A robot model? White Glint!

Hi guys,

recently I was approached by a friend to paint his robot model. He is a "gamer" and not a modeller and realised he didn't have the skills to paint his model the way he wanted it to look. After looking at the intro movie for the game, called Armored Core................

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2khLx5WAid0

I was intrigued by the weathering on the robot, called White Glint. Anyway after looking at the intro movie several times I decided to rise to the challenge and paint the model.

The kit is the Kotobukiya 1/72 White Glint & V.O.B Set Movie Color Version. See here:

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYVI-061

For those not familiar with such kits they are snap together kits, but I would have to say they are probably the most advanced snap together kits that I have ever seen! The moulding of the kit is well up to the standard of Tamiya, Dragon and Hasegawa.

The model will be painted exclusively with Vallejo paint using many of the techniques covered in the recent AFV. Acrylic techniques by Mig Jimenez which is a fantastic DVD that I have watched many times and highly recommend to all, both beginner and experienced!

I began with the shoulder section. The section you see below was first painted grey, then masked/chipped with Vegemite, sprayed off-white and after about 10 minutes drying time washed with warm water to dissolve the Vegemite revealing the chipped paint. This was followed by some brush chipping and scratches. I was so happy with the result I decided to leave it as it was and moved on the opposite side.

The opposite side, seen below, was chipped only with a paint brush. It gave a different effect, but was much more controllable, although so can the Vegemite chipping method if not rushed. I rushed it as it was only initially to be an experiment!

The rest of the sections of the shoulder unit were painted their relevant grey or white, chipped by brush and assembled. For an initial experiment I was very happy with how it turned out and decided to leave it as was and move on to another section of the model.

Next came what looks like some sort of armour plating for the rocket launcher packs? These were initially sprayed a lightened version of the grey, masked with Vegemite and sprayed grey. Then washed with a soft brush in warm water. Then they were given various thinned black washes and glazes to give the varied tones and finally some dry brushing.

Next came the 'forearm section. Sprayed off-white and chipped by brush with grey.

Finally some more sub sections in various stages of finish.

So far I've really enjoyed this model. It's something very different from what I'd usually do. It's a great platform for weathering experiments too! :)





Tamiya F4U-1 Corsair

I've added pics of my Tamiya Corsair in the Plastic Models section. I can't believe I made this 12 years ago!

"What if?" Lightning F.6

As well as the F-111 build I am also beginning a Trumpeter 72nd scale F.6 Lightning in the markings of Burkina Faso.

You can follow the build thread here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53613

F-111SA 'What if' build.

I've started the first of the build blogs. First off is the Hasegawa F-111G to be built as a fictitious 'What if' South African Air Force F-111SA with an asymmetrical weapons load of 2 Taurus Cruise missiles and drop tank and IRIS-T air to air missile.

Japanese Phantom

Thanks to some friendly advice I have changed the side profile of my first Japanese Phantom, eliminating the Godzilla name for the more accurate Gojira in katakana. It was also pointed out to me that the FGR.2 Phantom was in fact designed for land based use and that the FGR.1 was the Navalised version. I have decided then to name this version, and the Canadian, Australian and French Phantoms to come, FGR.3 Phantoms as they would be not only Navalised versions but would also have been heavily modified to enable them to take on the "Wild Weasel" SEAD role as well as be able to handle anti-ship missiles and laser guided munitions etc.

Wow, it's been a while since my last post!

When I started this blog I spoke about life and its ups and downs. Well, things have changed once again. I have decided to step down from my supermarket managerial job and go back to being a Nightfiller (the minions that re-stock the shelves over night and make the store look all neat and presentable for you shoppers the next morning). For me and my family it means my income will be halved and we'll be dependent on Government financial support (Centerlink here in Australia) to help out with rent assistance etc.

Why did I step down? Bottom line, I was spending more time at work than with my wife and kids for very very little financial gain. I wasn't enjoying life at all. For those of you who have a creative mind you may appreciate that living in a "work, sleep, work, sleep, work, sleep" environment kills all creativity dead, as does non stop stress, and that is what was happening to me. Now, a week after I stepped down things are slowly coming back, my creative side that is. I've actually started modelling again, something that I haven't had time for in months.

