State of my Hobby Worktable ... what's in store for 2021

 Lesson learned ... at least I would like to think so. About a year ago, my 'what's in store' post was filled with previously shelved projects that I had optimistically believed could be revived and finished by that year's end. For the record, I only manage to complete one ... yes one ... out of five of the said shelved-projects, i.e. the Millennium Falcon. The rest remains in storage, slowly gathering dust. So for 2021 I'm adopting a cautious and prudent approach of only considering (a) actively ongoing projects and (b) unboxed projects with painting strategies already formulated from extensive research.  

 With both criteria in hand, the first project likely to see more progress in the coming weeks is the Tamiya 1/24 scale Volkswagen 1300 Beetle (1966 Model). Funnily enough, the Beetle was the only ongoing project from the previous year's 'what's in store' blog post that's listed is this year's iteration. Encouragingly though, there has been substantial progress since then with most of the Beetle's interior and engine done up (see below). While he initial buzz for this Bumblebee-Transformer-in-vehicular-form project may be gone, I assure you the determination to finish it has not.     

 Another ongoing project with significant progress is the Bandai 1/1000 scale Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (Cosmo Reverse Version). Technically, I guess one could say that the easy part is over and done with. What comes next is relatively way harder. For example, among what needs to be done next are the 1/1000 scale space fighters as well as the Bridge and the many deck guns on board. All these sections comprise tiny and detailed parts which are not only difficult to handle without breaking but also difficult to paint. In a way, that's why the project had hit a temporary roadblock. 

 A more recent project is the Bandai 1/12 scale Aratech 74-Z Miltary Speeder Bike. This Star Wars scale nodel kit actually consists of two parts namely the Scout Trooper and Speeder Bike itself. While the former has been completed, the latter's Hull Plating and Speeding Vanes have only been base-coated recently (see below). So a fair amount of work lies ahead for the bike.

 Further back along the progress chart is the Hasegawa 1/12 scale Girl's Rider resin figurine, which thus far has been unboxed and give a preliminary dry-fitting exercise (see below). And before prep work on the Girl's Rider figurine starts, I plan to first edit and upload a video of the unboxing and dry-fit process. Once that's done, work progress should resume on the figurine. Incidentally, the figurine is expected to become part of a wider project of Star Wars-themed mini-vignettes that fall under an all encompassing project umbrella titled Star Wars: Join the Empire.   

 Apart from the Hasegawa Girl's Rider figurine, there are two other unboxed projects that have not been worked on since their unboxing reviews. These are the Tamiya 1/35 scale Sturmgeschütz III Ausf.B Sd.Kfz.142 and the Bandai Limited Model High Grade (LM-HG) Neon Genesis Evangelion EVA-01 Test Type Unit plastic model kits. Unless there is an inspiring and unexpected project that cuts queue, both the Sturmgeschütz and the EVA-01 will take precedence in the project pipeline.  

 So in a nutshell the above is what I've to look forward to barring the almost inevitably 'sudden-inspiration-projects' that are bound to hijack the existing project pipeline's queue. I can live with that.    Moreover compared to my previous 'what's in store' post, this year's posting is infinitely less complicated with way less categories to consider. Just keeping it simple. On that note ... au revoir.  

A Look Back at 2020

 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And so the new year begins with an oft quoted classical novel line that aptly describes what happened to me last year. Worst due to the ongoing pandemic, enough said. Best because I got to spend (and actually still am spending) more time with the missus due to general work-from-home orders. Meanwhile, hobby-wise I didn't get much done apart from mostly finishing projects that were already near-complete towards the tail end of 2019. These then are the scale models and miniature figurine that I painted in 2020.  

Scale Model and Miniature Figurine projects completed in 2020

 First past the post last year was my very first Gundam project i.e. the Bandai Master Grade 1/100 scale RX-78-2 Gundam Version 3.0 model kit (see below). Grandpa Gundam was an extremely time consuming project that involved the painting of a multitude of tiny parts prior to assembly. But I believe the end result of painting the kit is so much better than an out-of-the-box build. Without a shadow of doubt, the RX-78-2 Gundam has been one of my most satisfying painted builds in a long while.

