Gunpla by GoodGuyDan

NYCC 2013

2013-05-22T14:57:00.001-04:00

I purchased my three day pass to New York Comic Con today! I realize that NYCC is still 5 months away, but I am very excited. I met a lot of great people, saw some incredible gunpla and got a sneak peek at some unreleased kits last year. And I'm really looking forwards to doing the same this year.

I have started brain storming GBWC entry ideas too. Although like last year I'll probably keep the finished kits a surprise until I arrive at the convention.

If you live in or around NYC I hope to see you there!

MG Zaku 2.0 WIP pt 3

2013-05-20T22:41:00.002-04:00

This isn't going to be a huge update, I mostly repainted and primed parts tonight but I wanted to share some of the more interesting elements of the paint job so far:

Big Z's Shin Matsunaga Zaku 2 left a huge impression on me, my favorite part was how he painted the blade of the heat hawk. I tried to replicate the effect. I like how my blade looks, but I prefer Z's.

For both ranged weapons I contrasted metallic with standard colors. I like mixing colors up this way, it makes the weapon look like it's made from different composites.

Another close up of the pre-weathering damage.

And on the darker blue.

I have a tough time with colors (I'm color blind) however I'm fortunate to have a GF that's willing to help me with my color blends. She suggested adding some small splashes of yellow to contrast with the blue.

Here's a ammo canister for the bazooka, two of these canisters will hang off of the rear & side skirts.

In addition to the yellow paint I'll be using many of the yellow and white decals from the Gouf 2.0 decal set to contrast with the blue.

MG Zaku 2.0 WIP Pt 2

2013-05-19T22:41:00.000-04:00

Since yesterday's post I've painted like a man possessed. As of about 2 hours ago the only unpainted color group of the Zaku is the grey interior frame!

I did a lot of little neat things with the paint on this kit, some things I'm going to keep to myself until the kit is finished!

The light blue is pretty close to dusty 'robins egg blue' but the color didn't translate well in the picture.

I post shaded the battle damage, I wanted the damage and surrounding armor to look scorched, 'painful' and 'bruised'. Again the cell phone pictures didn't do a great job with the color. After some dry brushing and weathering these pot marks should look pretty good.

The chest and skirt are a darker and more vibrant blue to contrast with the extremities.

The pistons are star bright duraluminium, and the 'collars' are star bright brass.

The launch tube of the bazooka is star bright dark iron.

If you haven't already guessed I'm doing a bit of a themed build for one of my favorite 0079 characters; the man, the legend, the mustache...

Not my statue by the way. Just a stock image I found.

MG Zaku 2.0 WIP

2013-05-18T20:57:00.000-04:00

When GB announce he was going to hold a weathered kit contest I knew I had to sign up. It's been a while since I've weathered a kit, and I really needed a contest, build off or something to get me motivated to build another.

The deadline for the kit is pretty tight (roughly a month) and I don't want to half-ass a kit. Fortunately I had a White Ogre Zaku squirreled away.

Starting with some of the small details first.

No blunt spikes here. By adding a bit of putty to the tip of each spike I was able to sharpen each spike to a nice point.

The Ogre's complete (for the most part). I ordered some parts from Gentei from other Zaku 2.0s to set mine apart.

Time to beat him up. I'm using this little ball bit on a dremel to gouge and scrape away thin bits of armor. My goal is to scratch the Zaku up just a bit, I don't want the mobile suit to looks like it's been blown away by the 78-2.

Wear and tear, and glancing blows.

Tis only a flesh wound.

The kit is currently soaking in soapy water. I already have a color scheme picked out, so after a bit of pre-shading I'll paint the kit, decal/panel line then follow it up with a few layers of weathering and paint chipping.

Bro Build Complete MG Astray Red Frame

2013-05-15T21:28:00.000-04:00

Here's my final painted up Astray for my Bro-Build with Justinius!

I made a few changes to colors applications, so this isn't exactly a stock scheme. Overall I'm extremely pleased with how the kit came out. This is the first kit I've used a future floor topcoat on, and overall I'm satisfied with how it came out; but I will need to experiment with it more before I'm 100% happy with it.

It looks like the Astray is going to be the first in a long line of build offs this summer. So stay tuned for more!

