1/20 FSB: RMX-000X Raptor X Part 2

The Poetry of Symmetry

Since I've decided not to enter this to HLJ's Sci-Fi competition (though I might enter another kit if the itch doesn't go away), I'm no longer pressured to do a pair of everything that needs it. The parts I am making are for both the left and right leg, so I can basically skip making another set for the other side. Regardless, I take note of every part I make that has symmetry involved, just in case I have enough time left to make a complete set.

One way for me to keep a running total of parts is to make a basic template, and use that to make duplicates by double-taping the template to a piece of HIPS, cutting it, taping that, cutting it, and so on, until I have enough. These will be the sides of the thigh armor.



Cut Clean.  Build Clean.

I'm exclusively using 1.0mm HIPS now since it's softer and easier to work with than the 2.0mm, for the armor at least.  My shaped plates/slabs are 2.0mm thick, so I had to make eight 1.0mm to make four 2.0mm slabs, so on, so forth.  I made sure I applied enough cement from edge to edge for an even bond, using extra thin along the seam lines to close gaps, and clamping them for at least 30 minutes.  This is essential, especially with parts that will have holes later on.  Any gap without cement will distort the plastic when holes are drilled and/or enlarged.  When this happens I simply apply more extra thin cement and re-clamp the area concerned, but nothing beats doing it right the first time.

I saved a pair of shaped plates just in case, already prepped for the internal frame of the second leg (which is also basically done, sans a few details). I made a 2.0mm slit halfway through the wider section of the slab, and used that slit to make an alignment guide on the "cheek" of the thigh frame.



I then cemented a 2.0mm beam on the cheek along the alignment guide, and this will serve as the "rail" for the thigh armor to slide on.



I initially planned this to be a one-part solid slide on armor which locks the intermediary joints, but being that that would be cast, I decided to make it a three-part slide interlock. The two side armors will have slide rails;



Which will be interlocked by the front armor via the slide rails. The armor will slide from the midsection up, and I made sure the parts fit snugly together when interlocked. I did something similar before with the K'triya backpack modifications (a tale to be told later).





The interlock armor, after a few improvements, like adding bulk (using the same template), beveling and (ugh) koto minus molds. I'm not too fond of koto parts, but I've used these nifty little buggers quite a few times when necessary. I'll be adding armor detail later on.



Like I mentioned before, this will have exposed frame parts, so I guess the interlock is a good option for the armor. Regardless, I might do a simpler, solid version, depending on how Alex would want to tackle this later on.  The back of the thigh kinda reminds me of the Turn A and Turn X.



Size comparison with the PG 00's thigh.



Here's a vid of the modular leg assembly.

Next, the shin armor.

MG Turn X Gundam ver MatX WIP Part IX

 
June's going to be a very hectic month for me, as I have a couple of classes, a whole day seminar, my former boss urging me to work for her again, a couple of "real" projects and not to mention our album launch, so, I'm trying to get as much Gunpla time as I can. (My build off with Falldog will have to wait a while, but, I already have a few ideas on what to do with my The O).

Anyways, more challenges unfold as I go further into this build. Simple as it may look (like a Star Trek saucer with a shark's fin stuck on it), the Turn X's shoulder armor proved nevertheless a difficult build. I thought I would have been able to do this with simple plaplate bending magic (if it were JUST a customization), but, I realized that won't do because this is after all going to be cast for reproduction considering the overall shape of the part and how I'll connect it to the arm. Also, instead of constructing this as a solid, one-piece part, I opted for a 3-piece construction.

As such, I used a different technique to build this part. Instead of sandwiching plaplates right away and sculpting them afterward, I cut out the basic shape of the base of the shoulder armor from 1.5mm HIPS. Checking for symmetry, I scored "lightly" on the middle, and attached 2mm beams appropriately to make it solid. This serves as the frame for what I dub as "progressive plaplate sculpting," which is something I've used before in earlier "simpler" builds.



The beam that runs across the middle is off center and will serve as the frame for that side. Once cut, I simply cemented another piece of beam to the other side, and braced it with 1.5mm HIPS. I'm using thicker HIPS for this to ensure a solid construction, and the beam increases the workable area and enables me to work faster (a smaller area would mean I would have to wait longer for the cement to cure before I can proceed). The mid brace serves as the first "layer," and is shaped right away and becomes the "guide" for the next layer, so on and so forth.



The 2mm rear beam also becomes the spacer for the back brace.



With that done, it's all a matter of adding the layers up one at a time and sculpting them to shape.





The middle part, or "Shark's Fin," is made by sandwiching a 1.5mm HIPS between two 1.0mm plaplates then later shaped as such (later on, I'll simply call the lot of them HIPS, as I mentioned in the tutorials, H.I.P.S., for all intents and purposes are basically plaplates). The fin also follows the undershape of the main shoulder, which was my main concern to begin with.





I've yet to do the "tail" section of the part (which will either be connected to the fin or the main sections), but that would be rather easy compared to this. I'm still deciding whether to keep the parts separate and simply add connective parts, or cement them as one solid piece.  I'll finish this by cementing bent plaplates over the top section.  This method actually enables me to get a more accurate and better curved surface.