Gun Drink!!!!!

Blue curacao; Sprite; Vanilla Ice-cream; Crackling candy

Kazuma Kuwabara

Come on, Spirit Sword!! Drink (Sour!)

Lemonade; Lemon; Chervil

Kurama Drink

Rose Whip Drink

Milk; Strawberry Yogurt; Whipped Cream; Dried Raspberries; Rosemary

Hiei

Jaou Ensatsu Black Sesame Milk (Sesame Milk of the Darkness Flame)

Black sesame sauce; Black sesame milk; Whipped cream; Black cocoa powder

Youko Kurama Drink

Bad-tempered Demon World Ojigi Plant Drink

Matcha milk; Whipped cream; Cocoa powder; Matcha powder; Rosemary

For each drink ordered, one of the following novelties will be given at random:

🔳NOVELTY

You can choose from two types of novelties. Distribution will be random.

Bromide

5 types (random)

Size: 89mm×127mm

Mini Character Coasters

16 types (random)

Size: 90mm x 90mm

🔶Candy & Goods

🔳CANDY MENU

Popsicle Cider Flavor (with purchase bonus)

5 types

Price: 990 yen each

Bonus: one random bromide (89×127mm) for each candy purchased.

🔳GOODS MENU

The first three goods are the same from the first Ouchi De x Yu Yu Hakusho Collab.

Acrylic Stand (5 types): 1,650 yen each

Acrylic Keychain (5 types): 880 yen each (random)/Complete set available;

Metal Can Badge (9 types): 495 yen each (random)/Complete set available;

The others goods are from the new chibi chara art:

Mini Character Acrylic Stand Keychain

8 types (random); Complete Set available

Price: 880 yen each

Size:

Body: about 75mm x 103mm

Base: about 50mm x 30mm

Mini Character Acrylic Stand

8 types (random); Complete Set available

Price: 990 yen each

Size: about 75mm x 103mm; Pedestal: about 50mmx30mm

Mini Character Can Badge [A]

8 types (random); Complete Set available

Price: 440 yen each

Size: (approx.) 56mmΦ

Mini Character Can Badge [B]

8 types (random); Complete Set available

Price: 440 yen each

Size: (approx.) 56mmΦ

That's it, thanks for this amazing art ^^

[tanksandbeyond]

A TKB-799 Kliver turret.

The 'Kliver' (Cleaver) turret was a Russian turret created in the mid-1990s for the export market. At the time, the Russian economy was struggling after the Fall of the Soviet Union. As such, the Russian Ground Forces were not able to update their equipment, leaving Russian design bureaus with few customers domestically. In order to keep their bureaus busy, many companies turned to the export market, offering modern upgrades for countries operating Soviet / Russian vehicles. Among these design bureaus was the KBP Instrument Design Bureau, who had created some of the most iconic military equipment of the USSR, including the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun, 9M113 anti-tank missile, and the GSh-23 used on numerous aircraft.

During this period, work began at KBP to create a turret featuring one of their new anti-tank guided missile designs, the 9M133 'Kornet'. It was completed and showcased publicly in 1996. The idea behind the Kliver was to offer an upgrade for existing chassis. For example, instead of a 14.5mm machine gun on a BTR-80, the Kliver could replace it with a 30mm 2A72 autocannon, 7.62mm PKT machine gun, and four 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missiles. The turret also featured thermal imaging and stabilization for the gunner, two key aspects of acquiring and staying on targets. KBP did just this, with the first vehicle fitted with the turret being a BTR-80 in 1996.

The BTR-80 fitted with the Kliver turret.

While the turret could be fitted to a number of vehicles due to its light weight of 1,500 kg and adjustable ring diameter, the Kliver was designed with the intent to mount it on the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle in mind. This could be done with no modifications to the hull, simply replacing the turret was enough. A BMP-1 with Kliver turret prototypes was showcased at the International Defence Exhibition, IDEX, in 1997 and 1999, with KBP's engineers rather boldly claiming the turret to be superior to existing Russian, American, and German designs, notably the M2/M3 Bradley and Marder 1. This wasn't terribly far off from the truth, since the 9M133 Kornet and 30mm 2A72 were very modern and capable weapons.

