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Weekly Update – 04.18

Posted by | HGUC, Kit Bashing, Painting | No Comments

So I found this awesome Byarlant Custom randomly and for some reason I wrote it off as “that’s how the kit looks.” When I bought the kit, I looked through the manual and was shocked to find it was a lot less exciting than that picture I found on Tumblr so long ago. Needless to say, I’ve decided to do similar modifications, but with a different color scheme.

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I saw this scheme used on a HEAVILY modified GM that looks like Jehuty from Zone of the Enders and Stargazer Gundam had a baby. It was mostly white and light blue with accents of gunmetal and gold. Absolutely awesome mixing that wasn’t too busy. I was going to save this color scheme for the Nu Ver Ka or PG GP-01, but I feel like this kit would benefit from something a little “celestial.” That poor Nu Gundam, never going to get finished.

So the first step was to git the parts trimmed so that I could put the arms on the connectors that held “fins” originally. I cut out the bars with the indent from the fins and fit them into the coupling that usually holds a polycap. I used an Xacto “saw” to cut them out. There is some space which will be filled with puppy to keep the bar steady, but for now its fine. This is the most bashing I’ve done and I plan to take it a bit farther the more I get into this.

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I found out the original modeler used a Gaplant for the arms / feet / etc, so I ordered one off Amazon so that I can keep pushing for the same look and feel. I’ll keep posting my progress as I go along. This and the Age-1 Gundam are pretty much fluff while I plan out my Banshee and Nu Ver Ka, so please enjoy!

I am behind on write ups and I will be spending some time catching up either tonight or this weekend. If you want to check out the my Flickr gallery for the Sinanju Stein or see any pictures of my quick and dirty murdered out Age-1 Gundam, feel free.

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Weekly Update – 04.01

Posted by | Kit Bashing, MG, Painting, PG | No Comments

I am posting this almost on April 2nd, so no, this isn’t April fools bullshit. Also note, I am tired but I am also pretty excited about this current project so here we go.

Current ProjectSinanju Stein Ver Ka [MG]

I ended up deciding to use the Stein as my Titans suit. As much as I wanted to do the Ver Ka Nu, I decided to save that for another time. I also want to think about the scheme more in order for it to compliment my Sazabi a bit.

Holy crap this kit is coming together a lot faster than the Sazabi. I understand that it is half the size and pieces but its encouraging either way. I also am going into some smaller hand painted details that I usually avoid due to my giant useless meathooks, but using enough clear coat is making is a bit easier. Lots of Qtips. I need to buy stock in Qtips.

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Despite my usually meticulous nature with these kits, I lost the faceplate. Luckily, I had a horribly constructed Sinanju from my pre painting days, so I borrowed the face ( and fin ). I was a bit worried that the black and together would be too similar, but if the blue gets too dark I will use a lighter shade and highlight them a bit. I’ve never done that kind of thing before, but why not try on this one?

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Future ProjectBanshee [MG]

I was painting these two kits simultaneously, but when I lost the Stein’s faceplate, I decided to cut that right the fuck out. I also need to revisit my clear color painting techniques a bit before I get into the Banshee a bit. I was painting the Sazabi’s blades using the chrome with clear green overlaying them, but I need to remember to slow down and take my time and layer that paint with thinner coats. If the PG 00 taught me anything it was patience.

I also need to find all of the pieces and finish that fucking monster, too.

Damn, I have a lot of stuff going on at once.

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Photo Shoot Test

Posted by | MG, Painting | No Comments

So I finally get my photo setup situated and started shooting tonight. I went out with my buddy Dan, a fantastic photographer and fellow designer, to buy the pieces of my photography setup.

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I still have some work to do on the lighting, but it’s coming together nicely! I used a rig of metal pipes from Home Depot with a roll of white paper in the meantime. I prefer to use a black backdrop for a while suit like Sazabi, but when you start shopping for photo gear at 6 pm on a Friday night, beggars can’t be choosers! I am going to try and head out this weekend to get some proper lights and some seamless. I’m not a big fan of the texture the paper is giving me.

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Before setting up the photo rig, I primed the Sinanju Stein! I decided to use the Titans color scheme on the Stein instead of the Nu Gundam. I talked it over with a couple other custom paints and my fellow gunpla nuts over on Reddit, and decided that the Stein would look pretty awesome with the treatment.

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The project after the Stein will be the Banshee MG kit. I have a couple techniques I want to try out before I dive into the model itself, but I have a unpainted Ver Ka Unicorn I will be testing a few of those techniques on. I’ll post later this week once I get further into both of the before mentioned kits.

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Weekly Update – 03.03

Posted by | MG, Painting | No Comments

Oh MAN! What a weekend! So much got done while at the same time not very much got done. Details below!

Current ProjectSazabi Ver Ka [MG]

I started priming some of the plates for the Sazabi. I focused on the torso and the head as a starting place. I REALLY wanted to get the head done because of how iconic it is in order to urge me forward. The white paint was very tricky. I might need to sand down some spots and do some touchup because of some debris and other issues. I’ll post some photos later tonight when I have a chance to put the pieces together.

I’ve been updating the flickr gallery and the project page as I go, so stay tuned!

Future ProjectRX-0 Banshee [MG]

This weekend I was joined in the shop by my girlfriend. She’s been itching to get a chance to paint some Gundams for a while, so we ignored all of our other projects and knuckled down. I didn’t get as much done on the Sazabi as I wanted, but her enthusiasm and excitement for her first kit was so heartwarming that I didn’t want to stop her. This included a trip to our local Hobbytown USA to pick out paint and meet my local Gunpla guru. She painted the spoons to test out all of her new colors and got to work super quickly while I broke out another kit to work on since Sinanju Stein was prepped already. Luckily, it was a HGUC kit, so there weren’t a lot of pieces to paint.

