"BATHALA" - PMX-003 MG The O vMatX Part V

Symmetrical Solipsism. Symmetry is always a tricky matter especially when doing symmetrical parts at separate times. I started these at the same time, but, as it went, I had to redesign them to make them streamline. The problem wasn't avoiding having to redo the parts, but rather, making them symmetrical at mid-stage of the build. So I had to employ a few old tricks maybe a few of you already know.

We generally use masking tape to mask parts during painting, and maybe keep cemented parts in place as they bond and cure. But, I also use masking tape to achieve curved-parts symmetry by applying tape over the curved surface I want to replicate, marking the edges I want to copy with a pencil, then apply that over a slab of WHIPS (or plaplate). I then simply cut the part along the lines I've made, adjusting the cut as needed, then flip the cut part. With this technique, I can achieve very close symmetry with little room for error.





Using the same masking tape technique, I outlined the main half-leaf shape. Since I've already braced the outer edge of the layered armor, and with the marking tape curving in instead of out, I have an extra millimeter or so to contend with with the replicated mirror-version of the armor. This can be adjusted later on.



The rest is easy. All I had to do in this case is mirror the ribbing and connective parts.





Then pencil marks are planned details, which most probably done with 0.5mm WHIPS.

"BATHALA" - PMX-003 MG The O vMatX Part IV

Skirting by. I decided to modify the the front skirts to more appropriate proportions, reducing the width in the process. I cut the ball joints and one of the vent connections on each of the skirt frames, then cut the skirt armor along the length of the thicker section. I then cut the side section to remove a few millimeters. I then made a new connective framework by merging the connective ball joint with a shaped WHIPS, reinforced at the edge with 3mm beams. I then rebuilt the armor with WHIPS, maintaining the vent connector. These will undergo further detailing.





I've also rebuilt the midsection of the the rear skirt by modifying a spare part from my PG Astray kit (coincidentally, this is also a rear skirt section) and modifying the frame to add shape, detail and volume overall. The assembly comes three sections for easier painting later on.





Last but not least, I've decided to build the rear skirts entirely from scratch, mainly because the modified stock skirts seemed off, and any further modifications would be a waste of time. Unlike the Front skirts, I'll be making these in once-piece sections, mainly because of the curvature I need to accomplish.



Prototyping frustration. Initially, the rear skirts looked nice to me, that is, until I've wrapped the top part. At this stage the flaws of my design bared its teeth, with the curves looking forced and uneven. I was going to simply cover it with my planned layered armor design, but that also posed a problem since even though it's a single piece, the thing got too heavy with all the thickening I had to do to get enough surface area on the edges for the curved surface to adhere to. So, I had to do a "quick" rethink.



At this point, I was already working on the layered armor for the initial design by curving shaped pieces of WHIPS. Without using heat, one can get a more spherical curve by combining smaller curved pieces. I prefer doing it this way since the armor is layered after all, and I can still make small adjustments later on.





While I was working on the layered armor, I decided to make the darn thing a two-piece assembly. I used the initial failed skirt as a mold for the layered armor, removed the top ugly part, and kept the base as it was, made adjustments as needed and mounted 3mm beams (that will serve as connectors). I added "ribs" on the inside part of the armor, which doubles as connective stops for the frame base.



The original one piece skirt with the two-piece redesign side-by-side justified my frustration earlier on. Aside from having a better, streamlined shape, the two-piece assembly is actually lighter than the single piece without the layered armor.




I'm using WHIPS exclusively now (I still have a whole 1.0mm, cut 0.5mm and 0.3mm Tamiya plaplates), to test its useability. Compared to plaplates, WHIPS are sifter and easier to cut, shape and bend. Filing and sanding is also a non-issue, though the softness does take a bit of getting used to.

