Surf - Design Planet

BUILDING Ban Dai's HUGE WHITE BASE SPACECRAFT

2012-01-03T13:42:00.001-08:00

BAN DAI GUNDAM COLLECTION
WB
WHITE BASE SCV-70
E.F.S.F. PEGASUS CLASS ASSAULT LANDING CRAFT #0116425
Length: 250.0m Width:108.0m Height 97.0m Weight: 68,000t Output: 550,000hp
Armaments: 580mm Doublebarreled Cannon, Doublebarreled Mega Particle Cannon x2, Stem Missile Launcher x24, Stern Missile Launcher x6, etc., Loading:MS x3.

I introduced this model in my previous blog: http://www.surf-the-arts.com/2008/09/surf-design-planet-blurp-no34.html I finally got around to assembling and detailing them this past Summer of 2011.

The White Base model is 1/400 scale, and measures 25 inches long x 17 inches wide x 11 inches tall when completed. I have completed two matching White Base ships.

After all the model part were cleaned up, sanded, and then primed and finished in White Satin Acrylic, I organized the same/similar parts on 3 large plastic foldable tables that I use when needed. I decided to complete the models in colors shown on the huge model's box, following the instruction pamphlets interior color illustrations, found internet materials and photos of this Gundam craft. I thoroughly studied the Japanese illustrated instructions which were excellent as usual, even though I couldn't read the Japanese type content. This helped in deciding which model components I could put together before color spray painting. And which parts required interior and other fine details before assembling as a whole.

Basic Colors are White, Bright Red, Bright Navy Blue, Bright Medium Yellow and Black.

I added a Deeper Wine Red, a Deeper Navy/Prussian Blue and a Medium Cool Grey to some exterior parts (soften some of the harsh solid colors). The ship's body panel lines were infilled/detailed with a fine Black Sharpie Pen after painting the basic colors. I purchased some brand new Gundam fine point markers, but they didn't work - dry or garbage!

The interior wall panels and floors were sprayed with an Acrylic Plastic Paint in a Bronze/Steel finish. Interior fine details were added using Silver and Gunmetal Steel Colors along with Red, Green, Yellow and Aluminum Control Panel details.

I also added a Bright Green for lights, and Liquitex Acrylic Fluorescent Orange for warning/hazard lights - example on wing tips.

The model comes with interior wall seats for mini Gundam figures. Three figures are supplied - each comes with a little stand. Front, Rear and Side Access Doors are hinged and open for role playing. Also, a large top section lifts off - access to a storage area. Top cannon guns are also accessible and raise up. As I had two ships, I displayed one with Cannons visible top and sides, and the other in the closed position.

After completing the painting and details and panel lines, I mixed a little Medium Gray with Acrylic Matte Varnish and brushed it over the ship's White. This made it not so stark, or too clean/fresh looking. A few supplied WB Logos were added, and I cut out of red vinyl a number 3 and 4 for the wings of each ship.

The Model's Stand was finished in Acrylic Plastic Paint in a Bronze/Steel finish with the supplied Name Identification Brass Colored Sticker.

My completed WHITE BASE ASSAULT LANDING CRAFTS

These were a challenge, and certainly the largest models I have created. I do have one more in a box - I'll save it for the future! I'd love to finish it in a Camo Finish!

ALIEN CREATURE MODELS

2012-01-01T16:42:00.001-08:00

Halycon ALIENS - ALIEN WARRIOR with BASE and EGG

ALIENS - ALIEN CREATURE with BASE 1/9th Scale HALL 11:

TACKLING and CREATING MY TWO ALIENS:

I looked online for finished models of these creature kits, finding only one or two that were done well. I also viewed a couple of videos from the Alien's Movies, making some notations.

I started by putting together the figures, which was very simple. Once the glue had set and dried overnight, I sanded and filled the model seams and gaps with Golden Gel Mediums 'Molding Paste', which is a 100% Acrylic Polymer Dispersion. This can be applied with a palette knife or similar tool. Right away, I just wipe off the excess paste using Q-Tip Swabs, and then lightly sand again when dry.

Secondly I covered the complete creature models by brushing on a coat of Acrylic Matte Black mixed with a little Matte Medium Varnish, making sure all the crevices were filled.

At this point I decided what color direction I was going to use, based on reference found and the colored model box illustrations.. I would complete both figures, although different models, using the same color theme. I decided to follow the basic painting directions given in the above illustration and notes. I did not want to use blacks! Both figures shown below were fully detailed and completed before I decided how to finish the supplied plastic bases, and the one alien's egg.

Note, that I also usually fasten the supplied, light in weight, plastic base of a figure/creature, to a more solid/sturdy wood base. I will discuss this later.

ALIEN BASIC PAINTING:

With a flat brush I lightly brushed coats of paints over the Matte Black coated figures. When mixing the Acrylic Color I also add few drops of Matte or Gloss Acrylic Medium/Varnish to the paint. This makes the lightly applied paint a little translucent - allowing the under color(s) to show through. As I wanted the Alien Creatures to be a little slimy/yucky, I used Gloss Medium Varnish.

Acrylic Colors used were Sepia Brown, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Taupe & White.

Note, the supplied clear head dome was actually fused on after the model was totally completed.

Gunmetal Silver was used for the teeth, with a pale Yellow/Green Slime coating.

Lots of Acrylic Gloss Medium was added to a Sepia/White paint mixture to make the tail very slimy looking.

I also melted a bit of Green Plastic Sprue and fused it to the Alien's teeth/mouth, creating the Green Acid Slime drool that burns the floor below in the movie!

WORKING ON THE ALIEN WARRIOR BASE AND EGG:

The figure was not fastened to the base until the base was completed. Pegs on the creatures feet bottoms were temporarily inserted into drilled holes for this photo.

After removing the creature, the molded alien green plastic base was secured to a purchased wooden artist's paint box frame (discussed in my blog "http://www.surf-the-arts.com/2009/12/surf-design-planet-blurp-no77.html").

The Alien Egg was positioned and glued. I also drilled and inserted a small screw from below. A bit of Acrylic Molding Paste was used to fill around the bottom of the egg to make it more realistic. The top of the Wooden Base, The Egg and Plastic Base was painted with a coat of Matte Black, like the figures were previously. You will see in the above photo, that I added some fine hobby Sand into the acrylic black wet paint to extend the rough effect onto the flat wood base, and to the lower portion of the egg.

FINE DETAILING THE EGG and BASE:

After viewing a lot of Alien Egg reference I hand painted the egg and surrounding base using Pale Yucky White-Yellows and Sick Greens. A little Red and Dirty Violet Purple was added to the Greens. Several coats of Clear Acrylic Gloss was added to the Egg's top entrance/exit for more Slime! When totally dry the figure was mounted to the base.

FRAMING THE WOODEN BASE:

I've mentioned before that I keep a bin of plastic household parts, that may be handy in my model creations. Well, this linear plastic strip that was left in a garbage box by my telephone installer, was the exact same height as the wooden base box, and had the design that I was looking for in an Alien ship type metal. I cut it to size with a knife and fused it to the sides with a caulking gun of Panel Adhesive. With a little touch up on the corners, I painted it in a Gunmetal Silver.

Above my completed ALIENS - ALIEN WARRIOR with EGG

For the ALIEN 3 - Alien Creature with Base:

I chose a purchased wooden plaque from a craft store. Painted it Matte Black with a flat brush letting the strokes show. The edge of the wood was stained with a coat of clear varnish.

The supplied plastic base floor tile was sprayed with a Metallic Bronze-Silver color, and then drilled and secured with a couple of flat head small nails. A small chisel was used to gouge the floor tile, representing the creature's slime acid burning through the metal floor. Felt pads were added to both base bottoms.

Above my completed ALIEN 3 - CREATURE with BASE

The above models were created by Murray Elliot Breen during the late summer of 2011.

WHAAAAT!

2011-12-30T22:55:00.004-08:00

I lost my old blog layout?

I guess it changed to one of the new standard Blogger Design Interfaces somehow? I must note that I have always found that Blogger is NOT user friendly to me. I could never figure out what's going on, where things are, etc., etc. - very confusing. All of my main blog data is still showing thankfully; but without my custom heading and all the right side bio, ads, and links etc. that I added over time.

Anyhow, I'm back after being absent since May 2011. I've actually been quite busy this year with many interesting and fun scale models and art being created, since I moved this past April to Tigard, Oregon USA. We love it here! Christmas is just over ("a belated Merry Christmas"), and the New Year 2012 is coming up fast!

I will try to post monthly, with projects I have completed over 2011, and with updates on my studio plans for 2012.

I'm off to Oahu, Hawaii on January 17th, where I use to live, to visit friends, take photos, and enjoy the sun.

...Murray Elliot Breen, aka surf-the-arts

PS: I just did a Preview and the result was a simplified something - like my old blog, with just my bio on right - now I'm very confused???

A Firm Foundation Makes A Huge Difference

2011-05-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

A Little Robot Guy:

Two years ago I completed a little Japanese 'Robot Guy' (picture above). He is about 2.375 inches high. I'm not even sure what he's called (his official name), or what he belongs to (Anime, Gundam or ?), because the box and instructions are all in Japanese. Anyhow, I had put him up on a shelf for a while, and then moved him into a corner in a display cabinet where he was hidden by other little fellows, and sci-fi monsters. What should I do with him? I'll explain with a recent trip I made!

Recyled Building Materials Trip:

Last week I picked up at a local Recycle Building Material Store several square wooden cube racks just under 2 foot square (shown above). I have no idea what they were originally used for, the shop didn't know either. I plan to make a couple of large display cases for displaying by Japanese Bottle Cap Figures. I will share this later ...back to this blog's purpose.

While strolling through all the neat recycled building supplies, I found several tables cluttered with smaller wood, and hardware items, for a dollar or less. There among the conglomeration of old and new items were several wooden plaques, old and new (shown above). I bought a few of these as they make cheap model bases. I have used some of these before - the trick is being creative with them!

A Firm Foundation for my Little Robot Guy:

Placing The Figure:

I used one of the smaller wood pieces for this figure. It measures 5 inches long x 3 inches wide. I masked the lower frame all around with masking tape, to temporarily protect it while working on the upper flat base. Because the Little Robot Guy had a work/construction equipment look, especially with those big claw hands, I decided to use a stone/rock looking base. I placed the figure by gluing his feet with construction adhesive. I use No-More-Nails adhesive in a caulking gun. I squeeze a bit on a piece of scrap plastic, and apply it to an object using an artist's Palette Knife.

The Surface Materials:

I keep a selection of Railroad Modeler's stones in various sizes (available at http://www.woodlandscenics.com). Plus I use real stones that I have collected from craft stores, landscape gardening stores, or from looking down! The largest of the stones shown above were glued with the construction adhesive mentioned. For smaller granular size stone/gravel, I apply White Glue, or Acrylic White Modeling Paste to the surface, and then sprinkle the stone over. I lightly tap the top of the applied stones with my finger, and then tip the surface, so that the unglued stones fall away. If you miss a spot - just repeat.

Color Design:

The larger stone had natural sand yellow/beige colors which went well with the figure and the natural light color of the wood base. I found one size of granular stone, that was also in this color range, so I used it. A very fine stone was a charcoal grey color, so after I applied it and let it dry, I mixed a little Acrylic Bronze Yellow with 40% White, and lightly brushed it over the Charcoal Grey stone and elsewhere to highlight and blend the overall color. Lastly, the masking tape was removed from the lower frame area, when the top surface was dry, and a Clear Matte Acrylic Varnish was applied.

++++++++++++++++

Other Wood Bases I Have Customized:

Above a Spray Painted Base, with Painted Rocks (Formed from Plaster), and applied Woodland Scenics Shrubbery. (the Blue on the figure is Glitter Nail Polish)

Above a Spray Painted Base, with a Base Size Plaster Rock Spray Painted and Hand Painted with Metallic Paints.

Above a Hand Painted Base, with a Textured Thin Acrylic Sheet Back Painted and Fused to Surface.