A BMP-1 fitted with the Kliver turret at IDEX 97 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

With all this being said, one might assume the turret was successful and would see use by other countries. Unfortunately for KBP, the Kliver turret, for all its features, did not see any orders. It also didn't fix issues with the hulls it was being mounted to. The BMP-1, for example, is notorious for being cramped and poorly armored. The Russian military never gave it a chance either due to the aforementioned economic issues.

[todoroki-shouts]

Made marcille’s staff for cosplay, still need to add the planty guy on top

Progress of how it’s made below the cut, part 1

Overall took me i think 5 hours more or less.

Materials:

30mm eva foam dowel rod (1 and a scrap bit)

Pipe cleaners

Thin wire and wire cutters

Hot glue and glue gun

Brown crepe paper (roll not ribbon)

Card stock (i cut up some junk mail)

Construction paper

Craft foam

Duct tape

Mop/broom handle

Scissors

Regular glue

Tiny bit of electrical tape

Had a 30mm eva dowel rod with a channel cut down the length from when i tried to use it for frieren’s staff. Hot glued some pipe cleaners inside the channel to get it to hold a curve, and then wrapped it in some floral wire also for holding the curve (tho idk if it does much)

Got some brown crepe paper and cut strips about idk 4-5 inch wide to wrap around the foam thing, leaving a bit off at the ends

Got a scrap bit of foam dowel, like 1.5-2inch, and used it to connect the ends of the loop together (stuck a wire through it to kinda sorta hold it there, but didnt work well so used duct take instead. Filled in the space with scrap craft foam)

[weirdunclegamer]

Somehow managing to keep the momentum going!

Time for another one of my 30MM bots, and also this time I uploaded the pictures infinitely better! It only took... gog knows how many years before I started doing this better.

Anyway we finally have a TRANSFORMING bot in the crew! It took me a long damn time to get this one going though. I had a pretty similar idea early on but newer parts being released once again helped bring a design to "conclusion". Particularly happy with the big gun and how it came together.

While I'm totally fine with partsforming (I even prefer it in most cases), this bot only has to plug the gun into the crotch plate using a separate connector, otherwise, it all changes without unattaching anything! Which is pretty neato.

[athena-gunpla]

30MM 1/144 EXM-H15C Acerby (Type-C)

Another 30 Minute Missions kit! This is one of those kits that blurs the line better 30MM and 30MS, the latter of which I've built quite a few of by now.

There are currently three Acerby variants, a pink one, blue one, and this white one, each with its own unique hair gimmick. I went for this white one as it complements the beam effect details the best.

The kit is pretty simple, taking about 2 hours to put together, and like the rest of the 30 minute line, has runners that snap apart into the individual limb, head, and torso components.

The kit comes with a knife with a beam effect piece, a laser rifle, and 5 hand options including two weapon holding fists, two open hands, and an angled fist, although the hand ball joint allows enough wrist articulation to make this addition unnecessary.

Unfortunately, like many 30MM/MS kits, it lacks hand backing for all of them, only coming with two pieces that need to be swapped between the hands for display.

A neat gimmick is that the knife clips onto the gun like a bayonet.

Overall it's a really nice looking kit that feels great to pose, and I really enjoyed putting it together.

[i-identify-tanks-in-posts]

Tank Man, what say we to the Ukrainian Strazh fire support vehicle? Two 30mm autcannons, 4 ATGMs, 2 7.62mm machine guns, and a 30mm grenade launcher.

Also just, thoughts on the "fire support"/"tank support" vehicle in general?

It's an interesting idea, and I think it has the capability to serve excellently in an IFV-esque role, similar to the Bradley or Puma. It's got autocannons and GLs for anti-material, ATGMs for limited anti-tank, and machine guns and those GLs for infantry work.

All in all, an excellent fire support/IFV type vehicle.

