I Luv Ma.K

Nutrocker camo chosen!

2012-01-24T07:13:00.000-08:00

My friends over in the Mak forum suggested that I try out the squid camo scheme in the book, the one with many circles, which was in the background. initially I thought it was too tough but after much thought! I take it as a challenge to do it.
Ashley wanted it in pink too which I thought was ridiculous but then after seeing some tanks in pink, also from the pals in the Mak forum, it didn't seem crazy anymore.
Tried googling for 'pink squid' and got some funny pictures, none the least is the pink squid from Finding Nemo.
I took a photo of that squid while in the hospital with Elias as I thought he looked like it.

And so pink squid camo dedicated to my second kid, Elias, is a go!

Wait til he grows up and sees this... lol

Nutrocker super detailed

2012-01-14T08:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks guys for your well wishes! Elias is still a bit grumpy but better... Damn the apple auto correct, we did not overgraze him, but overfed him, he reached 5kg in two months instead of six!

I referenced the 1/35 kit and see what other details I can put in.
I added wires for the antenna on the turret, and brass wires (no 2 brass wires from the local daiso japanese value shop) for making the handles to climb up the nut. Also removed some plastic on the left and right side which are represented by wires on the 1/35 kit.
Added smoke grenade launchers using brass tubes from hobbymate bought earlier and added rivets using very thin evergreen styrene. There are actually rivets in the kit but are very shallow and almost invisible.

Love adding details to this kit.
What do you guys think?

Nutrocker detailed

2012-01-13T21:57:00.001-08:00

With my kid being sick, i cant continue painting my falke as i need to setup the spray booth. So I decided to build.
I am not a Nutrocker fan. It's design makes it fodder for rockets, not to mention lasers from the Safs.
Looking at all the entries in the Mak forum nutcracker build, as well as the Mak in sf3d vol 2 inspired me to dig out my half completed 1/76 Nutrocker which is languishing in the box.
I had previously glued and puttied it.

This kit is old and while being quite
detailed it has huge gaps which needed to be fixed with putty.

I had broken the plastic rails and fixed it with evergreen styrene.

I referenced the 1/35 kits pictures and added wires to the radar thingy. I also bent the brass portion a bit like the big kit.

Falke no 3 and the trouble with Elias

2012-01-13T04:02:00.000-08:00

This is the clockworks scheme which I will be doing. This scheme is featured on the laser version of the Falke and is also built and painted in Mak in sf3d vol 1 by Max Watanabe.
Note that the melting clocks are inspired by the painting - The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. The decals are quite nice. I read up on it and try to see if I can add more imagery from the painting. So far there's none but we shall see.
Trouble with Elias these few days and we just came back from the hospital again. He is infected with some virus that was passed down from us and has stuffy nose. Also vomiting milk regularly, imagine the entire feed puked out after feeding.
Needless to say my wife and I are extremely tired and worried. Thank God the doctor said we are unknowingly overgrazing him and helped us unblock his nose... Now need some sleep...

Back to the Falke

2012-01-10T07:52:00.001-08:00

Back to the clockworks Falke, finishing up the build before I start painting, I went thru the panel lines with a pin vise(broken by accident) to deepen them. Made a few mistakes and had to putty back.

I went and drilled out the hole in the periscope on the hatch. I wondered why they did not make it a separate piece with hole...

Finally I used the hobby knife and tiny drill bit to drill out the air scoops. I did this to my Falke no 2 as well.

Baby Oskar

2012-01-09T18:24:00.000-08:00

Stuck for over a year.
Here's where I left off with the baby Oskar ...

I reworked the skirt and primed the head. The most difficult part is the mid section which took two tries to get it to this stage.

I am stuck at this stage, as I think the mid section is too high and usually in an SD design, it's almost non existent. I might need to fine tune the overall design before I continue.

Incidentally, much has changed in the way I blog. Prevously I used a compact digital camera and a netbook which was slower.
Now I take pictures with my iPhone and blog with it directly, sometimes switching to my ipad2 to edit.
The text entry on iPhone is not as good as a real keyboard but the ease of blogging is really good.

Falke no 3 part 4 primed

2012-01-09T03:57:00.000-08:00

Baby Elias has been cooperative tonight and so I managed to clean up some parts and prime it. I think it's a bit on the thin side so will probably hit it with a bit more primer before I start to paint it.

Falke no 3 part 3

2012-01-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

Continuing,I used Pla plate to reconstruct the part which I filed off.

Here's the front part.
Here's the rear part.

These are the separate parts which will be glued after painting , the mini gun, main thruster and two attachments which link the thruster to the fuselage.

Falke no 3 part 2

2012-01-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

Almost complete it the second day...
Speed does not mean drop in quality, as I puttied and sanded all the necessary parts.
The most troublesome bit is the side of the cockpit where I had to go in with a needle file to fix the seamlines.
Having learnt my lesson when painting Falke no 2, I decided not to attach the two anti gravity shields and main thruster first, only after the paint job.
all these work done between bottle feeding my kid and trying to get him to sleep..

Falke no. 3 - Clockworks

2012-01-05T06:31:00.000-08:00

Encouraged by almost completing Falke no 2, I decided to start on no3.
This will be a fast build, no cockpit details to fix and will be yellow orange scheme : clockworks from the camo card.

Progress after a few hours. I filed off the side thruster details as per max watanabe tip to reconstruct it with plaplate.

Falke no 2 part 3

2012-01-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

Choosing a scheme for the Falkewas difficult as many of them from the camo cards and Falke modeling book are very nice. And I wanted to try out all the decals. Now I understand why people buy so many planes of the same model.

I wanted the a green camo scheme which does not break up the shape pd the plane too much as i wanted the shape of the plane to be preserved.
I started with the base coat. Learning from the color modulation book introduced to me by maxwinamp, I sprayed three variations of green on the kit. The darkest in the under side and shadow areas, plain green on the middle area and white with green on the highlights.

Second color which was violet grey, same thing, three variations done using free hand. I wanted a feathery outline but seems I need to work on my airbrushing skills as the blurring was too much. I work with very dilute paint with 5psi.

Masked off the front portion and sprayed white. This was harder than expected as one side had the radar bump.

This is the model I wanted to achieve from the Falke Mak book.

I loved the holy cow (reference to kow Yokohama) so I used it together with some other decals.

Tiny update to explain my disappearance

2011-12-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

I was not in the Ma.K scene for nearly a year now, being buried in lots of work and getting a little depressed about it.
I also did not have any energy to set up the temporary spray setup in my balcony to do any sort of painting.
All I could do was just build and sand, resulting in many of my work stuck in the primed stage.
Having nothing completed was even worse.

Finally I was pretty tied up with family matters, planning a new baby with my wife.
Welcome Elias Chin. Born in November 2011.
He will be a great Raptor pilot, and hopefully a Christian pastor in real life.
:)

Ironically after he was born, I had time and space to do Ma.k!
As I took on the night shift to bottle feed him when he wakes up.

Must hurry now, I don't want you all to think I am only good at making babies!

Falke no 2 part 2

2011-12-21T03:27:00.001-08:00

Preshade with black gunze lacquer and the engine is full black.

Mask the engine before I carry on

masked the mini gun.

sprayed the three anti gravity pods with tamiya medium blue acrylic but it seems to scratch off easily. Well the scratched effect looks good as it is the part that contacts with the ground when landing.

Engine restarted!

2011-12-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted any wip but I've been building and sanding kits til the primed stage. No airbrushing until very recently, as I've gotten myself the diy spray booth based on the thread in the plamo forum.
I restarted my engine for the Plamo december meet.
Here is my second Falke, a prebuilt one by another member who sold it to me. it was pretty well built, all that was left were some seam lines to clear.

I did add a bit of details to the thruster to hide some seams which were hard to remove cos it was already glued together. You can see them as a different color as the kit

I also fixed some part which I broke accidentally.

I have mixed feelings about this kit, as I am not a Falke fan, and bought 3 of them at the initial selling price, to scratch build the Griffon, and now the Griffon is released as a kit and this kit is heavily discounted on the online sites. Well that's life sometimes.

Here is the primed kit in my study where I set up my airbrush booth.

Back and Message to Y'all

2011-03-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hey guys I am back from being absent a long time.
Thanks for the comments and email sending your regards to me!

I was very busy just doing models (mostly building and sanding) but time is restricted due to work and family life. Not to mention recently the weather here in Singapore is strange and many people fell sick due to cold. I myself came down twice with ear infections in the span of 3 weeks. I will continue with updating the blog with more WIP and reviews soon!

What I am working on now: Melusine, Fliege (3Q), Kauz (3Q) and a T.H.A.T Neuspotter.

Recent events in Japan made our family very sad indeed and our prayers go out to the people.
My tears fall when I see the destruction due to the Tsunami and the continuing threat of nuclear meltdown of the reactors.

I urge you guys to buy stuff from Japan, or just donate to the Red Cross, to help.

Stay strong people of Japan!

Baby Ma.K - Oskar WIP 4

2010-10-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Hope it made you laugh!
I was stuck quite a bit doing the rest of the Neuspotter body using plaplate (layers of it)
and also adding the bondite epoxy putty to the skirt. This is how it looks like today.

