Inspired To Make Something

Updates, and Yes I'm still there. :P

2010-07-25T09:24:00.001-07:00

I do apologize for not posting anything for over a month now. Got hooked up with Skype and building more kits. haha.

I do have my flickr photostream up there and you'll see uploaded pics of what I've been doing.

If you find this blogspot before my youtube channel, please check that one as I usually update that more than this blog. As well as, visit the gundam forum I frequently go to, www.gundam-eclipse.com

As for Gunpla updates....

- I'm painting my SD GG Gundam kits. I think I've painted 3 already...a couple more to go.

- Going to pick up my papercraft diorama project started awhile back.

- Need to do a couple more SD reviews, as well as the Advanced Hazel and Hrairoo Gaplant.

My contest is about to end soon next week. Still hoping to see more entries.

,,V,^_^,V,,

Going to be a bumpy ride...

2010-06-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Things will get crazy lately... I didn't quite make it to one job i'm hoping for to get in. But luckily I do get an opportunity to apply for another position. On the other hand, I'm leaving my part-time job due to certain reasons which I will not fully disclose, but to give you an idea...I don't like the working atmosphere. There's also another job opportunity that I have take a test as well next month. I have a couple of lines casted....but something tells me I need to bring a huge net to catch something, heck I'll even settle for a mackerel but a salmon would be awesome.

Gunpla....

I'm close to hitting 200, just check I have 199 subs. lol. Hmm... maybe time for subscriber's special--a contest!! hehe.

A lot of things happend since last time I posted. Not sure where to start. hmm...

Seems like I'm getting more subscribers and a lot of 'em really like reviews. I'm very thankful. ^_^ I do find it difficult to thank all of the recent ones, there's so many... I'm starting to think I should stop doing that and just make a video thank them in general. But deep down...I want to thank each and every single one of them. It's just a matter of time. haha.

Hmm... I wonder what kit to open next. There's the Tenshio Shiba-I Sazabi (probably mispelled. lol) I might do that one. Also, my sister (the older one) wants to give SD gunpla a chance. Might let her start on a kit that was supposedly for my other sister, SD Gundam Leopard.

I'm also finding that I still can't control my impulse gunpla buying...which is really bad considering what i've mentioned above relating to my part-time job. Maybe I should create a penalty if I do go on impulse again.... I was thinking of hosting a contest--meaning I'll lose one of my kits in the process O_o each time I break my promise (lol that rhymes). But we'll see, might be too daring. haha.

On other things...

Got a couple of upcoming tests for jobs. Need to get cracking on those.

Also I need to redeco my room to be more presentable....make it my "pad" haha. I'll probably end up doing garage or online sale of my stuff (well except for gunpla. :P)

Promise is a Promise

2010-06-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

I've been having this problem since I can remember. I keep commiting to promises that I know down the road I'll break one way or another. But I do keep most of my promises, but we usually find the small amount of false promises outweighing the rest.

I promise myself with Vek as my witness (lol.) that I'll hold off my gunpla purchase for the sake of my wallet's health and to trim down my backlog. Unfortunately, I made a promise to a fellow SD Gundam enthusiast that I'll get him this SD kit that's hard to get in his area nor the interwebs (actually it'll be a gift for him for his upcoming bday. Ain't I nice? :P ) So now my predicament of holding those two promises. I could argue that I'm buying the SD kit for someone and not for me. lol. But the place I'm getting it at has that "buy one full price, 2nd half off" deal. It'll be hard to resist to not get another kit to avail for the discount. I could buy another one and use that as a price for my upcoming contest on my youtube channel (which still under formulation. hehe) But then again, I already have a spare SD NT-1 Alex that I can use as the prize (which I think is one of the best SD kits out there.) We'll see how it goes as I visit the hobbystore to acquire the sd kit as I've promised.

Gunpla...
- I'm working on a kits for about 3 days painting 'em. I've finished 1 and almost done with the other. I do however reviewed 2 (one of which i finished awhile back) on my youtube page. I'll be finishing that another one and as well as work on mobile goohn.

- Funny how there's more attention towards the SD Onimitsu Ninja Naomaru (#279) than the SD Bukiri Maru (#250) which I put more effort on. lol. It has to be the shiny gold plating. :P

- I'll be making more SD 4Koma as well as comics (more than 4 panels). Stay tune for those.

- Unboxing another kit. I'll probably find one that doesn't require painting that much as I've exhausted myself. lol.

- I'm also getting curious of getting some SD gundam gashapons... I wonder if anyone will be willing to trade some of 'em for stikfas kits. hehe.

Other things:
- I'll be celebrating my sister's graduation this upcoming weekend. Which reminds me, I need to fix her computer.
- My knee still hurts a little bit, can't wait for it to fully heal so I can run again.

Camping Trip

2010-06-03T11:08:00.001-07:00

I had an interesting first time experience camping with my family and friends at Pinecrest. It's really fun especially if the group you're in is huge. The trip going there is quite exhaustive as it's 3 hours just sitting and waiting. I did bring a gundam kit, advance hazel, with me to work on. I manage to finish the main body by the time I arrive there, and work on accessories sometime in the afternoon while waiting for dinner.

I actually don't know what to expect to a camping trip. I thought there would be more pesky bugs bothering me. But there's hardly, well there's on occassion minute spiders that will drop down on you. lol. I don't mind them, if I have it would just drive me crazy. I did find cool, creepy and interested bugs which i took a digital macro shots with my camera. I also took some nature shots with my SD Gundams: Alex and Zaku. hehe. Having a nature as a background does make the kits more epic. ^_^

I also had fun playing with the kids over there. One of 'em is really good in chess, which i got 'pwned' a couple of times, I only beat him once when he went easy on me. haha. We also had a fun time chowing down on grilled shrimps covered in garlic sauce and other yummy dishes brought by one family. Actually each family pitched in to a meal, my family was set for the next day's lunch. As most camping goes, we also had a campfire and melted some marshmallows. I find it easier to toast 'em near the edge of the ember, as suppose to the top. I got quite a sugar rush that night, which followed by a drowsy state afterwards. lol.

One thing i forgot to bring was a flashlight. It was so dark and there's only a handful of light source. The light from the cellphone was okay, but still a bit difficult to manage with. Good thing my dad brought his. It's a bit difficult to sleep at night. I'm actually used to sleeping at the ground, so no problem there. I had my own tent and I slept with luna, our chihuahua. She has a tendency to snuggle near your neck. I initially had her inside my jacket wrap near my body and arms. But she manage to crawl up to my sleeves and to my shoulder. lol. It was cold that night, good thing I like cold. But from time to time I hear my family talk, I guess they can't sleep due to the temperature or something.

Then my dad start calling Luna. O_o. She sprung out from my jacket and tried to get out of the tent. I tried a couple of times to calm her and put her back in, but no avail. I eventually asked my dad to pick her up...lol. The following morning it's quite cold and a bit moist from the morning dew. They're already starting breakfast and another day for my camping trip.

Overall, I really like my camping experience. We'll do it again this coming September. I'll be sure to bring my flashlight and maybe more gunpla. hehe.

Gunpla:
- I finished working on my SD Zaku Eggplane. Quite happy how it turned out. ^_^
- I'll be making my 4Koma (4 panel comic) using my SD kits for Z's contests (gunpla-inochi.com)
- Soon I'll be painting DokkanMaru
- I'll also be doing some vids later tonight regarding the gashapon djinn (i think that's what it's called).
- Still waiting for the result of 2old4toys contest. I hope I win. hehe.

