Time to move... (and after thoughts?)

With everything done and dusted, I thought it’s time to move on to the next phase. Next year will be a really busy one for me. I am actually looking forward to finish the Zoids Shadow Fox but have to put it on hold since I have two long outstanding commissions to complete. It won’t be nice to let my customers wait for too long.

First off, a Perfect Grade Strike Gundam complete with all three Striker Systems. Although I have the 1/60 scale non grade weapon systems, their details and forms are too crude for a Perfect Grade Gundam. So I need to do an upgrade for the Sword Strike and Launcher Strike sets. It will be a challenge for me indeed. Throw in a mega sized maintenance base and the Aile Grasper, you can imagine this is one huge project.

Found this picture on the net but couldn't trace the source. 

Another amazing work by a Japanese modeler (I assumed) 

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A crazy trip

Imagine this:-

- Two guys who share the same passion for the same hobby; 

- With loads of free time after competition; 

- And have absolutely no clue what to do with it; 

Saturday. 4 hours and the half and more than 300 kilometers later, Waylander  and I made it to Kuala Lumpur. The intention is to take a better look at all the GBWC entries in Malaysia, meet up with the local lads, buy some stuff and head straight back to Singapore. 

First stop: Infinite Creation. A local hobby store with a really huge area for modelers to gather and work on models. 

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Combined Work-In-Progress photos for Odin

For those of you who follow this blog, you guys know that I seldom document my WIPs. The same goes with my Odin. Well, I spent some time consolidating all the random photos I took and will repost all of then here in random order. To those who have requested for WIP photos, hopefully these photos will suffice your requirements :) 

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HMM Shadow Fox - First Look

Time for some relaxation before I go back into more serious builds. I choose the HMM Zoids, Shadow Fox for this little exercise. First, I really like the design of this fox, the gold and and dark blue colour scheme. I would love to do a dark gun metal and gold scheme. That would be cool. 

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One for the lads

Sent down for a second look this evening since I did not have a good look of the other entries since the monster entries are getting the limelight during submission day. After a quick glance, these entries caught my attention. 

This Duel/ Musha Gundam combination is really good. Who would have thought the these two can be blended together and look so nice? I will suggest to this modeler to follow up with Buster and Aegis as well, LOL. 

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Pros vs Hobbyists mentality

Following the coverage of S'pore's 2012 GBWC and discussions with fellow modelers, I noticed that there has been a lot of buzz regarding the mega builds and how everyone is going BIG this year. It's all been fun to read, but there is one debate that I have came across, that I feel I have to address - Mainly, some people saying that mega builds are by the "pros" who have the money to buy multiple kits and just bash every part they have together to make some humongous monster. And that supposedly kills the competition for hobbyists in the process. I would like to add my two cents worth on it:- 

• Firstly, there is no such thing as a distinction between "pros" and "hobbyists", especially in Singapore. All pros are hobbyists. But maybe not all hobbyists are pros. How do you become a pro then? Stick to the hobby and improve. When you reach a particular level some day, it doesn't matter if you churn out a humongous piece of work or a tiny little 144 scale kit. People WILL see you are a pro.

• Granted, to build a "monster" kit, you do need to invest some money. But here's the thing - if I gave a beginner the same amount of money a so-called "pro" used to build his mega kit, is that person able to come up with something of the same calibre or better? You should know better. So a lot of money might mean a mega build, but does not necessarily mean it's a good one.

• Which brings me to the last point - Some people have been seeing pictures of the mega builds and dismissing them as "messy", "fail", "can't see anything" etc etc. This might be true for some big builds, but not all. I think the tendency to simply dismiss a build just cos it's big might be due to the bias-ness mentioned in the above two points - the accusation that these modellers are simply richer guys who whack everything into a monster kit.

At the end of the day, it's simple - your quality and creativity never lies. It's not about money or size of build. Just down to skill level. 

While I can go on and on about this for the rest of the night, I believe it is more productive to continue working on my next project and start leveling up. 

I suggest you do so too. 

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GBWC 2012 Singapore

The last time I saw massive entries for Gundam competition was several years ago. But this year the trend is back! It is safe to say that everyone is cranking it up for the competition. The free trip to Japan for the winner must be pretty enticing. After all  Japan, Diver City, why not give it a shot? 

