2013 In Review

So I thought with the year coming to an end that I would do a little recap of the work I completed and the year in general. All together 2013 was a pretty good year, I graduated from college, I started grad school, got an amazing girlfriend, and made some pretty cool models! So lets begin the recap...

Hand painting vs. Air brushing

So in my last post I mentioned that I received something special in the mail, and that would be my new air brush! Yup, that's right I am taking the plunge into airbrushing! I figured I would talk a little bit about hand painting and air brushing and why I'm making the switch.

Level Up! WIP 3: The Crad!

So I finally go to work on this model again and I'm happy to say that I am nearing completion! Everything is painted, the decals were applied, and weathering was done. I bought a pretty neat decal set from Globaltoy on Ebay. The quality was pretty decent, some of the decals were brittle but I think I will definitely be getting more decals from them in the future!

WIP: Level Up! 2

Hey everybody!

This is just a little update on my work in progress for the Level Up! Contest. I got some more parts painted and all the parts are now primed. I hope to be done painting this guy up by next week. Then I get to start the fun stuff...weathering!

WIP: Level Up!

Hey Everybody!

This is just a simple work in progress on my kit for Gundam UK's Level Up! contest. So far I have the main body painted and some of the parts for the arms and lets. The only things I have left are the arm and leg segments and the claws. After that I can start top coating and doing weathering.

Croak Hunter

Hey Everybody!

I finished the Croak Hunter the other night. Over all I think it looks pretty good! There are some things I need to work on like color contrast and basing, but overall as my first mini I'm pretty happy with it!

WIP: Level Up!

Hey everybody!

This is a WIP update for the Level Up! contest being ran by GundamUK. Awesome guy and the whole idea of the contest is pretty sweet! Basically the whole idea is that you are going to build a model and work on something you want to get better at. For me this is weathering and I think I picked the perfect kit to practice this on! If you want to know more check out GundamUK's blog. 

WIP: Croak Hunter

Hey everybody!

This is just going to be a little work in progress on the Croak Hunter I'm doing for my Girlfriend's sister. After a couple broken models and frustrating hours I finally have something almost completed!

SBD Dauntless

Hey everybody! Here are the finished pictures of the Dauntless I started earlier in the summer. Over all I'm pretty happy with the way this build turned out. I learned a lot and was glad to be able to build a different kind of kit. Hope you enjoy!

Painters burnout

Lately I've just been having a hard time with painting. Either parts break on me or I just don't like the finish I am getting on the model. This started a couple months ago after completing the GM Ground Type for the group build. I started working on a kit that I had already put together and just needed to paint it. I hated the way it looked and the finish was terrible on it. I ended up just throwing the kit away. Then my girl friend's

USS Lionfish

I started this model a while ago during College for Kids at the beginning of summer. I wanted to use it as a way to show kids how to build models and how a model can look if you take your time and do it right. I didn't get a chance to finish it during the actual class but I did get a chance to work on it more last week.

WIP: SBD Dauntless II

I managed to get some more work done on the Dauntless last week. I got the decals put on and the whole body top coated. The only thing I have left to do is the canopy, which involves lots of masking and time. Hopefully that will be done pretty soon so I can finish this project!

WIP: SBD Dauntless

Hey Everybody!

This is just a work in progress on the Revell Dauntless kit I was working on for the College for Kids class I was teaching. I'm almost done with the paint application with just a few more pieces to paint. I have the fuselage painted and now I'm working on the ailerons and tires. I'm doing this as more of a relaxed build and enjoying it. It has been YEARS since I have made a plane kit and I really am looking forward to doing more of them!

My Goal for 2014

So I have a pretty lofty goal for next year. I have always wanted to paint a Warhammer army and I think I'm finally going to do it! After I saw the new Lizardmen releases I knew that this is the army that I wanted. So after lot of searching I decided on this list for my army...

On the Work Bench

Hey everybody!

I just figured I would have an update about what is going on both in my life and about model building. Even though everybody in this hobby would probably like to be able to work on models all day.... life, work, and other responsibilities usually get in the way of that!

1/144 HGUC Z'gok

This was the first kit I hand painted. Before this I used spray cans and the results were... not very good to say the least. Hope you guys enjoy!

1/144 Mercurius

I've had this kit for a while and always thought it looked lame. Don't get me wrong I love the design of the mobile suit, one of my favorites in Wing but the old no grade kit was just terrible. I decided to spruce it up a little bit, but do something kind of different with it! I really wish Bandai would release an updated HG kit...or a Master Grade kit would be even better!

I took a little inspiration from Warmachines. I wanted this guy to look somewhat like a Khador Warjack. Over all it was a different painting experience, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

1/100 Master Grade GM Ground Type

This was the kit I finished for the group over at the Mecha Lounge. Its a great forum for anybody looking to get involved with the modeling community. Everybody there is very friendly and willing to help out as much as they can, so check them out!

 http://www.gundamuk.com/mechaloungeforums/index.php

Now on to the group build. I was really excited for this one! The premise of the build was that Earth ran out of resources so people moved into colonies in the space/sky. This faction eventually split causing a major war for the remaining resources and power. Sounds totally awesome to me! Whats not to love about post-apocalyptic futures? I built and painted a GM ground type and gave it some heavy weathering. The kit was totally hand painted and I am pretty happy with the results. Hope you enjoy!

Introduction

Well, where to start with this blog? I guess a little intro is needed. Basically I'm Tony and I'm your normal graduate student in college that just happens to love all things mecha. This blog will be used to show case the models I make which include everything from Gundam to planes to table top miniatures. If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will try my best to answer them!

I will be posting pictures of my finished works and WIPs and also anything that I happen to find interesting at the time. Thanks for reading and I hope that you will read more!

-Tony-