All in all, I'm a big fan of smaller IFVs like the Strazh, in a lot of ways they're filling the same niche that light tanks did in the early 20th century, and if the Ukrainian conflict has taught us anything about the history of conflict, it's that history must be a damn good rapper, cause that bitch can rhyme.

[epicocat]

I realized i haven’t been giving any GunplUpdates to the, like, 3 people that care, so I’ll just do a quick review of the nine kits I’ve built since the Zeong

Real Grade Sazabi

Probably one of the best RG kits I’ve built so far, at least in recent memory. It’s big, it’s articulate, it’s detailed, I love it!

High Grade Gundam NT-1, AKA Gundam Alex

This one was certainly an older kit. It builds the same as any other HG RX clone, and absolutely needs panel lining with all the molded details (good thing I picked up a pen recently). However, despite all its limitations, the HG Gundam Alex turned out better than I expected, and poses quite nicely!

I’m not at all biased because we have the same name :P

High Grade Mobile Doll May (Gundam Base Color)

This is probably my first official step into the Mecha Masume genre of model kits, but not my first girlpla (I’ve built the Figure Rise Sulleta Mercury the Artery Gear Fusion Guard Spider Feidy kit [highly recommend] before either of them). I doubt I‘ll end up buying anything more scandalous than this, I really don’t care for the half naked robot girls of Frame Arm Girls or Megami Device.

That all being said, this was a really fun kit! It was my first run with waterslide decals, and I think they turned out… mostly ok. The articulation is really good, the sculpting is well detailed (especially in the areas meant for other fans) and I just like kits that come with stands.

I will say, i do not and will not understand the appeal of battle stilettos (it’s hard to see in the pic but her feet are basically pointed straight down in the heels she’s wearing)

Sakura’s Edge

Another of my few non Bandai kits, Sakura comes from the Armored Puppet line of kits from Number 57. It’s another 1/24th scale kit, which means she is very very smol. Her most stand out feature is her third giant buster-arm, capable of wielding a sword twice her height. The bright pink, gold, and white go really well together, and she just looks really nice! Unfortunately her armor is more of an afterthought from the creators, as some parts need to be filed and trimmed excessively to get them to fit (I was in a VC with a friend, he can testify I was almost brought down by the shoes), and other parts just sit loose, ready to pop right off after the slightest tap, touch, or pinch.

30 Minute Missions Spinatia (Commando Type)

This kit was my intro to 30MM and I wish I bought more of them sooner! It was a cheap impulse purchase from a “local” hobby store I was checking out and it was a really enjoyable experience! It was simple and relatively fast (I failed the mission, it took me an hour), but using all the extra parts and mixing and matching equipment was so fun to play around with and experiment with what looks cool, something I hope to see more of as I build more Hexa Gear kits. In the meantime though, I have a 30 Minute Custom to plan >:3c

Transparent SD Gundam and Char’s Zaku II

I dont own many SD kits, and I think these are some more I’ll snag more of as I shop around. They’re simple and cute! They’re both Cross Silhouettes, but only the Zaku came with the CS frame, so the Gundam is just really squat and even more chibi in comparison. Overall not much to write home about, but still fun!

High Grade Gundam Maxter

The only red white and blue I’ll ever stand for

That being said, this was a really great kit! It’s a shame it’s P-Bandai limited, along with Gundam Rose. It absolutely needs panel lining for its literal abs of steel and face, but it still looks quite nice. It’s very articulate and it was hard to pick just one photo that truly sums up the insanity of Gundam Maxter, perfectly captured in gunpla form. It comes with everything seen in the picture, along with its flying surfboard shield, guns, and an effect part for its bursting machinegun punch. It is such a great kit, and comes with enough ham to justify its $30 price tag, despite the fact that Maxter is in fact very small.

High Grade Messer F-01

I love The messer’s design. It feels like a true successor to the Zaku series of suits. I know canonically it’s built off of the Sazabi, but it’s design is 100% Zaku. It’s got that respirator like mouthpiece, and the spiky asymmetric shoulder armor. Is just so cool! And did I mention this things size yet? It, like it’s predecessor are big boys, snd both stand almost as tall as many master grade gunpla in my collection. Overall an amazing kit!