SD RX-121-2 Gundam TR-1 [Hazel II] [p02]

After so long, I finally had the chance to once more work on this SD Hazel.

I initially planned to mod this to an Advanced Hazel because I loved the visor but had been hesitating about the shield boosters. At the same time, I was working on my Zaku Kai for the AoZ GB over at HF.

I realised my plan to add Zimmerits on the Zaku may not be ideal so I switched to the SD Hazel. With even less time to work on the Advanced Hazel mods, I decided to mod it instead into a Hazel II. Besides, the tri-booster looked great anyway! :)

So without further ado, here are some WIP pics. Please excuse the quality though as I'm only using my phone's camera; at least until I can get my digicam fixed.




Front




Back




The tri-booster and the shield.



That's it for now! I just hope I can still make the GB... *sigh*


Happy Holidays y'all!

ANTS versus Zombies

Nope, no Zaku or GunPla posts this time. I've been away from GunPla for so long I'm losing my creativity. i can blame it on work, I suppose. *snicker! Then again, I got bills to pay. Sigh.

I found this article after checking my webmail: 'Zombie ant parasite' uncovered. And so, like some mindless drone, I started reading away. I remember thinking, this is "probably the inspiration for the zombie games and movies."


True enough, the header read:

Ants were being turned into zombies by a mind-control fungus 48 million years ago, scientists have learned.

Turns out the article that was posted "10hrs 57min ago" has been around for quite some time now. Good thing, because it means there are many a reference available, like this article here.


The parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (aka Cordyceps unilateralis), once inside it's host [ant], develops by consuming non-vital soft-tissue. As soon as it is ready to spore, it takes control of the host's motor systems and has the ant "take root" in an optimum position. From there, it kills the ants and , using the dead ant as an anchor, sprouts so the wind can spread the spores. All this happens in 4 to 10 days.

Repositioning the dead ant is detrimental to the fungus. The ants have also developed a way to protect itself and the colony: they exile any infected member.







Here's another reference. This one has got good photos too.

Photos are copyrighted to their respective owners and sites. All rights reserved.

Plants versus Zombies™, all related photos and materials © 2000-2010 PopCap Games, Inc. All names are trademarks or registered trademarks of PopCap Games or their respective owners. All rights reserved.

RESULTS: Zakuhin Mo Mukha Mo (MP's 1st 2010 In-House Contest)

And the winners are:



(Sorry but I'm just too lazy to create an HTML table today... hehehe)



And here's the winning piece:










The body used an MG Zaku II F2 as a base. I stand corrected: it's an HGUC Zaku II conversion with F2 arms. The rest were scratchbuilt. GREAT JOB, YVANOMECH!

More info about the Dra-C can be found in MAHQ.net.

MS-21C Dra-C courtesy of yvanomech of Mechapinoy. Photos courtesy of V2 of Mechapinoy.

All copyright for photographs used belong to the owners. Mechapinoy has no right over any photos except for the purposes of this blog. Any use of the images for MP material outside of the blog is with permission of owner. However, submitted photos for MP use belongs to MP, Incorporated. Explicit permission must be granted by the MP administration for use of the photo if such is the case.

MP’s 2nd Inhouse Contest for 2010: “The Bitch is Back: Mecha Femmes”

The improved sequel to the old “Female Mecha” inhouse contest way back 2005.

Contest rules and guidelines below courtesy of Samukako Nasuka:
****************************************

I. Contest Objective: To build the best Mecha regularly used by female pilots in all the Gundam series!

II. Rules and Regulations:

1. Bandai kits of ALL SCALES AND SERIES (Ungraded, SD, FG, HG, HGUC, MG, PG, JG) of Gunplamo.

2. Modifications are allowed (e.g. joints, lighting, limb extensions, detail-up parts).

3. ORIGINAL COLORS ONLY. Colors should depict the mecha regularly used by female pilots, in its proper scheme. (note: within the color range/chroma, e.g. “light blue”, “pastel blue”, “vivid blue”) and not totally different. (green was substituted for blue, yellow for white, etc.). AGAIN: ANIME COLOR SCHEME RANGE.

4. Diorama entries not allowed. However, stands/flight stands WITHOUT details are allowed, but not necessary.

5. One-person is allowed to enter a maximum of three (3) entries.

6. Minimum of ten (10) entries to open the contest.

7. Kits that were entered in other/previous contests are not allowed.

III. CRITERIA FOR JUDGING:

1. Assembly Skills (absence of mold lines, flash, inappropriate gaps, proper parts alignment, completeness, absence of excess adhesive marks, proper modifications, parts detail-up) — 30%

2. Painting (ORIGINAL COLOR SCHEME, smooth paint texture, unless for obvious reasons, absence of overspray, brush streaks, complete paint coverage, color line separation from masking/brushing/spraying, overall color combination) – - 20%

3. Detailing (includes parts and paint detailing like shading and paneling, weathering, functional parts, proper decal/marking positioning and usage) – - 30%

4. Presentation (all entries are not required to have their kits paneled and/or shaded as long as the overall presentation is impressive, then a high score is given. At first glance, is the model impressive? Even to the audience? Impact varies from distance. The model may look good from a distance but turns out ugly at close-up) – - 20%

ENTRIES MUST BE PRE-QUALIFIED BY SENDING PHOTOS TO honeybabylove_09@lycos.com AT LEAST ONE WEEK BEFORE THE EVENT PROPER. PHOTOS MUST DEPICT FINISHED MODEL IN DIFFERENT POSES/VIEWS, 640 X 480 SIZE.

