One of the cool features of the old boards were community group forums. We used to use one of those to discuss custom TF's as well as Gunpla and other custom/art projects. We can use this thread for these discussions now.
I still have at least one major TF custom that I want to do, but I am trying to get my modeling/painting skills built up before I try to tackle that project. In order to do that, I've gotten myself back into Gunpla. I just got a light box for Christmas, so I think I will be going back to shoot/re-shoot my previous projects. I'll post the updated imgur galleries as that happens. For now, here is my current WIP, a Real Grade Gundam Astray Red Frame: WIP RG Red Frame Astray This is a 1/144 scale kit with a ton of tiny moving parts, and some incredible engineering/injection molding. I spent way too much time detailing parts that will just be covered up in armor, but it's been a lot of fun so far, and I'm nearing the home stretch.
I just updated that WIP gallery with a Proof-of-Concept pic at the bottom - BWAHAHAHAHAAA! WIP RG Red Frame Astray It is going to take me a while to figure out how to best go about it, but it looks VERY promising so far....
Update: Almost finished with the decals on the RG Astray, and even though they look OK, decals are just not my favorite thing in the world. I've had to trim a bunch of them to make them fit better, which I feel I shouldn't have to do. Surely the cuts could be a little more precise. Oh well, it's still been a mostly enjoyable process. The large amount of stickers seemed overwhelming at first, but it looks like some of them are extras in case you flub one up or want to add them elsewhere, and it doesn't feel like a ridiculous amount once you start actually applying them. I've been led to believe that a clear coat will help the sticker edges to stand out less, which would be my other major gripe. I had considered getting a set of waterslide decals for it, but then realized I didn't have the patience to wait for an order to arrive. I wanted to get work done while I had some days off, so I started with the included decals. I have one more arm to do and then the shoulders. After that, I kinda want to paint the correct white/red parts on the arms (the connector sockets) and the hands. I also have pretty much everything I need for the led, but haven't sat down to figure out how to hide/connect the wires yet.
Decals honestly are kinda rough to use. Heck some get stuck to your finger once, you try to reapply and then they don't stick like they are suppose to...
Most folks I see now never use their fingers, but the tip of their x-acto knife or a pair of tweezers to handle the stickers. That is what I did to mostly avoid that problem. It still happened with one sticker when I decided to re-position it after it was stuck. Not all the glue stayed even on the sticker so it ended up a little lumpy and not as stuck as I'd like, but lesson learned hahaha. The main problems I had were stickers overlapping: areas where the sticker was slightly bigger or the wrong shape to really fit where they indicated it should go. The arms have these triangular areas, but the stickers for them are rectangles. I trimmed them some to get them mostly there, then had to trim the rest once the thing was stuck so that the sticker didn't spill out of the recessed area it was supposed to be in. On the shoulders, a couple of the stickers went right over panel lines, so I had to place them, then carefully cut around the panel line and remove that strip of sticker. Lastly, and the worst of it, was the front shoulder armor stickers have these little foil bits (not really a fan of the foil bits on these...they just look out of place IMO) that look like they should line up with a recessed detail that I had already panel lined. I was used to this, as they did the same thing on some of the leg armor. On the shoulder armor, however, they did NOT line up, and they are clear stickers, so you'd see the panel-lined bit right next to the foil bit of the same shape. I ended up carefully putting the sticker back on the sheet, then doing my best to clean out that panel lining, then replace the sticker. When you get this kit (because you definitely should) remember to not fill those bits on the bottom front shoulder armor. /soapbox At any rate, the stickers on the suit are done. I have a couple more to place on the gun once I finish cleaning it up, but that's it. I really like the way it is turning out, and I will try to post some more pics soon.
Well, it seems like my luck with this first RG finally ran out... 1. While applying the stickers to the gun, I must have ham-hands'd it because the barrel broke off. So far I have used a pin vise to drill a hole in each part that I will eventually use to fix it properly. For now though, he has a beam shotgun instead of a beam rifle...(I actually kinda like it) 2. Apparently Gundam Paint Markers and RG frames (ABS Plastic?) in general do not mix. I had used a white Gundam Paint Marker to color all the finger armor on the ABS static hands, which seems OK so far. (though I've heard horror stories about those too) For the RG hands(the pose-able ones) I used a red Gundam Paint Marker to color the underside of the fingers. This got into the joints, and though the index fingers seemed to have survived the process, BOTH thumbs broke at the joint. I've glued them into a neutral pose, and should still be able to use them, but they've lost that articulation point. Updated with some newer photos (after stickers, but before breaking the hands...) WIP RG Red Frame Astray
What? Man that sounds like an adventure. Sorry to hear that. I like the sound of a beam shotgun though.
Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy and haven't had a lot of time to work on things. I was also stuck for a while because I was having a lot of trouble finding something the same diameter as the pin vice drill bit I used to get the gun ready to repair... I tried paper clips, push pins, the smallest spare runners I could find, and almost resorted to shaving down a toothpick. Update for issue 1: When I finally cleared off my workspace (AGAIN) to resume work, I looked at an IBO runner that I was putting back in its box. (Carta's Graze Ritter - Preview photos) One place on it had a number plate on both sides of a very thin ridge. At first, I thought I could trim around the ridge to make a serviceable repair part. When I looked closer, though, I noticed that on the BOTTOM of the runner were all these little nubs under the tree from the molding process. I test-fit one of those into the drilled gun barrel, and lo and behold, it worked! I still had to do a little trimming, and it would have been nice had it been just a couple mm longer, but it was enough to hold the two pieces of the gun together so it could be glued properly without worrying about aligning the barrel or having a really weak connection there. So there we go, the gun is fixed, and though the glue is noticeable up close, from most viewing angles, it still looks decent. Update for issue 2: I picked up some ACRYLIC paint for the RG hands. ((Protip: Gundam markers apparently use LACQUER paint and is why the ABS plastic did not like it.)) I will try to get those hands finished up this week. After that, this sucker is pretty much done apart from a layer or two of matte clear coat. I am probably going to wait for better weather to do that because I keep reading that Cold Temp + Humidity + Clear Coat = Frosty-Looking Uneven Mess. There's also the matter of the LED, but I think I'm going to take a bit of a break from the kit for now. Thinking about going back to a couple of simpler kits in my backlog or doing some touch-ups and photo shoots of some of my completed builds. We'll see what happens...
Yep, still here, just hadn't had much traction on this stuff. I finished up the last couple of stickers on the Astray's beam saber handles and cleaned up the glue on the RG thumbs a bit to get them ready to paint up hopefully this weekend. That Graze Ritter is a really nice kit, and one of the better Grazes in terms of deco. I love the colors, though all the red parts are stickers. I need to do a little more panel lining/cleanup on the frame and possibly paint that sword before I will do a proper photo shoot. Lastly, on a whim I decided to check my ebay watch list and saw that the 4x sword kits I wanted for the HGBF Wing Zero Honoo was listed with 0 bids, .99 start, and 4 hrs left, so I said what the hell and bid on it. Got it for the .99 (plus $10 shipping). I have no idea what to expect....estimates put it at nearly a month to get here. I'm worried because what happens when you win at the minimum bid? Am I gonna get a set of boxes someone sat on first? They have a couple of other upgrade kits that I am looking at - will I get blacklisted with them internally for sniping a product for $1? Waiting a month to find out what I get is gonna be rough...
Awesome, I have heard some people getting good deals like that with no ill effects. But we have to wait and see huh?
Well, I got some work done this weekend, but mostly on gunpla that wasn't mine(or isn't mine NOW LOL)... I helped my younger son out with a couple kits that he has been working on. First, there is a SD that he has had for a while. It's like some huge/oversized samurai Gundam: Shin Goka Ryuso Ryubi Gundam. Though it is absolutely GIGANTIC for an an SD, it is a fairly solid kit with some neat play features. (there is a switch on the back of the head that moves the mouth-plate, and another that you pull out, rotate 180, and push back in that flips the eyes around inside the head - it's genius!) Anyway, he broke and/or lost a couple of pieces and didn't want to continue work on it, so I figured I would see if I could salvage it. It really wasn't as bad as he had let on. I had to glue the giant gold chrome v-fin thing, and it's missing a thumb and 1/2 of a shoulder port mount support, but otherwise it looks like it will be ok. Panel-lined a couple of parts of it for him as well as fixing some stickers, and It's good to go. Now he's excited to continue working on it, once he finishes the kit he's working on right now.... Which is MY MG Ball (sharkface version)....which he STOLE from me! It's a highly-detailed kit with a ton of small parts, and I am surprised at how well he has done putting it together for a 7yr old! So far, he's only had problems because he accidentally cut one of the wires too short for one of the arms, so I glued what I could, and there's no way to tell there was any problem there. I did get a chance to paint the hands and the gold sword parts of my Red Frame, so apart from some final touch-ups (and the LED at some point) It's done. Lastly, I also added to my already significant backlog... For weeks, Tammies had an awful selection, having nothing from my list. Well, they restocked and had at least 8 kits from my list this time, and I picked up three of those - HGIBO 1/144 Vidar and Flauros, and HGBF Transient Gundam. Now I just need to figure out what kit to work on next...
Update: Those eBay swords I was talking about JUST ARRIVED...I am stunned! They came nicely packaged and shipped by Amazon! SirToys needs to contact these folks and find out how they do it! This may have bumped the Wing Zero Honoo up the list in my backlog, though I still think that kit is going to warrant more custom decorating than I'm currently prepared for.
I'm seriously considering picking up another set if they put it up. at that price, those swords would be awesome for other kits too, though I'm mainly thinking of RG Wing Zero Custom....I really don't need to add more kits to my backlog.....
RG hands are done, or at least as done as they're ever gonna be. That pretty much finishes the RG Red Astray. It'll need a top coat when the weather permits, and I'll eventually go back and put in that LED, but I'm going to move on to the backlog. I got caught up with the IBO series and now want to build almost all of those suits...Barbatos Lupus is probably going to be the first in line, but I've got Astaroth Origin, Flauros, and Vidar not far behind.
Yeah the series doesn't help does it. Ha ha. Oh did you see the 144 Astray Weapon set floating around?
There are no less than three upgrade sets for 144 Astray. In order of want: - 1/144 scaled "RG" Flight Pack - Down-scaled sword from the MG Astray - Third party swords kit? I can't tell if this is based off of something existing, but I haven't seen it associated with an Astray before. These swords also look to be combine-able. I've also seen an upgrade kit for the RG Quan[T]. I may end up picking it up even though I haven't started that kit yet. Started working on the Barbatos Lupus. I love nearly everything about these IBO designs, but these fucking platform heels are killing me. The're getting more and more ridiculous with each new version. If I were better at painting, I'd have to make a KISS custom out of these things...