"BATHALA" - PMX-003 MG The O vMatX Part III

Leg up! Modifications are tricky. Sometimes, I get to modify a lot of parts in a couple of days or so, sometimes, It takes several to modify just one part, especially when I have to get back to it to make repairs and additional modifications. This rarely happens when marrying PS to PS plastic, but often when marrying PS and ABS. In my experience so far, not all ABS plastics are created equal when it comes to combining them with polystyrene in modifications. The toughness of ABS when it comes to cutting and bonding it with cement varies with the color it comes in. The gold ABS frame of the MG Strike Freedom is rather soft, whereas the grey ABS frames of both the Sinanju and the Unicorn are indeed tough, but, since there are no polycaps for the joints, are susceptible to humidity and temperature change, that, when left posed for a long time, tend to stick. The upside of that is that they are also easy to bond to PS with cement, though, I have learned it's always best to reinforce joins. Next on the list is the PG RFA's red ABS frame. Though it melts upon contact with cement, and oozes when it undergoes pressure during bonding, it also tends to grow brittle over time.

The toughest so far (and you can test this yourself) is the black (or dark)-colored ABS frames (PG 00, MG Wing EW series, The O). Though similar to the red ABS in toughness, this one barely melts on contact with cement, unless I really rub the surfaces together. When the bonded surface dries, the ABS quickly lets go when stress is applied. Since I have the habit of modifying high-stress parts like joints, this is a major issue that I have to contend with, especially since for such a huge kit, the MG The O manages to have too small a part to modify easily.

So, after the nth test fit and it giving way (slightly, if I may add. The beam modification actually holds, but the external HIPS/ABS join is stubborn), I decided on applying the reinforcement mod I have been trying to avoid.

I shaved off about 0.5mm from the surface of the ABS/HIPS on the modified leg section (red area) and leveled it with a file. Using the 0.5mm WHIPS (White High Impact PolyStyrene) I recently acquired, I cemented a piece to merge the problematic joins together. I then encapsulated the edge with the same, saturating the joins with extra thin cement and applied pressure, especially on the radial part.



In this case, I waited for 12 hours before re-beveling the edges with a file and smoothing it with a 600-grit sandpaper. The one on the left is untouched, the one on the right has already been re-beveled.



Spared Parts. I have a LOT of spare parts, from various kits and stuff. Some, I've used to build the X-Walker, some, still waiting to be part of something else. In some cases when I do modifications, I do cut certain sections that have promising use, so I keep them whenever I can. Care to venture a guess which kit/s I got these from, and what will become of the parts on the second picture?



Footloose! The O is a HUGE kit. As such, it's not really strange that it has big feet. Nevertheless, that logic didn't stop me from stripping the side sections off because I think they look silly anyways (whatever practical use it may have). This one took the better part of 4-5 days to complete, from cutting, filing, attaching the new surface (using the 1.0mm WHIPS) and waiting for it to cure for 24 hours, then finally cutting away the excess and filing it again for good measure to make it seamless. I also cut the midsection for that "Kampfer" look.



With the lower shine/ankle extension looking too thin compares to the overall kit, adding volume to it is essential. I cut several 8mm clear tubes (with a pipe cutter), and made a pair of this nifty little bugger.



This slips into the remodified ankle to simply add volume and detail.

   

"BATHALA" - PMX-003 MG The O vMatX Part II

Shin/Ankle extension. As I looked at the test fit (see previous post), I felt that the lower shin was a tad "pudgy" especially with the armor attached. So I decided to add another 2cm. The cut was fairly simple, but, like the rest of the O's joints and parts, the leeway for attaching modifications is a bit limited, especially since ABS and PS plastics are rather incompatible when it comes to bonding the two together even with my homemade cement. The upper portion was easy to reinforce, but,



one of the the ball joints gave way a few times, mainly because I was too impatient to wait for the modification to fully cure before test fitting it. After adding beam reinforcement and waiting 48 hours, the ball joint was finally sturdy enough to be inserted into it's polycap partner.



The Wrist Joint. For such a huge kit, everything in it seems too small for any easy modifications. What's more, this joint also comes in two pieces, making the modification more difficult since the cut and extension mods should be precise. This type of ABS plastic also need a fair amount of cement saturation to "melt" with the PS so it comes off when I let it cure without enough applied pressure to weld the joins together.



The Rear Skirt Adapter. With the exception of the Wave ball joints, this one is scratchbuilt with 1.0mm HIPS and plaplates. I added grooves on the top part so it locks into place.



The Head. To accommodate the new head, I added detail to the neck. The trickiest part of this modification is cutting the "diamond-shaped" side detail as cleanly as I can since I'm going to use those as Vfin-like enhancements. This took a few hours to accomplish, using a combination of needlepoint, blunt and sharp knives, and finally a microsaw.







