Happy Saz Year!

Ok, so the title would have worked better with the Nu, but the joke’s there. Happy new year all! I’ve finally gotten off my ass and away from that bloody Gundam Battle Operation. Been stuck in a vortex of that game for a while and finally quelling the addiction with something else just as addictive, but much more productive as I actually have a tangible end result. And it has been a while since I posted anything. Again, blaming the GBO addition. But on to the purpose of this post, that new Ver. Ka Sazabi. The original design for this suit was penned by Yukata Izubuchi, the same guy also designed the Dogas, Nu, Hygogg, etc. Most of my favorite mecha designs were originally done by him. I favor a more simplistic design in comparison to most of Katoki’s style; but I do appreciate the application of Katoki themes to the original Izubuchi designs. There are several resin variants for the Nu and Saz that just go way beyond anything I enjoy with levels of panel lines, greeblies, tubes and wiring. I can appreciate it, but my personal taste leans towards a more simplicity. There’s a balance between the two extremes and I fall somewhere slightly short of the middle – so, I’m not a complete fence sitter.

I’ve built the original MG Saz, a kit that even Izubuchi didn’t admit to liking very much. I’ve rebuilt that same kit twice over, the final version a Core-Works conversion. That said, I’m fairly familiar with the kit’s design. So I picked up this kit from the local distributor a couple of days prior to the official release. Friends with benefits I guess. I’m never in a rush, but the novelty of having this before the majority of the world was kinda cool, granted I wasn’t allowed to post up pictures – but as part of the TGG gang, we actually got real hands on look at the entire kit a full week before it’s release at our monthly build gathering. So the novelty of actually snapping pictures of my own kit when I got it was gone.

ka_saz_prog 007

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Continue ReadingHappy Saz Year!

Southern California Gundam Model Competition: T minus 30 hours or so…

It feels damn good be be so organized and prepared for this year’s SCGMC event. We spent a little more money than we did last year, but it is definitely money well spent on items that will see future use at many more SCGMC events to come. We’ve been generating some good publicity through the TGG Facebook page; posting up some last minute progress pictures of kits we’ve been working on, posting up pictures of an early collection of raffle prizes, and within the past several hours, posting up pictures of our trophies we have for this year.

Time to post up some of those pictures here too, check it out after the jump!

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Continue ReadingSouthern California Gundam Model Competition: T minus 30 hours or so…

Southern California Gundam Model Competition 1 Month Away!

Last weekend was IPMS OC’s annual OrangeCon event. A group of Those Gundam Guys went and pretty much ruled the Gundam category. One of the tank builders did make the 1/35 scale Hovertank from 8thMS Team, very nicely done. Angel picked up Third place with his Unicorn, I grabbed a Second for my Efreet Custom, and Mike, one of the newer guys to our build gatherings picked up 1st for his Patchwork Sazabi. Which also picked up Best Sci-fi, and with the running of Best of Show, was the one of two kits battling for that award, only getting inched out by Sean’s incredibly well built ship (not a ship guy so, I forgot the name). Not too bad for the new guy who picked up airbrushing from attending last year’s SCGMC.

Which is the perfect segue into the little video I made to help promote the event that is a little less than a month away.

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Continue ReadingSouthern California Gundam Model Competition 1 Month Away!

Done with the Head

I had to wait a few days for my new tripod head to arrive. Only, when it did arrive, the connection end for the new head is a 3/8 in female where as my tripod legs were a 1/4-20 male, *sigh* too small to connect with the newer head piece. Well, regardless, I need to get an adapter or some kind of bushing that a good number of photography shops should carry. In the mean time, I just snapped a few shots of the damn head, not that I can zoom in no more up close details as there’s no point with the size of the head. It’s not too bad but there are some obvious signs that it was built in 3 days. A quick little build before I head out of town for business.

Full gallery after the jump.

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Continue ReadingDone with the Head