Gunpla

Read more about the article And now back to some Gunpla, sort of …

And now back to some Gunpla, sort of …

I love build gathering for the simple fact that a ton of my goofy ideas result from build interactions with my friends. I’ve been struggling to work on projects for the past two virtual build gatherings. The Ford Mustang GT4 stagnated from frustration. And then I started on an RG Sazabi that I have an idea for, but the motivation for that kit just wasn’t there. I’ve managed to snap the legs and part of the waist in May and started back on it to finish off the waist and upper torso this past build gathering before just boxing the damn thing up and moving on to a more interesting project.

There is a little history for this project. And I have been known to take previously finished projects and just rebuild them. The Neograde Gouf Custom conversion for the MG gouf 2.0 kit was finished almost 10 years ago: Neo Grade Gouf Custom Build. This one is a little different, it was displayed at a local hobby shop and was damaged from a customer handling it. (I have no idea why a hobby shop would allow a customer to handle kits in their display case). But it happened several years ago, almost 5 years ago: Broken Neograde Gouf Custom. And since then, it has sat in a box. Well, not really, it was taken out and used as a reference for the Gouf Custom Zaku Exceed Head conversion and Bust kit I made; that is still available for purchase here: Gouf Custom Zaku Exceed Conversion kit and bust for sale!. But back out of the box and this time, really ripped apart.

More details for this “new” project after the jump.

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Continue ReadingAnd now back to some Gunpla, sort of …
Read more about the article Time to Build a Gouf Custom Bust

Time to Build a Gouf Custom Bust

Now that I’m done pulling a bunch of casts, time to actually build the the damn thing. The difference is that I’m building and painting up the first 3D printed bust piece which is the bigger bust in 4 major pieces. Since the original 3D Design isn’t the best designed part, when it was printed, those mistakes in the design are also printed out so those will need to be addressed.

Jumping right in, the pictures belowed show the printed flaws that need to be sanded and/or filled. There is a lot of sanding and some light curing putty to level things off along some of the flat surfaces that didn’t get printed perfectly.

More about the build after the jump. (more…)

Continue ReadingTime to Build a Gouf Custom Bust
Read more about the article Labor Day Exceed Gouf Update

Labor Day Exceed Gouf Update

Slow progress, but I hit a decent milestone at the end of this past weekend with the first session of primer, so it’s time for a post. I have a couple of tool discussions here so this will be good for future reference as well. First up is the drafting compass. We’ve all used these in the past to draw circles on paper. There is precision with the wheel adjustment so here, I can use this to mark up an area on the kit for drilling a hole. The back of the head needs a attachment point for the Gouf’s cables. The compass comes in handy to accurately measure how how far from a point of reference to make the marks. And I can easily mirror the mark on the other side of the head so I have symmetry.

Once marked off, I have a guide for drilling in the holes that will eventually dock the head cables.

If I take the compass and use the needle end as a guide along the bottom of a plastic piece, I can run this line and effectively draw a parallel line to the edges of the parts to draw in a guide that I can then tape along and scribe in a parallel detail line.

More about the build and another tool after the jump.
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Continue ReadingLabor Day Exceed Gouf Update
Read more about the article Dom Barrage, last progress post and it’s DONE!

Dom Barrage, last progress post and it’s DONE!

As promised, there were only a few last steps for this project. The kit has been broken down into major subsections. Some subsections bigger than others. And I start off with applying some paint chipping using an enamel based metallic grey. A very small brush is used and I just slowly and carefully apply some chips here and there. I don’t want to go overboard, I just want to see that the suit has seen “some” use.

The rest of the final weathering steps as well as the final pictures for the kit after the jump.
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Continue ReadingDom Barrage, last progress post and it’s DONE!
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