[EDIT:]

EDIT: Making sure I respond to FF's reply, too...

SECOND EDIT: Is it just me? Or does that structural support on the side of the base look like a ladder on the side of a contractor's truck?

Just wondering why you opted to drill out a peice of rod for the mast instead of getting a tube.  Surely there is one with an inside diameter the same size or smaller than the LED.

 
Actually... I was using an 1/8" tube. I wanted to keep the diameter of the tube very close to the diameter of the LED, as the LED will be "capping" the mast. Sorry about that--in looking at my blog entry, that detail wasn't very clearly stated. The reason it needed to be drilled out was because the inner diameter of the tube wasn't quite wide enough to accomodate the LED.

Another thing.. instead of forceing the LED up through the mast why not push the wire through wire it up then push the LED down into the mast.  Simplifys things IMO.

Yeah... it would. The main reason is that I bought the pulsing LED fully assembled. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing when I was in a model railroading shop. So the LED is already soldered to the wires, and the wires are already soldered to a small circuit board. And yeah, it would've been tons easier to just cut the wires and feed those through the pipe, but I wanted to see if I could keep it intact.

Looks good Zero. I think it might need some more color other than white though to break it up and add visual appeal. I like how it's coming along though.

Y'know... you're absolutely right. But I have no idea how to do it and keep it consistent with reference material. Between the white base (not to be confused with "White Base") and the "stock" colors on the Fliege, that's probably way too much. I'm going to give the actual wooden base a dark stain, but that'll barely be visible. In addition, right now I'm planning to put some large black lettering on one side of the base. That's about it. Any suggestions? A wide, red diagonal stripe working its way up one side and towards the rear? Just remember: no airbrush and pretty limited experience here.

When you starting the Fliege?

I wish to heck I knew... When the base is done. If I'm able to work on it as much as I'd like, I should have the Fliege started by a week from Monday at the latest.

I got a little more work done on the base tonight (still haven't started the Fliege yet, of course). I detailed it in my blog here:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/zerobxu/Blog/cns!1paksne1Gan-Wn6H5nhmEnfw!1815.entry

I'm learning all sorts of fun things about styrene and what happens when you try to use cheap transfer letters. At lunch, I picked up some new transfer lettering, so that'll solve one minor ugliness. I'm still solely working on the display stand--haven't gotten any further than looking at the manual for the Fliege at this point. On the other hand, the base is coming along nicely, and I think I can actually see the end of it from here. Since I last posted about it, I made two in-progress entries in my blog...

October 20th:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/zerobxu/Blog/cns!1paksne1Gan-Wn6H5nhmEnfw!1796.entry

October 21st:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/zerobxu/Blog/cns!1paksne1Gan-Wn6H5nhmEnfw!1809.entry

... or you can just view the category "Giant Robot: DESTROY!" in there to see everything together.

With exactly two weeks remaining on the Group Build, I've actually started building something! Of course, it's not the Fliege itself, but rather the display base. I've given it a lot of thought (too much, in fact), and the display base is going to be a very small section of the outer hull of a PKA ship (the "PKA KRIEGGOTT"). I'm trying to develop some skills, as well as incorporate a slowly pulsing red LED on a communications antenna. For the ship, I've been referencing other MaK ships, the International Space Station, and I've sat through a couple hours of NASA documentaries on the Gemini missions. From all that (and based on what I feel I can accomplish), I've come up with a rough design for the display base.

Putting some nearly-forgotten drafting skills to use, I did some drawings and measurements, and actually managed to cut and glue some styrene tonight. The hull-section itself has been test-fitted. I also noted that, on the International Space Station, a lot of the structural bracing appears to be external. I've incorporated a scratch-built external structural support into the hull display, as well (that's what I managed to actually glue together tonight).

I haven't started on the Fliege itself yet--which I should, considering all the issues with parts fit I've been reading about. Needless to say, I'll have to start it up very soon. I'm not going crazy with the colors. The Fliege is going to be an OOB affair.

I only have one in-progress picture so far, and I can't seem to post it here because I've uploaded it to my blog and MSN does something screwy to uploaded pictures on their MSN Spaces. Once it's actually finished, I'll post those pictures on my Photobucket account, so I can tag them in here. That's about it for now.

Oh, and feel free to check the in-progress pics. I'll try to detail what I'm doing here, as well as in my blog:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/zerobxu/

Just a question, would the Gundam Mk II be able to be used in the build?

Sure, the Titans have a mkII unit after all. Plus there's one nice PG mkII in one of the books.

And... there's plenty of Mark-II prototype builds out there. Seems like those would be fair game. In fact, I've got one scanned somewhere... I'll see if I can find it tomorrow (or if FF still has that Gihren's Greed mook and beats me to it).

If you've got some other color schemes, feel free to post 'em. Heck... you've already got a thread going. Why not?

So what do you guys think?