Colors:

Frame: Clear red over titanium base
Leg and Arm Armor: White
Chest Armor: Black
Waist Armor: Grey
Eyes & sensors: Clear green over silver
Internal details: Medium Grey

Enjoy the photos!

Suit 180:

The Astray is slightly shorter than your average Gundam type mobile suit. The design is also a bit on the lean side, but the details on the arms and legs give it a 'muscular' appearance.

Details:

The two raised details on the top of the chest were carefully painted with red. Each finger was carefully hand painted with Tamiya White.

Red head with green eyes. You can kind of make out the two titanium pistons buried in the chest from this angle.

Titanium leg piston.

Action Poses:

I think this kit looks best holding a single sword.

Tactical Arms:

The TA is a little too heavy and too unwieldy to pose with.

Gatling gun mode. I took this photo just to show off the sensors near the barrel of the gun.

Back pack/back heavy mode.

If you tweak the balance well you won't need to lean the kit this far forward.

Full Armor Mode:

Delta Epsilon Color Scheme 2.0

2013-05-13T19:43:00.001-04:00

When I first photographed the Delta Epsilon I wasn't really happy with the kit. At the time I really just wanted to get it off of my desk. But after reading comments from everyone I decided to take another swing at it.

I only repainted the chest section of the kit. I wanted a color that would contrast less with the surrounding gold paint. Over all I'm much happier with the light blue chest color, and I think that the Delta looks much more like the Hyaku Shiki now.

I also applied a set of black decals from the MG Rezel Commander I found on ebay to the kit. They definitely help break up the chunks of gold.

Enjoy the photos:

Weekend WIP

2013-05-05T21:10:00.000-04:00

I don't have a ton of photos to share of this weekend's progress. It's partially because I'm done painting the Astray; and I don't want to give too much away!

However I will happily show off my favorite part of the kit.

"One sword keeps another in the sheath" ~ George Herbert

Angry looking faces on the tsuba (hand guard). Maybe the sword is hungry for mech...

I don't often gush over my own work. But words cannot describe how satisfied I am with the hamon (temper line) design I created on both blades.

MG Strike Remastered Group Buy Pre-Order

2013-05-01T14:34:00.001-04:00

MG Strike 2.0 is ready to launch!

Joe from Modelgrade just informed me that the Strike Remastered group buy is now live. Hop on the band wagon and grab a pre-order for this kit before it's too late!

Here are the details:

Special preorder price $47.99
Flat rate $5 shipping (free shipping on orders over $100)
Plus you'll receive a free $5 coupon for your next order!

Deal ends May 31st; expected release date is June 2013.
Deal is open to US & Canadian addresses only. Free shipping is only valid for the US customers

Order yours now!

Directions:
1: Add the special Strike to your shopping cart
2: Proceed to checkout.
3: On the 5th step you'll be able to enter the coupon code REDDITDEAL to get the discount (look at those $1000 melt away!). You may need to change the shipping option before completing checkout.
4: Done!

Bro Build Update

2013-04-30T09:23:00.001-04:00

For the first time in what feels like months I am working on only one kit! Now that I don't have to divide my attention I'm starting to get a lot of work done on the MG Red Frame for the Bro Build with Justin.

At this point most of the red pieces have been painted. I applied a transparent red over a titanium base coat; I really like how the red color pops. You can also see a few of the gold trim pieces; they received a coat of gloss black followed by Gaia Notes star bright gold.

There are a few small details that needed to be masked onto the breast plate. Here's how I did them.

And after a layer of black.

One of my major gripes about this kit is the two katana blades. Both of the blades come molded in a chrome color, the chrome itself isn't bad; but the swords lack detail.

One of the more distinguishing features of a Japanese sword is the temper line or hamon.

The hamon is created during the clay tempered quenching process where the edge of the blade or ha is left bare and cools every quickly and the clay covered spine or mune cools more slowly. This process leaves the cutting edge with a hardness around 60HRC and the spine around 40HRC. This process of differentially hardening the blade is one of the reasons the Katana is such an incredible cutting weapon.

This is how I set about creating my own hamon:

First I soaked both blades in bleach to remove the chrome.