RX-78-2 Gundam holding its pilot Amuro Ray in its hand

Also known as Grandpa Gundam, the RX-78-2 shown here in various poses

Equally impressive were the weapon accessories (also painted) accompanying the RX-78-2

 After working with the hard edges of an inorganic entity that is the RX-78-2 Gundam, I turned my attention to finally completing a miniature figurine in the last calendar year. This came in the form of the atelier iT 1/12 scale Race Queen figurine (see below). It was the first time I had ever used an airbrush to paint skin tones (in addition to the traditional hand painted methods). Going forward, this airbrush-handbrush combo will be my technique of choice in painting skin tones on figurines.  

Race Queen is a 1/12 scale miniature figurine; she's another 2020 project

Here the Race Queen is posing against a dark (black) background ...

... versus a light (azure) background; both had a slightly different effect on skin tone

 Another project that took a long time to complete was the Bandai 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon model kit that was modeled after the one in The Force Awakens (see below). In fact, 'a long time' is a serious understatement. Begun way back in January 2016, this Star Wars project was shelved in the middle of that same year before finally resuming in October 2019 and then finished in May 2020. But finished it is. And while the Millennium Falcon's colored panels consist of applied water decals, the ship still looks good as the rest of it is indeed fully painted and weathered.      

Bandai Star Wars 1/12 scale Millennium Falcon from The Force Awakens

Millennium Falcon is fully painted with the exception of its colored panels, which are decals

Closeup of the detailed exterior of the 1/144 scale Millennium Falcon

 Nice as it is to bask in the satisfied glow of completed projects, it's better still to look forward to ones that are ongoing or yet to be started. Personally, I've always felt it important to plan for the year ahead while conceding that there will be the occasional unforeseen miniature figurine or scale model kit project that takes my fancy. More often than not, a failure to plan will result in many half-worked-on projects that eventually sit on shelves gathering dust. In other words, not good. So the coming few days will determine which projects will start, which will continue and which will shelved indefinitely. For now, here's wishing you and yours a better (and safer) year ahead. 

Here's to Broken Resolutions and a Better New Year

 So as this awful year draws to a close, it's unsurprising that a resolution made as recently as three weeks ago has been unceremoniously broken. I had wanted to get psyched up for future World War 2 Armored Fighting Vehicle (WW2 AFV) scale model kit projects by indulging in digital turn-based wargames via my traditional year-end PC gaming binge. Well, I still pampered myself with some gaming time but with old school Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) instead. The silver lining to this is there's still a link, however tenuous, to the hobby in the form of colors. Here's what I mean ... 

 Arguably, there is no better example of fantastic use of colors in an old school JRPG than The Legend of Heroes - Trails in the Sky by Japan-based Nihon Falcom. At the very least, it was one of the first ones I played which made good use of color combinations on its pixelated characters as well as world. I never finished my original run in my (PlayStation Portable (PSP) before it kaput. Luckily for me, a PC version was released some years ago on my go-to gaming portal i.e. Steam. So now I get to relive the world of Zemuria in glorious high-definition (HD), colors and all. 

Nihon Falcom's The Legend of Heroes - Trails in the Sky

In this make believe world, even the floors have delightful color combos ...

... well, not all floors but the game, more often than not, makes great use of colors

Turn-based combat is a key element in most if not all JRPGs

 One of my most treasured memories of JRPGs was (and still is) Final Fantasy Tactics on the very first PlayStation and subsequently Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions on the PSP. Both titles are sort of a sub-genre of your traditional JRPGs and is classified as tactical role-playing game (TRPG). Such games focus more on the tactical combat aspect than in the role-playing per se. So it was a nice surprise when I stumbled upon Banner Maid which was developed by China-based Azure Flame Studio. This is the closest I have come to in years, in terms of TRPG game-play in a JRPG inspired title. What's even better is the title makes fantastic use of colors (see below).  

Azure Flame Studio's Banner Maid

Apart from the protagonist (which isn't shown here) most of the female characters ...

... found within an alternate world of historical France are fairly voluptuous

Banner Maid is largely a tactical role-playing game ...

... that takes inspiration from the classic Final Fantasy Tactics

The game makes great use of colors for both its 2D anime as well as 3D pixel characters

 Meanwhile, Octopath Traveler is a more recent JRPG title that uses retro character sprites whilst also incorporating polygonal environments and high-definition special effects. If you haven't played old school JRPGs before, then it's quite likely Octopath Traveler would be your first experience of what it's like to role-play chibi-style character sprites in a make believe world. Barely having started a game on this title, I am already impressed with its use of colors. My first impressions are that each character's game world seems to have a color theme of their own. For example, the character Primrose uses warm and earthy hues to reflect her bio and backstory (see below). That's a great way to think of colors and I'm sure it'll translate into future creative endeavors in the hobby.   

