It's been a long & stressful week at work for me... finally that day has come (is coming ^_^ ...still 51mins from midnite) ~ that feeling of undescribable bliss ~ that final push of a button to send out that OOO (Out-Of-Office) mail! Leaving all that passdown sh!# behind.... yeay!! =) ... for a short while, like a week at most.

Bali, here i come!

Eh, wrong pic pulak... that's another scenic shot taken by a fellow climber during the recent Mt. Santubong climb... -_- just realized it's well past my bedtime... got an 6:45am early-bird flight to catch tomorrow ~...

Sneak-peek on Upcoming Project...

it's already on the way... yea babeh! =)

MG Strike Freedom in Action





doing the Strike Noir pose'
*due to unavailability of a proper grade picture shooting device, all snapshots were taken with a SE W810i by a not-so professional guy...

Project Strike Freedom Work-Log ~ It has taken a near 2-week of passionate late-night toiling (since i have a full-time job to distract me from my beloved Project) to painstakingly assemble & build my MG Strike Freedom Gundam to its full glory, today (95% complete, minus full decals & paint job). For me, it has been an addictive experience; once you've started, you just get hooked on ~ & the excitement just keeps building up as more parts are pieced togehter; by the time you realize, it's already 2am on a working weekday...at one point i had even contemplated on taking leave just so i can spend more time on the project, heh. =p
Here are some snapshots on the progress at different stages:

Started assembling one module unit at a time...

Kira Yamato ~ unpainted version

main torso; slides open to reveal pilot cockpit

the Strike Freedom gets a facial

~ a delicate process...





the upper body taking shape...

the waist unit...

intricate leg unit inner frame ~ a showcase of impressive articulation

with built-in with rear thrusters too!


Now that it's almost complete, i almost cried tears of joy! =p

Strike Freedom ikimasu!


hey there, aren't we forgetting a little something?




its magnificent wing unit!!



now, that's one mean & badass Gundam!

aftermath...

now all that's left to do ~ is fixing the microscopic decals...
~bitten-by-the-Gundam-bug~ signing-off~ ...for now

20070923 Mt. Santubong Climb in Colors

...

MG Strike Freedom Gundam ~ an easy choice, being the defining figure throughout the Seed & Seed Destiny Series, my introductory foray into the Gundam universe. One of the best looking Gundam ever, with that magnificient wingspan just adds to the profound visual impact it conjures. MG (master grade) kit ~ coz it's a bang for the buck: impressive articulation with the inner frame construction, very detailed parts, color coded pieces (decent enough for me, no need to go over the top with airbrushing /painting yet; coz it would be my 1st MG kit) ~ comparable to the much more exorbitantly priced Perfect Grade kit; just a tad smaller at 1/100 scale compared to massive 1/60 & yet enough parts for the to assemble to keep me pre-occupied & happy. Chose the MG Full Burst Mode over the conventional type, (though costing near 50% more) ~ the special gold coat parts & the full burst mode effect bowled me over.... Considering the prices of these MG kit, one can only expect the best. Have yet to be dissapointed so far...

A little side-tracking:
An ink-ed version of my earlier completed EVA00

Cool eh? Like most mecha kits, it's articulation worthiness is measured by its knee-bendingness ability. Btw, it's only a High Grade kit. Now complete with decals too ~ wet-etch type which, i had a hardtime dealing with the application & ended up screwing up half of those stickies, rendering my unit00 only pose-able on one side. Lesson learnt ~ there is a wonderful invention called NEEDLE NOSE TWEEZER. Made sure i had it for my Project Strike Freedom, coz it's too expensive a project to screw up.

Finally... on to Getting Started

~ It doesn't take very much for a newbie to figure out the basic stuffs needed to get started. Your best friends when it comes to GunPla-ing:
1. Cutter/nipper ~ to cut the parts pieces away from the runner frame that holds them together; nail-cutter works best for me ~ cleaner & more precise cuts for pieces with thinner/smaller gates.
2. Craft-knife ~ for precision plastic cutting & shaving & trimming excess gate plastic on the pieces.
3. Fine grade sandpaper ~ to get that smooth finishing on the shaved & trimmed area. This particular project of mine consumed a whole A4 sized grade 2000 sandpaper.
4. Cutting mat ~ neater to work on; the back of notepads are good makeshift (still have tons them from my uni days)
5. Gundam marker

~ yes, a Gundam Marker, there is such thing; for the inking process: painting along the grooves of the kit for fine-detailing. Inking is definitely the order of the day, unless you would not mind ending up with a lame-plain-sissy looking gundam. GM01 ~ fine-tip black paint marker is the commonest of them all; a must-have; though they aren't exactly cheap at more than 10 bucks piece.
6. Cotton-bud/eraser ~ to clean up the excess ink from the inking process. I pretty much prefer using my fingers to clean the smudge. *one thing to note is that it has to be done before the paint dries up & bleeds into the plastic.
7. Needle nose tweezer ~ you'll need one of these when it comes to decals application coz they're (decals) almost microscopic in size.
8. Most importantly steady hands, a passion for & lots of patience for model kit building!

Always eager start posting on the soon-to-be completed "Project Strike Freedom" right from the start, but never got myself to do it; & since it's already late considering the fine weather as of late tonight ~ there's 75% probability that i'll need to be up by 5am tomorrow to get ready for the Mt. Santubong climb... so that post's still gonna have to wait...

Preview of the semi-completed MG Strike Freedom