Do It Yourself Painting Clips

Update 11/09/2009: Finally found some alligator clips, so made a part two of this tutorial using the alligator clips.

Decided to make my own painting clips like the ones being sold to model builders by the hobby industry. Ideally I would have wanted to use the standard alligator clips but I wasn't able to find any of that type. What I found in my local hardware store that was small enough to grip even the minutest part were miniature battery clips. They cost about $1.10 for a 4 pack.

Finished shots of Quattro Bajeena's Rick Dias

Finished assembling the Rick Dias that I was building a few days ago. After we got some good weather around my parts, decided to take some still shots of the completed project. I decided to skip the decaling step and just leave it as is, without its AEUG markings.

Plastic Primer Paint

Here's a lucky find, a plastic primer paint from TOA paint of Thailand. Its supposed to be Acrylic Lacquer based and works ideally for ABS, PVC and PP plastic types. It's cheap too at only $2.30 per 400 cc can. The color of the primer coming out of the can is white. The plastic primer was originally created for preparing the surface of the plastic parts of motorcycles so that the final paint can stick easily onto the surface.

Gundam 00 Exia Color Guide

While waiting for paint to dry during my assembly of the Rick Dias MG, I was looking at the color guides for the different scales of the Gundam Exia at Hobby Search. This was in preparation of the Gundam Exia I purchased from HW Japan that I'm hoping will arrive in a couple of weeks.

1/60 VF-1S Unpainted version from Yamato Toys

Update: 01/24/2010: HLJ announced a tie up with Yamato Toys which allows them to sell exclusive items such as this. This is selling for 5800 yen at HLJ.

Just posted yesterday at the Yamato Toys site, an unpainted version of the iconic VF-1S from the original Macross tv series in 1/60 toy scale. Its scheduled to be available by December of 2009 and will have a sticker price of 8295 yen (after tax).

1/100 Rick Dias Quatro Bajeena MG Assembly: Problem with the Red

Continuing where I left off. In a perfect modelling world, paint is not supposed to come off from a model kit when it lightly scratches off another part from the model. I'm not used to modelling paint coming off my models like it did with the Master Grade Rick Dias that I am working on right now. Then again, my previous model kits never had any moving parts in them that rubbed against each other, because as a young lad I mostly built planes and ships.

Hobby Search to Accept Paypal Payments

Update 04/02/2010:Hobby Search once again announces that their Paypal Service is back up and are offering a sale to go in line with it. I hope that wasn't an April Fools' joke *snicker*

Update 11/19/2009:Spoke too soon. Turns out that there is a problem with Hobby Search and Paypal, so they had to cancel all orders that were to be paid via paypal. Of course, since I was in one of the banned countries that Hobby Search will only allow to pay via paypal, shopping is officially stopped for me till their troubles are fixed.

Hobby Search Japan announced that they will soon be accepting payments via Paypal. Because of which also they will also stop selling stuff not suitable to minors starting November 4, 2009. No doubt as a result of the addition of the Paypal service in their site, since Paypal is very strict as to the type of things their merchants can sell using their payment gateway.

I would recommend using Paypal as the means to pay for one's purchases online. That's because you don't have to leave your credit card details with the merchant whenever you transact using Paypal.

Rick Dias MG : Paint it Black

In the continuing saga of the Rick Dias build, I decided to tear down what I had accomplished already for the sake of repainting the head and torso to match the color scheme of the Rick Dias in the TV series, Zeta Gundam. The color guide for the Rick Dias says that the chest and head parts are a shade of red brown and black, the series however has it more of a shade of black.

1/100 Rick Dias Quattro Bajeena MG Assembly

Started building already the 1/100 Rick Dias from Bandai that arrived for me recently. I was able to jump right in the contruction phase because the translation of the Rick Dias manual to English took a lot quicker than I had expected since there weren't a lot of stuff to translate with regards to building instructions.



I had already finished with the 1/72 VF-25G Messiah from Bandai that I was initially building, all that was left to do was decal it. I have to confess though that I was overwhelmed by the amount of decals that had to be put on, so I decided to forego it in the meantime and do instead something less stressful, which was to build the Rick Dias. I will decal it though, when I have the proper mindset already for that more difficult task.

Review of Hobby World Japan (HWJapan)

Update: HWJapan announced its closure as of March 15, 2011. Sad really because I liked their service.

Update 12/04/2009: Package shots of my second shipment from HWJapan can be found here here.

Update 11/26/2009: My order arrived today from HWJapan, pictures of the box and review of the packaging can be found here.

