Baby On Board!

I guess you've all been wondering why there have been no updates for over a month now. Well here is the reason: after 9 months of anxious waiting, my baby is finally here! Born at 8:40am of March 1st, weighing in at 2.9 kilos - I present to you, Marcus Aro!

Android Relapse

(Warning: Pic Heavy!)

In the midst of our baby preparations, my transition from consultant to permanent employee, and my ongoing gunpla projects - I was reacquainted with one of my previous otaku fixations: Android devices. After a visit with my mom I found myself in possession of a Samsung Galaxy Note, handed down (or up?) to me from my youngest sibling - who recently decided to discontinue paying for the device in favour of a PS Vita. I told him he was nuts for switching to something that does less, but he is more of a hardcore gamer and our priorities are simply not the same. In any case, here I am, with a 2nd-hand android phone and after a few minutes of fooling around with it, I was hooked...again. I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this, but I actually sold my last android device (a Samsung Galaxy Tab) almost a year ago, so that I could split the cost of an airbrush set with my brother-in-law. Out with the old and in with the new, as the saying goes - and it has always been that way for me and my hobbies. Occasionally though, relapses happen.

7 Sword WIP 2

Just a quick update: decals and flat coat are done, all that's left now is to install LEDs, and possibly a base. Less talk more pics!

Click on the Read More link to see the rest of this post:

DIY Decals WIP 2 and 7 Sword WIP 1

(WARNING: PIC HEAVY)

I've been pretty busy these past few weeks, and my current projects have been throttled down to a snail's pace. I finished designing the custom decals, and sent it to a local decal producer for printing.

I was planning on printing these myself, but I discovered that the black ink cartridge in our home printer was already empty. At Php500 including shipping for an A4 sized sheet of all-custom decals, its still budget friendly...

(click on the read more link for the whole story...)

DIY Decals WIP 1

I'm in the middle of building the MG 7-sword, and I realized that the decals that came with the kit are a bit lacking. You've probably noticed that I like having lots of decals on my models, and the 7 sword should be no exception. The problem is, I couldn't find any waterslide decals for this model at the local hobby stores, and the last time I ordered from SamuelDecal it took over a month to get here (not samuel's fault BTW - the crappy local mailing system of the Philippines is to blame) So what is an otaku to do? Make his own decals of course!

"Banagher Links, launching!"

This project went smoothly, and I was able to finish in about 5 weeks time from initial snap-build to final top coat. The build is fairly straightforward - with very few panel lines and rivets added to break up blank armor panels. I went with my planned color scheme although the blues and greys ended up on different parts. The shading is a bit more subdued than I intended ( I didn't expect mr.hobby white to have such good coverage LOL). Tamiya panel line enamel was used for panel lines, and lots of decals give it that "ver.Ka" feel.

for more pics and info click on the Read More link..

Knockoff your socks off...

(shelves at a knockoff store)

I was having a discussion recently with a fellow gunpla otaku and I felt like I had to clear the air and set things straight regarding my stand on knockoff models. I do not promote bootleg kits, nor am I encouraging anyone to buy them. The quality is always poorer than the original. I do not deny purchasing and building knockoffs, but that doesn’t mean you should…You do not see a guy jump off of a bridge on TV and decide you can do the same because you like jumping..or bridges…that’s  just plain stupid. My advice would go like this: before you get into this hobby, decide what kind of collector / builder you want to be. Are you a purist? Someone who likes to have the branded stuff because you don’t like worrying about quality? Do you like the prestige of an all-original collection? Do you hate the idea of a replica? In that case, go Bandai…That is, if you can afford it. How often do you intend to buy kits? How fast do you build? Do you like to paint or modify, or do you just put a kit together as fast as you can, shelve it and move to the next one? Do you intend to compete? Are your kits for your eyes only? All these things come into play when getting into a hobby like this, or any hobby that involves stuff getting displayed in some manner...

Omedetou Gozaimasu Kampfer!

After waiting for what seemed like a universal century...the results are in - and the Kampfer Desolator made 3rd place!

Click on Read More to see the complete list of winners and their entries:

To Hell and Back

It's been a while since my last post, but I'm back from my gunpla hiatus - a little later than expected, thanks to my brothers lending me their copy of Diablo 3.

I finished the game up to Hell difficulty, grinding a Wizard up to Paragon level 5...after that it felt pointless to finish Inferno. I tried teaming up with a buddy for some multiplayer farming, but it just got to the point where I was asking myself: where are the returns? I log out after a couple of hours of straight grinding, and I would feel empty - as if i'd lost those precious hours to oblivion, without anything to show for it. I wasn't always like this when it came to online gaming - i could farm for hours on end, and it gave me a sense of achievement to have my toon dressed in the best gear. Now it just feels silly.  I guess I just outgrew online gaming altogether. Gunpla is my poison now, and there is no going back!***

(***Except for Magic:the gathering - that game has the gravitational pull of a black hole. It will suck me back in the moment I smell a freshly opened booster pack.)

Click on the "Read More" link to see what else I've been up to!

Kampfer Desolator Cost Analysis

In the aftermath of the Kampfer Desolator project, I shared the final pictures on a number of gunpla forums and social sites- and I've received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback for the model. One of the modelers even went as far as to donate a generous amount to my gunpla budget! I have a donate gadget on my blog, but never in my wildest dreams did I think anyone would use it! To the person who donated (whose name I'd rather not divulge in case he gets spammed by donation requests), I want to thank you for your generosity. Rest assured that all donations coursed through this blog will be spent on gunpla materials only.

On that note, allow me to share my thoughts on the rudiments of this hobby, along with a cost analysis I wrote up for this build. The objective of which is to illustrate how a project like this one might cost in terms of time and money. I know most of you can do the math on your own, but in the essence of the blog's title I think it would be fitting. I intend to do a cost summary for all succeeding projects I undertake.

Let's crunch some numbers!

Kampfer Desolator Cost Analysis

MG Kampfer Desolator

After over 3 months of mutilating plastic and inhaling cement and paint vapors, I am proud to present to you - the Kampfer Desolator!

View the album to see the rest of the pics!:

MG Kampfer WIP 6

This is WIP 6 for the MG Kampfer Desolator. You can find previous WIPs here:

WIP1
WIP2
WIP3
WIP4
WIP5

Just a quick update, and possibly 2nd to the last WIP for this project. I've finished building and painting the backpack and the weapon, and have started in on the mini-diorama.