Ah, long time since my last post, and I can see a lot of development here, good, good...

Been through a busy freaking 2 weeks of studies and exams, and after that, playing continuous MechWarrior, HL2 and BF2 PC games; thus my 10+ day hiatus from the Internet.

Then I finally got my well-deserved after-exam present for meself: MG Zeta ver. 2.0. At last! A new addition to my 1/100 scale Gundam Icons collection (if not counting my previous Zeta Gundam ver. 1.0)

Got the fellow PlaMo Gang to help out too.


After this one's done, then I have to snapshot an updated pic of the Gundam Icons one more time.

And then maybe continue working on my Nu Gundam conversion and Mortar Headd Vatshu upgrade projects. Yay!


And P.S.:

LOL Owns.

I always had the inevitable feeling that those open-palm hands would come real handy.

Whee... finally finished assembling the Zeta ver.2.0, now it's time for the new warrior to join ranks with the rest of the team.

Zeta ver1.0 and 2.0 compared.


Seems true with some model kits. Like the above pic, the Zeta ver.2.0's blue colour makes it look like it's made of lower-Q plastic compared with the more solid-looking default kit blue of the ver.1.0. Makes the ver.2.0 look cheaper(?... herrgh.. )

Moar of mine:

Update of the 1/100 Gundam Flag Units Collection .

Makes me wish for a bigger cupboard shelf space (or a bigger room, better yet...)

The Flag Units outside view.

Well, not yet, cause I like to follow my regular modelmaking procedure of quick-assembling the kit first, leaving it as-it-is for preliminary study and scrutinization of the model kit in default condition for planning of any upgrade or modification if necessary, then only will the temporal finishing be done (i.e. panel-lining, stickers). The next step would of course involve doing the complete finishing for the kit, like filing off surface irregularities, surfacing and the airbrushing.

Fact of matter is a large majority of my plamo are in the temporal finishing stage, except for the few gunpla going through the conversion process at the moment. Gotta get me that important epoxy putty soon...

Good point actually, StormV, and it reminded me to laugh at myself once again. The thing is, I've yet to own a full airbrush equipment set . So if I go on through the procedures, my models would all be in grey colouration since I'd go up to the surfacing process only. Har har.

I do have two models that have gone through the entirety of my procedures, but the final finishing is done by handpainting, so it's pretty rough looking. That's cause I entered my silver-and-gunmetal coloured MG MS-14 B/C Gelgoog Cannon in the Gundam Contest sometime back in 1998.

A couple of reasons on why I've yet to get myself an airbrush set after all this years, and RMs and time and product availability are the major reasons. All of the airbrush sets that I've come across are normally Tamiya's and those look pretty skimped (slap me if all I care about are the full-fledged sets), maybe something like Gunze's are more of my taste. As for the first two major reasons, it's impaired by the prime activity of PlaMo collecting: the model kits themselves. I've a penchant for collecting (okay, it's more like hoarding... ) really old, and thus rare, PlaMo just for the sake of collecting them (cause nobody else have 'em? Riiight.... ).

Like my precious pre-1989 GunPla:

And I've yet to include my pre-1999 GunPla sets. It's like "Get Them While They Still Exist!!1" and it's quite true in many instances. Not a lot of my PlaMo are easily replacable, so I take real good care of them and won't do any final finishing work until I do any mods and necessary upgrades and get an airbrush set, not to mention airbrushing skills; I just don't dare screw up my rare models, savvy? That also accounts to why a lot of my PlaMo don't have their major decals applied on them yet. Don't wanna waste 'em until I give the PlaMo their well-deserved beautiful colour skin...

Anyways, if I finally get my oh-so-important airbrush set, I've still to practice the art of using it. Hopefully I can paint as well as dj898's work, as seen in this pic:
dj898's PG Gundam Mk-II ZOMG, awesome tasty!

So can anyone kindly tell this yet-to-be-fulfilling model collector a place where to get a good airbrush set? TIA.



Very true there, dj898, on the manner of kit assembly. Don't do this, and people'll bust their fingernails trying to pry the pieces back apart upon discovering an assembly mistake .

Umm, those are mine, StarGhazzer...

And yeah, moar recycled mobile suit designs to complement the lord of recycled animu that is SEED...

Woot woh yoh, MG Gundam F91 is finally coming! At last, some real substantial MS icons from teh superior UC timeline. Now it seems there's hope of an MG V2 Gundam in the works . And moar HGUC goodness! Hopefully Bandai'll remake a lot of MSs from the CCA PlaMo series. Because as can be seen from most of my posts early in this thread, I tend to collect only 1/144 scale ( aiming for a complete 1/144 scale Gundam collection, hence the strict adherence to this scale), so any good HGUC production is sure to pique my interest. Thanks for this uplifting news, StormV!

