Heavyarms - 1

Going back a bit to a different time... I had saved this as a draft and never published it. This may also be happening more often as I try to "get my house in order" so to speak. This is from some time ago... I can't remember when. Anyway it goes into the archives for what I'm doing with this project. I'll explain as I go and probably provide a bit of details into my modeling technique.

I somehow lost both face plates for my 1/100 Heavyarms.  The clown one disappeared years ago and the regular one just fell off in transit sometime and was never seen again.  I tried using a replacement 1/100 F91 face but it didn't quite fit right.  Close.  I decided I'd try some customizing myself.  The type of putty that I use is the one shown above.  Mix the two types when you're ready, mold it into place, wait until it hardens and then do what you want from there.   Here I'm thinking of designing another face plate.

This is after I've applied the putty to the helmet.  I decided to do away with the V-Fin too.  No re-sculpting this time.  Just going for a straight helmet.  I also had problems with the backpack, as in I didn't want the Gatling guns to be facing upwards in their mounted positions.  I preferred the look of them pointing downwards.  Like a cloak or something.  A cloak of giant guns.

There is no way have it that way with the way the pieces are in any configuration so I have to change that configuration by turning the mounts upside down and then re-connect them back to the joints.

While I was at it I decided to re-do the back pack.  I'd tried to fix it years ago in my beginning days with  a different type of modelling glue.  It was messy.

Now on to the arms.  The problem I had with these arms is the fact that they twisted on the elbows.  The elbows are REALLY important on a mech like this since they are being called upon to hold up those huge gats.  The elbows are the only place in the arm that can twist and that just makes the whole situation there terrible when you include the cheap abs plastic that's used in the area.  Just a bad idea all around.

So I decided to make another point of rotation on the arms and strengthen the elbows up.  I really need them to be tight.  I'll customize this part later but for now I'm sure this is what needs to be done.  Probably use some pla plate and piping like I did in the legs of this suit.

I did some seam work on the arms years ago so it's just a question of sanding and painting now.  I really wanted to do something about the hip missiles to make them pop a bit more but I found out that the things are molded incompletely.  There is a slight straight edge on the inside edge.  They are not completely round and don't extend all the way in.  I expected them to be completely round with a bit of free space at the end in the case of full extension.  It was the opposite.  They made a shortcut here and I'm not impressed.  Just do it right!

I had some problems with the joints years ago and tried to stiffen them up with glue.  It may have worked in the beginning but that effect didn't last and just left a mess.

So I decided to crack it open, clean it up and do it right with the tools and skills that I have today.

After I removed the putty you can see the slot that fits into the helmet.  Now it's just a matter of shaping it.

Just a shot of the missile racks on the legs.  Took them apart, re-organized  them (because I think I did them wrong when first built it) and glued.  Ready to be sanded and painted.

Enjoying some Fireball while I work.

New Beginnings

I suppose it's appropriate. I do kind of feel like I'm starting over.

At the height of my Gunpla career I was living in Japan and working full time. I think having a full time job helped with my Gunpla. I had a routine and I was always working on something. Be it assembling a new kit or painting another one. I'd do a little bit each night before I went to sleep. Kind of a thing to relax and unwind a bit before wrapping up the day.

Yet sometimes it did the exact opposite. Sometimes I'd get like a fever and really want to finish something and I'd just keep going and the time would fly by. That's the dangerous side of this I guess. In my case I can't finish until the entire section I've allotted for myself is complete. Like a checkpoint. And then after that I'd want to re-assemble things to see how it looks... and then I'd want to do a bit more and on and on. It can be brutal.

During the past year it's been pretty crazy. A lot of ups and downs and getting used to things and re-acclimation and whatever. Life and Gunpla are intertwined. At least in my case and my life is constantly changing so naturally the Gunpla follows suit. Actually, let's not say "changing". Let's say "evolving". Which brings me to my next project. I've decide that it's going to be the 1/100 HG Endless Waltz Heavyarms Custom.

Now from looking at this picture I can already tell a couple of things. They left some stuff out that you can find in the MG version of this. Specifically all the missile pods on the waist. They just aren't on this model.

I'll be starting a new job soon. It's my first full time job since I've been back... so hopefully it will bring a return of normalcy and routine back to my life. I'm been living for a year as a Ronin and it's kind of nice to have a master to serve again. I know it sounds strange to say that but there it is. Plus this is my first real job I've had in my home country. I hope everything works out but I'm nothing if not flexible.