Above a Hand Painted Base, with a Base Size Plaster Rock Hand Painted with Acrylic and Metallic Nail Polish.

Above a Spray Painted Base, with Tape Masked and Sprayed Metallic Bronze Squares.

As you can see, What these cheap little wood bases become, is governed by your imagination!

Two Stone Castles - Part 2.

2011-05-08T18:43:00.019-07:00

This is a continuation of my previous blog 'Two Stone Castles - Part 1'.

MiniArt's Medieval Castle Kit No. 72005, Scale 1:72 is similar in fabrication and assembly as to Kit No. 72004 (Kit No. 72005 is shown above).

Architectural Plan Change!

I mentioned in Part 1. that I did not assemble the castle sections and towers in the layouts suggested by MiniArt (top photo above), but that I exchanged the castle components using both kits to create my own two castles (photo shown directly above of Kit No. 72005 with changes).

Castle Finishing Is The Same As The Previous Castle Kit No. 72004:

The front view above, shows that I detailed and painted the castle using the same techniques and colors as Kit No. 72004.

A sheet of Styrofoam 16 inches wide x 14 inches deep, and 1 inch thick was glued into an identical painted wood frame box as used for Kit No. 72004. Each section of the castle walls and towers were glued to the Styrofoam in position.

The Hint of a Moat:

At the front center edge of the castle model diorama, the Styrofoam was cut away creating the Moat. Acrylic Molding Paste was applied to the slope of the cut away, and when dried Greys and Black Acrylic Paint was applied to give the effect of a rough stone slope (shown above and below).

I also added some 'don't get too close' stakes into the moat slope (shown above).

Landscaping:

The interior ground/floor of the castle was painted in dirt colors. The exterior was landscaped using Acrylic paint for ground and grass. Bushes and trees were added along with a couple of large barrier rocks at the front wall on each side of the drawbridge entrance. These were painted a stone color to match the stone type used for the castle walls.

Fresh Foods For All:

At the rear of the castle I created a painted and landscaped little garden, with a wood rail fence, created from Balsa Wood, and then dry brush painted with Burnt Umber and Black Acrylic paint.

Courtyard and Lodging:

For the interior courtyard I added a stone walkway from the front tower to the back quarters, along with doors, ladders and a tree (shown above). Using Balsa Wood I created, glued, and painted the wood buildings butting it up against the interior stone walls. Doors and Window Shutters were also made from Balsa Wood.

Notes: Like my previous castle, I will be adding drawbridge chains, a flag pole, and painting some figures to finish.

I have enjoyed sharing these two castles with you - thanks for viewing!

Two Stone Castles - Part 1.

2011-05-07T22:00:00.027-07:00

Except for a few minor details, I have just completed two Medieval Fortress/Castles produced by MiniArt - Kit No. 72004 and 72005. The models are marked as 1:72 scale, and come as unassembled plastic parts on thick, large sprues. Instructions are through numbered illustrated parts with arrows and symbols.

Instructions are marked: Copyright 2004. MiniArt Ltd P.Box 1432, Simferopol, 95000, Ukraine
Email: miniart@crimeainfo.com Printed in Ukraine

On the cover sheet of the instructions it tells about the kit:

Medieval Castle XII - XV c.

The first castles were founded in the IX (9th) century at the territory of France, Germany and Northern Italy. The X (10th) century was the beginning of stone castles with high towers. The towers were the inhabited places for the nobility, and the defense line. The small castles and towers defended strategically important objects like bridges, and the approaches to their town. A fortified castle became a symbol of the Middle Ages, like its owner knight. This kit gives the opportunity to make a Medieval Castle which was typical to Western Europe in the XII (12th) - XV (15th) century.

Instruction cover sheets for MiniArt Kit No. 72004 and 72005
(click on any photo to enlarge)

A Major Design Change:

Kit No. 72004 is the smaller of the two castles. After assembling all of the basic wall and tower parts, and laying them out in the assembly of each castle, as per the supplied renderings, I noted that I personally did not like the look/design of either castle.

The illustration for 72004 showed two slim rectangular towers. The illustration for 72005 showed two heavy looking square towers (both assembled castles shown above). The two rectangular towers seem to compete against each other in the model 72004 - looking too similar in shape. And the two square towers of 72005 also compete and make the castle layout look extremely heavy. Of course, these observations are my opinions. So, as the dotted directional arrows show, in the above top cover illustrations, I moved a few parts around in building my castles (also shown in the photo below).

Creating my castle - Kit No. 72004:

I began by following the instruction sheet directions and gluing the various castle components together with modeling glue (Testor's Cement - Red Tube). Wall joints and the castles parapet walls required 'some body work/filling. I use Acrylic Heavy Body/Hard Molding Paste. I apply it using a metal artist's Palette Knife and clean up any excess with Q-Tip swabs (I go through a lot of Q-Tips). When dry the paste hardens making the part much stronger. It is also easy to paint over. I also add the paste to the inside of castle seams/joints. The castle tower and wall parts do not come with any bottom pieces, so I cut pieces to fit using Balsa Wood. This gives me a firm surface for gluing to the base.

Painting & Detailing the Castle Parts:

Using acrylics I painted all the stone castle parts using a medium dark grey (60-70% grey). When dry, using a 3/4 inch flat soft brush, I lightly brushed over the medium dark grey with a lighter 'medium grey (40% grey). This leaves the darker grey showing in the castle stone joints. I also mixed a little Flat Black with Acrylic Medium for darkening the underside of certain castle stonework (this makes the color translucent -like watercolor, letting the bottom/underneath color show through). Separately, various small parts such as doors, hatches, front gate, ladders, flagpole etc. were painted using an Acrylic Burnt Umber. Black, or Grey, with Acrylic Medium to show an older, weathered, or dirty look. Parts were glued when dried. Using some recycled credit card plastic, I also added a stone ground area/patio in front of the back tower (see photo above).

A Base For My Castle:

After temporarily butting all the castle parts together, (shown in the above castle photo) I cut a piece of Styrofoam 9 3/4 inches x 12 inches. I put the castle pieces on the Styrofoam and marked with a pencil lightly the total castle outline. I painted the ground soil, trodden areas, and grass areas. I glued a few stones (using No-More-Nails construction adhesive), and applied a little landscaping using trees, bushes and firs to the surface. The jagged Strofoam edge was cleaned up a little using Acrylic Molding Paste, and when dried painted Flat Black.

Securing the Castle Components to the Base:

Starting with main square castle tower at the front, each castle piece was positioned and glued (using No-More-Nails construction adhesive) onto the Styrofoam base. When dried, Acrylic Molding Paste was palette knifed carefully into the joint corners, and to the bottom edge of the castle where it meets the styrofoam base all around. Each area was cleaned up right away with Q-Tips. When totally dried, the joints were touched up with the stone castle Greys I used previously.

Landscape Details

A Box Frame for the Castle's Styrofoam Base:

I made a box frame with bottom, using Hardboard, and a wood frame/trim moulding measuring 1 1/2" x 1/4" (Found it available in 4 foot lengths at Home Depot). Construction grade Carpenter's Glue was used to put the pieces together.

For this castle model (shown in photos below) I painted the frame using the Dark Grey that was used for the stone castle (The moulding frame could be finished by painting, staining , or ? ...up to you and the design look you want for your particular model).

Notes: I have ordered some figures/people to add later. I also will add the drawbridge chains at the entrance.

For my next blog I will show and share details on the other castle I have built, and mentioned at the beginning of this post, 'MiniArt's Medieval Castle Kit No. 72005'.

You Can't Rush Scale Modeling

2011-04-27T20:53:00.007-07:00

Sitting On A Shelf:

Usually I work on several scale models/dioramas at once. An unfinished model can sit on a shelf for quite a while, before I say "time to finish this one"; or "good, I've found the perfect figures or model base." Sometimes I think it's done, but letting it sit usually gives me additional ideas. This sitting time is a thinking time!

A Little Castle:

I blogged about a little castle I made back in 2008 (last blog September 18th, 2008)(scroll down to the 18th).

Now, at the end of April, 2011, I just added doors to the little castle shown above, and a flag on a pole to the castle building's roof.

Thin plastic (from an old credit card) was used and cut to make the castle building's two doors. They were painted with Acrylics. For interest one door was shown closed, and the other left opened.

I used a piece of colored cloth for the flag (from an old t-shirt!). I applied white glue to the inside and then folded it around the flag pole, so the colored pattern showed on both sides. After about 10 minutes, the white glue begins to become firm. You can then bend the cloth to make it look more 'wind blown'.

A Firm Base Design:

I also will be adding (real soon) a 1 9/16" x 1/4" wood moulding frame all around the model's base. The castle's existing detailed styrofoam base will be fused to a sheet of 1/8" masonite/hardboard before I apply the moulding frame all around. The wood frame can be stained or painted before it is applied. Felt pads will be added to the bottom so the wood does not rub or scratch its display surface.

To finalize this diorama, a knight on a horse will be added at the entrance ramp door (heading out). I have a Zvezda Models 1/72 scale Knight that will work well. I also found a supplier for some small farm/homestead type people, dogs, chickens etc. ...It should be complete this year!

I will use this base concept for two or three other castle projects that are in the works.

Organizing a new Art Space

2011-04-15T20:26:00.008-07:00

Moving is so much fun!

My painting of Orcas over our fireplace

After two weeks of unpacking boxes, our new home is starting to come together. My front porch was covered in recycled materials, such as wrinkled newsprint, bubble wrap, and box tape garbage. I flattened over a hundred boxes, and put them on Craigslist - they were gone in a few hours.

As well as several hours spent every day unpacking and organizing household goods, I also spent time organizing my garage and art studio space.

My Art Studio:

I decided to split my art studio space into two main work desk areas. One for creating painting art works, and the other area for scale modeling/dioramas. The photo above is of the scale modeling side. A smaller additional area will be for my computer, printer, scanner and tablet.

Creation Ideas:

A conglomeration of my collectibles are also piled up in boxes and in drawers. I will be sorting and selling many of them over the next year or so. This will equal funds for project idea supplies ...and give me more room! Some collectibles will be incorporated into a combined creation of scale modeling + diorama + custom display/shadow box concepts that I will share in future blogs.

Crying Time Again!

2011-03-14T21:25:00.011-07:00

My Little Shift:

I have been packing up ready for a major move from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia to Tigard, Oregon. I will be moving on March 21, 2011. I am very excited about this as our family starts a new adventure!

We had previously purchased our new home; and we're in the process of selling our Okanagan home. So right now I have two homes. I'm praying that it sells, during this recession, as two mortgages are no fun to keep up with.

A World Shift:

But now I'm feeling very sad and extremely luckily, because I just heard on the news that 140,000 Japanese people plus are living in shelters with no where to go, and/or left with nothing on their backs.

Before & After

We, the world's people need to get down on our knees, no matter what religion or lack of, and pray for the island of Japan and its people. Not one of us, that is not affected directly by this, has any idea of the extent of these multiple tragedies affecting this country now, and its future.

I've never been to Japan, but I love many things about their unique society:

As a scale modeller, I have studied and built their Gifu Castles, their Gundam Warriors, Zoids and Godzillas.

As an artist I have tried my hand at Japanese Watercolor Brush Painting.

As a teenager I travelled to, and sketched Japanese artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum.

Also at that time, everything was made in Japan, NOT China!

I have a large collection of Japanese Bottle Cap Figures, and Pepsi Star Wars and other Anime collectibles.

I have housed Japanese students in the past.

I lived for 13 years on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Its society has a large number of wonderful 'local' Japanese people (many that I call dear friends); as well as the many daily 'mainland' Japanese visitors that come to the islands. My waist will confirm that I love their foods too!

Yes! It's Crying Time Again

...Let's Pray for Japan, and do what we can ...Amen

Surf - Howl's Moving Castle

2011-03-06T15:24:00.016-08:00

For the last four years I have found and downloaded various character, science fiction, fantasy and designer toy Papercrafts. Some are highly complicated using a hunded print outs of pattern to be cut. Others are one sheet only. As well as creating a few complicated ones, I have also enjoyed making simple ones with my grandson ...letting him do the work where possible.

