Author Topic: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.  (Read 3215 times)

Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« on: January 01, 2011, 06:12:05 AM »
[repost from a popular search engine] :P

Winter is the best season to build models. The cold makes parts easier to cut and saw, and the timing places it right before spring, the season of painting. So, this project, which I have prepared and planned for for half a year, begins officially NOW.
...

Well, actually, the kits arrived 3 days ago, but I've been to busy working on them to, you know, make a thread about it. But now I'm outta materials and the hobby stores are closed on new years, so here we are.

Let's begin.



These are all the parts I have so far. None are painted, most were either scratch-built or adapted from other failed mods. There's no Shimenawa ring because I plan on making a new one - the old one was too flat and dimensionless. It looks okay from an angle, but gets batshit ugly when viewed from the front.

Anyways, the body parts are on the left, then the backpack, then the weapons/ accessories.







The Chest unit I felt was misproportioned. It gives the figure a very blunt, masculine shape. Like a body-builder who fights bears. My first mod was to saw the torso into two parts, then taking the bottom and extending it to give the figure a more feminine shape.



I extended the torso by attaching 1-mm styrene plates to the top, and then sanding it down to fit the contours when the cement drys.



The legs were a pain. I ordered two of the same kits, and managed to screw up extending the thighs on all 4 units. That takes skill. Anyways, I used the HGUC GM's upper thighs as a replacement. I ran outta Green putty for smoothing the edges over, so that'll have to wait till after NY. I sanded the joints down to loosen them, since they'll tighten right back up after painting. I also tried to flatten the shins, since they seem too big and bulky, but the engineering on them is really strange and I'll have to first fill it with epoxy before I can get anything done. I've learned my lesson, going one part at a time.



Parts for the backpack. One of the highlights. The parts are from various other kits. The backpack parts on the left are from the MG Freedom Gundam, the one on top is a saw-ed off part from HG 00 gundam's backpack, and the bottom piece was scratchbuilt by yours truely. Took me 2 hours.



It'll look like this when completely glued together. But with, you know, less finger.



Scratchbuilt styrene sticks. With ball-joints attached. These'll hold the Onbashira cannons and allow Kanako to either have them in classic Guncannon position or to wield them underhand. Or, of course, to recreate the MoF sprite (nevermind that the polycaps won't let the model sit cross-legged).



What the setup will look like. The cannons weigh less than they seem.



These are the shoulder armors I finished months before getting the kits. I estimated the size using other HGUC kits. Completely built from scratch. To get them this perfect took me weeks.



Other accessories. The round thing is a Mirror, which'll require some delicate painting. Then there are two swords, one a short falchion, the other a Chinese-styled Jian. I also made a badass Guan Dao, but Soloista said it made the model look like some Dynasty Warriors fellow, so :(



This single part took the most time out of any. I made all the others in half the time it took to make this (well, the other parts aren't smoothed over/decorated/detailed yet, so we'll see). The blade was fairly easy, and so was the handle, but the guard was abominable. I went through at least 10 others before arriving at this design. And even then, it was tough to make it perfectly symmetrical. But I made it, somehow.

Well, that's all for now. Voice your support, suggest any changes, gimme advice/ feedback.

I still have to:

-work on the legs
-build a skirt
-attach rivets
-cast a visor
-sand down
-fill in gaps
-carve new panel lines (?)
-Decoration
Let me back into CPMC :|

IBakaChan

Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2011, 10:34:24 PM »
This is very, very kick ass.
The sheer thought of how much time, concentration and -effort- this would take makes me tired.

Seriously, good joob man. I really want to see this when it's finished!

Alfred F. Jones

  • Estamos orgullosos del Batall?n Lincoln
  • *
  • y de la lucha que hizo por Madrid
Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2011, 02:15:53 AM »
This is awesome.

I noticed you cut the tip of your middle finger. Was that because of the saw when you cut the torso in half?

Infy♫

  • Demonic★Moe
  • *
Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2011, 06:44:04 PM »
holy crap.
this is some mad skill!

Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2011, 03:04:01 AM »
 New Pics tomorrow. Hopefully.  Installed armor, waist, cannons (took a page from gundam evolve). So Proud  :3

Also, if you want to help me, get me unbanned from CPMC. I may be an extraordinarily talented man working on an amazing project, but just a man nevertheless.
Let me back into CPMC :|

Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2011, 12:22:50 AM »
Promised, delivered.



