When in doubt...

When in doubt, I ask questions.  Everytime I go to unfamiliar place, without a predisposed knowledge of the ins and outs, I normally just ask people nearby; the vendors, the trike drivers, the guards, or, the cops, when there are in the area, for directions.  Most are helpful, some are not, and if it was the latter, I simply ask more people until I get it right.

I've written a few tutorials, some of which might be helpful to some people, or not, depending on the fact if I have written the tutorial well, with enough descriptive pictures supported by descriptive text.  Most of my WIP posts are tutorials within themselves, especially when I include step-by-step photos.  Also, when there's something I can't find online, I go ahead and try it myself.  Even if I find something online, I still go on ahead and try it myself, because, I might not get the same result after all.

I've also started selling a few items that I actually use.  White High Impact Polystyrene Sheets (WHIPS) are cheaper alternatives to Tamiya Plaplate and are of comparable quality.  They are also slightly softer than plaplates and are more pliable and bendable.  My White Sticky Stuff and Clear Sticky Stuff (yes, there's a joke there somewhere, as the names came from a joke in one of the groups) are cheaper alternatives to Tamiya Regular and Extra Thin cement.  I have never kept it a secret; the Sticky Stuff's base formula is Hudson Polyurethane Reducer (PUR).  PUR is available at local and mall hardware stores, usually in 1L and 4L cans, and although I keep telling people that, they prefer to get it at smaller amounts instead of the whole shhh-bang.  You can use pure PUR directly as cement, as I have repetitively mentioned, as well as numerous buyers can attest.



Hence, why the Matx Hobby Stuff Page was born.  My main products are the Sticky Stuff and WHIPS.  As was expected, I get a lot of inquiries regarding the two items, and although current sales are a bit slow, I have recovered my investments a few times over. 

I sell WHIPS at PhP80 for 1mm and PhP40 0.5mm, quite a steal considering Tamiya's 1.0mm plaplates are now at PhP170 a sheet at the same size.  My Sticky Stuff are at PhP80 per 85mL bottle and comes with a free applicator, whereas Tamiya cement are now at PhP180 at 40mL.  So, simply put, that is my main selling point.

I have been using these items even before I decided to market them as MatX "signature products" hence I can guarantee that they work.  Hudson PUR is actually a thinner for Polyurethane Varnishes.  The term "reducer" is a fancy name for thinner.

It's not uncommon for me to get questions regarding my tutorials (even though the inquiry was something I specifically showed on the tutorial, with photos) or about the products I sell.  My Sticky Stuff often get hit.  So, it's quite amusing when I get inquiries like this:

Him: boss you there? one quick question

Xander Xinger: ?

Him: i find one store here that sell one of your suggested alternative for tamiya cement..polyurethane reducer, i can use this as it is?

Xander Xinger: yup

Him: im still cautious on using this it might melt not only the sheet but also the armor part

Xander Xinger: a little should be fine.  also, TEST it on runner slabs

Him: and the clerk said its not a glue its a thinner.  is that okay?

Xander Xinger: dude, I've been using it. who do you believe, the clerk, or me?

Him: you of course. haha. okay..

Xander Xinger: again, it won't really hurt if you try it

Him: ill begin testing

Please note, I am not offended nor annoyed, but rather amused by what transpired above.  It's one thing to ask questions about something that isn't obvious, but quite another to do so when it is too obvious, like on a tutorial.  I don't blame the guy for having doubts, in his position, I would probably have doubts, but I've been into Gunpla long enough to realize no amount of asking questions or getting answers for them will suffice for something I don't do or try myself.  That's how I got to develop most of my tutorials, and discover alternative materials, after all.  My consistent use (and getting consistent results) of the Sticky Stuff should have been enough proof.

Anyways, No WIP update for the Hellraiser yet, but here are a few teaser pics (all of which are either modified or scratch built with WHIPS and Sticky Stuff).