Other things:
- I need to fix my schedule....need to find a way to limit my gunpla to at the most 1-2 hours per night and not the whole night. lol.
- Need to work on fixing my sister's computer...
- Also I need to contact my cousin and friend to play Magic: The Gathering this weekend.

My Visit at Vektar's

2010-05-30T06:49:00.001-07:00

It's actually my first time to meet an online friend. hehe. I've only known Vek from gundam-eclipse.com forum as well as talk at skype. He's a really nice guy and shares similar views as me, which is quite nice as we're usually on the same page. hehe. Since he's near my area compared to other GE members, I decided to go visit him and have a little gunpla building session. I always wanted to share my kits to my immediate friends, but none shares the same passion as I have. Well now, I have at least one friend that I have shared a kit with. ^_^

Vek's place is quite nice, he lives near the center of the city and convenient to go around places. I got greeted by two of their family chihuahua, there's bebe and forgot the guy's name. lol. Then in his room, which is in spacious and in order- I really need to fix my room one of these days. haha. I finally saw his Master Grades which nicely display on top of his huge HD TV. I also get a glimpsed of what the gundam series looks like in blu ray, I must say it's epic watching in HD.

We then decided to grab a bite out and check the locals, there's an ongoing anime convention. But we forgot our camera. d'oh. We went to a gourmet pizza place and stuffed ourselves with this awesome pizza that has thai chicken, shitake mushroom, garlic sauce and cilantro on one side then a ham and pineapple with other seasoning at the other half. We then set off to check the local hobby stores. Found some great old kits on the first one. Then we went off to check out D&J Hobby (I think that's the name) and got modelling supplies. I got myself a hobby knife, fine grit sandpaper, and Tamiya paints for my upcoming Banshee customs. ^_^

We went back and started building SD kits, I shared my 2nd SD Cobra Maru. I also brought one of my SD and we did a Built Challenge on who'll build it first. I didn't realize that i have less parts and thus finished earlier than him. We also played a bit of Versus games on his PS3. I got pwned a bit in Tekken 5. lol.

Overall, it's a fun experience. I finally able to share my hobby with someone in person which I rarely get a chance to. I wish to find more ppl around my area willing to hang out. But I will definitely visit Vektar in the near future, g2g back to that pizza place. lol.

Thanks again Vek for an awesome day checking out stores around your area and having fun with gunpla.

,,V,^_^,V,,

(and now off to a camping trip for two days. lol)

I finally finished my Custom Entry: SS Gundam

2010-05-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

SD Super Saiyan Gundam:

I finally finished it yesterday. ,,V,^_^,V,,

Why do some always want to get ahead of others? (crab mentality)

2010-05-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

I find it silly at times hearing or seeing someone trying to get ahead of others by inflicting some sort of harm or problem to the victim. I'm not going to point out names but, here's an example. There's a schedule street cleaning every week at a certain time of that day. Sometimes it falls at morning, quite early for some. lol. You have to make sure you don't park at that side of the street else you'll get a citation. I know someone who will diligently monitor the streetsweeper car if it passed by, so that the car can be parked back in front of the house. One day, there's a car that wasn't moved. This person saw the citing 'officer' (usually on those 3 wheeled motorcycle/car vehicle) coming to check who hasn't move their car yet. Being proud and all that his car is already out of 'harms' way (parked on the opposite side) and there's this one car left on that block that he purposely call the attention of the citing officer. I didn't get the details on how it went, but from what i can infer the citing officer didn't cite the car and just passed by. Now you wonder why? It's actually a government car. lol. No point citing a gov't car if funds ends up back to them.

But it does make you wonder why did the person want to bring trouble for someone. Is that person trying to be a firm law abiding citizen, even at the cost of his neighbor's time and money? I mean he could just not do anything as the officer pass by, and if it did get cited then that's the neighbor's fault. But purposely pointing at what seems to be obvious...are you trying to be a snitch? Good thing nobody saw him, well not sure if someone did. But you'll be creating enemies that way and will be labelled forever as the neighbor's "snitch." So why did that person do that? Does it give him gratitude that he's able to point someone out? Why? Sometimes my people are labelled with "crab mentallity," someone who purposely drag others down so he/she can get on top. I for one refuse to believe that and quite dismayed being stereotyped with that behavior, cause I'm not. I know for the fact that this person hates ppl that have that mentality, which in return makes him a "hipo" ~hypocrite. He's breaking the golden rule, "do to others what you want them to do to you." lol. Which is quite sad to live like that.

Anways Gundam Updates:
- SD Gundam stop motion....done. Quite happy how it turned out. I'm able to put 3 transformation on one clip. hehe. I did made a mistake, but overall i'm satisfied. It does have a lot of room for improvement. hehe.

- SD Gundam/DBZ crossover... slowly working on it. Due this friday >_<. Hopefully I can finish it by then. I'll be adding yellow/gold tonight.

- I unboxed mobile kapool. I really wish they make a HG or even a MG of that kit. Still thinking of a good color scheme.

- Zaku Eggplane...still no progress on this one. Probably work on it next week.

- Might do another unboxing video...hmm which kit to open next? lol

Other things:
- I'm still debating of whether i should post my origami plane tutorial.

- hmm...what to do for memorial day weekend.

Trying out new things...

2010-05-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

I recently got a haircut. Got a lot of compliments about it. hehe. I guess I should visit the barber more often to keep my hair short and neat. I'm actually hoping to impress this girl that I like though not sure how she feels about me yet, she's really 'friendly' among her friends including me. hehe. Maybe I need to start shedding some weight as well, might take awhile. haha. I also need to find a way to spend more time with her. I don't really want to do the usual dating thing with dinners, movies and so on. Maybe take a summer class with her? I think she's taking some dance lessons. I'm a novice in dancing but would be great to learn to dance with her. hehe. Maybe invite her to go running or exploring. I'll think of something.

Gunpla...let's see...

I've review two kits which I've painted one of them.

Stop motion. It's kinda cool, though need to have a storyboard and work out the effects/gimmicks. Probably more test vids.
Stop motion Ideas:
- "Zakuto" rasengan w/ kagebunshin and hitting the wall or enemy. I need to create the razengan sphere as well.
- Weapon shooting and hitting. I need to find a way for cotton to stick w/o peeling off the paint off my kits. hmm...thinking of using post-its.
- Masurao whipping around his beam Katanas. The beam hilts (no beam effect yet) will be held by an electric wire on one end. Masurao will whirl them around and when it's full stretched, the beam katanas will be emitted.)
- SD Gundam Transformations...I have tons of SD's with cool transformations: Zeta, Unicorn, Baki Maru, Cho Shogun Touga, Aegis, and many more. lol.

I finally assembled SD Unicorn, I'll do my impression/review on it this week.

SD Gundam/DBZ crossover, I'm starting to dread this lingering WIP. lol. I'm not even sure I can pull it off, but we'll see.

Zaku Eggplane... Might be something I'll work on later this week.

Other things:
- I'm enjoying my new camera, though I can't edit my videos. But I'm able to stich them together which ain't bad. Might also do some Slideshow using WMM. Ohh almost forgot, I need to do some HD vids (raw vid upload), which probably last only 2min. (again with the 500mb upload limit) lol.

Decisions...decisions....decisions...