And no salt, I'd take this in like drinking hypercharged lye with a dash of root beer flavour in the early morning and go WOOOOOO-Hoo!.

Well, no harm meant, mate. It was pretty good if considering it was one of your earlier works. Everyone has to start from somewhere, right? (and I've yet to start airbrushing, waaaa.... )


This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: Apr 20 2006, 02:22 PM

...wow, I'd like a custom-made airbrush powered by an Electrolux fridge too...

Nah, too damn lazy, easier for me to fork out hard-earned cash and get a production one...

And awesome finishing work on the PG Gundam and Zaku II there, is like they got a slightly pearl sheen on them. And like I frequent the 1/144 scale, do you frequent the PG models?

That is a tough question. I'm not sure, after my precious 1/100 scale Turn A Gundam model that marked the 150th point back in 2000, I've lost count. At this moment, 175 models, maybe?

Actually I'm pretty impressed myself over this amount, since I'm not actually a financially-loaded person, and this PlaMo hobby is actually one of my six import-based hobbies, so it's pretty much madness, considering how I managed to survive all this time... ha ha... Maybe I did get the hang of budget-planning. I thank God for this blessing...


P.S.: And one more thing, hitler. Your GitS-Innocence avatar creeps me out, ha ha...
"Now you don't see it, now you do! (and wished you didn't...)" Gives a whole new meaning to the term 'pop-off'.

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: Apr 20 2006, 02:25 PM

That was one thing I've yet to dare do, calculating my past expenses in its entirety and see how much I have spent in the name of Hobby. Some things should remain hidden...

Good point, and the answer is not all get to be displayed. The only ones I'm able to display in a protected environment (i.e. glass-panelled cupboard) are:
my Gundam Flag Units,

my Evangelion set,

a couple of gashapon figures and my recent MG Zeta ver.2.0 (for the moment). The rest? Packed together in their respective boxes, meaning GunPla packed according to series (had to form some sort of organized storage procedures in order to keep track of them all) and stuffed in my primary overhead storage cupboard.

I know it's like 'unfair treatment' to the rest of the PlaMo, but it's better than not being in an ideal display environment, thus getting themselves exposed to the elements (dust, direct sunlight, kids...). Once in a while I do take out a couple of PlaMo and display them at random places, e.g. on top of the computer, bookshelves, etc. But none as audacious as the time I hung my Millenium Falcon model to the middle of the ceiling fan, har har... hyperspace spin...

Actually, it's not that difficult to reach these numbers, jhcj. If you have enough pocketmoney to indulge in roughly one to two kits a month, and four to five if there's a really good sale going on, then attaining 200+ kits is entirely possible. I used this method diligently for 8 years, and look at the results . Slow and steady is the key, so keep up the good effort, jhcj!

That is understandable, after all, we have our own prime reasons and objectives of doing this PlaMo collecting hobby. You seem to concentrate on the cream of the GunPlas in the form of the PG collection (7 PG kits! it is enviable... ) and thus focus on what is considered as the masterpieces of model kits.

I'm more focused on attaining the full collection of MSs from all of the Gundam universes, hence the adherence to the 1/144 scale, and with good reason. The 1/144 scale kits are small enough to be affordable and doesn't take up too much display/storage space, yet large enough to have enough design details and makes possible to comfortably do scratchbuild or conversion work. So if one wants to collect GunPla en-masse, then 1/144s are perfect.

All of them have been assembled, and that's why it's so much 'fun' trying to make those guys fit into boxes when storing them. All those backpack extensions makes it tough, y'know...

And I don't like to call them mediocre. These days people have it so easy to choose which models they'd prefer, cause there are model variations of the same MS type; for example 1/100 MG and 1/100 HG of the same Gundam unit. But back then, there's only ONE kind of particular model, so what choice do we have? It's either you have it, or you don't. Period. The younger generation now can be considered damn lucky to be able to get multiple versions of models to choose from today.

And isn't it the obligation of a true modeller to turn even mediocre models into masterpieces, regardless of the model's original condition?

Ya, I'd been eyeing Gunze's stuff for some time now, ever since I saw their airbrush sets showcased in Dec 1998's Hobby Japan mag. I know aesthetics are unimportant in this case, but WAVE's air compressor at that time reminded me of a periuk nasi... .

