Toymaker vs DC23: Star Build Strike Gundam Challenge

Kenny Lim aka Toymaker and I decided against working on the HGUC Rozen Zulu. We thought of working on the HG Star Build Strike Gundam instead. 

My kids love the anime and I think Kenny was influenced by some kids too. We think working on this kit will bring out the kid in us, instead of working on the more menacing looking Rozen Zulu.

My daughter got the kit as a prize at Gunpla Builders World Cup, where she won as 2nd runner up. She already snap fitted the kit a while back. To add more fun to the build, I bought the meteor hopper today.

This will be a fun side project as I work with a ton of pending commissioned works. This challenge is also a warm up as we work on the PG Unicorn as our main challenge next year. 

Hope you enjoy our mini challenge. We will be posting a ton of updates at our Facebook page soon...

https://www.facebook.com/ToymakerVSdc23

Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next post guys! Just enjoy the hobby! :)

Toymaker vs DC23: HGUC Rozen Zulu Challenge

I have been away from playing with plastic robots for a little over a month now, but should be back next week! Me and my team just made local television history last month and hope to do so again sometime next year. 

I did miss going home to my Gunpla mancave though and should make up for lost time very soon! 

Me and Kenny Lim aka Toymaker thought of warming up before our much anticipated ( lol ) PG Unicorn Faceoff next year. We agreed to work on a quick project that we should finish before this year ends. Basically we will be working on a weird HGUC Rozen Zulu kit! 

The HGUC Rozen Zulu kit should be the perfect kit to work on! It has a very interesting design and is relatively big for a 1/144 kit. The mini faceoff should be fun! Hope you stay tune for updates! Both me and Kenny will be updating our separate blogs and Facebook pages, but will also update our FaceOff Facebook page regularly with photos of this Project!

Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next posts guys! Just enjoy the hobby! 😝

Toymaker versus DC23 Facebook Page!

Me and Kenny Lim aka Toymaker has been chatting about our next Face Off / Build Off for some time now. We had our first duel back in 2011 using the Bandai MG The O and had so much fun in the process. 

Next year we plan to inspire each other further by doing small and quick build offs. We also plan to use the Bandai PG Unicorn as our main kit for our build off next year!!!

We will be posting old links and photos of our MG The O build off for the meantime... and will also update you regarding our up and coming PG Unicorn  build off in both our Facebook pages and our new page! Feel free to follow us at our new page below...

https://www.facebook.com/ToymakerVSdc23

Me and Toymaker ( Kenny Lim ) has been friends for years now. We have always chatted about concepts, skills and other people's work since 2009. We do hope you would enjoy following us next year at our new page! Possibly the first of its kind! 

Thanks as always for dropping by! Until next post guys! Just enjoy the hobby! :)

TOYMAKER joins 2012 Mecha Contest at MAC!

My good friend and former Face-Off buddy Kenny Lim aka TOYMAKER, has just entered and joined our 2012 Mecha Contest at Mech Arts Community Forums ( MAC forums )!



Kenny will be building a PG Strike Gundam complete with all 3 strike systems!



High profile modelers has joined the fun and the 2012 Mecha Contest at MAC forums will be a war! FichtenFoo is judging along side the creators Kamm and Sneeper1980. Now this makes me think if I could join too? I just resigned as MAC forums admin last week ( but I am back )... maybe I should resign again so that I could join? lol



Older Gunpla modelers like me do not join contests as much as before. Aor_or_die and I are not allowed to join Bandai competitions. Toymaker will no longer be joining Bandai contests from now on and Matt Tomczek and Matt Mrozek are not joining official contests as well. Toymaker joining the 2012 marks an almost complete line up of Gunpla masters in the 2012 Mecha Contest ( That does not happen even in Bandai competitions ). This sure is so fun to watch!



Should I be joining the party at Mech Arts Community ( MAC ) Forums as well??? :)

Toymaker versus DC23 MG The O build off!

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Once again, thanks a ton to Kenny Lim aka Toymaker for accepting my challenge early this year ( 2011 ) and making this build off possible.



Glad this was just a friendly competition / build off though as Kenny's MG The O is out of this world as expected! Anyways I have here 6 medium sized wallpapers ( for myself ) but if you like them, feel free to grab them, share them and post as your wallpapers too.



