Just to give you a good idea of how far I’m behind on SHF reviews and Gunpla projects I give you these two pictures:
Gunpla backlog
Pile of SHFs.
Will I ever catch up?
Back from a brief stint in the hands of another modeler, it’s…
Sinanju’s shield! Finally getting the first of many names, this has made it’s way back from the one and only Z and will be headed to lovely Japan next, in to the care of Gaijin Gunpla (Who is also getting the Unicorn bit in there) and then on to The American Salaryman in Tokyo before headed over to Busterbeam! After that, it’ll be taking a trip down to the land down under for the signatures of both Lanky and Sonar! See you soon, shield!
I get the feeling I’ll need to touch up the silver trim a bit upon getting it back, but it’s a small price to pay. Nothing I can do about the paint getting rubbed in-transit!
Started work on Strike-E’s frame. While I bought the IWSP, the finished product will have the Noir backpack since I’m swapping it with a friend who’s fond of the Strike Noir Strike-E+IWSP combo but doesn’t paint. As you can see, the frame is really solid and well done!
While we’re at it, this one goes out to you, Gaijin Gunpla. Couldn’t have done this without you!
Talk about excessive…and of course, recent talks have decided that this STILL isn’t done. More on that once it’s in action.
I am also curious as to if anyone would be interested in commissioned work. I’m still looking for a job down here and this would be a decent way to make some extra scratch and have some fun doing it. It’s not an entirely serious idea right now, but I do feel comfortable enough asking you guys if you’re interested.
I just noticed today that I’d left the page to the photodump page for my BB Sinanju incorrectly linked! Guess that explains why so many people were supposedly interested in Sazabi, huh? It’s fixed now though!
Nothing else to report, still playing with photo setups and waiting on paint..
So, it’s been awhile since I finally finished my role in the GAF Sinanju Group Build project, giving me plenty of time to reflect on this kit and what I learned by taking part in something like this. When I began working on it I was basically a novice at most aspects of building a gundam- painting, decaling, and modification. Sinanju was the 4th kit I spraypainted (The others being Nu, Sword Impulse and Sazabi), all of the others before it coming out…okay. Nothing spectacular. In addition to that, it was a kit that I had already built- meaning I’d have to strip everything down, clean off all the decals and paint, then essentially start over. This seemed like a really daunting task..Sinanju had been a real test for me the first time around, would I be motivated enough to do it all over and apply even more effort?
Cue a comment from one Gaijin Gunpla on this article. A group build? While I had built models with my friends over at the homestead, participating in something like this wasn’t something I had done before. Not to mention a lot of builders that I looked up to were taking part! Busterbeam, Gundam Guy, Gaijin Gunpla and of course Rob of ASM were all going to be working on their own Sinanju as well, along with a forum full of people able to provide information and advice should I be wary of my next step. Not to mention a bunch of people all working on the same model and getting hyped off of each other’s creative energy is always great. I poked my head in to the thread (glad it was open and the others didn’t mind me just showing up!) and began to toil away on the big red (for now) bastard.
This is the very first piece of information that I learned that comes in handy today. Until then, I had been using rubbing alcohol and just scrubbing vigorously until the paint was removed, or simply trying to cover the mistake up with more paint. Thanks to Tonzo, I now know that ammonia based cleaning products such as windex work a million times better for removing paint after a 24 hour soak. This would help in removing the old rifle paint and the formerly gold trim.
Before painting, I had to figure out what I was going to do about the shield. Like Busterbeam, I thought the default method sucked and looked for something less drastic than combing the forearm and shield parts together. I’m a person who is very stuck on symmetry, so in the end I would up drilling two .104″ (lol, imperial) holes in the forearm armor, which is just barely big enough to accommodate part of a sprue. A PC-C part trimmed down and shoved in to the shield frame and VIOLA! Stability, symmetry and functionality all at once! This was the first time I had done something like this to a kit (barring dremeling out Sazabi’s leg joints, which was a bit different imo), so as you can imagine I was very pleased to see it work out for the best. If only the blark part hadn’t gotten messed up so badly..more on that later.
I decided when I started this project that I would absolutely not cut corners, as that was a big problem I had with the first go. Detail every pipe, thruster, vent, and vulcan. Apply every decal. Get the trim PERFECT. I sprayed the black pieces with a coating of TS-29 semi-gloss black and set to work on the biggest challenge presented by the Sinanju a second time: painting the trim. The X-11 chrome silver I used for this behaved MUCH better than the gold leaf paint I originally used, helped along by the much finer brush I now had. Forcing myself to be patient, I took frequent breaks from painting the silver trim to go spraypaint the now-blue parts outside, also giving those at least an hour between coats. I used a lot of paint on this thing, at least five or six cans. Yeah, it was expensive (mental note: buy an airbrush) but it was also a hundred percent worth it. As with most things, going slowly and being thorough in your work pays off more than rushing.
