\nmy forum members (GrinchWSLG<\/a>)
\nhad a long time ago on my first and now dead forum. His idea
\nwas for a mass-produced version of the Gp01 called the ‘GM
\nPatriot’. The name didn’t do anything for me, but the idea
\nwas pretty cool. I waited and waited for him to do it (because
\nI wanted to do one too, but not first since it was his idea),
\nbut he said he won’t for a long time and that it’s cool if
\nI wanted to go ahead since they’ll be different anyway.<\/p>\n
So first up I started on some research for a “Zephyranthes reginae is native to That sounded like a mass-produced flower if 12.26.2005 \u00c2\u00bb GM Stylings<\/p>\n Meanwhile I was deciding what I wanted to do I didn’t want to just remove detail from the It’s a huge list of things to do, but I’m very Below is a diagram I drew of what the backpack 12.30.2005 \u00c2\u00bb Progress beginnings<\/p>\n So far while waiting for Hazel 01.01.2006\u00c2\u00bb Backpack<\/p>\n Today I had all day with no family around to 01.03.2006\u00c2\u00bb More Backpack<\/p>\n I’m still plugging along on all the mods I’m *** The beveled panels on the side and back 01.05.2006\u00c2\u00bb More of everything I’ve been working on more than just the backpack, On the backpack I used my large file and beveled FInally are shots of the 3 sanded sturm boosters. 01.07.2006 \u00c2\u00bb Beam Cannon and First off, I’m just about done with the chest Also yesterday I pulled out the Ako beam rifle 06.17.2006 \u00c2\u00bb It’s BACK!<\/p>\n Been a while since I’ve worked on this. Not 06.18.2006 \u00c2\u00bb Paint and Bells<\/p>\n
\nnew name. Since the other GP series mecha are named after
\norchids, parts of a flower, or the gerbera daisy\/fish (neon
\ntetra?) I decided to take that route. The Gp01 was named the
\nZephyranthes after the orchid. I found that there were many
\nvarieties of Zephyranthes orchids so I researched the traits
\nof several of those varieties. Pretty easy considering they
\nwere all
\non one page<\/a>! \ud83d\ude09 I found the Zephyranthes Reginae which
\ngrows in Mexico.<\/p>\n
\nMexico. It has moderate sized light yellow flowers. Like
\nZ. citrina, it does not offset much, but a large
\ncolony of them can be built up quickly<\/strong> because
\nof the abundant, possibly apomictic, seed production.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\never there was one which was perfect for this project. I took
\nthe “ae” at the end and changed the character to
\n\u00c3\u00a6<\/strong> to combine it so that it was more
\nlike the AE logo of Aneheim Electronics Inc., the company
\nthat developed the mobile suits in the Gundam Project. The
\nwhole official project name was now: Gundam Project
\nMass-Produced Zephyranthes: Type Regin\u00c3\u00a6<\/strong>. The
\nMS code being GPM-01R<\/strong>. Since Grinch will
\neventually be doing one then his could potentially have a
\n‘P” designation for Patriot or maybe he’ll change the
\nname to another orchid.<\/p>\n
\nto make this a mass-produced Gp01. I have a left-over GM Quel
\nhead which is a contemporary MS so I decided to use that.
\nI’ll also be building the Gp01 head so that I can swap it.
\nI figure the Gp01 head could be an officers-use variety ala
\nMacross. Gun-wise I’ll be using the Ako Creations Mega Beam
\nRifle and the Beam Spray Gun from the GM Type C, another contemporary
\nMS weapon.<\/p>\n![\"Zephyranthes](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/02ColorSchemes\/large-ZReginae.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nGp01. In fact, I want to do excessive detailing for this project.
