1/100 Overflag

February 10, 2023 at 21:09 | Posted in 1/100 scale | 2 Comments
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Introduction:

I built this 1/100 Overflag kit more than 10 years ago but I decided to pull the photos from this blog because they didn’t look good enough. At that time, I was just experimenting with photography and the I used a very wide lens aperture (f2) to take the photos. The very shallow depth of field resulted in lack of detail, like so:

So I decided to redo the photoshoot using the methods I described here: How to photograph Gunpla.

Materials & methods:

I built this kit before I had my airbrush set, so I relied on spray cans for painting. I used a white spray can over the bare, black plastic, and the result was a slightly grey paintjob. This was the kit that got me started with using aircraft decals on gunpla. I also applied some weathering using enamel paints.

Results:

Discussion:

I don’t usually take good care of my kits after I’m done with them, so I was quite surprised to find this Overflag relatively intact. Even with spray cans, I think the paintjob still holds up. Hopefully you find the photos more presentable this time.

Little Armory M4A1

November 23, 2022 at 19:22 | Posted in Little Armory, Model kits | 4 Comments
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You’d think I would’ve gotten tired of Little Armory M4A1 kits already, but here I am back with another one. This kit is part of the Dolls Frontline lineup, and comes in tan and black colored plastic.

After giving a camo paintjob to the M4A1 2.0, I decided to give this one a more weathered look. I sprayed all parts with Mecha Surfacer Light, then applied a layer of Silicone Barrier using a paint brush. After spraying it with Gaianotes Yellow Gray, I gave it a few scratches to reveal the light grey color (Mecha Surfacer Light) underneath. The suppressor was painted with German Gray.

Final word:

There’s some differences between this kit and the previously reviewed M4A1 2.0 kit. The most obvious one is the suppressor. The sights, magazine and foregrip (not pictured) are different as well. I may have acquired the laser module from a different kit, but I don’t remember it at this point. Anyway, this kit offers a nice variation to the already crowded M4A1 Little Armory lineup.

HGUC Zaku II Revive

July 3, 2021 at 11:50 | Posted in 1/144 scale | 3 Comments
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Introduction:
The first Zaku kit I built was the HGUC Zaku II Garma Zabi kit, which I custom painted to green. It was also my first attempt at custom modification and applying weathering effects. The results were not pretty, to put it mildly.

I’ve built plenty of Zaku variants since then, with various color schemes and different levels of weathering. I wanted to revisit the plain, green, mass produced type Zaku II by repainting the latest HGUC Char Zaku II Revive kit.

Materials & methods:
The only thing I changed was the shoulder spikes and hands. I used the pointier MSG spikes on the shoulders and some resin hands I bought from the C3 hobby show. Painting was relatively simple:

  • Chest: Gundam Color MS Deep Green
  • The rest of the body: Gundam Color MS Green
  • Backpack: Intermediate blue
  • Feet, knees: Nazca Mecha Surfacer Super Heavy
  • Heat hawk: Gaianotes Eva Purple; Mr Color Orange-Yellow

After painting, I applied decals and panel lines, followed by very light weathering in the form of smearing and chipping effects using enamel paints. This time I decided to finish using Semi-gloss topcoat instead of the usual flat topcoat.

Results:

Discussion:
As one would expect, this latest HGUC Zaku II Revive is superior in terms of proportions and range of movement compared to the first generation kit. For me, the most significant improvements are the rotating elbow joints and the torso movement.
The only obvious seamlines are on the forearms and weapons. This kit doesn’t use polycaps, and the wrists joints are a bit stiff because of that. The actual wrist part tends to detach from the forearms when changing hands. I had to permanently glue the left hand because I broke the peg when changing hands.
Another minor gripe is that the front skirt armors tend to come off, especially during a kneeling pose. The kit comes with a soft, rubbery part for the skirt armors as an alternative, but I decided not to use it.
Overall, this was a relatively simple Remake, but sometimes simple is best.

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