So, hopefully now I'll have a little more time to model and create side profiles and stories!

Royal Canadian Phantoms.

Hi guys, just added three new RCN FGR.2 Phantoms to the profile section. These Phantoms will be the subject of a "What if?" story and part of a commercial screen printed decal sheet that I'm currently planning. I hope to add some Japanese Navy FGR.2 Phantoms to the mix very soon too.

Viruses!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, ya gotta love these little arse-holes that sit in front of their computers and create viruses hey!

Just recovering from 801 viruses that swamped my computer! And YES I did have anti-virus software, and yes it was up to date.

Anyway things should return back to normal today. I should be able to update this blog later today too.

Me-262 profiles & Translator.

Hi guys, small update today, very busy at the moment. Added some Me-262 profiles in the Misc profiles section and added a Translator at the bottom of the page to help our international readers.

More profiles updates & Me-262 model pics.

Hi guys, I've uploaded some He-162 profiles, some more Phantoms and a couple of MiG-21's, plus some pics of my Trumpeter 32nd scale Me-262. Enjoy!

Paint chipping experiments!

Tonight I show you some of the different paint chipping methods I've used over the years and the latest techniques I'm experimenting with at the moment.

Check it out in the Plastic model techniques and experiments. section.

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein

Small update today. I've uploaded some of my Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein side profiles in the Misc section and photos of my AMtech Ta-183 model with Gekko Graphics decals in the Plastic Models section.

Side profile uploads continue.

I've added another 7 MiG-21's, ten F-16's in the Misc section and 19 FGR.2 Phantoms, mainly Canadian Phantoms! As of writing I can see that I have had 25 visitors from Canada, so I hope you like the Canadian Phantoms.

Well, I must say that I'm surprised by your interest. So far I've had 2867 page views in 24 hours!

Anyway thanks for visiting my blog, more updates soon.

Studio Gekko Blog up and running.

OK, so I've worked out the basics of how everything works and the blog is active. Most of the pages do not have content in them yet, I will be adding this as time permits over the next week or so.

Enjoy and don't hesitate to leave comments!

Studio Gekko - The continuation of Gekko Graphics.

Hi guys,

as of writing I'm completely new to this blogging business and have to admit I'm not quite sure what I'm doing, so, bare with me and I'll learn as I go.

Some of you may be wandering what the hell ever happened to Gekko Graphics? Well, in short, nothing. I simply let it lay dormant as I tried to get my life together and prioritise what was happening around me that was for the most part out of my control.

Like a lot of people, life has its up's and down's. Mine being no different. When I started Gekko Graphics I was unemployed, married and had one child. Now I'm a Supermarket Manager, am still married and have three children!

Children, as I'm sure you know if you have any, are a lot of work! Trying to run a home business, raise children as well as look for full time employment was more than I could handle. My wife, Criss, helped as much as she could, but basically I was doing all of Gekko on my own and there just simply wasn't enough of me to go around, so production of new Gekko Graphics material came to a stop.

Trying to make a living from a home business, so I soon discovered, is pretty much impossible, so looking for fulltime work had to prioritise. Lucky for me I found work in a supermarket and have slowly worked my way up to a Managerial position. In the mean time Gekko was put on hold and work and kids became my daily focus.

I'd noticed some of these blogs popping up here and there and thought it may be a good way to get back in touch with the modelling community and give me a chance to let those who were interested know what I was up to these days.

Gekko Graphics is still on hold for the time being as I prioritise my main job, and of course the family. However I am still working on decals, as well as building models, practising techniques and continuing my other loves, they being writing and "What if" subjects.

On this blog I hope to be able to show many of my "What if" side profiles and stories that have found their home on various web sites and bring them here in one easy to find location for you all to enjoy, and perhaps get some encouragement to do more.

So, that's basically where I'm at at the moment.