The Dragon Ronin Gallery

It took me a while, but I was finally able to take gallery pictures of the Ronin.  The pictures speak for themselves.

Crunch Time!

As the days fly by and I inhale paint fumes yet again, I contemplate when this all began. Two years ago, I made a boneheaded move of modding a PG Red Frame Astray two months into the then known BAKUC. Two days before the actual submission date, I realized I wasn't going to make it, but I pressed on, hoping that Murphy won't rear his ugly head as I fought exhaustion, paint-fume-induced hallucinations and deep knife nicks, staring at an uncompleted kit and half-done simple diorama. Two hours before the deadline, I put the slightly used can of Bosny flat clear down, and looked at the mess I ended up with, and the dust that reached even in my bedroom.

Who knew that I'd be working on the Ronin again? I certainly didn't plan anything, nor did I have plans in joining any competitions anymore (I'm not really competitive, regardless of what anyone may assume or believe. I have always maintained that my greatest competition has always been myself and my tendency to procrastinate). I simply work on modifications, and when done, move on to the next. I have the unfinished K'triya/Cherub and MG Turn-X conversion, so, if I'm going to base my progress on the Ronin, these two might see the light in the next couple of years.

Cheap DIY Paint Booth ver MatX Part II

Conclusion:

Like I mentioned previously, I've used packaging and duct tape to reinforce the boxes for this little project. I've actually managed to use up a whole 2-inch wide roll just to wrap the edges and reinforce the seams. I've also used 4 1/8" diameter 1-inch bolts with washers to secure the fan mount to the bottom of the main part of the booth.

The Ground of the Dragon Shrine

The 4Ps of Gunpla: Plastic. Practice. Patience. Pain.

After 20 hours of etching on 1.5mm HIPS (and, with painful hands and arms afterward), the ground pattern for the Dragon Ronin's shrine has finally "taken shape." I've "undertraced" the Dragon by attaching the print over the HIPS with double-sided tape, used a sharp knife to score deep enough onto the plastic, then later on deepened the grooves using a dried out microline pen like a stylus. For the Yin-Yang stones, I used a compass and a circle cutter to score the plastic, and used the same stylus to etch the details.



I had to shoot this at an angle to make the "stones" visible. The Dragon itself is visible because I've penciled in on the grooves.