MS-09G  DOWADGE 1/144 BANDAI PLASTIC KIT Modeling by Lewismaster    Photos by Roberto Petti

	The Dowadge is a MS-09 specialized for the desert environment. It doesn't appear in the first Gundam series detailing the One Year War, but comes back in action in a few episodes of the Gundam ZZ series. This Bandai kit is directly derived from the original MS-09 Don one, and permits to build both the G and H version of the Dowadge. The kit is a mix of great details (weapons, thrusters, tanks) inserted on the rather primitive Don model. There's definitevely a lot of work to do!

	HEAD -  In this model, the head is still fixed as in the original Don and I kept it this way, even stressing it by using some putty to thicken the "collar" around it. I opened the front and rear visors and built with some plasticard sheets two more deep and angled ones. Inside the front one, I applied a windscreen done with a transparent plastic sheet and I used a small piece of a reflector to simulate the eye. Then I added a few details, like the small wings and antennae.

	BODY - The body required the most work. I had to thicken the chest about 2 mm with some thick plasticard and putty. Then I completely rebuilt the slots on the shoulders to house the tubes made with n.2 springs (d. 1,5 mm). In this model, the lower part of the body behind the skirts is missing. The joints for the legs are built on a slim tube of plastic suspended between the front and rear of the body. So I cut off the fixed skirts, I made with thick plasticard the missing part (about 5 mm thick), I drilled new holes to house the B-joints for the legs and then I tried to apply the skirts again, this time making them mobile. Unfortunately the skirts were cut off quite badly and had to be extensively rebuilt; even worse, when I tried to reapply them using springs for the movement, they didn't fit within the belt housing they were cut from. Obviously the new leg and hip system was a little larger than before, but it was also just right for the model build-up. So I chose to not change it, but instead to thicken the belt and modify the skirt system to adapt to the new condition. I think the final result is acceptable, even if it's not faithful to the original. Finally I added some tubes under the rear skirt for the five verniers, using 2,5 mm thick electric wire.

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