My Entry for Gundam Builders World Cup (GBWC) 2016 - Malaysia

Despite its easy assembly, the process of customising a Gundam model kit ain't that easy. It might not look like much but with all the moving parts, trying to present a decently painted model without all sorts of scratch marks was challenging. What made the process fun though, are friends that participated together in the event; Arzmi, Khairul, Shukur, Yip, and the Blackbase guys. Anyway, here is my Iyanden Wraithlord...err, Gundam Ez-Hazard for GBWC 2016 Malaysia.

Picture Courtesy of the Gundam Malaysia Fans Facebook Page

2016 Armies on Parade: Wood Elves

Mission Accomplished!

This was my entry for the GW Armies on Parade held last 15th October 2016: The Floating Wood Elves Forest. Below are more pictures of my diorama, courtesy of Marvin Kho, Joseph Looi and the Legio Malaysia Facebook page.

By the way, I would most probably think that my future updates will be like this; end results. Any WIP posts will be considered as a bonus. So, the target for November will be Bandai's GBWC Malaysia 2016 for Gundam.

Gundam Project Update

I went missing for a month plus...sorry. I made a pledge to continue blogging this time around, and I intend to fulfill that pledge. For the last month or so, other than usual work issues, I got overwhelmed by the deadline for the August event at Animaganki. In short, the core things that I wanted to do with this model was completed about a day before submission date. The initial plan to add some overbrush, some hard-edge highlights, some sponging weathering, and build a proper terrain diorama. However, one day was not enough to do either of those. Therefore, I decided to stop being ambitious and just submit the model as it was.

I'm going to start by updating a bit my previous project WIP; plastic piping. In short, it's a plasticard technique to alter the appearance of certain parts of a kit. This was the before-and-after picture of my first attempt on a shoulder piece.

I have never thought that putting two plasticard can alter the appearance by a lot. Suffice to say, I got the ball rolling since I was happy with the results. These waist parts were my next attempt.

Next up, upper and lower torso.

Due to some twisted inspiration, the body ended up looking like this.

After some painting in Magneto's colour scheme and applying warlock-like runic decals, the parts looked like these.

And the end product looked like this. (The display base was lackluster, sorry for the lame effort on this part.)

That's a rusted old gunblade on his right hand and the intended pose was to indicate "You're next!". The grinning teeth marking was painted freehand over the helmet.

Summary of parts used:

1. MG Gundam AGE-1 Spallow - core model

2. HG Hi-Mock arms - upper arms

3. HG Denial Gundam thigh piece - lateral side skirts

4. HG Ballden Arms - shoulder missile pod & missing ankle joint replacement 

5. unknown rifle piece courtesy of Blackbase Hobby Shop (Thanks!)

6. a random piece I found for the chest mini-gatling guns

7. GW Basilica Administratum kit - chest piece

8. GW Orks bit - rifle scope

9. GW Eldar bit - gemstones on chest and thigh

10. GW Storm Raven bit - thrusters under the lateral side skirt

11. various plasticards

(Wow! I honestly didn't realise that there were a lot of parts used until I wrote them down here.)

My efforts were awarded with a Merit recognition. After conversing with the judges, I discovered that I scored very high on Creativity, slightly below average on Workmanship, and the bare minimum for Display. If I added a bit more effort on the display base, I would've earned the Bronze recognition. In addition, if my scribing were tidier and my airbrushing was more even, I would've earned the Silver recognition. Nevertheless, I'm already happy with the end result and very glad to receive a lot of pointers on how to further improve myself. Adding to that happiness, I was ecstatic that my work was selected as one of the five judges' favourite; the judge that selected mine was from Modelland Workshop. Thank you very much for the recognition, I really appreciate it! Thank you for the MG Force Impulse Gundam too!

Next projects: (1) Design-and-paint one marine from a custom Space Marine chapter by October 8, (2) Build a diorama display for the GW Armies of Parade on October 15, and (3) a HG-sized Gundam for the year-end event on end of November.