Just posted an order at HWJapan a few days ago and am now waiting for my order to arrive. Great timing too on my part as most of the Gundam model kits were on a 10~30% discounted price scheme.

Unlike most online sellers in Japan that cater to international customers, HWJapan is actually a subsidiary of an actual model kit company, and this is Aoshima. Aoshima has been building model kits since 1961. They are located in Shizuoka Prefecture, the mecca of model kit manufacturers.

Macross Chronicle 34 and 35

According to the Official MacrossF blog, issue no. 34 of the Macross Chronicle will be available by October 29, 2009 while issue no. 35 will be available by November 12. A glimpse of what's inside shows:

Mechanic Sheet will have some information on the VF-17 Nightmare of Diamond Force. The default color is dark blue, but there is a red variant because Miria Falynna-Jenius commandeered Lt. Kinryuu's Nightmare for herself and adorned it with her colors when City 7 got separated from Battle 7 in the Macross 7 series. Lt Kinyruu got injured in the ensuing rescue operation.

Innovators Walk it Out!

I can't help but remember this video of Gwen Verdon and two other companions dancing on a show in the 60's whenever I see Ribbon's Almark and his Innovator crew... its that sixties style wardrobe of theirs that's causing it... hehehe. The Innovators were the main antagonist in the Gundam 00 Season 2 series.

Meaning of the symbols found in a Bandai Model Kit's Manual

Update: Translated Color Guides and Manuals can be found here.

A modelling kit will usually have symbols in their instruction manual right next to the illustration. Their purpose is to make it easier for modellers to understand what has to be done in this step as well as to save on space on the part of the manufacturer in having to type the instruction in the manual.

Most of the symbols in Bandai Model model kit manuals are generic to each other. Which is convenient because if you've seen one then you've seen them all and you can be assured that they practically mean the same thing. The symbols meanings are usually found at the bottom of the page for the newer model kits, while on the older kits its found in the first few pages.

The downside is that they are written in Japanese. But fear not because this post will give an English translation of what those symbols mean.


Part to be glued - these parts should be glued together. For a Bandai kit this is usually rare nowadays because the recent models have been designed to just snap together. On the rare occasion that parts have to be glued together regular scale model glue (like Tamiya Plastic Cement, Revell Contact Cement). I myself prefer Super Glue to stick parts together, except in the case of clear parts as the super glue might fog it up.

Metallic Sticker Number - this is the sticker number of the sticker from the sticker sheet to be sticked on at that location.

Bandai 1/72 VF-25G Messiah Model Kit English Translation Part VI Page 24 - 31

This is the last piece of the 1/72 VF-25G Messiah English Manual Translation project. It covers pages 24-31 and picks up from part V found here. Once again, a final disclaimer to use at your own risk and to have the manual on hand when building because only the parts of the manual which had Japanese characters on it are posted and translated here.

Gundam and Bandai Model kits on Sale at HWJapan

Just in case you haven't heard about it yet, HWJapan has been a having a sale on their Gundam and Model Kits. Some of these items can go as low as 30% off. And the great thing about it is that the sale isn't limited to just specific kits, even the newer kits are covered by the sale. I noticed however that the Macross Model kits weren't going as low as the Gundam model kits, still, compared to its original selling price it is quite low.

And the great thing about it also, aside from the low price, is that you still get to earn points with your discounted purchases.

After purchasing from their site I just had to do a second purchase right away because I feared that they might run out of stock of the kits I wanted. Great time to go gift shopping too, in order to avoid the Christmas rush.

I wonder if the 30% discount on Gundam kits is because of the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam franchise?, or is it just a mere coincidence?

Lessons Learned when using Commercial Spray Paints on Model Kits

Been experimenting with those spray paints found in hardware stores that are usually used in commercial applications (cars, furniture, etc) for use in model kits as one modeller suggested this to me. My problem had been that my "remote" location meant that there were no hobby stores in my area to source modelling paints from. Well there was "the" one store but it had a very limited selection, (I could count in my one hand the available spray paint in their store). Also the price was very high since it was really a toy store and selling kits seemed to be just an experiment on their part to see whether it would take off or not.

Review of Hobby World Japan (HWJapan)

Update: HWJapan announced its closure as of March 15, 2011. Sad really because I liked their service.

Update 12/04/2009: Package shots of my second shipment from HWJapan can be found here here.

Update 11/26/2009: My order arrived today from HWJapan, pictures of the box and review of the packaging can be found here.

