Haribon Tidbits

I haven't been updating my WIP here, mainly because I didn't have time to do so since taking step-by-step pictures and writing a pseudo tutorial take basically the same amount of time (or even more) as building. I did however took a few progress shots every now and then. With a few things left to build/modify/enhance/paint, the Haribon is done.

These are random photos I took whenever I can.


Preliminary design of the Haribon's Custom Headdress

Modified/Scratchbuilt parts Test Fit

Ankle Guards (beveled and unbeveled), Wings, Shoulder Armor (prototype)

Painted with Bosny Spray Cans

Photo credit: Voltaire Bernardo aka Sotanghon, hotsauce not included 

Errors caused by paint "reacting" to the surface of the plastic

That line (left) is where the plastic from opposite gates meet. Although I didn't mind it at first since it'll covered by the headdress, but an OC attack can make any attempt of holding back futile, so I progressively dry-sanded it down with 1000/1200/ grit sandpaper, till the part looked like a heavily-weathered, but shiny, then re-primed it with flat black (initially primed it with grey), and repainted.

I also got the texture I usually like on the gold leg and upper arm armor, but I didn't like how it turned out in contrast to how the other parts did, so to make it consistent, I re-sanded, re-primed, and repainted. I believe this is how most other modelers tackle microscratches. When you sand down primed parts with higher grits, the primer acts like a pseudo filler, filling those very minute scratches one may not be able to spot immediately).

If not for the obvious speckles (which aren't really that obvious in some lighting, I'd say I came close to getting the sharpness of an airbrushed kit, just because I increased my spray distance from 6 inches to 12, and waited for the paint to build up with more thin coats at that distance than a few coats at 6 inches. I still get the texture from time to time, especially when the temperature or humidity suddenly changes while I'm spraying, but I guess, this new aspect of painting made me more cautious and patient.


More OC Madness
This bugged me till I couldn't take it anymore (well, I wasn't rushing it anyways since the GBWC have come and gone). I later realized that the layered armshield (right) was too simple and "odd looking" because of how the layering was stacked. So, I gave in and redesigned the thing by reversing the layer stack and added details as well.


The Haribon's Binary Blade 2.0 System™
This comprises of 4 interchangeable blades (plus the dagger), the two longest blades mount together as the Main Binary Sword (MBS) on the central mount, but can be held independently when mounted on the Binary Scabbards, to which the medium and short blades are mounted. Those in turn can be mounted to an adapter (not yet built), to make a lance. The hexagonish part is the backpack mount, where all the blades are mounted to when "not in use." The fifth blade is the Binary Dagger (not yet built), which is actually a mini-version of the MBS. The MBS and the Medium and Short Blades can be mounted together to form the Ultra Binary Lance (cue Voltron-type Music).



With the Wings Mounted (Total Wingspan: 60 cm)
Photo credit: Voltaire Bernardo aka Sotanghon


"The Chosen" Diorama Concept. The question is, who chose who?


The MG Falcon Flyer: When I break a part, I imagine other possibilities...


Next: THE HELLRAISER!

"HARIBON" MG RMS 108 Marasai vMatX Part V

I haven't been able to touch Gunpla, literally, for two weeks since I got "swamped" with work and had a 3-day on-site seminar that left me a bit drained, even I has a little time to do work on Gunpla. I felt sleepy all the time and sometimes fall asleep in the middle of typing something (I often joke I could do things in my sleep).

Before I took that two-week break to reality, I did manage to do a very simply modification to one of the Marasai's "open hand" manipulators. I find strange that Bandai included a set of manipulators jointed at two places where the only real pose you can do with it is open-hand. I would have been satisfied if they included a pair of solid open-hand manipulators, a pair of closed-fist, and the usual v2.0 manipulators like what is included with the Zaku/Sinanju. I really don't find any logic in this.

More so, it was how the thumb digit was positioned that left me at awe. It's positioned pointing down and into the palm, with no provision to move it outward for a more dramatic pose.

So, I modified it to enable it to do an outward pose, but keep the inward pose as well. Even though this is a simple mod, it is nonetheless a delicate one. I CAREFULLY added a hole on the side of the thumb area and carved through the existing hole. I reinforced and thickened the area with 0.3mm plaplate to keep the ball of the thumb digit snugly into place regardless of its position.





I also modified and customized the head, but I'll post that much later.

