Modelling 101: Be prepared to lose a kit or two

Good day to you all. 

This will be my first post to greet the new year with. I wish you all a very happy new year. I haven't post anything since 2015 started due to stress concerning some hiccups in my life. But I won't bother you with my problems.

Anyway, I have been planning to type this up for a few months now. So here it is -

I have seen so many people out there asking question of how to paint their gunpla or mod or weather and they always say these things which is really starting to get on my nerve '' but I'm afraid I might damage/destroy it '' and or '' but I'm scared that it won't come out as good '' 

Let me tell you what people, you will lose a kit or two .. or in my case, somewhere around 10. That's the only way to improve. If you really want to become a modeller ( instead of just a collector ) and you want to improve your skills on your painting, modding or weathering, you will have to just bite the bullet and ( to use swimming term for want of a better metaphor) get into the water and slowly wade toward the deeper end.

That being said, I don't mean dive into the deep end right away. In fact, let me show you some pictures of what happened when you dive into the deeper end straight away ( you can read the post I wrote about it here - LINK )  

Wading slowly is the best way to improve and actually learn your weakness and strong points. Allow me to show you all the kits I have sacrificed and subsequently thrown away as I wade through the shallows - 

One of my very early attempt at painting. The rest of the body is not painted. Hell, I didn't even painted the two cable ( the white nylon cable ). It went in the bin in 2012.

My very first attempt at camo panting. I painted it with enamels but messed up the decals. Lessons learned, as much as enamel is self levelling, thin the bloody paint and don't brush it straight out of the bottle. Binned 2011

My early attempt at hand painting with Tamiya paint. Lessons learned - NEVER hand paint with Tamiya. NEVER. Binned 2012.

a Few of my attempts on painting the camo scheme with enamels AND acrylic. Lesson learned - two different types of paint are different and must be worked accordingly to the way each dry and behave. Binned - 2011 and 2014 respectively.

My very first attempt at weathering, I learned about dry brushing and literally dry brushed the whole vehicle with a grey colour. Lesson learned - NEVER do that. Weathering is an art in itself. Binned 2011

My very fast attempt at using masking tapes and small amount of weathering. Lessons learned - Take it easy with the masking tape as paint can still lift off AND paint seeps underneath the tape and will result in paint run. Binned 2011

My very first proper attempt at weathering. I managed to get painting down pretty well at this point. So I put chipping literally EVERYWHERE on the tank. Lesson learned - Weathering doesn't work that way. It must tell a story and be consistent. Not yet Binned as I'm planning to re work on this but at the same time, I want to bin it. 

I have never tried doing a rusted out, well abandoned vehicle. I bought this half built kit for £8 which is very cheap so that I can practice on it. As you can see, this is my 2013 work ( which is one of the better days of my skills ) but regardless, this is a sacrafice kit that I needed so that I can do a better  looking kit like this in the future. Not binned yet. Still have this.

 In tern of gunpla, this is one of the kit that I sacrificed - 

I was practicing painting when I first started my double action airbrush, which was back in 2009. I bought a cheap chinese airbrush and wanted to try spray painting. It's not as good as my current works but I learned a lot of spray painting and how to use a airbrush with this. 

I don't have the pictures anymore but I also destroyed a Sinanju and a Unicorn with some crappy painting that was done sometimes in 2009. From them, I learned about painting the inner frames of the MG. I sent those two to my friends as they were better builders than me and they thought they might be able to re-work on it. They told me that it was done so bad they had to throw it away. HAHA.

I know very well that you guys don't want to hear this but I have to say this - You will messed up a fair share of kits before you get to where you want to be. It is a necessity and you guys have to accept it. These poor sacrifices will definitely help you improve your skills. Trust me on this. Just go my completed works and compare my early works to my post 2013 works. You will see that I have improved leaps and bounds because of the experiences I have gained from all those sacrifices. 

Happy Modelling.  

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Weathering on GUNPLA!!?? Here's some dos and don'ts.

Let's talk about Weathering, shall we? To be specific, weathering on GUNPLA and the misconception of it and how people are weathering their GUNPLA kits and a bit of a tips and pointers and dos and don'ts of weathering.
Before I write anything, I want to say this disclaimer -

I AM IN NO WAY A MASTER IN WEATHERING. I AM WRITING THIS USING MY OWN OBSERVATION, MY EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCES IN APPLYING WEATHERING. HOWEVER, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM MY COMPLETED WORKS, I AM SURE MY WORDS CAN AND WILL BE JUSTIFIED BY MY WORKS.

Right... let's get on with the topic at hand. Weathering.

What is weathering?

