Author Topic: Old school 1/144 Jamru-Fin (Read 2879 times)

Bawoo · March 24, 2009, 09:33:25 PM

Yeah baby, 1986 Bandai goodness! Man, I really get off on those old Z and ZZ kits...

Anyway, I'm starting work on the old 1/144 Jamru-Fin kit. I've always loved this evil little bug, so wierd looking (and incidentally they kick much ass in the sucky ZZ Gundam show). I really like the 1/100 version in the Gundam Weapons ZZ book, and since I've officially decided 1/144 is ok, a world of modifiable kits is now open to me! So I started hacking...then hacked some more, and as usual I'll probably end up rebuilding half of this guy to make it presentable. So far I've started replacing the fin/fuel tank housings on the side, opened up the MA monoeye slots, and have a general plan for detailing it up like crazy. Here are a few pics, not a whole lot done so far. The new wing/fin/white thing is vacuformed over a reshaped easter egg piece (since the egg plastic is not really workable), and thickened with some bondo.

Comparison with the unacceptable kit piece

Temporary fit with the main body parts (I hollowed out the main wing, with details to be replaced from scratch)

Maybe finishing this will inspire me to get back to work on Gaz-R/L, since the 3 of them had a role in a rediculous song I wrote when I was 13.

Major Blah · March 25, 2009, 08:07:54 PM

Haha, back at the old-school kits again eh? That's your "true calling"

I think the molding technology back in the days must be insufficient for some of the funky/cool baddie designs during the Z/ZZ era (or Bandai simply cut too many corners). What comes out of those horrible kits are so far away from what they looked like on the show (or on mooks), I was really disappointed...

Of all people I know you have the passion and skills to redeem these designs in plastic form. Is the MEGA-BOOSTER featured in the said article going to be part of this build??

Bawoo · March 26, 2009, 01:43:07 PM

Yeah, it's always the old kits that make me happy. :) And ultimately I think it's easier to get more unique result, since there's so little obvious work to be done on the newer stuff. Besides, there's less engineering to chopping stuff up, as you don't have to deal with all the inner frame bs.

Anyway, don't tempt me with the booster! I've considered it, but I don't think I'll go that far this time...the design isn't appealing enough to me to dedicate that much time to...

I did get a bunch more work done on this last night, I'll try to post up some more pics soon.

fulcy · March 26, 2009, 02:56:24 PM

Come on Pete - you know you want to make that booster! Do it!

Bawoo · March 26, 2009, 03:44:47 PM

Hey, quit it.

Bawoo · April 12, 2009, 01:46:04 PM

A little more progress on the ZZ mosquito:

The left "wing" section is nearly finished, minus some detailing. The other side should go much more quickly now that I know what I'm building. Some plastic sheet, bondo...the usual. :)

"Bondo squish" technique with the detail built in negative to achieve the cutout for the engine.

Here's the scratchbuilt housing for the fuel tank that goes underneath the wing:

Wing section compared with the unmodified part:

I also did most of the reworking on the left leg. Chopped it all up for a more modular appearance, and so it comes apart for easier painting. I built an inner frame for the armor parts to attach to, added a ball joint for the ankle, and lots of greebly detail.