Howl's Moving Castle is one of the most complicated papercrafts, and one of the most unique that I have downloaded. Patience required! The Castle is from a Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyakaki of Studio Ghibli.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howl%27s_Moving_Castle_(film) About Howl's Moving Castle

Note: When the above link opens click on the copy Did you mean: Howl's Moving Castle (film)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli About Studio Ghibli

A Creative Papercraft Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix2yoB4DItA

I found the above creative video on You Tube of the author's step-by-step construction of his Howl's Moving Castle Papercraft. It apparently took him about a month to make.

http://paper-replika.com/

Paper Replika is a site where I presently find an excellent variety of papercaft projects and fun.

Surf - How Leaders Inspire Action

2011-02-16T16:32:00.004-08:00

Simon Sinek:

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

A friend posted this on Facebook - a video from TED. I had to share it with you ...enjoy!

Surf - Jeremiah TV Series

2011-02-16T08:41:00.023-08:00

Luke Perry & Malcolm - Jamal Warner in JEREMIAH The First Season (MGM 2002)

Back in 2003, after watching the TV First Season of Jeremiah, I purchased the above video series of 18 episodes plus the premiere. I was looking forward to Season Two, as I really enjoyed the Season One Episodes. When Season Two came along I watched a couple of episodes, and then abruptly it was cancelled. No reason was given at that time. I was very upset. I heard they had produced a few more shows, but that they were unavailable. Later I searched eBay etc., but was unable to find anything.

About the First Season:

Luke Perry (Beverly Hills 90210 fame) stars as Jeremiah, one of the many young survivors of the "Big Death" that claimed the lives of every adult in the world 15 years previous. Now forging their way through a bleak wilderness fraught with danger and conspiracy, Jeremiah and his most trusted friend, Kurdy (Malcolm - Jamal Warner), are plunged into thrilling adventures that test every facet of their humanity ...and ultimately the fate of the human race itself!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_(TV_series)

A Long Time Coming:

I was searching for a another video on Amazon last week, when to my surprise, the above video popped up. Yes, it is the complete Season Two of Jeremiah. Apparently it was released in 2010, which is only 8 years between the season series! I haven't purchased Season Two yet, but probably will soon - maybe for my birthday in May. The cost at Amazon.com is $54.US presently.

A Review from an Amazon customer:

I really wish there were two star rating numbers here at Amazon, one for the content and one for the delivery mechanism/packaging/etc. If all you care about is getting a cool alternate take on the post-apocalyptic genre, Jeremiah is a great choice. Season 2 is heavily dependent on the first season and is much more serialized than the first, so you can't go wrong picking that one up first, but things get much more personal this go-around and the stakes, while certainly big before, really come into play here and set up what would have been a great third season, which of course we'll never get.

As to the single star, there are a couple of factors. The first one, which is annoying but would have not caused a downgrade to the score, is how the discs are delivered. This is a print-on-demand title and they sure took the route of least resistance: single-layer discs. There were only fifteen episodes in the second season which would normally be delivered on four discs, instead we get eight. Honestly this is not just a case of my extreme laziness, but two episodes per disc and then up again to swap? Please. As a print-on-demand title I can understand there being no special features, and while I would have loved some JMS commentary of the caliber heard on the Babylon 5 sets, the author's falling out with MGM makes this omission acceptable. After all, in the end we just want to see the show at the very least and that's what we get, the very least. And that point rolls over into the reason for the single star: full frame. That's right, this show which was broadcast on Showtime in high definition gets the full frame treatment. If you've seen the show in the past and are just trying to add it to your collection you will be highly disappointed. It's not like the show was well known for its cinematography, but there are quite a number of scenes spread across the season where the widescreen presentation really gave a sense of scale to the goings-on. It is doubly irritating that the only other legitimate method of acquiring Jeremiah Season 2, iTunes, delivers the shows in widescreen. Why Amazon's deal with MGM couldn't include UnBox version in high definition I don't know, as I would have gladly purchased them that way as I don't see a Blu-ray on the horizon. But releasing a show shot and broadcast in high definition in a full-frame format is just wrong.

For those not concerned with the video format or who have never seen the show before, Jeremiah is the tale of a worldwide virus that killed nearly everyone who hadn't gone through puberty, known as "The Big Death". Following events of the first season where Jeremiah and his friend Kurdy had become part of the Thunder Montain community and learned that some adults had survived, including Jeremiah's father, various factions hoping to gain control of the former United States come into play. Attempting to rebuild the country as well as survive, the challenges come in both large and small packages. Featuring action and philosophy, and following the vision of the show's creator, J. Michael Straczynski. There is betrayal and heartache, but hope and determination as well, with a number of new characters introduced including the enigmatic Mr. Smith. While the budget of the show prevents and truly large set pieces from being staged to complement some of the bigger encounters, the production does its best to show a world that has fallen apart due to neglect, desire for power and the breakdown of infrastructure we take for granted in this world. You'll like the characters, even the villains, as everyone has an agenda and a certitude to their convictions.

The second part of Amazon's reviewing process asks "How do you rate this item?" The item, single-layered DVDs containing cropped full-frame episodes that were broadcast in high definition widescreen, gets a single star. The content, however, is easily worth four stars and if you'd like to see an interesting show in this genre it's well worth a look."

Other Items:

A Book ~ Jeremiah - The Roleplaying Game

A Roleplaying Game Book is also available from Amazon at $25.US. From the award winning pen of J. Michael Straczynski comes Jeremiah, a gritty tale of life and survival in a terrifying post-apocalyptic nightmare. Taking a plot line as familiar as it is popular, Straczynski has created a background rich in detail which formed the basis of this critically acclaimed television series.

In the hands of Mongoose Publishing, this story is now presented as a new and exciting roleplaying game. Guaranteed to appeal both to genre specific fans and aficionados of J. Michael Straczynski, Jeremiah is supported by a robust license allowing widespread use of extensive media materials."

A Roleplaying Game Source Book:

Along with the Roleplaying Game Book, a Source Book is also available at Amazon for $9.US. Thunder Mountain is the base of operations for the embryonic new government, struggling to survive against a multitude of foes. This first supplement for the exciting new Jeremiah roleplaying game based on the critically acclaimed television series examines the nature of human endurance, describing how humanity would survive a holocaust.

This in-depth 128-page sourcebook provides everything players and Games masters require to depict the rebirth of mankind.."

Surf - Graffiti Lettering Fun

2011-01-21T15:15:00.016-08:00

Fun With Graffiti Lettering Styles:

If you're NOT a Graffiti Artist with a stack of aerosol cans and a big blank wall; or if you NEVER HAVE downloaded any Graffiti Fonts from the internet, but you've always wanted to see what your name, or a word, looks like. Then try this link http://www.graffiticreator.net/

I am not affiliated with this site at all
...I just stumbled upon it and thought that I would share it with you!

How to use this Graffiti Creator:

On the opening page you can preview a Graffiti font with names such as Chrome5, Jedimind, Potent and Oldschool etc.

You click and choose a type, which opens another page where you can insert your word into the bottom type bar.

Sliders are provided to adjust the width, the height and the rotation of the type.

For the word's color and type effects you choose one of the little boxes to the bottom right - example to fill the letter with color, and to add a supplied selection of effects. Color sliders on the left also let you fine-tune the color you want for that particular box.

You can also re-position a letter, say for spacing, by holding your mouse button on the letter and dragging it to where you want.

Well, enough explaining - experiment yourself and have fun!

Samples are shown above and below of my creative efforts - I know you'll do better!

I hope you enjoy this Graffiti Creator site!
I just checked out the one site above. I'm sure if your interested and search, there will be other similar sites.

...Oh, I got to go, it's starting to

Surf - Where Is Sci-Fi Going?

2011-01-20T20:26:00.028-08:00

Oh Where Has All The Sci-Fi Gone?

I have been a TV Sci-Fi fan for many years - well at least since the Beatles came! But, lately they are all fading away. True some stories have concluded such as LOST and Battlestar Galactica. Yes, at least LOST did conclude, even if there were many questions unanswered by fans.

To fill some gaps in Battlestar Galactica, they went to a time before the series, by producing a video and a TV prequel series called Caprica. It has now ended after its first season; upsetting, but at least we got an idea of where those robots came from and why they would go to war later.

Apparently another prequel series called Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Stone will be coming soon. Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlestar_Galactica:_Blood_%26_Chrome

Lately though, Sci-Fi shows are being cut before I/We get a chance to fully experience a story line.

He looks so sad!

ABC canceled Defying Gravity after 8 episodes, without airing all of it's planned (and filmed) thirteen episodes. You will have to wait for a DVD set before you learn the real ending to the first season of the show. It's unclear whether episodes will end up on a DVD, or even if a DVD would be sold.

Hoth Battle by Murray E. Breen

I spent TV time watching Star Trek in my teens and 20's. The epic Star Wars Sagas passed me by, as I was busy with family and business in my 30's and 40's. Later, I watched them all. I was also interested because I was detailing and finishing Star Wars models during the 90's.

Recently, I have watched many new Sci-Fi series. I believe the series that I consider an equal of sorts to Star Trek is the Stargate TV series shows - Stargate, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. Great acting, superb action, wonderful humor/comedy, great stage props, exciting story lines, and not to heavy for family watching.

Stargate has had a long run and aired on Syfy since 2002.

I've really enjoyed the characters in the latest series Stargate Universe, but Syfy (USA) announced that it won't renew it for a third season, putting an end (for now) to the long-running Stargate franchise on the network. 'Another one *bites the dust'. * "There must be a plot 'out there' to replace real Sci-Fi with those 'Fanged Zombies".

Stargate Fans are uniting on Facebook at http://facebook.com/SGUnite

Will Miss You All!
Good Luck and Much Thanks for Great Years to
Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Don S. Davis, Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Corin Nemec, Claudia Black, Michael Shanks ...

*******

Cast and Directors

Another of my favorite Sci-Fi shows is FRINGE

It is in it's 3rd season and hanging in there for now, although it has presently been moved to the Friday evening 'death slot'. Great info on the TV series FRINGE at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fringe_%28TV_series%29

Surf - OBEY - Shepard Fairey

2011-01-18T19:00:00.011-08:00

One of my favorite 'NOW' artists Shepard Fairey:

Shepard Fairey - Obey to be Better! from Gestalten on Vimeo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_Fairey

Shepard Fairey vs The AP

http://obeygiant.com/headlines/obama
http://obeygiant.com/headlines/update-shepard-fairey-vs-the-ap

Surf - Bike Design Challenge

2011-01-09T15:13:00.006-08:00

OREGON MANIFEST CONSTRUCTOR’S DESIGN CHALLENGE from oregon manifest on Vimeo.

(Video from 2009)

The 2011 Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge will be held in Portland, September 23-24, 2011.

Oregon Manifest is asking designers and custom bike builders to create the Ultimate Modern Utility Bike.

What’s a Utility Bike?

The bike that fits into and enhances your everyday life seamlessly –
a bike that performs many tasks well, is easy to use, easy to secure, easy to grab and go.

In your world, what would Ultimate Modern Utility Bike do?

Get you from point B to Point B with little effort?
Haul Groceries and still haul ass?
Perform multiple tasks but still feel fun to ride?

More Info at http://oregonmanifest.com/news/

Surf - Moving Again

2011-01-06T13:45:00.006-08:00

Preparing & Simplifying Our Home For Sale:

First we chose a moving company, then we requested shipping materials to do our own packing.
We were busy over the last two weeks. My family helped with packing household items, and the big job of cleaning everything from kitchen cupboards to sliding door tracks.

Along with several household items, I packed a conglomeration of boxes which contained my collectibles, art and modeling supplies. My scale models and dioramas required special wrapping and packaging. This was sometimes challenging. A large amount of flat art was put into 'under bed' bins. My framed paintings were wrapped using a large four foot diameter roll of one inch bubble wrap and then placed into mover's mirror boxes. I recorded and labeled 326 home and studio boxes in total.