Anyway after seeing all the images on the net recently of the new MG Heavyarms, I decided to pull my own out and take a look at it again. It kind of symbolizes what's been going on with me recently. Not quite complete. Not new. Semi discarded... very cheap but I'll find a way to make the most of it. Making 1 and 1 = 3 somehow. Realize what you have and make the most of it instead of always striving for the next and newest thing. Flies in the face of convention I know but consider it... This was isn't for everyone but it is for me.  I like this "Mecha Recycling". In the meantime I've been transporting the Gundams that I re-assemble to the display area in the basement. That's basically the process. There are only a few left in my room now.

Here are my sword fighters.

1/100 Red Frame - The Vangaurd

OYW Gundam with MG Red Frames swords.  2nd kit I ever painted, right after 1/100 Red Frame.

Musha still waits for his turn in the sun.  Only the frame work is done on him.

Asianskill1 this is all your fault.  If I hadn't seen your MG Heavyarms I probably wouldn't have went downstairs to grab my own.

This is one of the few Gundams that comes with an alternate face and I go and lose both of them.

I bought this guy when I was about 20 while in Buffalo, New York.  I was at a shop called Target.  We don't have those in Canada but apparently that's all about the change next month.  I got him for a really good price too.  Comparable to what I'd pay in Japan... but that was a different time.  A different era economically.

At first I was just going to do a simple clean up of this guy.  As in dust him off, re-assemble, pose and put him in the display case but as I was working with him I realized that it'd be very simple to make him look really good.  My skills now are light years beyond what I knew when I was 20.

This guy is just an HG and an old one at that.  It'd be very easy to disassemble him and spruce him up in just about every area.  Joint range, seam lines, details, panel lines and naturally I'm going to recolour him.  And yes... face fabrication.

I look at him with new, older and wiser eyes now.  Eyes that have evolved with time and experience.  New but old.  Old but new again.  Maybe some things are just timeless

Ah... I'm adrift in time. I just finished FFXIII-2 today.  What a time traveling mind **** that was!  But such a beautiful beautiful game!  Actually since I'm here let me drop some candy for the fans.

Anyway since that's done and I destroyed Skyrim I have nothing really to play until Mass Effect 3.  Which I'll get for sure but maybe after this guy is done.  No need to rush.  The games will always be there later. (Man I am getting old.)

But for now I just want to have fun with Gunpla again.  I don't care so much about what happened in the past.  The past will always be there but the present demands your attention. 

It's time to just live in the moment and work towards the goals in the future.  Starting here.

MG Shenlong - WIP 2

Technically this would be WIP 1.  WIP 2 is just me spraying the whole frame again with the same acrylic chrome silver.

Made sure to hit the joints properly... of course almost all of it gets covered up but I do this on principle not for practically.  If there's one thing I've noticed about my building process it's that I consistently build the entire frame first and then attach the armour to it.  I look at them as separate entities so I almost never follow the build process in the manual. I love seeing the frame before I launch into the armour section.  Long time readers will have noticed that with me.  I don't know why I do it that way.  All I know is that I have to do it that way.

What came before.

What comes now.

Recap:  First I sprayed on runner.  Cut, nub work, assemble.  Paint does come onto my fingers as I do this.  Spray again, same colour hitting trouble spots and joints.  Tissue in the cockpit so Wu-Fei doesn't get hit.

Next:  Armour time starting at the bottom and working up.  Also something I always do.  I don't know why.  I'm going to stop questioning it.  It is what it is.

Exia / Zeta+C1 Resurrection

Well protected in the Duvel box, these two survived the journey back with little damage.  A broken handle, a couple missing parts which I may actually have here already.

I am reminded that the Exia is essentially the "Viewer's Choice" mecha that is next to be worked on.  Exia gets moved to the forefront with Titanium Finish.

I'm still getting adjusted between places to work.  I set up a decent lab downstairs that gives me solitude but I do more work when I'm around people.  Namely in the kitchen so I'm thinking of setting up a work station there.

PLUS

Natural light shots.  Guys... seriously.  It is not over rated.  Check it out.  I will let the pictures do the talking.  You can figure it out.

The last pic demonstrates my biggest problem with this suit. Balance. Gonna have to start with the feet first and mod for stability. Need to tighten up the joints too and make them stiffer. Armour will probably be glued in place. Light frame painting, no major detailing. The head/face is exceptional. Will spend some extra time there.

The real work is going to come down to how the blue is treated and changing the tones of the white. May be forced to do a little bit of light weathering for the first time.