And I did get most of my First Gundam series' kits from ToyCity, especially the cool vehicular models that are no more made for newer series'. There's more to Gundam than only the MSs, savvy? Man, I wish the modelmakers made a model of an ISLAND-3 TYPE COLONY... I'd love to hang that from my ceiling... (or maybe it's better if I made one myself... )

And I'll love them all, finished or not. I'm into Gundam not for the models, but for the stories; hence my preferences for certain model kits only. A model is after all, the representation of the real thing, and I get models that represent in any manner, the strengths of the series (i.e. the characters, the development of technology, etc.). And that is one reason why I swore I would not buy any model from the SEED Destiny series, knowing the true reason for the existence of that series is fundamentally just to churn out and sell more model kits to the gullible collectors who are unfortunately impressed by a series of such quality. (Anyone see a Destiny Gundam amongst my Gundam Flag Units collection? Nope, and thank God for that. No phailed representatives allowed, har har )

But like I always point out, we have our own reasons for collecting particular models, and trying to force change upon other people's opinions is definitely pointless, cause it's all about relativity. All of us have different point of views and interests, so I'll honour that and let everyone form their own opinions on things because it's their right, anyway. Cherish your own one-of-a-kind persona and individuality! And that's what makes this hobby really fun; your work reflects your personality.

Sorry if I digress too much.

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: Apr 22 2006, 02:12 PM

kingkong81's post of the Gundam diorama with the minifigs just made me go back to my stored models and began digging back out relevant models for this discussion. I did work on some of my 1/144 scale 08th MS Team models for a diorama idea I had, and it utilized some of my rare 1/144-scaled minifigs I got from a military model set.


This was the early work I did for the project. The first mods were for the cockpit details, where I cut out a space in the GM's torso for me to fit a scratchbuilt pilot seat and control panel, using design references I got from my 08th MS Team lineart book. Thus I managed to make a GM cockpit that is exact to scale and where I can place a seated minifig in the cockpit seat.

I apologize in advance for the not-so-quality pics I've taken. Shots like this always reminds me of the shortcomings of the camera model I'm currently using. Well, it's just a hand-me-down camera, so I couldn't rant much.


How the cockpit sorta looked like before the mod. Notice the gantry arm is a mod too.


How my cockpit mod looks like.


Look at how cute these guys are!!1! . The seated one is on the GM pilot seat I removed.


The seat (along with its occupant) back in the cockpit space. Yay, pilot fun!


From what we all know already, the scale measurement used by Gunpla are definitely not compatible to the usual scale used by military model kits (around 1/72 and 1/48, I believe), so trying to find human figures to match GunPla works is pretty tough. I can't guarantee that the model kits I obtained these 1/144 scale minifigs from are still available out there, but you should try to search around if there are any stand-alone human figure kits that ranges around 1/144 and 1/100 scale. If you do find such kits, please do inform me too, kingkong81.

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: Apr 22 2006, 01:49 PM

Woh, thanks for the valuable info! I'll see if I could try to find those stuff.

All Right!! Thanks a multiplillion for the info, dj898!

Multiple MG model-loaded dioramas are now made possible...

YAY! Agrees.

Long Live UC Timeline!! Bring moar HGUC goodies!


(But I do wish I had something akin to 'disposable income'... )

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: Apr 27 2006, 03:24 PM

Man, it must be magic to see those alloy-dehydrated legs being able to support that HUEG backpack of his (in anime and model both... )

Ya'rly... Where's my lovely Master Grade F91??! I no wanna Master Grade Takoyaki!
Bandai!! You- (bleep)...


BTW, the Red Frame antenna is quite a simple design, maybe you can try scratchbuilding it, Balthasar. And where did you get your RM135 MkII Titans Ver. anyway? I'm interested in the AEUG Ver...

But modelling mishaps like that are truly part of what makes this hobby bloody fun, don't you agree? Mistakes made that'll make you cherish the models even more, har har . Care for others to share similar experiences? During the time I was cutting the parts off their plastic runners, I once accidentally cut off a part that was not meant to be cut off, so when I noticed, I , lol... I forgot which model it was...

Same like the time I took hours to assemble a complicated torso piece, then I realized that I left one vital piece out, and had to disassemble it all and do it all over again, hyok...

And:
If the HY2M Gundam got no approval from thy missus, don't you think your future 1/32 scale Ex-S Gundam would suffer a worse fate?

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: May 12 2006, 12:26 AM

Yep, I understand that kind of 'joy' pretty well... the horror of discovering the need to pry apart a nicely-made, tight-fitted component you've spent precious time upon to add in a last-minute piece that somehow got separated from the assembly queue... ugh .