2010-05-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's really hard to decide on things, especially if you always feel that you might regret it later on. Deciding if I want to eat at an all-you-can eat sushi buffet, but later feel too full and sleepy. lol. Well not that kind of decision but more about life. I've this decision to make of whether I help save lives or protect/destroy it. Since my career is not getting anywhere at this time, my parents tries to persuade me to try other things. I could go back to school and study 'nursing' as the medical field seems to be booming today. Or I could join the military and get training to become an engineer. Either options have pros and cons which I have to weigh out the one best suited for me.

Another decision I have to go through is with relationship. I really find this one friend really cute. She's quite friendly and charming. I had a relationship before which didn't end well...which kinda leads me to the whole "isolation after university". lol. Note to self...try not to stick to just one (best)friend, it's hell when you lose that person. Anyways, back to the girl that I like. I get to hang out with her with our group of friends. We did went to the same high school and I guess we're back again after college/university. I wanted to ask her out on a movie but failed. lol I guess she thought we're going with the rest of our friends, which I let it be. We didn't go to the movies but did play this fun boardgame and had a blast laughing all night. Also, I was informed that movies aren't best for first date as there isn't really much interaction. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that the plan didn't go through? hehe. I really wanted to know her more, but just don't know what to do. haha. One of our friends, did mention that she's probably not interested in me and that's just her nature of being friendly. That friend might be right about her, but I still want to try till I hear from her personally. It's a nice feeling to like someone and be like back.

Gundam Updates:
- I finally reached 100+ subscribers. *pat at the back* lol.
- HG 1/144 Masurao...done. I'm really happy how it turned out. ^_^
- 2old4toys contest entry... I really need to get myself together to work on this.
- I'll unbox another SD kit later this week. Might open the one with the cute bug. hehe.

My thoughts about the Gundam 00 theme contest:
- I was hoping I win the contest. I really wanted to get the 1/144 Flag kit. hehe. The winner did an awesome job painting the Tieren kit. Then there's actually a consolation prize and I thought maybe I'll get picked, but not as well. My impression of the contest is to pick a gundam not from the 00 theme and customized it to make it fit the line. Both winners have 00 gundam kits. I also thought that idea put into customizing the kit counts not just how good your paint job is, as other judges have mentioned on their video. I did put a lot of thought in making my kit, adding LED's, incorporating my origami plane, and transformations. I also think I had a good concept idea for a GN drive (or 'ZK' drive. hehe) But I guess, the winners were picked by the host. I have a hunch he got persuaded by the diorama. hehe. Furthermore, The winner gets another Tieren...lol. Actually, If I win the SD kit I'll be very happy, I don't have that kit yet. Also, I would like to hear his thoughts about my custom "Zeekay" as other judges. Would be nice to get recognize. hehe. I think my real competitor in that contest is the other entry with the God Gundam, it's an awesome custom/kitbash. I don't hold it against the decision, afterall the contest is his and he gets to make the rules. Though If i know it's about the paintwork, I could've gotten a FG and customized it like what i did with my Strike. ^_^

Other things:
- I need to edit my origami plane tutorial
- I'll be unboxing Hasegawa's Eggplane (Thunderbolt) ^_^

Growing up....

2010-05-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder how old I really am. Seems like it's yesterday that I would study for an exam in high school. I even remember way back when I'm enjoying my handheld radio while I relax on top of a bunkbed on a sunny afternoon (I was 8). I have this uncanny tendency to recall things in the past and yet I have a mediocre short-term memory (I can't remember phone numbers nor names if i don't refer to them often enough). But once I've known and use that person's name and phone number, remarkably I'll remember it (I still remember a couple of my classmate's names when I was 10 yrs. old).

Maybe I'm a slow learner? Takes awhile for things to sink in? I did excel in Math and Science in my curriculars. Or better yet refuse to accept what is now? Maybe that's the case. I do tend to resist change sometimes, especially if it's something of a habit.

I still look like a teenager, with or without the added facial hair. lol. But I think I've grown quite a bit in terms of thinking/analysing things and situation. A friend of mine always wonder how I can point a different perspective when shared a problem with me. I guess I should thank another 'friend' for that, learned quite a lot from her and she always been more mature than me.

I guess I'm just scared to grow up. It's not really about the responsibilites, cause I'm able to cope up with them lately. But I guess there's certain unresolve things in past or maybe I just enjoy being a teenager. I think they're right when they say "high school is the best years...", it's true for most but not all.

Trying to find a way to snap myself out of this dillusion. I'm actually glad that I'm learning a great deal with reviewing kits in youtube. In some ways it help me to communicate better and prepare beforehand. I actually recommend it to anyone to do reviews, and it could be about anything. It's a good transition/start to public speaking and doing presentation. Maybe they should have a class for that. lol.

I also need to find another inspiration to get myself back to my career. For one, I do need to get a good paying job to support my family as I've been "freeloading" for some time now. I guess it's a combination of rejection and economic recession that I sorta give up looking for a job. It's quite a dismay for trying a couple of months and not getting anywhere. I'm probably doing something wrong, maybe i'm not qualified or i'm applying to the wrong industry or both. lol. I am trying again to apply to job opportunities. Hopefully they'll consider 'Meads'. hehe.

And lastly, maybe it's whom you hang out with. Since I came back from college, I haven't really made any new friends (well except internet friends. lol) I catch up with my highschool friends which is nice. But friends from college, we went on our separate ways--I still talk to some of 'em. I did have that isolation phase after college. I can't really go out due to lack of funds (no money) or finding people who shares the same interests that I do. I turned to the internet for that and found great friends (varying ages) But still would be nice to have actual friends that you can meet in person. I guess blaming "lack of money" is a lame excuse. I don't really need to spend a significant amount of money to hang out with friends. Hmm... just need to find a place to meet new people. It's always been easy to do that in school, but I guess it's a challenge now that I'm not.

Gundam Updates and Reviews:
~ I started reviewing the chibi SD's. I'll do another unboxing tonight.

~ I need to get working on my custom for 2old4toys' contest. lol.

~ Thinking of building my 1/144 Masurao as a little break to my usual SD's.

~ Might review another Stikfas kit. We'll see...

Other things:
~ Quite tempted to get the Hasegawa eggplanes sooner. I've been planning to get it when the D-style Glint comes out, but that's late June. But got to think about my backlogs and my WIP's. lol.

~ I need a new belt. The current one i'm using is about to snap in half.

Who am I without my wallet? 0_o

2010-05-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

(as homer puts it) D'oh!! I forgot my wallet. Good thing my mom and I takes the BART at the same time in the morning. I wanted to go back and get my wallet, but my mom reassured me I don't need it. She asks this questions..."Are you going to drive?... Do you need money? I can lend you some." Which she is right, I won't be driving and I can borrow money enough for today. (note: other question she could've asked "Are you going to go drinking?" which of course she wouldn't :P. lol) My mom is always been there for me, I'm lucky to have her. ^_^

But sometimes don't you just feel you lost your identity or can't function if you forgot your wallet or even your cellphone(I didn't forget this one. hehe) It's like you got to have 'em just in case of emergency or other things that might need them.

Gundam Updates:

Zeta w/ decals....done.

100th Video SD collection...done. I'm close to 100 subscribers...what to do? lol.

SD Gunner Zaku Warrior...done. Finally got those three finished (well still need to add finer details later on...maybe even customs.)

I'll be unboxing one of the chibi SD gundams tonight as well do one stikfas review (probably the robot one.)

I'm also thinking of discussing Youtube's "other channel" option. I find it very helpful for other reviewers out there to get subs.