MG Epyon

From Gundam Guy

ALMOST looks like some Ver.KA stylings here.  Never been a big Epyon fan but there is no question that the the suit is cool.  Maybe this is the model that will finally turn me on to it?

After the disappointment I felt with the "supposedly" Ver.KA PG Strike Freedom I'm going to hold off on this.  But... I know a LOT of people are going to be happy about this news regardless of how good the model is.  Epyon on principle.  I should too.  Melee God.  I have the MG Infinite Justice and Exia...  I think I'd need this to finish off the collection of "Top 3 Melee Combat MS".

What do you think?  Epyon for best melee suit?  Who's excited about this model?

1/100 F-91 Gundam

Got this from a friend today.  So random!

This thing is coming at a very strange time. The girl that gave it to me has a boyfriend (Japanese guy) who was into Gundam when he was younger. He told me that he only likes the orginal Gundam and that he used to make 'plamo' when he was younger. He was thinking to try it again now but said that he didn't want to spend money on that stuff again. So I bought him the HG G-30 Gundam so he could try it and not worry about the money. I'm sure he hasn't built it yet. (I gave it to him in January.)

Anyway this really came out of nowhere. I don't remember mentioning F-91 to him at all but I guess he was out travelling and saw this and thought that I'd like it so he picked it up.

Here's the weird thing. I recently met a Japanese girl who's into nail art and we started talking about paints and top coat and pearl effect powder and blahblahblah. She said she didn't know how intense Gundam was and that she'd like to try making one since she'd watched some Gundam shows with her two brothers when she was growing up and she was into the idea of painting it with some of her nail art supplies. She can also sing the theme song to F-91 and she said that that's the Gundam she'd probably try and make since she has good memories of it from her childhood.

A couple of days later I have the model HANDED to me randomly at work. WTF.

OK... I'm starting to scare myself now...

With the new eye this thing is starting to look alive. It's always looking. Always awake. The eye is always shining. That single, solitary eye. Always watching!

I fear for the place I'll end up at once this is done. I almost like the nondescript mask more. I mean both are equally emotionless but this single shining eye can be a bit off putting. It looks more fearsome now that the eye can be seen as opposed to the shaded face.

More to come obviously as I'm just really in the testing stage now.

Changing the face is a big deal for me. I feel like it really contains the soul and personality of the machine (oxymoron yeah but you know what I mean). Changed some of the lines, opened up the visor, changed some of the colours. Some of the most precise work I've done to date has been modding this eye and helmet.

Details to follow.

Sinanju Rocket Bazooka - Hands

Continuing my work on my Sinanju upgrades; now that I've basically finished the bazooka I have to figure out a way to get this monster to hold the damn thing.

Anyone who's built the Sinanju knows that it has trouble holding the rifle and it also has the same problems holding the bazooka. Not to mention the shoulder armour and the wings getting in the way. In order to give it a bit more stability, I glued the hand to the rifle.

Now I'm using some extra 2-piece hands (from MG Impulse, coincidentally almost the same size) to hold the bazooka for those poses without the rifle.

After trying it out I realized that they didn't fit together so... time to remove some plastic. Check the green circles to see where. Basically the pegs on both had to be removed along with a bit of the palm.

These two piece hands are way better for holding weapons then the ones that come with the kit, especially after the finger mod I did.

At least now I don't have to worry about the weapon falling out! Poses like this become a bit easier to do but it's still somewhat awkward, especially when trying to pose it with both hands on the bazooka. The Sinanju wasn't made with this weapon in mind but even still... I'd have to say that it certainly doesn't look BAD.

Concerning Figure FM

Go here.

http://www.figure.fm/

and somehow try to find this page by clicking through the menus.

http://www.figure.fm/page/en/fusion/all/gundam/all/all/1.html

Notice that all the articles have ZERO views.

Why are there only like 4 people posting Gundam related stuff in the 'feeds' section (and one of them is mislabeled because his content isn't even about Gundam), but when you click on the Gundam category you get a bunch of customized posts made for Figure FM?

Otaku FM was way better and everything was working fine. Why mess with a good thing? Especially a good thing that actually worked right? Oh well. Doubt I'll be using it much if it stays that way. I don't know what's going on with this system but I'm not really impressed.

On a side note, here are some pics of my Sinanju after I've started working on it again. (I know they're all practically the same but I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I just put them all up. Like shopping... If you can't decide between one or the other... Just get BOTH!)





This thing is going to be so sweet when I'm done. I can feel it. Sweeter than the way I left it in April. You just wait. I'm not all talk.

btw notice anything unusual in the last pic? Kind of obvious considering the big green arrow! haha