{"id":1787,"date":"2005-03-01T07:15:10","date_gmt":"2005-03-01T15:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/?p=1787"},"modified":"2009-02-12T07:16:11","modified_gmt":"2009-02-12T15:16:11","slug":"in-progress-%c2%bb-wing-gundam-version-ka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fichtenfoo.net\/blog\/in-progress-%c2%bb-wing-gundam-version-ka\/","title":{"rendered":"In Progress \u00c2\u00bb Wing Gundam Version Ka."},"content":{"rendered":"

01.15.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Concepts<\/p>\n

I bought this kit in March 2004 at the Pittsburgh
\nComicon along with an MG Strike and VF-0s. Almost a year later,
\nI’m finally getting to it. After doing the MG
\nEx-S<\/a>, Malevolent Creature<\/a>, and
\nVorflugkontrolle<\/a>, I need a small, quick
\nbuild. Plus, I’m in the middle of painting my Vorflugkontrolle figures
\nso this gives me something to do while waiting for the oil paint
\nto dry.<\/p>\n

Since I got the kit, I’ve been toying with various
\nideas for color schemes. Nothing was really fitting this kit however.
\nI’ve also gone through 3 prior revisions of an anime-style girl
\nI illustrated in Flash to use on the shield. Then a week ago, I
\nwas working on it again since I was planning on starting it soon
\nand I hit a total mental roadblock. I had a scheme I liked based
\non a WW2
\nGerman aircraft scheme<\/a>, but again, it wasn’t doing anything
\nfor me.<\/p>\n

So I was sitting at my desk, knowing that if I thought
\ntoo hard about it, nothing would get done. I picked up my VF-0s
\nto mess with some designs for that, and then my VF-1s Battroid toy
\nand suddenly an idea came to me. I opened up my Wing line art and
\ndid a scheme based off Roy Fockers Skull Squadron valkyrie.<\/p>\n

I didn’t want to be too literal with it, so I used
\njust the colors for the most part. Greens for the eyes and snesors,
\ncharcoal gray instead of black, a gold stripe on the chest, and
\na Jolly Roger on the cockpit. Finally, I had a scheme that I would
\nbe happy using on this kit.<\/p>\n

The kit will be done OOB (out of box) with the custom
\nscheme and decals. I want to see how long it will take to finish
\nafter doing those last 3 HUGE projects.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I went right to work on the decals using one that
\ncame with the MG Wing Zero as a reference for inspiration. The decals
\nthat came with the Ka are great, but not what I wanted. I also went
\nand recreated all of the fantastic warning decals so that I can
\nhave waterslide versions instead of the craptacular stickers that
\nBandai supplies. I used info at MAHQ and the original decals as
\nreverence for what to write. 4.7.195<\/em> is the date Operation
\nMeteor<\/em> bagan in Gundam Wing so I used that in the scheme. I
\nalso used Lagrange Point One<\/em> and Colonies Liberation
\nOrganization<\/em> in the theme.<\/p>\n

The pirate girl for the shield began as a purple-haired
\ngirl in a dress I created for one of my older thoughts for a Wing
\nGundam scheme. I later changed her to fit the German scheme by changing
\nthe clothing, left arm, head and hair. To make her fit the new “Skull-Leader”
\nscheme, I added a pirate-esque bandana, and a flipped-up eye-patch.
\nSince I created the original girl in Flash, I kept the bare body,
\nclothing, hair, etc. on separate layers. To create the pirate girl,
\nI merely removed all the clothing layers and added a bandana-matching
\nbikini, changed the face and hair style. I’ll use the others for
\nfuture projects.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The above image shows the transition between my original
\nsketch and the various modifications to eventually create the pirate
\n“nose-art” girl. Using layers in Flash (or illustrator)
\nlets you play with different looks without having to use multiple
\nfiles.<\/p>\n

The base will be a pirate cove or a small island.
\nMaybe a skull island! Yeah, that’s the ticket!<\/p>\n

01.22.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Building, Go!<\/p>\n

Since I’m waiting for oil paint on my Fliege Figures
\nto dry, and we’re in the middle of a snow-storm, and there’s nothing
\nmuch else to do, I started on the construction of the Wing Ka today.
\nSo far I’ve cut out the torso, head, arms, and wings. I’ve sanded
\neverything I could and everything that needed glue for seams is
\ndrying. Those parts will be sanded later.<\/p>\n

01.23.2005 \u00c2\u00bb More!<\/p>\n

Today I cut out and sanded the rest of the pieces.
\nI still need to sand all the glued seams, then check to see if they
\nneed putty. Here’s a shot of the pile-o-parts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

01.24.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Sanding is not fun<\/p>\n

Today I sanded all of the parts that I glued to remove
\nseams. Afterwards, on those that needed it, I either applied Tamiya
\nbasic putty or ran Mr. Surfacer 500 (in a jar) along the seam to
\nfill the hairlines and accidental gouges. I also skewered all of
\nthe parts except those that have putty drying.<\/p>\n

01.25.2005 \u00c2\u00bb By The Power of Grayskull!<\/p>\n

Today I finished sanding all of the parts I applied
\nputty or Mr. Surfacer to yesterday. I skewered those parts and painted
\nthe yellow pieces since they’re first in my list for masking ease.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

I also started on the base. I did a search on Yahoo
\nImages for “cove” and one of the first
\npics to pop-up<\/a> was exactly what I wanted. I’m using a small
\noval base that I finished this summer (along with 10 others just
\nso I have them when I need them) I put 3 wood screws into the top
\nto act as supports for the celluclay shrinkage. I then applied the
\ncelluclay around the back edge. I dug the mouth hole out with a
\nclay tool and proceded to do all of the rock shaping with my clay
\ntools.<\/p>\n

