Mecha Musume - Evon Tan

What's up my fellow plamo nerds? I'll tell you what's up...our visit count that's what! The blog is nearing the 300k mark - and although that number is just loose change compared to the traffic on blogs that cover mainstream subject matter like fashion and food, I consider it a major milestone for a home-based, plamo-oriented one. I'd like to thank you all for supporting Otaku On A Budget. What started as a personal journal on my adventures as a mecha modeler has blossomed into something much larger - and I owe it all to you guys and gals! 

Speaking of gals, where mah gurls at?! I know you're out there...lurking in the forums and facebook groups, maybe too shy to speak up or show off your talents in the male-dominated mecha community. 

I only say dominated because guys in this hobby probably outnumber girls 5:1, maybe even 10:1 - But that's not to say they are out-skilled. No sir-ee they are most definitely not! And for that reason it's about time the ladies had the spotlight. Today we kick off a new series entitled Mecha Musume!

Now now boys, let me make this perfectly clear. Our version of Mecha Musume refers to female mecha modelers. If you're expecting armor-clad girls in bikinis, leave now. And for heaven's sake, can we be mature about all this? Seriously, if anyone so much as leaves an inappropriate comment, the perpetrator WILL be fed to the social media wolves. It's those creep advances that discourage girls from taking up the hobby in the first place, so please, take your excess testosterone elsewhere.

In this series we have a casual chat with a female modeler, and find out how and why she got into what many believe is a male-oriented hobby. I'm hoping these interviews will help break that very cliche, and inspire more females to get into plamo. I sent out the invites a few days ago, and what a pleasant surprise it was to find that almost every single modeler I contacted responded positively.

The first to heed the call for this noble cause has already been sharing her work online for some time. She's an illustrator and model by profession who likes to spend her spare time applying her many talents to mecha modeling. Ladies and gents, let's all welcome Evon Tan!


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The 3rd Party Revolution

Greetings and salutations plamo nerds! Unless you live under a rock like Patrick Star, you're probably aware of the new 3rd party (aka bootleg, knock-off) kits that have recently hit the mecha market. I'm talking about Daban and Dragon Momoko's Strike Freedom, both based off of Bandai's Metal Build version, and the Providence Gundam by a new company called DevilArts. All three kits do not currently exist in Bandai's lineup, further blurring the line between what is original and what is a knockoff. It's been going on for some time now, but I think a major phenomenon is happening in the mecha modeling world. It's similar to how nearly every consumer product out there, from cars to computers to clothes, right down to the very underpants you're wearing (or not wearing) at this very moment, came to exist today.





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Featured Seller - Hobby Toys Laguna

Happy new year plamo fanatics! Let's kick of 2017 with an excellent store feature! Still hanging onto those holiday bonuses? I'm about to make it a little more difficult, particularly for those residing south of Manila. Allow me to introduce you all to Hobby Toys Laguna, a home based operation that has been making waves in the mecha community with it's recently concluded anniversary build-off event, boasting a great selection of kits both in stock and for pre order, and a wide array of  hobby tools and supplies. Learn more about the shop and the services it provides by clicking on the Read More link below!

2016 Wrap Up

Happy new year plamo nerds! It's been such an incredible year for the blog, my adventures in plamo and my personal life. I thought I'd do some reflecting as we jump into 2017, looking back on what I learned, my achievements and failures in the past twelve months - and hopefully commit some of those lessons into long-term memory.

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Fantastic Builds and How to Find Them

I've never been to Japan. Well, technically I have set foot in Japan but connecting flights through Narita don't really count as visits. I don't speak or read Japanese, and my vocabulary is limited to about a dozen words and phrases that I've picked up from anime, such as "sugoi!", "nani?!?!", "kusoo.."  and admittedly, "yameteeee!" . But in my quest to uncover the ultimate mecha modeling techniques I found myself in the Japanese cyberspace wonderland.

For a while I was lost - It seemed like every link I clicked on led to strange fetish porn (what is up with all that goo?!), or an ad for pills that claim to grow your junk a couple of inches. Eventually I learned to adapt - and I began to find blog after blog, website after website of mecha plamo at it's finest... and there I came to realize the truth - the best mecha modelers are from Japan, and no one can ever convince me otherwise.

I began following Japanese modelers on social media. Many even maintain their own blogs, some of which I've already featured in the Superbuilds series. Their pages are treasure troves of information and mecha eye candy that will keep you browsing for hours. The formats differ and the layouts can be quite confusing to navigate, but all you need is patience and persistence - and modelers such as ourselves already have those two traits in spades.

