MSN-06S Sinanju - Work Log 13 - Forearm/Shield Modification

As I mentioned in my "Shield complaints" post I have some pretty major problems with how the shield was designed for this kit. After attempting a couple poses and having the shield fall off constantly, I decided that I wasn't going to have it anymore was going to do something about it.

The main things I wanted to achieve were 1. Increased stability and 2. A slimmed down silhoutte for the part. So I cut a lot of stuff off and sanded a lot.

One mistake I made was that I'd already painted and decaled the part but I just got so frustrated with that damn shield that I said "**** it. I've come this far so let's just do it right."

Initially, I tried liquid cement and yeah the parts stuck together but it didn't give me the stability I wanted (or maybe I was just paranoid) so I took them apart and re-did it thinking about chemistry. Basic Putty would melt the parts together creating a more solid bond and then I should shape and sand it to get it to the shape I wanted. Decided to go that route. Later on I realized that it would have been even better if I drilled holes and inserted a make-shift connection rod or two. Hindsight. I'd already commited myself and it was too late to go back, but I'll know better in the future.

The red boxes show where I removed plastic.

After cutting, sanding, puttying and sanding again.

Primed again to check for errors. There were lots.

Another angle.
After another round of sanding.

Painted.

I could have done a better sanding job because the surface is slightly uneven, texture wise but... at times like this you have to think of the time vs. looks/functionality ratio. It fell within acceptable parameters so I left it alone. It was a good call because the part isn't even really seen very well underneith the shield.

Not re-applying any decals to this part. Just leaving it as is. I don't want to **** with it any more because I basically have it how I want it. Sturdy and uniform. It's time to move on and put this horrible shield linkage design behind me.

Tamashii Nation 2009

I have returned from the Otaku Holy Land.

First I will start with Tamashi Nation 2009. What's that you say? Not sure what that is? Take a look here.

And you can also see an ad for it from an image in my previous post.

Now I initially heard about this when I was browsing this months Hobby Japan and I saw some really cool T-Shirts that use some of Katoki's GFF lineart. I wanted it immediately.

Looking in greater detail I noticed that the event was being held this weekend. Coincidentally the weekend I was planning on going to Tokyo to catch up with some old friends. So since I was in town why not stop by and check it out.

A lot of stuff was sold out by the time I got there and I didnt' get a chance to see all of the exhibits unfortunately but I did get my T Shirts!

And the Psycho Gundam - Hong Kong Night ver. looks amazing! I'd love to see more Gundams with this reflective mirror/metal look. It was quite stunning.

While I was in town I decided to pick up a couple accessories. Things are so cheap in Akihabara... I'm still surprised. I bought a small stand for 1/144 models, a clear LED and a Kotobukiya weapon set that I'm planning to use with my GNX-III... someday.

Anyways, while I was browsing I came across a showcase of the actual models used in the Hobby Japan magazines! They look AMAZING in real life. The level of detail is shocking when you see them in person. Taking pictures of the displays is prohibited so sorry, I have nothing to show you. If you ask me, the real crime is NOT letting people take pictures of these works of art. It should be shared with everyone as far as I'm concerned. Oh well.

I like Akiba. It's a bit extreme for me though sometimes but it's better to have more options than less. Easy to go through money there though. Especially for folks like us. I've been going for about 6 years now and it's changed a lot over the years but... the parts that matter are still the same.

And now... It is time for me to spend a nice romantic evening with my PG Red Astray.

Perfect Grade Red Frame - GET, and a whole lot more.

I've been busy.

I don't have a lot of time as I have to prepare for my trip to Tokyo tomorrow morning, so I'm just going to let my pictures do the talking and fill you guys in on details once I get back. Much peace and love.

MG Gouf ver. 2.0

Courtesy of SRW Hotnews.