"Weathering" refers to a number of techniques that are intended to make a model appear more realistic by simulating the effects of the elements on the subject. These number of techniques are used to depict a vehicle (or in this case, a mobile suit ) at a certain time or place during the term of its service. It is a form of visualisation of a story or a certain scene in a story. For instance, a vehicle that has passed through a large puddle of muddy water or a mobile suit operating in a tropical climate where wet and dry weather changes instantly and bombarded with dusts and rain.

So what are (some) people doing with their gunpla when it comes to weathering? Well, in a nut-shell, everything i.e. they see something about weathering or read about it and they just applied what they read about and just put applied the whole lot of it. For instance, a gunpla bombarded with dry brushing all over it ( which makes me think of mobile suits bear-hugging each other) or a gunpla with casting textures put all over it ( I graduated with Material Science and for 3 years, I have never heard of easy-to-fabricate parts such as slab or panels being casted )

Fair enough, everybody starts somewhere. I did too but I studied for 3 years (2008 to 2011) before I actually applied any kind of weathering. I will give you an example -

This is my very first kit that I weathered in 2009 ( with that same mind set that I just described)

As you have figured out by now, I just learned about chipping and just applying it everywhere regardless of whether these chips are in logical locations or not.

Compare that with my 2014 builds -
(Click on the picture and you will be linked to the original postings )

 

 

 

That is how long it took me to get to this level. And I'm still a novice. 

Weathering is not just putting random rusts or chipping or dry brushing of metallic colour every where. Weathering is supposed to tell a story. A whole story or just a certain point in a story depending on how it is depicted.

A lot of complex thinking is involved in weathering - what is the scenario, what the vehicle/MS has gone through, what it is doing now, etc etc. The best example of a perfectly weathered Gunpal is THIS ( His fan page here - Oishi Model Art ) ( FB album of this kit here - LINK ) 

Notice the two very large chipping lines across the thighs where the skirts are in contact with the thighs and many other well thought-of weatherings effects. (and the white is inspired from Washable white wash paint used for winter by all 3 armies of WW2 )

Made by Oishi from Thailand, this gunpla is a perfect example weathering done right on a gunpla. ( also, check out Major William, Big Z, Decay and Mr.Gav's works for some really kick-ass weathering finishes on gunpla. Although Mr.Gav's rusted the hell out of his RX-78 which is made from gandanium, it's still a freaking beautifully weathered Grand-daddy. I'm just being too technical and nit-picking here)

I am not going to tell you how or write a tutorial on how to do weathering. I feel I am not skilled enough (yet) to do so. However, If you want to improve or learn about it, I strongly suggest you get your hands on the Weathering Magazines ( Website here - LINK ) ( Their FB page if you wish to enquire - LINK ). Get the books or get the PDFs anyway you can if you want to learn more. I will say this now, internet references can only give you a small amount of informations. Not to mention sources are scattered. You need dedicated books to improve your modelling skills. Trust me on this. 

As I stated, I will not be doing any tutorial or what-so-ever nor I will not be doing any spoon feeding but here is some do's and don'ts -



DO'S -
Do look at scale modelling references to learn about weathering.
Do think about a back story .
Do look at real life reference.
Do think about the materials that is involved ( remember, titanium DO NOT RUST and so is the fictional gandanium alloy or do not put steel colour chipping effects on rubber parts or canvas parts)
Do try to consider the current weather your MS is operating in.
Do try to consider the overall climate of the area your MS is operating in. 
Do try to think realistically even if gunpla is fictional. 
Do try to apply your effects randomly but in logical locations.
Do be resourceful with the necessary tools/product involved ( you can use real dirt and use it to boost the volume of your mud/earth mixture ).

DON'TS -
Don't just rely solely on internet sources. It is not enough.
Don't put on too much. LESS IS MORE. ( My Providence is a prime example of this. I put on too much chipping and it looks stupid )
Don't forget to test out a technique before you apply it.
Don't rush when it comes to weathering.
Don't put the effects all on the same layer.
Don't use the same type of products as your paints ( if you painted with acrylic, weather with oil and enamels and vice versa ).
Don't assume one technique is enough. ( Every weathering process consist of more than three technique - fading, pin wash, chip, collected dust, wet effect, eart, mud etc ).
Don't assume weathering can be done with just one product ( I'm sorry to say this but some people think buying the tamiya weathering master is enough for weathering ).

Well, these are the Dos and Don'ts that I can think of at the top of my head. As much as gunpla is all about MODDING ( and now with GBF, adding on ridiculous amount of stuffs is becoming a trend ), a well weathered gunpla as I have shown can and will be a show stopper. It's only a matter of time before beautifully weathered gunpla start to show on the scene. ( Personally, I'm a little bit tired of seeing straight build painted and modded kits all the time.) Don't hesitate to take the dive and step out of your comfort zone. Remember, the sky's the limit with out beloved hobby. 