Will you choose to stay within the confines of facebook, and continue to believe that the best builds in the world can already be found in mainstream competitions such as the GBWC - or will you take the time and effort to dig deeper? The choice is yours.

"You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. 

You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes..."

-Morpheus (The Matrix)

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Meijin Modeler - Win Eiam Ong

For many of us, upgrading to an airbrush is the logical choice if we intend to get better at painting our models...But once in a while an artist comes along with enough talent to succeed using the most humble of tools - a good old fashioned paintbrush. He has conquered Thailand's GBWC twice in a row with his mind bending concepts and excellent craftsmanship, and went on to take home the title of GBWC grand champion for 2015. His entry this year is just as awesome if not even better, and he is off to Japan once again to compete with the rest of the world's plamo elite. Ladies and gentlemen, today we get to know more about the one they call The Paint Pusher...our featured Meijin Modeler, Mr. Win Eiam-Ong!

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Weathering - Sponge Chipping

Greetings and salutations plamo nerds! One of the final steps in the Boros build was some minor weathering to make it look fairly used, and to match the wreckage base I prepared for it. I snapped some pics along the way so I could share my preferred paint chipping technique - the tried and tested sponge method - which is easy to do and can give great results if you really put your heart into it!



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Tallgeese Boros

Ohayou gozaimasu my lovely weeaboos! I'm sure everyone is in a festive holiday mood - it's that time of the year when the expanding of our waistlines is inversely proportional to that of our wallets - that 2-3 week window when we can bring home new kits and get a little less flak for it from our significant others, because they're "self-gifts".  

Me? I won't be growing my backlog (...much). I already have too much to be thankful for this year - a healthy family, a stable job, a new house...and the cherry on top of my triple-scoop sundae? the Boros is finally complete! After almost a year of working on this thing, and more than a few mishaps that almost made me want to rage-quit the project...it is finished. 

Ladies, gentlemen, everyone who identifies as some other obscure gender or thing (hey, Setsuna identifies as a gundam), I give you my best effort yet...
the Tallgeese Boros!

warning: pic heavy!



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Field Report - G.B.P. 3rd Anniversary Event

It was high noon...the perfect time for a showdown as far as gun-slinging cowboys are concerned. But the gathering was meant for a different kind of gunslinger - instead of revolvers, we holstered our airbushes and rattle cans. Instead of .28, .38 or .45 caliber bullets, we used lacquers, acrylics, and enamels. Because the day was not about guns...it was about Gundams! That's right folks, yesterday, GBP (Gundam Bootleg Pilipinas) celebrated it's 3rd anniversary with a build-off and gathering of epic proportions. The people were friendly, the food was great, and the builds? The builds were handsome AF. Hold on to your panties fellas, they're about to drop like Axis...


Warning: Pic Heavy

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Decanting Paint from Spray Cans

What's up plamo nerds? I hope you haven't blown your holiday bonuses on kits that will sit on your backlog shelf for at least 2 years! Remember that you don't just need kits, you'll need other modeling supplies too. Paint in particular is a fast-moving consumable in this hobby, and you can easily go through several jars on a single project. Good thing there are cheap alternatives to hobby-grade paints - the most accessible of which is the humble rattle can. Available at almost every hardware and DIY store, these cans are the typical weapon of choice for a modeler's first foray into painting. Eventually though, many of us graduate to airbrushing, and a bunch of half-empty cans end up collecting dust under our work tables. You can still make the most of those old cans by decanting the paint instead!


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A̶d̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ Removing Detail - Waterslide Decals

Hello again plamo nerds! Due to insistent public demand (actually just one reader, persistent fellow, by the name of Clyde..) I'm doing a double feature today, demonstrating how to remove an already dry waterslide decal. Note however that this method may not work on all decal brands, but I've had success with both Bandai and self-printed decals, provided the decal solution has not fully cured and the model was not topcoated after the decals were placed.



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Adding Detail - Waterslide Decals

Greetings and salutations plamo nerds! I've finished repainting the leg I messed up last week, and it suddenly occurred to me that I never did follow up that Custom Decals tutorial with a proper how-to on waterslide decal application. This is all common knowledge to many experienced builders, but I'm determined to fill this blog with every technique I've learned from the hobby community as a way of giving back, so here you go!

Here's what you'll need:

1. Sharp scissors
2. Hobby knife with a new blade
3. Cutting mat
4. A small, shallow dish for water
5. Hobby tweezers 
6. Cotton swabs and paper towel
7. Your waterslide decal sheet
8. (Optional) Decal solution like Microsol / Mr. Mark Softer, or just plain white vinegar

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