Back to the main topic, the entries. I was there to submit my entry last evening and took pictures of all the entries that were there. Please accept my advanced apologies if yours are not in them. For starters, this year's entries are pretty good compared to last year. And that pleases me. At least everyone is improving. The layout of the exhibit area is also good with showcases well lit and this makes viewing a pleasure. 

Here are some of the entries,

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The-O (Code name: Odin)

EVOLUTION

There you have it. Odin is fully done and now I can finally move on. This was meant for GBWC 2011 but due to a series of unfortunate events, I had to pull out at the last stretch. I thought it was a pity to give it all up. On the other hand, this withdrawal had in fact indulged me with the luxury of time. Time to re-modify and re-design Odin. I wasn't really happy about the first version anyway and was determined to give it an overhaul.

previous version 

  Updated Version

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Gunpla Contest by Gundam Dipendente

Recently, I am got to know Mr Antonio Scasserra, who manage the Italian blog, Gundamdipendent which provides their local community with Gunpla-related news, galleries etc. A very passionate and really friendly fellow! 

Well, this blog is into their second year and they are kicking it off with the second Gunpla Contest. Well,  I think it's a good idea if people can participate in online competitions for the exposure. I used to enter a few of these competitions and made a lot of friends locally and abroad. It is very enriching. Hence, I always encourage everyone to be active in forums, share works, tips and participate. 

Well, here are the information to the contest, gunpla-contest-20-by-gundamdipendente. 

Take a peep if you have the time guys! :) 

Open publication - Free publishing - More gundam

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Nu Gundam Ver.Ka (MG)

Since I have some spare time to blog, I choose to talk about the one upcoming release that I am looking forward to. December will see the release of the much anticipated Master Grade Nu Gundam Ver.Ka. I like most of the designs from Hajime Katoki and will definitely get this one. I may even buy two! 

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Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura - Day 5.5 (3 November 2012)

Day 5.5

Good news and bad news. Good news is I can be discharged today. The bad news is my platelet has not increased since the last check. Considering my extremely low blood platelet count, doc told me that there are risks involved if I want to be discharged. But I reckon that it will be months later before the platelets go up to acceptable levels. That is one risk I have to take. Prolonged stay here may in fact, make my condition worse(if you get what I mean) LOL. 

Well, I'm still pondering I should jump right back to complete this monster. Anyway, it looks like a kitten now compared to Waylander's entry. At least I have the luxury to consider my next move. And I will take my time doing that. 

Will see how things unfold the next few days.... 

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Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura - Day 5 (2 November 2012)

Day 5

Another awful night, I am not sure I am here to recuperate or suffer. My "neighbor" was pretty restless last night, creating a din. Phew... And to add insult to injury, another "new uncle on the block" blatantly smoked on his bed and I was looking all over the ward for the source and didn't even realize it was from my room. He is one ninja i must say. Anyway he was caught later and told off. But at 5.30am, I was awoken by the stench of cigarette smell in the air. I had enough. I complained to the staff nurse and ask her to either remove his cigarette pack or him. 

Doc will check me tomorrow and if my platelet is on a upward trend, I may have some good news. Keeping my fingers crossed. I can't wait to put this hell behind me. 

 I continue to work on the Red Horn today. Managed to complete the whole body. Four legs and I will be done tomorrow. Looks like I need my wife to bring Dark Horn on as well. 

These few days of enforced rest was good. I have been caught in the rat race for so long that I lost touch of my inner self. Time to take a step back and assess my life. Family, Work and Passion. Usually, the three don't mixed. And it is tough to achieve a balance as well. I admit I am too absorbed and obsessed with my hobby and I need to pull out before I get burned out. But to be frank, it's my interaction with certain people that really "burned" me than the actual hobby itself. Anyway, I am going to leave that behind me. 

First step to recuperation is to spend more time with my family. You can't turn back the clock you know.... Before you know it, your kids are all grown up and you never really get to know them. That would be terrible. 

Well... yawnnn...talk more tomorrow... enough excitement for today. 

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Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura - Day 4 (1 November 2012)

Day 4

I did get some decent sleep today. Perhaps I tire myself too much for the past three days. Well, doc came in this morning and said there was a increase of platelet count to 5000 which was pretty insignificant. I told him even if it's only 50 points, I'm already happy. At least it increases. My wife was pretty happy about the news. 

Today, I worked a little longer on the Red Horn. Assembly is definitely more complex and fittings are pretty tight as well. The details are very intricate and complex. I really like what I am seeing so far... 

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