The real estate sign is up this morning on our front lawn. I ask for your prayers for a quick and good sale in this depressed market. Moving is always stressful, even though I realize a new adventure lies ahead!

Surf - Happy 2011

2010-12-31T20:47:00.007-08:00

Surf - Busy Little Bee

2010-12-20T18:55:00.029-08:00

I cannot believe that it has already been six months since my last blog.

What have I been doing?

I have not been making scale model dioramas, or fine art paintings. I guess I would call this time 'Artistic Lull' ...but I have been busy!

July: During this month our family hosted two young Japanese boys who were visiting a Kelowna school. My grandson sure had fun with them!

********

August: Our family planned and took a trip to California visiting my eldest daughter in the San Francisco area, and her new son. As well, with our other grandson - age six, we visited Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland, SeaWorld, Legoland and the San Diego Zoo. I took lots of photos, some for fun, and many as possible future drawing or painting reference.
Images included:
Alameda Victorian homes (one shown above)

Piece of the Berlin Wall at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, located in Simi Valley

A huge variety of crops are grown in this California valley plain

There was a variety of landscape types as we traveled by train from Spokane, Washington to San Francisco, California and then on to Los Angeles.

I was able to get great shots of a mother and baby Panda Bear at the San Diego Zoo

I took about 300 photos each day at all of the theme parks.

********

September: After our vacation, I relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery of lush orchards and wineries, around our home, in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. I took several photos here as well.

********

October: 'The Big News' - For many 'make sense' reasons we decided to purchase a new home in Tigard, Oregon (within a ten mile radiius of downtown Portland). My youngest daughter's family will be joining us. We are very excited about the home, and look forward to discovering this new area of Oregon.

The home also has a fabulous office area which will make a great studio for creating my art. I will keep you updated as to when I will be moving to the Portland area.

********

November/December: Many hours have been spent working through a ton of paperwork involved in purchasing a new home. I also started packing household items, to ready our existing home for sale; as well as packing the many fragile scale models and art that I have produced over the years.

********

During this last six month period, I have also been working on a large organized data base of photos, art, design, architecture, and world images, putting them in folders on a large portable hard drive. Subjects include scenery and societies around the world, castles, artists and their works, scale modeling reference, Photoshop reference, 2 & 3D Art, family photos, vacations, a large Sci-Fi data base from robots to space vehicles, designer toys, etc., and my Flickr account of thousands of photos.

********

Well, it is time to take a break with my family for the Christmas Season. Watch some of those classic holiday movies! Our tree is up, thanks to my daughter, and there are a few presents under the tree - mostly for my grandson! We really don't need any presents - we have a 'new home' in the new year!

"Wishing You and Your Family a Very Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year!"

Surf - 1950's Fire Helmet

2010-06-18T08:22:00.046-07:00

Something Old Into Something New & Arty
... An old 1950's fireman's helmet/hat:

The 50's Fireman's Hat that I selected

I was checking the latest local news online on May 30, 2010 at Castanet.net, when I came upon a unique opportunity for local artists to paint on a fireman's helmet for a fundraiser. This will be an auction for the new Kelowna Fire Museum and Education Centre. The city of Kelowna is located in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. People can bid on these one of a kind items. Bidding will start online when a few of the artists complete their fire helmet. Bidding will start at $200. Information about the artist will be posted with their finished helmet. Artists interested in painting a helmet can contact Ms. Miller at 250 717-3473.

The Auction will be online soon!

Before I share the customizing of my fireman's hat, here is a little history about the new Kelowna Fire Museum and Education Centre - 2009 reference article from http://www.castanet.net/ and http://www.firemuseum.ca/

The historic Water Street Firehouse

A new home will soon be open for the Kelowna Fire Museum & Education Centre.

The new location for the museum will soon be opening its doors in downtown Kelowna, next to the historic Water Street firehouse. Brian Moore, of the Friends of the Kelowna Fire Museum Society, says they are thrilled with the location. “We can’t wait to get up and running to showcase our memorabilia and educate people on how to reduce the risk of unintentional injuries,” says Moore. He says the 10,000 square foot building at 1630 Water Street was originally built for Kelowna Motors in 1950. “The August family, which has a long association with the city and the original Kelowna Fire Brigade for over 60 years, has made the property available.” Regarding their relationship with the fire department, Brian and Gary August say when their father came to Kelowna in 1945, he became a volunteer fire fighter and actually lived at the Water Street Fire Hall until he was married in 1947. “His relationship with the Fire Department continued and he became Deputy Chief of the volunteer fire fighters. Many employees of Kelowna Motors were also volunteer fire fighters and there were many times when a fire would occur and most of the employees would leave to fight the fire, with only a skeleton staff remaining to operate Kelowna Motors.” Once the required plans and permits are in place, renovation work will begin with a planned opening during August this year. The Museum and Education Centre will be made possible through a combination of volunteer labour, donations and fund raising. The Friends of the Kelowna Fire Museum Society is in the process of launching a volunteer recruitment program and fund raising campaign. The Museum's collection includes a fully restored 1928 Graham ladder truck, a 1961 American LaFrance pumper, chemical wagon, hose wagon, a Gamewell pull box alarm system and many other artifacts showcasing 100 years of service to the citizens of Kelowna. The Firehouse Kitchen Coffee Shop will be a great spot to stop for a beverage and light snack. All proceeds from the Firehouse Kitchen are used to fund the Museum and Education Centre Operations.

A Tag inside this helmet states "HARD BOILED" trademark of E. D. Bullard Company, Sausalito, Calif. Adjustable Size 6 1/2 - 7 5/8

The Existing Fireman's Hat:

The first thing I did was remove the old cloth and leather head liner within the hat. It was very dirty. I also decided I did not need it as the hat would no longer be functional. It will become a display art piece.

There were no major dents or scuffs on the helmet, so I cleaned the helmet with dish soap and then lightly sanded it with a fine wet and dry sandpaper. I believe the helmet is actually fabricated/molded from fiberglass material.

Design:

I wanted my design to be fun, but fire-related. Representing how fire personnel daily, as first responders, attend to a variety of emergency needs in our community. And to give thanks!

Concept, Fabrication & Painting:

In our area there have been some nasty auto accidents lately. The accidents being recently 'in the back my mind', led me to see the area between the fire helmet's distinct three ridges as roadways or a highway. Our need to be cautious, alert, drive safely, and obey the rules of the road. Fire personnel are often the first responders to auto collisions.

I made a trip to the local plaza's Dollar Store, where I found a 'made in China' package of 6 automobiles/cars with two bonus roadway cones for the cost of $1.50. I also was looking for a small fire truck. Over in the birthday gift wrap section of the store I found a small 'made in China' plastic fire truck and an ambulance whistle for 75 cents. Wow! ...now I'm broke!

I used my scale modeling spray booth that I made a couple of years ago, to give the fire helmet two coats of White Acrylic Primer for Plastic, and a coat of Satin White Acrylic Paint.

The six autos were placed randomly on the 'roads', the position noted, and then the surface scraped a bit for adhesion. I applied a big blob of 'no more nails' in a construction caulking tube to the vehicles bottom and then placed the vehicles. I cleaned up any access with a metal palette knife and Q-tips.

The two other vehicles, the fire truck and ambulance had rectangular plastic mouth whistles on the back side, so I drilled holes through the hat in my desired position. Filed the hole square to fit in tightly the rectangular whistle part.

Then they were pushed through the hat's surface. No More Nails was applied on the hat's inside for securing, and a clean caulking bead was applied to the outside.

Once all the vehicles were applied, they were also primed in White Acrylic.

I took a break and went online to do a little research on fire helmets. I looked up the Kelowna Fire Dept. to see if they had a logo or crest. I also looked at other things such as fire rescue's history, their vehicles, their tools. I also made a list of some of the emergencies and things that they daily are called too. Our region was also struck by severe forest fires in recent past history. One large fire on the Kelowna side in 2003 (I was not here at that time), and last year a wild fire on the West Kelowna side (I mentioned this in a previous blog).

I copied a few images from the web, inserted them into file, along with some copy/text that I might use later.

I did a sketch of a crest for the front of the fire helmet. I noticed on the web that some of these are quite large and they looked like they were made from stitched leather. I did not want mine as big, so I proportioned one approximately 70 or 75% in size to the ones I saw. I decided to use the circular logo I saw on the Kelowna website on my crest. The logo had a center circle which was perfect for my installation of a mini LED light that I was thinking of using.

I could not find any leather material so I cut my crest, using my scroll saw, out of an old piece of green artist/modelers cutting board (the hat in the above photo is actually sitting on one of my green cutting mattes). This was easy to cut, looked like leather, but it was also rigid enough to stand upright on the helmet. I primed the crest using White Acrylic Gesso, and then sprayed it with a Gold Metallic Paint. I cut a 1 inch hole in the center of the crest material with a large hole bit and drilled a smaller hole below for securing it later with a pop rivet gun.

I transferred both hole center points to the fire helmet's front and then drilled both holes through the fire helmet (shown above).

I inserted the mini LED flash light into the hat's large hole and secured it both sides like I did for the fire truck and ambulance. When dry, as this was the last item I was inserting through the helmet, I painted the hat's interior with a fresh coat of Black Acrylic Paint. The flashlights visible exterior was painted to match the fire helmet's Bronze finish.

I painted the crest's logo with Acrylic Paints as shown in the above photos. Then it was fitted over the projecting mini LED light and secured at bottom center with a pop rivet gun. A clear coat of Matte Acrylic Varnish was applied to the crest.

I hand-painted a circular 'No Campfires' logo (shown below) on a white recycled plastic bottle cap, securing it to the hat's back with two pop rivets.

I also accent painted (added minimal color) to the various vehicles to give them character. I used similar colors throughout to create unity in all of the graphics on the fire helmet. I fused the two mini road cones onto the helmet using Crazy Glue.

Painting of my Images and Type to the Fire Helmet:

I looked through the reference images and my type I had put together and decided what I was going to use.

On the large back rim of the fire helmet, I decided to keep it simple and just hand letter the word Kelowna Fire Dept. in a simplified Olde English typeface. I lettered the words using White Acrylic mixed with a Pale Yellow. This went down well - working over the Bronze. When dry I added a Bright Red shadow directly to the Bronze with no under-painting. Then I added a little design to the letters using my Bright Red mixed with the Pale Yellow (an Orange color). And again when dry, I added a little Bright Gold to the middle of the Orange.

I previously mentioned Forest Fires. I chose a simple illustration of three fire personnel using fire hoses to put out small hot spots in an oval on one side of the helmet. I used the same Bright Orange and mixtures of the yellow, along with a little Burnt Sienna for trees, adding white for those further away. A hint of light green in some trees, others bare branches. The trick was adding a wash of Acrylic Medium Matte Varnish mixed with a touch of dirty White over the background to make it foggy - smokey! This image is dark, but I kept getting flash blobs on the illustration!

I wanted to add something historic, showing that firemen have been around us a long time. Also because this hat is being auctioned for a Fire Museum.

I decided on a horse drawn wagon, which could be responding to a city fire, or possibly a rural barn or field fire. The picture above was good, so I just left it on screen while I painted this image on the side of the helmet. I kept it simplified and used an 'old sepia look'. By using Burnt Sienna line work only, the bronze shows through. I filled in only a few areas with a lighter Sepia Brown, and then added a wash over the background creating the oval. A touch of diluted White mixed with Matte Medium was used for the smoke/steam of the pumper wagon. Note that on both illustrations I did not stay within the oval, but let parts of the illustrations reach out of the oval area.

Room was left above the oval illustrations for copy. I hand lettered, using the Bright Fluorescent Orange mixed with a little White directly on the helmet. I used "God Bless Our Firemen" to show thanks, appreciation for all they do! On The other side I used "Prevent Forest Fires". I used a hand script lettering for this.

A Canadian Flag, A Fire Hydrant, and a Dalmatian Dog were also hand-painted to the brim around the Kelowna Fire Dept. copy (shown above and below).

