funpla

please excuse this post's title. cheesiness aside i did find the subject of this entry fun to build, and quite surprised at how motivated i was to finish the OOB (out of the box build) of the HG Gunpla Builders series Bearguy kit. 

sorry for the mess.

i won't go into detail about this thing, since it's all pretty straightforward in terms of build i didn't even bother painting it (i'll tell you in a while) and just went and cleaned up the sprue marks as i went along, replacing the monoeye with a scratchbuilt one made from styrene and a sticker bead because i lost the original one from the kit...damn thing was small and easy to lose

. as you can tell it's a retool of the HGUC Acguy mobile suit, its adorability magnified a hundredfold, by being turned into a robotic teddy bear (genius, really). it's actually what made me choose it  over the HGGF Nobel Gundam, which was much, much cheaper in price.

instruction/box art and mobile suit profile... in moon runes, of course.

more images of the completed model. 

normally i'm more into BB senshi/ SD gundam kits because,

1. i LOVE SD gundams, they're cute and expressive kits
2. they're fun to build and paint
3. i'm a poorfag. 

ignoring #3, Bearguy shares the preceeding qualities (the aforementioned bear aesthetics and a moving mouth), even having expressive alternate eye stickers to boot! but i won't use them. and it also has all the fun you can get from HG kits, such as a moderately engaging build, excellent range of motion and poseability as well as accessory parts (which, i've been told the original Acguy also had but had the bad habit of having really tight and consequently fragile arms... an issue not fixed in this release so be careful).

cue overflow of mecha pedobear customs from Japan.

and then you get something like this which you would expect from an MG kit:

the limbs actually incorporate a frame underneath (due to the stocky design of Acguy itself, and to avoid making a hollow, floppy kit).  which is detailed on its own and hides the armor mounting grooves quite nicely.

FUCK that looks nice. 

it also comes with themed accessories like a schoolbag/ missile rack, and a "beam recorder" which sadly, it can't hold without modifications. other figures can hold it though. 

i'm still surprised i finished this before my old HGUC Zaku kit (which i'll probably post about soon), but again: adorable robot bear. 

i've mentioned-or lazily implied- in a previous post that i want to customize it, which is why i didn't paint it as it looks on the box art.  intend to turn this bearguy into a street fighter themed custom, modeled after Guile so yes. in the future there will be a post about Guilebear. and most likely a link will be added here for convenience.

is it worth it? yes. it sates the craving to build something rather well. should i buy it? yes! but don't expect something phenomenal like an MG. take this kit as it is, a quirky, fun, build-it-on-the-side kind of kit.

overall i'm pretty satisfied with this kit, it's solid, if rather too tight in the joints, easy to complete and looks satisfactory without paint or modifications and displays well on it's own. the only thing that i don't enjoy is the pricing, 1,020 pesos or  $23 which is more of a personal thing. but hey if you can afford this get it! it's something i'd give as a gift to a gunpla enthusiast or beginner (as the series it comes from implies), and something you could buy for an otaku significant other of yours. 

ehs a pretty cool bearguy. he kawaii uguu and doesnt afraid of anything.

redecorating

so i've bagged up my armory display and moved the figure diorama props i had lying around there instead:

here's half of it.

and here's the other half.

admittedly it's in a state of disrepair, mostly with it  being right next to where i do most of my custom work. months of humidity takes its toll on cardbacked printed backgrounds out in the open. but i like to shuffle things around. 

same old television.

same old (mostly) stocked refridgerator.

same old chairs and tables.

same old slot machine and papercraft drinks vendo.

i like tiny props that go along with my figures, there's something about miniature scaled accessories that appeal to me, maybe it's in the way they give more to the character to my figures, or how they can tell a story when paired up with a figure.


on a side note, i did a minor mod (leg swap, male microman thighs to female microman knees and hips) for chun-li here. i  like the new legs. i think it's closer to the physique of chun-li anyway. she never had dainty stock microlady thighs. she had gazelle killing thighs.

now to look for a replacement gahsapon/trading figure head to make her look perfect.

plans

i'm just gonna say stuff's in the works for now. but soon i'll make this a reality.

it was a good day.

popular culture

i'm taking a class this semester that deals with analyzing popular culture and one of the first activities we have is sending an email to our professor regarding the following questions: what is my social identity, to what social group do i familiarize, and where do i find myself in this group's "world". here's my long and rambly answer. please excuse the bad filipino.

lumalaki ako ngayon sa  panahon nang mga 'geek'. sa aking palagay ito ang panahon kung saan nakatutok ang karunungan, at atensyon ng mga tao sa mga marami at iba't ibang bagay na dati'y alam mo lamang bilang hobby ( katulad ng komiks, laruan, mga napapanood sa telebisyon, at mga video games). lumaki ako ng lagi silang nakikita, naririnig, at nalalaro sa kahit anong mediyum, at laging nakatutok sa aming mga laptop, kung saan sa tulong ng internet makakahanap kami ng mga katulad naming mahilig sa mga ganitong bagay at isasama ang sarili sa ganitong grupo.

