I have RETURNED! At least I hope so...

Hello dear blog! I'm sorry I've avoided you for the past few months, but I've been busy with the job hunt and holidays. I have a job now, which means I can start funding my model addiction and (hopefully) have more time set aside for my hobbies.

This afternoon, I discovered that the MT 545 express bus, which departs across the street from my office, has a stop on the same block as the Redmond HobbyTown USA; this bus also runs every 10 minutes and fairly late. I just got paid and decided it was high time for some much needed supplies.

It was supposed to be a 1 hour round trip to Redmond, and I was budgeting myself at spending less than $20. Unfortunately, my trouble started when I thought I missed my stop and disembarked too soon. I wandered a scary business park with disappearing side walks, puddles, rain and speeding cars. Hopped a bus going the wrong direction, then crossed the interstate to catch a bus going the right way again. Walking the wrong direction and around 3 sides of a giant block that I shouldn't have, misreading Sleep Country USA for HobbyTown USA (same colors too) and when I finally reached my goal...I spent twice as much as I planned. I left work at 5:30pm, got there by 7:30pm, left at 7:45pm and got home at 9pm.

Was it worth it? Well, I got some supplies that I really needed to make awesome models.

• Superfine White Milliput (two part epoxy putty, clay like)
• Plastruct Bondene- liquid cement for styrene and ABS
• Un-Cure- CA remover = dissolves superglue
• Tamiya Masking Tape refill
• Squadron brand White putty (more pasty/liquid-like)
• Reinforced Dremel  Cut-off wheels (for sawing through metal rods)
• Fine point curved tweezers (for applying decals)

Shopping for hobby supplies is pretty boring compared to shopping for actual model kits, but I needed these to continue all of my current and future my hobby projects. I still need to tackle the spray booth issue, but I think I have enough to keep myself occupied for the time being.

Stay tuned for more model adventures!

Ground Type ZZ Gundam

Originally featured in the September 2000 issue of Dengeki Hobby Magazine (DHM), Ground type ZZ is a variation of the MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam (read: Double Zeta.)

Click here to read more.

MC Vincent, Guilford Use (Concept)

Let's take a break from Gundam and look at something a little different; like the Knightmare Frames (KMF) from Code Geass.

Vincent Commander Type, w/Float Unit

Click here to read more about my Code Geass project.

1/60 Fenics Rodeo Star

I wanted to take a break from building a Gundam and a Bandai kit—something completely different! Aesthetically speaking, I’ve always been drawn to steam punk/steam-era technology (e.g. Giant Robo, Kishin Corps.) A few years ago I picked up a few Sakura Wars V models on sale.

                                

Similar to the Kobu  in the original Sakura Wars anime, the Fenics are battlesuit armor. Unlike the Kobu, the Fenics transform into a flight mode.

Read full post here

HG Sword Impulse Gundam Ver. Tron Legacy

Hobby-wise, Spring of 2012 was full of a lot of firsts. It was the first Sakura-Con I've ever attended and it was the first official Gundam model contest I've entered.

Imagine what happens when you cross Gundam with Tron Legacy?

                                                                 

Copyright: This image is owned by Walt Disney Productions

 Ever since I saw Tron Legacy, I've wanted to make a Gundam similar to Sam's light suit. Whenever I have a new idea, I start out by scribbling it down. Then I scour the internet to see if other people had the same, or similar ideas. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I was inspired by deviantART user iamclu and this custom model. These are fantastic works, my beef is with the subjects, not the artist and hobbyist.

Check out the link below to read more about my Sakura Con Gunpla Entry.

Full Post

RGM Commander

For the past few months, I've been working on adapting the RX-92LAS G-Commander concept to a GM, mass production design.



Check out the links below to learn more about this massive kitbash project:

Part I: Concept and Design

What do you do when you have too many ideas?

Track them in Excel, of course!

About  a year ago, I started accumulating ideas of "what if?" for gunpla* and needed a way to keep track of everything. I was working as a Project Coordinator at the time, and became a big fan of Excel. I created a workbook to keep track of all of my present and future works in progress (WIPs). Later, I'll post a screen cap of my worksheet for reference purposes.

