SteveTheFish

@pengbuzz Check this out. Good things I made friends with a 3D printing madman who doesn't mind printing lots of crap for me. I'm gonna get him a model kit to send him in exchange someday. I'm heading to America next week, so I've arranged to have him send this stuff to my dad's place while I stay there. Here is the bridge to the 537 K'Tinga. Too bad I couldn't have gotten to you earlier. This looks fantastic. It also has improved engines, so I can slice the molded ones off and place the improved ones onto the kit instead. It comes with clear inserts too. The only thing I'll have to do is try to make the bulb part look decent somehow, plus scratchbuild the disruptors on the underside of the wings. And I also had him print this Rei from Evangelion. She looks great!

@pengbuzz I already typed this yesterday, but I must have clicked away from the tab before sending it and lost it. Great story, and I have to chime in with praise for your wife. Actually, my wife is the reason why I got back into this hobby about 26 years ago. She came home from work with an AMT Star Wars AT-AT plastic model from the hobby store on the corner where her bus stop is. She asked me, "You know how to build models, right? You've built them before. Build a doggy horse for me!" (That's what she always called Imperial Walkers and they were her favorite part of Star Wars. She even has a Kenner AT-AT toy.) So I built it with only minimal painting, just leaving the gray plastic as-is and wiped some enamel on it for a bit of weathering. Since then, I've grown modeling experience from there. I'm glad she bought that for me, because I then remembered how enjoyable the hobby is. It's good to have a wife who's supportive of your hobbies. So is that Cat's Eye a resin kit?

Plamoholic once again knocks another old Imai Valkyrie kit out of the park. He uses Kotobukiya's minus molds and Wave's H-Eyes along with implementing ball joints to make this kit look great.

ALPS printers... It's been many years since I last attended Wonder Festival, which was just weekend (the one in Chiba, not Wonder Fest in Kentucky (although I did get to go there once about 9 years ago)), but there was one dealer who was selling ALPS printers. I have no idea if they even make ink for those printers anymore. I've only encountered one, when I worked at Aoshima. I think you have to tell it to print white and then the colors on top of the white. I don't know what software is used or if that is just a button you can press on it. They had a laptop running Windows XP just to use that printer, since they are only 32-bit compatible. With the way 3D printing is becoming so popular, it's hard to believe that there isn't such a printer these days for people to make their own decals affordably. I wouldn't mind getting one. As it is, I've only really just done decals for lighter-colored models and such.

Tonight I finished laying down decals for my 1:2500 scale Enterprise E model kit. Next I'll have to apply a satin clear coat and color in the windows with an alcohol pen.

Hey, yo yo yo. If you have a 3D printer or have access to one through a friend or whatever, CHECK THIS OUT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTf9VV-JAv8 This guy designed replacement parts for the top command deck as well as the engines. I bought the STL files from him about a year and a half ago but I have yet to get these printed for me. Unfortunately, he never got around to making a replacement for the bulb below the bridge section, nor did he create the disruptor cannons on the underside of the forward parts of the wings. But his price is pretty reasonable and your kit will look a lot better than out of the box, so I highly recommend it.

You've got a really bad texturing problem. I guess you are using a Tamiya primer rattle can. You need to sit it in a bowl of warm water to help the flow. Shake the can for a solid minute before spraying. Give it a shot and let us know if the results improve.

Finally took photos of my completed mini Nadia figure. This is said to be 1:15 scale, and it comes in all one piece, making painting a bit difficult. What made it more difficult is when some paint lifted off. I've since become more aggressive with cleaning resin parts. As always, pictures are in the photoset for this build on my Tumblr feed: https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/789663998048108544/kaiyodo-secret-of-blue-water-115-nadia-mini-resin

My hypothetical Millia Armored Valk kit is finally complete. This is the old legacy Imai kit in 1:100 scale, modified with aftermarket hands from Kotobukiya and polycap joints from Wave. More pictures are in the photoset for this build on my Tumblr feed: https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/789657424092184576/imai-1100-armored-valkyrie-vf-1j-plastic-model

Oh wow! A Star Wars Enterprise!