I apologise I did not manage to finish this before the PLAMO and the m workshop groupbuild deadline.
I can only work late nights for so many nights...

Comments and criticisms please, like how's the proportion, shape... thx!

Baby Ma.K - Oskar WIP 3a

2010-09-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks guys for the support so far!
was trying to cut the tube, which is a part of a broken furniture, with the modeling saw. Cut until my fingers hurt.
[IMG]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/cyberwill75/wip34001.jpg[/IMG]

So frustrated, I went to the local DIY shop and bought a large saw...
[IMG]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/cyberwill75/wip34002.jpg[/IMG]
Cut the damn thing in under a minute..
:)

Baby Ma.K - Oskar WIP 3

2010-09-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Small update,yesterday I firmed up the shape with the second type of epoxy putty which I love to use as it cures much slower.
Today, after it cured fully, I went over with my files to define the shape, and then smoothed over the head with lots of Mr Hobby white putty (I can't seem to find my favourite Tamiya grey putty).
First time using Mr Hobby, its more yellowish than white...

Realized the cylinder in grey is too long, tried to cut it, but its kinda hard. I will try to cut it again tomorrow... Time for bed! yawn

Baby Ma.K - Oskar WIP 2

2010-09-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

This time I am doing a bit more planning than before, I first cut one of the quail eggs in half,
then trace out its shape on a piece of paper. Using the Neuspotter head as a reference, I drew the shape of the SD head.

Next, using bits from my spares bin and the very fast drying epoxy, I started slapping the shape together.

As for the bodies, the shell is very flimsy, so I filled them with paper clay...

Its now 12:30am, and I think its gonna be a long long time (to Elton John's Rocket Man tune) before I sleep today.
lol. Seriously, I truly enjoy the building part of modeling, and all the stress from work and life just disappears...
Am I going to be able to finish it on time?
That's a good question... ;D

Baby Ma.K - Oskar WIP 1

2010-09-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, its actually the Oskar. It has a Neuspotter head with a hovercraft body.
Its not as well known because there is currently no styrene kit available.

Just doing a mock-up using blu-tack tonight and finding bits for my spares box...The original rocket launcher seems to be scratch-build from a pen cap. Here I used the cap of the hobby knife which has a similar shape.
The Oskar variant on the back is what I want to make...

Baby Ma.K

2010-09-19T03:09:00.000-07:00

I started this way back in June, but stopped all work on it until today. Took my kid's Kinder Joy candy containers for the body, and sourced for 'quail eggs' from the local art supplies shop (Artfriend in Singapore)

I was pretty ambitious then, thinking of doing a master, then casting multiples.
Now left about 1 week before the deadline of the PLAMO's SD build and 2 weeks before the M-workshop's Eggtastic groupbuild.

Can anyone guess what is it?

I'm BAAACCKKKK!

2010-09-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all, Haven't got time for the internet due to massive changes in my work and family life.
Miss you guys in the Ma.K forum and PLAMO!
Note: This is not a narcissistic post!

Just realized I haven't logged in here for ages, and also never update my blog for even longer...

I apologize for all the PMs I've yet to reply, I will get to them asap.

Family side: my in laws decided to move OUT of my house back to their home.
Well usually this would be GOOD news for some of you lol.
But for me, now everyday I have to bring my kid to my in laws before work, and then bring her back after work, via public transport.
This adds 2-hours daily and I simply have no energy left for models/internet.
Its my hope that they will move back with us soon, frankly I love to live with my in laws, not just because they help to take care of our kid, but its really more like a family where we have grandparents, parents and children living together. Oh, and I get to eat home-cooked food by my mother-in-law too! :)

Work side: huge changes which I can't really talk about, but just extremely stressful and busy.
Worst I can't access PLAMO from office...I can only access the Ma.K forum. Hopefully they wouldn't filter that off as well.

The dust has not settled yet, but I am determined to get back to Ma.K modeling!

Apologies

2010-01-26T02:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of where I was at in January in my Ma.K modeling. Sanding the Gans rocket tubes. Apologies to everyone, especially those of you whose Ma.K kits are still with me. A sudden change in family arrangement have thrown my life into chaos and for a couple of weeks I could not do any modeling / shipping of kits...
Hopefully I can find a solution to this and get back to Ma.K soon!

Gans WIP 2

2010-01-26T02:45:00.001-08:00

My second time with the Neuspotter head, this time I've learnt my lesson, and will putty and sand the major seam line made by the 2 halves before adding all the details!
Now I initially wanted to scratch build the Gans from a Krote and a Neuspotter as it was very hard to find (not to mention extremely expensive) at one point in time. Now I know its not a simple matter of just jamming the Neuspotter head to the Krote body. Take note of the piece in the middle. Its the Gans middle torso made up of partly the Neuspotter body, and a Fledermaus engine!

More sanding....

Krote WIP 1

2010-01-26T02:44:00.000-08:00

Back to the Krote WIP, hey I have the poster found in the box to show the end product...
This is how far I gotten after a couple of hours, the legs are a bit complex and requier much further sanding....

Neuspotter state

2010-01-26T02:43:00.001-08:00

Here's the state of my Neuspotter right now. I've not touched it since the last plamo meeting in december 2009. Spent that disastrous night fixing mistakes I made (would you believe I glued the arms mounts upside down? Had to pry them out and attach them again!)

During the night before the meet, I air brushed a dark grey as a base color, then followed by dark yellow on the top surfaces. I tried hard to find out the 'original' color of the Neu in the Ma.K encyclopedia, but not really sure what it is. Anyone have any ideas?

Close-up on the Neuspotter, I love the head!

I've just watched Color Modulation DVD on loan to me by my bro maxwinamp. This influenced my way I airbrushed the Neuspotter. However, I do think the shadows are a bit too harsh, this first try.

A back view of the Neu, showing the exaggerated shadow effect.

Side view, I've mounted it precariously using a wire until a block of wood.

The pose which I like. I will probably go over the paints with other colors before I start weathering it. Comments and criticisms encouraged!

Revenge of the Ma.K: Gans WIP1

2010-01-24T01:52:00.000-08:00

Restarted my modeling engines right after Christmas... I thought to myself, if I don't start on my Gans, I never will. So I started on it, and since I've built the Krote (more about it later) and the Neuspotter, I'll have enough experience with this fella. Here's how far I went with the Gans...

Ma.K Shipment 18 is in!

2010-01-24T01:41:00.000-08:00

Shipment 18 is in!

Small box of stuff...

Let loose my kid on it... She is incredibly efficient! But the pose is funny...

The haul...

Rare stuff: Dora, 1/35 Medusa, seapig split suit resin, and a Tamiya car. Sorry guys, all member requests so no unclaimed kits this round.

Neuspotter continued

2010-01-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates! Finally able to sit down and download the pictures from the camera... My SD card encountered some read issue and I lost quite a few photos (including my own Neuspotter during the meet)

Here are the ones I recovered, just before painting during the eve of the meet...

I mounted it on a wire on styrofoam and used a spool of wire as weight to hold it down.

Sorry for blurry pics.

I studied the Ma.K Encyclopedia carefully and added wire parts to replicate the original scratch build by Sensei Kow. I tried to be as faithful to the original shape as possible. I replaced the plastic parts with wire which looked better.
Here is another wire part I replicated from wire that just snaps onto the kit's arm. Its not part of the kit but in the original build.

I tried to rush painting the Neuspotter for the meet (as usual) but just managed to lay the base tone down with some shading done. Will post new pictures of its current state very soon. Stay tuned..

BTW 2010 is the Revenge of the Ma.K! I just started building the Krote, Gans & Gustav together since Christmas... There is a Ma.K meet (first time ever) organised by m workshop in March by Bernard aka StoneV, check it out here

and I wanna make some exotic kits for the meet...

:)

days without modeling

2009-12-05T16:47:00.001-08:00

Its been now 14 days, or 2 weeks, without modeling for me. I realized I get kinda depressed without it.
Buried in work as well as responsibilities at home and lots of visitations to sick elderly who I love...
Not that I am complaining (except the work part) but just an update...
Weathers turning cool, with monsoon rains every other day. This is affecting my sensitive nose which clogs up and makes me very tired.
I do hope to get back to it tonight, to finish up building the Neuspotter before Christmas.

Later.

Neuspotter WIP 4

2009-11-14T06:43:00.001-08:00

Sorry for lack of updates!
This week my progress has been very slow as I've been sleeping early putting my kid to bed (I usually fall asleep in the process)
Primed and checked some parts...
Now important tips, when doing anything with the Neuspotter head (Oskar,Krachenvogel,Gans),
Sand, prime and check the two halves first before adding the details! Don't be like me, add in all the details then prime and found that the main seamline is not clean (see the second picture, seamline in the triangle) Gotta think of some way to clean that up...

Next, the wires for the bulb. From the instructions, they were supposed to go thru the 2 holes behind and down the main pipe. But from the original picture and design, it went thru the smaller tube in front.

I decided not to light the kit up cos its too cheesy and after researching on the internet and books, decided to plug the wires into the pipe as per original design. I enlarged the hole in the smaller cylinder in front (where my thumb is). I will close the two holes in the back with some spares.