I personally am pleased to see this as I'm a big fan of the Gouf. I can only imagine how cool some of the mods and custom schemes are going to look for this one. It's going to be a real sight after the pro's get through with it and I for one am looking forward to it. Like all the different Zaku's that Bandai released with the ver. 2.0 frame I do hope that they pursue a similar approach the Gouf and all of it's variations. Particularly the MS-07H8 Gouf Flight Type. I know it sounds strange to say that I actually want to see more re-hashed kits from Bandai... but I think I've just accepted the reality of the situation. We all know they're going to try and milk this for everything it's worth. I'm just saying this time I won't be so disappointed. Perhaps a MG Dom ver. 2.0 before the end of the year? Stranger things have happened!

Due for release in May.

VF-25 Messiah - Weathered with battle damage

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Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

I don’t blog much about Macross. Hardly ever actually but I think this is one piece that is definitely worth sharing. The weathering job on this was just supremely done.

One thing I noticed is that he changed the colours of the head to match the plane’s body so it kind of blends in more. It looks more like a regular jet than a transforming machine. I’d go one step further and say unless you knew what Macross was about it’d be hard to tell that this plane even changes shape, outside of the wings folding back.

This is in effect, “controlled chaos”. Making it look like your machine has gone through hell actually takes an extremely deft hand.

This is my favourite VF-25 model that I’ve seen so far with the one below not far behind.


The mecha design in Macross F is amazing but the story… well you can decide for yourselves.

More of both at my Flickr.

And thank you for looking at my blog. Here is some candy.


Yes. This is a promo for an adult video.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

And to celebrate I went and bought booze (with free complimentary pint glasses! Can't turn those down! Love those things.) Today I support the economy of Ireland.

Couldn't decide what pic to put up so here's both of them.

Minor Sinanju update:

Sharpened the spikes a bit using an electric drill and sand paper, then painted.

and here's some random eye candy that has nothing to do with anything.

Haha maybe I'll make this a habit. Just to spice up this blog a bit.

MS Igloo

vlcsnap-2663885
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

Well I have to say that I now understand why this month’s Hobby Japan focused so much on Zaku’s and tanks instead of the newer, cooler stuff. The 2nd DVD of MS Igloo 2 was released at the end of January, in time for the Feb. issue.

I didn’t really think that MS Igloo was that big a deal but after watching all of it last week and today... I can say concretely that it is one of my favourite Gundam series if not my favourite.

I started thinking… there’s so much diversity when it comes to Gundam. You really do have stuff that’s made for kids but you also have stuff that’s made for adults. At the core of it is some really good Sci-Fi. There seems to be something for everyone.

I’ve always preferred the more realistic Gundam series, so naturally my favourites were 0080 War in the Pocket, 08th MS Team and now this one.

Basically stuff that doesn’t have all that new type, cosmic awareness crap, give a prototype weapon of mass destruction to an overly sensitive teenager who has zero combat experience and just takes off in it whenever he feels like. Not to mention all the bright colours. On war machines. I mean… these aren’t sports cars… Do you really want to draw so much attention to yourself on the battlefield? OK whatever, Gundam is/was largely aimed at the younger generation.

Anyways MS Igloo is right up my alley. It doesn’t even concentrate on pilots! It concentrates on the Engineers. The guys who make and test these weapons. No new types and no kids. And if kids are there… they are under control and disciplined. Very good.

I enjoyed MS Igloo a lot but I enjoyed MS Igloo 2 even more. I mean the level of animation in this show… I don’t think I’ve seen it before and I’ve seen a lot of CG stuff. I mean… you can see the pores on the character’s skin! That is detail.

MS Igloo takes place during the One Year War, so anyone familiar with the storyline of the original Mobile Suit Gundam will feel at home here.

The main impression that I got from this… is that it’s a war story. There are no love interests even. Just human stories of their times on the battlefield.

And most importantly it puts the story squarely where it belongs in my opinion. On the mecha.