Other Things:

GSAM just updated their inventory. I'll probably get my SD Unicorn Gundam there if it's not sold out by tomorrow. Waiting for them to update the monthly/club specials tomorrow as well to complete my list.

Planning to get a new camera....but it'll cost quite a hefty $$ on my part. About $150+ for a decent Canon Digital camera. I'm waiting for this particular site to go on sale...maybe Memorial day Weekend? Kinda weird day to celebrate a sale. lol.

Just when you think you can ship something out...

2010-05-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

I really want to ship this package out. I wanted to do it last Thursday, but it turns out the postal service close down early. Can't really do it on Friday as I'm out all day at work. Saturday comes, the closest one is closed on weekends & holidays. T_T Went to the main postal office, but found out it's already closed by the time i got there. Sigh... And to complicate things, I need to get some packaging material to send it off. Don't really want to depend on my dad to do it. He's quite oblivious on my hobby, or actually a lot of ppl around me do. haha. I'll try to package it some way and ask if he can ship it Monday. I apologize if it's taking awhile, "J". but rest assure it will get there eventually.

A feeling you're forgetting something...

2010-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Starts out like any regular day... wake up, take a shower, put clothes on, and get ready for work/intern. I went to grab my usual iced coffee (got it right this time, I really need to start making this at home to save $$. lol). Then, I just realized...I'm not wearing any long sleeves shirt. O_o I remembered putting a shirt on, followed by wearing my long sleeve shirt w/ stripes, then my jacket. But I'm missing my long sleeves, just my shirt inside... Well I guess it's better than forgetting the shirt too and just have my jacket. haha. I guess i'll be wearing my jacket all day, and kinda bumped out because it's a sunny day. haha.

Let's see...

Stikfas Contest...

I've posted my Stikfas unbuilt kits collection and the contest. Apparently not a lot are interested. I'm thinking maybe nobody has heard of them? The vid probably didn't catch their attention...(Gundam updates..*click*....Stikfas Contest...*skips*....) haha. Maybe i'll mention it on my Gundam updates. On the other hand, I'm quite happy that the Youtube reviewer I asked to review Stikfas agreed. ^_^ I'll be sending the kit later on today after my intern. Probably add something special with the package. I really hope he likes it. hehe.

If i didn't get any participants on my Stikfas Contest, I'll probably extend it another week. I'm starting to think of a couple of things why there aren't many participants:

- It's too early? Maybe some watch youtube during the weekends?
- "I'm begging for subscribers with my contest" I actually got a comment along that lines. I thought about it. I usually don't ask my viewers to subscribe on most of my videos. I hardly do it. For the fact that you're entering for a chance to get a "Free kit and shipping", I think the least you can do for me is subscribe right? I usually check out the page of my new subscribers, and if I like I sub back. Also, this will help that person to get updates about the contest. Overall, I think it's a win-win situation. Or at least that's what I think.
- They don't live in US. There's actually a couple of my viewers that are in Philippines (my home country). I would like to extend my contest over there, but I'm afraid shipping will be too high or problems might occur for intl. shipping.
- "I don't do reviews" - probably another major hurdle on my contest. I really wanted for the winner to share his/her thoughts on the kit. I wouldn't mind if it contains a lot of cons. I do have a fair share of experience with Stikfas, and sometimes they are quite disappointing especially if you push their limitations.
- Another thing could be that viewers are afraid to disclose their location. I'm not going to send anything other than the stikfas kit as the prize (well maybe a bonus figure or something too. hehe.) I'm also giving you my address(return to sender address is mandatory). I don't have other means to send the prize to the winner without knowing their address. Would you want me to have the postman drop it off a corner. lol. Well there's that option too to get it pick up on the postal, but I think that's just too much trouble as suppose to have it delivered directly to his/her home.

I'm also thinking that maybe I shouldn't have put my kits on sale yet, well until I made more reviews of 'em? I'll probably ask my viewers if they want to see more Stikfas reviews.

Gundam Updates...

I added "decals" on my SD Zeta Gundam. Well not really decals, but my scribbles that looks like decals from a far. haha. I'll share that with my viewers on my next update.

I'll create my 100th video today on my SD Collection, since it's sunny. I'm still thinking on how it's going to be.

I finished cutting off from the runner, denubbing, sanding and assembling my SD Gunner Zaku Warrior. I added most of the stickers, I'll use that as a comparison with the other painted Zaku. Stay tune for the review.

Other Things...

I'm actually quite happy there's more SD Gundam reviews and WIP vids in youtube lately. I think SD's are being underestimated because of their size and proportion, but there's a lot of possibilites with them.

I'm trying to exercise lately to shed a few pounds. I did some squats 2 days ago...whoa I'm sure feeling it today and yesterday. lol. Might resume my exercise later today. I probably need to start sleeping early to help my body rejuvinate.

I think that's about it for now. ^_^

Ordered the wrong coffee...

2010-04-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

I sometimes order coffee at a coffee shop near where I intern. My usual order, or for the most part, is large iced coffee w/ room (for milk). I'm quite sure i mentioned "iced" but got the regular hot coffee (still large). Maybe because I asked if they can add a hint of 'hazelnut', which cost a little more, that they think it's the hot version. I prefer my coffee cold, thinking of just letting my coffee now to chill. lol. Also, It's raining outside.

Okay, recap from last week...

Gundam/DBZ crossover... I tried adding the hair last night. For some reason, It's not turning the way i wanted it to be, might try something else. Still no progress at this time.

Zollidia....done.

SD Gakushin Gundam... I did my sketch video, which turned out okay. hehe. I actually thought of newer design to add to the little guy. I'm thining of having the talons either retractable or have a hinge to pop out. As for wings, might use some origami on that and may use some transparancy instead of paper (or something else). Still thinking of a good design for the bird head.

Unboxing Kit... I've opened/assembled SD Master Gundam which added to my WIP. I might put this one on hold as I've thought of 2-4 more new projects. lol. I'll probably open the red Zaku this week. There goes my 4 WIP limit.

This Week...

Continue working on Crossover and Gakushin.

As mentioned above, unboxing/review of LunaMaria Hawke Gunner Zaku Warrior.

There's quite a hype on Iron Man figures... as well as Kamen Rider. I'm quite tempted to get a couple, but thinking of acquiring 'em w/o buying one. ^_~ (lol. Naw, i'm not doing the 5 finger discount).

I'm also thinking of doing a video of my unbuilt stikfas collection, did I mention that before? lol. I'm thinking of sending one or two to a couple of toy reviewers (I have yet to ask 'em) and sell a majority of them.

SD Gundam Collection video for my 100th youtube vid post. I'm going to sandwich that in somehow with my reviews and WIP.

Other things:
- I got a sandpaper sponge (320 Grit, for paint sanding) that I use to sand down parts right off the runners. I used it with the SD Master Gundam. I'm quite liking the corners of the sponge and how well it works with 'wet sanding.' Also, I really like how the matte finish looks like after sanding.

- I got putty (in a tube)...still need to find a use for it, maybe for the crossover project or my future projects (which yet to be revealed. hehe)

- Tempted again to go back to Sun Entertainment to get more SD kits. One of Gundam-Eclipse member, Kibo, showed this SD Deep Striker Resin kit. I found a kit (with similar design to the deep striker) at Sun's. But this will be a test to how long I can hold myself down. lol. Got to focus on my backlog. >_< (Update...d'oh went there today and got it T_T )

If you just started reading my blog and would like to comment, please use my youtube channel. I'm not sure if i get notified here... o_O.

