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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

MG Musha MK-II Step 3: Mods and another Test Build

I received a couple of questions about how I modded the thigh armour to look more like yoroi (鎧). Well, allow me to explain.

Here's my Evergreen Styrene which measures 0.25 mm thick by 4.8 mm wide. Due to its thickness, or thinness, in this case, it bends easily without creasing allowing it to be placed over curves. It also sticks almost instantly once glue is applied meaning I could put the piece on, come back a few minutes later and trim the excess away.

I also used it for adding detail to the shoulder armour.

Glue. Then trim.

I also added it to the top of the lower leg armour to cover up the hollow that was visible.

Glue. Then trim.

I also added extra plastic to the center block of the skirt armour. This was 0.5 mm thick.

Say it with me. Glue. Then trim. (then sand).


I have also worked more on removing some of the seam lines as this kit has quite a few of them. For those who don't have the kit in their hands this piece has a visible seam line on the very top. However, I failed to notice that I am supposed to insert a length of the mesh pipe before assembling. Oops.



I have also finished removing the gold plating from all those pieces. That took a lot of time, some paint thinner, and sanding. I went through at least a sheet of my 400 sandpaper.

I then decided to reassemble it, a test-build 2.0 if you will, to see where I was at before deciding on what to do next.

The results so far are more than satisfactory.

Some things I noted that I (may) want to fix:

1) The head seems too high on the neck. I have a plan for the helmet but may also have shorten the neck or make some kind of collar as well.

2) The seam lines from the were-gold pieces on the feet are visible and asymetrical. I will have to glue them together and take out the seam line before painting.

3) On the outer part of the lower leg, the was-gold piece has what looks to be a cylinder and I can't figure out what it is there for besides looks. I may cut down that piece and reshape it.

4) The feet. If this was a suit of armour the wearer would have geta (下他?)on his feet. Basically a split toed look. I am considering using putty to fill in one of the hollows on the end of the foot.

I am still in the process of narrowing down my colors for this kit. I think it may have 5 colours when all is said and done. Yikes! I have to write this stuff down before I forget.

7 comments:

  1. damn havent been here awhile and looks like u've done a lot of work. anyways looking good with da horns in da past post also just wondering u gonna keep da gold at all or u gonna change it to silver?

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  2. Strip styrene? is that only available at your place? or internationally? is it kinda a good replacement for pla-plates?

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  3. Way too slim on the midriff mate, the waist area is throwing the whole thing out of proportion and making it look goofy. That's where your neck length issue is coming from. Don't shorten the neck, beef up the lower midriff. The thickened areas where the yoroi is demand it.

    With the plated parts also, did you know that the tried and tested method for stripping plating is to soak the parts in windex or other suitable ammonia based liquid for 24 hrs? This strips the plating without affecting the chemical composition of the plastic, therefore not making it brittle. Great for stripping botched paint jobs too. =)

    Mega anticipating your colour scheme ^^

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  4. Also I tried to email you at the HLJ address you provided but it failed to transmit. Drop me a line at gundamaustralia gmail com when you can =)

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  5. Those strips good great! especially on the legs and feet.

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  6. @asian1skill: I'm not going to stick with the gold. I'm still going back and forth on the colors in my mind.

    @Syful: That strip styrene, and many other kinds, can be found internationally as well. Do a search for evergreen plastic, or evergreen scale models. They are based in america.

    @Tonzo: There is a midriff part that I hadn't attached for the second test build because is snaps in and I don't want to connect/disconnect it too many times. Good point, though. Will send you a mail soon.

    @bloggermathai: Haven't used any strips on the feet yet. Maybe soon, though.

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