New Arrivals

Gallery December 17, 2014 GN Leave a comment

Just had a nice big box of goodies arrive from HLJ.

I've never tried these metal "puzzle" kits before, but they seem fun. I've seen Lee Valley sell similar ones for bridges and things. Continue Reading ››

Misc, Work In Progress

1/60 Patlabor Helldiver part 2

Gallery December 14, 2014 GN Leave a comment

This kit is going to take a lot longer than I thought to complete. There's not many parts, but everything has seam lines! And that means painting the internals, masking, then assembling the armour, removing the seams, masking the already painted internals, and then completing the paint job.

Misc, Work In Progress

1/60 Patlabor Helldiver

Gallery December 6, 2014 GN 2 Comments

Patlabor Helldiver is an old kit. I built it over 20 years ago (bought from Timeslip in Newcastle, UK, if anyone remembers that store), and now that I've kicked a nasty flu, I can once again get back to modelling.

It's a small box with just a … Continue Reading ››

Completed Builds, Misc

1/48 Patlabor Ingram

Gallery November 12, 2014 GN 1 Comment

Along with completing the Patlabor build, I'm also experimenting with a new lighting set up for the photos. I think it's working well.

I'm really happy with how the weathering came out. I used the Tamiya weathering master sets, with oil stain and orange rust, with some … Continue Reading ››

Misc, Work In Progress

1/48 Patlabor Ingram part 2

Gallery November 10, 2014 GN 1 Comment

Now that all the parts are painted and have a protective top coat, it's time for panel lines and assembly. I'm deliberately not putting on the clear red shoulder and gold badge pieces yet as I don't want them to end up getting flat coated.

The feet … Continue Reading ››

Tips & Tricks

Masking

November 9, 2014 GN 4 Comments

Masking your pieces for airbrushing multiple colours in different areas is a key technique. I generally use Tamiya masking tape because it's not apt to pull the paint off when you remove it, and it comes in very convenient sizes. I'll sometimes use liquid masking fluid, but only when necessary as it's tricky and a … Continue Reading ››

Misc, Work In Progress

1/48 Patlabor Ingram

Gallery November 8, 2014 GN Leave a comment

Many years ago I remember building some of the original Patlabor kits, Helldiver and Phantom Labor. They were great kits with fun flexible rubber sections. Now with the imminent arrival of the new live action Patlabor TV series, we have the release of 1/48 Patlabor Ingram AV.

Tips & Tricks

Future Finish

November 1, 2014 GN 15 Comments

Future Finish (FF) is household floor care liquid that I use a lot of in my model painting. Here's the current bottle design as you can buy in Canada today.

Yup, my bottle is a bit dirty with overspray from the airbrush! Future Finish has a number of … Continue Reading ››

Completed Builds, Misc

RX-105 Xi photos

Gallery October 28, 2014 GN 8 Comments

The RX-105 comes out much bigger than your typical 1/144 kit, much more like the size of a typical 1/100. That means there's enough scale to get in some pretty decent detail.

There's a lot of water slide decals you can put on the kit. I put all … Continue Reading ››

Completed Builds, Misc

LBX Hyper Ifreet

Gallery October 27, 2014 GN 2 Comments

LBX Hyper Ifreet has got to be the kit that I've had the most fun with in ages. It's a lovely kit, well designed, great looking, not too small, good articulation and an amazingly fun build.

And effects parts! The fists of fire look great, although they're … Continue Reading ››

GN Particles

New Arrivals

1/60 Patlabor Helldiver part 2

1/60 Patlabor Helldiver

1/48 Patlabor Ingram

1/48 Patlabor Ingram part 2

Masking

1/48 Patlabor Ingram

Future Finish

RX-105 Xi photos

LBX Hyper Ifreet

Adventures in Plamo