Level Up! Results

Thank you all for your tremendous interest and enthusiasm for this, my first modelling contest. All-in-all there were a total of 21 entries, of which 9 entrants managed to complete their builds within the deadline.

So, the time has finally come, I have spent the past week going over the entries and scoring them according to 4 different criteria, WIP (work in progress, so I can see how much work has gone into making the model), Skill Advancement (how much I think the planned skill advancement is), Success (how well the advancement turned out) and completed final model.

It was incredibly hard to choose a winner.. there were modellers of all skill levels involved and all the completed models were of a great standard. Although I can only give out two prizes, I hope that all the entries have come away with at least a new string to their bow.

I would like to take a moment to just give a few thoughts on each of the 9 entries:

Char Z'Gok by Tadych:
Tadych's aim was to remake a previous model he had painted using rattle-cans, an improvement on a previous model. Some great detailing put into this one on a crisp and neatly coloured paint job. Some very impressive weathering, paint chipping and rusting detail put in is a lifelike bonus to this highly displayable kit.

SD Kampfer by Effael:
Effael's first resin cast model is a superbly crafted little mean machine with a superb, clean paint job topped off with an ominously mean LED installation. Some real expert detailing here with some top-notch colour separation and decals. The material paintwork here is really something that stood out from me, giving a real 'feel' for different surface texture in the metallics, offset by the ceramic-esque armour parts.

Efreet Nacht by Justinius Builds:
Justin's first resin conversion is a gorgeously spiky and dangerous looking Efreet Nacht, a conversion build over a Zaku MG frame. Superb, clean paint work with some very expert shading, great detailing and some really cool metallic parts. The orange accents really make the overall piece pop right out showing off a keen eye for aesthetic balance. The Kunai-style daggers are a personal favourite part of this model.

Chromed Death by Event Horizon Gunpla
Event Horizon was looking to improve his painting skills with the legendary Death-sythe Hell. Event Horizon most certainly outdid himself in this model, advancing his understanding of metallic coatings to produce a very shiny and gorgeous reproduction of a previous model. The addition of some great decal work produced a great piece, setting him on the path to some future great works.

Sabre Tiger by Chadwokie
His first Zoids kit (and an impressive choice at that) is pretty superbly painted in a desert camoflage colour scheme, with a pleasingly complex construction. Great detailing and one mean looking cat.

Gundam 0 custom HG by Tian Hong:
This heavily modified HG model is a great example of Tian Hong's impressive scratch building skills, taken even further with the addition of one huge cannon! Tian Hong was looking to improve his modification skills, and weathering and has pulled of a great looking model. The almost classical full-armour colour scheme is very well thought out with some skilled colour separation. Great to-scale weathering and material detail.

RG GP-01 Fb by Zubaun Builds
Zubaun's first painted RG is stunningly good considering it's 1/144 scale. Some amazing masking skills shown here with a great eye for colour contrast. Great textures, perfect subtle shading and super-sharp detailing, a real work of art - setting aside my own bias for the bad-ass design of the RG GP-01fb :)

My Winners

My first prize winner is Pawces, with this superb fantasy/medieval concept based off a tallgeese. Pawces was looking to make a custom based on something he had not tried before - born out of a like for Game of Thrones. The level of modification here, and how well it has been pulled off is nothing short of great. The colour choices, the addition of the "chain mail" style shoulders, the fluffy cuff and the cape to my mind would never work on a mecha model, and Pawces has pulled it off spectacularly, and proved my thoughts entirely wrong! The addition of the exquisitely detailed white and gold paint job literally below my socks off, and has become most certainly one of my most favourite models this year so far. Pawces wins the Jehuty HD edition model. Many congratulations to you sir :)

The second prize winner goes to Tigrillo, with his awe inspiring scratch-build of the classic VF-001S. You simply can not ignore the amount of work that has gone into creating this. Tigrillo's aim was to improve upon a previous scratch build of the same model, improving its proportions, transform-ability and mechanics and has pulled it off in style. With the addition of an excellently done paint job, the detail put into the cockpit is stunning, and the overall aesthetic is a pleasure to look at. Very, very well done. Tigrillo wins a £20 Amazon voucher :)

Thank you all. 