Just posted an order at HWJapan a few days ago and am now waiting for my order to arrive. Great timing too on my part as most of the Gundam model kits were on a 10~30% discounted price scheme.

Unlike most online sellers in Japan that cater to international customers, HWJapan is actually a subsidiary of an actual model kit company, and this is Aoshima. Aoshima has been building model kits since 1961. They are located in Shizuoka Prefecture, the mecca of model kit manufacturers.

How to use Hasegawa Mirroring Finish

Here's a video posted on youtube showing how to use Hasegawa's Mirroring Finish.


Its basically a sticker that is peeled off then placed on top of the model to give it a metallic mirror like finish. It seems to be thin and stretchable enough that you can use a tooth pick or cotton swab to push it into the recesses of the model's details.

Gundam Stop Motion Animation

Here's an interesting use for Gundam Plastic Model's, as actors in your very own stop motion animation film. This was done by Youtube user buntoke. This use is a testament to the super poseability of a Gundam Model kit.

Front Page Redesign

Been inactive for a while from this site owing to a redesign of the front page as well as some back end stuff that I'm working on right now. Don't think you guys will notice anything different other than the top page right now.

RMS-099 Rick Dias Quattro Bajeena 1/100 MG

Update (10/30/2009) : Just finished building this kit, finished shots of the Rick Dias can be found here.

This just arrived yesterday for me from the post office. Bandai's Rick Dias in 1/100 Master Grade scale. When I was introduced to Gundam in 2005, via the Zeta Gundam Series in Animax, I never really was into the Gundam's design. I thought that it was too flashy, the Rick Dias however I came to like immediately.

Bandai 1/72 VF-25G Messiah Model Kit English Translation Part V Page 20 - 23

Picking up again where we left off from here from the VF-25G Messiah Japanese to English Manual Translation Project. Will point out also that to please use at your own risk and that only those pages which have Japanese characters in them were translated and posted here. Those panels which were just diagrams weren’t uploaded so its best to have your own manual in front of you while building so you can be sure that you don’t leave anything out. Next set of pages found here.

How to compute cost of shipping from Japan

Update: (10/14/2009):I went through some of my old purchases and checked the value computed from this tool versus the actual shipping charged to me. Turns out that the shipping cost is more than twice the value that comes out. One reason could be because of the packaging of the item, which usually includes the box and the other plastic used to wrap it in that adds to the weight of the final package. So as a rule of thumb, I guess it would be best to multiply this value by 2.5 for a more realistic guestimate of your shipping cost.

Trying to determine how much your shipping is going to cost (more or less) when purchasing stuff online at a Japanese hobby stores doesn't have to lead to too much guess work from your end. Thanks in part to this online tool developed by the Japanese postal system.

Its quite easy to use in fact. First you choose the type of item that will be sent. If its toys, hobby kits and other non flat items, you should choose "Parcel(package)".

Looks Who's Standing

Not much to update today due to unforeseen events preventing me from getting online. Except of course that I have finally transformed the VF-25G from the starting fighter mode during build time, to the much anticipated Battroid mode. Still lacking hands though and the rifle still isn't made. I also left out the antenna because I didn't want it to accidentally snap off while I tried to transform the VF-25G.

One downside of the transformation was that I got some blue paint on the chest plate. Must have scrapped off from some area which was painted blue during the transformation.

Will hopefully have more updates soon.

Tamiya RC Car Product videos of the 80's

This sure brought back some memories, watching Tamiya RC Car product videos from the eighties. I remember a friend lending to me his video tape that had these. I'm not even sure if these can even be considered as commercials because they don't look like the type that could be broadcast on tv's short 30 second format. They look more like those type of videos that were displayed in Hobby Conventions.

How are Gundam Plastic Model kits made?

Great video from youtube uploaded around 2007 which details how Gundam model kits are made. The video was taken at the Bandai Shizuoka Works in Shizuoka Japan. This is the factory where Bandai designs, creates and manufactures Gundam Plastic model kits, now they do that at the Bandai Hobby Center in Shizuoka. The video specifically shows how a 1/100 Aile Strike Gundam (ガンダム SEED 1/100 エールストライクガンダム) from the Gundam Seed series was made. Considering how old the Gundam Seed Series is already (2002~2003), we could also surmise that the video is a lot older than its youtube upload date.

1/72 VF-25G Messiah build is almost finished

Good News Everyone (ala Futurama *snicker*), the 1/72 VF-25G Messiah build is almost finished. I'd say about 80% done already.

