Mo-Suu-Pii-Dah Inbitoh in 1/48

[Jasonc]

Never got a pm for payment. Is it too late?

[captain america]

Heck no. PM incoming...

[mechaninac]

Payment issued and PM sent.

[Reflex]

Payment sent

[Jasonc]

My payment was sent off a few days ago, but you knew that. Can't wait to see the W.I.P.

[captain america]

WIP pics will be posted tomorrow. I actually only started on Monday so there won't be a whole lot of progress made. I seem to have quite a few pics though

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Can't wait for tomorrow!!!

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

thanks for the update, getting excited it's started

[mechaninac]

It's the suspense that kills me...

[Twoducks]

OMGOMG!

[captain america]

November 15 2013

Captain's log, Friday!!

The first update of the Mo-Suu-Pii-Dah Inbitoh begins now. In my usual fashion, I have elected to catalog the building process as closely as I can without getting putty on my camera lens… Which almost happened a couple of times …

I feel that I need to preface this first update by saying that of all the Anime mecha subjects I've tackled, this one is perhaps the most inconsistent in terms of line art. To further compound matters, I don't think that the designers really gave much thought to the joints on Inbits in general: more often than not, the joints, particularly in the legs, just look like a series of blob-shapes that are somehow supposed to move and allow for articulation. Alas, have no fear, I'm an expert in the interpretation of Anime magic!

Since the line art is so variable from one view to the next, I decided to focus on the principal beauty shot for this mecha (pic 001) and simply try to harmonize all the other views with this one. With that said, the journey begins!

Pic 01: these are the blocks of modeling board and basic tools that I use when commencing a build. I also print-out some same-size line-art, which comes in very handy for reference.

Pic 02: I first begin by chopping my larger modeling board blocks into smaller, more manageable pieces.

Pic 03: Next, I take my line-art and carefully cut-out certain key parts to maintain a really tight build spec.

Pic 04: since certain components appear only in perspective, I use my compass to measure and then draw certain other components if I feel I need to. For more mechanical components, I will draft on the computer, but due to the very organic nature of this subject, I have elected to render free-hand.

Pic 05: my smaller blocks were insufficient, so here I am prepping another block on the mill. It's important to maintain perfectly right angles: this helps make the transfer of proportions much more exact.

Pic 06: I stick my paper cut-outs directly to the modeling board to make the sculpting of parts easier.

Pic 07: using the band saw, excess material is removed, but I'm mindful not to cut too close, since it's much more work to add material than to remove it.

Pic 08: I use a grinding bit on a drill press to remove as much excess material as possible, all while maintaining a right angle on the part. I try to keep parts square for as long as possible, so as to make the verification of dimensions much easier.

Pic 09: the upper crab armor goes under the mill. I use my machine to remove material incrementally in complex, curved areas: it becomes a kind of manual CNC job where I remove material in tiny steps forming a curve, which I can then sans smooth later.

Pic 10: the main components, still in their crude, blocky form.

Pic 11: this is the "calf" armor. I'm machining out the openings for the joints while the parts still have square angles. Makes machining much easier.

Pic 12: now comes the fun (and dusty) part: using my dremel, I now begin to carefully round-out the given shapes. This particular piece will become the forearm.

Pic 13: a cluster of very carefully-crafted "blob" joint parts. This is a particularly tedious step, as the parts have to look convincingly blobby, but still be identical left to right. A considerable amount of time and effort was expended to get them all just right, and then somehow fit together.

Pic 14: the lower leg calf component, now adequately rounded is used to fit the shin armor. I use a kind of "putty smash" technique to ensure that these very organic parts all fit like a glove.

Pic 15: the toe/foot claws were too short, so here I am widening them. Don't worry about that blob of putty, it will all be cleaned up.

Pics 16 and 17: a very quick and crude test-fit, courtesy of some plasticine to hold the parts together. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

That's pretty much it for this week's update. Next week comes the fun of adding all those wonderful details… And beam guns!

Stay tuned

More pics!

[varitechs]

haaaa great

[captain america]

And the last pictures.

[Hoptimus]

Already looks proportionally better than any other version. You are a master Captain.