The front brim of the helmet is narrower, so I decided to add the Emergency Call '911' with a fireman's tool on each side. Finally, to protect the images three or four coats of sprayed Clear Acrylic will be added.

I hope that you've found my Arty Fire Helmet interesting!
It is great fun tackling these unusual projects when they come along. Questions & Comments are always welcome!
...Stay Safe!

Surf - Hot Bicycle Manufacturing

2010-05-15T12:59:00.004-07:00

A Hot Bicycle Manufacturing Video:

The Atavistic Urge from Sara Kinney on Vimeo.

Surf - Bike Design 1925

2010-05-07T21:43:00.005-07:00

A Cool Bicycle Manufacturing Video:

The following video is a short promo featuring manufacturing
and assembly footage from the Gazelle bicycle factory, in Holland 1925
interspersed with a Piet Pelle cartoon with a great jazz tune.

Gazelle 1925 from Gazelle NL on Vimeo.

Surf - Sharing Modeling Skills

2010-05-04T20:30:00.013-07:00

Keeping a Five Year Old Boy Busy!

My five year old Grandson, Jake, loves my models. He says "they're really, really cool Grandpa!" ..."Can I build one?"

The problem is that a five year old child gets impatient quickly, and has generally not developed enough to build most of the complex models that I have. I do have trouble figuring some of them out myself! Although, I was surprised to find that my Grandson is quite skilled at putting things together; and he even thinks 'out of the box' by putting some toys and figures together in a different way than the norm. While looking after him during the day, after Kindergarten, I was able to find some simplified 'cool' paper craft robots and characters on the internet that took Jake and I an afternoon to make. We made a few. Interesting, but simple to create, paper crafts are hard to find. I found that I had to do most of the paper cutting, folding and gluing.

However, we did find a stubby Ironman. He helped in put it together. He plays with it often and loves the removable mask.

Colorful Stubby Little SD Gundams:

In my collection of models, I have nine Japanese plastic models of SD Gundams. These were purchased second hand as a lot a few years ago in Hawaii. A few weeks ago I pulled one of these from my shelf, and found that it only took a couple of hours to build one, with Jake helping. When completed, he thought it was very cool. Finished, the figures are about 3 inches high.

Assembly:

The model parts are pre-finished in White and other bright metallic type colors. One really doesn't need to prime and paint them. I applied plastic Testors glue to the parts requiring glue, and Jake put the pieces together. Other figure parts just snap into each other, for movability, requiring no glue. Easier for Jake to help.

Details:

Bright metallic colored stickers are also supplied for applying to the SD Gundam figure's Japanese armor, helmets, weapons etc. to add graphic detail. The evening after making the SD Gundam, I applied, with brush, a clear coat of Future Acrylic Floor Finish to the face and edges of the stickers to seal and protect them.

We just completed our second SD Gundam (shown above and below) which came with extra parts to pose it in different ways.

I will note that extra hand paint detailing of parts is not necessary, but for professional display purposes it would add that extra 'wow' to these little figures!

Incredible Model Box Illustrations:

As well as the images of the figures above, I include some SD Gundam Box Illustrations below of the figures I have. They are 'really cool' too! Personally, I have no idea how many were made by Bandai or others. My odd model box numbers range from No.39 to 122.

Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Report 5.

2010-04-02T13:10:00.012-07:00

My Neuschwanstein Castle Model by Doyusha
Final Progress Report No.5 - 99% Finished:
(see also Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.84)

Dimensions: 26" long x 13" wide x 16" high

The decorative moulding has been Solid Stained in a Red-Burgundy color. Later when dried I will wipe a Medium Green Acrylic into the groove of the moulding's leaf pattern.

As you can see, many trees have been added. Trees were hand-made and some were purchased from Hong Kong. All received hand-painting in Acrylics to make them more natural in color, as well as adding an overall early Fall/Autumn feel to the landscape.

Blended turf (from Woodland Scenics) was added to ground areas, as well as washes to create soil using Acrylic Matte Varnish mixed with a touch of Burnt Umber, and a little Burnt Sienna.

A wash of Acrylic Matte Varnish with a very small amount of Acrylic Raw Sienna was washed over all of the building's gray walls to warm up the stone a bit, using a 1" soft flat watercolor brush.

I will look into having a custom display case for this diorama model. This is a must, due to everyday dust that will accumulate ...and eventually would destroy it.

Another nice item, would be to have a brass name plate created for this model.

Hope you've enjoyed my creation. I had lots of fun making it, and I learned how to spell 'Neuschwanstein' ...Regards, Murray E. Breen

Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Report 4.

2010-03-28T15:53:00.014-07:00

My Neuschwanstein Castle Model by Doyusha - Progress Report No.4:
(see also Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.83)

Yesterday I added a nice leaf scroll patterned moulding all around the base of my Neuschwanstein Castle Model Diorama. I am going to solid stain the moulding in a red/burgundy color to match the brick/stone work at the castle's entrance way.

I am in the process of making several more trees for this model. Shown above are aluminum trees that I have spray primed, and then hand painted using Black, Medium Grey and Brown Umber Acrylic.

**********

A Base To Mount a Model:

In a previous blog I mentioned that I had found at an art store, wooden art/craft panel boxes, in various sizes, which would make excellent model bases. Below are shown a couple of Alien type figures and their plastic mould bases which I have mounted onto theses wooden panel boxes.

Above Photo:
An Alien Exoskeleton (Indepenence Day Movie) Figure produced by Lindberg Models No.77312, 1995

Note: The models shown above and below are not finished - to make them ready for painting, they have been finished in a black undercoat primer of black acrylic mixed with matte medium.

First, I drilled and screwed the plastic mould base to the wooden box. The screw tops were then covered in acrylic modeling paste. After hardening, I applied some white glue to the surrounding wood top and randomly applied some fine granular model railroad type stone. To help secure the stone, I also applied a scenery clear spray glue. Once all was dried, I primed all in black. Explanation: Personally, I find that the application of stone texture beyond the figure's existing plastic mould base, extends the figure's base texture outwards for a better overall look/feeling; rather than it ending abruptly.

Above and below photo:
Aliens Movie, Alien Warrior with Base & Egg produced by Halcyon Models - HAL 04, 1991, Figure Design & Sculpting by Colin Batty

As well as gluing the Alien Egg to its plastic mould base, I also drilled and screwed into the plastic egg's bottom, from under the wooden panel box. The figure has not been glued to the base, as it will be much easier to paint while separate.

Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Report 3.

2010-03-12T10:23:00.019-08:00

My Neuschwanstein Castle Model by Doyusha - Progress Report No.3:

(continued from Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle)
(continued from Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Report 1.)
(continued from Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Reort 2.)

Castle Foundation:

Before starting to paint and assemble the castle building parts shown above and below, I hand-detailed/textured, in shades of Light to Medium Greys, the lower castle's stone foundation walls all the way around.

And on the model's mountain base, I applied some scrub grass areas. Future shrub and trees will be added as noted in my blog no. 81. As my model will appear to be in the early Autumn/Fall time of year I used a brownish grass mixture with a little green grass. Scenic cement was brushed on to my chosen grass areas, and then the mixture was sprinkled over. The model was tilted and tapped to remove excess material, and then vacuumed up.

Assembling and Detailing the Castle Buildings:

Previously, I had looked up photo detail reference on the internet on the Royal Neuschwanstein Castle in West Germany. These were saved in a folder for their future use. As I was now ready to start painting some of the castle's many parts, I printed out a few of the best photos for color and detail use.

The first thing that I did was to organize all of the roof, turret tower, stair, chimney parts etc. into separate styrofoam trays (old food trays that were cleaned) These are also great for holding larger parts while paint spraying.

All parts were cleaned and sprayed with an Acrylic White Primer. All castle wall and roof parts were removed from the sprues, but their part number was written on the part's underside. Smaller parts, such as chimney parts were left on their sprues - they look similar but they fit differently.

The Doyusha manufactured model's instructions are in Japanese, with limited broken English underneath. This does not hinder assembly at all, as the Illustrations are excellent (sample above).

All of the roof parts were painted using an Acrylic Paynes Grey (a blackish/blueish dark grey). Then Paynes Grey was mixed with different small amounts of a Medium Grey with the addition of Liquitex Matte Medium. This gives the color transparency letting the underlay color show through. This was brush on by following the lines of the linear metal/slate roofs.

The Castle's Entrance

Tower, Turret, Stone Wall & Mural Detail

Castle Wall, Roof & Chimney Detail

Before mixing a large amount of the Castle's Medium/Light Grey Wall Color, I decided to paint all the small castle wall parts that were of different colors. I studied my reference photos for accuracy. The front castle's entrance parts contained two colors of brick-stone, as well as top dirty stone parapet walls. The larger rear castle building contained various trim/ledges , turrets and chimney parts in a yellow ochre/beige color.

Camera Flash tends to make the images a little blue looking.

Once all of the small components, roof parts, and the building trim were painted, I mixed in a sealable container the overall wall color - a Light/Medium Grey Acrylic. This was hand-painted to all of the stone grey castle walls.

Later I will apply a transparent wash of Light Beige mixed with 60 percent Acrylic Matte Medium over the Grey coat to warm up the stone a little.

The Castle's Front Entrance Building and a couple of other components have been glued into place on its foundation. Other castle buildings and their roof will be applied later, as I am presently waiting for an order of Switch, Battery-operated LED Lights to arrive. The LED's will be placed within the Castle Diorama Display to illuminate the windows when in a dim room. I purchased the LED Lights from Evan Designs in Broomfield, CO.

March 12 - 4pm- LED Lights arrived.
March 13 - Morning - Taped 3 sets of LED Lights onto the interior walls of castle buildings. Drilled 2 holes where buildings intersect, ran the 3 sets of LED lights wiring through 1 lower window to the outside wall and connected to the switch/battery wires. Fused switch to wall with super glue. Hid exterior wires by cutting a slit in the styrofoam mountain and pushing visable wires under. Minor paint touch-up. Cut a slot in the styrofoam mountain where I wanted the battery holder and pushed the holder into the styrofoam. Installed the building main roof and turrets after verifying that all the interior LED Lights worked ...Horray!

Note: the final landscaping shrubs and trees will be placed to hide visible wire parts.

I will keep you updated on my progress ...thanks for visiting ...comments always welcome!

Night Night!

Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Report 2.

2009-12-19T22:30:00.006-08:00

My Neuschwanstein Castle Model by Doyusha - Progress Report No.2:

(continued from Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.81)

After gluing on the Styrofoam rock additions and smoothing out the Styrofoam's natural bubble look with some Acrylic Modeling Paste, as shown in my Blog No.81, I then painted the rock with Flat Black Acrylic, adding layers of dry brushed Dark, Medium and Light Grey. I also added a little Burnt Umber for surface soil on flat rock areas.

Once the rocks were totally dry, I masked the edge of the base pine board with 3/4 inch painter's green masking tape, letting the tape stick up above the board half way - 3/8 inch. I put lots of old newspaper under and around the model. I then poured and spread out with a brush my Liquid Scenery Cement/Glue (white glue that dries clear would work also) around the rocks and up to the taped board edge. I then sprinkled crushed railway type ballast rock pebbles into the glue. I had to do a little little pushing and mixing of the pebbles and glue with an old brush and my finger to make sure the glue was securely surrounding the pebble stones.

I let the surface pebbles settle and dry for a day, before I shook the board lightly to remove any non-glued pebbles. My trusty shop vacuum is always close by for cleaning up.

The stone pebble material I used is very brown/sandy looking. I will now add some gray dry brushing over the pebbles to blend in with the rock mountain color.

With the holidays coming up very fast, I will leave it for now.

In the new year I will add a decorative wood trim/moulding all around the base. Then I will return to paint detailing all the castle building components from my online collected reference photos.

I am also looking into lighting the castle's interior with some battery run LED lights, which will include an on-off switch.

In case I don't get back to my blog before the holidays, "I Wish You All a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year ...and Many Thanks for Viewing My Blog Blurps!"

Surf - Neuschwanstein Castle Report 1.