I now have a new respect for tanks. The E.F.G.F M61A5 Main Battle Tank, YMT-05 Hildolfr and I’m particularly stoked about the upcoming RTX-440 Ground Assault Type Guntank. From the previews it’s shaping up to be something really cool.

I wonder… maybe it’s time for me to try my modelling hand out on tanks and weathering? Someday!

If you haven’t seen MS Igloo yet and you consider yourself a fan of mecha you owe it to yourself to check it out. It’s very machine oriented. So if you’re that type of person you’ll probably love this series. I did.

Screen caps at my flickr.

VF-25 Messiah - Nakajima Megumi custom

Continuing with the theme of real life Japanese female entertainers and pink mechs...

Ranka Lee's voice actor, Megumi Nakajima recently had a contest sponsored by Hobby Japan. Apparently she designed a custom scheme for the VF-25 from Macross Frontier and the folks at Hobby Japan built it for her. The contest is a trade!

Scan courtesy of Tokyo Hunter. I read all of this a while ago in my own Hobby Japan but he's already gone through the trouble of scanning the image already, saving me the trouble. I find this way to be more efficient than scanning it myself. There's always someone on the internet that's beaten me to the punch. Most of the time at least.

Participants can win her custom designed VF-25 by sending in one of their own! Participants are to send pictures of their own VF-25's to Hobby Japan which will then be judged by Megumi and some of the Hobby Japan staff. The winner then gets to trade for this one.

What do you folks think? Does this sound like a fun contest to you? I'm not sure if I want a pink Messiah but maybe if I were a fan of Megumi's I would? And giving away a model that I spent so much time to build? Well trading... but even still... I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm not sure if I could do it. It would be a nice souvenir. Maybe if she made it herself...

And another thing... I know these women are very pretty and feminine and want to express that when asked about what they want their mechs to look like but... really... does it ALWAYS have to be ALL PINK?! Surely there are some other feminine colours.... Hell even a little bit of white tossed in there... Anyone remember Lacus Clyne's Zaku? Or even Strike Rouge for that matter.

Oh well. Here are some more pics of the young woman in question. And I do mean young. Only 19 years old!

*grumbles* I was young once! *shuffles away with cane and corn cob pipe* *sits in his rocking chair and carves a small Gundam statue out of wood*

She seems very... pleasant.

MS-06SHAKU Zaku II - Yumiko Shaku custom + Universal Century Uniform Fashion Show... for women?!

I recently found out that a Japanese idol that I've had a minor crush on for years is not only into Gundam but also had one specially made for her. She's also participated in the PS2 game Kidou Senshi Gundam Meguriai Uchuu/Encounters in Space as one the voice talents in the Japanese version.

She's actually been doing advertising for a Japanese realty company called Homemate which is how I was first exposed to her. I saw her on a commercial here years ago and thought she was really cute, but apparently she's been in the entertainment business for years and having her at the U.C. Fashion show was quite a big deal because she's so popular.

Yeah... U.C. Fashion Show. Take a look.

And because she's so well known she got to be the big boss herself(himself?), Char Aznable. Man... why isn't there more cosplay like this? Wow. I love some of those uniforms! Haha it's a sure way to win me over that's for sure lol.

Anyways, not only is she the same age as me (well I'm older than her by 3 weeks!) but she also had her own custom Zaku model made after her to promote the game apparently.

It's a bit... girly for me. lol. But hey if it brings more women into the arena then I'm all for it. "Make the models your own", that's my moto. Too bad I can't make this model mine. Oh well. It kind of gives me hope that not all women, Japanese or otherwise, look down on guys who are into Gundam or are confused by the interest (check number 23!). Ah... just something as simple as that can turn my day around. I can now dream again. Oh, did I mention that her exercise routine includes doing 300 sit-ups a day? mm...

OK enough of that. Now I will show you why I think she is cute and I would like to hear your opinions on this matter.

From her blog;

and this one is my personal favourite.

ah... *floats away*

So what's the verdict? Cute or not? Hot or not?