Saturday, March 24, 2012

Build Off: Rear Leg Insert Primer Update

Hey All,
   This update is just what it sounds like.  I primed the rear leg inserts and made them a tad cleaner.  I've said this before but I do this to get a better idea of what it will look like finished with homogenous color so I can better judge the shape and line of the kit.  Here are the parts before they were assembled.

The thruster vent just pops in the housing.  I saw something like this on a kit I liked so I emulated it.  It makes for a decent part separation for painting also. 

Here are some shots with the parts on the leg again.  They just slide into the slots where the RX-78-2 OYW armor would go.  Everything just pops on. 

Thursday, March 22, 2012

HANDEYE: Logo Update

Hey all,

 Second post for today but I'll keep it short, I wanted to do a second post as it's unrelated to my Providence build and build off stuff.  I'm no longer going to be working with Kamm on the Handeye workshop (no drama, and I still love his modeling), but I am still going ahead with the workshop nonetheless.  I made a cleaned up version of the workshop logo that I wanted to share as well.  Forgive the blinking gimmick, I'm nerdy and can't help myself.

hehe.  I may still go ahead with the selling of the Drehksturm Assault Type conversion kit if I get good feedback from a certain modeler who is helping me on that project, but even if I decide not to sell casts of that, I will still be producing conversion kits and other kits in the future.  My ultimate goal is to be producing full kit builds (somewhat frequently) maybe once or twice a year, and maybe some conversion kits here and there for fun.  (If you have suggestion for conversion kits that you would like to see done feel free to send me a message or drop a comment of course, but know that I usually work in 1/100 scale, and no promises, but I may choose to do it for a fun side project if I like the anime design.) I may choose to work with certain modelers on certain projects or I may end up working with some people long term if it works out and we are homogenous, but either way the workshop is going to forge ahead.  Just wanted to say that guys and gals, hope you are as excited as I am!  Feel free to post your feedback on the logo or the workshop below.  As usual, stay tuned mechaholics!

Build Off: Update on Rear Leg Insert and Thrusters

Hey All,
   Yesterday I worked on the rear of the leg and basically just made the insert and the removable thruster for the rear of the leg.  It still has to be cast so everything just comes apart easily.  I'm still trying to decide whether or not I want to go through the monster trouble of making this a conversion kit or not, but I'm gonna make all the parts as if I was just in case.  Here is the work I did yesterday, I haven't primed it yet, but I plan to tonight. 

Monday, March 19, 2012

Build Off: Recessed Access Panel On Leg

Hey All,
   Yesterday I decided to go head and make the access panels on the side of the leg armor recessed.  The way I did this was by building a frame around the panels using thin rectangular styrene rods, and then using putty to graduate the sides up to meet the rods.  This gives the illusion that the panels are recessed or make them recessed by raising up the area around them.  End result being something I'm kinda happy with.  Still needs cleanup, but it's looking pretty good so far I think.  PHOTOS!





It's almost done!  Just need to make the rear insert of the lower leg, and then another vent for the outside of the left leg and then casting.  Yay!  I'm soo close I can taste it.  Not literally that would probably taste like plastic.  Mmmmmm plastic.  Stay tuned mechaholics!!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Build Off: Yesterday's Overhaul

Size Comparison with MG Infinite Justice w/Beam Rifle

Size Comparison with MG Infinite Justice

Hey all,
   I did an overhaul of the kit yesterday, just kind of changing the proportions again and also building some new stuff like the thrusters on the backpack.  Here's a list of what I did:

-made backpack thrusters basic shape and added thruster bell aluminum parts
-raised height of hip skirt housing
-shaved down front skirts to be a little shorter and angled the sides more
-added some to the crotch intake
-thickened the funnels on the rear skirt armor
-thickened the upper leg armor
-made vent for outer leg armor

Now I didn't finish the backpack thrusters I just made the basic shape and added the thrusters, but I'm pretty happy with it so far.  The thrusters were some metal detail parts I ordered from mechaskunk a ways back and I've been itching to use them, and it just so happened that I had the exact right amount in the exact right proportion.  So yay!  To be honest I may even cast them to use on some of my future fun builds.  (No not for resale that would be wrong.)  Plus resin is easier to paint than metal so there.  hehe.  


This is before I did any cleanup on the seams and such.  The putty I use does make it a little bit heavier, but if I ever decide to cast my conversion kit it won't matter much.  I'm trying to make the kit really close to the anime design, with a few kind of subtle changes that won't make it look like a different kit.  The backpack being one of the notable features of the kit is crucial to look similar to the anime.  That's why I haven't made any major changes to the design, I just scratch built a new larger backpack.  I gotta say I'm really proud of how it's turning out so far.  If you've ever tried sculpting a circle by hand it's difficult I think, so it makes the achievement that much greater.  Here is what it looks like after priming attached to the chest and back:

For the proportion overhaul I decided that the crotch intake needed some depth so I added to the frame of it, I shortened the front skirts and changed their shape some to reveal more of the upper leg and I shaved in their sides some.  I raised the height of the side skirts to come above the front skirts some as well.  The funnels on the rear skirt armor were widened a bit and I added a little shape to them.  They just seemed to need it.  I also thickened the upper leg armor to be more proportionate to the lower leg armor.  The front and back pieces were both thickened.  I also made a vent for the leg as the design requires. 

Here is after priming:
And some shots of the unit put together:
I am really happy with how everything turned out today so I'm gonna go take a much needed video game day.  haha.  Hope you guys like it!  Stay tuned mechaholics!

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Build Off: Proviupdate!!

Hey all,
   I've been too lazy to post my updates here lately but now it's overdue so here it is.  I've recently done a bit of work on the body such as:

  • The shoulders- Added some shaping to the pauldrons, added different intake vents on the left side and a hanging arm cover
  • The waist- Added some thickness
  • The chest- Added some protrusion on the main prominence
  • The Dragoon funnels- Added some to the fins to make them flare out more (Backpack flat ones only)
  • The Shield- Sealed the arm cover and attached it to the forearm armor
  • The Leg Armor- Totally redid it like four times and finally got the basic shape right at least
  • The Foot- Remade the foot, added new toe claws and ridges
Here are tons of photos with my updates: