One of the most important steps for building gunpla or any model for that matter, is cutting and sanding. Parts cut correctly with the correct tools will reduce the chance of damaging the parts. When cutting, use a proper cutting tool such as nippers. Nail clippers don’t give the proper leverage and cutting angles, and the blades are curved so those are not the best of tools to clip parts. Now when cutting parts, it’s best to cut away from the main part, leaving a small amount of the nub next to the piece. Cutting too close to the part stresses the plastic around the main piece as well as increases the chances of damaging the part by cutting too much plastic. Check out the following video for a demonstration on proper cutting tools and proper cutting. After … Read More
Anime Expo Model Contest
Anime Expo hosts a model contest within the confines of the Art Show. The competition is fairly general in that there are about 5 or so categories which include Gundam, mecha other, figure, and custom. This post will be updated with forms and more information in the next few weeks as little details are finalized with AX. The judging criteria will be the same as previous years. Build and Finish – 20 pts – This is the actual skill used in building the piece. This is visible seams, correcting of flaws in the kit, filling open areas that should be solid. Thw finish is a careful inspection of the actual painting, decals, weathering. Items to be judged: excessive brush strokes, over spray, decals that are peeling or silvering, stickers (if used) not showing signs of peeling or abuse. Sticker abuse … Read More
BANDAI World Cup Competition
The Bandai World Cup competition is an international competition that is usually held at the end of the year in Hong Kong. Competitors from countries around the world compete first in their home countries, and winners from those competitions are pit against one another for the Bandai World Cup event in Hong Kong. In the United States, there are several preliminary competitions held at various anime conventions, and the final winners then compete against one another to determine the representative for the United States. The current locations for this year’s preliminaries are as follows: Semi-Final Events Regional contests will be held in at the following conventions. Other venues may be added. Sakura-Con Seattle, Washington April 22-24 Website: www.sakuracon.org FanimeCon-San Jose, California May 27-30 Website: www.fanime.com Anime Expo, Los Angeles, California July 1-4 Website: www.anime-expo.org Otakon, Baltimore Maryland July 29-31 Website: … Read More
IPMS Orange County: Orangecon 2011
IPMS Orange County’s annual model competition. This is a fairly large competition with anywhere between 350-450 models shown. This show is one of the first IPMS chapters to have an actual Gundam category within the Science Fiction umbrella. They also have a science fiction figures for anime figures. Date: Saturday, October 8, 2011 Time: 9:00AM – 5:00PM Location: California State University, Fullerton Titan Student Union’s Titan Conference Center Portola Pavilions A & B Fullerton, CA General Admission is $5.00 Contestant Admission is $10.00 (this includes 3 model entries, additional models are $1.00 each) Model Registration: 9:00AM – 11:30AM Contest room is closed between 12:00PM – 3:00PM for judging. Awards presentation: 3:30PM – 5:00PM Additional information can be found here: IPMS Orange County Orangecon 2011
How to Post
For those not familiar with posting blogs. This is fairly straight forward. Looking to the right, you can see a list of categories, just check the appropriate category(s). Scrolling down, you can add a picture to the post. Just click the “set featured image” link and upload a picture of your choice. I took a few pictures around my workshop to use as test pictures and. You can always edit the posts so nothing is overly permanent and anything can be fixed. Once you uploaded the picture, click on the set as feature image and this will have the image as the background on the front page. It’s a pretty cool feature. You can also add the picture to the post. Play around with the size, etc. Pretty cool stuff. You can save the post as a draft if you … Read More
April 2011 Model Build Gathering
This is just a quick article for the upcoming model build gathering. The build gathering is set for Saturday, April 16, 2011. I know a few of us has picked up the latest May edition of Dengeki with the Wagtail conversion for the RGM-79C HGUC kit, so there may be a couple of those on the work benches. Up for discussion will be the SCGMC, we still need to make up fliers, and nail down some target areas for advertising our event. The sooner we start marketing this, the better. Not going to rely on forums and the online masses. We’ve gotta hit the local colleges and unis, local gunpla selling hobby shops, F&S, and just start getting some word out.