Me and Kenny has set yesterday as our deadline for our Toymaker versus DC23 build off a few days ago. I have talked about this build off a lot in my older posts as this project was supposedly both me and Kenny's year end GBWC entries. Anyways, I think I have talked enough ( lol ), so here are the links to my gallery and to Kenny's MG The O gallery...

custom MG The O modeled by TOYMAKER

versus

custom MG The O modeled by DC23

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Thanks for dropping by! Til' next build off guys! :)

Toymaker versus DC23 revealing soon...

During the start of the year ( January 2011 ) I challenged Kenny Lim aka Toymaker to a build off. I follow Kenny's blog religiously and saw that he was planning to build a MG The O too. So I asked him if we could do a sort of build off together which will also serve as our BAKUC entries come yearend of the same year.



Kenny is one of the best and most respected modelers in this part of the world ( at the very least ), thus I am totally insane and out of my mind when I thought of the idea. Honestly I was thinking of just trying to out do myself as I desperately need motivation to improve. The best modelers here in the Philippines are semi retired already, they are only doing relax builds and are not really as competitive as they used to. So there is not much reason to compete with them anymore.



So there... challenging Kenny is basically a move to motivate my self to improve my craft by challenging one of the best and one of my original inspiration when it comes to detailing and modifications.



Fast forward to today ( November 12, 2011 ), Both me and Kenny are sort of rushing our custom MG The O builds for the Singapore Gunpla Builders World Cup 2011 on November 15. He is now painting the armor parts of his kit and I am rushing a simple base after this post. We will be revealing both our custom MG The O exactly on

November 14 11:59 PM

The build off is almost over... I have posted around 13 WIP posts of my MG the O while Kenny has posted only a couple ( as I expected - lol ). But I have been in constant contact with Kenny since the start of our challenge back in June 2011.

This was a win and win situation for me as not only did I get the chance to compete with one of the best in the craft, thus pushing myself to somehow out do what my skills would allow me to. I also won a friend from across the sea. 

I got to meet Kenny back in our MAC forums anniversary party last August 2011 here in the Philippines, and since then he has been a mentor, tutor, inspiration, a rival and a close friend. This build off although not yet finished has served it's purpose already. I won a great friend.

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for a GOOD Cause...

I just woke up and it is barely 6 am here in the Philippines. I just read Kenny's ( Toymaker ) post on how  they plan to help the Japanese people who were affected by both the earthquakes and the tsunami. They plan to raise 10,000 USD for the cause and I hope they reach there goal.



Aside from giving 10% of the sales of HAG ( Singapore Gunpla store ), Kenny donated four of his masterpieces for the cause. This is such a great read as this post greeted me first thing in the morning... a very admirable act from our fellow Gunpla enthusiasts in Singapore. Here is the link to Kenny's post...

TOYMAKER: A good cause

Toymaker versus DC23 face-off WIP - big butt done!

As I've said, I can't really do much Gunpla during weekdays this month. My friggin' work schedule simply does not allow me too even hook up in Skype. However, I was able to apply some epoxy on the corners of the butt that needed some repair as seen in my previous post.

I was also able to successfully add a LIP around the edges of the whole butt. I simply forcefully glued a 3mm square Tamiya pla rod around the edges and applied epoxy with my fingers in between the butt and the square rod. After letting the epoxy cure for 3 days, I then sanded the square " lip " to make it round and also sanded the corners.

Their are still a few errors on a few parts but nothing a nice couple of layers of Tamiya putty would not fix. I also had to bore the holes for the Kotobukiya parts as I reinforced the innards with a thick layer of Epoxy. I highly doubt any modeling stress would deform this really hard shell of pla plates and epoxy now.

I apologize for the crappy out of focus photos as my camera is with my sister in law. This is the very same reason I cannot show some Zeta updates today but will surely take photos for tomorrow's update as I will have my camera by then. Anyways, here are a few more crappy shots of my butt...

Thanks for dropping by! Til' next update! :)

Toymaker versus DC23 face-off WIP - big butt!

As most of you know I am not good in scratch building, It was a bit of surprise for me though that I kinda pulled off at least the basic shape of the main part of my The O II conversion. I think more or else I was able to get the shape I was aiming for. I just need to pile pla plates or put putty on the damaged corners and sand it smooth and curvy. A visible crack on both sides will also need some reinforcement on the inside and a bit of putty work outside.

The main obstacle of the but is the big hole that I was luckily able to achieve. The layers of .5mm pla plates I added last night was able to make the shell really strong and thick on some of the crucial curved areas. I was aiming for the hole for the main engine block at the butt, much like what you see in the photo below...