Do note that I've signed up for the Armies of Parade with my Wood Elves. Yes, Wood Elves...not Aelfs, and definitely none of the Wanderers and Sylvaneth nonsense. I'm going to bring everyone back to Athel Loren, and I'm going to enter this event in a Legio Malaysia uniform. It's about time for Legio Malaysia to make a comeback, we've been in stasis for far too long.

Now, to look for a chopped off tree trunk/stump that is 2 feet in diameter...

The Protectorate Starfighter

Hi all.

Just a quick stop to share this really sexy jetfighter here, a future Q3/4 2016 release by Fantasy Flight Games for X-Wing miniatures. The aesthetics are really nice (probably due to the Eldar & Chaos vibe on this ship). I am most definitely going to get at least one for my ever increasing (and soon to be crowded) hangar bay.

If only FFG could make this ship do the following as per original design...

Scribing Circular Shapes

In my last post, I've mentioned about attempting to scribe circular shapes. As it turns out, not to be a good idea at my current skill level for the following reasons:

1. Scribing circles and freehand does not go together. Templates are required, more especially so since I have minor hand tremors.
2. DYMO tapes are insufficient as template/guide for scribing circular shapes, since it requires a larger surface area to stick around the area that you are planning to scribe.
3. Custom-made templates out of plasticard does not work as it'll get cut easily during the scribing process. Metal templates are most definitely the tool of choice. (Thus, postponing this wild idea inside my head of scribing flames on the model)

Thus, after some trial-and-errors, this is the end result from my attempt to scribe circular shapes. There are no 'before' pictures as it was a completely blank surface. You probably noticed that the circles are slightly off-centred with visible scratch marks. I wonder if filling the scratch marks with epoxy putty will solve it. Otherwise, gonna disguise it as battle damage during painting later..hahaha 

I do admit that it looked a bit Necron-ish. Most probably due to my subconcious thoughts, which is heavily influnced by the WH40K universe. Overall, I think it doesn't look that bad..hahaha (trying to cheer myself up, LOL).

So, I've tried scribing. It was a mediocre attempt, but at least I've tried it and got the feel of it a bit. Will definitely seek more knowledge on how to improve myself on this skill later. The next recommended step after scribing would be learning the chiseling technique, but I'll postpone that until my scribing becomes more stable. Gonna try something else simpler first. So, next up on the list of new modelling techniques to try: plastic piping.

Learned Something New - Scribing

Scribing is an old modelling technique which I never knew. The main purpose is break the monotony of parts with large surface area. Having dealt with highly detailed single-posed miniatures before, there was never a need to actually do so, until now.

The Tau armour is an excellent example of an end product on which scribing can be applied. Looking at it closely, the Tau armour is basically flat-surfaced armour plates with grooves cut into the armour. Examining the armour, we can see that there were no added height and thickness to the armour plates.

Scribing is basically the technique to emulate the grooves, in order to add dimensions to the models. As for tools, there aren't any specific ones; blade, nail, chisel or slot-head screwdriver can all be used to achieve the desired effect. Since I just discovered this technique, apparently there are a lot (and I do mean, a lot) of tutorials on scribing posted all over the internet and youtube. There are so many of them that it would be pointless to provide you with URL links for it. I guess the age-old saying was right; you need to know what to look for before looking for anything.

This new revelation made me very curious to try it. This below, is my first attempt at scribing, done on my WIP entry for the Gundam event in August.

Additional panel lines were scribed to these side skirts parts. Just by adding a few groove lines, the part looked upgraded. This is probably nothing new to most of you but for me, it is. If only I knew about this technique on my previous conversion projects. Lesson learnt: there will always be something new to learn.

(Note: on hindsight, a 'before and after' picture would be more favourable)

Definitely need more practice to brush up this new skill, will try circular shapes next.

Revisiting the Past 2+ Years

Somebody once said, one should not dwell on the past.

With that in mind, I'll try to keep this short.

