Mecha 2012 - Jagd Doga WIP 2

Completed all the main colouring now, did a little more masking off on the weapons to add a little more detail. Assembly now all completed. Have also given everything a clear gloss coat and started on applying some decals borrowed form the Blueframe, and a couple from a Gundam 00 Tieren decal set. Pics below on how its all going:

Its an arm.. yeah hard to tell at first yes?

Everything all shiney-shiney I likes this.

All the bits ready for detailing.

Added some decals already

Next comes the panel lining, then the weathering, then the final top coat. Should be looking at completion very soon.

Mecha 2012 - Jagd Doga WIP 1

So I have been spending the weekend working very carefully on the MSN-03 Jagd Doga 1/144 HG for the mecha 2012 contest (OOB category). So far, have laid down the base colours - a mixture of metallic and dull reds and silver for the armour - gold for the "bits" and piping, lots of gun metal for the inner frame and weapon and a smidgen of blue for the tippy toes. This is how the Jagd Doga looks for reference:

 

I have made some slight changes to original colouring and "jazzed" it all up a little by adding more gold. I also intend to add some trim colouring along the legs - ill see how this goes. OK, so where I am at so far, let start with the lovely lovely gold, which I am mighty pleased how it turned out:

 

"bits" sprayed gold. Looks good enough to bite. 

 

Shoulder parts. Silver. Silver related-note.. erm.. nope.. nothing. 

 

Yep, I did the thrusters in gold. masked off the innards and sprayed them dull red. Looks nice. 

 Masking off the silver shoulder parts - these now sprayed with dull red too. Should have just taken out the parts and sprayed them really.. but fancied the practise.

Stuff, drying.

 

Metallic red part. This turned out nice too. 

 

Makeshift masking! blue tack really is incredibly versatile.. I sprayed red all over it and I can still use it. Awesome. 

A little assembly of the torso + head as a little teaser. No detailing as yet - that's the hard part that comes next and the most likely point I'll cock something up. Keep your fingers crossed for me. More coming soon!

The unicorn has arrived!

Wohoo! At last.. the box is incredibly weighty and I am somewhat daunted by the sheer volume of runners in this kit.. its going to be a heck of a long build but I cant wait. WIP coming soon as I start this.

My Mecha 2012 Entry + more news

Hey all, my first and probably only entry into the fantastic mecha 2012 competition run by the mac forums will be MSN-03 Jagd Doga 1/144 HG. As I will be entering the OOB (out of box) category I have to be careful as to how far I go customisation wise.. The rules state I can do a custom paint job, but not modify the kit in any way. With this in mind, I think I will be doing the red parts in a metallic red and applying a little weathering. The tubes/wires on the inner parts will be a nice metallic copper, all silver and gold parts will remain the same. Its my intention to put as much "realism" and detail into this kit as I can muster. Will be taking my time for sure. Today I will start cutting and filing the parts. Will be putting up my WIP soon.

In other news.. my long, long long awaited full-armour unicorn MG has been delayed in customs.. Had to pay an additional £30 in import taxes and fees (!) making this model cost me a total of £140 so far, by far the most ridiculous amount of money I have ever spent on a kit.. crazy. I just cant wait until either my in laws visit the UK or I go over to Japan so I can pick up some more kits considerably cheaper! The unicorn will be arriving on Tuesday next week.. Cant wait.

A Modeller's Innovation: Modelling 101: Don't bite off more than you can ch...

A Modeller's Innovation: Modelling 101: Don't bite off more than you can ch...: Hello Ladies and Gents ( if there is any ladies at all that read my blog post). Welcome to another post from the hummingbird. Right, in t...

Mecha's of the month - December 11

This will be a monthly thing, reflecting on some of the amazing mecha builds I have seen around the net (with links too so you can see more of course) over the past month. Here are my mecha builds of December 2011:

Ptrantrians' "HG Unicorn Sazabi"
Fantastic simple colour combination here, brilliantly executed by the builder Ptrantrian. Super-clean lines and a brilliant custom build.

Sadly, I have no links to any more of Ptrantrians work.. but you can see more pics by clicking on this link that will take you to the MAC forums thread.

Appasionatas' "MG Infinite Justice"
Have you ever seen so many shades of purple? Stunningly detailed and expertly pulled off, this awesome MG infinite justice is pure eye candy.

Sadly, again I have no links to this builder but you can view more pics of this work on the MAC forums thread. Click here to take a looky.

Coming up in 2012

Happy new year to one and all, hope you had a nice xmas and stuff and did not gain too many pounds. After a fantatic period of being away from work, the dull mist of everyday life begins to loom its ugly head. With this in mind, in order to cheer myself up I thought I would share some of my goals in Gunpla for the coming year.

This year will see my first ever competition entry, the Mecha 2012 contest organised by the awesome people at MAC forums. My entry will be the aformentioned Jagd Doga, entering into the OOB (out Of Box) painted category. I was going to give the diorama a shot but upon measuring my current skill level, this could have resulted in an abomination worthy of great ridicule within the gunpla community :)

I am giving the HLJ (hobby link Japan) contest a miss.. purely because of time constraint. Perhaps next time.

Overall, I am hoping to build more Master Grades. Going to also have a bash at a real grade as and when the funds become available. I will also continue to learn new tricks and tips and share them right here on the bloggy. I have a few idea's about some future custom builds requiring some additional materials.

I will also be investing in an airbrush, the applications and effects as such will be far in advance of my current technique using spray cans. This will tkae some time to master.. :)

Hers to 2012 all, have a good one :)

6G9WSGJSPM59

6G9WSGJSPM59

Helpful vid for Gunpla Beginners

From the master of Gunpla, Kawaguchi!