Well... color schemes are a bear to come up with... I tossed around a bunch of ideas with a couple people on the Zaku I did recently. And even then, I only finalized it after I'd started assembly. At one point, I was looking over at least a half-dozen different color scheme ideas. If you want my opinion, talking about the schemes pictured here:
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/6751/destiny4kh.jpg

The one on the left has way too much pink/hot-pink in it--unless you're going for an "Aegis" look, in which case you may want to change the yellow V-fin to white and add some other white accents.

The middle one reminds me oddly of "Nightcrawler" from Marvel's "X-Men" comics/movies/games/figures/dinnerware. For me, it just doesn't work. At least, not in that shade of blue.

The one on the right reminds me of a yellowjacket. But out of the three of them, I (personally) find that scheme the most readily appealing. And that's strictly a case of personal preference.

Have you done any Googling to look for other people who've done one in alternate color schemes? I've found the hobby magazines and others' galleries to be a tremendous creative influence when I'm trying to come up with a working idea.

I'm liking that Galbaldy. A lot. It seems like a nice blend of the Galbaldy look with the Hazel components. Maybe someone would do this for the AoZ build if Bandai ever gets off their duff and answers the cries for an MG or HGUC Galbaldy...

You've got some really nice work there. I'm not sure if I personally agree with the weathering/scarring choices on the Dom Tropen, but all of your finished projects look nice. Also, I'm not a huge fan of Seed or Seed Destiny designs, but I can honestly say that I like your NG BuCue and it's easily the best-looking one I've see.

What the...  :shock:   Handpaint!!??? Holy.......

I tot it was done by airbrush...... wow!! Great job man....

Thanks! And yeah... all handpaint. I look forward to an airbrush someday, but this isn't all bad either sometimes.

Start saving today, go buy a compressor & airbrush later.....  

Well, as luck would have it, my father and his wife are both artists. The last time he came through town, I told him that if he was coming up short for birthday or Christmas gift ideas, I could always use a nice Paasche double-action airbrush (I figured he could get a discount, with his connections). He then wanted to know why I'd want "junk like that", because he's apparently wrecked two Paasche airbrushes fairly recently (his wife informs me that it's because he bent the tip and never cleaned them--he prefers handpainting apparently :? ). So... if an airbrush doesn't happen to show up on its own around Christmas, I may very well end up laying out some cash for one.

The only word I can use to describe this is "wow". The paint job reminds me of a city skyline at night, for some reason. And it's just amazing...

... some days I'm so glad I'm not refined enough to be competitive.

Looks good Zero! Are those rungs the ones that came with the kit? I was surprised to see those when I started gouging my AmaZaku for GT parts.

Those rungs are the ones that came with the kit. Honestly, the rungs from the MG RX-78-2 (1.0) or RX-78-3 would've been more "ladder-like", but I was just using what was in front of me.

I did the same nonsense on my Ez8. I painted EVERYTHING in detail, especially the lower legs, never to be seen again. Ah well. It was a good learning experience.

The sad thing is that--apart from any other MG Zaku's I happen to do--I'll probably keep doing the internals, on the off-chance they might ever become visible. I think it's a weird obsession.

I like your colors as well. All gray isn't bad as long as it's broken up nicely and you did that. The little red touch on the antenna and the slightly different grays on the shoulder and shield. Great stuff.

Thanks--I appreciate the comments to the effect that it wasn't blanded out by that slate gray. I was hoping to avoid that. I was also trying to avoid making the scheme more-or-less identical to the Gouf Flight Type from "08th MS Team".

What'd you think of the hands? Aside from the flash, I think they're molded pretty nicely compared to some of the other MG hands.

I thought the fixed-pose hands were nice, and appropriately detailed. I may acutally end up swapping out the left hand I have on there with the splayed-finger one. I thought the assembly on the "gripping" hands was a little primitive, compared to later kits. It made them very prone to extra work with putty and sanding. I also managed to put a nice slice into the tip of my index finger with an Xacto knife while trimming flash, so I may be a little less fond of them for the "scars" I'll carry. But you can't beat blood-stains on an assembly guide.

I am sure this early MG kit has more than its fair share of difficulties too.

Yes--gaps, gaps, and oh yeah... some gaps. This'll make those other Amazon-specials and a certain RX-78-3 very interesting. But hey... the rest of the MG's can't be any more difficult.

I don't know many modelers, especially 'new' modelers, that paint the cockpit and pilot figures, but you did and you did it well.  Not to mention the added greebles on the shield and the shoulder ladder rungs (which is a look I am partial to).

Yeah... it's definitely not short on paint. I can't believe how much work I put into the lower leg internals... never to be seen again. I've always looked at the cockpits & figures as a challenge--trying to get them to look reasonably well from a viewing distance of four to six inches. As for the greebles on the shield... they were one of the first things I did on the entire project--been on there for the better part of two months now. Last night, after taking the pictures, one fell off. Can't find it anywhere. So I popped off the other one (for consistency) till I get to fixing it. I probably oughta tackle that forearm at the same time.