Until then...thanks for reading ^_^

I need a new game plan for my hobby...

2010-04-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Still have WIP that I haven't finished yet. >_< Also, I don't have the camera for a day or two. I probably need to get my own, maybe one with an AC adapter so I don't have to worry about charging batteries while recording.

But here's my gameplan:

#1 Gundam/DBZ Crossover (Possible 2old4toys contest entry)
- I was hoping to take a picture before adding more stuff. Actually record my WIP while I add the hair.
- I'll probably just add the hair soon and show a demo of how I make it later on.
- Paint will probably come next week.

#2 Zollidia
- I want to paint this kit to make it look better...might do that today hopefully.
- I'll probably stick with the box art's color scheme for the most part.

#3 BB 353 SD Gakushin Gundam
- Hmm...I'm thinking of doing a video of me drawing out my plans for this kit with a whiteboard. But again, don't have the camera with me at the moment. I guess that'll have to wait probably Thursday?
- I'll be experimenting a lot with this kit. I don't have pla plates but found something similar and will give those a try.

As for the next unboxing... Still thinking... I do have quite a selection from my unbuilt kits. lol. I'll probably start on the Lunamaria Hawke's SD Blaze Zaku Warrior. I still want to get the purple one. haha.

I also have other video ideas:
- Speed build (2x) Origami Plane
- SD kit collection Video
- Vid Rant: (California's sales tax impeding in-state purchase)
- Simple stop-motion (I'm wondering if it's faster to just video tape myself moving the figure, and take snapshots w/o my hands in screen on WMM later on. Or that could be more work. haha)
- My Gallery Slideshow (my previous crafts on ceramics, origami, foam...and others)

Can't do everything...

2010-04-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hmm... I come upon this dilemma that I can't really do all of things I wanted to do with my gundam hobby. I used to just make forum reviews, with pictures and text in (PG). Then I got fascinated by video reviews which I do now in youtube. I also wanted to do some stop-animation. On top of that, I have a couple of kits I need to paint and customize. lol.

I find that I can only pick a few. If I choose to do video reviews, I see that there's not really a point on doing picture reviews unless I went to go in detail, i.e. macro shot photos. Actually it takes longer to do picture reviews as there's a lot of hyperlinking photos and typing my opinons on the kit. On the other hand for video reviews, I can relay all those in video, convert then upload. Then there's stop-animation that requires a lot of patience and time, but well worth it at the end and quite popular. I kinda want to make battle skirmishes and probably transformations animation. Lastly, painting and customizing is another segment that requires patience and time as well. I need time to brainstorm, wait for the paint to dry, and correct/adjust mistakes that I make. It seems that I can only pick two out of those things I wanted to do. Currently, I'm doing video reviews along with painting/customizing.

We'll see maybe I'll be able to touch on all of those later on.

I actually unbox and assembled the 1/144 Zollidia last night. I'll review the kit later today and upload the unboxing/articulation videos. Got lazy to customize the crossover, for some reason i'm not inspired to complete it anytime soon. I do plan to start painting...hopefully the laziness doesn't start to kick in. lol.

My youtube channel and reviews

2010-04-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

Overview: My youtube channel, 50+ subs, on-going contest(I'm participating).

I should still continue updating this journal as I find that I read them later on and reminisce my ideas and thoughts.

I did get get quite caught up with youtube and reviewing SD gundam kits. lol. I'm starting to think i'm pampering my subscribers as i post three or more vids a week. But I enjoy what I'm doing and I really want to share my great finds with others. Also, I like to promote my hobby as I find only a few enjoy super deformed gundams.

Last time I check, I finally got 50+ subscribers, Yay!! Awhile back I commented before to someone's vid (forgot who) that sub's number isn't important to me. But now, it sorta does. The number signifies a sense of accomplishment and awareness that viewers actually like your material--they even take the time to comment on my vids. Actually before I reach 50, my sub number went down by one. I was wondering who was that and would like to ask them why. But unfortunately, youtube doesn't notify you. And I can't really tell who it is cause i can't remember all of my subscriber's names (note: I even sometimes mistook one youtuber to another >_<, but certain names stand out and I remember them quite well.) Then I finally got three more subscribers which brought my sub # 50+. But the odd thing is I got another sub which I can't seem to figure out who--I want to thank that person. I guess that's the one that editted their subscription maybe? hehe.

Hmm...what else to talk about. Ohh right, I'm thinking of doing something special for getting 50+ subs. Seems like youtube reviewers does some sort of contests, which I have a couple in mind. But seeing there's already a couple on-going ones I'll hold on to mine. I also think that I need more subs to actually get a handful of participants.

On going Contest that I've participated and will participate:
KPHM42's Gundam 00 Theme Contest -entered
Joshuagundamu's Awesome Gundam Contest -entered
2old4toys Painting Contest (yellow theme) - brainstorming
Yummypixel's DBZ contest (still yet to be announced)
(note: I'll probably add hyperlinks later)

So far my WIP are...
- SD Gundam/DBZ crossover (sculpting/customizing)
- Mobile Sumo (paint-drybrushing)
- SD Zeta Gundam (paint-minor detailing)

I'm thinking of doing another unboxing review later on, before i switch to painting. It might be a kit that I will be entering for 2old4toy's contest.

,,V,^_^,V,,
-

Carelessness acts of good welfare

2010-03-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

Let's see...

I'm finding myself doing good things out of impulse. I'll hold the door when I know someone, even that person is 20ft. away, is going to leave as well. I'll offer my helping hand if you need help fixing your computer or other random chores. I even would leave that 5 cent change off the $1.95 ice cold coffee. lol.

But sometimes I realize that even I'm doing the right thing, it somewhat screws me up. I guess a narrative story will enlighten that.

I started enjoying walks, which last around 40min. to 1.5 hrs. I was walking downtown and found this hardware store. I'm in need of some materials, such as pin files and sand paper in varying grits. The store personnel, probably the owner, kindly offered his assistance and helped me choose the right type of materials I previously mentioned. When we hit the cashier, the phone rang. While on the phone he rang up my purchase and handed me the change. I made roughly $9 worth of supplies and I handed a $20 bill. He handed me $5 bills and coins for change. I was checking and putting it away, I notice an extra $5 underneath. I'm pretty sure I only have the $20 in my wallet. Now here comes my "act of good welfare", without hesitation I notified him of the mistake in change and handed him the extra $5. He smiled, while still on the phone. I said my thanks and left the shop. Deep down I felt good I did the right thing. On the other hand, I could use that extra $5 to buy other things especially if everybody needs money these days. Am I being too nice? maybe too naive? >_>

Let's hear another one....today specifically.

My parents decided to get Cable, Highspeed Internet, and Digital Voice--if you know the company good for you. hehe. There's actually a reason for us for getting it, but not going to get on the details about that. But one thing is for sure, we need to get the TV cable running. The installation is scheduled 2-4 pm. But it's almost 4, still nothing. Then the phone rang and the operator notified me that the technician is running late due to his workload. Being the nice guy I am, it's all good to me.

He came close to 5pm. He did his inspection and turns out, he need to replace the cable connecting from our house to the post outside. Now this post is on a steep hill in our backyard, actually our neighbors. He told me that he might have to call someone to do that. He decided to do it, but he'll be needing someone to hold the ladder. Due to the steep hill and loose soil from the moisture and rain, he wanted someone there just to be in a safe side. I volunteer. I helped carry the ladders and set it up. Turns out that he needs to connect it to the post first. Then have it connected again to where the ladder I'm suppose to support to. He did stay there at the post for some time, probably 10-20min. I did patiently wait at my spot. It started to rain, I even see a rainbow he pointed out. hehe. Anyways, once he finished the connection to the post, he then commence connecting it off the wire below where i'm at. I mean I could've just waited inside till he finishes with the post and come back to support the ladder. But I'm a type of person that can wait, whether it's a bus stop or cashier registers.