\nAnd make a nifty looking kit in the process. I got a lot of
\ninspiration from the other GP suits, the Aneheim Electronics
\nEx-MS from that book cover, and the Gerbera Tetra. Here’s
\na list of things I want to do:<\/p>\n\n
\n4 thrusters<\/li>\n
\nSkunk’s machined aluminum thruster bells<\/a> in the backpack<\/li>\n
\nreveal thruster details<\/li>\n
\nTetra which attaches to new backpack<\/li>\n
\ndetail and add new detailed thrusters<\/li>\n
\nflip up to reveal thruster details<\/li>\n
\nHazel [Stutzer]<\/li>\n
\nEx-S projects<\/li>\n
\nof fixed<\/li>\n
\nheads<\/li>\n
\non upper portion of Gp01 shield<\/li>\n
\nof calves<\/li>\n
\nto replace ugly front skirts<\/li>\n
\nskirt armor<\/li>\n
\nsteel balls and ring shaped rare earth magnets<\/li>\n
\nand fuel pods detatchable using rare earth magnets<\/li>\n
\ncrimping beads<\/li>\n
\nto the list!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nexcited about this project. I went with a red color with white
\nhighlights in tribute to the Gerbera Tetra, one of my favorite
\nmobile suits and part of the Aneheim Electronics Inc. Gundam
\nProject. Plus the red will look very slick with the internals
\nwhich will be done with my new favorite metallic internal
\npaint: Alclad II and the natural bare metal of the Mecha
\nSkunk thruster bells<\/a>. The finish of this project will
\nbe ‘factory fresh’ and clean.<\/p>\n
\nmight look like when done. I rarely keep consistent between
\nmy sketches and the final piece though so this is very likely
\nto have design changes:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/BackPackDiagram.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n[Stutzer]<\/a> stuff to dry I hollowed out the shoulders for
\nthe new thruster assemblies, started roughing up the sturm
\nboosters to fit the rear skirts, and cutting misc parts out
\nfrom the sprues. Each of the sturm tanks were so far made
\nfrom two 1\/4″ lengths of styrene tube and two 1\/4″
\nlengths of styrene H-column from Evergreen styrene. These
\nwere stacked and glued to form the rounded edged boxes. Then
\nI stuffed them full of old sprue and Magic Sculpt to fill
\nin the holes. I’ll need to fill in the outter edge gaps next
\nthen sand them smooth before detailing. Here’s some pics:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/shoulders-01.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/sturm-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nwork on this project so I got a lot done. I cleaned up a bunch
\nof parts, but mostly I worked on the backpack and center sturm
\nbooster. The backpack has a center portion which the sturm
\nwill mount to using rare earth magnets. On the sides of this
\ncenter are two boxes that house the main backpack thrusters.
\nI’ll probably be making these so that they are able to flip
\nupward to reveal the thruster details. The center sturm needed
\nto be bigger to look right so I used larger tubing with the
\nsame 1\/4″ H-column inbetween. I added layers of styrene
\nto fill up the center cavities. The boxes are made from pieces
\nof styrene using L-columns as supports. You can see the supports
\nglued into place for the outter back walls of the boxes. Everything
\nis sticky-tached on so excuse the lopsidedness of it. Here’s
\nsome pics:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/backpack-01.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/backpack-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\ndoing to this thing. Most of my focus at the moment has been
\non the backpack which is turning out rather well IMO. I added
\nthe back panels, did a lot of clean-up, added beveled panels
\nto the out-sides of the booster boxes***, and started adding
\nsome bevels to the surfaces. When I use a file to do a bevel,
\nI like to first color the edges with a red marker so that
\nas I’m filing down the corner, I can see a white edge appear.
\nThis line inbetween the red helps me keep consistant with
\nthe bevel edge widths and angles. VERY helpful! The marker
\nis faded from later smoothing of the surface with light sanding.
\nHere’s a pic:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/backpack-03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nof the center box are .020″ thick sheet styrene that
\nI cut and pre-beveled before glueing it to the out-facing
\nedges.<\/p>\n
\nso far…<\/p>\n
\nbut that’s been taking up the bulk of my efforts at the moment.
\nI’ve also been starting some of the other modifications that
\nI was planning. First off is the ankle gaurds. I like those
\nfor the Gp03 better since they don’t go all the way around
\nthe back. So I cut off the back portions of those for the
\nGp01 and filled them and the outside gaps with Magic Sculpt
\n(MS). I also started on the modified vents for the chest.
\nI filled in the lower portions with MS and sanded them flat.