The decision not to light up the kit made it easy for me to glue the bottom 'memory unit' shut and epoxy a wire to hold the kit. No need to build the battery holder in the bottom.

This should not be visible when my vignette is done.
Onto the arms...These are sanding nightmare as the parts had alot of mold circles in places where there are details and the fitting is terrible...

Almost finished building this kit.. Hope to paint it soon!

Neuspotter WIP 3

2009-10-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates again, been overtiming at work (is there such a word?) and of course, tons of housework before I can even do my models. Anyways after a couple more hours on the AG pods, they are almost done and I've added the main spine to the kit. Primed to check for problem areas and sure enough, there are many spots to clean up.
The wires for the sensor light bulb caused me to be stuck for a while as Sensei Kow's build (and picture) shows the wires going thru the smaller pipe instead of the main pipe, BUT in the kit instructions, they go down thru the main pipe and thru the back, the smaller 'pipe' is a solid piece of rod. Let me think about how to proceed...

Sleepy man...

Shipment 17

2009-10-29T07:15:00.001-07:00

Hi guys shipment 17 is finally in... sorry for the huge delay, was waiting for all the stuff to be accounted for before shipping it back from Japan.
Expect a PM from me very soon in 1-2 days time for your stuff!

Ashley does quick work on the newspaper packing...

Acting cute again...

Unnatural smile...She can't really pose for the camera...

Krachenvogel, Jerry, Cobra figure, 1/35 Falke and 1/20 Scout Flier.

Mostly requests, and taken up except the Jerry.

The 'me' post

2009-10-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Finally this is me, William Chin Wei Lian, my beautiful wife Polly Chin (whom I finally won over after repeated failed attempts for 8 years), and our cutest kid Ashley Chin. Photo taken tonight of my refrigerator. Now you guys know how I look like! :) Handsome? lol

Book Review : Ma.K Profile Book #2 : Snake Eye

2009-10-23T23:58:00.000-07:00

I just got it! Pardon the lousy pictures, its midnight and the best I can do right now. Soft cover, 64 pages, written in Japanese (good to get a Japanese fren or go learn Japanese!)

Contents (page number)
Ma.K BD 1
Contents 5
Ma.K in Action Act.02 6
Modeling File 14
How to build Ma.K 16
Camouflage & Markings 26
Flashback Model Graphix 1999-2008 30
Kow's lotta models 38
Kow's artworks 58
TAMACAN's atelier visit 63
Original decal 64

Cover Sleeve & Ma.K BD

Ma.K in Action Act.02

Modeling File & How to build Ma.K (Here Sensei explains how to model the split suit!)

Camouflage & Markings, Flashback

Evolution of Snake Eye and Female Model

Kow's lotta models, also featuring Spitfire

Figure Set A featuring Lin.K and Neechmonkey (Lincoln and Travis)

Artwork & Decal

Back Cover

Should you get it? If you are a Snake Eye lover, or just bought the WAVE Snake Eye, just go buy it! I know I want, especially with one of the decals being a cool quote from the Bible!
It will grow on you even if you are not a Snake Eye fan.
Enjoy!

Neuspotter WIP 2

2009-10-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Tiny bit of progress today...
Mostly sanding and fixing problematic parts, like the two thruster bells...
After 1hr of sanding the two halves of the thrusters (khaki ones on the left), I decided to use the new WAVE Snake Eye's (off white ones on the right). Incidentally, the thrusters are the same ones for the Fireball, strange, considering the Neuspotter is a Strahl unit. But don't think too much for Ma.K!

Cut off the attachments and stick them to the Snake Eye's, I feel so proud of myself :)

Next, the most difficult part IMHO, the anti-gravity units.
All of us Ma.K fanatics know that they are actually made up of 2 Star Wars AT-AT necks (ERTL/AMT kit)
Sanding nightmare!

I used a combination of needle file, pin vise, back of my modeling knife, and some 600 sand paper to get rid of the major seamline running full length along the part. A tiny bit of putty for where there are holes.
The brush is for clearing the dust so that I can see if I sanded enough.

Test fit. After 1 hr of sanding, I've only finished one side of the anti-gravity unit...

That's all tonight folks, good night!

Neuspotter Started!

2009-10-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

While I study the weathering using oils and color modulation from the DVD maxwinamp passed me (thanks so much bro!), I decided to quickly carry on with the Neuspotter which I took out sometime back but got stuck. Started before I got really sick on Sunday...

This kit has the most wires and multimedia I've ever seen!
Even a light bulb is included, though no battery was found (there was one kit with a battery given inside, but I've sold that away.)
Its an old kit, 20+ years old, so the molding is nothing great to write about.
Lots of TLC is needed on each part, but I enjoyed the building process.
Pictures below...

Head unit

Upper body

Lower body

Place them all together now...

I am thinking of the standard tea/green color for this guy, and will try out color modulation on it. Hope to finish it by December for the small diorama meet-up at m-workshop.

Polar Bear Trio update

2009-10-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

They are not completed yet...
What's left:
1)wires for the arms and feet
2)paint touch up here and there
3)filtering for the blue bands, I think the blue is too bright to my liking
4)more weathering
5)the heads, gotta bleach them and redo using Vallejo again, I suck at figure painting but I am going to try try again until I get them right!
6)the snowboard, still thinking whether to make it or not...

Tomorrow I will be on leave to take care of my kid again, hopefully can put complete some of these tasks.
Will

Baby Falke pictures by viper1972

2009-10-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, thanks to viper1972, here are better pictures of my Baby Falke and KK!
They are taken during the Oct 11 PLAMO meet! Enjoy!

Hey guys, thanks to viper1972, here are better pictures of my Baby Falke and KK!
They are taken during the Oct 11 PLAMO meet! Enjoy!

Polar Bear Trio and Daddy Falke pictures @PLAMO meet

2009-10-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, I was really rushing to finish the models for Sunday's meetup. I fell asleep on Friday telling my kid a bedtime story, and on Saturday I did a little more white and blue bands.

I had a company outing Saturday evening and after it, I wass feeling unwell. Slept until 2 am Sunday morning, and then restarted work on the decals and weathering. Who would expect decal placement to take 2.5hours? After that I rushed to paint the faces (and failed cos first time using Vellejo paint). Enamel panel washing completed. Base did not have time to do.

Anyway here are the photos taken by viper1972 of www.spruecutters.com. Thanks man for the fantastic photos and tips on photo taking!

(Note to self: I will still need to work on these, as they are only about 85% complete)

PLAMO UTA meeting

2009-10-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates... Was tired and sleepy rushing to finish the kits.
I fell asleep Friday night telling my kid bedtime story...
Saturday I did a little bit more, was unwell, and resumed work Sunday morning 2am.
Worked until 8:30am before I had to go to church.

Halfway completed dio and the nearly nearly finished Falke on the PLAMO UTA Gathering here:
http://maschinenkrueger.com/forum/index.php?topic=4122.0

More pictures will be uploaded so check back often...

Sooo sleepy now...

Daddy Falke WIP 5 - I feel better now

2009-10-09T03:04:00.000-07:00

2 hours later, I feel slightly better... Using an older and softer brush, I layered more white + antiflash white until it looks like the above... Its not going to look like the Baby Falke, nor like anyone elses, as I can't copy the brush strokes.... Now some of you probably wouldn't like this style of painting, but I think I'll just call it artistic lah... lol. I kept telling myself 'trust the process, trust the process' and just wanna enjoy the hobby... :)
I will do the decals, and blue bands together with the Polar Bears tonight... I think I just might make the deadline!

Daddy Falke WIP 5 - Time to panic

2009-10-09T01:14:00.000-07:00

Preshaded the bottom of the plane with black and then sprayed Tamiya light gray... its been sometime since I used the airbrush and boy am I rusty, some overspray and some accidents.

Next I took out an expensive new brush I bought and started handbrushing white + antiflash white, all the while looking at the Ma.K Profile book and my baby falke...

Time to panic! I am not familiar with this new brush, and since I did not color the Falke green like Sensei Kow, it looks brownish now...

Daddy Falke WIP 4

2009-10-08T20:47:00.001-07:00

I realized my brush technique is a little too slow if I wanna complete this by Sunday, so I looked at Lin.K's method and Sensei Kow's method of combining air brushing with hard brushing to help me... I preshaded the Falke (just) with mahogany and black...

Next will be the blue/grey for the bottom of the plane.
Then I will handbrush white on top!

Polar Bear WIP 14

2009-10-08T20:41:00.001-07:00

This is how it looks like after 4-5 coats of white + highlighting... I am almost there...

A bit more white + highlights and I will do the blue camo bands... So sleepy...

Polar Bear WIP 14

2009-10-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

After the second/third coat of white...

the two handed PB

Oops, a bit of the plastic showing, time to add back the brown and patch it with white...

the hardboiled PB

My brushes used for the PB

I used a loaded tiny brush then clean up the areas where the paint pools up with another brush...

Take an internet break before I carry on... :)

Polar Bear WIP 13

2009-10-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

First coat of white + a bit of yellow... with lotsa Gunze thinner and retarder...
Took a deep breath and dap all over the kits..