So after all that installation, we went back inside to see if the existing cable works. That took about another hour. I have to monitor him as he's going about his task in my parents bedroom. He then sets up everything in that room, being that the telephone jack is there where the modem needs to be close by. Plus it's the only room fitted with the wire that connects to the TV Cable. But actually, my family wanted the cable in our living room where our big TV is at but currently fitted with satellite. But I guess I assumed he want to check if the box works, considering that the wires might have corroded. That took him about another hour of troubleshooting. Then, he finally the dial tone but the modem wont activate for some reason. I think he spent another 2 hours on that? Turns out the problem was at the other end where a phone call to the HQ fixed it in just 2min. Great... Well he's exhausted considering he's working for 15hrs. straight. He did his best to get the internet and cable going. He actually about to call it quits, but he's really persistent. But yeah he finished it, and I signed off confirming his installation.

But that's where I screwed myself up. It's true that he got the internet, cable and phone working. Unfortunately, the cable and internet is setup on my parent's room. The phone actually has bad ringing noise at the background. All of which was furiously pointed at me by my angry dad once he got home a few minutes later. On my perspective, the guy tried his best to get those thing up and running. How I can deny him signing that thing off. He probably is on a commission basis. If i didn't, those 4 hrs. of work are for naught? There are still things need to be fixed, especially the wiring to the living room and the phone but it's already late at night. Am I being too nice? He even mentioned to me that the company actually screw the schedule up. He didn't get his equipment till 1pm. He had to go back to finish the job early in the morning which he still has to go, company policy?, despite not having the proper equipment. The technician had a long day and did his best, at the least he deserve my signature? But not to my dad's eyes. Everything he sees are all wrong, mistakes and "stupid" judgement on my behalf.

My mother was calmed with the situation. Actually, if I were to discuss it with my mom we probably contact the company and asked for a follow-up installation as the job wasn't completed. Yewp, blame the company's messy schedule not the technician. But no. I got yelled at, humiliated and probably called indecent things. My dad didn't see it in my perspective. Heck, he probably couldn't care less for the well being of the technician. After all, it's his job we paid for in terms of installation fees.

Sigh...I apologize for the lengthy post. But you need to know the details to see it in my perspective. But what do you think? Am I too naive to be nice? Is it a careless act of good welfare? Probably a kick at the balls huh? I'm probably not in good terms with my dad this week. Such a downer, bleh.

After writing this wall of text, I feel a bit better. But yea, this will pass and we'll get the whole thing sorted out. I just wish my dad has constructive criticism and not a destructive judgment over the whole thing.

I still believe in good karma. Certain good things did happen to me. Well at least i don't feel guilty since I did the right thing. Or did I? lol.

Until then....

,,V,^_^,V,,

I'm still here...

2010-03-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

Updates:

Just a heads up to whomever checks my blog. I'm currently opting out of Stikfas. I still have 'em, still might customize 'em but not sure when.

I actually moved my hobby to building and customizing SD Gundams. ^_^

please check my youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/meadeslemicah

Thanks,

,,V,^_^,V,,

Stikfas Custom G-Armor

2010-01-06T17:51:00.001-08:00

Here's the painted custom:

I like how it turned out. Though I probably going to add more colors next time around. hehe.

Stikfas Custom w/ gimp

2009-12-24T09:16:00.000-08:00

I'm trying out this material, gimp, for my new stikfas custom.

here's a WIP:

Gimp is quite versatile. lol. Maybe i can make a mummy custom out of one. The hands turned out pretty well. Hope to use the gimp more for future customs. Though my only angst against it is the curling.

Daruuk's Throne

2009-11-26T22:54:00.000-08:00

I thought i made a throne for my Baddy custom.

My attempt to use lego parts. :P Though i do need to lit those torches. Bummer i don't have lego flames- probabably have to make that illusion somehow.

Richter Slic (Crossover)

2009-11-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a stikfas crossover custom (one will bash stikfas pieces together and sent to another to paint/finish) with Shadowmaster over at www.hobbicide.com

(Front View)

(Back View)

(With Gun)

(Side View w/ Gun)

Hopefully SM likes this one. I wonder what i have to paint base on his crossover.

Happy Vday!!!

2009-11-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Hehe...It's also my Bday today. Woot!! another year older. haha.

No new artwork, but a couple of WIP.

Hmm.... I got a couple of wishes....but i guess only time will tell.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy your holiday.

Talon & Shiro

2009-11-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

Here's my latest stikfas customs:

Talon

Shiro

I'm really happy how they turned out. I finally got into drybrushing hehe.

Monster Peek

2009-10-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Now something non-stikfas related. hehe.

(click image to enlarge)

"Monster peeking from my chair."

Materials:

- Cardboard box

- Tape

- Markers

- a lil bit of imagination

WIP Claw

2009-10-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

inspired by Amerarat's Amon Khent

Shiro

2009-10-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

Bashed:

Primed:

Customizer's Notes:

- Flames came from the Hero kit (cut/sanded)

- 2 swords to form 1 spear

- Feet guard made from sprues

Undead Orr Daruuk (Finished)

2009-10-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

October: WIP Stikfas Custom

2009-10-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

Just random ideas put into customs. I wonder when i'll work on them. hehe.

Undead Orr Daruuk

2009-10-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Notes:

- Another attempt to make a bad guy. lol

- I used more sprue bits on this custom.

- Green and black works well. So far it's good.

- Still need to add the details. Might paint a skull for the face.

Dragon Elite : Finished Custom

2009-09-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Kustomizer's Notes:

- I sticked with black and silver for this one.

- Turned out great. I thought i'll mess it up. lol

- Probably my last stikfas custom for a bit, till i get inspired again by something or someone.

Beta Warrior

2009-09-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest Beta Custom:

Primed:

Painted:

With Dragon Elite:

Kustomizer's notes:

- I'll probably use the same color scheme with dragon elite, but i may put a hold on that. All black ain't that bad. hehe.

Egnaro

2009-09-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Simple Kustom:

Update: Dragon Elite (Black Primed)

2009-09-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

Added the prime, black paint for base. Also played around with different background.

Surprising how the background and floor affects the lighting of the photo.

Update : Dragon Elite

2009-09-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

Fixed the hands and added sprue bits all over. lol

Custom Stikfas Horse Kit Challenge.

2009-08-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

I created a challenge to create a custom out of the horse kit. It's one of the kits seldom used.

Here are the two bashes I came up with:

and

Dragon Elite

2009-08-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to make a dragon warrior. I came up with this bash:

Worked on a little on him and added some weapons and change some parts a bit. Also added a lil bit of paint.

Waiting on a couple of parts, most likely going to be painted next week.

Customizer's Notes:

- Used most of the dragon kit.

- put the hind feet on the neck with the beta warrior shoulder pads.

- trimmed off a peg inside the horse saddle and made those as shoulder pads.

- super glue some waist connectors and horse connectors as design for shoulder

- sanded another waist connector for the waist, added the beta waist guard and MA weapon.

- I used mechana hands, also added the two mechana exhaust at the tip of tail.

