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Read more about the article Anime Expo 2017 and a new commission project

Anime Expo 2017 and a new commission project

Anime expo has come and gone and I’m finally getting around to uploading the pictures I took from the two days I went and writing a little bit about the event. This was a great year for gunpla. Katsumi Kawaguchi came out to AX and along with a panel of Bandai folks did the judging at the AX leg of the GBWC USA Regions. That was pretty cool. They hosted a few Gundam and Gunpla panels. We also hosted our usual Gunpla building panels for all ages and the infamous 18+ panel as well. There was a new group that had a booth at AX this year. A group called Simp, and from our chatting with the folks there, they are a group that builds commission gunpla models and have started their own shop as well as selling some GK gunpla kits too. They had a pretty impressive display of built kits at the booth. Speaking of commissions, I had promised a guy that contacted me that I would start working on his figure commission in July (after I was done with AX and the GM Sniper project). So now that that’s done, the kit arrived today and I started to get cracking on it. The customer has some specific ideas so hopefully I can build to his expectations.

More about AX, our panels, AX GBWC, and the Saber commission after the jump!

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Read more about the article Operation Sucker Punch!

Operation Sucker Punch!

Taking some time off work really paid off; as if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the project within the confines of the AX deadline. Well, I think I could have, but it would have really been pushing things. From the last update, I started attaching the completed pieces of the project to the base. The silos and pipe works were glued onto the base. The tower light was attached and glued into position. The one building was also glued onto the base. Once these pieces were in place, I taped off some border areas and using some elmer’s white glue thinned down slightly with water; painted the watered down glue and then carefully sprinkled some colored ballasts (model train store scenics stuff) The stuff is great for replicating gravel and comes in a variety of colors. The damaged base area was painted with the diluted white glue and more gravel was applied. Once the glue completely dries; a few hours as the stuff dries pretty quickly (I let it sit for at least 8 hours as I’m paranoid). I did an enamel wash with a few colors to give a some dimension to the gravel. I also dropped in some more diluted white glue and added some yellow turf as a weedy undergrowth.

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GBWC Results from Anime Expo 2014

This past AX was probably one of my shortest stays at the convention. I normally spend at least 3 days, but there were just too many people and nothing that truly pulled me as far as interests. Where I used to wander the halls and take pictures of just about everything, I pretty much only focused on the GBWC, my two panels, and promoting SCGMC as much as possible. This year was pretty damn crowded. I don’t believe I have ever seen this large a sea of people. And in the previous years, the lines for registration after the first day is usually fairly tolerable; I’m pretty surprised at how long people still had to wait for getting registered even on day 3. Yeah, this con has taken a huge jump in attendance. I also noticed that the exhibit hall has grown considerably with a great deal more vendors. Crazy.

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Read more about the article Anime Expo 2014: No pictures yet, but there’s a video!

Anime Expo 2014: No pictures yet, but there’s a video!

Anime Expo update. I’ve been busy the past few months with business trips and a short jaunt to Hong Kong to visit family as well as pick up items for this year’s SCGMC event. This past weekend was the annual Anime Expo and my time at this event has been getting shorter as the crowds have been getting larger. I believe they hit somewhere around 80k people, almost a 20k boost, which is pretty significant.

We arrived around 10AM on Friday, day 2 of the event. Angel and I have our respective kits for the Gunpla Builders World Cup event. There is a sea of people just waiting for the Exhibit hall to open, so we wait off in the wings before the access from our area is opened to the hall. We go in and Mike is already in there setting up his Kampfer, Geara Doga, and an Freedom. I put my Sazabi into the case, turn the lights on and fix the pose a little bit. I notice one of the folks from the Bandai Hobby department outside watching and looking at my kit. The guy has been coming to AX for the past several years so he knows me to an extent. He helps me pose the kit a bit with hand signals from the other side of the glass. Mike and I then help Angel put his kit into the case. It’s funny that every time we’re here doing this, Angel’s hands get so shaky, parts are falling off as he’s trying to place the kit. So the steady hands of Mike and I get the kit in place. I’ve never known Angel to be nervous about anything, but noticeably, at various contests, he gets shaky while trying to display his kits.

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Continue ReadingAnime Expo 2014: No pictures yet, but there’s a video!
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