gundam diorama

Read more about the article Bear Guy Project: Last Update

Bear Guy Project: Last Update

The kit has been done for a few weeks now, this update just finishes the base I had started when I needed a break from cleaning up and fixing the resin binders. I touched on a few things on the last update with the basics of the base, but other than just slapping things together, I didn’t do any focused work since I felt the best thing was to just power through and finish the monster first.

Returning to this full time since that kit was done, I finished up the detailing for the control panel. I use the cricut to make some button templates and started to glue in some detail bits. More parts from the ball kit to create the lever. I used some styrene tubes and made more magnet wire wrapped cables that I glued into position. And this part is ready for primer.

The rest of the base works after the jump. (more…)

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Read more about the article Gunpla posing and photography

Gunpla posing and photography

Going back to school

It’s been a few weeks since I finished the Sucker Punch diorama; so I’ve had some time for the thing to marinate. I asked my friend Jason, who’s an artist by profession and went to school for such what he thought about the diorama. We started building gunpla together when we were young, so there is familiarity with the material. I had gotten a few comments, some rather long and intense about the posing in the diorama. And having recently finished it; I wasn’t really in a position to defend or analyse it at that time. And I also believe that pride has a great deal to do with this as well. It is very difficult to take criticism on a piece of work one makes. We tend to go on the defensive more often than open up our minds to view things from other perspectives. This is all fine and well if you’re building for yourself and no one ever sees your work. But once you post it up publically, or enter competitions; then things change. You’re putting your work out there to be judged – regardless of if you asked for it or not. And when I first posted the work online, I completely dismissed the comments that criticized the work.

Now that a decent amount of time has passed, I believe I am ready and can objectively revisit the work. So the question I asked Jason is what he thought about the pose – Zogok punching Cold Climate GM. On a personal level, it didn’t really sit well with me either; but I was having trouble formulating what was wrong. I tried a few things suggested online but nothing clicked. I needed to go back to school. I didn’t know what was bothering me about the kit the more I looked at it.

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Read more about the article Silly GM, You Can’t Swim!

Silly GM, You Can’t Swim!

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been working on a RG Z’Gok as well as a GMII that would eventually be put together into a simple diorama. The exact plan wasn’t laid out as I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, and I honestly did not know if this “plan” would even be successful. But, I took pictures of the whole process and it sorta turned out how I figured it would. There are some issues that I learned, and should have learned when I first tried this with the Sazabi’s shield. But I am definitely much more confident in this process, so the next time, yes, there will invariably be a next time; this should be much more successful.

Starting off even before the RG Z’Gok was released and before I had snapped together the GMII, I used a stand in GM and a wood base that I had made for the G3 almost 10 years ago. The basic idea is to create a scene with the Z’Gok swimming over a long dead GMII, on it’s way to fight in that one epic battle from Gundam Unicorn. Where all these old Zeon suits spring out of the woodwork. That’s the basic premise. So, on goes the GM stand-in, laying down on the wood base. I then built an acrylic box measured out to the dimensions of the wood base using a hot glue gun to attach the 4 sides. The box is then test fitted over the base with the stand-in GM. Height is checked against my pressure pot to make sure it fits. And my plan is somewhat solid, time to execute.

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Continue ReadingSilly GM, You Can’t Swim!