Hey, great! I was pumped about how great the blue was shining and how the trim came out nice and crisp without much fuss…but wasn’t so happy with the shield. I went to remove some paint via winddex soak, repainted it, still wasn’t happy, then it broke while taking it off. Oh, the depression. This is the ONLY worthwhile shot of the shield since Bandai has yet to get me a new one (something that will be fixed soon, hooray!). It should be noted it was around this time that GaiGun gave the kit it’s alliteration-themed name (Like the Ebon Enforcer and Twilight Terror before it), “Blue Berserker”. Happy with how things were looking thusfar I had to steel myself for the next big hurdle that every Sinanju builder faces: the dreaded decals. It is here that Tonzo once again lends insight and informs me that a clear gloss coat will aid in the application of the decals. Two cans of TS-13 gloss clear and a whole bunch of my time later…
Gorgeous. Even under the too-yellow of my lamp, you can tell that the blue has some depth to it and produces a lovely shine. I finished up the decals with no hiccups and moved on to topcoating, which is when I found out that Tamiya gloss coats are far prettier than Mr. Hobby gloss topcoats. It’s not all bad though as the finish still looked wonderful! The waterslide decals were loads easier to work with than the dry transfers, I honestly think anyone who is serious about building this model needs to buy a set (or if you’re GaiGun, have a set made. Love ya man!) to make it look proper.
At the end of the day though, complaining about the topcoat is just me splitting hairs. The glossy finish really brings out the shine as long as I remember to position it so the light captures it properly, something that the other members of the GAF forum have helped me with as well. This model has been the biggest learning experience for me twice now, the first time in the realm of painting and excessive decal application and the second time in refining my technique (with the input of others). As it stands, this model is and will likely remain the crown jewel of my gunpla collection for some time, despite the fact it does not sit on the topmost shelf with the PG kits. I’ve put far more work in to it than any of my other models, past or present. At this point, I feel there is not much else I can do with my current toolset, so I may need to buy myself an airbrush (oh the money I’ll save on paint!) for the next big thing. Big ups to Busterbeam for showing me a good entry-level brush.
Actually, big ups to everyone that helped with this project, commented on the WiPs, told me it was coming along great, or just gave me some input on something to fix. Thanks a ton, I couldn’t have done it without you. This model is my bar for any and all future projects and is something I’m not sure I will manage to out-do any time soon. Like lots of people say, the Sinanju is one of the best MG kits out there in terms of look and design, but is also very demanding. After working on it twice now I can comfortably say that this model has the potential to be extraordinary with the proper amount of work and attention to detail.
You can see the photodump (And backstory, something I drummed up to tie together all of the groupbuild Sinanjus!) on his page.
Just as a heads up, I did enter the Blue Berserker in to the WGC. I’m sure some pro modelers will come along as the deadline approaches and completely destroy my chances at anything resembling a good finish, but it’s nice to enter and get yourself out there! You can see his page here, which I am still adding pictures to. Best of luck to everyone who enters!
Thought I’d try something new for now and release pictures for this mammoth project in stages since it’s taking so long . Up first are beam sabers and some melee fighting! Hit the jump for a slew of pictures!
Just trying to make things look better. That old theme was driving me nuts. If you can, let me know what resolution you guys are looking at the site in and I’ll see if I can do something about it if it looks off, since I’m looking at stuff in glorious 1920×1080 resolution now.
It’s coming…
This has been the slowest part EVER, applying all of Sinanju’s Decals.
I’m farther along now than I am when I took that (shoulders+arms done, only the weapons and right leg to go!), but there you have it. Thanks to the fine fellows over at the EvilCow forums, I’ve named this model the MSN-06Sβ, or the Blue Berserker. Mad ups to you guys and being a huge help to me while I worked on this, it wouldn’t have turned out as nice without you.
By the time the next update rolls around, this model will be finished! I can’t wait to have this long work finally be wrapped up.
A few months ago I read word at various blogs that japan had imposed a full ban on the exportation of spray cans from japan which meant most of us modelers who preferred to use Mr. Hobby brand topcoat were going to have a problem real soon.
Or not. I ordered these FOREVER ago, but after the supposed ban had been put in place. No issues here, so feel free to continue to order topcoat my friends! For the record, I got mine from HLJ, I don’t know if other online stores will still sell it or not.
Also, you can see that Sinanju’s decals have finally arrived…right in the middle of a nice humid stretch here in the states. I’ll be finishing up with my painting and clear coating as soon as the temperature returns to normal, but for now I’ve got to wait.
In somewhat related news, I’m thinking about what to do for my next gunplas. I know MG Exia Ignition mode will be one of them, but other blogs have me thinking about what to do after that- F91 isn’t a bad looking piece, and the X-1 Crossbone Full Cloth is looking pretty good as well…or will I go back and shower my PG Red Frame with some extra attention? Oh, choices choices…
Recent Comments...