UN_MARINE

Just finished the MG Strike Rouge + Ootori. I am tremendously impressed with its solidity and overall look compared to the RG Aile Strike. It is also the first kit I have fully top-coated, due to its use of so many dry-transfer markings. Rather than spraying down the completed kit, I finished and coated all of the external armor parts separately, leaving the frame pieces (even where exposed) uncoated. I used Mr. Hobby Semi-Gloss, which gave a great finish but was prohibitively expensive; I'm seeking a good alternative that is cheaper but still acrylic, so my panel lining won't run.

Strike Rouge.jpg

P.S. - UN_MARINE, I love the "flame-treated" look on your boosters!

Great work on the Strike Rouge! Clear/top coating definitely gets expensive, I switched to an automotive brand for my matte coats & Future for gloss coats.

And, thanks! I didn't think the heat effect would photograph better than it does in person.

Wow... if only the shops here had anything close to that aisle of Gunpla. It's almost like there's a Gunpla drought over at my neck of the woods - only new/flavor of the month stuff, the older kits are few and far between.

In other news: Sexy booster action!

I have a bunch of kit-specific decal sheets, none of them come with application guides.

You just match up the decals to where they have a similar shape/surface, some have equivalents to the stickers/manual guide, and then, guess with whatever is left.

I hope they release a standalone Petitguy kit, maybe something similar to the Loto set.

I looked over the page and file, yeah I mean there are bleeds on the file so it does need to be cropped on all sides, good thing I'm total expert on that stuff! Thank you job

Still I like this file and I know a lot of people who will want to have their own custom stands.

Great! Gotta love jobs that involve these specific skill sets

Nice work on the RG Zeta!

Ex-S update:All that's left is weathering those darn booster cans...

Getting ready for the end(of the build)!

I got the template file from here, there's a download psd button on the right.

http://skecchu.deviantart.com/art/HGBC-Build-Custom-GP-Base-Template-430562739

The font is Michroma, it shouldn't be too difficult to find.

The layout is too tall - the "operator" line is too high, & the PPSE logo is too low. I had to trim the bottom to make it fit. I think it was supposed to go on top of the clear part?

I adjusted the file to fit better, but then my printer told me it was out of color ink! I guess it'll have to wait.

Apparently, it's a hologram sticker sheet(?) plus marker, for effect. Maybe from a crafts store, or do "professional hobby" versions exist too?

Great work from everybody! I'm a little jealous that you guys can turn out kits on a regular basis.

I'm still stuck on this one kit! All that's left are the boosters & clear/dull coat, and it'll be done (I think).

*snip*

UN_MARINE, can't wait to see some full shots. I know some people feel like panel-lining doesn't look "realistic," but I'd like to show them your work. I feel like the way you've done it really comes across as a hard-working war machine.

*snip*

Cool, thanks! Sure, feel free to share the pic. Yup, I was trying to make it look like it's been in operation for a while.

EDIT: Typos

Here's the Ex-S, all stickered & decaled up.

Just a few more things left to do before it's done, the front top half looks decent, but the rest is still a mess!

Nice recovery on the decals!

I was at the decal stage too, got paranoid & stuck to the Mr. Mark Setter/Softer like there was no tomorrow (and melted a couple decals out of shape).

I can see the light at the end of this "forever project".

Got some color on the Ex-S, for now it's the 1st set of assemblies with the 2-tone color pattern.

It's turning out to be a lot more work than the "hella bunch of work" it started out as.

I figure painting it's gonna last until about a month.

Many thanks for explanation! It's crazy how so many 3d printing sites keep stressing 0.2mm clearance, but not a single one bothered to make it clear if it's the diameter or radius.

Happy to help! I forgot to mention, the 0.2mm clearance is also about print resolution. There's a high probability that any dimension/detail less than 0.2mm will be lost in the "scan lines" during the print, or fuse with an adjacent part. So it's best to model details larger than the recommended tolerance. Also, details that tiny tend to be very fragile, so I suppose the 3d print sites simply want to avoid the trouble.

So, it's 0.3mm for the diameter (meaning 0.15mm for the radius)? Thanks, I'll try that out!

You need to subtract 0.15 - 0.2mm from the total diameter of the peg, so if you have a 5mm peg, it needs to be 4.80 - 4.85mm. We printed stuff on an Up 2 machine, & those are the numbers we ended up with after the 1:1 test print.

The 0.2mm means diameter, at least on extruder type printers. I reduced my peg diameters by 0.15 to compensate for the shrinkage/expansion. Generally, a peg will expand by 015 - 0.2mm, and a slot/socket will shrink by the same amount.

Sigh... I just want Cameron to do his 3rd Terminator movie, where it's set in the future, comes full-circle with the 1st 2 films, and invalidates all the other sequels.

If memory serves, the idea of "Old Terminator" was used way back in one of the "Terminator VS" comics.

Sure, why not? They should probably add "Teenage Terminators" while they're at it.

It looks very generic for a PG, large chunks of armor parts, same old PG hands, same visible white parts on the shield psychoframe. It feels like they could have released a non-grade 1/60 version & nobody would notice the difference.

I guess I was expecting a night/day difference like the MG Strike & PG Strike. I suppose at this point, it'll probably be more impressive if they released an RG version.

I'm actually a little disappointed with the builders parts hands, the thumbs on the fists are merged with the index & middle fingers, and the base of the thumbs have a lazily designed shape. The stock fists from the GM Custom have properly separated thumbs, which look a lot better in comparison.

I thought I didn't need to modify the builders parts, but oh well... I was going to anyway.

Couldn't help upgrading the stock hands, so I got a set of 1/144 Builders Parts hands.

I also managed to resurrect another old project with the new hands. (I lost a finger from the RG RX-78's hands & completely lost interest). GM's need custom love too.

I joked about something missing... and this happens.

When the time comes, I hope I can pull of a paint job at least half as good as that Yamato.

Come to think of it... I've never done any weathering on my projects. Looks like this will be the test subject.

I've been working on this thing forever.

I think I'm at the point where there's nothing left to mess with, but can't help feeling I missed something.

You guys forgot: calf armor that doesn't stay in the open position, back skirt armor that also doesn't stay open, and forearm parts that don't lock in the open position.

Bandai spent too much time & effort on the show to not have Unicorn in PG, it was pretty much inevitable. They made PG's for series that had less time to mature.

Its great that it'll have the Beam Gatling Guns as standard weapons, I just hope the the (inevitable) additional weapons set will be easy to get.

If it turns out better than PG Strike, it'll probably be the 1st & last PG I'll spend for.

I'm a little disappointed by the use of fictional weapons & vehicles. Did EA buy exclusive rights to all of them?

Other than that, I can't wait to play this game!

I dunno what I'd even shade it too, and there are so many lines on the Turn A and Turn X that it'd just be a real pain in the ass to do.

I suppose it will take some doing (the right way). If you're going for speed, try doing a color wash - slightly darker than the color coat. I tried it on the Nobell, and it looks pretty.