Then I applied a layer of primer, followed by gloss black followed by Gaianotes starbright duralinium followed by clear acrylic. After letting everything cure I masked a wave like notare pattern onto each side of the blade.

After a few coats of clear acrylic and flat base:

I really like the way both swords came out. The hamon is subtle and only visible at certain angles.

The decal sheet I ordered from Globaltoy on ebay has arrived too. The decals are nice and crisp; but there is a problem with them...

English gibberish. It's like the reverse of the nonsensical Kanji tattoos you see a lot of people sporting.

Here's what the heart decal says if you can't make it out:

"You are not alone you are bejil lj bill kualitz carey kualitzzzs the beautifulgirl cary wahahahaha"

And the line above the Rehome is even better:

"DE EL DAF IC JNE ENNL"

On the official set it should say

" WE BELONG TO JUNK GUILD"

Yep, that sure is some fine translation work. I know this won't bother 99% of modelers out there, but very visible mistakes like this really get on my nerves.

RG Zeta White Unicorn Amuro Custom

2013-04-28T18:17:00.002-04:00

This is suit number two in my Project Amuro. When I originally planned out the scheme for this kit I thought I was being clever, but then Bandai announced the RG Zeta White Unicorn version and that went out the window. However after seeing Bandai's sticker design I decided to model some of my masking after their markings.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the masking on the final kit. And I really like how they interact in the waverider mode.

Hit the bump for all the photos!

Cameo from the GF's Hambrabi

Waverider mode

RG RX 78-2 Amuro Custom

2013-04-28T10:45:00.003-04:00

I received this kit as a trade from a local buddy for the HG Age 1 Normal + Razor kit I had lost interest in building. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted this kit, but I started thinking about projects I want to do, and everything just sort of clicked. After all it makes sense to start Project Amuro with the RX 78-2.

The color scheme is inspired by my all time favorite modeler Kieta.

This kit was been in WIP hell for over a month because I damaged the red portion of the shield. Originally I removed the yellow cross and puttied the holes where cross connected. However after several rounds of different types of primer and paint and masking I was still seeing color variations in the shield color. Ultimately I decided to revert the shield design.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the way the kit turned out. Unfortunately I did notice that the armor caps for both knees have started to crack. I also made a rookie mistake during the assembly process that I couldn't reverse after paint (can you spot it?)

Enjoy the photos:

OOBBO Conclusion

2013-04-25T11:41:00.000-04:00

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who participated in the blast off. I was really shocked by the quality of each submission I received. Each submission was well done, and they all had a special personal flair which I appreciated (which also made my selection really difficult)!

You can check out all of the submissions here!

I used the follow criteria laid out on the rules page to evaluate each kit submitted.

"I'll be judging your kits based on two criteria; which are the overall quality and cleanliness of your build. I will also take the quality and clarity of your photos into account (so make em fancy!)"

After some long hard deliberation here are the models and builders that I chose.

Honorable Mentions

WheresWildo

HG Harute

I like the blood red color that Wildo used on his Harute, and his photos are excellent. My only crtique is that I think the kit could benefit from a decal scheme or from some small splashes of a bright color on the dark red surfaces.

Kapil

HG Palace Athena

The preshading and color choice on the kit are first rate; and I love the smooth finish on the cannon barrels. This kit could have easily been serious competition for number 1, but the submission was somewhat lacking in the photography category. Very nice job all around!

Waynshaun

HG Age 2 Artemis

Waynshaun did an excellent job masking and painting his Artemis. The Aretmis parts require a ton of work to look good and he nailed the color separation. My only critique is that the seamlines along the barrels of the rifles are noticeable.

BRC

HG EX-S Gundam

The color choice, detailing painting and attention to detail featured in this kit really caught my eye. BRC's submission was a very close competitor for third place.

Third Place

Nayiro

HG Nu Gundam HWS

Nayiro did a great job painting up this kit (and dealing with equipment problems). The detailing painting, decals and stripes on the shield look great!

Second Place

Justinius

HG Zudah

Justin's Zudah is a complex little kit with a lot of layers of detail. The color choices, splinter camo scheme, striping and detail painting are all excellent. The liberal use of smooth metallic color is also a great effect.

