{"id":1673,"date":"2005-09-17T17:09:59","date_gmt":"2005-09-18T01:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1673"},"modified":"2009-02-11T17:12:30","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T01:12:30","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-gerbera-tetra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-gerbera-tetra\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb Gerbera Tetra"},"content":{"rendered":"

08.30.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Concepts
\nand Initial Build Info<\/p>\n

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Well… with the news that Bandai will be focusing on Zeta and Seed
\nkits for the next two years at least, it’s starting to look
\nas if we’ll never see a Gerbera Tetra Master Grade. I could
\nsit around and bitch about it on every freaking message board,
\nbut instead I decided to take my skills to the next level
\nand convert a $10 Gp01 MG from Amazon’s sale to the Gerbera
\nTetra (hereby referred to as ‘GT’). This won’t be an exact
\nGT by any means but my ‘interpretation’ of the GT. I really
\nlike elements of both the original GT and the GT Plus so I’ll
\nbe combining those favorite elements into my build. The result
\nshould be a GT Hybrid of sorts.<\/p>\n

I’m taking my inspiration and reference
\nfrom many GT builds I’ve seen. There was a recent
\nbuild of a GT using an MG Gp01 which I saw in
\na contest gallery which was awesome and really
\nmade me wanna persue this project. I’m also using
\nimages of both G-Sys GT versions, The 1\/144 Bandai
\nrelease, The B-Club 1\/100 full resin kit, and
\nanything else I gan get my grubby hands on.<\/p>\n

I’ll be using misc. leftover bits
\nfrom previous projects, the Gp01 internals and
\nmisc. parts, Wave and Kotobukiya option parts,
\nMagic Sculpt, and styrene shapes, rods, tubes,
\nand sheets to complete this project. I’ll probably
\ncast the duplicate parts such as legs, arms, etc…
\nto save work and to make sure those parts are
\nsymetrical. Most of my plans are in my head and
\nare being thought-up on the fly. I know what I
\nwant it to look like in general, the rest is done
\neither out of necessity or on a whim.<\/p>\n

So far I’ve built the lower half
\ninternals of the Gp01 (legs, feet, and crotch)
\nand have begun modifying the Gp01 armor that fits
\nonto those internals to be more like that of the
\nGT. I have the lower shin at approx 80% complete,
\nthe crotch at 50%, the calf at 10%, and the torso
\nat 30% completion.<\/p>\n

The first image shows how I started.
\nI’m trying to keep the articulation in the ankle
\nso I flared out the shin armor a bit. I first
\nmade a rough shape from sheet styrene then applied
\nMagic Sculpt (MS) to blend the shape together.
\nThe crotch is the original G-01 crotch which has
\nbeen bulked out with sheet styrene and magic sculpt.
\nThe torso is the bottom half of a leftover MG
\nGM Type C leg internals covered with the upper
\nportion of the lower leg armor of a MG Zaku held
\ntogether with MS. I used the leg part since it
\nhad the same size ball joint as the polycap in
\nthe crotch.<\/p>\n

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In the second and third images,
\nyou can see the progress thus far. The crotch
\njust needs the side buldges sanded and rounded,
\nthen panel lines and added details applied. The
\ntorso still has a way to go as I bulk it up. I’ll
\nbe making the top part of the body separate from
\nthe torso so that I can have some added mobility.
\nThat’s the plan anyway.The hatch is actually the
\nfoot from an old destroyed 1\/144 V-Dash Gundam
\nwhich was my second Gundam kit I ever built (snapped
\nand stickered it) back in 1994.<\/p>\n

09.01.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Chest
\nStarted…<\/p>\n

I got the torso and crotch nearly
\ncomplete minus some detailing and clean-up. Now
\nthat that is done, I’ve started on the chest.
\nI find myself working upwards and outwards. Just
\nto be sure the parts fit one another and look
\nright size-wise. The chest is very early but I
\ngot some Magic Sculpt glopped on roughly for general
\nshape. When that cures I’ll add more to make the
\nshape more defined. I added the underside vents
\nas well since I’ll need to form the shape around
\nthem. I also started on the head (not pictured)
\ntonight. Since I’ll only be using the skeleton
\nof my PG WZC I’m free to use the armor for whatever.
\nSo I’m using one of the shoulder pieces for the
\nrough shape. I’ll be grinding, filling and adding
\nto it, but it gives me a nice solid base to start
\nwith. I need to build the head before the upper
\nchest so that I know where to add the neck and
\nsuch. Here’s a pic of the build so far:<\/p>\n

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09.03.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Upper
\nChest and Head<\/p>\n

Since I need some parts done before
\nI can make others I started on the upper chest
\nand the head. I need these done so I can finish
\nthe lower torso and lower chest and make sure
\neverything fits properly. Anyway for the upper
\nchest I made 2 walls which also function as templates
\nfor where to apply the Magic Sculpt. I molded
\non the MS and pressed the vents in lightly to
\nposition them When it and the lower chest were
\ndry, I used my electric sander (a 4″ vibrating
\nsquare) to smooth out the MS and shape it. It’s
\nnot a percision tool, but it saves time for rough
\nsanding work like this. Next for the chest I’ll
\nneed to apply more SM to the sunken in areas to
\nbuild them up so it’s one smooth piece.<\/p>\n

For the head I used a shoulder armor
\npart from the PG WZC. I made the top of the head
\nout of MS and again used my sander to smooth out
\nthe shape. I need to add more MS tofill in some
\nrescesses then it should be near done. The back\/lower
\npart of the head still needs more MS applied and
\nthe form of the armor around the face built up.
\nI’ll add that after the MS that’s on it now cures.
\nOnce that’s ready I need to carve out the bottom
\nof the head and start detailing it with MG Zaku
\nhead internals. Here’s some pics:<\/p>\n

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09.17.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Progress
\nSo Far…<\/p>\n

It’s been a while since I posted
\nany progress on this build. It’s progressing,
\njust not in ways that are very photogenic. Everything
\nis still in the rough and undetailed stages. Most
\nof my time is spent waiting for Magic Sculpt to
\ndry on one piece while I either work on or plan
\nanother. The body got to where I needed to prime
\nit to start doing clean-up and adding detail.
\nThe legs are mostly on hold while I wait on some
\noption parts to arrive. The fore-arm is almost
\nto the primer-stage and is looking pretty good
\nif I do say so myself. \ud83d\ude09 The head needs some
\noption parts and primer. The shoulder armor is
\nroughed out and needs some more work before primer.
\nThe back is getting there. I have the aileron
\nand booster on a ball-joint that is attached under
\nthe back to allow it to move. I’m waiting on option
\nparts to finish the large booster. And that’s
\nabout it. Here’s a pic:<\/p>\n

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