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for your excellent support for this contest, and commiserations to those who did not win or manage to finish your models in time. It was a genuine pleasure to look at all your work, and I look forward to seeing more from you all. You are an inspiration to everyone who wants to improve in this community, and keep doing what your doing and sharing your works with the world. 

I look forward to holding another contest later this year :) 

Off to Japan, some updates and looking back at 2013

Off to Japan in a while, so thought I would round up the year with a final post looking back at 2013, which has been a all-round good one for me, as well as give a little update as to what I have been up to. 

Setting aside personal things like (finally) getting myself in employment I actually like, watching my first born growing up past the toddler stage and into boyhood, and of course welcoming our second child into the world, my Mecha building world has grown substantially. Whereas I did not get as many models completed as I would have liked to, I have definitely improved a bit and learned a hell of a lot from my peers. I have also made some great friends and interesting characters this year through the hobby. The mecha lounge has continued to grow, with the success of the CHAOS group build setting a new standard in forum-based competition. Hats off to all the chaps on the mecha lounge for a year of fantastic work. 

Gunpla Fixations google hangouts have been a tremendous success this year, bringing together for the first time many you tube and Mecha modelling community members and continues to gain popularity, I have been lucky enough to be chosen by Jim to be a co-host of this awesome fortnightly event that you can catch up on by clicking here. New events currently in planning for the new year, and we always welcome new faces so if you are interested, do drop Jim, Justinius or myself a message through G+ :)

Updates wise, the Level Up Competition now has an amazing total of 20 entrants! I am admittedly shocked by the amount of entries and am very pleased everyone has entered into the spirit of the competition, and are genuinely upping their games. Prizes will be announced in the new year, so keep an eye on the gundamuk facebook page for updates. 

The Victory Gundam is nearing completion, I have been doing a little filming here and there so should cobble together a final WIP and reveal video in the new year. Made some slight errors on masking the red circle parts and they ended up looking a little wonky.. still I am hoping some retouching and panel lining should fix this. Just a few parts and weapons to paint now, then I can move onto assembling.  

So, after a 2 year wait I am finally going back to Japan, I'll be staying for a number of weeks and (hopefully) regularly updating the sights and sounds of all things Gunpla related on my travels in Japan. I will be (of course) visiting Gundam front and praying to the almighty 1/1 scale to provide me with another year of smooth air brushing application and non-splitting parts. I have an extensive list of items I plan to purchase, and a pretty ingenious way to get them back here to the UK with the aid of a set of clippers, and some plastic containers. Some things on my list are all the thunderbolt kits (as many as are released during my stay), and MG Nu Ver.Ka, and a HG Gerbera Tetra. I will also be picking up some exclusives that are actually worth buying and are not just recolours. No doubt there will also be large amounts of ridiculous tat that are Gundam related. The first thing I am going to eat when I arrive? A McDonalds Teriyaki Burger. If you have not had one of these, these are things that if you ate more than 2, you will have a heart attack. They are simply, stunningly tasty. We already spent considerable time planning our eating plans.. :) 

A couple of bits of news to share: Monoeye press' fantastic beginners Mecha building guide has topped the "arts and crafts" section over on Amazon. If you are new to Gunpla or need some handy and comprehensive instruction on basic technique - then this is for you. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy and I can personally say, its excellent - covering everything from the history of Mecha in Japanese culture through to panel lining, assembly and modification techniques. Pick it up now! 

Anyway, that's enough rambling for now. Thank you all for a fantastic 2013 and I wish you all a great holiday and New Year! 

A quick vid saying more thanks :)

Justinius Builds - Music Theme Contest - My Entry

I finally completed the 1/144 HG Jesta "boards of canada" custom, did not take that long and managed to squeeze in a few bouts of painting and detailing in between preparing for our new arrival in a weeks time :)

A few things learned from this - Do not use black to preshade bright colours, especially yellows.. it took 3 coats of yellow resulting in a little thickness to the coat to cover the shading effectively - up close it's still looking a little mottled but overall it fits in OK. I remember reading some advice from fellow youtuber jiminboo on a comment on another video saying you should never use black - serves me right for not paying attention!

Here is the video for the entry, of course you can view all the pictures on the GundamUK site (Which I might add, the site revamp is now almost 90% completed, more news on this later).

Stay tuned for some more blog entries soon, my next project is going to be BIG.

Later!