MG Crossbone X2 Ver. Ka Completed!
I've finally finished the Crossbone X2. The Crossbone kit (Ka, Full Cloth, X2 and X3) is a bit dated and requires more effort than many newer kits; you'll need to employ masking, reverse washing and a few other techniques to achieve the 'side of the box' look.
Instead of doing one large text blob at the top, I'm going to include notes relative to the images below. Enjoy the photos!
360 Walk Around
I love how a metallic eye can catch the light. The red also makes this kit look aggressive!
At this angle you can see the rear camera painted with silver and clear red.
Detail photos
The shot lance is a unique weapon to this kit, and as of this post, purchasing this kit is the only way you can get on of these weapons. Notice the small red sight on the handle of the shot lance.
The length of the lance is something of a hindrance, you need to position the arm higher if you want the kit to stand normally while holding it.
I painted the pommel of the lance with the same color as the kits armor to break up the design.
The shot lances gimmick is that it can extend a few cms forwards.
All of the yellow and grey segments of the beam rifle were pain staking masked onto the kit. It took two attempts to get everything neat and tidy. Unfortunately the design of the hand guard makes holding the rifle awkward and prevents the kit from holding it straight.
My goal with this kit was fairly straight forward; I wanted to achieve a stock color scheme but I wanted to incorporate more of the sky blue throughout the design to contrast with the dark armor. I added the sky blue to the front and rear skirts by masking it on the raised sections, added some small details to the thruster pods with a tooth pick, and painted the detail into the weapon hard points on the side skirts. Overall I'm very happy with the way the monochromatic armor is broken up now!
The thruster bell design on this kit is something I've never tried before. I drew the inspiration of the yellow ringed thrusters from the WRX concept that was featured at the 2013 New York Auto show.
The exterior of the thruster is star bright iron and the interior is black, yellow, or gold depending on the surface. This isn't a technique that would work on most mechs, but the Crossbone has a very stylized look that complements the detail well.
I don't know why I like having red pistons on kits, but I do like the contrast it provides to this design.
Notice the blue inside of the weapon hard point?
Action Poses
I haven't gone all out posing a kit in a while, but the plethora of weapons made posing really easy.
The Crossbone stores it's trench knives in the calves of it legs.
I know these have a proper name, but I'm going to call them crotch rockets.
A Char kick is bad, a Char kick that ends with a knife in your fore head is worse.
I consider the shot lance to be the main weapon of this kit, and it's the weapon I have it posed with on my shelf.
I eventually broke down and purchased a second Crossbone so that I could glue a hand onto the shotlance to keep it from falling out.
The beam shield that's included with this kit doesn't look as well colored as the MG Strike Freedoms, but I like the texture it has.
The beam rifle isn't easy to pose with because it sits at an angle off of the arm.
The flint lock beam rifle is also difficult to pose with because the rifle points at a angle more perpendicular to the arm than parallel to it.
The fat beam saber looks fantastic, I don't think I'd ever consider using the thinner alternatives!
Cloak on
I also have to call into question where someone can purchase a mobile suit sized cloak... I doubt the fabric stores carry them in stock.
You made it really aweaome. I like the blue instead of the faded purple.
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