Dual WIP continues!!!! G Gundam and Kshatriya

As my time in San Diego continues I am working on two kits at once. Its fun and provides a nice break while I plan out the customization for each kit as I am really working on getting things done. I start with the G-Gundam. I added plating to the rear wings. Adding depth to the flat parts. 

On the waist I have added a little bit of detail to them. I have to say the hardest thing for me to do is get the plate cut exactly the same every time. I am really working on this though. The errors are minimal compared to other kits I have done.

Same goes for the center piece of the chest. As I make final decisions on the paint scheme I am adding details to make that really pop.

That is where I am at on the G-Gundam. You will see why I have only got this far. Its all due to some serious set backs while trying to customize the psycho frame kshatriya. The first attempt was this one. My thoughts were to attempt and line up the upper piece with the lower one. I added extra plating for the higher sections of the upper piece.

I reinforced the plate in the back so that it would be more rigid. 

But it was not to be. I spent about 2-3 hours working on this and getting it all lined up. When I put the top part on no matter what I did I could not get it to line and and look clean. So I walked away for a. I came up with this solution in my sleep...weird I know there are times when I dream of the solutions to Gundam build issues. (and yes I know the Kshatriya is not a Gundam) Mobile suit issues. 

This is the fix that I came up with. I pushed the plate up from the bottom and Pro-welded it in place. The only challenge here was to get the posts back through with out cutting too much out. 

After all the glue was dry, I added a lot of plate and other detail up parts to get the details I wanted for the psycho frame. I am not looking for a super smooth build, but when do I normally build a smooth kit? Not too often. 

And here is what the completed set up looks like. If I had the want to do LEDs it would look amazing, but I don't for this kit. Being an HG kit I am going to cut out a lot of sections to add the psycho frame look. 

So far I have one completed a second one with the smooth plating done. hoping to get some more done soon, but I am pretty focused on the G-Gundam right now. Its got a flow going and I am not looking to stop it. I am hoping to be able to get the paint and have it done soon after I get home. 

As always thank you for stopping by. T.G. 

Dual Posting time! G-Gundam WIP 2 and HG Kshatriya WIP 1

Hotel room bound again. No paining this time though. Just two projects of fun. First things first, my G-Gundam build. I have been given free license by my cousin (person I am making this for) to do as I see fit. At first I was going to keep it pretty plain....and then well you know things happened Pla-plate starts flying and next thing I know this is becoming an original build for sure.

The first of 2 legs has been completed. The photos are comparison.

I didn't go too crazy, but I did add some needed details to the leg armor. I have never been a huge fan of big smooth armored places on some of the Gundam I build. Below is the chest, I have a few more details that will need to be done on it, but for the most part its completed. The back is plain as I need to be able to get a good fit for the core fighter.

Its mainly adding details and some scribing. Not a lot of scribing though. I just don't see this one and all paneled up for some reason.

Onto what I have done today! I am normally not a man to build HG's I don't like the amount of work they represent to make them look good and I don't like the small size of the true 1/144 ones...This one is 1/144 of course, but in that its still as large as a 1/100 MG. After snap fitting it and looking into where I wanted to add detail I had the thought as I am hoping to get the shipping notice on my Elynn Hobby Kshatriya that I wanted to do something original. I have seen a lot of builds where the center section is split so you can see the detail inside, but I have not seen one that is cut apart and details are exposed close to the surface. So enters my days efforts thus far. Below is the stock look.

This is post cutting:

And cut out removed...so much clean up.

Cleaned up inner frame put back in as you can almost see there is no detailing inside. 

So to get the gap I want I added some 3mm posts glued them in place after measuring 3-4 times to ensure equal height.

And now I have the gap that I wanted. Nothing huge, but a good place to add detail. The plan as it stands is to back it with pla-plate and then build it up with koto parts and such to get all the mechanical details I feel it needs.

Its going to be a fun project, slow but fun. Only 3 more to cut and build....what have I gotten myself into!?! As always thank you for stopping by. T.G.

The O, Neo Geo Version (Resin)

Finished!!!!! Hand painting is fun and all. Nothing like going back over the same color a few times to cover up mistakes...in the end it was worth it though. It feels great to complete a Gundam after so long.  I stayed with a simple color scheme as I said I would. I did add a dark grey in to break up all the light colors. This was a fun build for sure! My only gripe still remains the missing piece. Maybe someday I will try my hand at pouring resin so I can repair/replace things like that. Enough talking though; you are here to see the completed Ver. Tem.  Neo Geo Version of The O.  Sorry if the pictures aren't amazing quality, the only camera I have is on my iPhone.

This is the finished lower half, I wanted to get a picture of the frame work, and show how the wash gave it a really nice finished look.

The gold still really stands out like I wanted it too.

While I am taking photos of just half....I think the stripe on the beam rifle really gave it a finished look. I cant take credit for the idea...it was in the picture of the original build. But I still like it.

This is prior to panel washing.

The bright gold gives added contrast and detail to a very dark part of the model.

A couple more shots of the underneath. Have to make sure you get a chance to see those details that normally no one sees.

I know this photo is really bright! But if you look at the very tiny face. I used a bright green on the eyes.

Bird's eye view.

I hope you like this build. I had a good time building it for sure. I am going to have to make a decision between a custom resin version of a Dom, or the God Gundam. I don't have all my tools for working plastic right now, so I think I may do another 1/144 resin kit. I have all the tools needed to working on those.

As always thank you for stopping by. T.G.

The O (Resin) WIP 3

Man, oh man, free time in a hotel room allow a lot of time to complete some resin work. I have met my goal of being able to paint by the weekend. The O has been primed as you can see.

Not perfect by any means, but spray can primer can get thick fast, and I would end up losing a lot of little details. I am trying to avoid the loss of details obviously. This kit is supposed to look rough on the armor, but honestly the small lines are very fine, and fill with paint very easily, even after I cleaned them out with scribing tools.

After painting the frame components, and stealing a skill learned from Warhammer painting, I used a wash to bring out the details that are there. I am really happy with how it came out, as my last attempt to use a wash on a Gundam ended very poorly. If I remember it ended in said Zaku exploding (after I threw it in frustration from basically wasting a month of work and $50 in custom metal parts).

Here is the first color starting to be laid down. I am not going for a crazy color scheme this time. Its not a huge model, so I was afraid if I did too many colors it would be overwhelming to look at. I am sticking with a 2 primary color scheme, with some additional colors to bring out the little details.

The hand painting is a challenge for sure, but not having to mask is kind of nice.

Here is the second color, with some of the metal detailed out in gold to add some pop to the frame. I think the blue really contrasts well with the grey and adds a much needed brightness.

Here is the chest section. I am having to paint in sections, so I don't touch the paint too much. Did I mention its a 1/144 model? I miss working on 1/100's  So much bigger. I will also say that I have learned to not rush to glueing sections together. Its adding to the challenge of painting the really tight sections for sure. But such is life.

Work will continue of course.
As always, thank you for stopping by. T.G.