The HELLRAISER Part III

The Tale of the Terrifying Truncated Torso

In our local folklore, we have a creature of the night called the "Manananggal." It is a vampyre/bat hybrid, usually female, and the reason it's called as such is because it can separate itself at the waist, with the upper torso transforming itself into a ghoulish form and grows wings. The mananangal often comes out during the full moon and hunts for human flesh, preferring the unborn. Of course, it rips the womb of the unlucky pregnant woman as well as it sucks the unborn fetus. As as kid, I was terrified of the manananggal more than anything else, and I often spread salt over our window sill and hang garlic cloves as well. I outgrew the fear eventually as I entered high school.

I was reminded of the creature while working on the Hellraiser mainly because I had to work on it in sections, but the Truncated Torso bit came mostly from how the PG WZC was built. It's mid torso "armor" was made of red rubber, so there's no other way around it but for me to build that entire section from scratch. That, too became part of the challenge.

The rubber torso attaches to four pegs on the chest frame, and is secured at the bottom by the lower abdominal armor. I will have to sacrifice full mobility of the torso, especially since it will have to support heavier wings. I initially planned to make a single, wrap-around piece (like the rubber piece), but I realized that won't be possible since the pegs are positioned at the front and the back of the chest. The rubber part was used because it can be flexed into position, something that can't be achieved with a solid piece. The pegs also connects the chest armor parts, so trimming them was out of the question.





While I was trying to figure out how to solve the Torso predicament, I proceeded building the hatch. Like I mentioned on Part I, the goshdarned torso frame is made of metal, so there was no way for me to do any other modifications, except to build around it. I had to disassemble the metal frame quite a few times, which got annoying since the screws and nuts always manage to fall. I used the original cockpit seat, trimmed and modified it, and retrofitted it at the front of the frame using the same fitting for the chest. I then added a 5-layer sandwich underneath the cockpit seat and shaped it as such to serve as both support for the seat and as mid brace for the peg attachment of the swivel mechanism for the hatch. The hatch covering itself is made of inter-spaced pieces of 1.0 WHIPS with 2mm beam braces, arranged in such a way to create a rectangular slot for the hatch peg.

This was a welcome accident, since it allowed the hatch covering to be inserted with ease, and the action doubles as a locking mechanism for the hatch when it is closed. I had to remove material from the lower abdominal armor to give enough space for the hatch.







Going back to the mid torso, There was no other recourse but build a three-piece section. I decided to work around the pegs and use them as mount points for the mid torso. These parts will now be locked onto position when the chest armor has been mounted.













Next: Shoulders to cry on...

The HELLRAISER Part II

Making the Impossible Possible

Although I started preparing myself, the kit and the plans for this build last November, I was only able to start i earnest cutting and hacking the parts as it drew to a close and December started coming in. Eventually, I ditched the plans I had made after assessing the kit, disassembling it and reassembling it so I'd know where things would go with or a without a manual. After making major modifications to make the WCZ head into the Hellraiser, I realized how much more work will go into its transformation from one to the other mainly because of how radically different those two looked.

Hatching a Plan

The main issue was the cockpit placement. The WZC's copckpit is located direct under the neck and deep inside the chest of the kit. The MG DSH has the cockpit at the center of the torso. This posed a problem because the PG WZC's entire torso frame is die cast metal. I will have to compensate for that and sacrifice build space later on, since I want a cockpit hatch.

I began my ordeal by slicing off the top mid front part of the chest. I realized later on that I sliced too much, following the upper slope of the chest which was way too steep. So I rebuilt that section with 1.0 WHIPS, and continue to modify and add volume to the structure to make it as similar as possible to the DSH. This in turn made the chest exaggeratedly too forward and pointy, but, as it turned out later, was a good thing.

I continued to make modifications, like slicing off the front of the chest to make room for the grills and vents.







As I have done in previous builds, I usually employ sandwiches (1.0mm WHIPS cemented over each other) to make some of the parts. For the collar , I made 3 pieces, cemented into a cornered "U" shape, and shaved it to match the stock collar. The mid section is a 3-layer sandwich. Up to this point, I haven't made any ruler-based measurements and have relied strictly on visual estimation. To make the parts as precises as I can when I can't use the connective part itself to make estimates, I usually employ the the "masking tape transfer" method, which is laying masking tape over the part, outlining the "measurements" with a pencil and sticking that over a piece of WHIPS using it as a guide for cutting. It works all the time, with very "minimal" margin for error.

For the grills, I cut 2mm strips of 0.5 WHIPS, stair-stepped them, and mounted them on another piece of 0.5mm.







Venting Out

Initially, I made the vent by cutting a strip of WHIPS and bending it, but I gave up on that method after it failed twice. I had to be creative with how to make it, so instead of just making it one solid part that is bent or sculpted, I decided to combine techniques. I sandwiched 3 pieces of 1.0mm, then shaped it to make the base of the vent, the cemented a piece of 0.5mm on top of it, bending it to form the pointed section. I turned the part over, and cemented another 0.5mm piece and shaped it as I proceeded. I had to make sure that the connections were saturated enough to weld together, but at the same time cure fast. (Side note: I have started working on other parts as other parts cure so I can work faster, but it's rather a bad habit that is hard to break).



As the vent was curing, I sealed the sides of the chest, cut slots for the vents, then laid over WHIPS to encapsulate the slot. The side "seal" also serves as "detail."





Up Next: The Terrifying Truncated Torso

The HELLRAISER Part I

RAISING HELL!

To those familiar with it, this project actually began last November 2012, and is my first commission. It started when Arvin Ignacio of Gundam Philippines (GPh) issued a challenge over Facebook to convert a PG Wing Zero Custom to a PG DeathScythe Hell Custom. Being it was on FB, I was tagged several times by people who knew that I was insane enough to accept the challenge. I had a class that day, and I got what is now known as a NOTIF BOMB; I got 40 notifications in a span of minutes. And, since I was tagged more than once, I was actually overwhelmed, that I had to quit my browser.

Arvin and I talked, and we agreed on a price and payment scheme. Assessing mine own speed at modifications, the build sill span at least 3 months. I've posted the WIP photos on my Online Store (which I will write about later). I haven't been able to write a decent WIP post until now, and since I've actually gone far along the build, I'll break it down into several WIP posts instead of making one huge and lengthy post.

When I accepted the challenge, a lot of people expressed their interest and expectations in the project. Someone even said it was (almost) impossible, but that person didn't know it was me who accepted the commission. Though I understand that person's notion about it being (almost) impossible, it is only such because he lacked the imagination. Great modelers, after all, have done more difficult challenges from scratch. Take that HG to RG Nu conversion by Kaku, for example.

I even had doubts myself. When I finally got the built PG WZC from Arvin, I was disappointed at how flimsy the kit was designed. As I was assessing the kit, I saw that it won't be easy even for me. The WZC and DSH had enough similarities to work on, and I decided I'd start on that.

HEADSTART

Quite literally. I started by comparing the heads of the MG DSH and the PG WZC. I noted the similarities and the differences and saw how I'll be able to use most of the parts as base for modifications.





I then cut and rebuilt the cheek parts to match that of the DSH and built a vent for the skull base by stair-stepping 4 pieces of 1.0mm WHIPS. I then overlaid a piece of bent 0.5mm WHIPS over the rear portion of the cheeks. This will become the case for the cheek vents.





I shaved off material from the rear of the head to make way for the vent mod. I mounted the Rear vent on piece of 1.0mm WHIP to hold it shape. That in turn is shaped to fit the modified head and becomes an insert.





The cheek vents are made by over lapping pieces of 1.0mm WHIPS and will simply be inserted into the cheek cases. The rear vent is then encapsulated, and pegs are placed on the inside. These pegs goes into the modifed head and will keep the part in place.





I modified the stock Vfin Base (or crest) by overlaying WHIPS until I had enough volume to shave off to create the pentagonal shape. The Vfins are made by sandwiching 3 pieces of shaped 1.0mm WHIPS, which are then beveled. I intentionally made them big so I have leeway for adjustments later on, but I actually like the exaggerated look.






Part 2 next...