2009-12-08T09:32:00.008-08:00

My Neuschwanstein Castle Model by Doyusha - Progress Report No.1:

(continued from Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.80)

Before continuing on with the Castle Parts of this model, or applying the Landscaping Shrubs and Trees, I am finishing the actual Ground of the Mountain that it sits on. My Styrofoam created slopes are pretty steep. Maybe a little too steep for applying the forested trees to the mountain. So I am adding a little extra mountain pieces to the main base which will give me more flat areas for planting the trees and shrubs.

These are all hand cut out of scrap packaging Styrofoam and glued with a caulking gun to the existing mountain and pine board base. The foam pieces have been cut at different angles and sizes for a random natural look.

All of the mountain will be painted Black. Then wet and dry brushed with Dark Grey, then Medium, to eventually a light White/Grey painted mountain rock base. A little Burnt Umber (a dirty brown) will be added to the Greys, which adds a ground soil look to the flat areas of the mountain.

Styrofoam, when hand cut, tends to look like popcorn in areas (is too pitted - potholes) instead of looking like textured rock/ground. To give it a more natural look I apply (with a Palette Knife) some Acrylic Modeling Paste to the surface where required.

My Model's Base Pine Board is 12 inches x 25 inches. A Mitred Frame will be added around when I have completed the mountain base.

Surf - Whitebase + Neuschwanstein

2009-12-06T08:59:00.025-08:00

Two Large and Quite Different Model Projects that I'm Working On:

Before I write about other Star Blazer YAMATO Battleships that I've finished, I'd like to share a little about these two large models:

1. The Royal Neuschwanstein Castle (in Germany) by Doyusha.

2. The 1/400 scale, huge WHITEBASE E.F.S.F. Pegasus-Class Assault Landing Craft SCV-70, Gundam Collection by Bandai .

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1. The Royal Neuschwanstein Castle by Doyusha

I've mention this large castle model, quite a while ago, in my blog Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.9 (towards the bottom of blog) that I created a display base using Styrofoam built up on a pine wood board. When I finish the base texture, I will add a wood design moulding frame all around the bottom board.

Presently I am adding texture to the castle's styrofoam mountain side, and preparing to make several trees. Looking at the photos (on the model's box and below) you will see that the real castle Neuschwanstein is located on a rugged forested mountain plateau top high above a valley.

To make the ground cover and trees, I used Woodland Scenics hobby supply. They supply a variety of hobby materials and landscaping materials to model railway builders and other model/diorama makers.

I purchased the Forest Canopy trees (shown below) to use together with other packages of foliage by Woodland Scenics of Light Lichen Mix, Autumn and Greens (3 types). I keep a few of these in stock for a variety of model landscaping, along with Scenic's Glue and Cement. The castle model's trees will be in colors of green; with a few added in Autumn colors (the beginning of fall - this will give my model some nice color interest).

Click the tree directions (above and below) to enlarge. They give detail on how I constructed my trees below. I have a few more to do. There is also a list of typical foliage/tree types available on the instruction sheet below.

I'll probably need twice as many trees than what I've shown in the photo above. It does take time and patience to get them looking good! While they dried, I stuck them into a styrofoam block.

Some natural dried foliage (shown above) is supplied in the 'Forest Canopy' package (which is also shown in a previous photo).

One of the trees (shown above) where I applied Green and Autumn foliage material.

As well as natural plant material tree foliage, plastic and aluminum type material branched trees are available also, in a variety of tree types, for adding the foliage.

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2. The 1/400 scale, huge WHITEBASE E.F.S.F. Pegasus-Class Assault Landing Craft SCV-70, Gundam Collection by Bandai .

I will be building a total of three of these models. The two that I have started will be painted in traditional color as recommended by the instruction sheets. The third ship that I will build, at a later date, will be a camouflage version.

Some parts are factory color finished. These have very glossy plastic look. I prefer to paint all parts. The parts shown on the above table have been painted.

I am presently waiting for some Gundam color line markers that I ordered from Hong Kong. Apparently they are stuck in Canada Customs - they should have been here two weeks ago. Postage delivery certainly has been slow, and very costly, since 911. The markers are fine lined and used to detail the groove lines of many Gundam type character and science fiction ship models. Other Gundam Markers are available in a variety of point types, and sets are available for specific Gundam Model Types. Color that accidently goes over, or outside, of a groove can be removed carefully with a white art type eraser/rubber.

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Once again, I will again up date you as I proceed further along on these models.

Surf - Space Battleship YAMATO

2009-12-04T07:00:00.005-08:00

Space Battleship YAMATO

In the World of Space Battleship YAMATO (AKA: Star Blazers in the USA) there are several Capital/Official Ships and Smaller Craft under different areas/or groups. Included are EDF, Gamilon/Garumman, Comet Empire, Dark Nebula, Bolar Federation and Deingil. I don't know a lot about this world, but I did find this incredible Starship Schematics Database created over several years by Jim Steverson and the SSDB. This is the link.

I will be sharing several of these Battle Ships/Cruisers with you here, and in future blogs, as I complete them. Some of the models are around 8 to 10 inches long. I also have a boxed set of 30 smaller ships in this series. I have assembled them all, but they will require finishing yet.

Some Space Battleship YAMATO information from Wikipedia:

Space Battleship Yamato is a Japanese science fiction anime series and the name of its eponymous space craft. It is also known to English-speaking audiences as Space Cruiser Yamato or Star Blazers; an English-dubbed and partly edited version of the series was broadcast on North American and Australian television under the latter title. An Italian-language version was also broadcast under the name Star Blazers in Italy, and a Portuguese-language version was successfully shown in Brazil under the title Patrulha Estelar ("Star Patrol"). The Space Battleship Yamato series generally involves themes of brave sacrifice, noble enemies, and respect for heroes lost in the line of duty. This can be seen as early as the second episode of the first season, which recounts the defeat of the original battleship Yamato while sailors and pilots from both sides salute her as she sinks (this scene was cut from the English dub, but later included on the Star Blazers DVD release). The movies spend much time showing the crew visiting monuments to previous missions and recalling the bravery of their fallen comrades. Desslar, the enemy defeated in the first season and left without a home or a people, recognizes that his foes are fighting for the same things he fought for and, eventually, becomes Earth's most important ally. In this — the Japanese concept of "the honorable enemy" — and many other respects, Star Blazers is almost certainly the most "Japanese" anime to survive the editing process and be widely syndicated in the United States.

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Space Battleship/Cruiser, Name ______________
1:6000 scale # 0011580-700 Bandai, Japan
Illustration by Nishizaki

This is the first battleship model that I completed in this series (Box top shown above). Presently, I do not know its' name, nor do I know this ship's storyline.

Shown above, a rendering (side/top/front) of the battleship - from the Starship Schematics Database.

The model comes with the above printed card illustration that can stand up with supplied braces. The card has holes for projecting wires to hold and suspend the ship model in front if you wish.

Another rendering above from Starship Schematics Database showing the large object(?), which is shown in the above card illustration, along with a character (?).

New Japanese mini ships, shown above, from Mugen Toys. Box shows similar ship that I've built.

Instructions were easily followed. The front, middle and rear tail are separate components that fit together. Patience is required while installing all the ship's tail fins, many guns and the angled wing tips. Note: I did not install all the guns facing straight, but slightly angled them in different directions for interest.

Right side view (above) showing underside with its' large removable component/missle?

The model is 10 1/8 inches long by 2 1/2 inches high without any mounting support.

After detailing and fine sanding I decided to give this battleship a rough textured surface. I applied a layer of Matte Black Acrylic with a flat faced 1/2 inch brush, going in different directions.

When it was completely dry I then sprayed the model with a Deep Navy/Prussian Blue Acrylic for Plastic. I sprayed quick passes with the color until it just covered the black. This way I did not over paint and cover the flat brush texture created underneath.

A middle range Bright Navy Blue Acrylic was then chosen and painted for accenting the front area, the wing tips, and the tail section.

Citadel's Mithril and Boltgun Metal Silvers were used to hand paint all of the ship's mechanics and guns.

Liquitex Acrylic Fluorescent Orange (a complimentary color to the blues) was used for various small warning lights and the large front lights.

A couple of light blue and white logo type decals, left over from another model, were applied.

Top Tail View shown above. Citadel's Tin Bitz with a touch of Black Ink was used to dirty the ship's rear exhaust area.

The model photos are shown before I applied a final Matte Varnish to the complete ship for its' look and protection.

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Surf - Modeling Frustration

2009-12-03T14:32:00.010-08:00

My Hobby/Scale Modeling Limitation/Frustration:

"VS WHO???"

I've stated before that "I wish I could read the Japanese Language". It would make many of my Japanese Models' history, themes, purpose and instructions so much easier to understand. So, as an English speaking person only, and an amateur modeler; I'll state that "I'm certainly not an expert on the thousands of Japanese models that have been created/designed for Anime, Gundam, the thousands of other characters, or sci-fi/space ships".

I mention the above, because I have completed, and will be tackling many more Japanese models that are totally in Japanese - I don't know anything about them, or very little. Presently, I have not found a Japanese speaking friend in my area ...which would probably help a lot!

Luckily, Japanese instructions, like their model quality, are excellent. Instructions are usually better than those supplied to assemble that home barbecue or computer desk.

I will however include some web reference when I find it. If it is incorrect - I apologize - email me (right-hand column) and educate me! I do take the time to do research on every model ...I'm learning as I do!

With almost 50 years of art and design experience I will tell you why (why I created something the way I did), and how (the methods I use to end up with my satisfied [hopefully] results).

As a retired old artist dude; I'm having fun applying my 2D painting talents to the world of 3D models. It keeps my artistic passion alive. I hope that you also enjoy, and learn from my attempts.

...back to finishing this Xxxxxx Spacecraft!

Surf - Model Display Bases

2009-12-03T08:02:00.007-08:00

An Easy Customizable Display Base

The above Wooden Boxes are sold at Art Supply Stores. They are sold as a fine art painting alternative to buying framed canvas boards. They could be stained, screened or painted on directly - example: for a more hand-crafted look, or that olde look. I'm sure there are many creative applications that they could be used for. They come in sizes, approximately) from 3 x 4 inches up to 24 x 36 inches (some sizes are square). The top ply wood surface is 3/16 inch thick and the solid wood side frame is minus 1/2 inch thick (15/32 inch). All surfaces including the inside are supplied super smooth ready for any application. Prices start at around $3.

Use as a Model Base:

As the boxes are reasonable enough, and as mentioned can be finished many ways, they make excellent sturdy model bases. With the boxes being hollow, you could drill and hide a model's support securing threaded rod/bolts below. The top and edge can be paint, textured, or stained finished in many different ways. You could even add a decor moulding around for your design display. A custom plexi/glass display cover could be fitted over also.

I'm looking forwards to customizing some bases!

Surf - Supply Organization

2009-12-02T15:40:00.006-08:00

Keeping my 'On-Desk' Model Supplies Organized

I was using this old 3 inch high computer platform with an interior sliding keyboard tray. But now my computer station has changed. I also switched to a large Wacom Drawing Tablet last month.

So I found a good use for it. It now holds my most used modeling tools and paints.

Surf - Lowrider Bike Model

2009-12-02T10:46:00.028-08:00

LOWRIDER
-My Lowrider Bicycle Model

With my love of bicycle design, an appreciation of different styles and trends of art and design, and being a collector, I became aware of what I call various kinds of 'street LA or California' culture design. Among these design trends was the customization and creation called Lowrider Bicycles. Most of us have seen videos of those lowered custom automobiles (ex: a1961 Chevy convertible) that bounces up and down with hydraulics; but you may not be aware of Lowrider Bikes.

So before I discuss my Lowrider Bicycle Model, here is information from wikipedia encyclopedia (I've added some photos):

A lowrider bicycle is a highly customized bike with stylings inspired by lowrider cars.
These bikes often feature a long, curved banana seat with a sissy bar and very tall upward-swept handlebars known as apehangers. Excessive chrome, overspoked wheels and velvet are common accessories to these custom bicycles. Lowrider bicycles use as many as 144 brightly chromed spokes per wheel.