Currently, I'm working on the following projects, which will all get their own posts in the near future.

WIPs:

• 1/35 Sakura Wars V Rodeo Star- 85% done with painting, need more detailing and painting
• 1/144 HG GM Type C w/Wagtail conversion- head and torso built

Concept Stage:

• Kitbash: RGM Commander Mass Production Unit- prelim sketch (side view) completed, amassing kits for parts, working out Mobile Ball concepts and creating exploded view of individual components

Projects on hold:

• 1/20 Moeve from Nausicaa- lots of puttying, seam line removal, painting
• Dark/Shattered Glass Repaint of Classics Hot Rod (TF)- painting, troubleshooting clear window dilemma
• 1/144 HG 00 Quan [T] w/Full GN Saber IV- painting and detailing for shield binder, clean up water slide decal applications
• 1/100 Fei Yen from Virtual-On- puttying, gluing, painting...all of the above
• 1/144 HG Gundam XN Raiser- needs detailing, puttying, painting
• 1/144 FG Raisel Gundam- figuring out kitbash conversion with HG Dynames to improve articulation.

Let's not forgot all the other ideas I have floating around in my head-- thank goodness I have them in an Excel worksheet. When I'm home, I'll upload some photos of the kitbash concept. I've been carrying a small sketch pad (w/ grid lines!) around with me everywhere! So I've spend all of my spare time on the bus, at the bus stop or just 'waiting around' with pencil to paper. Being able to sketch out my own blueprints and work out the engineering issues on paper before cutting plastic is really helpful for my brain. I wish I had a scanner so I could upload my drawings quickly, and for free.

Speaking of 'things' I need, I met with a friend about airbrushing 101 yesterday! He showed me his airbrush and compressor, and showed me how to clean my airbrush. The good news is that I feel more confident about investigating this new painting method to my repertoire. The bad news? I need to buy an air compressor and (probably) a new airbrush. And then their is paint and cleaning supplies. I'll probably block out the costs in Excel. :)

*I think I need to make a post with vocab and acronyms, otherwise you won't understand me.

Welcome to Optimus Prime's Trailer (aka BlueAleseides' Robot Blog)

Introductions aren't always easy, but I hear that the best approach is to jump right in. Welcome to my long awaited robot blog, my name is BlueAleseides (you can call me Al for short) and I am fanatical over plastic robot models from anime and transforming robot toys with spring loaded gimmicks and golden, blazing swords.  

Small Beginnings

Frankly, I can't remember exactly what age I got hooked, but it was some small single digit age between 3 and 5. My sister, Sdragon, introduced (read: indoctrinated) me to all the cool 80's cartoons: Transformers, Saber Rider, Galaxy Rangers, Bravestarr, Jayce & the Wheeled Warriors, MASK and Starblazers (to name a few.) We had some Transformers, which my dad bought for her at first, but soon I got hooked. Maybe it started from my interest in puzzles and my spatial awareness? Or I was predestined to love robots. Not the electronics, but cool robots that transformed into a vehicle or animal, or gattai-ed into a bigger robo, or had voice-activated weapons. I think you get the idea...if not, just ask. =)

What's in a name?

So "why Optimus Prime's Trailer?" Well, back when the internet started becoming popular, Sdragon and I started brainstorming names for our geek blogs, providing we ever actually made them. Mine was "Optimus Prime's Trailer" because I always wonder "where the heck does his trailer go when he transforms?" Well, a portal opens up (indicated by the flash of light) and it's transported here, on my blog, where I will give you a guided tour or a sneak peak of what's going on inside his trailer. It could be a gallery of display cases, WIPs, sketches, other custom work, or a 2am epiphany. I'll try to post weekly, but we'll see how that goes.

Not-so-final thoughts...
At this point, I'm not sure if anyone will follow this blog, which is fine with me. But if you do decide to post, please be nice to me and nice to each other. If I'm looking for constructive criticism (on WIPs) I'll ask for it. If there is something you'd like to see, I'll consider it. There are enough sites that do comprehensive reviews, but this isn't one of them. It maybe in the future, but not now. I might rant or rave, but don't count on reviews.

Best,

~Al