- swords are made of knight's lance, slightly bend and covered with tape and painted.

Sculpture: Tiger (Bday Gift)

2009-08-16T07:57:00.000-07:00

It's one of my friend's bday. After seeing my other sculpts...she requested a tiger.

Also made a makeshift box. lol. (Guess what it's made of)

Hope she likes it ^_^

Sculptor's notes:

- I managed to do the whole thing within a day now. It used to take a couple of days for drying when it's foggy. (a lot of time waiting on drying, good thing it's sunny)

- I used tootpicks to connect different parts really helps. My dragon wings keeps falling of due to lack of internal support.

- Painting it wasn't hard....I first put a base coat of white...then proceed with orange. then a little detailing of white, black. I was going to put a clear gloss paint, but a friend suggested to keep it matte like that but paint the nose to have that wet look.

- I attached fishing lines for the whiskers.

- You notice the fangs? guess what's that made of? It's something i use a lot for painting...

- Box is made from 1 sheet of transparency. It's a rough construction, but serves its purpose.

Ceramics: Giraffe, Kangaroo, and Squirrel

2009-07-29T21:06:00.001-07:00

Not new pieces....had 'em for awhile now. But recently painted ^_^

Guess how i painted the giraffe? with a toothpick. lol. Actually i painted their eyes, nose, mouth with the toothpick. :P

My Insignia

2009-07-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Haven't made anything yet lately. I just want to post my insignia, you can see them from the bears I made before.

Going to try other variants of this. I really like how it's coming along. ^_^ Ohh I need to come up with a name for it.

Minion Bears

2009-07-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got my minion bears for my Monarch Knight.

Bugnut and Slick:

I really like how they turned out. I did sorta winged it for the design. haha.

WIP:

Kustomizers Notes:

- Really cool idea to add magnets (1.5mm x 3mm) on the paws. Added sliver of magnet to weapon handles.

- Used military (snow) caps for shoulder pads. Ninja claw for the hair. Ninja soles for backpack.

- Thinking of designing a mech for them.

2009-07-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

B/G XW:

Origami Spaceship....going to be a gift for my friend's bday. Didn't do much different on this one. I did added the spikes on the tail and added an extended nose.

Beta Assassin and Monarch Knight

2009-07-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

2 new kustoms: (Again i still need to name them properly)

Beta Assassin (inspired by guildwars)

- Played around with masking tape and paperclip. ^_^

- Added mask. The red markings were a nice touch. Was thinking of adding a hair piece...but didn't really work.

- The eyes are a bit far apart. But not really a big thing.

Monarch Knight (inspired from venture bros.)

- Made use of tape for wings. Turned out great

- Added paper clips on the boots/arm bands.

- I really like how the paint work turned out.

- Used helm visor as shoulder pads.

- found a new painting technique of dabbing the paint when it's close to drying with the bristtles of the brush.

I think they turned out pretty good. Probably work on making minions next for my knight. hehe.

Sketch: Mono Smash Contest

2009-07-13T10:43:00.001-07:00

Another sketch entry. Winner is picked by random. Didn't win the last one. I wonder about this time. haha.

Stikfas Kustom # 32

2009-06-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

I manage to get myself to customize a stikfa, well just a paint job. I did a sketch before as shown.

I thought it would be cool to be a superhero which you change by closing your eyes. Either the foes are in an alternate reality or something inside you covers your whole embodiment. Someone asked, is that person blind- not necessarily. I initially i have his eyes glowing orange(i dont have an orange whiteboard marker :P). He then rubs his fingers with the embers on his eye and get his whole hand engulf in this orange flame. He can then use this flame to wall run and even burn his enemies with it.

Here's the custom i made.

Here's a stereoscopic image of him wall running (click the image to get a bigger picture)

I still need to name this guy. I think calling him something with orange is not a good idea. We'll see...lol

Stereoscopic Images

2009-06-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon stereoscopic images (SI) while reading this book that discusses visual representation of data. 3-D images/animation really fascinates me. After looking up more pictures online and doing a little bit of research what SI's are I decided to make my own.

Here's a few that I come up with. I think it's better to click the image to get a bigger picture. Also, to view them you got to cross your eyes. Using the center black line and while focusing at the center figure overlap the left and right together to make a third image in the middle. It might take awhile for your eyes to adjust. Try it out ^_^

Stikfas: Blue Samurai

2009-06-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Blue Samurai:

(note: I replaced the grey (alpha) figure with a black one. The grey one is stiff and cracked. But otherwise the armor/weapons hold together pretty well.)

I got this back from a friend who went back to Taiwan. Didn't know at that time that the kit was rare and worth a lot. Nonetheless, I'm just happy to share stikfas with my friends. But sadly, I don't think he enjoys this kind of figs. In a way, i'm glad I got it back to add to my silly collection. hehe.

Donkey Sketch

2009-06-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Donkey from Shrek sketchy, running for pres.

I drew him for a contest. lol. I wonder if i win, then again not really lucky with contests.

Beta Assassin (WIP)

2009-06-01T10:19:00.001-07:00

I got into playing guildwars. I know... it's a MMO (stay away from it) But my sister got me into it. So far i'm doing okay with the game. It's been taxing my time though. I try to limit 1-3 hrs. of playing time at a given day.

Anyways, the game inspired to make a new stikfas custom, a female assassin.

First, I need to make some daggers. Well simulate the look of it. Being me, I played around with paperclips.

i'm going to make 3 daggers on each upper thigh. I bend the paperclips as seen above.

Next, cut thin strips of masking tape. I layed it out like so. This will be used to strap on the leg.

Put it on might be quite tricky. Patience is key. Make sure they're angled a bit too. Here's another pic:

Stifkas: Mechana Joint Repair (Part 3)

2009-05-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hmm...i'm starting to think i shouldn't be playing with the yellow mechana. Here we go again. lol

tonight's broken piece, Leg Joint:

I applied the same concept i have before with fixing joints.

Almost as good as the old busted yellow joint. lol

Stikfas: Mechana Joint Repair (Part 2)

2009-05-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

Just tonight, another joint...well I should say joints broke off. :bangwall:

Seeing that this is different from the hip joint. I need to find a way to retain that point of articulation. So what do i have. Let's see....
I got pliers, some tape, wires, a hand drill (yes...no more screwing lol), and hmm...big paper clips.

After some trial and error with wires and paper clip. I came up with this:

I have to use two pliers to clamp those two pieces of paperclip:

Here's another pic when it's placed on the mechana:

As you can see i have to drill a new hole to that ball to retain that socket.

And here's what i got so far:

[

And now with the chest armor:

So far so good. Now time for the other side:

Now he's all fixed again:

Let's just hope we won't see another broken joint for a long time. lol

Stikfas: Mechana Joint Repair (Part 1)

2009-05-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

I made this tutorial awhile back to fix broken joint, specifically the yellow mechana from stikfas.

So what ya do when one of your mechana joint broke off? O_o

There's several ways for you to fix/salvage your mechana. For one, you can just use that mechana for bashing/spare parts and buy yourself a new one. Go to a stkfas chop shop to get a replacement. Or try to find an actual way to fix it yourself, which I did.

Here's several things I did with my Mechana.

First thing that broke from him is the hip joint.

I used the long head antenna and jammed it at the b-nut(waist) of the mechana. I did a little of trimming of the ball joint--It's bigger than the original ball joint.

Then I cleaned and drilled a hole on the body of the mechana:

note: i used a screw driver to drill that hole....i don't have any drills at that time. My hand got numb lol.

