Online Model Contest

[Real G]

Sept 15, 2024 4:55:24 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Enjoying the process on these old kits.

The good ones are fun to build, but the cheapie ones are less so. At least the Gelf looks OK from the box. Its cheapness is just in price, and hence features.

I can’t wait to get back on a modern kit!

[Real G]

The contest deadline is nigh upon us, but there's still work to do.  And I still have to go to work.  

But progress is being made.



The search for clear red report covers to use for the new clear lenses proved futile.  I guess no one hands in typed reports anymore.  Necessity is the mother of invention, and desperation is the cruel abusive alcoholic stepmom!  I had to resort to an old pack of Squadron 0.015" vac-form sheets, which I never could get to heat up without fogging over.  It has languished for years in the sheet plastic box, gathering dust and scratches.  





I also had an old bottle of Alclad clear red, which still worked thank goodness.

I did have one accident.  Running out of clear gloss spray, I found a new Tamiya rattle can that had a peculiar warning on the label (in Japanese).  It said it was not recommended for use over decals.  Huh.  That seems to make the product kinda useless for modelers.  I used it anyway and found that the solvent is tremendously "hot", soaking all the way into the bottom layer of primer.  How did I learn this?  Mr Clumsy Elbows brushed against a freshly painted part, and a swatch of paint all the way down to the black primer base immediately affixed itself to my arm.     A big, ugly looking bald rough patch presented itself on the part, so now I have to repair and repaint it tonight.  Arghhhhhhh.

But Star Force, time has run out!  I will need to finish this by tonight if the Tuesday deadline is to be made.  I don't think I'll have time to weather.  But I really need to do it, even after the deadline is past.

[mz3]

Looking good. I really like the clear red. I wish you luck in the contest.

What tamiya gloss was that?

[Real G]

Sept 16, 2024 18:19:03 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Looking good. I really like the clear red. I wish you luck in the contest.

What tamiya gloss was that?

It was a "shortie" can.  I'll take a photo of it tonight.  I don't think I ever had a problem with Tamiya clears over decals.  But this one is undoubtedly to watch out for; it's almost like the acid blood from Alien!  Well, not quite.  But it's "hotness" is something I have never seen outside of automotive products.

[kyledehart5]

Well TS-13 is pretty brutal and you have to handle it with kid gloves. If they have a hotter one than that then that is just absurd. Sorry that happened to you.

[406 Silverado]

This is some good stuff going on in this thread you guys.

MZ I'm looking forward to seeing yours finished regardless of the deadline as you've put your fair share of work into this build of yours.

[Real G]

Sept 17, 2024 4:23:57 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Well TS-13 is pretty brutal and you have to handle it with kid gloves. If they have a hotter one than that then that is just absurd. Sorry that happened to you.

I think it WAS TS-13. Funny, I never had problems with it. Maybe I was rushing…

[Real G]

I am not 100% sure I slid under the door in time for the contest, but since the deadline was Tuesday (today) I would think it is okay.  So after several blurry nights fraught with errors, the Gelf is sort of done.  I had no time for weathering as the clear coat wasn't even fully cured yet.









NO MORE 2-MONTH CONTESTS!  I just build too darned slow.


And now I have sleep deprivation-induced hallucinations hearing the theme song from "Denjin Zaboga" on an endless loop in my head:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRFMBd1ENs8

"Denjin Zaboga, GO!!!"

[kyledehart5]

I know you’re not done. But man, this turned out awesome!! Love the colors you went with. Just looks super cool. Great work

[mz3]

That did turn out good!

[super_average_gunpla]

Looks great! The effort required to make vintage kits look good is sometimes under appreciated. Looking through 80s Japanese modeling magazines is a masterclass on the craft, especially when you see the before pictures: single molds, no part separation, mis alignment of seams, wrong proportions, no details, etc…

[Real G]

Thank you, gents, for the positive comments!  80s kits can be a lot of work, but fortunately the Gelf didn't really look too bad OOTB.  The cheap joints and lack of clear parts are the kit's only shortcomings.  The lack of color separated parts certainly caused more work, but it was not even a thing back then.  Some of the kits from the era had super dumpy/wrong proportions that took a Herculean effort to correct.  And yes, Hobby Japan was a gold mine of information on modifying kits so they could pose a bit more and look like what they were supposed to.  I have quite a hefty collection of Japanese model mags from back in the day showing how to do this kind of stuff.

It made me regret flushing 9 years of Japanese school from my head!  When I discovered anime robots and Japanese hobby magazines in the mid 1980s I had already forgotten how to read.  It was a long and painful road, piecing fragmented memories back together.  My dad was right when he told me that learning Japanese might be useful one day.  I told him "NO WAY!" thinking he was just trying to keep me from flunking out from Japanese school.  And for 9 years, I missed watching cartoons after school, instead being detained for an hour saying stuff like "Sensei, konnichi wa", "Watakushi wa Izumi to mooshimasu", and "Misae wa suke-suke pantsu wo haku".  OK the last one came from Crayon Shin Chan.  