Not the most glorifying shot, but then again, I didn't put much effort into it. Could have used much better lighting. It captures the idea pretty well, though.

The onbashira cannons are suspended by two long rods which stick out of the backpack. The original cannons I sawed apart and attached a ball joint to, which I then attached to a modified MG freedom backpack with polycaps where the wings would be.



I moved the ring further up, didn't like the effect. Still a nice back shot.

Well, now, I'm working on buiding joints for the legs. Some parts broke off the backpack and I've gotta reattach them, seeing how back-heavy this thing is. When that action base arrives all my troubles will be over.
Let me back into CPMC :|

Ghostblossom

  • Intolerant of immature twats
Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2011, 10:27:51 AM »
Wow this is really cool, I wish I could models :(.
Unfortunately my art skills go as far as rendering and photo editing.

Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2011, 12:45:46 AM »
Well, here it is. Just FYI, the delay is due to me accidentally cutting out a chunk of my left thumb. It's fine now. 

Anyways,  all the basic parts are done. Now all that's left is the skirt and Decorations, and I'm outta materials for both, so I'll focus on rivets for now. The whole thing will be ready for priming in 3-4 weeks. I plan to prime it by Feb and paint by March. April is for the diorama. My current idea is a scale model of Moriya Shrine, With the lake in the back and the stairs in the front.
From this....


To this
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4839/dsc0114hs.jpg

There you go. That's it, for now. I built a block around the waist to accomadate a skirt mechanism. See, when those pegs are pulled out, It allows for the skirts to move up and down, but when pressed in they're stiff. The legs were almost entirely built from scratch, since the originals were too stumpy and inflexible. But most of all, they were too masculine. The entire figure was. So I Slimmed down the torso, Extended the waist, Lengthened the neck and the arms. It made a very slim looking figure, so I added the backpack to even it out a little.

http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/8292/dsc0117zi.jpg

Size comparison. Despite the base having been a HGUC Kit, the model now resembles more of a small MG in height and proportion.
The entire thing is a bit rough as of now. I've been using 100 grit sandpaper when I should'a been using 300 or 400. No worries, I'll give it a nice finish later.

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4337/dsc0130x.jpg

Striking a pose. The long legs make Kanako very flexible. I'm using an old figma stand to hold it up right now, actually making it into a small base. Probably will get a custom decal for it.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/7874/dsc0122na.jpg

Close-up. The Pencil markings indicate where I want to place certain decorations.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/9446/dsc0105hl.jpg

The skeleton of a leg. The Kneecap I got from a HG GM. The front and back are from the original, and the rest is made from scratch.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7012/dsc0127nk.jpg

That same leg today. I used epoxy putty to fill in all that negative space on top. The green putty helps to mold contours and fill in holes. I might go over it with a layer of Mr. Surfacer, to give it a smoother finish.

<Jana> Your images were way too huge! Please be more careful in the future!
« Last Edit: January 15, 2011, 01:00:11 AM by Jana »
Let me back into CPMC :|

Re: Gunkanako pt.2 : It begins.
« Reply #8 on: February 02, 2011, 11:38:41 PM »





Done, actually. Pt.3 begins NOW. That is, detailing, sanding, and priming.



All the parts. I removed part of the backpack with the cannons - seemed a bit excessive. I also softened the curves and used Mr. Surfacer to smooth out some parts.



All put together. The skirts took a lot of work before I could get them curved enough. It's hard to bend plastic this thin - I taped the pieces to a cup and dipped it in boiling water, then ice, then boiling water again to curve it. The front and back skirts were so much simpler.

The halberd is only an afterthought - Should I keep it or is it too excessive?



The scabbard is fully detailed. it took a few hours to carve it out of a single block of plastic. It does go really well with the rest, though. And poses with unsheathing action look uber cool.



I also worked with the joints on the backpack, replacing the old hinge-joints for a triple jointed frame to support the onbashiras. Despite the greater size, this setup also balances weight better.

Well, that's it for this thread. I'll be back with the detailing.

Now, after all that, you'd better Give Praise Unto Me, and Celebrate my Miracles. Or just, you know, re-funny me.
« Last Edit: February 02, 2011, 11:44:36 PM by Ubiquitial »
Let me back into CPMC :|