Happy modelling to you all. 

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''Which gunpla should I buy?'' - a question that is getting annoying

I have been brooding weather or not I should be posting this but after talking with GundamUK and both having agreed that this is not a contentious issue I decided to go with it.

I have already wrote something similar 3 years ago ( LINK ) but I guess it got buried under my avalanche of wips and finished product posts.

So....... the issue at hand ... the question of '' What gunpla should I buy? ''.

Like seriously? Really seriously?
The answer to that stupid question is a really simple answer ( and again, I will refer back to the post I made 3 years ago) - BUY WHAT EVER YOU LIKE.

Even if the question is '' I have an option of two; which one I should buy? '', the answer is the same bloody one. Cases like this, budget is out of question. Who ever asking it obviously has enough budget to spend ample money on a kit. Fair enough, if a question was worded differently like '' I have a budget of this amount. What can I get?? '', hell, I would even go out of my way and drop links (ebay, HLJ whatever) on his/her question.

The question of what I should buy is really really moot in gunpla. Let me give you an example taken from the scale modelling world -

That is just one type of vehicle ( an early version Tiger I) made by 7 companies. Just one type of one vehicle made by 7 companies. ( and there ARE thousands of different kits). And this is only all in 1/35. There are other scales. Cases like this, sure ask away because some people have build all, others some of it. Get some insightful comparison from people who build them. 

The only case like this that I can think of in the Gunpla modelling world is the case of the Grand-daddy, RX-78. There are so many version of it ( 6 versions of it if memory serves me) and if something like '' Guys, which version of RX-78 should I buy?'' is asked, people would be happy to help. I see that as a question with a little bit of research behind unlike the other spoon-feeding question

Apart from that, there's hardly any case of the same suits being made in different version. Fair enough some of the suits was given the 2.0 but who's gonna buy the 1.0 version at this time and age anyway? So question of '' What (or which) gunpla should I buy?'' is a really really moot question and it's just annoying. I see that question at least once a day on no less then 5 different FB groups. 

The answer is simple - BUY WHATEVER THAT ONE YOU LIKE. 

I am well aware I am coming down as very blunt and could well be sounding downright arrogant but I been in this hobby for 7 years ( in both the scale modelling world and gunpla world ) and seeing that question all the time is just piss-taking ( my intent, however, is not to offend anybody but rather a heads-up of the stupid annoying thing that is happening). I'm not the only one at this as you can see from this screen shot -

I would like to post this picture that basically sums up what I and other liked minded people ( and my friends included of course) think about that stupid question ( one of the many, in fact) -

 Happy modelling. 

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''Its your model so your choice'' - is it getting overplayed?

So, as you all are aware, I am building my T-80 and after my latest update as I was stumped on how to weather it so I asked at the end of my update '' any idea how I should weather it guys? ''. 

As or now, I have shared the T-80 WIP across 4 forums and surprisingly, there was only one suggestion/discussion/advice regarding my question. 

Much as I am more than grateful to that forum user ( for privacy purpose, I will not be disclosing his username), he ended the back and forth discussion of how to put on the weathering with ''Its your model so your choice'' and reading that makes me think this -
'' That sentence is so played-out, overplayed to the same extent as there have been many movies and TV series about Romeo and Juliet ''. (ok that example may not be the perfect one but it was at the top of my head :P )

I have been seeing this sentence used by the people giving advice and getting advice over the forums and many facebook pages and it has been bugging me for quite some time.

Feedback is a very crucial thing to improve as you may all know. All these pages and forums exist so that we can share our work and give/receive feedback on top of making friends and chilling out. So, why in heaven's sake is this sentence so overused? Why do most people respond that if they any kind of comment? Why do people say that at the end of their input/suggestion should they are given? 

Fair enough there are dicks out there; I myself have faced quite a bit of dicks and their sarcastic words that normally come from Aholes. Cases like this, one can say '' it's my model so F**k off ''. It is justified. ( After talking with my good friends I choose not to show what was said to me.)

But what about this kind of situation?

I really enjoy getting feedback like this. I replied with my most sincerest gratitude and thanks.

But you know what? I have seen people respond with the same ''' its my model, my choice '' or a much more widely used ''I build models for my enjoyment'' to a properly written and positive constructive critique/feedback. I have faced such response myself, being told off like that after giving a constructive comment ( sadly, I forgot where though but I distinctly remember more than twice response). What I don't understand is why do people respond in such way.

Why do people who give suggestion or advice use that ?
Why do people answering question use that?
Why do people respond to critiques with that phrase?

''It's my model so my choice '' - is it getting really used too much to the point it's starting to annoy you? What do you guys think ? 

Just some food for thoughts...

P.S - my apologies if I offended anybody. Just sharing my thoughs.

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