Suzumebachi - Build Diary

Greetings and salutations plamo nerds! You'll have to forgive my absence from the blog since August, but I had to pour all my time and focus on my GBWC entry. With so many tasks in my to-do list up until the last few days, I was worried I'd bitten off more than I could chew and would not finish in time - but I barely made it, completing the project in the wee hours of the morning on the last day of submission! Now that the Philippine leg of GBWC2018 has concluded, I can finally share with you my WIP photos, build process, and lessons learned from the event. Let's get started!

Warning: pic heavy, give it time to load :)

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Devil Arts Providence OOTB - WIP 1

Happy Easter plamo nerds! I'm sure most of you spent the long weekend in far off places, basking in the sun and getting some much needed RnR. Me? I chose to stay home so I could put the  Renegade Krome through it's paces. I had just received my copy of Modulation for Mecha by ace modeler Oishi, and after flipping through it, I decided the Devil Arts Providence would be the perfect candidate for my first attempt at modulation.

The DA Providence already comes well detailed out of the box, and aside from a few seams on the backpack and the weapon that needed fixing, it was the only kit in my backlog that would take minimal paint prep. I've only done a few out-of-the-box builds, so this should be a great learning experience. Not only will I get to try a new painting technique, but I also get to gain experience with the Krome. Jump in if you'd like to see my progress over the extended weekend!



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Tallgeese Boros WIP 5

Hello plamo nerds! Here's an update on my current project, the Boros. I finally got around to painting the damn thing after nearly a month of grueling clean up and paint prep. I may have spent more time getting this kit ready for paint than I've spent actually painting previous projects. For a while it felt like an endless cycle of puttying, sanding, priming, sanding, puttying, sanding, priming - but with the recent conclusion of the Back to Basics series, I've gained a new appreciation of the process. I now find mini-bursts of satisfaction just looking at a primed part and feeling how smooth the surface is, and I must confess I've wasted precious build time doing just that. 

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Tallgeese Boros WIP 4

Hello plamo nerds! It's been a while since my last post, I've been too busy with a major non-plamo WIP and haven't had the time to share a progress update on the Boros. It's coming together really well, with just some cleanup and detailing still unchecked on the weapon before I can head to paint prep. Here's what I've been up to...







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Tallgeese Boros WIP 3

Greetings fellow otakus! I've been busy working on the Boros and have made significant progress over the past couple of weeks. After making the decision to switch to Garazzo shoulders which extended the arm length, I figured I'd go all the way with proportion mods on this project. Here's what I've done so far!











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Tallgeese III Custom WIP 2

Good day plamates! This is WIP 2 for this project. Previous WIPs can be found here:

Tallgeese III Custom WIP 1

      I wasn't comfortable calling this a Tallgeese III anymore after making significant changes to the design, so I came up with a name - Tallgeese Boros - after my favorite Magic:the Gathering deck.

I played Magic for about 15 years, and while I've been retired from the game for some time now, I'll always remember the days when I was a planeswalker in search of glory and power. Good times.

 For the uninitiated, the Boros deck is a red/white aggressive strategy designed to win the game in 3 to 5 turns by rushing the opponent with fast creatures and direct damage spells. Speed is the name of the game, and so shall it be the theme of this build.


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Tallgeese III Custom WIP 1

Hey plamo nerds, It's been too long since my last WIP post! Just a tiny update for today, but I'm glad I'm able to share my work again. This one's a personal project, meant only for myself and my shelf, haha. I've been working on it in short 30-minute sessions, which was all I could spare for the longest time. These days though I get to put in at least a couple of hours a week. Yay!

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Commission WIP - MG Zaku Cannon

A pleasant day to you all my fellow plamo otakus! Here's a quick update on one of my ongoing builds.

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Commission WIP - SD Neo Zeong

I'm not a fan of mobile armors, particularly those with arms OR legs (it's never both). I can get behind a Valkyrie's Gerwalk mode, because it can still go full mecha or full fighter jet - but designs like the Big Zam are just downright ridiculous to me. It's as if Zeon stole a bunch of Robeast blueprints from the Bozanian empire or something. I just couldn't bring myself to like them. The Neo Zeong however, could be the sole exception. After all, it does have a Sinanju inside it.

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Commission WIP - MG Kampfer

Good day plamo fanatics! It's going to be a hectic week once again, thanks to a ton of commission projects I've got lined up. Next on my itinerary is an MG Kampfer. Here's where I am at the moment...