First Place

Rosc
HG Hazel

Rosc did it all, the kit is well built, cleanly painted, well photographed and I absolutely love the Titans Test Team scheme he chose.

The cleanliness of the masking is also very impressive.

Nice job on the feet detail.

Wrap up:

The winners can contact me by email for their prizes.

Rosc has chosen the HG Dreissen
Justinius has chosen the HG Dom/RickDom
Nayiro will receive the Alpha Azieru

Again I want to thank everyone who participated! And I apologize if I didn't write any comments for your entry.

If you couldn't enter or if you didn't finish don't worry I will be holding more contests in the future! (As soon as my Amazon Ad. revenue builds up again).

Commission Complete HG Banshee Special Clear Version

2013-04-24T22:45:00.000-04:00

This was a pretty different commission for me. Normally when I'm asked to take on a commission I'm asked to do some sort of paint job; however instead of painting my client asked me to build this kit as cleanly and paint free as possible. After some intensive scratch removal I'd say I was successful!

You can fix scratches easily with this method.

I used the MG Banshee decal set for this kit. I had to modify some of the decals to fit. I had to precisely cut up the GR decal on the left shoulder to fit the design.

Hit the bump to see the full gallery!

Multi-project WIP

2013-04-22T23:20:00.003-04:00

I usually end up working on multiple kits simultaneously. The nice part about having multiple WIPs is that I have more pictures to share.

HG Banshee Clear ver.

This is a commission I'm currently working on for a client.

The goal is to just keep the kit extremely clean and unpainted. (Not an easy feat considering how easily clear plastic stresses and scratches!)

Here's how most of the pieces looked after I cleaned the nubs and stress marks.

After some scratch removal and decal here's how the kit looks.

If there are any scratches left on the kit, I can't find them.

RG Zeta

This is an on going project kit that I received from my buddy Justin. I've moved onto applying decals, panel lining and detailed painting. Unfortunately I also broken the 'head jewel' despite my best efforts to repair it, the part will need to be replaced.

MG Red Frame

After seeing Justin's latest progress video I decided I had better start painting. I'm starting with the red parts, because they make up the bulk of the paint work on the kit.

I applied a layer of clear red over a base coat of titanium. the light gold touch of the titanium adds additional depth to the red. I'm very happy with the color thus far. The red appears much richer than the similar red treatment I applied to the HG and MG Sinanjus.

One year of Gunpla by GoodGuyDan

2013-04-22T09:39:00.000-04:00

I started this blog on 4/22/2012, so today it's one year old!

I had a difficult time writing any sort of content for this post. I'm a terrible writer, grammar aside I can't help but think that I'm unclear and the content that I develop is trite and unoriginal.

Originally I was going to write about the things I've done over the course of the last year; Group builds, GWBC, hits on the site and so on. But after looking at it, it looks terribly self important and self congratulatory. So instead I simple want to say...

Thank you!

To everyone who has been supportive, read my blog, asked questions, sent me emails or participated in anything I've done. Your support and readership are the reason I'll continue to develop content!

I'm looking forward to another year of kits, reviews, contests, group buys and builds!

GGD

OOBBO Final Entries

2013-04-22T09:37:00.001-04:00

Here are all the entries for the OOBBO!

If you submitted work but don't see it here, you have 24 hours to send me an email to verify the status!

BLOGGGGGG:
HG Age 1 Normal

Justinius:
HG Zudah

Effion Prime:
HG Banshee OVA Destroy mode

SchizophrenicMC
HG Unicorn Gundam (Unicorn Mode)

Breakbeat
HG Banshee OVA

WheresWildo
HG Harute

Nayiro
HG Nu Gundam HWS

BRC
HG EXS

Kapil
HG Palace Athena

Yoyobrains
HG CGue

Waynshaun
HG Age 2 Artemis

HMZ
HG GM

Rosc
HG Hazel

AmonacoKSU
HG Acguy

Nightmareofsolomon
HG M-1 Astray

mrliquidjesus
HG The O

RG Zeta & HG Banshee WIP

2013-04-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

In addition to the MG Red Frame build I'm also painting the RG Zeta Gundam. Here's what the Zeta looked like the last time I posted any pictures of it.

