A move and the start of a new kit

So for all of my none readers out there, I am a married man with 2 lovely children. When I got married, my wife agreed as I transitioned from bachelorhood to the married life, I should have a MAN ROOM. A room where I could hang my plethora of sports memorbelia, build Gundams and just be. Well with the addition of my first son(I inherited a wonderful stepson, an All Star catcher), and the flow of visitors to our house to see the new addition, she thought it would be best that, instead of transplanting our son from his nursery into our room until the guests leave, that I should move the man room and we would turn the MAN ROOM into a guest bedroom. So, while my wife and children are on vacation in Maine, I have transplanted my bastion of sports and anime into the garage. It's not climate controlled, and none of my memorbelia is up yet, but for now, it is mine. The bright side is I can airbrush whenever I want, all I have to do is raise the automatic garage door for ventilation. My workspace consists of a large dining room table and 2 small 2 shelf bookcases pushed together. I have shelving on the walls and soon I'll publish some photos. But with them being on vacation, it has afforded me the time to start a new kit.

Last Christmas, I received 4 new kits, an RX 78-2 ver Ka, Wing Gundam ver Ka an RX-178 Gundam MK II and a Gundam Throne Drei from the new Gundam 00. I sacrificed the Throne to my new air compressor and airbrush which I also received for Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised with the results I achieved my first time out, I still need to work on controlling air pressure and thinning ratio, but I had enough confidence to move on to the RX 78-2 ver Ka.

That kit turned out wwwaaaayyyy better than expected. I tried a new technique on the base, using Quick Crete to simulate concrete and it gave the base a great look. I decided to wait on the Wing Gundam and am diving into the MK II. I first saw this kit on a website that had posted a ton of modeling videos from Japan titled "My favourite Modeler" which is an on running TV series on Fuji TV. This is where 80% of my inspiration to build kits in general came from, and they have truly helped with my growth in kit building. I'll post some websites to the left and give links so everyone can enjoy. But back to the build......

The first step for any kit whether it be Gundams or traditional armor, planes or autos is to wash the sprues. The modeling companies use a release agent to get the sprues to release from the molds easily and without breaking the sprues themselves. This release agent leaves a film on the sprues that will inhibit primer and paint from adhering to the plastic. So wash those kits! I have 2 tubs I picked up from the Dollar Tree, one for washing, one for rinsing. I fill one tub with lukewarm water and powdered Oxy Clean, and the other with clean water. I let all of the sprues soak for a few minutes in the Oxy water and then gently with a soft tooth brush give them a scrub. Then dip in the clean water and place on a towel to air dry. This gets all of the release agent off and gives your primer and paint a "happy little place to live".

While we are talking basics, here are a few terms for anyone beginning that you should know.

Kits: models, the things we build

Sprues: The square plastic molds that hold the pieces of the models. Also called trees.

Gates: The small nubs of plastic that hold the pieces to the sprues

Gundam: A 30 year running anime institution in Japan. The anime once aired on Toonami on the Cartoon Network, and it's latest incarnation is Gundam 00 which can be seen on the SyFy network, Mondays at 11 and 1130(2 Episodes!!!!)

GunPla: shortening of the terms Gundam Plastic Models

BAKUC: A competition sponsored by Bandai of Gundam kit builds.

Bandai: One of the largest toy companies in the world. They produce Gundam kits and anime, Power Rangers and loads of other toys and models. They also produce modeling tools and Gundam markers.

HG: High Grade, a specification given to beginner levels of Gunpla. Less articulate and less expensive. Can be either 1/144 scale or 1/100.

MG: Master Grade, the middle of the road, and the level at which my wallet normally operates. Some MG kits come with an internal skeleton, and usually 3 weapons. 1/100 scale is the norm.

PG: Perfect Grade, the highest grade given by Bandai on their kits. These monsters can come in 1/100 or 1/60 scale and usually run from $150 to upwards of $300 dollars. I freakin wish.....

I'll add more as i think of them.

Look for he links and I'll post some photos when my wife returns from the Great White North....

garukukukukukuku............