1960's Schwinn Sting-Ray

Lowrider bikes first appeared in the 1960s in America. It was started by 'Custom King' Sean Johnson who customized automobiles. Kids would copy his work on their bikes usually using common muscle bicycles, allowing those who were too young to drive a car to have a custom vehicle.

Schwinn was the first company to launch a muscle bike in the form of the Sting-Ray.
Sean Johnson was the first to customize the Sting-Ray and had them featured in the Munsters. Eddie Munster's bike was the must have item of the time.

1960's CCM and Raleigh Banana Seat Bikes in my collection

Some make bicycles are particularly popular among lowrider builders. Most well known of these are the American-produced Schwinn Stingray (usually 20", but 16" and even 12" Schwinn tigers are used) and in Australia the Malvern Star long frame dragsters and bratz beutie bikes. Another favorite of the period was the Iverson Dragstripper, which featured a long "exhaust pipe" body that gave it a distinctive look.

A New Custom Lowrider Beach Cruiser Bicycle

The new lowrider trend is also related to the trend in Cruiser or Beach Cruiser style bikes. Today, pre-built and even custom made one of a kind lowriders are available from Lowrider bicycle shops, Custom Chopper Bicycle Designers and even some Lowrider car workshops.

Lowrider Bicycle from BicycleDesigner.com

Some basic or classic characteristics of a lowrider bike are: Baby Daytons (like the car rims, they are overspoked and do not cross over each other) with white-wall tyres. Banana Seats, usually custom upholstery and a customized sissy bar. Ape or Schwinn type handlebars. Old school spring action suspension for the front forks known as "springer forks". Fenders both front and back. Sometimes a chain steering wheel is attached. Most accessories are highly polished chrome, however gold is also used for added flare though for economical reasons chrome is the standard.

A Custom Designed Lowrider Tricycle

Some lowrider bikes are modified into lowrider tricycles, allowing them to sit much closer to the ground while still being rideable, to hop without falling over if they have air bag or hydraulic suspension and given them extra carry space in the back. The space between the two rear wheels is often used to mount either a 2-seater "love seat", a "boom-box" or even pumps for hydraulic or air "suspension".

Some custom modifications include twisted forks, spokes or handlebars, what are known as "bird cages" (twisted metal strips that resemble a bird cage) that are cut and welded onto handlebars, sissy bars or pedals. Many of the bikes also feature custom frame work such as tanks and skirts which are the addition of sheets of metal, usually welded on, to the frame to give it a "filled-in" look. Some lowrider bicycles even have air or hydraulic cylinders set-up to emulate the Height adjustable suspension of lowrider motor cars.

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My Lowrider Bicycle Model:

This is Hoppin Hydro's Lowrider Show Street Cruiser Item #5000 a 1/6 scale Lowrider Bike Model Kit.

The bike is 11 1/2 inches long. It is advertised as "the first and best lowrider bike model kit in the world with a 2009 price of $ 22.99 US.

You can build it one of two ways, street cruiser (basic lowrider with chainguard) or a radical show version (customize it with supplied panels which includes two graphic decal options, and textures for the banana seat).

Skill level is III. It is a good looking model but I'm afraid I swore (*#!@+) a lot while making the bike (not my Forte!) I found the illustrated instructions are well drawn, but important details are missing for assembling key parts the correct way (step-by-step). I had problems with the rear wheel, chain and foot petal components, even though I have several real bicycles in my possession. Most plastic parts are chrome plated which requires exact scraping away of the chrome areas, so that glue will adhere to the surfaces. The plastic seemed very weak in structure to me - delicate - small plastic parts broke easily. In general my model looks good, but I had to repair/make new holding parts to complete it. I would find re-making of this kit a second time - much easier.

Before assembly:

The bicycle's frame and design panels are supplied as raw black plastic. I cleaned them with fine wet sandpaper, primed them with White Acrylic Primer, and then sprayed a coat of Burgundy-Red Acrylic ...to match my chosen burgundy/red/blue decals.

The bicycles tires are real rubber which fit over the pre-chromed and finished wheels. Most other parts are pre-chromed plastic. A kick-stand is supplied.

Rubber inserts are supplied for the foot pedals. I left the bicycle chain off, as I damaged it badly!

The banana seat is black plastic. I finished this in Matte Black Acrylic. When dried, I applied a wet coating of Clear Matte Varnish on the seat's top and then sprinkled the supplied velvet textured material.

I added the handlebar multi-colored streamers. I made them by stripping a little rubber/plastic of different colored large paperclips.

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To get you into the Lowrider Culture 'Street LA/California' here are some cool links:

Hoppin Hydros Flash Intro: http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/locsters/introflash.swf Hoppin Hydros Online Hobby Store: http://locsters.stores.yahoo.net/modelkits1.html

http://www.lillocsters.com/

Lowrider Bicycles - Bike Tech, Features, Events, Models, Forums: http://www.lowriderbike.com/index.html

Bicycle Designer - Custom Bicycles and Parts:http://www.bicycledesigner.com/

Lovely Lowrider - Custom Bicycles and Parts: http://www.lovelylowrider.com/

Aztlan Lowrider Bicycles: http://www.aztlanbicycle.com/

Dave Gonzales is the graphic artist behind the HOMIES. He has been doing art about Chicano life and lowrider culture for over 20 years.

HOMIES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homies
HOMIES - The Official Site: http://www.homies.tv/
HOMIES Art Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBEoXPLmcOo&feature=player_embedded http://www.hoodhounds.com/hounds.html http://www.hoodrascals.com/

OG ABEL LA Artist/Designer - UntouchAbel Collection: http://ogabel.com/flashcatalog/abel-catalog-09.html

Surf - Gundam Mobile Armor

2009-12-01T18:56:00.016-08:00

Gundam MOBILE ARMOR Normal Type
by BANDAI, Japan 1:550 scale No.30
0008671-300 1993

*Click a photo to enlarge

Box Top & Instruction Sheet

This is a cute little Gundam ship about 3 1/2 inches long x 4 inch wingspan. It is a stubby spacecraft with a bug-like shell covering that has slots for movable weapon/gun barrels. It must be fast because it's all engine! Note that its' landing wheels are a skii type.

The model includes a 1 1/4 inch tall Gundam Warrior that you can stand by the ship with his shield and gun or hook him to the ship's projectile rod ...which is what I chose to do. I hope he won't get burned feet from those massive engines, or get struck by lightning!

The above illustration also shows small round little things flying in space around the vehicle ...I have no idea what they are or their purpose? One is shown in the above photo ...10 are included with the model. At first, because they were so small, I thought they were runway lights! Those 'little thingies' are shown in the image below - bottom right.

I scanned the above page of illustrations from a Gundam Mechanics reference book that I have. Always wishing I read Japanese! Note the vehicle is labeled as the MAN-08.

Finishing my model:

The ship was assembled; except for the bug-like canopy cover which I attached on completion.

After priming and finishing, I sprayed the model and canopy shield cover using Tamiya Color for Plastics TS-60 Pearl Green. This color is very thin. Apply using one or two passes only and let it dry before building it up to a solid coverage. I used it like a regular spray can - it bubbled and I had to strip it and start over #!@*...this is the way we learn!

Mithril Silver was hand painted for the guns, front intake vents, rear engine area, skii wheel parts, and the front window sunray pattern. Yellow was added to the front window pattern also.

Tin Bitz and Black Ink were used to dirty the rear engine areas.

The little Gundam Warrior was finished in a complimentary color of Burgundy Red with Mithril Silver accents. His boots and other details were added in Black. His head eye visor was finished in Fluorescent Orange Liquitex Acrylic. His shield was painted using a mix of Mithril Silver and the ship's Pearl Green. Black and Yellow were also applied to the shield.

The ten 'little thingies' were painted using the Burgundy and Pearl Green. The front tip was finished in the Fluorescent Orange.

Surf - Super Dimensional Fortress

2009-12-01T13:50:00.019-08:00

Update: "Super Dimensional Fortress"

In my blog Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.70, under model components (item no.7), I mentioned that I had lost, but then found the "Super Dimensional Fortress" spacecraft ship (aka SDF-1 Macross). In this blog I will share the completion of this spacecraft ship; and include a similar model, in 'attack mode' by IMAI - the "Macross SDF-1 Storm Attacker - Construction" model.

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The "Super Dimensional Fortress" - by ARII
part of the System Fortress South Ataria Island diorama:

The spacecraft ship was easily assembled, with only patience required, in assembling all the small guns. Researching ahead of time for web photos of the item helps in understanding what is what. Example: Model box top illustrations can be quite different than the original artist or anime created ships. I used the above illustration (also shown in my blog No.70) as a guide for colors. Personally, I feel that an artist doesn't have to make it identical to someone else's rendering - if it doesn't feel or look right - zap (pimp) it up a bit ...change it!

Once the model was assembled and cleaned up, I spray finished it with Plastic White Primer and then a Deep Navy Blue coat using Rust-oleum Paint for Plastic. Rather than use stark white, I chose a light grey (Fortress Grey) to hand paint the light areas on the ship. I masked the rear banding and painted it White, then covered it with Bright Yellow. Most of the ship's guns were detailed in Mithril Silver. I highlighted some mechanical areas and the ship's control tower in Bolt Gunmetal Silver. The model is 6 inches long x 3" high on the supplied stand mount. I finished the stand in White. A couple of small decals were applied before a clear coating protection.

The rear exhaust areas were dirtied using Bolt Gunmetal mixed with a touch of Black Ink.

Red lines were hand painted on the arm runway. Arms have a swing movability.

Red Gore was used on the underside ship arms. Shadow Gray (blue/gray) was used for window areas.

The above ship is part of the System Fortress South Ataria Island diorama that I blogged about in Blurp No.70. My island diorama is fully detailed with system warriors and Valkyrie ships, leaving no room for the above spacecraft ship. It came with a stand to mount it in flight position. I decided to use and display it with the other ship, which is in 'standing attack mode' (which I discuss below) .

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Macross SDF-1 Storm Attacker - Construction
by IMAI Macross No.10

The above rending showed two color versions. As I had completed the flight version System Fortress in the middle-darker range, I decided to start this model with White. The parts and assembly was a little different for this model also- as you'll see by the photos. It also has more movability in it's arm and weapon joints ...it is in its' movable attack mode.

I primed and base painted the partially assembled model in White. I left the arms and large weapon parts (shown below) un-assembled - easier to paint. Model Master's Acrylic 'Dark Ghost Gray' (A medium neutral grey) was chosen for body parts along with the White. The arm runway was left White with Red lines. Yellow leg banding was complete like the previous model. Chainmail Silver was used for all guns and mechanical and highlighted with Boltgun Metal. Small warning type lights were hand painted with Liquitex Fluorescent Orange Acrylic. Five small decals were added - leftover from a Warhammer model.

Movable top weapons shown above and below.

Rear view shown above.

Front view - arms extended. Feet type pads also rotate slightly. This model is also 6 inches high x 4 to 5" wide depending on its' arm outreach distance.

I will be creating a display base to feature both of the above System Fortress models.

Surf - LOST TV Update

2009-11-19T16:10:00.005-08:00

LOST TV Series is Coming Back in February 2010:

Today, ABC announced the premiere date of the sixth and final season of LOST. It will return on February 2, 2010 with a special all evening event.

The night will begin with a recap episode from 8 to 9PM, followed by a two hour premiere episode at 9PM.

Later the following week the last regular shows will be on Tuesdays at 9PM on ABC.

I mentioned the LOST series in a former blog, Surf - Design Planet No.20.

Lost's Timeline:
On May 7, 2007, ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson announced that Lost will end during the 2009–2010 season with a "highly anticipated and shocking finale.
"We felt that this was the only way to give Lost a proper creative conclusion," McPherson said. Beginning with the 2007–2008 television season, the final 48 episodes would have been aired as three seasons with 16 episodes each, with Lost concluding in its sixth season. Due to the writers' strike, the fourth season featured 14 episodes, and Season 5 had 17 episodes. Season 6 was planned to have 17 episodes, too. However, on June 29 it was announced that the final season will feature an additional hour, making the number of episodes 18.