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Commission WIP 2 - MG GM Sniper

Hello fellow otakus, here's an update on my current commission project - a recolor of the old school MG GM Sniper! The last step in my painting itinerary was to mask off a few parts so I could highlight some details.

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Commission WIP - MG GM Sniper

Hello fellow otakus! I'm currently working on a client's MG GM Sniper. Here's how the build is going so far.

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Commission WIP - Wing Proto Zero

Greetings and salutations plamo enthusiasts! I recently took on some commission jobs, the first of which is the MG Wing Proto Zero. Here's where I'm at so far...

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Tallgeese Titan (TGII) WIP 5

This is the final WIP for the Tallgeese Titan. Previous WIPs can be found here:

WIP1
WIP2
WIP3
WIP4

Just a quick update - thought I'd do one last post before the contest conclusion. I was able to get my hands on a Hasegawa scribing template (thanks to Pinoy Gunpla Modeler on Facebook) and immediately put it to good use...

Tallgeese Titan (TGII) WIP 4

This is WIP 4 of the MG Tallgeese Titan build. Previous WIPs can be found here:

WIP1
WIP2
WIP3

I did a quick poll across several plamo communities to help me decide on the weapons layout for this build, and the results revealed option C to be the most popular, so I'm going with that.

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Tallgeese Titan (TGII) WIP 3

This is WIP 3 of the MG Tallgeese II build. Previous WIPs can be found here:

WIP1
WIP2

Some progress over the past 2 weekends - I finally got the backpack mounted. I wanted to use magnets but ended up going with a couple of screws to secure it to the body.

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Tallgeese Titan (TGII) WIP 2

This is WIP 2 for the MG TG 2. WIP 1 can be found here:

WIP 1

I thought a bit of fanfic might help me flesh out the plans for this guy, so in line with the competition theme, I'm imagining this build as a PPSE prototype and predecessor to the Meijin's fielded kits.

   "When PPSE finally got their new Meijin on board, they immediately had him pilot this unit - the Tallgeese Titan - in a series of practice battles. This allowed the development team to collect detailed data on his fighting style. The Meijin found the Titan to be a powerful and versatile machine. He enjoyed having a wide assortment of weapons at his disposal and the ability to detach the heavy armaments made it adaptable to the opponent's tactics. However the tests revealed that the Meijin preferred higher agility straight off the GP base over tough armor. This collaboration lead to the development of the Meijin's first GBWC kit - the Kampfer Amazing."

More after the jump!...

TGII WIP 1

A lot has been going on these past couple of weeks. I've been so busy with work I've had to put extra time in just to meet my deliverables. We celebrated my son's 1st birthday last weekend which I am glad went very smoothly. Can't believe a year has already gone by since he was born...they do grow up fast! As for my hobby, the Templar won top spot in the recently concluded Level Up competition hosted by GundamUK, and I've also been having a somewhat heated "indirect" exchange with another blogger on the issue of bootlegs. While I have better things to do than argue with a self-proclaimed gunpla diety and his so called worshippers, I found it entertaining how we less fortunate knock-off builders were referred to as cheapskate bootleg collectors. Thank you captain obvious!

I'd also like to thank you for frequenting my blog enough and taking the time to update your previous post in response to my latest rant. Now that was funny. I'll be channeling all of this positive energy into my next plamo - the Daban TG2.

More after the jump...

MG Tallgeese WIP 3

This is WIP 3 of the MG Tallgeese. Previous WIPs can be found here:

WIP 1
WIP 2

(WARNING: PIC HEAVY)

I've only got a few more days to finish this guy in time for the Level Up competition. The pressure is on, but I have to remember that a properly finished kit is better than a half-baked entry. Here's where I am, 4 days from the deadline:

The internal frame was painted a custom mix of mr. hobby gloss black and gold. I used a similar mix for the Freedom and I really liked the results, so I made a new batch with a higher ratio of gold. I then applied tamiya panel wash black, and then dry brushed with enamel silver...

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MG Tallgeese WIP 2

This is WIP 2 of the MG Tallgeese. WIP 1 can be found here:
WIP1

(WARNING: PIC HEAVY)
This build is going pretty smoothly and I think I might make it to the competition deadline if I get all modifications done within the week. Here is my progress as of yesterday.I decided to plate up the whole shoulder...

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