In the beginning, there was Gundam 0079. Our lord Yoshiyuki Tomino bestowed upon 0079 a cold military style and prominent anti-war theme that unexpectedly appealed more to military scale model enthusiasts than the younger Super Robot audience it was originally to be populated with. And Tomino looked, and he saw, and it was good.
But then Tomino's close disciple, Hajime Katoki, looked over at one of the mech designs in 0079 and admired its simplicity. And Katoki asked, "Oi, Tomino, can I apply my unique design touch to that there ordinary-looking space capsule thing?"
And thus Tomino replied, "My son, as much as I admire your design touch on our beloved RX-78-2...are you sure you wouldn't rather be doing something more elaborate like the Unicorn or the Full Armor?"
And Katoki replied, "Ah, balls to your anachronistic suggestions, I'm gonna give my own unique take on the BB-79 Ball and it'll be the best thing since that little thing from Force Awakens!"
And yea, Tomino muttered something under his breath about who is really resorting to the anachronisms but nonetheless let Katoki loose on the humble little spherical support unit. With Katoki laying his hands on the capsule, lo and behold - the Master Grade Ball Ver.Ka was bestowed upon the realm of plastic gundam models.
The Ball Ver.Ka's arrival was heralded with blissful national holidays across the whole of Japan that felt like they would never end. Takoyaki momentarily stopped burning the mouths of those who ate it too quickly. Earthquakes and typhoons were banned for at least four months immediately upon the arrival of the Ball Ver.Ka. Mark Kagaya took a temporary vow of sanity for a week out of respect for the newly-arrived circular deity. Even Godzilla was awestruck by the sheer beauty of the Ball Ver.Ka enough to have second thoughts regarding the smashing up of Tokyo, much to the disappointment of Blue Öyster Cult.
Even to this day, the heavenly presence of the Ball Ver.Ka continues to grow as more and more people around the world find themselves engaging in the hobby of Gunpla, And it was around this time that British purveyor of plastic iconography Gundam Mad bestoweth (without the intent of sponsorship) unto the prophet Artemy "El" Musha his very own blessed Ball Ver.Ka, housed in its iconic cardboard sarcophagus. It is here that he switcheth to a first-person narrative and recounted his sacred pilgrimage to spherical perfection.
Upon parting the box, I was puzzled by how the D runner was the only runner not concealed in the usual plastic bag. Perhaps this is a sign that some of the parts were too holy to be worth containing within the everyday packaging, lest it melt through sheer force of divine beauty.
I am pleased by the rubbery nature of the F1 runner. It is like no texture I have ever felt before in any Gundam kit, up there with the metal die-casting found within the inner frame of the God Gundam.
Body
The rubber parts were of no concern to my Citadel cutters, which was of major relief to me, given how Games Workshop sell those specific cutters no longer and the other prophets of plastic would likely shun me for not investing in some God Hand cutters.
With my mighty tweezers, I was able to insert the angled light grey rubber parts more easily into the side slots.
I forgive the supposed sin of four pairs of tiny parts required for this stage of the assembly. For the red parts slot flush into the white parts without any need for the smiting edge of my craft knife.
I do not forgive the fiddliness of these clear light parts that go on the sides of the Ball. Even understanding that there's a line on one side sticking out that's supposed to line up with a notch in the hole it goes into didn't necessitate several attempts for it to fit flush. Your preacher is displeased, for as aesthetically-pleasing as it looks.
Tomino bless this intrepid pilot figure, may his humanoid silhouette add the appropriate sense of detail and scale to this heavenly space vessel, and may it look at least halfway decent when I photograph the closed cockpit with my phone's flash turned on. Amen.
I am greatly pleased by how the darker parts of the thrusters that go over the light greys are attached to the runner in a way that causes the inevitably-light nub marks to be hidden on attachment. The touch of Katoki is not one to be underestimated.
For as much as it feeleth otherwise, thou mustn't treat yon clear cockpit screen as if it were a contact lens. 'tis too hard and plasticky and would not aid thine vision in the slightest. Peruse thy nearest Specsavers.
Attaching the base thruster raiseth the body up in a manner I deem somewhat awkward, but alas, we have yet to reach the base component on which to rest its hallowed frame. All we can do for now is encase it in those light grey swaddling bands.
Reading ahead in the scripture of assembly towards the dry transfers and waterslide decals, I appreciate that these parts are only secure enough but still somewhat easy to detach. I feel this will help out massively for the decals on the internal parts or being precise on some of the more awkward decals. After some of the looser parts involved in the transformation process of the
Zeromaru, I give my most holy approval to how much thought was put into the attachment of these armour pieces.
In the case of the orange outlines on the side armour, be warned - for there is only one way up that they fit. If the orange part dost not fit flush with the inside of the armour panel, one needs only to turn it the right way up. For as divine as the spiritual parchment of assembly may be, I must flagellate myself in reverence after my admission that it isn't all that clear on that front.
THWACK
Praise be to Katoki!
THWACK
Glory to the sublime curves of the BB-79!
THWACK
I repent in the name of Tomino!
THWACK
I'm starting to get slightly aroused no wait edit this part out
Arms
Alas, there was something I neglected to mention in my decanting of the sublime Ball's components - a thin plastic wire that I am tasked with cutting to an appropriate 5 centimetres, no more, no less, aided by a ruler inscribed on the blessed page 10 of the manual. Now art not a good time to mention that I art a bit shite at tying yonder knots, as the manual also requires.