And here's what it looked like about a week ago. Unfortunately I still haven't found any water slide decals sets for the White Unicorn version of the kit. So I'm doing things the hard way!

The vast majority of the parts came out very clean. But I did need to touch up a few of them.

I thought I had these two parts lined up perfectly... I will be leaving the paint like this, I still like the effect.

Not a bad 'A' if I do say so myself!

I still need to paint the grey parts of the frame. I'm hoping to have this kit completed in the next week or two. Afterwards I'll paint the MG Red Frame.

I haven't posted anything about the HG Banshee commission. Unlike every other commission I've done I'm not actually painting the kit. My client want the kit assembled as cleanly as possible, minimal stress marks and no scratches.

This has actually been one of the more difficult commission I've had to do. The clear plastic Bandai uses on these kits is much harder and more brittle than the solid color polystryrene most kits are made of; so stress marks appear much more easily.

Using a combination of very sharp tools and high 2500+ grit sand paper I was able to avoid or hide nearly every mark on the kit.

Here's what an average part will look like after sanding:

After a few thin layers of tamiya acrylic clear coat the haziness is completely gone!

Once the clear coat has had a few days to cure I'll start decaling the kit.

Astray Bro Build Paint Testing

2013-04-18T22:33:00.001-04:00

Justin has been hard at work testing out his paints and pre-shading combination. I have also decided to give pre-shading a whirl, but I'm not entirely in love with the pre-shaded look.

Here are some test pieces using various paint colors for the shading:

Medium Grey:

Bright Red:

Black:

Here's something neat I did with a candy paint. I used silver as the base and gunmetal for shading. Then I covered the entire piece with several layers of transparent red.

The Medium Grey shaded piece is my favorite, but it's also the most subtle of the three white shaded parts. I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of pre-shading; only time will tell if I start to incorporate the style into my kits.

Astray Bro Build Update

2013-04-17T14:14:00.000-04:00

I've been using whatever free time I have to work on my kit for the bro build. The MG Astray is a great kit, and it has a nice level of complexity throughout the design. Unforunately the kit is back heavy as you would expect once you add on the backpack.

I'm going to keep the standard color scheme, but I will be changing some colors around and using a glossy candy red for the frame.

OOBBO Entries Gallery

2013-04-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

Here are all the entries I have received so far. If you have already submitted your kit but don't see it here send me an email!

All submissions are due by email no later than Sunday April 21st at midnight!

BLOGGGGGG:
HG Age 1 Normal

Justinius:
HG Zudah

Effion Prime:
HG Banshee OVA Destroy mode

SchizophrenicMC
HG Unicorn Gundam (Unicorn Mode)

MG Sinanju OVA Commission

2013-04-16T17:14:00.001-04:00

This is going to be my last commission for a while. I'm going to take a brief break. I really enjoy doing custom work for other people but my backlog has grown beyond a level I am comfortable with and I really need to get it under control.

And with the 2013 Gundam Builders World Cup coming up I need to start thinking about what I'm going to enter. Just like last year I'll be attending New York Comic Con in New York city in October.

I meet a lot of great people last year, and I hope to do so again! If you're in the area, or if you're considering going I look forward to seeing you there.

On to the commission:

I was asked by my client to paint up a Sinanju with a vibrant green color scheme in place of the red, I will be using silver and black for the sleeve and pipe detail and medium/dark grey for the inner frame and weapons. I'll finish the kit off with a set of ver. ka decals.

Green and silver is one of my favorite metallic color combos, and unfortunately one I don't often get to use.

Stay tuned for more updates on this build!

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Bande Dessinee & Armed Armor DE

2013-04-15T20:01:00.002-04:00

Thanks to a very generous individual named Tim I was able to get my hands on a Armed Armor DE for my ongoing Project Banshee Build.

I thought I was just going to get the kit. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that I received a sealed kit and manga combo!

The Manga comes with a dust cover, so once you remove the dust cover you find the Unicorn staring angrily at you... I'd better put it back on.

Just as you would expect the art of the manga is extremely high quality! This comic roughly fits in episode 4 of the OVA.

The Juaggu in all it's elephantine glory!