Acquire/Square Enix's Octopath Traveler

Primrose is one of eight main characters you can play ingame

And so it begins, Primrose's journey in the land of Orsterra

Octopath Traveler is a role-playing game with "HD-2D" graphics ...

... a style that combines retro-character sprites and textures ...

... with polygonal environments and high-definition effects

 And so the year ends with a broken resolution. Moreover, you would agree it has been a terrible year with the ongoing pandemic. It can only get better, right? So with the new year upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to wish one and all a safe and happy 2021. Cheers!

Star Wars Speeder Bike [WIP - Basecoat as well as Topcoat Prep on the Hull Plating and Steering Vanes]

 If there was ever a case against painting scale model kits, then a simple photo comparison between the end results of this post and the start point of my previous Speeder Bike work-in-progress post makes for a deceptively strong argument for leaving it in its original molded colors. It's a lot of work for what at first glance seems to show no significant difference between painted and unpainted parts. But there are three reasons why I chose to paint: (a) better color accuracy; (b) improved realism upon closer inspection; and (c) a stronger, damage-resistant base on which to apply weathering effects. All also reasons (excuses) for me to upload, yet another, work-in-(not much)-progress post. 

Work-in-progress: Basecoat and topcoat on the Speeder Bike's Hull Plating & Steering Vanes

 While I took inspiration from the excellent Black and White Technique by Jose Luis Lopez, there is a key difference in application that makes my version a pale imitation of the original. For Mr. Lopez's technique to truly shine, the subsequent basecoat color must be applied in extremely thin coats so as to allow a clear contrast in shading. I instead applied a thicker basecoat, which greatly reduced the contrast in shadows and highlights. However I did so consciously because I was after a subtler difference in shading that was more a dullness of color for shadows versus a vivid highlight. That being said, it's inevitable I'll one day use the Black and White Technique as intended, just not today.

Shadowed areas of the primed parts were painted black to affect a duller and darker basecoat

Top down view: shadowed sections of the primed parts that were painted black

A brown basecoat was airbrushed onto the light grey primed parts with black shadow areas

 Admittedly the contrast achieved in my version of the technique ... even accounting for my take on the original technique ... was too subtle and would likely be buried under the subsequent weathering effects. So if you want higher contrast between the shadows and highlights, then you can't go wrong with the original Black and White Technique. In hindsight, I perhaps should've applied a slightly thinner basecoat layer. But at this larger 1/12 scale, the geometric dimensions of the kit itself can sometimes provide visible shadow and highlight contrasts without having to paint them in, which was the reason why I wanted to go for subtlety in the first place. So not all is lost. 

Recessed area on the side has a subtly duller/darker look courtesy of the underlying black coat

Similar subtle shading effects were applied on the rear section of the Speeder Bike

Best results of this shadows to highlight gradation can be found on the rear curved section

Shadowed effect is partly due to a dull vs vivid hue cause by different underlying primer coats

Either bright lighting or an overly thick basecoat masked the intended shadow effect

Steering vanes' interior sides are darker/duller vs the exterior sides 

Sadly this subtle shadow effect tends to fail under bright lighting

 After the basecoat was applied, it was time to protect this layer of brown paint with a clear topcoat and make it more damage-resistant to subsequent weathering techniques. I went with a semi-gloss topcoat as a compromise between making the surface areas smooth enough for washes to flow into the nook and crannies, and rough enough for weathering effects to adhere to the parts. As such, I may yet apply a flat/matte topcoat over the parts once weathering is done because I believe the Hull Plating and Steering Vanes looks more realistic (i.e. less plasticky) with a flat topcoat. Moreover, the subtle shadow and highlight effects are more noticeable with a flat/matte topcoat.

Speeder Bike's Hull Plating and Steering Vanes after a protective semi-gloss topcoat was applied

 At the end of this drawn-out process, the Speeder Bike is now prepped for the weathering effect as well as detail-painting process. Even if I don't complete that all I need to do in the initial weathering phase, there is still a good chance I can get most of it done prior to full assembly. The same goes for the detail-painting process. A lot of work lies ahead and most of it will only start next year as I wind down hobby activities for a but of a short break during the last two weeks of the year. I think I have one more post in me before 2021 comes a calling so it's not the end for 2020 yet. So see you then.