I know it looks like crap right now... but its just the first layer of white!
I love this part of the painting, where I dap and touch the surface and let the colors mix.
Takes a bit of faith, knowing the final result should look like this...

Expect multiple updates tonight!
This is really relaxing man... :)

Daddy Falke WIP 3

2009-10-07T10:40:00.001-07:00

Finally started painting it, handbrushed black+dark earth+mahogany on the thrusters and gaps, much like the Ma.K Profile Book. Hopefully I can finish this by Sunday!

Polar Bear WIP 12 Painting started

2009-10-07T10:35:00.001-07:00

Started painting finally... Using dark earth, mahogany and black, I hand brushed the polar bears...Looks like a mess right now, hopefully the next stage of white will make it look better...

Polar Bear WIP 11 : Tiny details

2009-10-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

Quite tired tonight after a day of work, what I did was I puttied a few more areas which I found rough, and I added spring coils to the hardboiled Polar Bear. These two spring coils are from the SF3D AFS kit (the old old kit with multimedia). They are 2mm in diameter and about 30mm long. I drilled tiny holes and then super-glued solder wire (inside the springs) to one end of the leg, when dried, I glued the other side to the backpack. Pretty painless I must say. Once it is all dried I can bend the 'power cables' to the desired shape.
For the missile warhead, I drilled a hole and then placed a tiny pin (from my wife's jewelry toolbox) in the center. That's all for tonight... Time for bed I think :)

Polar Bear WIP 10, PB unite!

2009-09-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks guys, not much modeling done until tonight...
I added the power cable to the main laser arm, added welds to each upper arm (bit hard to see) and with extra bondite, added a bulge to the laser. Also drilled and added a periscope on the top bulge.

Thanks to Agent L for the AFS Night Stalker, I fixed up the left manipulator to my second PB.
Found a perfect part for the missile, the end of a pen (seen in the picture)

I plan to attach/hand a snow board to the PB, roughly this size... What do you guys think?

Again, the final layout of the trio...

I hope to finish this for the Oct 11 PLAMO meet, together with the Falke... :)

Daddy Falke WIP 2

2009-09-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

I finally cleaned up the seamlines and did first coat of primer, then cleaned up more seamlines which showed up.
This is how it looks like after the second coat of primer (for the cleaned up portions)
This is so nice and sexy that I am tempted to keep it just primed. :D

Here's a shot Daddy and Baby together...

Shipment 16

2009-09-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

After a long wait, shipment 16 is in... Some of the stuff is still stuck in Japan though...
Let my kid Ashley have a go at taking out the newpaper padding...

The essential pose

The haul
Mostly requests this time, the MA-66 Figure, Patlabour Gral Bear, 1/35 Oskar, 1/76 Kafer, 1/35 Sturm Kafer, a battleship, sf3d Kauz, Krote, Gans and Lunar Pawn. With the kind permission of the buyers, I will quickly do reviews of the rare stuff and ship them out!

blog down?!

2009-09-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

Got me a shock today, my blog was disabled temporarily due to my Google account being disabled.
Just logged in now and everything is fine again...
Super strange...

More WIP updates soon!

Polar Bear WIP 9 & Falke WIP 1

2009-09-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

I know I know, its been a while since I updated my WIP. But I have not been lazy (real lazy anyways). :)

I've sanded down all the seamlines and rough patches on the Hard boiled Polar Bear and also started gluing and sanding the Falke.
Now don't let the low number of parts cheat you, many of them need sanding and the hardest part for me was to glue the two halves together. I did it the way taught by viper1972 in one of the PLAMO videos, using the Tamiya extra thin cement to glue it bit by bit, all the while trying to align the joints... Thanks viper!

I also had problems with the front part of the cockpit, you can see the bondite I used to putty up the joints. I had to sand and sand and also use sandpaper with tweezer to sand the sides of the cockpit... Now to prime it!

Don't Give Up!

2009-08-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys sorry for the lack of WIP updates on this blog, been super busy at work and at home taking care of kid lately.
I've been working on my Falke for the past week or so and should have some pictures up soon.

Been wanting to write something motivational since one Sunday's sermon I heard something from my pastor. It's about not giving up doing something when we fail on it. I just took it and relate it to my modeling hobby.

When I started out modeling seriously as an adult, I thought I was pretty good (ha ha I am a very self confident guy). But then when I took part in my first modeling competition over at PLAMO in 2007 WOOB2, I got the truth handed to me. Here's my entry http://plamo.outthere.info/forum/showthread.php?tid=2144 which took the LAST place honors.
Truth be told, I every nearly threw in the towel at that time, not because I did not win, but more because I saw my standard as too far below everyone else... I had bought modeling books to read, took time to design the logo, took leave to do the model kit though I rushed it out last minute blah blah blah... Looking back at this model, it is really quite rough in the finishing and not that I have progressed much now from 2007 in terms of skill.

I am an optimistic guy, like my dad, and just tried not to think too much about it.
In 2008 I think I won 2 prizes over at Hobbyfanatics but that was because there was like very few entries in the competition.
Reading articles over at Spruecutters and PLAMO made me 'grew' in terms of maturely treating modeling as a hobby.

2009 I was back again with my Griffon Labor
http://plamo.outthere.info/forum/showthread.php?tid=5825
and Gasaraki Ishtar II
http://plamo.outthere.info/forum/showthread.php?tid=5824
and well I did not land on the bottom, that's a pat to my own back, but did you see the other entries??!
They were so much better!

And lastly on the Baby Falke build, when I brought it into m workshop, and saw the other entries, I actually wanted to walk out as my base was like half-completed and I told myself 'Damn! Those kits look powerfully done!'. I was just glad to take part and join in the fun.

The joy in modeling for me I've come to realize, is really the modding/building part, the process and interaction I get from other modelers.
At the end of the day its just plastic/resin... And so what if I win today? Just look around and see the thousands of guys better than me. I am just happy to be part of the model fan, and hopefully improve with every build.

Point is, don't give up if its something you like to do / its the right thing to do.
Got your finished kit dissed by someone? Go and improve your skills!
See their comments (most of the time they are right) and work on your weak spots. Improve your strong points!
Practice!
Try things out (but NOT for a competition piece)
Start early in a competition!
Take a course!
Post your WIP and ask for honest critical analysis!

Eventually you WILL make it.

Hey I am not saying I've made it hor, still got long long long way to go.
Guess this is not a very motivating blog entry...ha ha!
(I could share with you how I spent 8 years of my life chasing a single girl only to be rejected again and again, but now she's my wife. But THAT's another story :) )

Here's a great motivating clip someone shared over at PLAMO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QbgOGnbxDo&feature=player_embedded

Keep modeling dudes!

Sensei Kow on Baby Falke + Baby Konigs Krote

2009-08-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

My pal Linc gave a tour of the Ma.K forum and showed Yokoyama-san pictures of my Baby Falke + Baby Konigs Krote.

Sensei's comments:
"That's really cool and he's just shot down a KK? Great build and this guy can paint too."

Thank you Sensei, its my honor!!!
Thank you Linc, thank you....

Think I can't sleep tonight :)

Ma.K WIP I am following now

2009-08-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Couple of great work in progress I am following right now, go chcek it out guys!

Vargen666's Seapig build (after my Seapig review)

Daimocow's Scout Flier (he is an amazing scratch builder)

Francesco's Snow SAFS (a classic scene from Ma.K BD)

Floaty thing, by nscol (F-Boot? or Marine Gladiator?)

Note: There are many other great WIPs in the forum, and you may need to be a member to view them. What are you waiting for, join in the Ma.Kness!

Will

Ma.K blowout sale from shipment 15 + rare stuff

2009-08-17T04:24:00.000-07:00

Here it is guys, catch this sale...

Figure set #1 11 (2 boxes)
Figure set #2 11
Fliege 36
AFS 10
AFS Mk 1 10
Fireball 40
~~Kauz 37~~
~~Gustav 38~~
SAFS 38
~~PKA 37~~
Raptor (wave) http://maschinenkrueger.com/forum/index.php?topic=2638.0 95

Raptor (modelkasten) http://maschinenkrueger.com/forum/index.php?topic=3154.0 125 reserved

Raptor (modelkasten)conversion + SAFS http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/cyberwill75/modelkastenraptorconversion.jpg 120 , note this conversion does not have raptor decals

Note: These are at cost/at a loss to me.
Prices in usd and does not include shipping to you.

PM/email me and I'll calculate shipping for you.
From experience,
1 small Nitto box to US, Europe, Australia is about $10usd via registered post.
2 small Nitto boxes is about $15-17usd via registered post.
Paypal only. Add 4% Paypal fees.

1/35 Snake eye (D3 Works)

2009-08-14T23:49:00.001-07:00

Another rare kit in YAJ. WF Item. No instructions are given, but its straight forward kinda build.
The casting is better than the Fliege kit, no bubbles visible.
Thanks to our Darklord for providing this kit for review!

Details
Scale: 1/35
Type of material : off white resin
Number of parts: 15
Decals: no
Instructions: no
Overall quality: good
Overall accuracy: ?
Date of release: ?
Release price: ?
Current Running price in YAJ: ?

