chunky little goblinbot (MGSD Barbatos)

01 Mar 2026 A white chibi gundam model with purple accents. It stands to the left of the frame, with its back to the camera, a white katana in its hand stretching into the whitespace of the right side of the frame.

A white chibi gundam model with purple accents. It stands to the left of the frame, with its back to the camera, a white katana in its hand stretching into the whitespace of the right side of the frame.

This guy was a lot of fun. The line it's from, MGSD^[1] combines chibi proportions with a larger size and mechanical complexities (sliding panels, moving pistons, etc). I find their proportions to be pretty ideal--not nearly as "oops all feet and head" as the most extreme SD gundam nor as gangly as the normal proportions sometimes are. I find the proportions to be similar to my much-adored mobile suit ensemble gacha guys, just... significantly upscaled. This guy is just under 5 inches tall; the other kits I've built have been around 6; the MSE guys are like 2.5"

MGSD Barbatos stands, one hand lift expressively. Its head is cocked upwards and to the left, as if it was looking down its nose at you Another view of MGSD Barbatos from the back. It is holding a massive mace planted in the ground next to it. The mace is nearly as large as the mobile suit.

I actually received this kit as a gift! The subreddit for gunpla hosts an annual secret santa; it's got rather strict requirements and is extremely carefully managed to make sure everything is done well and no one gets left out, and... it turns out gundam builders really love sending giant stacks of kits to people. The sender also included a 3rd party kit that's a giant pair of claws, which included waterslides--that's where all the purple is from.

Barbatos stands, one arm lifted up to examine its hand, which is enveloped by a Massive gauntlet with huge yellow claws

Barbatos is diving toward the frame, massive claw gauntlets prepped to tear

I don't really feel as if I tried anything new building this guy, but I did feel as if what I was doing has become pretty refined: I'm managing paint viscosity, I'm stopping myself from adding new layers too soon, and worrying less and enjoying it all more. Waterslides, as ever, remain incredibly fun. I did pick up a purpose-made solvent for them partway through; I had been using nail polish remover, which... works but is very hot and liable to melt the decals too much.

Barbatos leaps towards the camera, its katana trailing behind, an open hand reaching towards the viewer

Barbatos stands on one foot, its other raised along with the massive mace in its arms: the machine is preparing to swing the mace overhand at the viewer

Ok ok I did try one new thing, but it wasn't regarding the build process: I poked at touching up the photos using my (ancient, non SAAS) copy of photoshop. I did some automatic white balancing that worked but I feel like was a little inconsistent^[2], plus I removed the stand in that last photo to try and make it look like he was standing on one foot unassisted. I think my angle coulda been better and I ended up needing to crop the toe due to some bluriness in the photo stack so it didn't end up like I saw in my head.... but I did an OK job removing the stand?

I also darkened around the very tip of the barrel of the massive rail gun thing in that photo--it ended up blending too much with the background and that did the trick. I think photo software is why I don't do much photography, tbh. It feels both too zoomed in and zoomed out to clean up a photo? IDK; I think I like trying to set up a photo more than messing with it after.

A closeup of Barbatos's head and shoulders. Its mace is planted next to it, on the left side of the frame.

Master Grade Super Deformed ↩︎
the inconsistency could be due to the photos themselves? I did keep all the settings the same across each photo, but it was a partly cloudy day so the light shifted a fair bit ↩︎