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This is Bandai's 1/100 scale Hardygun from Gundam SF-91.
These pictures are of my 1/48 Dragon Me-262-A1. This kit had the option of being built either as a fighter or
a jabo (fighter bomber). Seeing as the concept of the jabo-262 is anathema to me, I decided to go with the former.
Overall,
the kit was excellently detailed, including good, albeit shallow, panelling,and the option to build the Mk108 cannon bays
opened up. There were photoetched parts for the wheel bays, cockpit and loop antenna, and the decals were very good.
This kit is painted green and brown splinter cammo with grey undersides using the OLD Testor's acrylics. I built it
about 10 years ago.
The Me-262 is one of my favourite aircraft, and this kit really did it justice. Unfortunately,
the fit was, as with all Dragons, a bit sketchy, especially on the engine pods. Also, with time, the real rubber tires
have split.
This is a figure of Rei Ayanami, one of the main characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion, in her school uniform.
If you've read the article on my Sailor Mars restoration, then you know I love to try and score cheap figures. Rei came from a garage sale as well, although she was in even
rougher shape than Mars. She is moulded in very soft PVC, and her legs were severely bowed. In addition, her two-piece
skirt didn't meet at the seams, and the paint was the wrong colour.
I had to drill holes in her legs and stiffen them
with wire before she would even stand! To glue her back together, I used cyanoacrylate, and it worked great! All
the (originally very large) gaps were also filled with CA. Rei was painted compeltely by hand using Testor's Acrylics,
Tamiya Acrylics and Testor's Oil for the flesh. She is approxmately 1/16 scale.
The hills are alive, with the sound of ... Zakus! This is my customized 1/144 MS-06 FZ Zaku II, also from Gundam
0080. The FZ is a mass produced MS designed primarily for space and intra-colony urban combat. This model was
modified by removing the leg, chest and shoulder verniers, thus making the final product a ground-type MS. In addition,
I armed it with two rocket launchers and a heat saber from an ancient MS Weapons kit I found cheap at Broughdale. This
kit was painted using Tamiya and Model Master acrylics. Weathering was done using Testors oil silver and a sand
wash of very thin Radome Tan that was put over the entire kit, giving it a dusty appearance.
This kit represents several
firsts for me. It is the first mech I have ever weathered, it is the first kit for which I have built a base (not shown)
and it is the first kit on which I have used an airbrush! That's right, me using an airbrush. All the light beige
was done using a Theyer and Chandler double-action airbrush. Proof positive that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
Not your average snowman! This is my 1/144 MSM-3C Hygog from Gundam 0080. It is the old kit, not the newer HG-UC
incarnation. The Hygog is an amphibious assault mech used to attack a Federation Shuttle installation in the first part
of 0080. The kit was painted using Badger acrylic for the blue, and Testors for the black and the gloss coat.
The final product is a bit topheavy, and, just as in the show, it must support itself on one arm when readying the missile
in its other arm for firing.
This four shot montage shows the old Gundam 0083 RX-78 GP-03S kit in 1/144. The kit was quite straightforward to
build, with only minimal putty needed. Like all of my kits, the -03 is completely painted, inside and out, using Testor's
Model Master Acrylics. It is gloss white, red and blue, with vernier engines done in Jet Exhaust with orange internals.
The clear beam sword is a custom: the clear blade was cut from some runner and sanded to fit onto
the hilt, which is itself embedded in the custom-filled hand. The original was hollow and couldn't hold the sword worth
beans. I gave it the long bazooka-like gun becaue I hate the 0083 Beam Rifles, and it didn't fit in the kit's hand.
This is Bandai's 1/60 Brocken Labor, an unpiloted Labor used by both Schaft Enterprises Europe (SEE) and the West German
Army (Heer). This kit is typical of the early Labor kits, in that it is comprised of a simple inner skeleton supporting
the outer armour. The rubber on the arms and legs are used to 'dress' the inner frame, and add a convincing touch to
the finished product. In the Patlabor anime, the Brocken is a greyish-blue, although the kit comes finished in a garish
medium blue, more befitting a Gundam than a Labor. The kit is theoretically a snap fit, but glue and putty were used
on this one.
This particular kit is finished in a finish similar to that found on Leopard 2A5 tanks, since it is a
Heer-use mech. The decals provided include markings for such a unit, but they are the awful heavy plastic, self-adhesive type.
Thus, this particular Brocken is simply 'unaligned'.
This is the Bandai 1/72 VF-1S Super Valkrie. This kit was reissued in 1997 for the 15th anniversary of Macross,
and could actually be completed either as the Superfigher seen here, or as a conventional Gerwalk. The kit is a standard
injection molded plastic affair, and requires plenty of glue, putty and paint, especially on the dorsal booster packs.
The kit is painted as Lt. Hikaru Ichijo's (that's Rick Hunter in Robotech) Skull One. No wing mounted weapons were included
in the kit, although the GU-11 Gunpod is mounted on centerline. While not as nice as the newer Hasegawa kits, this old
standby is still a nice looking display piece. Full waterslide decals of amazing quality are included with the kit,
which is molded in white and blue-grey. Need a shuttle rescue? Call in this guy!
This is my 1/35 M1A1 from AMT. It is finished in a desert paint more suitable to North Africa than Desert Storm, but that's all I had at
the time. There isn't any aftermarket goodness on this kit - what you see is what you get right out of the box.
The kit is molded in dark green, but I built it after the Gulf War, and had to have a desert one. The detail on the
roof guns is good, and the kit was inexpensive ($5 US). It follows my standard of being spanking clean like a museum
piece. I know most armour modellers out there cringe, but I like it.
This is my only attempt at a diorama. It is the Esci-ERTL "F-5 and Modern Aircraft Support Set" kit made in 1992. It is
in 1/48 and came with everything you see here. It is currently under glass on one of my many book cases, since dusting it
would not be fun. It is also, to date, the only kit I have ever aged. It was painted using Model Master Acrylics, with oil
silver for aging the leading edges and canopy rails, and black wash for the guns, engines and the backs of the pylons.
The
(rather heavy) weapons load is from the Lindberg 1/48 Starfighter (bad, bad kit) that my brother built, with the retarded
bombs on the trailer coming from an old A-10 I got second hand. The kit is painted up to be a representation of a Skoshi Tiger
F-5, although it is not technically correct. I always liked the pictures of F-5s in 'Nam. There's no aftermarket accessorizing
on this puppy, just what I got when I opened my $10 US kit.
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