A New Chapter

Chapters can span hundreds of pages, sometimes only a few, but that does not make them any less significant to the story. After only 11 months of service as data mining manager for the country's top loyalty program, I decided to turn in my resignation. It was a high-stakes / high-rewards kind of job: one where I had a voice, where I could establish myself as an innovator and rub elbows with some of the industry's I.T. elite - but when you're a husband, a father, and a breadwinner there are things you simply cannot lay on the line - your health, your family time, and your sanity to name a few.

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I'm Still Here!

Greetings fellow otakus, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates on the blog and for turning down a number of commission requests sent my way over the 1st half of the year. I really wish I had the time to help you with your projects, but my life has been pretty chaotic since the start of the year.  Allow me to elaborate...

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Meijin Modeler - Anazasi Custom

I've featured lots of spectacular work and awesome builders on this blog, but most of them are from overseas. Today I am proud to share an interview with a truly talented countryman, who has been in the hobby since I first heard the word "Gundam". A well renowned commission modeler with hundreds of projects under his belt, he has made his mark in the plamo community as one of the top builders to come from the Philippines. Ladies and gents, let's all welcome Vanz Hilario - more popularly known as Anazasi Custom.

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It's A Gundaaaaaam!!!!!! Annual Competition 2015

Greetings fellow plamo nerds! It's been an uneventful past couple of months for me in the hobby, what with everything going on in my life that warrants a separate post altogether - but I've been keeping tabs on the plamo scene, and I'm very pleased to see that everyone I've met through the hobby has been continuously upping their skills, putting out one great build after another.  I haven't found the time to work on any projects myself since January, and I've already missed a couple of events I wanted to enter -  one of which was the recently concluded annual competition over at  It's A Gundaaaaaaam!!!!!!. The competition was fierce this year, and some mighty mechas righteously claimed the top spots. As a previous winner of the event, I was invited to help with the judging - and I've gained a whole new appreciation of the tough work that goes into scoring for an event like this. Let's get on with the results...here's how it played out!

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Respect My Authoritah!

"Please respect my post" - a phrase we've all seen at least once, in one form or another, often found in buy and sell pages, or online hobby communities. It also appears on posts intended to voice out one's opinion. It is the digital equivalent of a no-trespassing sign that reads "Bashers/Haters, KEEP OUT!", and is just as ineffective. The thing is, the more you demand respect, the less likely you'll genuinely receive it. If you want your post to be respected, write a post that deserves respect.

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Meijin Modeler - Ogami

Plastic modeling as a hobby is a lot like music. There's a long list of different genres to get into: mecha, tanks, aircraft, cars, figures, and so on. A hobbyist can be into more than one of these at the same time, just as one can enjoy listening to rock, jazz and hip hop, and maybe the occasional Taylor Swift record. 

Diverse as these genres may be, the same basic tools are used to produce them - drums, guitars and keyboards for music : sandpaper, cement, and paint for plamo. The great thing about this is that a hobbyist can bring his mastery of skills from one genre to the next. Today I'll be sharing an interview with a modeler who does just that, and does it well. While modding isn't his thing, his top-notch prep and paint work is enough to net him the title of Meijin Modeler. Without further ado, I give you Ogami.

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Reverse Wash Technique

Many Zeon MS designs incorporate some form of Zeonic insignia on the collar, chest, or wrist area. The kits usually have these embossed on the plastic, with matching stickers to give them the contrasting color they need. These insignia are a major pain to paint if you're doing it the traditional way (i.e. hand painting, masking), but luckily there is an alternative method to do justice to these excellent details. It's called the Reverse Wash technique. I'm not sure who invented it, but it works wonders for raised details in need of a contrasting color. Here's what you'll need:

1. Insignia color (Acrylic).
2. Base part color (Enamel)
3. Enamel thinner or lighter fluid
4. Cotton swabs




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