Kit Review

Straight build

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (1/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (2/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (3/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (4/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (5/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (6/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) (7/7)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) - Various views of the body. The basic look is a mix of two different colored panels.

Various views of the body.
The basic look is a mix of two different colored panels.

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) - Other parts (1/3)

Other parts

Cockpit hatch open

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) - Alongside the MG 08th MS Team Ball normal version. The molded colors have been chan

Alongside the MG 08th MS Team Ball normal version.
The molded colors have been changed across the board.

Built as the Ver. Ka Ball.

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) - The Ver. Ka's distinctive front section and weapons. (1/3)

The Ver. Ka's distinctive front section and weapons.

Alongside the normal release MG Ball Ver. Ka.

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) - As a bonus, alongside the Ball Ver. Ka with the 30th anniversary special clear part

As a bonus, alongside the Ball Ver. Ka with the 30th anniversary special clear parts applied.

Since both have the A runner added, the parts you swap out are the same.

Built as the Igloo version (shark mouth) Ball.

The Igloo version has a generally rounder overall look.

Alongside the normal release MG Ball Igloo version.

This is what it looks like if you build it using only the light-colored A runner.

This time, built using the dark-colored A runner.

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) - Since the idea is to mix and match the A runner colors in alternating combinations,

Since the idea is to mix and match the A runner colors in alternating combinations,
you end up with a full set of A runners left over as leftover parts.

Four Balls!

This kit is the Ball - Factory Image Color version, released as a Proshop exclusive. Just as the name says, it's a kit that represents the molded color of a unit fresh off the factory floor before any painting, and it includes all the parts from the three previously released MG Ball variants — Ver. Ka, 08th MS Team, and Igloo — so you can choose which version to build.

The biggest feature of this kit is that the A runner comes in two sets with two different colors to represent that factory-fresh molded color look — a light metallic and a dark metallic molded color. The factory color combination shown on the box art is a mix of both, but you're free to recombine them however you like based on your own preference.

At its core, this kit is really meant for painters rather than straight builders, since the intent behind choosing a metallic factory-fresh color for the molded color is to represent chipped paint after painting. Normally, after painting you'd use drybrushing or various other techniques to recreate the look of chipped metal on edges, but with this kit the base molded color itself is already metallic. So after spraying or airbrushing the exterior, you can use a knife, sandpaper, or other methods to scrape away the paint on the edges, and the metallic molded color underneath will naturally show through.

This simple technique for adding realism is explained in detail in the separately provided manual, and it really does seem like an easy and effective method that even beginners can try. That said, to flip it around — if you're not planning to paint it, this kit could end up feeling like a pretty half-baked purchase.

This kit doesn't come with seals or dry decals — instead, you get one large waterslide decal sheet that covers all three versions: Ver. Ka, 08th MS Team, and Igloo. Just that alone gives you the feeling that this kit isn't exactly meant for the average builder. ^^;

Anyway, Master Kawaguchi has produced quite a fun item here — it's a limited release I'd recommend to anyone who wants to try their hand at a simple spray job followed by some chipped metal effects. (Not that the master builders out there would need something this simple, right? ^^;)

MG Ball - Factory Image Color (Proshop) | 2010. 6 | ¥3,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.