I suppose I should exhume the rest of the Dragonar kits I have in the stash and build them, especially the Dragonar 1, 2 and 3 since they are the hero mechs.  I even bought duplicate kits of the ones I have already finished, with the intention of upgrading them.  But first, I need to send Wave an idea for aftermarket hip replacements, as I can't be sacrificing kits just for the round hip joints.

Enough of my blathering.    MZ3 I hope you can overcome those annoying cracks and finish your Government Type.  I am sure your construction and weathering skills will yield a spectacular result!  I need to get back on my GB models.

[Real G]

Sept 17, 2024 21:50:58 GMT -5 super_average_gunpla said:

Looks great! The effort required to make vintage kits look good is sometimes under appreciated. Looking through 80s Japanese modeling magazines is a masterclass on the craft, especially when you see the before pictures: single molds, no part separation, mis alignment of seams, wrong proportions, no details, etc…

Back in the day, common mods included the dreaded 3-way head cut; lowering and lengthening it while excising a wedge shaped sliver from the left/right halves.  I did this onerous exercise on my Falguen, as the OOTB kit head looked stumpy and fat, common in many kits from the 80s.  The 3mm thigh extension was another classic mod.  The pull-out knee joint on the Gelf was common trick to get elbows and knees to bend more.  One technique I never did or liked was using tape as a lazy man's hinge.  That's why the Gelf had properly polycapped hinged hip armor joints.  I used a section cut from a polycap runner to make the "T" joint, yet another idea from the dark days of anime robot modeling.

Another thing was that the overall silhouette of a lot of older kits was an inverted triangle.  Thus the head and torso were oversize, with the sides of the wide and fat torso sloping outwards.  The legs tended to be too short, maybe a Japanese thing, as my legs are rather short(!).  But the overall look was as though the focus was on the upper body and head, with the rest of the design being an afterthought.  These kits required the most brutal reconstructive surgery to look passable.  Here is a comparison between the original 1/100 Gouf and Zaku and their more modern 1/144 descendants.



But I am not one bit nostalgic about doing all that work!  Give me a modern kit with good proportions and proper polycapped joints any day!

[super_average_gunpla]

Sept 18, 2024 13:45:25 GMT -5 Real G said:

Sept 17, 2024 21:50:58 GMT -5 super_average_gunpla said:

Looks great! The effort required to make vintage kits look good is sometimes under appreciated. Looking through 80s Japanese modeling magazines is a masterclass on the craft, especially when you see the before pictures: single molds, no part separation, mis alignment of seams, wrong proportions, no details, etc…

Back in the day, common mods included the dreaded 3-way head cut; lowering and lengthening it while excising a wedge shaped sliver from the left/right halves.  I did this onerous exercise on my Falguen, as the OOTB kit head looked stumpy and fat, common in many kits from the 80s.  The 3mm thigh extension was another classic mod.  The pull-out knee joint on the Gelf was common trick to get elbows and knees to bend more.  One technique I never did or liked was using tape as a lazy man's hinge.  That's why the Gelf had properly polycapped hinged hip armor joints.  I used a section cut from a polycap runner to make the "T" joint, yet another idea from the dark days of anime robot modeling.

Another thing was that the overall silhouette of a lot of older kits was an inverted triangle.  Thus the head and torso were oversize, with the sides of the wide and fat torso sloping outwards.  The legs tended to be too short, maybe a Japanese thing, as my legs are rather short(!).  But the overall look was as though the focus was on the upper body and head, with the rest of the design being an afterthought.  These kits required the most brutal reconstructive surgery to look passable.  Here is a comparison between the original 1/100 Gouf and Zaku and their more modern 1/144 descendants.



But I am not one bit nostalgic about doing all that work!  Give me a modern kit with good proportions and proper polycapped joints any day!

Nice, that’s what I’m talking about! Showa era kits…I can almost hear Plastic Love playing on the radio  . “No Zaku, boy!”

[Real G]

“This is no Zaku boy, no Zaku!” (Zaku to wa chigau no da yo, Zaku to wa!) is my favorite line from Gundam, by my favorite character.

[mz3]

I'll get the gov type finished soon. I kinda lost motivation when I realized I wasn't going to make the deadline. I haven't touched anything on my desk in a few days.

[mz3]

Hmmm, 2 first place finishes. Little suspicious if you ask me.

[Real G]

Oct 10, 2024 19:06:44 GMT -5 mz3 said:

Hmmm, 2 first place finishes. Little suspicious if you ask me.

Eh, they all looked great though! The Dom with the manga artwork looked like it had a disruptive winter camo. Pretty original! And I didn’t miss the fact that Xabungle walker machines still rule in the 21st century!

BTW, I went to that Gundam Specialty Store in Akihabara yesterday. Kinda overpriced, but they have a big selection - but not of what I was looking for. Of course. No problem, I have too many kits already.

Now to the Volks Shop…

[mz3]

That Dom was pretty nice and unique. That Duggar was pretty nice as well. I couldn't get a good look at it but I did notice the hips were modified, great idea. Those hips are awful. I haven't finished my Duggar yet because I'm afraid to touch it, something will break off.