Great job, Zero.  Can't wait to see more from you.  It should be interesting to see your style develop now that you are more 'serious'.

Thanks! I plan on developing a style that will be a fusion of Warhol, Dali, and Ed Emberley (anyone remember "Ed Emberley's Big Purple Drawing Book"?). Even though time is short, I may try to get one more "practice" kit in before tackling that Fliege for GB1.

Oh and I love this pic http://photobucket.com/albums/a340/zerobxu/ZakuGreyGhost/?action=view&current=ghostinsun.jpg

Thanks! That's what going outside at 5:30 in the afternoon and propping the thing on an air conditioner got me. My digital camera takes great pictures in well-lit outdoor settings, but tends to not like taking pictures inside or in mid-to-low light conditions. I've got a number of other outdoor snapshots of the Grey Ghost, and if I'm lucky, I'll talk Phil into making a banner out of one.

I think it's very well done for your first serious model. Getting an airbrush will bring you up another notch but as it stands your hand painted model looks good. Maybe a little bit more drybrushing to highlight the details would be nice too

Thanks! I appreciate the compliment. Even though I've been doing these in varying degrees of "lazy" for years, I've paid close attention to the tips and techniques floating out there, and been in the slow process of implementing them. This was the first kit that put to use all of those--admittedly basic--techniques at the same time. As for the airbrush... it's only a matter of time. And you're right--drybrushing would've helped out a bit here.

The more I stare at these pictures, the more I realize how bad my camera lighting was. And I'm having serious thoughts about tearing that left forearm off, and re-working it a bit.

[EDIT:]

Okay... for as long as I've been around, I'd only taken the hobby semi-seriously. Never bothered puttying. I still don't have an airbrush (but I'm working on acquiring one from "the artist in the family"), and I take a few shortcuts here and there. But I'm "serious" about it now. Serious to the point where this took a little over a month, off-and-on, to get through this project.

So... I've completed my first "serious" model, and it's chock full o' flaws. There are still some serious seam issues ('specially on the forearms). I blame both myself, and the age of the MG kit (thanks, Amazon!). I think the panel lines are a bit too thick throughout, and the "weathering" is bordering on overdone. (EDIT: And the markings are very "plain jane") With all that in mind, I'm still going to throw it out there for comments and criticism.

As for the coloring scheme, I thought it had just kind-of popped into my head, but I was flipping through the March 2004 issue of "Hobby Japan" and I realized I drew heavily from the "Vernier Equip Type Zaku" that they featured. Oh well... go take a look at the Photobucket album, if you're so inclined.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a340/zerobxu/ZakuGreyGhost/

Okay... I've FINALLY figured out how to scan images in decently. Go ahead and go here:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a340/zerobxu/AoZ_scans/

... because this is where I'll be posting any AoZ items I scan in from magazines. And since this is an "unlimited" AoZ build, I might add some other items (like "Titans Civil War" and "The Machinery of Titans") as room allows. Please just save the images to your local drive--that way I don't have to worry about bandwidth, and you don't have to worry about these scans disappearing (because they will).

And special thanks to Phil for both providing the magazines, as well as tutoring me in Photoshop so that I could scan them in without them looking completely awful.

I was surprised to see the price drop again, too. I was going to snag you the links for the RX-79(G) and the EZ-8, so I went to look those up when I stumbled on the new prices.

I was also swayed by the lower prices... ended up ordering a GP01fb, in case I have a wild hair for some sort of AoZ Titans build. Also ordered the ol' "Kemper"... not sure what I'm going to do with that one yet.

For internals, you might want to consider just picking up an EZ8 or an RX-79[G] from Amazon. Both are pretty good on arm/leg internals. And speaking of which--it looks like they've dropped their prices again. Those two are down to $11.98, and the rest are marked down, as well.

You like lobsters? Then any Char scheme is for you.

Although I really don't like lobster, as a Mainer I feel obligated to point out that they're only red after they're boiled.  But the tourists don't know any better...

As an occasional visitor to Maine, nothing beats $5/pound live soft-shell lobsters, a pot of boiling water, and a bowl of melted butter.

Back to the paint-scheme topic. I try to draw inspiration from real-world military and industrial applications, other anime, hobby magazines, and "Gihren's Greed".

Sharp. Very sharp. Is there any way you can post a close-up of the cockpit or forward section of the plane? It looks like you put some real detail into that--as you did with the entire project.

Just to make sure the other end of the model-building spectrum is represented (you know... the half-arse armchair quarterback apporach), I'm throwing my hat in, too.  FF's work is a constant source of inspiration for improving my own meager skills, so I'm only too happy to make everyone else's entries look better by comparison with mine.

Assuming my just-purchased Fliege arrives from the eBay seller, I'm in!