IV. PRIZES:

To Be Announced

V. DATE OF EVENT AND VENUE:

To Be Announced, around August to September 2010

Please visit Mechapinoy Forum for more information.

MS-06FZ Zaku Kai [p03]

I've been away from my workdesk for the last two months on business (unfortunately.) Like they say, no rest for the wicked.

Anyway, I've been trying to catch up on the hours missed and here's what I have so far:


I've beefed up the right shoulder to complement the shield and scratched a new left shoulder guard. 



Here's a then (right) and now (left) comparison on the shoulder guard. I think I can still look better...




Here's what I've got planned so far:

1. I may have to either completely remove the spikes from the left shoulder guard, or just add stubs to look like sawed-off spikes.
2. Beef-up the right left shoulder itself.
3. Think of details that can fill the space between the left shoulder guard and left shoulder.

"Me am back!"

"Me am back!"

Bizarro's line always comes to mind when I get home from a very long trip. And the trip to Cebu was quite a long trip. More business than pleasure, I assure you. Still, I was able to meet many a great person! Here are snapshots of what they showed me...

...big-assed jeepneys...

...pungko-pungko (local street food)...

...really affordable casual dining...

...quarter-pounder siopao (steamed bun)...

...oh and yeah, apparently I am only valid if I'm dunk...

Grouply.com

I received an email yesterday from a long dead Yahoo Group. Weird thing is, the domain is from a certain Grouply.com.

"Spam." I immediately thought.

Being the inquisitive prick that I am, I took a peek at their site. And lookee what I found!

They want what?! My Yahoo ID and password!?

Honestly, with all that's happening in this day and age, I can't imagine anyone who would willingly give out their username and password.

A quick Google search yielded results. It seems like this has been around for sometime now. Here are a couple of quick links:
Yahoo! Answers
http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=1146

MS-06FZ Zaku Kai [p02]

It has been a looooong month and I dont think I'm gonna be able to make the deadline (as usual.) Here's what I've managed to complete so far:


Snapped OOB, 80% completed, close-up




Some more in-progress shots...




I still have to do the following:

1. Complete shoulder mods and re-do the left shoulder whatchamacallit-guard.
2. Build the shoulder joints/assemblies.
3. Fill the gap in the shield.
4. Detail the skirts.
5. Lastly, paint the kit.

That's all folks!

MS-06FZ Zaku Kai [p01]

OK, here I go again. Trying to build a model I can probably finish months after the supposed deadline. X-D

Anyways, this is again for MechaPinoy's in-house contest, Zakuhin Mo Mukha Mo. As I mentioned in my previous post, I've an old HG Zaku Kai. I'm hoping this will be a good way to start the year and get my bum ass off the couch and try to actually finish something. So here goes... These are what I've got to show since my last post.

This is not gonna be a faithful build to Bernie's Zaku Kai. I'll be taking the liberty to make some mods based on several references.

First, the design (see sketch). I based this on Bandai's Standart figures. I like their un-proportionately sexy designs.

It'll still retain some basic semblance to Izubuchi's Zaku Kai. I will not be making any drastic changes. I made the following mods:

1. Widened body and made it a bit more angular.
2. Scratched a new torso. What you see here is still a rough sculpt.
3. Created a new shoulder armour. Of course, there'll be spikes. :)

I also modded the back pack to my taste. Drilled a couple of holes on top. Have yet to add pla-plates to enhance it's appearance.

I'm still aiming to build a static kit so I'm not worrying about HG- or MG-fying the joints, but I didn't say anything about not practicing! With some mods, I was able to increase the knee's range of motion.

One thing I'm thinking about now is the shield. I'm still weighing if I should retain the original look or add a little flair like the Zeon flag below.

Darrell Royal's Letter

Whilst reading Eyeshield 21, this caught my eye. I believe it's a great sentiment to share, especially in these trying times...

"On the field, anyone will taste humiliation once or twice while playing.

A player that never suffered from it doesn't exist.

But the first-class players, as a tribute to all their efforts, will quickly stand up.

The average players will stand up after a little while.

And the losers, will keep lying down on the ground."

Darrell Royal
Head Coach, University of Texas Longhorn
College Football Hall of Fame

Not sure if this is the full version.

Darrell Royal's bio in Wikipedia.



Eyeshield 21 images:

Sena Kobayakawa: courtesy of Animepaper.net
Demon Devil Bats	Splash page - Ch9, pg5: courtesy of OneManga.com