Destroid Spartan

I received this package on Friday, and had been looking forward to getting it. These Imai Destroid kits in 1/72 have been offered at close to US$100 on eBay so I have been trying to hold out for a Bandai re-release for quite a while. I saw one for sale at a price that I considered reasonable, so went ahead an bought it.


Upon opening the kit, I was filled with a sense of nostalgia. I purchased my first Imai Macross kits back in high school. I think they were only US$8 or US$9 then, but it seemed like quite a bit of money. I wonder if the glue still works?


After stroking the plastic a little, and scanning the sprues, I started to build some of the parts. First were the hands.


Then the shoulders. Unfortunately, the doors to the missle pods are molded shut.


The locator pins for parts 49-50 and 51-52 will have to be cut off for this to be aligned correctly.


The crossbars at the rear of the shoulders should be glued only after dry-fitting the inserts. If you cut off the pins to glue these parts, they will be a little off, and the inserts will not sit properly in their positions. Some filing and will be necessary as well.

This kit has moved to the front of the queue for me, and everything else will have to wait for a while.

Sdh. 234 Progress

I decided to cast the forward hull of the Sdh. 234 that I was working on since I would be using it for modifying a number of different models. I poured a one piece mold, and mixed up some resin to cast the part. It was my first time casting resin, so imagine my surprise when I came back after pouring and saw that the mold looked like a pot that had boiled over! I pulled out the part, and saw that it was filled with bubbles, but I decided to use it anyway.


The hull will need some more putty work, but I don't think that it is too horrible for a first attempt despite the interior being rather like swiss cheese. In any event, I realized that my original plan to add a second piece to the mold for casting a plenum chamber into the hull would be more problematic than I had first anticipated, so this piece will become a new master hull for subsequent models.


Using the hull pattern, I cut two pieces of thick plastic card, and one thin piece of plastic card into the proper shape. I cut away the middle of the first piece, and glued it to the bottom of the second piece. I then cut away the middle of the second piece, and glued it to the bottom of the thin piece.


A Matchbox SdKfz. 234 will undergo the transformation into the Sdh. 234, but first it had to go through a little reconstructive surgery. I'll probably still have to lengthen the upper hull to make it the right size.

Art in Miniature

I wonder how many modelers view their hobby as art as opposed to an exercise in technique? Probably most like myself, see it as something in between. I found some entries at the haha.nu blogsite on HO scale miniatures being used in art pieces, so I thought I'd do a me-too entry.


Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz have collaborated on a series of snow globes for the last seven years. I found the subjects fascinating, but then my tastes have always skewed toward the fantastical. Anyway, the globes can be found at their website under "recent works".


Thomas Doyle also creates surreal art with HO scale (and larger) figures. More images can be found on his website.


The street artist known as Slinkachu travels around London with a tube of CA glue and some Preiser figures to create various scenes that juxtapose the miniature figures with the 1:1 scale environment. After the figures are glued, he takes photographs, and the figures remain for the public to see -- or not. More images can be found at his Little People blogsite. Check under his profile for additional blogs on other projects.


Similar to Slinkachu's work, but with food. More can be found at haha.nu


The prize for smallest works has to go to Willard Wigan who creates works that can fit into the eye of a needle. His work and techniques are reminiscent of that used in Chinese minature art. I found it interesting that he uses a fly-hair brush to do his painting. More can be found at his website.