Pictures
Contents (Front)

Contents (side)

Packaging

1/35 Fliege (D3 Works)

2009-08-14T23:41:00.001-07:00

Another 1/35 kit, I realized the reason they are in demand is the vast amount of 1/35 scale accessories and kits out there (especially WW2 tanks, vehicles, and expensive resin figures). If one wants to do a diorama, 1/35 would be the more convenient way to go, rather than 1/20. Back to topic, this is a rare kit in YAJ, having only seen it twice before. No instructions are given, but its straight forward kinda build. Thanks to our Darklord for providing this kit for review! The casting is ok, with a few tiny air bubbles here and there. The antenna are also a bit warped but should be easily fixed.

Details
Scale: 1/35
Type of material : off white resin
Number of parts: 12
Decals: no
Instructions: no
Overall quality: ok
Overall accuracy: ?
Date of release: ?
Release price: ?
Current Running price in YAJ: ?

Pictures

Contents

Packaging

eh for ages 30 and above only? :)

1/35 Luna Pawn (ZWB)

2009-08-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Some 1/35 love finally! This is a resin kit by Zionel Western Bis, a WF item I presume. The quality and detail is pretty good, there are even rivets on the back of the lower leg, just like the WAVE Luna Pawn release. The seamlines are very shallow and can be easily cleaned up with sandpaper. One will need to add wires and tiny springs to complete it. Thanks to our fellow Darklord for allowing/requesting me to review this kit before shipping to him! :)

Details
Scale: 1/35
Type of material : off white resin
Number of parts: 14
Decals: no
Instructions: yes
Overall quality: good
Overall accuracy: ?
Date of release: ?
Release price: 2000yen
Current Running price in YAJ: 3000+ yen

Pictures

Contents

Instructions

Seapig/Snakeeye resin conversion (SuperHammer)

2009-08-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a resin conversion kit for the Seapig/Snakeeye. You will require a Fireball SG to complete it.
The manufacturer is Operation Super Hammer a.k.a. Ueno-san. As can be seen from the pictures, the main body is molded in one piece and it has details inside so we can actually do an open suit. The cockpit cover is also detailed on the inside.
I realized that both left and right arms are provided with a small bag containing the left manipulator hand so we can do a Seapig with 2 hands. A Snakeeye laser arm is provided so that we can convert a Fireball SG into the Snakeeye. The other small bags contain the sensors and radar.
The additional fuel pods and large radar are provided and the thing about the casting is that there are virtually no seamlines on the fuel pods! The resin's quality is the best I've seen so far. I was tempted to keep it for myself, but shipped it out recently.

Details
Scale: 1/20
Type of material : off white resin
Number of parts: 27
Decals: no
Instructions: yes
Overall quality: best I've ever seen!
Overall accuracy: ?
Date of release: ?
Release price: 5000yen
Current Running price in YAJ: 6000 to 7500 yen

Pictures
Box

Parts (front)

Parts (side)Instructions

Pz. Spah 1124 Lunar Gans (modelkasten)

2009-08-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

A long overdue review, here's the Lunar Gans from modelkasten.
The Lunar Gans is basically a recon unit found on the moon with no visible weapons. It's different from the Land Gans in that besides having no weapons, it uses AG pods and thrusters to propel itself in space. It was featured in Ma.K BD book in the encounters on the moon where it was guarding some Strahl installation and looked on while Merc forces flew past.

Its a rare collectible and regularly fetch extremely high prices in YAJ. I've only seen less than 5 changed hands in 12 months.
We could kit bash a Krote and a Neuspotter, with some parts from Fledermaus, but the price would be pretty high too. The figure from the Fliege kit is included in this kit. All the styrene sprues are milky white.
I got mine in a 20+ Ma.K kit auction, but the bad news for me is there are some missing parts in the box. My heart sank when I started doing the review, as it was then I discovered it. I am missing the unique AG pods on the body(neuspotter AG pods modified and built side by side), and the large thruster bells (from the Fledermaus kit). Considering how far I went to get it...Sorry for the rant, we can only hope for a reissue in styrene by WAVE in the near future... :)

Details
Scale: 1/20
Type of material : injection molded, multi-media, white colored plastic + resin parts
Number of parts: ? in many sprues
Decals: yes
Instructions: yes
Overall quality: Very good, virtually no flash
Overall accuracy: Accurate
Date of release: March 2000
Release price: 7900 yen (price from HLJ)
Current Running price in YAJ: 18000yen - 24000yen

Pictures

Box (front)

box(back) I really like this art work and camo scheme
Contents
Sprue (Krote)

Sprue (Neuspotter and figure)

Resin for the optics in front of the Gans

Camo card and multimedia (If I am crazy I would buy 3 or more Lunar Gans just to paint all the different schemes, well maybe when the styrene kit comes out, IF it comes out)

Instructions with funny comics inside

Man its in German! I can't read it!

Hope you guys enjoyed this review. :)
Will
(Update, a generous forum member volunteered to give me his Fledermaus thruster bells!!! Thank you so much!)

Polar Bear WIP 8 - Hardboiled PB sculpting completed

2009-08-07T23:31:00.001-07:00

A little update:
Did the joint covers for the rest of the arms...
I was a bit lazy and just puttied over the manipulator arm's original rubbery joint cover.
Also added a periscope bump on the top of the Hardboiled PB

Left view

Rear view

Polar Bear WIP 8 - Hardboiled PB sculpting

2009-08-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

Ok tonight I've gotten some 2-3 hours of solid work on this ...
Drilled tiny holes in the laser arm for where the wires go, and sculpted one joint cover
(I was quite afraid of doing this as its my first time)
Here's one joint cover completed with bondite.

Then I worked on making the fist closed.
A bit bolder now, I just used the cutter to cut the joints 90%, bent them and added lots of cement.
Once dried, I added bondite to cover the gaps.

Still a little rough (the tiny bondite finger covers) but I will work on them more when it cures.

That's all for tonight.
:)

Polar Bear WIP 7 + 2 more PB!!!

2009-08-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Finally back at this build, gotten my 2 more PB thru leafster my bro, and started on the fantastic resin kit (my first) from Francesco...
Here's my game plan, the 3 Polar Bears are going hunting for Konigs Krote. The trio is inspired by the Ma.K Falke Profile book. I plan to call this diorama "Going Hunting". Que the music video "hunter" here which is one of my favourite music videos!
The Hardboiled PB will be in the front, stopping the group as he spots a KK footpprint in the snow.

The second PB will be carrying rocket(s), I am still waiting the the other hand (will be using the night-fighting variant's left hand).
The last PB will be my first completed PB. (I just realised that I glued the crotch armor to the rear, and the buttplate in front on the completed PB, but oh well, looks ok)

View from the left

I will be scratch building skis, snowboard and rockets for the scene.

I am totally in love with snow!
Comments/Criticisms encouraged...

Incidentally...

lol (this is not in the scene)

What's next?

2009-07-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all the comments and constructive criticisms to the Baby Falke!
After this I am actually already working on the WAVE Snakeeye for the PLAMO mini groupbuild amongst us Ma.K fanatics there. I am also in the midst of sanding the 2 additional Polar Bears for my Polar Bear diorama. It will feature the Hardboiled gift from Francesco as a Polar Bear, and a two handed Polar Bear carrying rocket(s).
I am in love with the winter/snow dioramas. Its probably due to the impact of Star Wars - Empire Strikes Back, the winter battles on the planet Hoth... :)

Also after doing the baby Konigs Krote, I find myself itching to do another baby Neuspotter varient, just for fun.

Daddy Falke is also halfway done...

So many Ma.K, so little time! How?
lol

Baby Falke and baby Konigs Krote - Completed

2009-07-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

At long last, its finished...
For the baby Falke, I toned down the panel lines and weathering with another layer of white. Both dive brakes broke (just like the real Falke) and I had to glue them back. Colored the lobster marking orange to differentiate it from the body.
I re-did the base by using plaster of Paris, blue and violet acrylic paints, followed by woodlands scenic artificial snow on top.

Another angle

Tried making the baby Konigs Krote 'walk' on the snow to make foot prints before laying it down to rest.

One of my favourite pictures, its not easy to take pictures of the kit!

From the top

Closeup on the Falke

Closeup of Ashley's name and picture (both copied from her handwriting and sketch below)
This plane is Ashley's! :)
Ashley's sketch (mommy, daddy, and the real big one is Ashley -_-''')

side view

'top view'

Additional closeups of baby Konigs Krote

Constructive Comments / Criticisms encouraged.
Myself I think the symmetry can be greatly improved, and the two front engines are actually upside down (oops), lastly the main thruster's shape could be improved too.
I wanna just thank all you guys* who posted your comments/thoughts in my WIP and for Bernard of m workshop to organise the competition.
Now on to my next project...

*Guys include: G-man, Vayeate, leafster, klay, ericp, KGM2, snake eye, sammy514, frankietanch, maxwinamp, i_used_to_be_fit, link, Lin.K, viper1972, fusionexxtreme, wingzero78, dlcm, fang, tazzdevil, dhmy2kgto, Skinnybob, BK Bryan, turner, Igor57, Francesco, java, Ravenworks69, Maknifiso, marisomodelkits, nowfuture, nscol, count0, scotty, Hedwerx, Kylwell, Vargen, Darklord, Mar.K, wout.er, Nik, dewberry, ArnoB, EHarm, Supergeek, ponch, catchaser, daimocow, schatze11, finally primer James! Hope I did not miss anyone out..
Many of you are my heroes in model making. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Will

Baby Konigs Krote for Baby Falke Diorama 3

2009-07-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

After a break of 2 days I have finished painting the baby KK.
All with Gunze lacquers and tiny brush. Some gray, followed by white, then orange + red, just like in the Falke Profile book.

Drilled out the main eye and tiny holes with my hobby knife and hand drill.
Test shot one

Test shot two, lying on its side, final pose

Think I will spray a layer of matt before calling it done for this fellow.

I've reworked the base, covered it with plaster of paris to get rid of the yellowish paper clay,
will finish that up and post final pictures in the gallery!

Will

Baby Konigs Krote for Baby Falke Diorama 2

2009-07-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

After being out of action for a few days (sick, work), I finally spent one night/morning piecing the baby KK together. I used plaplate, spare sprues, leftover grill from MG Zaku and glue.

Here's how it looks before priming...

Here's how it looks after priming...

Hope you can see the 3 fingers of the manipulator which was difficult to glue together.
Its really small, as tall as the kneecap of the WAVE AFS.
Its supposed to be damaged with broken legs in the dio but I can't bear to break it, so I'll just put it lying down on the snow...
Constructive Criticisms Encouraged!

Baby Konigs Krote for Baby Falke Diorama

2009-07-15T08:53:00.001-07:00

I started building number 4 with the eye using the clear dome from the Fledermaus kit.The kit has 2 such tiny clear domes which I had not used... Here's the result of 1hr of work using bondite...
Cute? I personally like it a lot, though its not as cute as the number 4 design (head should be even bigger and body smaller)
Pictures taken tonight after the Bondite has hardened...

Baby Falke WIP 14

2009-07-14T09:24:00.001-07:00

Final WIP... sorry if I seem a little self indulgent.. :)
And strangely no close ups on the baby ...

Here's how it looks like, my coffee table at 12am in the morning...

Really overworked at my day job last week and as I was completing my baby and thinking of how to finish up the diorama, a brainwave made me very excited. Can you tell what I am doing?
Here's a clue...
The Neuspotter was sketched from the cute Neuspotter found on the Ma.K Profile book : Falke but that's not what I am making.. -_-'''

Also totally unrelated, my wife and sister are doing creative jewelery at the same time I am modeling (baby Ashley's asleep)

Any criticisms/suggestions for my base/diorama? Thanks in advance!

Baby Falke WIP 13

2009-07-10T07:43:00.001-07:00

And I am back...

Hope I am not 'beating a dead horse to death'...
After many days of sleeping and working I finally got back to my baby...
I glued plaplate to the air intake on the rear and puttied it with Tamiya putty..
Then penciled in the panel lines, and using the anti-flash white plus grey green, I colored in the panel lines similar to the Ma.K Profile book. Here's how it looks after 2+ hours of brush work...

Too much?

Pictures taken in the morning, I might have overdone them (the panels)... have I?

I will add the 4 nuts/things in the front of each round engine thing, the tiny intake fins as well,
paint the word Ashley (my kid's name in her own handwriting) and her face, add more decals...
One more WIP and I think I can call it finished.

Shipment 15 is IN!

2009-07-04T00:16:00.001-07:00

Shipment 15 is in(since last week)... Ashley opened the box with eagerness...

The stuff (Raptors, Gans, usual Nitto stuff and a seapig conversion, and some rare 1/35 stuff)

Most of them are requests, I will sort them out and release the others for sales soon.

The prices are going up now, with the Raptor's popularity up high and the exchange rate to USD weak...
Will

Baby Falke WIP 12

2009-07-03T07:55:00.001-07:00

Updates:
Lin.K from the Ma.K forum wants to show my baby Falke pictures to Sensei Kow Yokohama who heard about me tonight! I will shoot some more pictures with close-ups for this purpose...
So exciting!!!
Took more photos, accidentally broke one of the air brakes... You know Falkes luv to break them..

Side view, is it the port side? :)

Top view, you can see I've accidentally broken the left dive brake...

The nose detail which I am quite proud of myself to being able to replicate, I actually put off this part until the last moment because I was not confident of pulling it off. In the end it was much pla-plate, wires, spare sprues and parts from other kits which made up this details...

Front view of the baby...

Bottom, which you can see the shadows are very hard and painting is actually unfinished. Its also lacking in details as I ran out of time as well as parts for it. Well I will finish painting it but no more additional construction work from me.

The main thruster engine and rear of the baby. I will add more brown to the thruster to show the details I've build. The air intake 'hole' is actually painted on and I am not satisfied with it. I've added pla-plate (not shown here yet) and plan to refine it..
Another shot of the nose to show the details, I might add the rectangular piece of detail on the right side if I can find suitable parts. The pictures are yellowish because I was using a yellow bulb...

That's all for tonight, I've been sleeping alot more these few days, recovering from last week :)
Will

Baby Falke Aftermath

2009-07-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Bernard the organiser awarded me the BEST EFFORT award. Yay!

Pictures from the event itself:
http://www.themworkshop.com/MEVENT_GROUPBUILD_EGGPLANE.htm

and also here: (I am the guy with the M-shaped hairline first picture looking down, wearing white T-shirt in the first picture)
Bernard the boss is taking pictures of the planes
http://www.armiemodels.blogspot.com/

I will be posting better pictures/closeups tonight taken at home.

I will still be fixing a couple of things before declaring it finished
adding internal details of the engine
repaint the bottom
intake behind the cockpit add stuff
decal recolor of the lobster
nose art - naming the baby 'Ashley' with her handwriting as she just learnt how to write her name!

Baby Falke WIP 11

2009-07-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I managed to complete construction today!
Here's more photos taken this morning...

I mounted the Falke on the chipboard with paper clay on top, and I dust artificial snow on it, not very successful though.

Saw quite a few friends (maxwinamp, wingzero75, KGM2 amongst others) in M workshop today, and Bernard the owner was very kind to ask me did I get to sleep...Lots of very cool builds and some very well done, and creative ones!
I didn't win anything, but I am satisfied that I accomplished what I set out to model and managed to hit the dateline. I will post more detailed pictures up here soon.
More corrective work needs to be done on the baby and once finished I will post in the gallerys.
I will also critique my work so that I can improve.

Thank you everyone for your kind works/encouragement/support thus far in emails, PMs in both PLAMO and Ma.K forums! I would not have done it without you guys!
:)

The rush forced me to paint in a way I've never done before, just splash on the paint in an arty sort of way and have the look. There was paint all on the floor as I was mopping my house. Oops!

Will

Baby Falke WIP 10

2009-07-02T07:06:00.001-07:00

At 5am, its primed...

by 8am, its painted (rush like mad using Ma.K painting technique)

It was tough to decide which decals to use.. In the end I used the 'M' inverted to spell my initials from the Ma.K Profile book, and gave into the 'lobster' unit as can be seen from the picture...

No sleep for me last night, but its finished.
More pictures after the competition...
Right about time to go for church service... Praise the Lord! :)

Baby Falke WIP 9

2009-06-27T12:33:00.001-07:00

Did lots of stuff this morning, now waiting for putty to dry.
I added Bondite to the thruster and used needle file to file it to shape.
Here's how it looks compared with the rest..

Singapore version Vitagen, Korean version Yakult from max, Baby Falke version...

My Ashley says she likes the tiny thruster the most, though she drinks Vitagen everyday.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:27am and I almost finished building the baby...
I added details to the thruster, and spent hours scratch building the nose details and gatling gun.
Not entirely happy about the gun but no more time to make changes.

Mounted on a stand and took a test shot.

Another angle

Undercarriage shot

Take a break before I finish up the dive brakes.

Color scheme I finally decided to do the snow one from the Falke Profile instead of the usual green...
Hope I can finish in the morning before church service... Why do I always hang myself?lol

Baby Falke WIP 9

2009-06-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Thursday night/Friday morning was very productive.
I carved away the rear end of the plane for the main thruster using micro saw and hobby knife. The Bondite was tough, but not as bad as other types of epoxy.

Used a piece of foam to cover the underside.

Started making the main thruster with a black plastic pipe from the old fish tank filter. I wound labelling tape I bought to do panel lines to create the shape.

Here's how it looks like

Glued the AG pods onto the plane, these are not the protective spheres themselves, but the plastic packaging reinforced inside with Bondite. I don't need to sand them later as they are perfectly shaped as compared to the protective spheres which have holes.

At 3am, I added the small shapes and patched the rear ends with more Bondite.

Other participants have either finished or started decaling... Friday night I am still building ... Aiming to finish most of it tonight so I can paint tomorrow.
:)

Baby Falke WIP 8

2009-06-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night turned out to be a short one, I slept at 1am due to exhaustion.
Little bit of progress...I patched some holes and added some details using Bondite and spare parts.
These are parts from an old aquarium filter which I am trying to mod into the thruster.
There's a lot of seriously cheap plastic stuff we can get from local fish shops for modeling.

Incidentally, shipment 15 came in as well...
But this will have to wait til I finish up my build...

Baby Falke WIP 7

2009-06-23T12:18:00.000-07:00

Was stuck cos I ran out of Bondite... Tried Selleys Epoxy Putty ($5:XX) but its totally unsuitable for modelling, dries within minutes and is rough. Not to mention dries very hot and smells like rotten eggs.
Restarted work today after getting more Bondite from the hardware store for $4:85 per pack.
Wanted to scribe panel lines but its very tough due to the curves and running out of time, so I decided to just quickly attach the two engines to the cockpit/main body using Bondite. Used wire inside to ensure it holds.
Here's how it looks after 2.5 hours of work adding Bondite and smoothing one side, wait for it to harden a bit before attaching the other side.

Top view

Front view (you can see its not symmetrical, but ites very tough to get it right)

side view

Finally a shot of the Bondite in case you guys go hunting for it...I love it, works smooth, soft and remains workable 20-30 minutes and can be worked smooth by water.

Lack of Updates

2009-06-23T02:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys for the lack of updates for the last couple of days, I was outta the country in a church camp... This week will be a busy week for me to finish up my baby Falke, I started the Hasegawa Falke as well in order to study it, will post WIP up. Snake eye my bro has just challenged me to a WAVE snake eye smackdown build here...

So its gonna be a busy busy week!

Oh, did I mention shipment 15 is coming in?
Raptors raptors and more raptors, also some of the usual stuff.
Mostly requests this time I'm afraid...

Stay tuned!

Baby Falke WIP 6

2009-06-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

The bondite epoxy putty cures equally hard as the alteco branded one, but is around $4.50 vs $7+ for the alteco brand, so I will stick with bondite. Tamiya is just too expensive, I have some, yet to try it out on this baby..
Anyways here's the update

I've glued the two spoons together onto a piece of plaplate, and added lots of epoxy putty to make the cockpit.
Slow progress, adding putty and filing, and trying to get the look right...

Here's how it looks to the side, I must say it sure looks like a lobster! There is a lobster decal in the Falke kit and I might just use that...

Here's how it looks with 'daddy'
I am out of epoxy for the moment so will proceed with some filing and sanding to smooth out the sides before I join them up into one piece.
The deadline looms!

Comments and criticisms encouraged!

Neuspotter Head Kits Collection

2009-06-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

with the Lunar Gans...

Been wanting to post this for sometime now... And while there are little updates to my WIP, I decided to finally sit down and write this. I've finally completed all the Ma.K kits with the Neuspotter head. From left to right : Land Konigs Krote by Rainbow Egg, Nitto Neuspotter on top of it, THAT Neuspotter Variant type B by THAT, WAVE Land Gans first release (center), WAVE Land Gand second release (center bottom), modelkasten Lunar Gans (center top), Nitto Krachenvogel (right top of the Oskar below) and modelkasten Oskar. Sorry for the two pictures, I forgot about one kit and had to retake the photos. Too lazy to take them all out again and take a photo... maybe later.

... with the Krachenvogel...

I am a completist, if that's the word for it. When I start collecting kits, I will try my best to get every single one of them. And I am proud of this collection, took me slightly over a year to amass this number of kits. Why did I collect them, I ask myself. What's my motive? For one, I really like them. If you'd remember, in a post I made in 2008 here about my favourite kits, I sold them off in order to help pay for the new church building. By God's grace, I slowly bought them all back again (heehee! Ma.K addict is like that...) He knows I need to destress sometimes.

The other motive I must confess is PRIDE. I often show my good friends who come over these kits and tell them I might be the only guy in Singapore, or maybe even South East Asia, to have all these kits. Not a very nice part of my human behaviour... Brag about having the entire collection of some stuff. Anyone who has time and money would be able to do that. The more money one has, the less time he needs. The only good thing regarding this is that I am no longer so attached to these kits, and if the need arises that I must part with them, so be it. I wouldn't lose sleep over them. In fact, I've yet to open some of them!

Pride knows no boundaries, and I thank God that I am mostly over this :) I don't feel more contented in owning all of them. Besides, one can never really complete the collection. What about the Winter KK, or the Lunar KK, or Kerberos (of which there is only one scratch-build by Sensei Kow in existence?)

A modeler or a collector? I aspire to be a modeler, and am working towards it. As someone said, a completed kit is better than a thousand unbuild ones. I fully agree!

Anyone who reads this thread and is poisoned by these kits, haha I must first apologise to you, it was not my intent to do so, just a side effect. Just to put our feet to the ground, here are the recent running prices (in usd):

Neuspotter:60
Krachenvogel:120 - 200, usually around 160
Oskar:160-200+
Gans 1st release:95-120
Gans 2nd release:85-100
Gans Lunar:260++
Land Konigs Krote:460++

Anyway, thanks for reading so long a post. What started out as a post to brag turns out to be another self-reflection which I think is good for me. Some of my model pals tell me I am crazy about Ma.K. And I am, just not insane... lol. I am still the same old average Will you know, not a saint, and still telling everyone he is handsome... :)

Next post will be the Lunar Gans review, as I've already taken the photos a few days before...
Also I would like to talk about more of the nice people I got to know along the way, like Vayeate, Snake eye, Leafster, KJ, andy...

Stay tuned and keep Ma.King!

Baby Falke WIP 5

2009-06-08T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today my wife and kid went to stay at my mother-in-laws, so 'no government' in the house! :)
Tried out Bondite epoxy putty on the Falke engines... Here they are drying stage.

side view

front view

top view

I must say its very easy to use, sort of like plasticine, and no nasty smell too!
Smooths out using water. Its tough to make both sides symmetrical but I tried my best.

I was still agonising over how to build the cockpit when I chanced upon the
packaging of the Bondite (transparent plastic on the right) and found it to be a perfect match for the base of the Falke! :)
I must say, this project has made me study and appreciate the design... Love the process!
Will be using two spoons for the top of the cockpit and hatch, Hey this qualifies for the spoon build in the Ma.K forum! :)

Time to sleep...

Baby Falke WIP 4

2009-06-06T08:02:00.001-07:00

Thanks, still working on making it look 'right' close up, its got lots of imperfections at this stage.
Alot of elbow grease, sawed off 3 out of 4 wing attachments, and filled up the holes with epoxy putty on Thursday.
Also puttied up the lower body to make them smooth instead of the original shape of the plane.
Today I filed away the extra epoxy. Took about 30minutes.

Left engine is before filing, right engine is after filing

Next, super glued stealth fighter bombs to the tail section and then added epoxy to extend the two bodies.

Engines extended with bomb and epoxy

Now I wait for the epoxy to dry before I add more epoxy to form the shapes of the rear end.

SAFS Space Type 2 Snake Eye (WAVE) Mk-11

2009-06-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

Well I finally gotten my hands on the new WAVE Snake Eye today and decided to give you guys a quick review. Lots of good things about this kit, the ability to do the split-suit thingy, new decals, cool female pilot head and helmet... I can go on and on. Here are the details...

Details

Scale: 1/20
Type of material : off-white injection molds
Number of parts: 9 PE sprues + 1 PC sprue
Decals: yes
Instructions: yes
Overall quality: Very good
Overall accuracy: Accurate
Date of release: May 2009
Release price: 2600 yen

Let's go to the pictures !

Pictures

Box with new artwork from Sensei Kow, love the shark mouth camo!

Contents: 2 bags of sprues, instruction book and decals. I was half expecting camo cards but I forgot, this is not Hasegawa.Camo schemes will probably be found in the next issue of Ma.K Profile book dedicated to Snake eye.

Sprue A - SAFS: This initially looks very similar to the older WAVE release of the Fireball SG. But closer inspection shows individual fingers for the manipulator arm.
The manipulator fore-arm's back ward ring is now part of the fore-arm, instead of being a separate part. I'd prefer the older version as no seamline removal for the part is required. This sprue also holds the new base that allows for the split-suit ability.
The shoulder and leg armor are different from the older release as they are hinged.

Sprue B - SAFS: This holds mostly the parts for the feet as well as the fixed pose cockpit hinge and movable cockpit hinge. (You can choose which one you want to use)

Sprue E - Snake eye: Snake eye cockpit hatch and fore ward ring for forearm

Sprue J - Snake eye: Laser arm, shoulder and groin armor, radar and sensor

Sprue K - Snake eye: backpack, side of body that connects to the arms, thruster base

Sprue L - Snake eye: Thruster bells, one piece each, no seamlines to fix! kneecaps and 2 pieces of the pointing thing which is for the back.(I wonder why?)

Sprue D and O - Snake eye: One piece pilot (female) and one piece helmet.
Very nice, minimal seams on the back of the head and front of the helmet to clean up. The clear part is for the sensor to be placed on the hatch.