[Twoducks]

Bravo!!

I'm going to enjoy this.

[cool8or]

Hey, wait a minute... You already have done the half of the sculpting! Looks great!

[Tober]

Those proportions are looking good.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

i don't even know how to model and i'm so excited. it really looks like yamato decided to do an inbit. soooo good

[varitechs]

You are OUR SAVER ! LoL

[Smut Peddler]

One inbit is not enough, just sayin .

[derex3592]

fantastic!

....I really MUST start looking at which paint company makes the best shades of purple!!! Anybody got any ideas ???

Edited November 16, 2013 by derex3592

[captain america]

I wouldn't worry too much about colors: between original Vs. Remastered footage, lighting conditions, printing color variations, it's pretty much impossible to get a spot-on match. Just mix and match based on what you like and be happy!

[coronadlux]

Hey Captain, what do you use to "glue" the wood together? Did you use putty on the feet/claw section?

Great job so far. Good job choosing the reference illustration, I know how difficult it is when looking for consistent art from 70's and 80's cartoons. Keep up the good work and the inspiration.

[derex3592]

After looking around today, looks like our best out of bottle color for the main purple would be Tamiya Acrylic X-16 Purple or Model Master Plum Crazy Enamel.

[captain america]

Hey Captain, what do you use to "glue" the wood together? Did you use putty on the feet/claw section?

Great job so far. Good job choosing the reference illustration, I know how difficult it is when looking for consistent art from 70's and 80's cartoons. Keep up the good work and the inspiration.

Yup, just putty. I used to use CA glue for some things, but cured putty has a similar density to the modeling board and so can be worked much more easily.

[varitechs]

After looking around today, looks like our best out of bottle color for the main purple would be Tamiya Acrylic X-16 Purple or Model Master Plum Crazy Enamel.

very good.. Tamiya seem to be the best choice for me but i will test both on test surface.

Thanks you

[coronadlux]

Yup, just putty. I used to use CA glue for some things, but cured putty has a similar density to the modeling board and so can be worked much more easily.

I always wondered about that. Thank you.

After looking around today, looks like our best out of bottle color for the main purple would be Tamiya Acrylic X-16 Purple or Model Master Plum Crazy Enamel.

That's awesome, I have 2 bottles of the plum crazy color, when I was "crazy" about Mopars.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

i have no idea what colors to match but i'm already dreaming of swooshing it around looking for mars base resistance fighters to hunt down

[derex3592]

Depending on what pictures/scenes/remaster you look at, as the Captain said, the colors vary greatly. One of those purples should work for the main color, the secondary color looks either to be a very light grey, or a very light lavender color. Haven't made up my mind on that yet. I'm going to do the feet/claws in a graphite metallic, and then the semi gloss black for the black detail areas.

Edited November 17, 2013 by derex3592

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Depending on what pictures/scenes/remaster you look at, as the Captain said, the colors vary greatly. One of those purples should work for the main color, the secondary color looks either to be a very light grey, or a very light lavender color. Haven't made up my mind on that yet. I'm going to do the feet/claws in a graphite metallic, and then the semi gloss black for the black detail areas.

i think i'm going to watch your mix paint samples first to try and learn(i have no experience)... i like how your vf-1a alaska base custom came out. i thought that green was a nice shade so i'm betting your mix of colors will come out awesome for this kit.

Edited November 17, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[derex3592]

Thanks! I'm not really a great painter, there are plenty of guys around here lightyears ahead of my skill level, but I'm not afraid to try!

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Wow!!! It's looking incredible! The proportions are looking very good!

[Jasonc]

Dang, that was fast. Very nice work, Captain!!! Can't wait for this one.

As for the color, I too, have a bottle of the X 16 plum. I may add a bit of Panzer grey in it to slightly darken and make the color a bit more "dirty", but for the trim, I may have to mix and match a skin color with some of the plum, and pink.

[Smut Peddler]

Cant wait to see more pics when they are available

[captain america]

Hey guys! I'll be posting today's update a little later than usual, just because I'm working on a lot of minor details. The masters are really coming along nicely.