Armoured Core - 03-Aaliyah

It has been quite awhile since my last update. Basically I have been doing nothing for the past two months whilst waiting for a new computer. I sort of "fried" the motherboard for the previous one. I managed to save enough for a new one and finally can get down to some business.

I'm thinking of taking a break from Gundams and do something different and Armoured Core comes to my mind. They look pretty interesting with all those additional weapon unit add-ons. I took out the one and only AC kit i bought so far, 03-Aaliyah.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the incredible amount of small parts there is. My first impression was that it has more parts than your typical MG gundam and I am probably right. Building this kit was fairly straight-forward except that I needed to really scrutinize the manual at times. The small parts are pretty difficult to handle too.

I am pretty impressed by the amount of detailings on most of the parts which you would never find on Bandai Kits.

However, the assembled kit is pretty flimsy and parts tend to fall off easily when you handle the kit. Some work has to be done to secure those poly-caps as well as the smaller parts. You would be better off using Wave Option parts to replace the really small stock ones.

I'm thinking of a metallic finish for this kit but I am still pondering on the colour scheme. As for the base, I got myself a Mechanical Chain Base from Kotobukiya (Modelling Support Goods) and will be giving it a "revamp".

Overall, this is quite an good kit from AC minus the minor hiccups. Some brush-painting will be required but I do not foresee any major issues. Sometimes building kits by other manufacturers will help you in understanding the concepts, mechanical and the design aspects of these mechas which is pretty useful when it comes to scratch-building and detailing.

I'm not too sure how long this is going to take but I'm going to take my time to enjoy the whole process. Oh, I still have a half completed Strike IWSP and SD Duel lying somewhere in my stash waiting to be finished up, sweat.......

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A little peek into my modelling life (Part 1)

Just a few days ago I have Mr Ken Chuang (a fellow modeler) asking me why am I so motivated, doing kit after kit. Well, that question really stumped me a little. I have been fiddling with tools and Gundam kits everyday that it's like second nature to me. I realized I have not given it much consideration though.

I could still remember the day I received my first pay check back in 2001 and almost immediately I splurged half of it buying my first compressor and air brush. Back then doing Gundams was essentially a hobby and enjoyment for me. I was lucky enough to be exposed to Aircraft modeling whilst serving NS (in camp!) and that really strengthen my resolve to model kits. I was not contented to just assemble them anymore. I wanted to go even further.

So for the first two years I did my kits haphazardly without much planning and research. Although the end products were simply horrible,I derived a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment whenever I completed one.

Then I chanced upon a local Gundam competition in 2002 and decided that that was going to be my first major competition. I submitted a FAZZ Gundam. I did not win anything but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. The conceptual stage, the construction and painting process, submission and competing. All these are very interesting even until now the fire is still there. It was there I met a few of Singapore's great modellers who were kind enough to show me what I am lacking or rather, clueless of. I cannot thank them enough. I have no idea whether they want to remain anonymous but I guess I leave it as it is .

Things got better for me soon after. I got my own flat and devoted an entire room for Gundam modeling. With a conducive environment and good mentors, I strive to become better. And I guess I never looked back since.

Now, why am I so motivated? Well, simple............





Enough gundams to last me for decades and I haven't really curtailed my monthly spendings yet! I resorted to giving some to young modelers I came to know to encourage them.

And another reason why I am still so keen is that none of my kits are free of blemishes or mistakes. My aim is to do better than my last one which hasn't really been the case. I am still seeing mistakes and sometimes I cannot sleep because of that.

So before I even attempt new and better techniques/skills, I want to perfect my basics first. Being flawless is still unattainable for me at the moment :)

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Strike Gundam + I.W.S.P

After finishing the Kampfer, I immediately went to finish up my Strike Gundam I.W.S.P. I did the Strike Gundam at least three times so it was pretty routine except for the I.W.S.P. Detailed up the kit as usual and most probably I will be true to the original colour scheme. You can't do much poses with this one as it is quite bulky. It doesn't help either when the gatling gun cum shield upset the balance of the kit due to its weight.

Nonetheless, I still think this is the best one I ever done among the other Strike Gundam variations. I will begin to prime this fellow pretty soon.

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Wing Gundam Version Ka.

Did this one back in 2005. Only managed to take photos of it when I took it off the display at a local model shop. At that point of time, I wanted to focus more on my paint job rather than modifications. So this one is basically OOB (Out-of-Box) I like the pastels like colours on the final product. However, a problem surfaced after a few months. Mould started appearing on the kit. It has never happen to any of my works. If I am not wrong, I was using the Gunze UV Cut Topcoat then.....

Posted by Toymaker

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MS-18E Kampfer [Kanji] Custom - Finished!

Finished this around 5 am this morning. And I must say just in time too! Sigh... time management is really not my forte. Got to leave this until the eleventh hour before it's done. And to cap it off, it's Monday! Got to drag myself to work with barely one and the half hour sleep, YAAWWNN.....


Back to the topic.... This kit took me about two months to finish on the average of three hours per day. Overall the whole experience was pretty enjoyable except for one problem, the quality of the plastic for this kit. Throughout the entire process, several parts cracked and broke on me and that left me with little choice but to buy another replacement. The plastic is very brittle and have to be handle with care.


My initial concept was to have a rifle together with a sword but ultimately I went with just the sword as I find it odd to whole both weapons at the same time. The right colour scheme has eluded me for quite some time too.I contemplated using orange, red , purple etc etc. But in the end, settled for a camo scheme with different tones of greys and white. I foresaw masking hell which did turn out as expected....MASKING HELL.... I concentrated more on achieving the right colours and also on the various metallic parts I was painting.


In fact I have no idea how it will turn out. And lucky for me, the final product was good. I did encountered some extensive frosting when I apply a flat coat and wasting a good one hour trying to fix the problem....

I really like that cleaver!!!

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