Monday, October 31, 2016

Catalog Two: Think-Tank For The Gimmick or That Isn't A Gun, THIS Is A Gun!


Goals For This Catalog

  • Introduce tools.
  • Nip and build EX-Gimmick weapon.
  • Question improvements that could be made.
  • Measure and question the possible use of MS Sight Lens 

Tools Used In This Catalog


Tamiya 74076 Cutting Mat Size A3

This mat is bigger than I thought I would be It gives me a nice large work area. The one disadvantage is it UNCONTROLLABLY STINKS ! There doesn't seem to be a place I can put it that it doesn't stick up right out of the package. I can only hope it airs out or I develop a symbiotic relationship with the stink. Yesh!

Tamiya 74098 Modeler's Knife Pro

it is a nice knife so far. Comes with some extra blades. I don't think I will need to change the blade for this project but knock on wood.

Tamiya 74123 Sharp Pointed Side Cutter for Plastic (Slim Jaw) 

It was a long debate between these and the god hands. In the end after watching any reviews, it came to these. Good quality and not hyped up in price,

Tamiya 74003 Angled Tweezers 

Not used for much here but they did help me get some parts into place.
Lori Nail sanding sticks/ Generic Tac (Not Pictured)
Nail Sanding sticks from the 1$ store. They have been working well so far. Used the Tac to help hold parts together temporarily .



Nipping and building EX-Gimmick Weapon

My first goal was to nip out and sand all the parts related to the EX-Gimmick weapon. This includes the gun from the 360 kit.


Backpack, V-Fin, Shield.


The two guns. 360 upper, 454 Lower. There is a MaSsIvE size and quality difference but the 360 has the mounting pegs.


The 360 hands uncut. Since I will most likely be using the 454 arms its best to use the 454 hands but I reserve the right to be pissed at the cheapness of completely hollow hands and other hollow parts of this kit. These will have to be fixed in the future but for now, I need them to see how well the gun fits in. 


Put them together and what to you got? Bibbi-horrific abomination that kind of looks cool. 


Time to question improvements that could be made!



Thinking about how the parts interact, pointing the beam sabers that are molding to the backpack at least stops Unicorn from poking its eye out. Turning the shield in  makes it seem like some kind of rail gun and more cohesive unit, it makes the pegs fit less but that could be fixed.

 

My idea here is to replace the HORRIFICALLY LOW-QUALITY mounting gun from the 454 with the more detailed gun from the 360. The backpack is flipped around again because the backpack seems to fit nicely onto the 360 gun's scope. This may be a mounting point. 


Here we see a side view of the monster. The V-fins Really need the mount on the 454. Maybe a peg transplant is possible?  The beam sabers may end up being cut off entirely. 


This was my test for how deep the handle goes into the hand. It seems to only poke out a bit. I may not have to put a hole though when I cover the hands. This also gets me thinking about that seem line. I don't feel it when I touch it so I don't know if I should try and fill it or not. 


The most important part of this weapon is to take it seem like less of a stack of parts and more of some kind of over-designed weapon. Therefore, I want to look for more ways to make the backpack and shield look like something else other than Unicorn's backpack and shield. the V-Fins go along the bottom to nice effect. 


A thought for the think-tank. The weapon without the backpack completely. It does seem more streamlined but I would like to find a way to use the backpack because of the next part.


Measuring and questioning the possible use of MS Sight Lens 



I have a package of MS Sight Lens. The sights themselves match the psycho frame parts. Even though the frame will be painted on I find that to be a nice touch. After doing some simple measurements I found that it might be possible to mount the sight lens' into the back thrusts of the backpack. In a sense turning them int cameras on the gun. While for the shield I could sand the center circle down to fit in the biggest sight as a detail to change it from just being a shield. The smallest sight without its back may even fit into the tip of the gun. The parts are too small to cut out at this stage. This would have to be done once we move onto painting. Regardless but I might be onto something.
Thus that brings catalog two to its horrific end,

-SuperNewb


Catalog One: Super Awesome Mission Statement!

Catalog One: The Project. 

This will be my first fully built and painted kit for better or worse so for my First project I have chosen to attempt to combine two kits for hopefully a better result then both. These kits are,

454 - SD Ex-Standard Unicorn Gundam [Destroy Mode] x2
360- SD BB Unicorn Gundam x1

Why SD?

I will admit that the first type of kit I normally go for is not SD's. My snap built kits so far have been MG as I like the wight, detail and feel. In this case it simply comes down to price. Being the awesome newb I am I have to leave room for mistakes and replacing a $15 CAD kit is better the replacing a $120+ CAD kit.

So even though I dream of the PG Unicorn or at least the MG 1/100 High Mobility Type Zaku "Psycho Zaku" Ver. Ka, I must keep my expectations realistic. 

Why Unicorn? Why these kits?

I do like the Unicorn Gundam, its simple and clean but has interesting features like the physio frame and a strong cool looking V-fin.

You can say that both these kits have their advantages and disadvantages. The 454 has the weapon gimmick I wish to focus on and a better V-fin. The kit shows many places were a super newb like me can practice any of the fundamentals of gunpla. The 360 has better build quality overall that I hope to be able to take advantage of to replace some of the 454 poor quality parts. 

I think that covers the basics and a mission statement,

-SuperNewb

A Quick Welcome.

Hello!

(To anyone who has had the misfortune of finding this blog.)


I have created this blog to catalog my misadventures in the world of Gunpla.  

I hope to provide a record of my experiences for my own benefit but maybe I can provide an example for other newbies to the hobby or provide a good laugh for people who are more experienced. I will catalog any, scratches, scrapes, ideas, questions and progress in hopes of being able to look back at this and laugh one day. 

If you do decide to stay I suggest giving everything a read, you might have a little fun. 

For now thanks for dropping by,

-Supernewb