I then cut the "cheeks" and attached each to shaped 1.0mm white HIPS (I started testing the samples I procured which I plan to sell later on, I'm quite happy with the material), and wrapped it around the base of the head. I added another layer of plastic flush to the modified cheeks. This modification increased the heads lateral diameter significantly, making it look rather empty when the face is mounted. So I added shaped 1.0mm white PS to add detail, at the same time, these served as slots for the enhancements made from the side detail. I then shaved off excess material at the back of the head to give it a better shape overall.

This is the "face" of BATHALA.

"BATHALA" - PMX-003 MG The O vMatX Part I

I started modifying this kit after taking a break from the Raptor (which burnt me out).  Thus begins my cycle of unfinished builds (which will later be revisited and finished) and a finished one. 

Overview of initial modifications done:

1) Neck lengthened. Cap/cone is cut, reversed and swept back.

2) Collars are cut from the front and back piece, then cemented together to remove the seam. The Chest piece is cut out on certain sections to reveal the inner frame.

3) Shoulder armor is cut to reveal inner frame. The top part is cut from the spherical part, then cemented together, then cut into two sections for easier insertion. The circular parts are also cut away to give the section more depth, revealing the inner frame as well.

4) The abdominal section is lengthened by 12mm. The peg on the base of the waist is cut, then lengthened at the core with 5mm round beam and reinforced with beams.

5) The wrist is lengthened by 5mm to compensate for the abdomen's added length. This one is tricky because the wrist joint is made of two very small pieces, with almost no leeway for cutting and lengthening.

6) The Thighs and Lower legs are also lengthened by 20mm each. These are also tricky because of how the parts are designed. Cutting them is relatively easy, lengthening them is a bit difficult, especially since the cement takes time to "melt" the ABS plastic of the frame.

7) The back skirt armor is cut in the middle, while the inner frame's inner shape is cut around that section then reversed. The peg that the skirt attaches to is also lengthened significantly, and an adapter was made to connect the now separated back skirts.








The Shoulder Armor. I challenged myself with this one by cutting the unneeded parts (the ones that look like a pi) as cleanly as possible, because at the time, I wanted to be sure I have them intact just in case I'll be using them for something else later on.



The Main Body Armor. This is more cosmetic modifications, just to show parts of the inner frame. The pencil marks are planned panel lines and/or plaplate detailing. The functional modification in this are the collars, mainly for seamline removal.



The Lengthened Abdomen. The stock part came in two pieces, which sandwiched a double-end polycap that connects to the chest and waist. This is barely visible when assembled. I cemented the parts together, then drilled 2.8mm~ holes on the "corners" of the completed part, enlarging the holes enough to fit 3mm round beams. These beams extend all the way down to an extension base made from 2 pieces of 1.0mm HIPS, sandwiched together to firmly hold the beam posts. I then slowly bent a 10mm strip of 1.0mm HIPS, the wrapped it around the posts, making sure that the ends meet exactly on the back part.



The Waist/Groin Assembly. This is a straightforward lengthening, though I did have a few problems with the stability of the waist extension initially since the polycap hugs the peg very tightly, twisting the upper body loosened the modification. So, I reinforced the modification with 3mm square and round beams, with the round ones boring into the base of the waist, saturating it later on with thin cement and letting it cure for 48 hours before attempting another test fit. For the rear skirt peg, it's a simple extension with very little reinforcement needed.



The Rear Skirt. Like I mentioned earlier, I've cut around the mid part of the frame (very tricky if you want to cut it clean), and reversed it so that the detailed part is outside. I'll be lengthening and the skirts and will narrow them down to make the waist look "slimmer" from behind.



The Leg. Cutting these was the easy part, since I basically cut across the length of the parts. For the thigh (where the polycap is placed, there is very little space left for the lengthening beams to hold on to, so I had to saturate the joins with cement. I then cemented a strip of 1.0mmHIPS on the outside which serves as the lengthening part of the outside of the frame. It gave way even after 24 hours of curing, so I re-reinforced the joins with strips of 0.5mm HIPS, then re-saturating the joins.



TOTAL HEIGHT SO FAR: 30 CM