There's also two metal rods involved in this part of the process as well. Supposedly for the pistons in the arms. Kind of like the Master Grade Barbatos, only actually metal and not the blasphemous shiny plastic metal that a kit such as this one is too mighty and powerful to be desecrated with.
The red wire was actually easier to work with than I was worried it would be - the recommended 5cm length is long enough to give some leeway to where the securing knot is placed on one end, particularly since excess length needs to be trimmed so the light grey base sits flush.
As expected, the rod is for the piston-like thing you see here. And also as expected, it isn't a working one like the ones on the MG Barbatos. But I can forgive this transgression on aesthetic appreciation.
At first I was a little annoyed that I couldn't hide the nub marks on the rubber sleeves, but looking ahead, I think it's another one of those situations where the way that they're attached hides them anyway, so that's good. But to do that, they need something to fit into, so that's the next section to build.
But first, a story.
The Parable of the Ball and the Builder
Once, there was a young naive model kit builder walking down a quiet desert road. When suddenly, he chanced upon a skeletal likeness of the Ball Ver.Ka. Unusually, this likeness was shielding itself from the scorching sun with a light green cloak of rigid paper, and adoring its solid plastic frame were multitudes of decals, enshrouded with ugly square outlines that stood out against the frame's blackness.
"Excuse me, sir!", the builder asked, "I've never seen a decal sheet of that colour before. Would you mind explaining it to me?"
"My child", the Ball replied, "It is naught but an ancient art lost to time called a 'clear sticker sheet'. For alongside my sheet of dry transfers, I shalt look that much more detailed."
"But normally when I work with clear sticker sheets, it isn't that kind of colour. Nor are they as rigid and awkward to remove from the sheet as those that I've worked with.", queried the builder.
"Ah yes", began the Ball, "I am but a humble Master Grade kit from around 2005, so the manufacturing technique is obviously not quite as refined as you are used to. Yea, I have roamed these lands for about half a decade before Bandai put out the Real Grade line."
"And if those sorts of stickers are stuck to a dark frame", the builder quizzed further, "wouldn't the outlines of the stickers stand out against such a background and look like fried arse on toast even after applying pressure to looser parts with the edge of my tweezers?"
The Ball paused for a moment, but looked unshaken. "My child, this is the sort of thing you should only really worry about if you want to get every detail possible out. 'tis no secret that clear stickers even as they are now are the worst way to handle decals besides foil stickers. But there art only a few noticeable stickers on my outer armour that I would consider essential". The Ball subtly gestured down to the yellow arrow near the viewport.
"So what you're saying", the builder excitedly replied, "is that I shouldn't fret too much over the tinier lighter details and save my concern for when I get around to the dry transfers?"
"Indeed you shall.", said the Ball, "And even if one were to only do the outer armour stickers and those on the arms, the outline blends in nicely enough that it doesn't matter anyway. But whether or not you decide to doesn't ultimately matter. After all, is it not preached from the high heavens that the hobby of Gunpla is for everyone, whether they merely want to build a kit or add more details or even overhaul the texture and colour scheme?"
And thus the Ball and the builder politely went their separate ways.
Bottom
Right, enough storytelling, time to find something to connect the arms up to the actual Ball.
The best part is that there are only two transparent stickers on the base, so it's just a case of putting those on and putting the arms on. Now we shalt move on to the most iconic aspect of this gem of a kit.
Cannon
My only regret besides the more awkward stickers on this piece is breaking the white part on the back. My usual line is that it's nothing the plastic glue can't fix, but in this case I found that the needle on my plastic glue was blocked, so I will have to unclog it with a blessed candle at some point.
Base
Ok, so now the last step before I go for the dry transfers is to give it something to stand on. This one is all located on the E runner, so this part won't take a sermon's length!
'tis rather awkward to tell how it's all supposed to fit together, but I admire the navy blue shade of this base. It stands out against the other darker colours of this kit.
And before we put it all together, it's time to experience the epiphany that is the dry transfer. I shall brandish my trusty sticky tape and craft knife and move some mountains!
That was quite fun, and I really like the results. Just as long as you don't stick any tape over existing decals while securing one in place, you should be fine. I recommend using tape to secure the transfer sheet to the parchment paper while cutting the decals out.
And now to bring its sacred form together once and for all!
The Ball Ver. Ka is a truly magnificent deity of a kit. Any complaints I have about awkward transparent stickers and loose-fitting armour grovel before the sheer might of its singular cannon. It is divine dogma to state that anyone with the slightest interest in Master Grades, Ver.Ka or otherwise, is obligated to get this kit and deliver the spherical icon of the heavens unto your shelf.
Stay safe and keep clipping, to love and serve Tomino.
In the name of Katoki, amen.
Ok, but seriously though...yes, this kit really is as good as I've been told it is, especially given that this is one of the less pricy Master Grades out there. Definitely one to add to the wishlist if you want to work with Master Grades.
The Good
+ Amazing attention to detail even if you don't paint the black pieces under the armour plates
+ Dry transfers look really nice
The Bad
- The wires are a little fiddly if you don't know what you're doing
- Some of the smaller transparent stickers look awful
Build Experience: A
Completed Kit Rating: S
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