1/144 Bandai HG Gundam Double "O" Raiser GN Sword III

Just posted in the Bandai Hobby Site, to be released by the 17th of October a Bandai HG Gundam Double "O" Raiser GN Sword III from the Gundam 00 series of the Gundam franchise. Its supposed to retail for around 2100 yen.

Wave Corporation Macross HWR-00 Monster Mk II and Tomahawk

Saw this picture at Akiba Hobby blog taken during the 49th All Japan Plastic Model Show. For a while there I thought that this was a 1/60 HWR-00 Monster Mk II alongside some 1/60 scale Tomahawks from Yamato Toys. Turns out however that its from Wave Corporation and its in 1/100 scale while the Tomahawks are in 1/72 scale.

49th All Japan Model Hobby Show 2009

Update (10/11/2009): More pics again from Amiami, here and here. While Akiba Hobby also has a new post here.

Update (10/10/2009): More new posts again for day 2 of the 29th All Japan Model Hobby Show. From Akiba blog, more detailed shots of the Master Grade Gundam Victory ver Ka. From Amiami blog, more on Bandai's items and a the other manufacturers at the show. Here's also some posts from Hobby Stock here and here.

Online retail giant, Amiami, posted on their blog today photos of Bandai's and other Model Manufacturer's items on display at the 49th All Japan Model Hobby Show 2009 (第49回 全日本模型ホビーショー). The show started today, October 8 2009 and will run till the 11th. The venue is at Makuhari Messe, Chiba.

More shots of Brera Stern's VF-27 Lucifer that Bandai is offering as a 1/72 kit was shown.

Bandai 1/72 VF-25G Messiah Model Kit Build Update

I got a lot of stuff done today with regards to the building of the 1/72 VF-25G Messiah of Michael. Yesterday I had completed the head, the cockpit and the arms, while today I finished working on both legs. I'm halfway through the manual already.

No More Modelling Paints from Japan

I sent an email to Hobby Link Japan yesterday inquiring about the restrictions for buying model painting supplies from their online store since I didn't want to go through the experience of adding stuff on my basket not knowing that these items can't be shipped to me.

Based from my own experience from sending stuff overseas I know that you aren't allowed to ship anything via airmail that comes in compressed form so I was pretty much sure that as long as I lay off the spray paint cans there wouldn't be any problems.

An HLJ rep quickly and politely replied to my email saying:

Nipper for Model Kits

Before model kit builders began selling modelling kit nippers. Old school model kit builders were using Nail Nippers to cut off the parts from the plate runners.

The great thing about the nail nipper is that it is tapered, so that it can fit easily into the gaps between gate and runner. Also since it was designed to cut nails, it is wickedly sharp, so it will slice through regular gates cleanly and thoroughly.

Portable Spraying Booth in 5 minutes

Will be spray painting my 1/72 VF-25G soon, so the first thing I wanted to do was to build my own Spraying Booth. This one I wanted to make portable so that I could bring it outside when painting yet store it inside the house. The materials and tools I got for this little project was an old box that Over-Drive-Inc had used to ship my VF-1S over. This box opened up from the top. Then I got some duct tape, a Styrofoam board and a pair of scissors.

Bandai Hobby Site schedule of Release and Price list for October 2009

Once again, a tabular list of the items that Bandai Hobby is releasing for October, along with it are the recommended selling prices of the items.

What I'm posting here are just the new item releases for October, their prices and release dates. You can download the complete PDF file here.

Bandai 1/72 VF-25F Messiah Model Kit Assembly Video

Found this great video showing how the parts of the 1/72 VF-25F Messiah model kit by Bandai comes together during assembly.

Old Japanese Macross and Gundam TV Commercials

I betray my age whenever I say that my legs get weak whenever I see these old Japanese commercials for toys and plastic model kits during the 80's. I find it funny really because I never even lived in Japan when I was a kid. I have a feeling that watching the grainy video ellicits a feeling of nostalgia for us children of the eighties. Its the chance to see the world through 80's eyes again I guess. Back then there were no HD's or wide screen tv's. 14" was the norm for a tv screen and most often than not your television set was shared and the reception was in black and white. If you wanted to watch in color you had to hook up with your rich neighbor's kid... and cable? what's cable?...hehehe

Bless the soul of this guy who preserved and uploaded all these old commercials.

