AG Zedas 'Nightmare' (Bad End Witch prototype)

This kit. Ahahaha this kit. It wasn't supposed to be a prototype but let's say that if it could go wrong on this then it did. First I didn't realize I'd ordered the Advanced Grade and not the High Grade and boy howdy is there a difference despite them being about the same size.

Snap built. The one good pose.

The Advanced Grade has four points of articulation: the head turns, the arms go up and down and the sword kind of swivels. That's it. The legs don't move, the arms don't bend I mean jesus. But it can do the one pose I wanted really freaking well and I'd already dropped the $10 so I forged ahead. The specific purple metal flake I found, while a beautiful color, was difficult first to apply and then utterly impossible to put any sort of top coat on without crackling and fogging randomly popping up. I still went ahead and did all the detail painting because it was already halfway done so I figured why not.

The purple is really beautiful... on the parts where it cooperated.

Obviously I'm not... happy... with the final result but I suppose it's like a car that's really finicky and that I have to spend a lot of time working on. I do love it and it's special in it's own way but I already have another HG Zedas in hand and will be doing this right in the near future.

Life's more fun when you're posing your toys while eating.

On the plus side I don't feel the least bit bad taking this with me for my Builder Fighters cosplays! Although now it's missing a shoulder but I lost that at home, not even at one of the conventions I took it to.

For those who are wondering, it was my digibash to finalize ideas. Originally was going to splat on neon pink paint like splattered transmission fluid/the blood of a gundam but that would have only worked with a grey base color. I will be doing the clock hand sword eventually via pla-plating but I'm kinda done with this version and will wait until I do the HG version.

And for the record, if we include this AG Zedas this makes 5 Zedas that I own. I know, I have a problem. I should probably just change my name to Zeda or Zedas or something given how I still contemplate ordering more HG Zedas kits and dear god if a MG one is ever released I'll need one or three of those.

Veni Vidi Fenice and Meteora Trionfante (HG 1/144 Gundam Wing Fenice and Meteor Hopper)

Completed Spring 2014

Technically the idea for the paint job started from a twitter friend named Zach mentioning how he had this idea of a Fenice custom and he'd call it the Veni Vidi Fenice (you know like I came I saw I conquered). All I could think of were classic Roman triumphal parades as the focus of my major was Roman history. My design actually ended up being rather different than what Zach had planned on but as soon as he had mentioned it I had an image in my head. The face is red since you painted your face red to show a connection to the god of war Mars. It's glossy with lots of gold to show the wealth and showmanship that went into the parade. I was going to do purple on the torso since you'd wear a purple and gold toga but it honestly clashed. I let the gold v fin stand in for the laurels but I may paint that on the back of the head still. And of course I gave him a chariot to match! I used Automotive touch up rattle cans for the red since a metal flake sounded like a beautiful idea. The paint can be a bit thick but otherwise is a dream to work with. You do have to put gloss coat over it though for it to be even remotely glittery/shiny.

I also entered this kit into the A-kon 25 round of the 2014 GBWC! I wanted him to wave out while standing on the chariot but couldn't get him to balance in the case so nixed that idea. My friend John lent me an open palm hand for the occasion but only had a left one that would fit so had to drop the energy cape. The linked gallery is the official Bluefin gallery. It was absolutely thrilling seeing something of mine in the case and I loved getting to see everyone else's hard work too!

Bluefin Gallery