Recent Work: XN Raiser swords and 3x Bazooka

I've got to make at least one post this month about what I've actually been doing as far as modeling goes.

Recently in the Gundam Australia forums we've been talking about 'weapons block' in regards to the Sinanju Group Build. Weapons Block refers to the lack of motivation to complete the weapons of a kit as the main part of the project nears completion or is in fact completed.

I'm going in the opposite direction entirely now. I'm working solely on the weapons. And to make matters worse, these weapons are optional.

Anti-weapons block in action so to speak.

First the XN Raiser swords:

Base swords with clear pla-plate. I know. I was surprised when I first saw it too.

Drilled some holes.

Then removed the center sections.

Why did I do this?

This is why:

I loved the idea. Techically, it would make the blades lighter if this were real. Not as stable but offset by a decease in weight, increase in blade speed coupled with a superior cutting edge. Not a bad trade off. And it looks cool. So I thought why not... I'll give it a shot. And so far so good! I've done a test fitting and it looks like it'll work but there's the issue of painting. I'm still thinking of the best way but it looks like painting the easiest way will force me to give up on the seam lines, otherwise it will be a large pain the butt to keep paint off of the clear pla-plate.

No pictures of this but I did work on the edges of the blades. I removed that extra nub at the tip of the blade and sanded down the cutting edge and tip until it was actually sharp.

I still want to do a bit of putty work to remove some of the small mistakes I made while I was removing all that plastic, but I'm worried that my basic putty will weaken the plastic too much. I don't think epoxy will really be effective for the small amount of puttying I want to do. Dilemas.

For now my main effort of going into the 3x 1/144 bazookas:

We've got a 360mm, 380mm and 400mm. One from my Powered GM, one from the Odaiba Gundam and the last is from a Kotobukiya weapons set.

Special effort went into eliminating the seam lines for these.

The outcome was acceptable. Not perfect but pretty good.

Nothing better than erasing a seam line from existence!

I sanded them pretty hard with 240 grit paper. I like having a bit of a rougher surface before I prime and I wanted to get a bit of texture.

Primed with Mr. Base White 1000 (Mr. White Base? Amuro? Bright? What?) then sprayed with Gundam White (paint ran out just as I finished the 3rd bazooka. Awesome timing.) I thought that the resulting white was a bit too 'cold' so I did a light coat of "Racing White" on top of that to make the white a bit softer.

These weapons will be used by the Odaiba Gundam and the O Gundam so while the white I've achieved doesnt watch the armour completely, it is a close approximation. All things considered.

I've already hand painted the non barrel parts in gun mental. Should have done some masking but who can be bothered. That **** takes a lot of time!

So I'm getting there! Slowly but surely. I've given up on trying complete things at fast paces. Life just gets in the way too much. But I'm still working! Still plugging away just at my own pace, such as it is.

That's all for now but I want to leave Gundam Guy a present.

Mr. Mark Setter & Mr. Mark Softer

Sounds like the names of real people. "Mr. Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer, please come to the office."

Anyways...

It was a nice day yesterday so I decide to ride around on my scooter and enjoy the weather a bit. Went across town to the 'real' hobby shop (Tokyo folks, it's like the Yellow Submarine of Nagoya) and was looking at some AM parts. I've picked up quite a few over the last couple months because I just pick up things that I think look cool regardless of if I need them or not. It's a never a NEED really. More of a WANT. And they're cheap so I can justify buying an extra weapon or 'detail up' part.

This is what I bought today.



Never actually used either of these two solutions before. Can anyone give me advice or direct me to a site that talks about it?

I imagine that it works like the name implies, but are both really necessary? Like couldn't I just use one or the other? I'm under the impression that the softer just melts the decal into place, and the setter keeps it from moving around. Not sure though. It was cheap so I bought both just to try them out. That night I spent more money on a half pint of Guinness than I did on these two solutions.

I didn't think that Aurora stickers would be so expensive (I was expecting to pay under 400 yen) but most of the versions I saw where around 600. I settled on a pack that didn't really give you a lot but were of fairly decently quality and colour effect. Not sure when and how I'm going to use them but... I like having the option. Was also looking at AM thrusters as well but... no... not yet. Those were a bit more expensive than I thought they'd be too.

The metal plate detail part is just to fill in some of the gaps that plastic models have occasionally. Like on the back of the skirt armour or the inside of the shoulder or something.

Extra 1/144 hands just in case. Not that impressed with the stock ones that came with the Odaiba and 0 Gundam. Can't have enough hands. Especially with all the weapons I have for my 1/144's to use.

So there's a peek into my Gundam shopping habits. I buy cheap, random stuff that I don't really need or know how to use with the intention of learning how to use it someday just in case I ever want to kick it up a notch. Although that day I was EXTREMELY close to buying an airbrush set just on impulse. Decided against it. I'm going to do a bit more research before I pick one up but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be moving into the 'airbrush' zone sooner than later. Specifically after I pay the rent this month. I've spent enough money on spray paints to warrant the cost of getting one. Not to mention I hate all the waste. I mean you're using a big cloud of paint just to paint one small part and you have to do it multiple times to get a good finish. Not to mention aerosol cans and the environment and blah blah blah. Also... really want to try shadowing techniques. There are a bunch of reasons why I think I'm going to get an airbrush soon.

Alright. I'm going to stop here before I digress any further. Been thinking about Gundam stuff a lot recently. More than usual. Looking at the work I've been doing this month, I think I've kicked the meticulousness up a bit too. Spend more time, looking at more details. It's a fun hobby!

Master Kawaguchi DVD - Torrent file / War Machine

Just a small post saying that I've made a torrent of the Dengeki Hobby - Master Kawamura's Way of Gunpura DVD that I put on YouTube earlier this year in June. You can download the torrent link here.

I tried uploading it to a torrent search engine but failed (for some reasons... I have no idea what happened really. It seemed OK but wasn't really.) So you can all just get it here.

If it doesn't work out, let me know and I'll try to sort it out.

The video itself is a large .avi file. Over 500mb and it's a direct DVD rip of the disc I have. Not sure why it's so large since it's only 60 minutes and it's not like the quality is that great but still... If you want it, it's available.

In non Gundam related news (but similar mecha walking tank kinda way) I wanted to show a pic of the comic that I've been reading a lot of recently.

War Machine has got to be one of my favourite characters ever. I've liked the suit since day one and I've read every comic book with War Machine in the title and that has Jim Rhodes as the main character. The newest version has great covers but the inside art isn't that great. They redesigned the character so that he can integrate with any kind of technology. For example he can take the parts of a plane and add them to his armour, or a tank or missiles that have been shot at him. Very cool. I'm enjoying the tech aspect to it but it is pretty far fetched sometimes. I could write it better.



I am big Iron Man fan but I enjoy reading War Machine because it's a different take on Iron Man. Jim isn't as smart or as much of a playboy but he's a soldier. The War Machine armour and the Iron Man armour are quite different and it makes for a interesting comparison at times. However from a design standpoint... I like this one the best. It has got to be my absolute favourite mecha 'suit'.