Anyway here's an old Macross model kit commercial:

Shoji Kawamori at Satelight

Found this video on youtube which shows an interview of Macross creator Shoji Kawamori as well as a tour of his office at Satelight

CD Japan Autumn 2009 Clearance Sale

CDJapan announced their Autumn clearance sale for 2009 where some overstocked items will go as low as 90% off.

Sale will last from October 1 to October 29, 2009. Aside from the discounts, customers will also be able to avail of rewards points for their purchase as well as CDJapan discounts. CDJapan must be cleaning up for the holidays so that they can get fresher inventory.

Bandai 1/100 Hi-Metal VF-19 Fire Valkyrie

Update: 01/26/2010 More pictures of the Basara Nekki's Fire Vakyrie were posted at the Amiami blog.


Update: 10/06/2009 Hobby Link Japan has their's up for pre-order already at 6,650 yen.

Update: 10/04/2009 Hobby Search has it up for pre-order already selling at 6,650 yen.

Japanese online behemoth, Amiami seems to have beaten other popular online sellers to the punch by having listed the 1/100 High Metal VF-19 Fire Valkyrie for presale on their site.

Over Drive Inc's Macross Toy Sale

The Yamato Toy's sale at Over-Drive-Inc doesn't seem to be over yet as the 1/60 scale toy series that they had put up on sale last May is still on going. That's where I was able to buy my 1/60 Hikaru Ichijo VF-1S DYRL version for only $73.99. Was mightily pleased by it and thanks to EMS shipping got it quickly.

Hurry and come and get yours while stocks are still available. Over Drive Inc even went so far as to say that with their ongoing sale, it would be cheaper to buy a 1/60 VF-1 and a Super Pack kit separately than to buy one VF-1 complete with Super Packs already.

Washing of the Plates

There's no stopping this project any further! I decided to finally start building the 1/72 VF-25G Messiah from Bandai that I had bought at Hobby Link Japan when it was on sale. I'd be satisfied right now with only having the two main colors available since I would be displaying this kit in battloid mode, meaning that it will hide the other unpainted parts of the kit.

Yamato Toys 1/60 VF-11C with Super Packs

Update: 10/18/2009HWJapan also has it up for pre-order, cheaper too at 15,040.Yen.

Update: 10/14/2009 Hobby Search has this up for pre-order already here and its going for Y17,860.

Yamato Toys seems to be going into full swing using their license to produce Macross 7 products by announcing right away a new product in this line a few days after announcing that they were making 1/60 VF-22S of Max and Milia Jenius.

Bet you didn't see this coming, a rendition of the VF-11C Thunderbolt Cannon Fodder from Macross 7.

Bandai Master Grade Model List

I've always liked the Master Grade Line of Gundams made by Bandai. Specifically because they are just the right size and their price is within reach. Add to that the level of detail and parts that they have equates to long hours of model kit assembly fun.

Its probably the reason why Bandai has a lot of kits in its Master Grade line, knowing that there will always be a market for these. Before, when starting out with Gundams, I always looked at the catalog of online hobby stores to guage which kit to buy. Only when I found this great list of Master Grade Gundams at the Bandai site did I realize that there were a lot more MG's to be had out there.

Tamashii Nation 2009 Autumn Show

Update (10/03/2009): New blog post at Amiami here. Judging from the better photo featured in this post of the VF-27 which shows its size in relation with the other DX toys from Tamashii, its starting to firm up the evidence that this is actually the much anticipated 1/60 DX Chogokin VF-27...Woohoo! Notice how similar it is in size to the VF-25S armored of Ozma Lee found on the shelf.

Update (10/02/2009): More updates from the Amiami and hobby stock blog found here, here and here

Update: Additional blog posts at Hobbystock found here, here, here and here

First shots of Tamashii Nations Autumn 2009 show at Akiba Square are already up at Hobby Stock and Amiami.



Of particular interest to me is this shot of a VF-27 Lucifer. Which begs the question, is this a 1/72 model kit or a 1/60 DX Chogokin of the VF-27 Lucifer? I'm asking this because Tamashii usually handles the DX Chogokin and not the 1/72 model kits of Bandai. Not to mention that the published product line-up of Tamashii for the show didn't say anything.

Bandai 1/72 VF-25G Messiah Model Kit English Translation Part IV Page 14-19

Picking up from the previous post where we tackled the translation of pages 9-13 of the 1/72 VF-25G Manual. Once again, please use at your own risk and kindly be informed that only those pages which have Japanese characters in them are posted here. Those without weren't uploaded so its best to have your own manual in front of you while building so you can be sure that you don't leave anything out.