When I resumed the build yesterday, I did so with uneasy hands, especially since I as cutting and bending small parts. I left off the Harbon up to the frame extensions, so it was time to "rebuild" the armor to accommodate the extensions.

First off, the arms. I decided to build the armor extension of the upper arm as a separate unit instead of attaching it directly to the existing armor in order to avoid having to contend with the shape of the base of armor as well as adding detail in the process. I made a 3mm sandwich, aligned and shaped to the cross section of the upper arm.



This served as the foundation for the shaped 0.5mm WHIPS that wraps around it to form the additional armor.



Then I simply added 1.0mm WHIPS to the lower arm extension, just enough to fit the wrist armor and align it when attached.





I used a similar approach with the thigh extension, but this time, I mounted it directly onto the armor since it has a more even shape and has a larger area. I then reinforced the top section with another piece of 0.5mm. This will help the the modification keep its form when it cures.

I used 0.5mm for this since it's easier to bend, and since it's less springy than 1.0mm, I could work faster on having it hold on to the base armor. I used magic tape (I couldn't find my regular masking tape) to hold the shape as it cured for 30 minutes, just so I can quickly do test fits and make adjustments. After 24 hours, it should be fully cured and "solid" as.





Test fit. I'll still be adding detail to this, but that will be done when I add full details overall.





Previously, even simple modifications like these will take me days to do, so I can safely say I am becoming a bit faster these days. I estimate I only have around 2 weeks, give or take a few days to finish this build. I'll try to finish the armor detailing and Wings in a week, and paint the week after that. I have another class this weekend, so that will surely eat up two whole days. So I'll probably work on the groundwork for the diorama during that time.

"HARIBON" MG RMS 108 Marasai vMatX Part IV

I did say on my previous update that I'll be working on a couple of projects first, but I was able to move them back a day, as such allowed me to work on some additional primary modifications.

I guess I can really work "fast" now because I've eliminated most of the guess work and analysis when I do modifications. Previously, it took me days to think of what to do, but since I've learned from my mistakes, and considering this build has far fewer mechanical and complicated modifications to figure out, with the addition of simplifying most of the stuff I did previously, I could work relatively faster.

First off, I considered using the full backpack and simply stick the additional stuff I was going to build into the notches provided for the Ballute, then considered just simply cutting and using the connector on the back pack and build on that.



I decided to ditch the entire thing and simply build a new connector. To make it easier for me, I built this in several parts instead of just cutting one piece of WHIPS at the middle, the main one having an upside down "U" and covers the notch that goes into the back pack, on the top and sides. I then cemented 3mm beams along the length of the notch on the bottom and top for optimum strength and tightness, then covered the bottom part with a piece of WHIPS. I cemented the other piece of the shield support assembly directly onto the 3mm beams, and they align as if this modification was meant to be.



This now becomes the Haribon's wing mount. I've temporarily mounted the shields itself, since I might use them as the base for the wings. This kinda reminds me of one of the Empire's shuttles in Star Wars.



Test fit.



I've modified the rear skirt as a "single" unit for the Haribon's tail. I'm still deciding which design I'll implement, whether a simple layered armor, or long feathers, similar to the Ronin's layered scales.


I'll try to post an update this weekend.

"HARIBON" MG RMS 108 Marasai vMatX Part III

Lightning update:

After the extending the upper arms, there was something about the forearms that kept bugging me (never mind the bright background lighting):



It looked too short for comfort. This is the kind of escalation I was trying to avoid (like how the Itch with the Chimera build) since again, I didn't want to do unplanned modifications, but to no avail. I was actually thinking about it while I was posting part II, but brushed it aside, till I could no longer.

Then again, the modification for this is about the same one I did for the ankle joint and rather simple. In this case however, I drilled the hole at the center off the ball along the its axis first, then cut the entire peg at the base. This pre-aligns the extension beam.



Then used the same encapsulation method I did earlier. In this case however, I was using a 2mm round beam and a pipe with a 3mm inner diameter (the same type I used with the upper arm). To compensate for the difference, I cut thin strips of 0.3mm plaplates (yes, I still have a few of these buggers), and stuffed them in the gap and around the beam, then dropped cement to saturate the stuffing. It's a simple matter of attaching the peg/ball and sealing the entire thing with cement.



Better, if I do say so myself.



I'll try to post an update as soon as I can I'll be spending as much free time I have as I can on this build, but I have to work on a couple of projects first.