That's the reason why we should trim a bit of the snap-together pegs to make it easier to disassemble those pieces again. Also I normally use my cutting knife to slide the edge into the gap between two pieces (try doing that at a location where there's minimal risk of damaging surface details) and twisting it carefully to pry the two pieces apart.

Or sometimes I just use my multipurpose fingernails... <-- bad procedure shortcut, har har... >_>;;

Yep, modelmaking is prohibited when suffering from sleep deprivation. Vote has been cast . But other mishap-generating factors like impatience and lack of attention also contribute to the suffering of our hard-earned GunPla. Speed-assembling a GunPla will always raise some problems upon completion, e.g. pieces with large gaps between connecting ends (wth?), bent/snapped fragile parts (omg!), strangely loose body joints (wtf?), lost vital polycaps (ack!), etc; slipshod mistakes that'll turn your quality Bandai GunPla into a BenDi-grade equivalent... the horror...

About the Strike Noir, hmm... moar hueg backpacks... although I have to admit that designwise, it seems to incorporate some decent multifunctionality, rather than the ginormous yet monopurpose gear that's lugged around by the main MSs of GSD, bleh... all that weight and it has only one function? Yeech..

The large machete-like blades of Strike Noir seems to be made for some MS-chopping fun (imagine zipping around the battlefield, yapping "Meat!" nonstop, he he... ), but I do like the revamped designs for the Duel And Buster units; they're a whole lot meaner looking (badass, heh heh... ).

Maybe GS StarGazer will promise fans more models that have more design details (think Astray series designs )

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: May 13 2006, 01:33 AM

Corteousy of Its Highness Gunota, really promising GunPla for all:
I quite LOLed at the MG Gyan news, didn't forsee that the obvious joke seen in Keroro Gunso ep5 (Keroro cited it's the "maboroshi GunPLa", hee hee... indeed... ) actually came to existence now... But look at those mechanical details! *drools...*

And the Strike Noir looks quite fun, especially with those cable thingy...

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: May 14 2006, 01:08 AM

Hyok LOL at NoobGrade GunPla!! (No offense to anyone closely related )

Heck, I'd only collect those 1/144 scale NGs if they were given to me free. And I mean bulk-quantity free. Perfect fodder for some Keroro-induced GunPla experiments:

1) Go to top of residential building

2) "Hmm, with their hueg backpacks and ridiculous wing-like extensions, can they at least attempt a manner of flight?"

3) Let go of NG

4) Wait

5) "Nope. Accelerated drop is more like it..."

6) Take the next NG

7) "What if I fling it forward? Will it at least glide?"

8) Catapult the NG in a forward direction (using arm, slingshot, etc.)

9) Slightly longer wait.

10) "Nope... only achieves greater smash effect."

La La La....

OMG F91 cometh!! but WTH do they mean by 'polycap-less'? What, MG still can't manufacture small polycaps? The 1/100 scale F91 is 15cm tall, after all...

And I still wonder if the seemingly-defunct HG Mechanics range will make more MA models... I don't mind seeing a 1/550 Rafflesia...

Gold Frame Amatu? About bloody time!

Updates from Lord Gunota:

Hmm, interesting, this one...


... a special site just for the GunPla... go figure. Typical Bandai-Namco...


And talking about GunPla, here's more revealing pics courtesy of Pam's HP:

Woh, teh Zudah is coming real soon...


Real lovely details... a real treat for UC Gundam fans.


And the much-awaited MG F91. Looks real promising... They retained the original rounded design from the anime, and not using GFF-like designs; Katoki's redesigns are usually pretty squarish/polygonal...

And I think I know why it's going to be 'polycap-less'... Cause for the 1/100 scale range, it IS smaller than OYW MSs. And like the previous 1/100 F91 (which I'm fortunate to have, bloody rare now), I won't expect MG to be able to intergrate pieces small enough to enable a slide-open face mask and slide-out cooling fins. If it was a PG then maybe it's possible...
I think it might mean stiffer joints, like a lot of MG GunPla elbow joints these days? (no more rubber-like pieces?) I'm just assuming, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
For hinge joints maybe it'll work, but how will they make polycap-less ball joints? Ugh, imagine the friction and the wear it'll make in the long run...

Holly Heck! Check out Strike Noir's cover art pose! Huzzah, John Woo...?
Or like infested once said: "Dual pistol Dante DMC3 style shooting FTW!" Yep.

And do I see there's a special DVD and Guide Leaflet included with it? Man, talk about promo power...

More pics can be seen from the aforementioned site link above.


Ah, my appetite for teh GunPla has increased with anticipation... Hope my RM can increase accordingly as well, LOL...

This post has been edited by Fodder Soldier: May 19 2006, 09:06 AM