Finished: 1/100 AGX-041 Gerbera Tetra

So after months of learning and fun and some stressing out, I have finished this bad boy for the end of my 2011.  I learned lots of techniques for weathering on this, and while it's not as 'realistic' in some areas as I would have liked, the overall feeling of this model is what I was wishing to achieve.  I appreciate everyone's feedback on this kit, the comments are always worthwhile.  This kit was a ton of fun to build and was a design I feel in love with when I first dove into the hobby. 

I have a diorama planned for this guy, but I won't be starting it for awhile.  I'm sort of burnt out on this particular style of weathering for the moment (as you can understand haha).  I'll be starting that one after a few kits.

Onto the pics! 











Some close ups:













Comments are ALWAYS appreciated and welcomed!  Feedback is helpful too!

WIP: 1/100 GMG AMX-041 Gerbera Tetra Part 1

Finally I'm going to start this. Instead of an afterthought of a project like I had originally intended, this will be a full project. I am going to attempt minor weathering with the salt painting technique and some pigments. 
I painted a little today to see how the colors I was planning on using were going to look. I say awesome. I've preshaded using Tamiya's medium blue and added white to get the "shaded" look. Next I'm going to begin the panel line creation. Then I'll probably give plastic plating a try. Just started some prep work for other, more rusted surfaces. First, airbrushed Rust on, then clear coat, then hairspray/salt. It's tough to put on in the way I would like it to. Also, I acquired this handy tool: Tested it out, pretty decent IMO for ~$6. Better than anything I could get in a local shop. So I've figured about 25 steps in all starting from priming to finished for a full weathering. I'm at about step 17 or so in the process on my 2 beta pieces, so bare with me. Dunking the pieces in H2O makes the salt rub off easier, and allows the paint to be 'scratched' a bit more realistically too.

Pieces have been salted, panel lined, decal-ed, metallics painted, and a black wash for oil drips/water drips has been added. Next is the brown wash and real fun work of weathering. I think I am going to go for a really weathered scheme with this guy. In order to effectively use weathering techniques on other kits in the future, it would really help me out to truly understand how each technique is applied in the fullest sense. How it will make this kit turn out, I have no clue. It could look great, or it could look dumb. Hopefully not the latter :D I would really like to know what you think of the weathering - if it is in indeed too much, tasteful, where I could have improved, etc. I took some macro shots to expose my work here and welcome some friendly criticisms. Your words go a long way! Thanks ahead of time. Really.
I will be making a full tutorial now that I have finished these pieces. So far, the technique from Primer to finish takes 25 steps! I think I may have to add a few more too haha.

Kit Review: SMS 1/100 Nightingale (NG Version)

1/100 NG Nightingale (SMS Version)
Manufacturer: SMS
Cast Quality: 10/10.
All quality pieces, no weak spots from what I could tell, details well preserved. The kit is VERY large for being a 1/100 scale kit. The shoulder pieces are the size of a 1/100 model on it's own! Some shallow panel lines in the cast, but they can be easily fixed with a scribing tool. The box is HEAVY and VERY big - always a good feeling when it comes to models :)


























The tail section is huge!

1/100 SMS AMS-129 Geara Zulu ver Angelo Sauper - FINISHED!

Well I've finally finished - took around 3 months from start to finish, with quite a few breaks.


Paints used:
Purple: Tamiya acrylics custom mix
Black: Testor's Model Master enamel semi-gloss black (sometimes gloss)
White: Tamiya acrylics
Metallics: Mr. Metal Color Copper, Mr. Super Metal Chrome Silver

Comments on the build: Lots of fun to build, lots of details. Totally top heavy and had to require a 1/8" support rod. Assembly was relatively easy, but the details became almost cumbersome near the end. The shield is not amply supported by the arm attachment either. The finished kit looks great in my collection though!










My wife wanted to put some little guys on for scale haha.




And the lighting setup:

C&C always wanted!