Onto the box tour. Clearly the box is designed to fit the Katoki box style. Surprisingly the box is full color!

Here are the plates you'll get. The psyco-frame is the same pinkish red as the ver.ka or ova Unicorn.

And here are the instructions for the kit. As you can see the Armed Armor DE will fit on the shields of the Unicorn, Nu ver. Ka and Sinanju Stein ver. Ka.

This kits is some what rare (like all magazine tie-ins) but I would be shocked if we didn't see one packed with the inevitable MG Banshee Norn!

Bro Build with Justinius: Astray

2013-04-14T12:17:00.000-04:00

It's not a build off, it's a bro build with my friend Justinius. We're each building on of the titular mobile suits from Gundam seed Astray VS. Justinius will be building Gai Murakumo's Blue Frame and I will be building Lowe Guele's Red Frame. You can follow along with Justinius and myself at our respective blogs!

Contest Reminder

2013-04-11T08:33:00.001-04:00

This is a reminder to all of the OOBBO participants that your entry is due by midnight April 21st!

You can submit your entry here

Submit three photos of your kit; at least one needs to feature your kit with a note card with the name you're entering under for verification. Optional: include a comment about the theme or style of your kit.

Participants

UC Era

Justinius HG Zudah
Nayiro HG Nu Gundam HWS
Mrliquidjesus HG The-O
Breakbeat HG Sinanju
GaiKotsu HG Jesta Cannon
Tony Monaco/AmonacoKSU HG Acguy
Rosc HG Hazel
BRC HG 144 Ex-S
Harry HG Unicorn destroy mode
Blakjakz HG Zaku 1 Sniper
SchizophrenicMC HG Unicorn Gundam
TheSpanishDevil HG Sazabi
Citrus HG Zudah/Hazel
Effion Prime HG Banshee Destroy Mode
HMZ HG GM Type C
Kapil M HG Palace Athene
Steve R HG Kshatriya
tter HG Delta Plus

Gundam Seed

Cherrycat R-11 LaGowe Remastered
Corey Scott HG Mobile Cgue
Andrew S/Nightmareofsolomon HG M1 Astray
Zrob HG Buster

Gundam 00

Wally Kurrimboccus HG 00 Seven Sword/G
GHanshew HG Exia Repair II
Wildo HG Harute
The Anti HG Tieren Ground

Gundam Age

Hudson/Tasty Cat HG Age Fx
BLOGGGGGG/Philip HG Age-1 Normal
Austin Woo HG Age FX
Waynshaun HG Age 2 Artemis
Akuma HG Farsia

Gundam Builders

Terry HG Beargguy expo version

Prizes

High Grade AMX-009 Dreissen [Unicorn Version]

High Grade MS-09/09-R Dom/Rick Dom

No Grade 1/400 Alpha Azieru

New Photo Setup

2013-04-09T20:16:00.001-04:00

Since starting Gunpla by Goodguydan photographing my kits has become really important. However photographing my kits has also been really problematic because I hadn't found a photo setup that worked for me. After some prodding from more skilled/knowledgeable photographers I decided to pick up a soft light box. I purchased this soft light box from Amazon.com.

I purchased this light box for four reasons.

It was cheap ($35), so if it didn't work out; I wouldn't be out too much money.
It's collapsable
It's very large; this is the 30 inch version
I could get it quickly with Amazon Prime

This is how it came packed. The black case is maybe the diameter or a basket ball. It comes packed with four different colored backdrops: black, white, blue and red.

Hit the jump for the setup and photos.

Here's how my setup looks with the new soft box. I'll be the first to admit I have no idea what I'm doing...

I'm using 8 60W light bulbs with the soft box: 5 on a stand behind the box, 1 on either side of the box and one just below the light box. I setup a glass shelf as the base of the soft box.

Believe it or not that's the PG Strike + Aile Pack in the box. You could probably fit two PG Strike Freedoms completely stretched out in Extreme Burst Mode without a problem!

Here are some comparison photos taken using my old setup and with the new box.

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After

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The soft light box practically eliminates blown out surfaces on glossy paint.

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Overall I'm pretty happy with the new setup. I still need to find a less creased background; but otherwise I think the light box provides a better environment for photographing my completed kits.