Executive producers Lindelof and Cuse stated that they "always envisioned Lost as a show with a beginning, middle, and end," and that by announcing when the show would end that viewers would "have the security of knowing that the story will play out as we've intended." Lindelof and Cuse stated that securing the 2010 series-end date "was immensely liberating" and helped the series rediscover its focus. Lindelof noted, "We're no longer stalling." The producers also plan to wrap up long-standing mysteries, such as the nature of the smoke monster, the four-toed statue of Taweret, the identity of the Adam & Eve skeletons from the season one episode "House of the Rising Sun",and the reason the DHARMA periodic resupply drops continue after the purge. Matthew Fox stated in a recent interview that in the final season, the characters of Jack Shephard and John Locke "will come head to head." A third of the way through the final season, the two time lines will be "solidified into one" and "will be very linear – no more flashbacks, nothing." He has also claimed to be the only cast member who knows the ending of the series.

Cuse has stated that both the time travel and flash-forward seasons are over, and they're moving into something different for the sixth season.

A personal note:
Even though the LOST series has had me, and many others, scratching our heads, season after season, I have really enjoyed this wacky, way-out show. I've especially enjoyed the acting of most characters in this show. Maybe it's because of spending a few years in Hawaii ...I recognize many film locations, and I had seen a couple of the show's actors on Oahu.

I anxiously awaiting the final series ...a definite sticky note on my fridge!

Surf - Fallen Soldiers

2009-11-11T08:19:00.010-08:00

Every year on November 11th, I like to remember soldiers and others from all countries who have fallen fighting for freedom, peace and righteousness; and those brave soldiers whom are presently serving. My mom's father fought in the First World War as a British soldier, and my father fought in the Second World War as a Canadian soldier. Luckily, both came home to their families, but they both would never be the person they were.

Canadian soldiers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony in Afghanistan. (CBC)

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Remembrance Day:

Across Canada and around the world, people were attending remembrance ceremonies Wednesday to remember those who have fallen serving in their armed forces.

The day marks the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War, which ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

In Ottawa this morning, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will attend a ceremony with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean at the National War Memorial in Confederation Square. Thousands of people have shown up for the remembrance.

This year's Silver Cross mother is Della Marie Morley, whose son, Cpl. Keith Morley, was killed in Afghanistan in 2006 in a suicide bombing. Morley said she was proud to represent the mothers and families of Canadian soldiers who have given their lives. "I would like you to think of my son and the young men and women that have given their lives in Afghanistan, but as well as the other wars. I grew up with Remembrance Day a very big part of our lives because my grandparents were part of World War I," Morley told CBC News. "There are some of Keith's friends in Afghanistan right now, so we also need to think of the people that are over there now doing their job."

More than 100,000 Canadians soldiers have died in various conflicts since 1899, including:

* More than 240 in the Boer War.
* More than 66,000 in the First World War.
* More than 44,000 in the Second World War.
* 516 in the Korean War.
* 121 in peacekeeping missions.
* 133 in Afghanistan.

More than 600,000 Canadian soldiers volunteered to go overseas for the Great War. In addition to those who died, 172,000 were wounded.

Only one Canadian veteran from the First World War is still alive — John Babcock, 109, who was born on an Ontario farm and lives in the United States.

Link to CBC's complete story:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/11/11/remembrance-ceremonies.html

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Surf - System Fortress Isle Diorama

2009-11-03T15:10:00.032-08:00

Approximately two months have flown by since my last blog on my model projects. I am presently working on several. I just finished another Island Diorama. It was fun ...hope you enjoy it also! Comments are always welcome!

SYSTEM FORTRESS - SOUTH ATARIA ISLAND

-28 MACROSS SERIES
-an ARII Plastic Model - No.5 Kit No. AR-571-2800

Quite a while ago I hand painted the plastic mould island base for Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds Secret Base diorama ...which I blogged about in Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.13. At that time, I also painted the island for the above System Fortress South Ataria which is shown in the above box top illustration. Below is my painted island base.

Well, I finally had time to work on, and complete, the rest of this diorama island model. I would like to suggest that before you continue on in this blog, that you first visit Surf - Design Planet Blurp No.21. In my Blurp No. 21, about a quarter of the way down in the blog, is where I first began writing about this model. After you have looked at No.21, just use your back button to return to here.

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Inside of the model's box with various components and base shown above.

Unfinished model parts shown above.

Over a period of three weeks I primed, sprayed, and hand painted all of the model's parts and figures.

The model included:

1. A quantity of twenty four 1" high people figures.

Notes: As the island is small in relation to all the parts supplied I decided to use only 8 of the figures. The others I will use for another Macross model. These figures were all painted alike for a uniform appearance using Games Workshop figure acrylic paints.

2. Four standing Valkyrie fighter warriors.

Notes: These were primed white and sprayed with a white acrylic plastic paint. Then I hand painted each figure in its own color combination.

3. Two Valkyrie ship/plane figures in standing position were supplied, along with two Valkyrie ship/plane figures in flying mode.

Notes: I decided to paint all of the above four Valkyrie fighters in a similar paint scheme. The painting process was the same as the other four figures in 2.

4. Decals for the above figures 2. & 3.

Notes: Decals were not used for any parts. As this was a 1980's model, the supplied decals had all become very brittle with age ...they would not apply at all.

5. Two landing pods with ramp doors - supplied with a spring mechanism for launching small land/water/flight vehicles.

Notes: I sprayed the pods with a "Rust-oleum Metallic" Bronze paint. This is a new spray paint that works well, and is available in different bronze, gold and silver. Games Workshop colors, "Tin Bitz", "Boltgun Metal" and "Mirthrol Silver", were used to texture and accent parts.

6. The Valkyrie's Weapons

Notes: I used Games Workshop's "Boltgun Metal" and a Copper Metallic paints.

7. The model's instruction sheet pages also showed the assembly instructions for a Super Dimensional Fortress (aka the SDF-1 Macross) (drawing above and illustration rendering at the top of this blog).

Notes:The above model that I put together here did not include this ship. When I purchased it quite a while ago, the box had been opened. It is possible that the sprue containing this ship was missing. If someone out there also has this model, maybe you can email me (left blog column) and let me know if your model included the S.D. Fortress. I do have another similar looking model. The "IMAI No.3 Macross SDF-1 Storm Attacker Construction" that I will assemble at a later date.

(Update Nov.14: I found the Dimensional Fortress. It was in a box with other Macross models. When I assemble it, I will let you know in a future blog.)

8. Other Model Finishing Notes:

I used Woodland Scenics "Lichen and a green Bush" for a touch of island planting.
Liquitex Acrylic Med. Viscosity - "Fluorescent Orange" was used for various part lighting.
Games Workshop's "Shadow Grey" (a blue grey) was used for Valkyrie cockpit canopies and as an accent color.
Black was used sparingly were required and thinned with matte medium to dirty up some parts (to make something look used or worn).
Games Workshop's "Tin Bitz" was used to accent the Valkyries rear power exhaust areas (its butt).
Games Workshop's "Varnish" and Hyplar Acrylics "Matte Medium" were used to seal all color throughout.

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Completing the South Ataria Island Base:

For a solid surface to mount the hand painted plastic mould base I chose a piece of 1/4" thick white hardboard. I followed the island's shape and drew a pencil line around, about 3/4" from the island base. I cut this shape out on my scroll saw. This would be the ocean around the island. I first painted the hardboard's top edge all around using Liquitex Acrylic's "Real Teal" and "Bright Aqua Green". When dry I mounted the island by drilling two holes at each end and inserting the correct length screw. The screws were later concealed with foliage. I detailed the water by applying some ripples and using white for shoreline wave action. All was coated with gloss acrylic medium to protect and give the water depth.

Mounting and fastening of the components and figures to the Island Base:

As my diorama is not being used as a toy, but rather as an interesting Anime display, I took time to plan where each figure, Valkyrie, and other parts would look their best (tell a story) and give the model good placement composition and interest. Clear plastic rod was used to suspend the Valkyries in flight.

Images of my completed SYSTEM FORTRESS - SOUTH ATARIA ISLAND

Reference Sources:
http://fanfiction.net/s/660155/1/The_Legend_of_Megaroad
http://www.animationunlimited.com/index.php?itemid=68
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Super_Dimension_Fortress_Macross
http://www.collectiondx.com/node/3650

Surf - Skynet's Giant Robo

2009-09-12T15:30:00.021-07:00

GIANT ROBO 1
SR (Super Robot Series No.3) by SKYNET

This Giant Robo model figure is from Japan. It is based on the original Giant Robo character by Tokusatsu. I do not know a lot about this character. All the model directions are in Japanese. Plus there is not a great deal of reference on the internet. I did find some reference links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Robo_%28tokusatsu%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Robo

A good tip: If you want to keep a model's instruction sheet(s) in mint condition, just photocopy them. It will save you getting upset when your paint or glue drips on them. Also you can make notes or highlight where you left off on the copy. Originals can be kept in binders in hole-punched archival plastic sleeves.

This robot figure is fairly easy to assemble - head, arms, legs, hands and body. It comes with extra poss able arms and hands - missile firing fingers, punching fist etc. What does take time to assemble is those little metal half-round rivets. Yes! ..that's right, you have to glue each one on to the metal sleeve cuffs on the hand, legs and the body. I actually assembled, all the parts shown above a couple of years ago when I lived in Honolulu. Recently, I sanded and filled any mold joints and then primed and paint finished the parts in White.

Ok, you are asking 'why there are watch parts in the image above'. Well, I don't know? The figure came with this time watch. It is also shown in the above model instruction sheet. Maybe someone out there knows why?

Above is shown some other images I found for referencing colors.

I found the above image of a similar GR-2 model, and it seems that many older character animation(s) are always being updated in form, videos and cartoons, both in Japan and the US. I don't know why a cute girl with a surfboard is present, but she has the right initials on her board!

Here are a couple more helpful links re Giant Robo: http://gr-anime.com/english/about_introduction.html
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=giant+robo&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_en_____250&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=DSSsSqWZHIvssQPgxtj8BA&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=16#

The robot colors that I used are: white, and hand-painted silver (metal), red, blue and yellow.

I also used two copper/brass colors for the watch mechanical parts. Citadel Paints were used throughout. Some simple color area decals were supplied - but I decided not to use them.

Note in the above photo, that I used a Silver for the face, and a darker Gunmetal Silver for his neck. Two Silvers were also used on the shoes also. The Gunmetal Silver was used for the flying tanks on his back. The red line grooves on his Egyptian style head helmet were badly mold formed - not very straight - this made it difficult to get a clean red/white line appearance.

On completion of the figure, I decided to mount/display him on a small wood base that I had. I primed it with White Gesso, lightly sanded it, and then sprayed it with a Silver Hammered decorative, textured finish. These little wood bases are available at hobby and dollar stores usually. I glued his shoes to the board with Super Glue. The rest of his arms, legs etc. just fit into each other making the robot's parts movable, if wanted.

At this point, it looked great, but I didn't know what to do with the extra hands and arms. I wanted a display model, and I didn't want the parts to get lost. Although, I must admit, I have misplaced the watch lens, so I haven't put it together yet. Where are you???

I decided to make a wall behind the figure to hold the parts. Sort of like the extra parts or weapons you would see on a wall in a Batman movie. In my basket of recycled parts I had a metal grid panel from an old music computer speaker face. I also had some brass colored coffee bag clips. So I fastened them, in the position needed to hold the arms etc., using some old computer bolts to the metal grid. I had to drill holes carefully for the bolts. A nut was applied to the back side. The completed grid and the clip hardware was all sprayed silver.

The arm and hand holding rack was secured with a base screw at the back. Later, when I find the watch clear lens (I hope), I will then display it on the front left side to complete this robot figure display - maybe threading the watch band around his left leg.

Gee ...I hope my Lab didn't eat it! ...Leila