MG Turn X Gundam ver MatX WIP Part VIII

Major Update!

I've decided to do the the lower left arm's detail by carving out the grooves. I'll either scribe the panel lines or use 1.0mm/0.5mm plaplates later on. Doing the latter will give me a chance to add bulk to the lower left arm.


I made an extension sing a 5mm Tamiya beam shaved down to fit the frame's connector and encapsulated that with a 5mm square pipe, which in turn was encapsulated with a 6mm round pipe.

MG Turn X Gundam ver MatX WIP Part VII

The Left lower arm. I initially planned to used the original armor by "simply" modifying it and building over it, but I will have to contend with the part's original shape. I decided later on to build the conversion part from scratch.


Like how I did most of the modifications so far I layered preshaped plaplates/HIPS together.


Then sculpted like crazy to achieve this.




Like my previous sculpting, I used a blunt and sharp knife to whittle the part down to its base shape, used the edge of a small steel ruler to shave it down further and achieve symmetry and used a file to smooth it it out. In some cases when the cement hasn't fully cured (like this one, since I was in hurry to shape the part after deciding to add another layer of HIPS) even careful carving can result in layers peeling off.

The thin plaplate you see is the fix for that. I saturate the affected area with cement, file down, resaturate it, file it down again, then cement small shaped pieces of plate with a generous amount, enough to melt the fixes into each other. At this point, I'll let it fully cure before filing it down.

Europe Gunpla Cup update

Kamm has good news for all you European Gunpla modelers out there.  Aside from the category prizes for the EUGC, he's putting up an HGUC Sinanju and an MG FA Gundam as "wildcard" prize items.  He'll be choosing the lucky blokes who will take home those two nice kits.

So, what are you all waiting for?  Submit your entry now!

MG Turn X Gundam ver MatX WIP Part VI

One of the difficulties I've encountered on this project is more about working and building around the existing parts to make way for the conversions.  Since I decided not to build a chest frame and use the existing frame, the shoulder connection also posed a problem.  Regardless, I would have to build new shoulders for the conversion.

Scrounging for parts, I finally found the extra wing connectors of my MG Strike Freedom FBM (which I have been madly looking for the past couple of months).  I modified the stock parts of the Turn A and so that it acts as an extension to the SF FBM connectors.  This was a good test for my home made cement, since these two ABS parts stuck well enough without reinforcement.

MG Turn X Gundam ver MatX WIP Part V

It's been more than two weeks since my last update, and I haven't really had much Gunpla time. I've managed to finish the Chest just these past couple of days or so, and was able to fix a few design problems. Specifically, I had to reinforce the connective parts with small pieces of HIPS, owing to the fact that the connection is just a surface join.



The fix, though without it is not an issue with my prototype, creates a solid connection between the slider and the chest's base frame, closing any gaps that would be problematic during molding.



I've cut several pieces of HIPS for the chest armor.



I've made the lower and upper chest armor parts as single units.



In connecting the lower chest armor part to the chest's base frame, I employed a tongue connection scheme. The lower armor is cemented to the tongue and reinforced similarly like the base chest frame.



The upper armor piece is connected to the base frame with two peg connections, while the two side armor pieces are connected via a combined tongue and peg connections.



I've also carved "damage" markings on the uncovered "X" section of the base frame, inspired by the 2008 Turn X featured in October 2008 issue ofHobby Japan. In the lore, this is damage caused by the Turn A's beam saber, which, the Turn X's nanomachines couldn't "heal."



Test fit.

  As of this post, I've fixed symmetry issues that have occured as I connected the armor parts to their pegs.

More later.

Gundam Italian Club Joins the Fray

It started more as an idea to bring Gunpla resources together for those in Europe, but little did we know that Kamm's idea will turn into something this big. 

Now, Gundam Italian Club (GIC) joins MAC Forums in promoting the Europe Gunpla Cup.  Gundam Guy and Gunjap are also our promotional partners in this first of its kind project. 

The NEW and Improved MAC Forums Front Page

Jose/Kisapmata, our resident Mac Forums Site Admin/Manager has been working "overtime" on the Front Page and improved its look and feel to match the overall concept of the site.

Check it out.

We'll be constantly adding more content.  Stay tuned!

Gundam Master Grade Challenge 2011

Edit: This competition is the Singapore Midyear Nationals (Thanks, Ken).

Here's something interesting I got from Open The Toy and Toymaker.  Since it's organized by Club Gunpla, it's an official Bandai event.

Looks like this is going to be a very busy year for us.