Unlike Sazabi. Which. Has. So. Many. Pieces.

While she was keeping the paint station occupied, I started up my 3rd kit on deck, the MG Banshee. I’ve built the Ver Ka Unicorn already, so a lot of this was quite familiar, but the extra armatures and flair on this particular model make it pretty badass.

I’m taking a page from the lady’s book and going with a bold primary color with full gloss and then doing a nice chrome endoskeleton with matte black accents. I’m torn between a bright yellow or green, but I’m also considering a light blue, as well. I haven’t used many colors (other than gold) lately, so I feel like it’s time to try my luck.

More pictures as they come together.

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Spray Booth Remodel

Posted by | MG, Painting | No Comments

Last night was reserved for gold touchup paint and it sure as heck was fun.

I noticed that the yellow light of the flood light from the outside of my basement was making it difficult to see the areas not covered by the gold paint. I went in and did a bunch of detail work and fixing parts that may have been damaged when a couple pieces fell off their sticks overnight. After letting them try, I put a couple of them together to give myself a better idea of how it was all fitting together. I’m pretty excited.

One thing I noticed through all of this is that a lot of the lights that were built into the spray booth were yellow and made it difficult to see the spots where the gold wasn’t covering. I also hadn’t unified the power source and was using dangerous wiring. So, I added some IKEA LED lights which allowed to change the colors (HA) and then bolted a power surge to the side of the shelf. Once I got the booth outside, it gave off so much light that I didn’t need to use the floods at all. It was a Christmas Miracle. In February.

So this weekend is going to be PACKED with stuff going on, so I am going to try and get as much done tonight as possible. I made a promise to myself to get my office finished this weekend before I start to setup a photo studio space. (Read: my girlfriend told me to get one project done before moving onto another. She’s a good influence.) So, because this is more for me than for you, listed below is the agenda. It’s lofty and ambitious, but eating is overrated.

  • Building Office Credenza
  • Moving Shelves out of closet to basement (More storage, awww yessss)
  • Clear Coat Endoskeleton – Gold Pieces
  • Prime Armor Plates
  • Hand paint details on Endo? Maybe? Depends on the drying time of the clear coat

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Have a great weekend, folks!

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Weekly Update – 02.24

Posted by | MG, Painting | No Comments

Paint prep and drying and rain. Even though I didn’t do a lot last week, here’s your update!

Current ProjectSazabi MG Ver Ka

Primer. Primer. Primer. I should probably get the endoskeleton painted, but getting motivated to situate my airbrush is … daunting. My painting setup isn’t set in stone and I have a giant desk that needs sanding taking up most of the room in my shop, currently. Excuses, yes, but it’s making things go less smoothly than desired.

After the gym tonight, though, I should have enough time.

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Future ProjectSinanju Stein MG Ver Ka

Funny story, I was waiting for my basement to air out from priming the Sazabi endoskeleton and I decided to finish up the prepaint prep for my Sinanju Stein. AND IT LOOKS FANTASTIC. After tossing around ideas for color schemes, because the gold was ridiculous, I decided I am going to explore a Titans themed concept. I saw a Wing suit with the similar scheme and it looked badass. Even though I hate Wing!

Anyway, more coming.

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Weekly Update – 02.14

Posted by | MG, Painting | No Comments

We had the pleasure of an ice storm and a snow storm this week, which means ALL THE GUNPLA! I got quite a bit of building done and even a war wound.

Current ProjectSazabi MG Ver Ka

So I finished the endoskeleton for the Sazabi and I realized I would have to take a lot of it apart again for painting due to how intricate the entire thing is. There are shifting plates and hydraulics all over this massive beast. It also stands taller than any Master Grade I’ve build to date. I didn’t have a gun built yet, so I used my exact for scale, and it barely was tall enough for the kit to grab onto. Damn thing looks like a cane. With a blade at the end. So a halberd? Either way.

When I started putting together the funnel pods, I realized I would be be using maybe 2-3 different colors on this part alone. This is the first kit in a while where I didn’t mock up the colors because I expected it to be an easy scheme. Holy shit was I wrong. The general plan was glossy white for the plates and gold for the endo ( Shhhh, I like goooold ) but now I might need to do some black or chrome or something. I’m going to have to sort out all of these parts once everything is snipped and sanded.

All in all, though, I am pretty flippin’ excited. I also need to stop cutting off my fingers while trimming the nubs off of the armor plates. Wasn’t much of a cut but good gods damn did it bleed all over the place.

Future ProjectTBD

A buddy of mine asked me to custom paint a kit for him so I’m sending him a list of all the kits I have in the workshop, currently. I haven’t done an inventory for a long time so stay tuned.

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Weekly Update – 02.07

Posted by | MG, Painting, PG | No Comments

Work and the house setup has been pretty grueling, but I’ve had some time to play around with some kits.

Current ProjectSazabi MG Ver Ka

The last couple nights I’ve been pre-assembling and sanding the torso, head, arms, plates. The more I build, the more I am in love with this kit. Sazabi itself isn’t that exciting a prospect to me as the kit itself. All of the shifting plates and care put into it is mind blowing. It’s hard to not just slap the plates on to see it finished, but I know that my methods of deconstruction are … destructive.

More to come on this kit as the weekend progresses. I need to paint my office desk and then I can get my paint setup assembled and situated. It doesn’t help that I have one of those metal desks from the 50s that weighs a metric shit ton.

Future Project00 Raiser PG

I found more pieces! Hurray! I might be able to keep working on this kit now.