\nThen I dusted it all with baby powder and added more MS inside
\nthe angled space left over. What that extra MS is for is to
\nflatten and bevel a new intake cover that will look more like
\nthat of my Hazel Stutzer. When dry, I’ll pop-out the MS blocks
\nand file to shape. More on that later.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/ankles-01.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/chest-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nthe corners and edges. This not only makes them look nicer
\nand more refined, but also more like a kit part rather than
\nsomething I made myself. On the center part you can see the
\n2 drilled out round flat verniers from Kotobukiya. I have
\nthe next size down that will fit inside those after painting
\nand inside that will be a ring magnet. The ring magnets will
\nbe used to attach the sturm booster. On the outside edges
\nof the center part and the inside walls of the side boxes
\nI drilled tiny 1\/16″ holes that line up. Each hole will
\ncontain a 1\/16″ W x 1\/32″ H rare earth magnet. The
\n4 magnets\/box will hold them to the center part and allow
\nfor them to be removed easily for displaying the aluminum
\nthrusters. Also shown is the beam saber mount from my extra
\nGM Type C backpack.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/backpack-04.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/backpack-05.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nYou can see where I rounded the outermost edge. On the flat
\ninside edges I drilled holes for 1\/8″ W ring magnets
\nto use for attaching them to the mounts I made on the rear
\nskirts. Those can be seen in the second pic. A 1\/16″
\naluminum tube will help to hold the ring magnets together
\nvia the 1\/16″ hole in their center. Four magnest will
\nbe used to hold each tank onto the MS. I’ll aslo be pinning
\nthe 2 rear skirts together on the insides of the balls so
\nthat the remain parrallel. A pin will be used on the rear
\ncenter to keep them from sagging.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/sturm-02.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/sturm-03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nChest<\/p>\n
\nvent mods. After filling the existing vent holds with Magic
\nSculpt (MS) I let them dry. Since I dusted the vents with
\nbaby powder first, the new parts popped right out when dry.
\nI then took my large file and began shaping the parts. After
\nI got the parts flat and beveled I used my scriber saw and
\nmade the seam across the front. Here’s a pic:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/chest-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nthat I had snapped together months ago and was planning on
\nusing for my Hazel Stutzer. Since I modded another beam gun
\nfor that I decided to use it for this. While looking for styrene
\ntubing the same size as the barrel so that I could avoid some
\nsanding I came across the barrel for my large cannon I was
\nmaking for my on-hold Sazabi. I had already added rifling
\nto the inside of the barrel and it was the perfect size. Suddenly
\nI decided to use that barrel, but much shorter. Then I removed
\nthe ribbed midsection of the gun and found that the short
\ncannon looked good there without it. Then one idea led to
\nanother and I decided to make something similar to this ore-gun<\/a>.
\nSo I added more barrel on the back of the gun, removed the
\nhandle and added a large drum in it’s place, and started modifying
\nthe handle to be mounted on the side. I like that side mount
\nfor large weapons as it makes them easier to hold for the
\nMG kits. Anyway, here’s a pic of the progress on the “Beam
\nCannon” so far. I still need to add an obligatory grab
\nhandle and possibly some tubing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/beamcannon-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nbecause I didn’t want to, but because I was waiting on some
\nparts. MechaSkunk’s machined Aluminum Bells are just about
\nready for sale so it’s time to finish this up. The painting
\nis all done and the kit is ready for decals. I’ll take pics
\nof those when I get to it. I just finished the base and thought
\nI’d share. Keenix found some great plastic box picture frames
\nat Michael’s that work great for bases. Ar $1.99 each I picked
\nup a few for future kits. I designed the base in Flash based
\non my decals and printed it out on photopaper. I mounted the
\npaper to a thin sheet of styrene for sturdiness and set it
\ninto the frame held in with rare earth magnets. I think it
\nlooks great. Later I’ll drill a hole for the clear rod which
\nwill hold up the GPM. Pics:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/base-01.jpg\")
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/base-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/bells-01.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/bells-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-02.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-03.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-04.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-05.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-06.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-07.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-08.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-09.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fichtenfoo.com\/images\/prog-ZephyranthesReginae\/paint-10.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\n