(Honestly, I also can't recall everything, only certain parts.)

end 2013

Only 3 participants completed the Legio Malaysia Army Throwdown II; myself (Tzeentch Warriors), Patrick (High Elves) and Stephane (Dark Elves). Patrick got the Purity Seal. (sorry, can't locate the pictures)

2014

If I recalled this correctly, this is the year that the Wood Elves army book was finally updated after 10+ years. I painted this Treeman for Golden Kris 2014 and received the People's Choice Award (I'm probably remembering this because of the award).

picture courtesy of the Legio Malaysia Facebook page

Then, comes the End Times. It was fun times, just like the old glory days of WFB. Suddenly, the whole WFB universe (and game) was decimated and a simpleton version of it was introduced. I'd be lying if I were to say I'm not pissed about it. Simply said, my friends and I moved on to the X-wing miniatures game. We came, we saw, we conquered; that's pretty much that I can say about X-wing.

Earlier in the year, we also tried Infinity. The models are awesome, the rulebook is free, the gameplay is easy. What turned our gaming group off was (most likely) the advanced rules, it was too complicated for book keeping. Hence, my Santiago Military Order of Panoceania is now somewhere in the storage trays, along with my Wood Elves and Warriors of Chaos.

2014 was also the year that a few friends and I spent hours in the beta version of the 7 Days to Die game. Basically, it's a post-apocalyptic zombie survival game with Minecraft and Fallout elements added in. With the right crew, this is an awesome game, highly recommended. And with Arzmi in the crew, you can definitely say you're safe.

2015

This is more recent, but surprisingly, I remember less than 2014. It's mostly X-wing and Armada. Those games got me so hyped for Star Wars Episode 7, and the movie turned out to be a letdown. Maybe I was expecting too much, but Kylo Ren should've kept his mask on until the 'Han moment', the storyline should be less of a 'copy & paste' and really, another Death Star?

But, 2015 will always be the year that Nahri left; he migrated to New Zealand for good. Wish him all the best.

I stopped playing WH40K in 2015. New codices, formations, rules and kits were released like a freight Shinkansen train every month (on some releases, every week). I was having difficulty to keep up with the various rules and at the same time, the price shot up through the roof due to currency collapse (thanks a lot 1MDB), which made me decide to put the game on hold. It has been a hiatus since, and I'm yet to be interested to play the game again. Like Infinity and WFB, my WH40K armies are in some storage trays somewhere in the house. Like Azlan said recently, my Eldar are lost in the Warp.

Hmm, I just recalled returning to Circle Orboros in mid 2015. Yes, Warmahordes, a game I last played (and sold off) in 2006/7 with Steven & Kai back in Jakarta. During my Orboros hype period, I painted these dudes. Shortly after that, the rut returned.

early 2016

Not much happened, it was mostly still X-wing and Armada for me. On the hobby front, it was an absolute zero for the first quarter. One day, Khairul suggested Gundam to us all. Shortly after that, it snowballed.

We went for weekly visits to the 'Golden Triangle of Gundam' in KL. We also explored various Gundam shops in the Klang Valley. Ivan, Yip and Arzmi now probably owns 10+ boxes (probably 20+) of unassembled Gundam kits. Ivan has also changed for the better and assembled his stuff instead of simply buying, with panel-lining applied. And, this was my entry for Litt Tak's Mid-Year Expo.

GAT X303 Aegis

Yes, I'm doing mecha modelling right now. I'm really enjoying it. Up next on my schedule are two big events, one at the end of August by the local Gundam community and the other in October/November by Bandai. Let's do this!

Side note: I may need to clean up my blog roll and sidebar.

First, after so long...

Last post: November 9th, 2013

Today: June 21st, 2016

That's two and a half years of the dreaded hobby rut.

That statement however, is not entirely correct.
Dabbled a bit into Infinity, X-Wing miniatures, Armada, Dice Masters and Warmachine/Hordes within that time period.
Also joined the online world of Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm.
And, even attempted to domesticate myself with Android: Netrunner.

Let's face it; gamers gonna be gamers, we'll never stop gaming.
It's just that some break and change of environment is needed.
That being said, I've stopped playing WH40K and WFB.
Not gonna call it quit yet, but this is how it is.

Now, at this current moment, I'm just a mere modeller/painter who games a bit here and there.
Updates will probably be a bit scarce, probably once a month or so.
We'll see whatever happens next.

P/S: Hopefully this is not a one-time attempt to come back.