Neat build of an old Imai Valk Battroid with heavy modification with polycaps and such.

That seems to be a cultural difference when it comes to modeling. While modeling is held in a much high regard here in Japan than in America (where people just think it's something that kids do), IPMS is not so popular. Modeling events in Japan, or at least the ones I've been to, are not about a contest but rather just coming together and enjoying the hobby. The biggest event is the Shizuoka Hobby Show. One convention hall is used as a tradeshow with companies' booths while the other convention hall is a private exhibition hall. Individuals as well as modeling clubs have their models on display. Dorobou Hige has his table as does Wild River, there's the Studio Ghibli Modelers group, a group for Yamato/Starblazers modelers, the lovely Tomoe Ogoshi 054 has her group of women modelers, etc. There is no contest; it's rather a celebration of the hobby. And the level of imagination on display there will blow you away. A Gundam taking a crap on a toilet reading a magazine, Hatsune Miku in a Power Loader from Aliens battling an actual crab, a psychedelic-colored Messerschmitt, an Easter basket of eggplanes painted like Easter eggs, a Hello Kitty Starship Enterprise... It's unreal. Way more fun than dealing with stuffy judges with their heads up their ass or grown-ass men throwing temper tantrums because they didn't get first place. Anyhow, sorry for going off-topic. I haven't been been to the Shizuoka Hobby Show since 2016, and even then I had to work at the event and couldn't really enjoy the sights. I was stuck babysitting a Lamborghini for two days straight and my feet were killing me.

That's how I remember them to be, so it's why I asked. I went to the IPMS national convention in Phoenix, AZ in 2010 and the showroom was row after row of models built exactly as they are supposed to be built. Not so much inspiration or originality. The SF section was just along one table and that was it. The IPMS club I attended once was mostly just grumpy old geezers who couldn't appreciate anything SF. I'm glad to hear that it's changed, but the contest judging remains obstinate from what I hear. My friend in Canada built a Bandai A-Wing to look just like the Ralph McQuarrie concept art. It looked beautiful with the blue and white scheme, and displayed it for the IPMS event there in Calgary or wherever it was. He was demerited because it "wasn't weathered enough." Well, tell that to Ralph McQuarrie. I'm sure that the judges know Star Wars, but beyond that they probably didn't even know what they were looking at. Anyhow, my Rei and Asuka are done. I have them both placed on a wooden plaque. I'm thinking that I might paint the plaque and print out an Evangelion or Nerv logo decal (although I honestly don't really care for the show). Yesterday it was 34 degrees C (I think that would be 91F) and last night I saw that Asuka was leaning forward. Drat! It's because of the way their feet are made, in segments. If they were just one piece, I could fill them with plaster better. As it is, sofubi tends to bend when warm. I removed the 2mm copper rod and I will replace it with a much longer one to give her leg more support. Also, the two girls have those life support backpacks or whatever they are. On Rei, I put some superglue in the wrong place and it turned out messy. It's that semigloss black section on her back. I wetsanded most of it off and now it doesn't look so bad. I'm not sure if I should risk trying to remove more or not.

I've seen several mentions of IPMS. I attended one meeting in the Chandler, AZ area in 2011, the year before I moved back to Japan. I found that the atmosphere there was not very friendly towards sci-fi modeling, as if it wasn't respected as a legitimate form of modeling. Do you guys get flack for being Macross modelers? I've heard that it's pretty hit-and-miss, depending on who's running the local chapter. Some are welcoming of SF modeling while others treat such subjects with disdain.

Almost done with my Rei and Asuka sofubi figure set. I still need to attach Rei's left arm. She also has a bit of a fit issue with her legs unfortunately. I have a gap to fill. I'm pleased with the gloss/flat red and gloss/flat white idea I had for their plugsuits. It looks nice.