I’ve been posting up more and more videos and finding more and more mundane tasks to record while I build in hopes that someone out there finds them useful. Most of the model building techniques we use daily are just laborious; but each kit has its own quirks and since we have the technology, why the hell not? It doesn’t really matter much that I turn the gopro sitting on a tripod on top of my desk and just hit the record button while I work. Every now and then, there’s something that interesting that someone out there may find interesting. I’ve started getting better with the editing, using the zoom feature in the editor so that the actual model work is displayed; actually working within the framework of the camera view; and making more coherent comments while I’m building – all the while keeping my dogs from barking or the wife from running into the workshop with day to day life discussions.
But there are some damn cool things that I really need to start doing because we have the technology available to us. Youtube has a live broadcast option, that I would like to try out during our build gatherings. At least it may give some insight to how our build gathering run, the jokes, nerdiness, fun, and sometimes the horrific uncomfortableness that accompanies any social gathering of this nature. Worst case senario, this may increase our monthly build gathering attendance. God knows I’ve been trying to scare off the folks that come now!
Aside from this, I’ve been lucky and have tried to help this community as much as possible. This started with my website, the model progress build ups, the completed kits, and the tutorials. Then I started doing panel at Anime Expo and a few other anime conventions; also taking over the Anime Expo Model Contest. The audience at Anime Expo is amazing; but in the sea of events, vendors, cosplayers, etc; our little hobby gets lost. Model build gatherings were born about the same time the Anime Expo panels started up, and from our group attendance at local model contests like IPMS Orange County’s Orange Con – Those Gundam Guys was born. And a few years of this, we’ve found that there was something lost between the Anime Expo Model Contest and the IPMS style model show… so the Southern California Gundam Model Competition (SCGMC) was born. What’s sometimes overlooked is that the website, the time spent doing the tutorials, posting things on youtube, running SCGMC, etc; all cost some amount of money. Something that I’ve never asked for, because I was once a poor student, a jobless model builder, and I love building gunpla and resin anime figures. The ads on my site shouldn’t be too intrusive and the ads on the youtube videos are also not too invasive. We’ve been trying to keep the costs of attending SCGMC low as well. But we’ve completely outgrown the venue we’ve been using for the past 4 years.
That said, we now have a much larger venue – which incur a significantly higher cost to rent. That said, I recently discovered (I’m slow with technology sometimes – especially when it comes to keeping up with the hobby) that youtube has a “Fan Funding” option. So if you’ve enjoyed my mindless rantings over the years, the Anime Expo panels, the tutorial and build videos, SCGMC, Those Gundam Guys; etc. Help support the cause and click the little blue support button! It’ll help keep our grassroots style promotion of the hobby!
