As a Gunpla Noob I can say that whenever I get a kit I get pretty excited. I don’t know what’s going to be my next challenge since I haven’t faced many of the different types of decaling and I haven’t even gotten to start using line pens. With my experience of making only High Grades and Real Grades I was a bit nervous to start this Master Grade. I didn’t expect this model to take me as long as it did. In fact, I’m not finished decaling this model but realized there is a large amount of patience that needs to go into it. I took on the F91 Gundam F91 piloted by Harrison Martin in blue not knowing what I was getting into.

First and foremost Gundams are delicate! I have to point this out since many people who haven’t handled one have no idea what it’s like to almost break a piece (or actually break one).  Yet, I have never had such a delicate Gundam in my hand before!  Many of the joint’s don’t lock when I put it together. Top flaws that I noticed was that the pointer finger joints hung around very loosely in the palm piece. For such a small piece I really wish that Bandai would consider making pieces fight tighter. Unfortunately this kit also didn’t come with extra hands that could hold the weapons easily. Secondly, the details in the back don’t snap and stay. I ended up having to glue those details on in order to avoid having them pop off as I tried to model my Gundam (when in doubt if it doesn’t move you can glue). I do understand that these models are very fragile, but I never had such a frustrating model before. This kit is definitely one you have to build with a lot of patience!

If you are going to get the F91 Gundam F91, I suggest you go ahead and look up water slide decals on Google. Master Grades tend to have more realistic decals you can put on your model than stickers. This was the first time I tried using water slide decals and I can tell you it’s really easy. I heard horror stories for dry transfers but I can assure you water slide decals, though tedious, aren’t difficult. You simply cut out the decal, dunk it in water, and then use a q-tip to push it in place. I didn’t have the proper setting tools and ended up not using any but I highly recommend buying the decal setting liquids if you’re going to make this kit. I’m actually going to wait till I get some in order to finish detailing. The water slide decals do rub off if you aren’t too careful. I had mine drive for 10 minutes but while two of them stayed on perfectly the other rubbed off quickly.

I can say that the Master Grade felt less fun than the Real Grade I built. Though there is a lot more hidden moving pieces in order to snap on weapons. The guns on the back of this model actually slide down to fit the arms perfectly. On top of that, one piece of the Beam Shield actually tucks away in the side flap of the F91’s hip. The clip that the Bazooka attaches to on the back of the Gundam easily tucks away and disappears. I actually didn’t even know what it was for till the end of the project. I did have a huge problem with this model’s feet. For some reason it just wouldn’t lay flat and always seemed to have it’s heals pop up. Lastly, the helmet fits really loosely on the head, making it easy for it to just fall off when you are trying to pose the model. I also was missing a decal sticker for one of my pieces and had to paint it in.

Overall, I never had such a struggle with a Gundam Kit! I’m sure since it is my first Master Grade the next one might be better. Yet, I don’t think this is the best kit to have used to introduce myself to the Master Grade level.

Though this model is really awesome to make, due to how it was pretty frustrating with a lot of loose pieces, and a missing decal sticker. I give this model a 3.5 out of 5.  It’s worth the trouble if you really love the F91, but not worth it if you just want to try a Master Grade.