Icarus's blog: "Hurts to watch."

Alright... I spent about 5 hours today researching air compressors and air brushes.

Fact is

I do NOT want to do this shit professionally, and I do not need a BMW to convert motor energy into compact air.

So I'm thinking I'll get some bottom line parts, hope to GOD I get compatible hoses (if not I'll drop another 6$ on adapters
all so I can custom paint my robots

WOO!

...
oh

right, but the parts I want will still total up to be about $120
not to mention eyewear and probably a mask.

and cleaning gear

So what I'm working on right now
is the 1/100 MG Zaku II my brother got me for my birthday.

It is winsome.

He's not sandblasted, and he doesn't have the shin rockets, but you get the idea.

Also- I do not have the parts necessary to do dual bazookas
turns out I have the parts to convert a standard bazooka into a howitzer

probably wind up doing that

Thus far I've finished the torso chasis and cockpit

this model has
ALL the working parts of the zaku
so
rather than just assembling the visible surface
I have to assemble... the power core
the WORKING hatches and moving armor plates over the cockpit
the fully poseable fingers and mono-camera
joints that I never intend to move
the skeleton
the engine plates
and
then the frame.

God I love mastergrades.

But I got a couple ... okay I have several tips at this point

1. Work in a well lit area.
2. You might want a focusing lens
3. Get those GNARLY mini wire cutters.
those things fucking ROCK clipping the nib-sheets so you don't jack your finger tips up, AND they cut a lot cleaner and leave a tidier piece when its freed
best 2.15 I ever spent.
4. the base coat you picked up in a can is not for huffing.
5. Take lots of breaks. you're hunched, you're stressed, and its actually a rather exhausting endeavor

6. don't work on the god damn recliner.

...
so
I lost a piece.

oh but surely they reproduce those critical pieces and
surely there are more than one

yeah sure
they do on crucial joint pieces or teeny TINY tiny pieces

this one was about one step over the teeny tiny grade
and wasn't a multi-used joint socket

and... less than a milimeter is visible once I layer it and assemble it

but I needed it
there were 2 (one for each side)
and I clipped it clean, and fumbled it through my fingers after 2 other close calls and me saying "man I should be on a bright drop cloth not a recliner with a bunch of folds and cracks for shit to fall into"

third time and an actual loss is the charm.

So... I overturn that square footage, and dig through the cracks for about an hour, groping sharp metal edges and... 30 year old chair funk
no results
pressing on.
Checked to see if that piece was a crucial anchor, and it was

I direct your attention center stage, those tubes on the torso?
... alright the pipe leading into the chest-
I lost the connector for that on the left side.

... yeah the tube with all the beads kinda slid out loose

so...
I had to glue it

and that was an adventure too.

Carpenter glue works pretty damn good, dried pretty clean, and after about 20 minutes of anchoring and holding the part in front of my space heater another five I think the piece is secure.

7. ... don't ever lose a piece.

I raged out pretty good on that.
But the real plastic uprising.

My besty's PS3 tanked.
For really reals this time.
And he vowed he was done after this.

So... looks like I'm gonna get some really cheap second hand games soon. And... won't get to play some of my favorite games online with him...

HAHAHAHA! I'm just messin with ya, we're pretty much done with those games and we're looking forward to a couple MMO's and Diablo 3.

So... PC uprising.

and Plamo uprising.

I'd say I'm about 2 paychecks from seriously considering that air compressor, another model, and a low end airbrush.
and from what I hear, just a base coat can make a drastic difference in the quality of the model

oh
and line-working (where you pen the hard lines and inside lines and hatchwork and shit)
Personally I think it kinda looks ... weird, or too dark, but I did see one guy do it with thin paint out of an eyedropper and a sponge
most people just use a superfine pen... which I have.

so I'll be using those techniques on some throwaways before committing to using it on my Zaku.
... who may wind up repainted anyway.

I dunno, when you got a zaku... *ponders* maybe I should keep my MG's MG's and just buy out some cheapos.
The MG's are really quite impressive in their own regard.

I'll be thinking more on these issues as... I like doing this more and more
and I'll have some down time while we scope out new games.

Zieg Zeon. I'm gonna work on this torso.