I also had fun with that idea:

I made the hole a little to big, I added some tape to the peg. I manage to retain some articulation on the hip, which i'm happy about. No super glue needed ^_^

After which, my mechana is back to normal: :thumbsup:

Stikfas Beta Torso (Sanding)

2009-05-31T10:11:00.000-07:00

I'll discuss how I sanded down stikfas female (beta) torso.

Materiels I used:

- dinner knife

- nail file (double-sided)

- paintbrush (dusting plastic shavings)

Procedure:

1.) Have something (such as regular paper) to collect the plastic shavings.

2.) Acquire a beta torso

3.) We'll use the knife (you can use another serated edge to mark the center guideline) and mark the middle of the torso.

4.) Once you have a small indentation in the middle. Use the nail file to sand the middle of the torso.

5.) Sand the torso in a way that you're sanding the top part of one cleavage, while sanding the lower part of the other, in a "X" direction.

6.) Keep alternating each side, keeping that "X" direction.

7.) Now sand the bottom section of the torso, just below the cleavage.

8.) You may have to keep sanding at the "X" fashion to smooth out the center line with the lower sanded down part.

9.) Also sand the lower section of the outerside of the cleavage, to make it more rounder and uniform in shape.

10.) Dust off the plastic shaving with a brush.

Other Thoughts:

~If by chance you want 'em bigger. You probably have to sculpt (clay) and attach it. lol.

Bunnies (Coin Bank)

2009-05-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

I started making 'em 2 weeks ago. Finally got 'em last wednesday. I made three for the fear that I won't be able to recreate my sculptures. It is usually that way with my other ceramic piece such as my fish and turtle. I really like how they turn out. Cute and simple. hehe.

What did you use?
- I use sandstone clay. I inflated a water balloon with air to a desired size. Wrap it around with 1/4" slab clay. (1/8" is better but trickier as well--too thin) Sculpted and scored the ears, nose, feet and tail. I cut a slit on top for the coin bank. And for each, I added something unique such as the carrot clips and flower. As for the glazes, I coated each with clear glaze. I used dynasty red for the nose and mandarin orange for the carrot. I think i used forrest green for the leafy part of the carrot. As for the eyes, I painted 'em with acrylic paint using a toothpick.

Who's getting 'em?
The big one in the middle will probably go to my sister. I owe her one. The last bunny sculpture, eye glass holder wasn't up to par. hehe. The two other small ones will be given as gift to my classmates who have been nice to me.

Other thoughts?
Might give it another try to make another batch of these when ceramic class starts again. Maybe give them an eyebrow and other fancy decoration. We'll see....

Drenom

2009-05-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest Stikfas Custom: Drenom

How'd ya come up with the name?

~I wanted to make a 2 symbiote 1 host custom. I'm actually making it for SM, who likes venom. So that leaves me to come up with another one. I actually started with a dragon-like with armor symbiote on the right side.

Hence, the name Drenom.

Why is there a plant-like symbiote now?

~The dragon is a big "if" to make. Doesn't really seem to fit the whole thing. After watching Star Trek (2009) movie, the part where kirk is being chased by an alien. The alien's mouth reminded me of tremors. And from that, I thought a carnivorous plant would fit the custom better. I'm happy it did.

How'd you make it?

~You can check my WIP here

Other Thoughts...

~ I really like how it turned out. I was experimenting with the fishing line so simulate fiber-like network of venom to reanimate the decayed left side. The metallic wash really worked well in my opinion. Thanks for Benjamin (and Zi for that details) with that suggestion. I'm also happy with the use of paperclip for the teeth. Turned out well also. One thing I found missing, which kinda sticks out to my critics, is the lack of sanding of the sculpt before painting. I for one don't have sandpaper, lazy to get one. I use my box cutter to trim off the surface a bit. But i'm going for texture and irregularities of the symbiotes that why i didn't go for further sanding. Well hopefully i'll find some soon for my custom.

Stikfas Sign

2009-05-21T20:45:00.000-07:00

While looking for cool stuff online, I stumbled upon a cool toy at thinkgeek. They have this articulated toy, much like stifkas, with a yellow triangle sign in the background. Well here's my take on that,

Quite cool, i think and hilarious. It's like the sign says "Watch out for crazy stikfas". I should have it hold a knife. haha.

Crazy Go Kart

2009-05-21T16:27:00.001-07:00

Here's my current drawing,

(Btw...I have several flickr accounts, too cheap to pay for uploading more than 200+ haha)

In pic you'll see an Alpha (stikfas regular male figure), a bear (stikfas fig) and slurmy (a creation by Zook).

I just recently finished a stikfas custom, and I have another idea for the next one. But usually, I take breaks and fiddle around with them. I thought how cool it be to have 'em in mini-carts sorta like mario-kart. haha. I could make 'em out of Lego pieces, but we'll see.

Ohh here's another sketch of Slurmy

SM (hobbicide member) was talking about his rock band customs the other day. I wanted to draw slurmy and decided to go with that theme. Turned out great. hehe. Might draw the rest of the band later on.

The Beginning

2009-05-21T15:07:00.001-07:00

Let's see... I'll be sharing my crafts and so called "artwork" here.

But first. A little introduction... I guess you can still call me a student. Haven't really entered the workforce, which is hard to get into these days. I recently, a little over a year now, focused more into making crafts, arts, and other "random stuff" that some might find interesting while others find waste of time. Speaking of which, I used to be a hardcore gamer (MMORPG) and time sure flies with that. Maybe I'll talk about my gaming days for another time. I manage to get myself out of that addiction, a bit late but I'm happy I did.

So back on how I started crafting and pulled myself out of gaming. One day, I found myself looking at these small figures "Stikfas",about 3" tall. At first glance, they're like a child's toy which probably discourage me the first time I saw it. But something click inside me, what if there are more than just regular toys. Apparently there's a bunch of things you can do with 'em-assemble, pose, mix, and the best part 'customize'. But what grab my attention is the variety and the poses you can do with 'em. Plus, the figures aren't that expensive, well unless you start hoarding them which I ended up doing. haha.

Like most curious toy enthusiast, I searched online for news, stuff, and other things you can do with 'em. Found this clip of stop animation by Errol, The Fight. Well that clip pretty much sold me into getting a few of 'em. Who wouldn't want to animate like that? hehe. Well little did I know, animating is "mind-numbing" as Errol pointed out. Nonetheless, I found other ways to play with my new found hobby, stikfas.

I ended up making custom stikfas. What's this "customizing"? I view stikfas as a blank slate, as most customizers do. It's like a "Do It Yourself" (DIY) project. Make it whatever you want, which fits in to what I have been doing ever since, make toys. (I use to make toys from scrap when I was little. hehe) With that, I found a couple of stikfas forum online, one of which is Stikfanatics and the other Hobbicide. Found some knowledgeable and talented customizers. They know who they are. hehe.

But aside from stikfas I also sculpt in ceramics, sketch drawings, and dab a little in papercraft. I really enjoyed my ceramic class in highschool. Luckily after college, my teacher still host an evening class for adults. I made a couple of coinbanks, sculptures, pots and others which you'll see as the days progress. (I might post the previous ones i made too) I also like to draw, though I'm still getting the hang of it. As for papercraft, I used to download templates and make 'em. But lately i just switch my focus on making stuff in ceramics and stifkas. Almost forgot, i also have an on-going origami project which you see in my profile pic.

I think that's a good introduction, I hope. lol. Well hopefully you'll know me more on my work.