Gundam Eclipse motor vehicle build

So they are having a motor vehicle build over at Gundam Eclipse and decided to enter.

Here's my entry in the build. I've had this kit for years and actually bought it as reference for a 3d model i was building back in '06 or '07.

http://williamrosado.blogspot.com/2008/05/morris-mini-cooper-1275s-rally.html

Anyway, I guess I've finally have a reason to assemble the kit now.

here's a few pics of the internals and of the tiny body. The plastic has yellowed over the years from the constant handling while using it as my main reference piece for my project.

SD Wing EW Progess...or lack of progress...

It's been going very slow on the paint for this kit. Since it's an SD there is no parts/color separation and I've had to mask all this tiny pits. I've learned a lot about workflow and airbrush to paint thinning to air pressure ratios. seems to be a very delicate formula and getting it right means making lots of mistakes.

Each section presents it own challenges and I've gone back and forth on how to handle them. I've hand painted some parts only to strip them and start over and i've had paint come off after pulling up the low tack tamiya masking tape. Very frustrating.

Anyway, I am making a bit of progress and hope to have this finished in the next few weeks if the weather stays warm and dry.

MSM-07E 'Z'gok Experiment' W.I.P part 2

Finished up snap fitting the Z'gok. Lots of trouble areas with seams and the scale armor is turning out to be a bit of a pain. And as usual, polycaps like to popout at the shoulders/ hips.

Originally, I wanted to do a straight build/paint job on this kit but i've been sketching some ideas for minor mods/ tweaks/ pla-plating to give it some more visual interest. Overall I like the proportions and the general color scheme. I might tweak it down a few shades and add some blue somewhere. This is mainly an underwater suit and think blue would be a nice addition.

I have a bit of a backlog of kits at the moment. First on the list is the SD Wing then HGUC Jesta, then maybe this kit will get some love. I'm going to take advantage of the light workload recently to get as much done as possible before the work tsunami(drawing GI JOE comics) hits me in the next few weeks.

Feet with polycapped thruster

And Done! Not a lot of pose-ability.

I like the backpack.

I'd say total build time was a few hours. And yes, the waist skirts are backwards...

MSM-07E 'Z'gok Experiment'W.I.P part 1

I love this little HG kit of the Z'Gok. I think this mech was featured in the opening episode of 'War in the Pocket' which featured the Kampfer which is another favorite.

Below is a brief W.I.P. -

Clawed hand needs some putty filled in the gaps..

I'm planning to put an LED in this one. There's more than enough room inside for a switch+battery.

I like the segmented scale armor on the arms. Adds some visual interest to that area but they tend to flop around.