ito ang grupo na pinakamalapit sa akin sila ang pinakana-iintindihan ko, at ito rin ang grupo na marahil ay nahihirapan akong makasundo o mapagpasensyahan. mahirap din maging isang geek sa pilipinas. para sa marami ang ibig sabihin nito ay pinapasikat at inaangat mo ang sarili mo sa paraang "mas marami akong alam sa ganito kesa sa iyo. kaya't mabuting pakinggan nyo ako sa grupo na ito, ako ang hari ng mga geek". kung kaya't makikita mo kami minsan, susulpot sa umagang kay' ganda o sa unang hirit, iniinterbyu ng mga tao dahil sa hilig naming mangolekta ng maraming laruan, o mag-suot ng damit na katulad ni Batman, kasi "ang cool niya". (kahit hindi naman bagay sayo yung itsura ni Batman, kasi wala ka namang masel.)

minsan nahihiya ako sa mga kapwa kong geek. o naaawa, hindi ako makapagpili kung alin minsan.  OA sila pagdating sa paninindigan sa isang bagay na dapat ay isang "hobby". napupunta ang lahat ng passion nila sa pagpapagaling sa sarili, bilang isang "pop culture fan" laging nasa conventions ng kahit ano. may blog, at maraming larawan ang sarili kasama ang mga bagay na tinuturing "for true fans".  tanggap naman ng mga malapit sa akin na mahilig ako sa (at mahilig gumawa ng) mga laruan, pokus din siya ng blog ko dahil nais ko makita ang gawa ko ng ibang tao para din makakuha ng mga komisyon, pero hindi ko ipinapahiwatig sa mundo na naaaapaka-importante ng ginagawa ko dahil hindi naman. wala akong pangangailangan sa sarili na sabihin sa mga ibang tao na ubod ng pangit ng X-men First Class bilang isang comic movie dahil hindi niya sinusundan ang kumbensyon ng pinagkuhaang komiks (at iniiwasang husgahaan ang pelikula base sa mga elemento ng isang pelikula). 

isa akong estudyante ng Art Studies at minsan na-aaply ko sa larangang ito ang mga natututunan ko at wow, nalalaman ko na hindi kasing-lalim ng aking inaakala ang mga dati kong mga itinuturing na "deep and creative mediums" katulad ng mga napapanood at nakakahiligang mga komiks at anime. ngunit maaaring depende din sa pagbasa ng mga tao, pero mga komersyal na paraan lamang ito ng entertainment kasi, kaya lang naman sumusulat ng komiks ay para bigyan ng paycheck sina alan moore, neil gailman at marami pang iba, kung mayroon mang mga malalim na tono ang kanilang mga gawa nandiyan lamang iyan upang mas matuwa ang mga taong may alam habang nagbabasa, at hindi maramdamang na-iinsulto ang intelihensiya nila tuwing pupulot sila ng isang libro tungkol sa mga hindi karaniwang mga karakter. ikinatutuwa ko mapag-usapan ang mga akdang ganito sa paraang  hinihimay namin ng mga kaibigan ko ang mga akda upang malaman kung bakit bentang-benta sila sa amin, kasi dito ko pakiramdam na nagkakaroon ng mahalagang analisis at diskurso ang mga teksto, at hindi lamang napupunta sa "alam mo mas matagal ko nang (binabasa, pinanood, nilaro) ang ( insert comics, television show, videogame) na ito, simula pa nung unang nilabas ito! fans ako ever since hihihihihihi, ang nerd ko no?".

alam kong may lalim na makikita sa mga akdang ito, pero parang para sa akin, mas marami kang makukuha pag ang pinag-uusapan mo ay yung akda mismo at ang epekto nito sayo at sa lipunan o lugar na kinalalagyan nito, bilang repleksyon o komentaryo nito sa lipunan... kesa ang pinag-uusapan mo na lang ay ang matagal mo nang pagiging isang geek. kasi sawang sawa na ako sa kwento na iyon. nagmumukha ka lang weirdo at stereotype sa harap ng mga ibang tao.

Mikhail Tizon,

BA Art studies (interdisciplinary)

2007-78492

Solid Snake Redux

here's a commission piece i did, re-making solid snake in the GI Joe scale (again, but this time, better!) inspired by the work of RayH:

HAIR! also snakes

done with her braids for the most part.

also, faiye's solid snake commish is finally coming along.

frustrations with working

okay, things to remember: always watch the mixing portions of 2-part epoxy putty. you don't want to end up with a mix that fails to harden and set properly leaving the sculpt soft and flaky when being sanded.

and never work on something after being awake for 24 hours straight.

that being said,some progress on my microman custom project: