1/144 FAZZ

[Bawoo]

Hey guys, long time no see.  I decided I should spend some more time talking with my fellow model geeks, so  to that end here's my 1/144 FAZZ from the late 80's Sentinel model series.  I drooled over this one back when it came out and I was about 13, and spent the last 2 years on and off making heavy modifications to the kit.  I wanted to build it in the style of the 1/100 version from the Gundam Wars Sentinel book.  I also went out of my way to make the little details accurate to the lineart, if you compare with this kit almost all of the greeblies from Katoki's old drawings are there.  It's about 30% scratchbuilt, including:

-Forearms/hands
-Shoulder armor
-Head
-Power cable for the big gun
-Backpack
-Thrusters (milled from ballpoint pen tips)
-Some other stuff I can't think of

The armor is all removable thanks to magnets and a few parts swaps, but I didn't take any pictures of it "naked" yet.  A big improvement on the original kit I think!  Anyhoo, enjoy the pics. :)











Here are some detail pics:
Chest missiles
BFG greebles
Dual beam gun
Scratchbuilt fist
Head detail
More BFG greebles
Even more greebles
Verniers from pens
Even MORE greebles!
Backpack

[FichtenFoo]

Holy crap... Pete's modeling again! Welcome back man. Very nice looking FAZZ. All the little details are great. Looking forward to the naked pics and how you attached everything.

[Marc]

Hard to believe it's not the MG, great job, and nice to see you back!

[sidorb]

nice and clean sir! the shades are good!

[michael tan]

Looking at how the stock kit fared, that is an awesome work you have there, Bawoo. Top notch execution and detailing!! It's been quite a while since I've seen your finished kits dating back to the CoM days :) Glad to see you back 

[Funaka]

Man, it's really good to see you back, Pete! Your work (and especially your decals) have been a big influence on me. In fact, when I saw the pics of the FAZZ I didn't really notice the builder's name, but I immediately noticed the decals, and thought, "Wow, that guy has some of the old Models4U decals!" The I read Foo's comment and realized you are the Models4U decals guy. I whined a lot on the forums when your store closed. Just when I really started to get serious about model building and get an airbrush, your stuff disappeared. I even have a friend who is really gettign into Gunpla and tracked down one of your Hazel conversions and bought it second hand.

Your decals inspired me to start making my own, because the designs available from SamuelDecal just weren't as good as yours. It's good to see you back, and I have to geek out a bit for a second and share some pics of my early works with you. You might recognize a few of your decals on them:

http://gamerabaenre.com/funaka/images/FAZZ_FLCLose2.JPG
http://gamerabaenre.com/funaka/images/GP01FB.jpg
http://gamerabaenre.com/funaka/images/G3_Shield.JPG
http://gamerabaenre.com/funaka/?page_id=90

And here's my most recently completed kit with my own decal designs which really shows your influence on my model building:

http://gamerabaenre.com/funaka/?page_id=63

Oh yeah, great work on the FAZZ! I was gonna say it looks really amazing for the small scale, but heck, it looks amazing for any scale. I hope you keep building! 

[Bawoo]

Thanks folks, it's good to be back. :)  I have a few other kits I've done in the last couple years, still need to take some pics.  I've been doing some resin figures lately too, which are relaxing compared to doing stuff like this!  Working on the old 1/144 Jamru-Fin right now...

Thanks for posting those pictures Funaka, it's always fun to see my decals!  Alas I just don't have time to make them anymore, aside from for my own kits. :)  I was kind of pissed at Samuel decal when they first started, they used some of my designs, but I guess it's flattering, and since I don't make them anymore, no huge deal.  Anyway, glad I could inspire  you.  Nice work on those kits, the Sazabi is particularly good!  Who printed the decals?  I still get emails from time to time asking about custom work, it would be nice to be able to send people to someone who could help.

Naked pics coming soon...(wait, that didn't sound right...)

[Major Blah]

Hey it's been a long long time Peter, I'm very happy to see you back and your excellent work as always.  I still take your Hazel kit out to admire once in a while, but being me, I just look at it and put it back...

[Bawoo]

Hehehe...you should really build it sometime (I should talk, I probably have 100 kits waiting for me).  The only Hazel conversion I've seen that anyone finished was Gamera's...

[AkoHobby]

Welcome back :). Nice work, man. Hope we can see your work more often here :)

[Bawoo]

If anyone's interested in comparing, I found some pics of the kit in it's natural state...not very pretty I'm afraid!
http://www.mamafafa.com/bbs/view.php?id=series_gd01&no=78&PHPSESSID=6fe2cfdfc027279fee709f5ecc424642

[Funaka]

I have Samuel Decal print my designs. They come out pretty good, although he does silver instead of gray, and color gradients come out spotty, so I avoid them. Also, you have to clearcoat the decals yourself or risk them falling to pieces... If I stick to black and white and solid colors I do OK.

I know what you mean about not having time. I've been hit up a couple times for those Sazabi decals, but I don't want to start a service because I don't have the time (or the printer...)

[Bawoo]

Hmm, I guess I can't refer people to Samuel...I looked at his site last night and found more "borrowed" decal designs, so I'm still mad at him. 

[WhiteBase]

Holy cow! That's a pretty amazing job you did with the FAZZ. I have this exact 1/144kit, so I know how much work you've put in to make it look this good. Simply amazing!

[donc0023]

wow! great work sir...utmost respect for the SB work and detailing of a very small scale!

[bayu]

My God, those stock kit pics link are sure not a pleasant view to see. And by looking @ Ur finished FAZZ, I know there's a ton of man hour invested in it. I admire Ur determination, Sir. 

[philipks]

nice work, I thought it was an MG when i first saw it. Way to go!

[NickM]

This is my favorite kit in 2009 so far! Amazing work!

[Bawoo]

Cool, thanks. :)