PC Sprue SAFS: Joints and power cables

Decals : Nice shark mouth! Also included are the penguins and pigs

Instructions:

Cover and back page

Page 2 -3

Page 4-5

Page 6 -7

After all's said and done, I think this is a wonderfully easier kit to build compared to the older releases,
and lots more moving parts for those who wanna pose and even 'play' (pew pew) with their kits (think Gundam fans like me)
Pity the lack of the yellow camo card. I am glad I got two of them and can't wait for the next release!

Enjoy!

WAVE 1/20 AFS Night Stalker is coming soon

2009-06-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

As most of use already know, yet another AFS variant is upon us.
http://www.hobby-wave.com/LINE_UP/kit/Ma_K/data/AFS_NS/index.html

But this version has two hands! I'll be sure to get it to make my two handed Polar Bear... I have two more Polar Bears coming in from my pal Leafster...

Finally I can make the diorama of 3 Polar Bears walking in the snow!

Baby Falke WIP 3

2009-06-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Baby Falke WIP 3

Not much of updates until today, I am at home to help wife take care of toddler Ashley.
Doing up the air intake using the Falke as a reference. The original intake is on the left,
I removed the detailing and added plaplate, and portion of plastic tube.
So that I can glue the two halves of the body together and fill up one side of the intake with epoxy putty. Here's how it looks after an hour and a half of work.
Comments and criticisms encouraged!

Lunar Gans review coming up!

2009-06-03T08:55:00.001-07:00

Heh heh heh heh heh..... nuff said, stay tuned!

1/20 Goblin (Mirage Ocean)

2009-05-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

1/20 Goblin (Mirage Ocean)

Hi all, sorry for the lack of quality reviews from me. As promised, here's the Goblin 'transform' resin kit from Mirage Ocean. This is sold in WF.
This builds up to the Goblin Mak BD version. This kit is a not a full kit by itself, and requires the Nitto Jerry kit to complete it.
Its made of several parts, mainly the single-piece body, 2 rocket launchers, nose sensors, hatch, and other small parts.
The cockpit can be modeled opened or closed, and I believe its a cast of the SAFS cockpit.
Simple decals are provided. Multimedia includes a grill (feels like fabric) and a thick piece of wire for pinning the parts.
The resin itself is not the new type of light-weight resin, but it does not feel heavy as its hollowed out in the center.
Casting is fair, with a number of flash as can be seen in the pictures, and some lines are ever so slightly curved.
But I believe its not a major issue for modelers.
There are lots of information about this kit which I do not know, such as the date of release.
Please do help update this thread if you have further information.

I want to thank a kind forum member for generously providing this kit for review.

Details

Scale: 1/20
Type of material : grey resin
Number of parts: 9
Decals: yes
Instructions: yes
Overall quality: pretty ok
Overall accuracy: ?
Date of release: ?
Release price: 4000 yen I think
Current Running price in YAJ: 5000+ to 7500+ yen

Pictures
Box

Contents

Side view

Underside view

Funny Story

Mechanic girl: Needs a bit of work...But I like it!
Pilot girl: I want it working tomorrow 0800 hrs!
Admin girl: You need to fill up the requisition form and submit to me by 1700 hrs today before anything starts...
Added closeup pictures of the rocket launcher.
There is a disc-shape protrusion on one side of the launcher.
And of the other side is the round point where I think it gets attached to the Goblin's hull.

Kits sent out!

2009-05-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Woah today I sent out 6 boxes of kits big and small... Guys you should be getting your kits in 1 week's time... I will bill you guys later (I hate to do all those calculations!!)
Super tired after that... The weather's hot lately and the air seems bad, my nose is acting up and I am getting blocked nose whole day..

Enough ranting, I will post the Goblin conversion kit review and a full Gustav review on Sunday after church! Stay tuned guys!

Not much progress on my WIP ...

Busy!

2009-05-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Very busy at work!
Sorry for the inevitable delay in shipping the kits out...
Thanks to a PLAMO member who gave me some Woodland Scenics Snow Flake, I will use it on my Polar Bear very soon. Also Leafster my new-found Ma.K pal who just ordered 2 more Polar Bears for me. I am planning to do a Polar Bear carrying rockets, but not the two handed version. The other Polar Bear is for the Francesco Hard Boiled. Planning to do a PB HB version, similar to what Lin.K is doing, though mine will be OOB as a tribute to my friend Francesco.

Did a little bit of work on my Baby Falke, and Polar Bear, hopefully can post some pictures up tonight.

Coming right up, Goblin conversion review, Lunar Gans review, Part 3 of 3 SAFS MkIII WIP!

Need to balance my time between being a Ma.K pusher and a Ma.K addict ... lol
Francesco gave me the tag 'Ma.K Pusher' which I quite like... Kinda like the tagline Viper1972 gave me in PLAMO : 'Pss you want some Ma.K? I have some...'

oh ya, tonight gotta do housework (I am the 'floor' manager and also tons of un-ironed clothes) too, sharks...

Gustav Quick Review

2009-05-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Gustav Quick Review

Did this quick review as my fellow Ma.Ker asked what's the difference between the sf3d version and the Ma.K version. As you would have realized, there are few Strahl suits review on my blog cos I am not a fan of them (yet...)
Here I am just trying to point out the differences between the 3 versions out there for your next purchase consideration. The 3 versions are: SF#D, Ma.K and Ma.K Clear. Well before tonight, I thought the only difference was the decals, and I was wrong... Read on...

Ma.K version (top left), Ma.K Clear version (top right) and
SF3D version front

All 3 kits opened. The main differences are: the SF3D version has lead weights for the feet (see the 2 grey things beside canopy in the bottom of the picture?) AND the canopy of the SF3D version is much darker tinted than the 2 Ma.K versions! (thats new to me)

SF3D version (camo card is same with the Ma.K version). Note the lead weights at the bottom.

SF3D decals and the darker canopy

Ma.K decals and lighter canopy, I quite like the decals here. Notice the nice yellow pumpkin head (larger version of it in the Gan first release)

Ma.K Clear version with the lighter canopy, and different camo card which I think is the nicest amongst the three.

Ma.K Clear version decals, quite similar to the Ma.K version, with the yellow heart and black snake.
Hope this helps guys!

Baby Falke WIP 2

2009-05-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

Baby Falke WIP 2

Spent an hour scratch building the 'mouth/intake' of the falke using the actual falke intake as a reference. The base is the Eggplane's nose piece, I use a kotobukiya round part for the center, cut up tiny pieces of plaplate (white) and pasted them to it, and superglued a brass 'thruster' I bought from m-workshop long time ago...

The white pieces are not very aligned even though I tried hard trying to do so...

On the suggestion of another forum member, I tried using an old ping pong ball to try out as the antigrav unit. Looks nice. I've yet to decide which option to take.

And here's my sketch plan of the Baby Falke...Must plan in advance a bit otherwise plan to fail...

Yawn... That's all for tonight! Suggestions, criticisms encouraged!
Will

Egg plane build - Baby Falke

2009-05-24T09:46:00.001-07:00

Egg plane build - Baby Falke

Company outing to the museum on Friday, after that go to PS to watch Night at the Museum 2. On the way there I could not help myself and detoured to m-workshop to get 2 egg planes.

Found some round objects to make the anti-gravity devices.
And so it begins...

Let's hope I can finish this...

Shipment 14 pictures

2009-05-22T19:19:00.000-07:00

Shipment 14 pictures
Just been to the customs, first time being there, the folks there are very nice, just showed them the invoices and they billed my the GST, big hassle for me to go down all the way via MRT and bus and then come back by cab though. Not much tax, its a couple of dollars more for the more expensive kits and around a dollar for the cheaper ones.
Ashley just woke up and I have to put back the packing material so that she can take them all out again. Think she will be good working for customs in the future.. lol

Here are the stuff:
kits on the left
kits in the center

kits on the right

All I wanted in this shipment is a rare kit. Gans, Lunar Gans...

And finally I complete the series with all the Neuspotter heads (Neuspotter, Krachenvogel, Land Gans, Lunar Gans, Oskar & Konigs Krote)

Detailed review of the Lunar Gans coming up...

First, to allocate the kits.... I am about swarmed with PMs and emails! :) Will

Shipment 14 price list

2009-05-22T08:36:00.001-07:00

Here it is guys:

Fireball SG (WAVE) 55 (reserved)
Raccoon 40 (reserved)
Krote 95
Melusine 95 (reserved)
Fledermaus 50
hornise 60
Figure set #1 15
Figure set #2 15
Fliege 43
AFS 16
Raptor 85
Krachenvogel 160
Neuspotter 60
Jerry 50
SAFS 30
SAF Clear 30
Konrad 38
Heinrich 38
Gustav Clear 35
Gustav 38

Aiyo I must be getting old, I missed out the following kits:
Kauz 55
Hasegawa Falke 75

Prices in usd.

Note:These are pre-tax price, and not final, but expect up to a maximum of 7% increase when I get hit by it tomorrow (might be less, I hope).
I will update the final price as soon as I get the kits on my hands and paid the customs. I will not charge more than 7% more that what is listed here.
I might add a few more kits in too so check back often.

PM/email me if you are interested in buying. I try to accomodate everybody's request and those which I can't meet, I can say that there is shipment 15 (a very small shipment right now, mainly requests) filling up now.

Thanks guys for your great support!
Will