After this dries completely, I’ll prime and paint
\nit. I’ll add the rubble at the base before priming. I’ll be using
\nfine ballast gravel used for railroad sets. I have a lot more of
\nthe tree sets that I used on my GunTank, so I’ll add those to the
\ntop of the cliff. For the water, I’ll be using acrylic gel medium.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Later on I got a chance to paint the internals. I
\nmixed a warm gray color very similar to the stock internals ABS
\nplastic color. I readdy liked that color as it’s not the normal
\ngray. I used Tamiya Neutral Gray, Black, and A left-over custom
\norange-brown mix to achieve the color.<\/p>\n

01.26.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Masking Begins<\/p>\n

Today I masked off the gold ammo cartridge parts and
\nthe chest piece and painted all of the charcoal parts. The color
\nwas mixed using 50\/50 Tamiya Black and Neutral Gray. I also gave
\nthe elbows a shot of future to protect them while working on the
\nforearm seams. Later I painted the Medium Gray parts (claws, shoulder
\nstripe) and the lightest gray.<\/p>\n

01.27.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Farther than I thought…<\/p>\n

I’m much farther along with this kit than I thought
\nI’d be. I’ve gotten all of the colors painted. I even got the internals,
\ncharcoal, gold, and medium gray parts sprayed with their first coat
\nof Future. Just need to do a little touch-ups here and there, then
\nclear-coat the rest and ink those panel lines.<\/p>\n

01.28.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Almost there…<\/p>\n

All of the painting is done! All of the parts have
\n1 coat of Future! Half the parts are inked! Other than that, today
\nI made my lenses and decided to document the process for a tutorial.
\nClick here for the tutorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I also worked on the base a bit… I painted it black,
\nbut then realized that I forgot to add the talus. So after it dries,
\nI’ll have to reprime. Oh well.<\/p>\n

01.29.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Ready for decals!<\/p>\n

Today I finished up with inking the panel lines and
\njust got done giving the parts a pre-decal coat of Future. That’ll
\nseal in the ink and give the decals some extra gloss to set on.<\/p>\n

I also did some more work on the base. Earlier I reprimed
\nthe base and tonight I airbrushed on the colors for the water. First
\nI airbrushed on a light blue green for the shallows. Then I blended
\nin a medium blue to give it more depth. Then in the deepest parts,
\nI sprayed on a mixture of blue and black. Finally I brushed on a
\ncoat of Future to seal in the paint for when I start drybrushing
\nthe rock.<\/p>\n

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\n\"\"<\/p>\n

01.31.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Making Waves<\/p>\n

Yesterday I drybrushed all of the rocks with cheap-o
\nacryllics. Today I went to Michaels and got a jar of Liquitex Gel
\nMedium to use for the water. It dries transparent and goes on thick.
\nThe jar was about $10, but I paid about $6 with a 40% off coupon.
\nI love those!<\/p>\n

Basically I just dabbed it on with a stiff brush and
\npushed\/glopped it on with a flat brush for the waves. This pic shows
\nhow it goes on white, but all of that will be clear when it dries.
\nI’ll have to drybrush on some white afterwards to get the frothy
\neffect back.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

02.01.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Surf’s Up<\/p>\n

Okay, the Transparent Acrylic Gel Mudium water is
\nall dry and as you can see in the first pic, it’s dried clear. All
\nthat white from before is gone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So to get the white caps back, I mixed some Liquitex
\nwhite acrylic and more gel medium together (about 50\/50) and drybrushed
\nit carefully onto the waves and peaks. It’s not as white and stormy
\nlooking as in the first pic, but that’s not the look I wanted anyway.
\nIt now has a calm, paradise feel to it. Well… except for the ominous
\nskull lurking overhead. I may go and give it a sectond drybrush
\nto bring it out a bit more. It looks better in person though as
\nopposed to the pics.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And a close-up…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I might add a coat of Future over the water to gloss
\nit up a bit more and for protection. After that, I’ll remove the
\ntape.<\/p>\n

03.01.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Decaled and Done!<\/p>\n

So I got my decals on Saturday from Models4U who did
\na fantastic job as usual. Seriously… this guy is the best. Anyway,
\nI went to work imediately applying them. In keeping track of my
\ntime spent on each task, I found it funny that I spent more time
\ndecaling than painting.<\/p>\n

The grand total… 61.25 Hours! <\/strong>Not
\nsure whether to feel happy, sad, or patheticly geeky.<\/p>\n

Anyway, it’s all done so expect some final images
\nsoon.<\/p>\n

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\n\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Project Time Sheet:<\/p>\n

Out of curiosity, I want to know just how much time
\nI’ll spend on this project. This part will remain at the bottom
\nof my in-prog page. So for the concepts, I spent about 15 hours
\ntotal. That includes doing the color scheme, designing and drawing
\nthe girl in Flash, creating the decals and getting them ready for
\nprint. The ‘Building’ time will be how long I spend on cutting,
\nsanding, and modifying. Painting will be just that. And so on…<\/p>\n

Estimated Concepts: 16 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Building: 14.75 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Skewering: 1.75<\/p>\n

Total Painting: 4.5 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Masking: 1.75 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Clear Coating: 3.75 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Panel Lines: 4.25 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Decaling: 7.5 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Construction: 2.5 Hours<\/p>\n

Total Base: 4.5 Hours<\/p>\n

Grand Total 61.25 Hours<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n