Now here are a few more photos on how I as able to achieve the hole for the main engine block...

First I bored large holes on the corners coz I do not want sharp corners in this build. I think I will be sanding down any corners so that the overall look is nice and curvy. After drilling the large holes, I sort of connected the dots with my Tamiya scriber and sawed it off. I was really afraid while I was doing this as the butt might lose it's curves once I have removed a significant amount of support.

Gladly all those layers of .5mm pla plates that I layed down hardened to form a thick 2-3 mm shell at the most crucial parts. The shell retained it's shape even after I have remove the hole where the main engine block will be placed. Voila! I have the main shape and the biggest scratch building hurdle of my The O II conversion is done.

I will be leaving this butt as it is as I will work on the MG Zeta now. Plus one of the main features of this build is the butt, thus I do not want to rush and finish early. I also need to research a bit further on how I would do the engine blocks, the details underneath the butt and the detailing and modifications of the butt itself.

I will now sit back and wait for Toymaker's first update. ;)

Thanks for dropping by! Til' next post! :)

Toymaker versus DC23 face-off WIP - basic butt shape

I wanted to start on this project a bit for a couple of days now but I eventually gave in to the urge after seeing this thread at ZeroGunz! Initially Kenny Lim aka Toymaker and I agreed to build a conversion of the O II Hauer. Kenny eventually thought of creating and designing his own version as he mentioned in his post. Our initial take off date is June 2011, but I just had to ride the mood to at least build the basic shape of the butt.

I had a chat with Kenny earlier today and I asked if I could start building mine which is 3 months earlier than the original date. He told me it is ok but he can't start on his own yet, I just feel I had to ask his permission as I think working on it earlier than the agreed date would be cheating.

I won't be working much on this kit though as I still have a lot of other Gunpla projects. As I've said, I just have to ride the mood and at least build the basic shape of the butt of the O II Hauer. Anyways, this is made of a 1mm pla plate that was forcefully bended to form the shape.

The butt of my The O II will be 8 inches long, 5 inches wide on the widest part and 3 1/2 inches on the tallest part. I have reinforced the basic shape with strips of .5mm pla plates to help retain the shape of the butt. I will have to pile up or build up on the pla plate strips to make sure the shape is intact once I remove the tapes and clamps.

I hope to build up enough .5mm pla plate strips and form a really hard shell once the cement has cured. Once I have the shell, I could do anything with it as I won't worry with the butt loosing it's shape anymore. Now here are a handful of photos showing the basic shape of the butt...

Thanks for dropping by! Til' next post! :)

EDIT: I laid down and piled up more .5mm pla plate strips after dinner, and I have used 2 a4 sized sheets of Tamiya plates. I think this will be really strong by tomorrow morning when the cement has cured on the layers of pla plates.

However I did some experiment and added a thick layer of Epoxy on the corners. I am pretty confident that unlike Tamiya putty, the epoxy won't melt the pla plates and it will give me a stronger material once it has cured in 2 - 3 days.

I am now thinking of putting a thin layer of epoxy all through out the inner side of the butt. I am basically just making sure that I would come up with a really hard shell so that I can do anything with it in terms of modifications and detailing. A hard shell would allow me to bore large holes, cut some parts and scribe panel lines without worrying that the butt would lose it's shape.



P.S. I got the idea of using epoxy from my post of the StarCraft Marine construction by Flanela

As always, thanks for dropping by! Til' next update! :)

What's in for this hobby anyway? written by TOYMAKER

I just finished reading a post by Kenny Lim aka Toymaker and was totally inspired by it. I mean as I've said a million times, my style was the fruit of Kenny's style coz I practically tried to copy his Kampfer back in 2008 and I continue to get inspired by his builds until now. I have been his fan since I started this hobby and reading a post from him about me is always unreal and inspiring for me.



I am NO way near Kenny or the guys he mentioned in his post, but I am really flattered that he even mentioned me along in the same sentence. I have utmost respect for people with Kenny's talent and I have ultimate respect for people with Kenny's humility.



I was a bit irritated in my post that he stated in his blog and I totally agree on his last statement about " What's in for this hobby anyway? Sorry about re-blogging about Kenny's post BUT I just had to keep this ( the link at least ) in my archives as I could read it anytime I need Gunpla inspiration. Thanks a ton bro, very much appreciate it man! Anyways here is the link guys...

What's in for this hobby anyway? written by TOYMAKER

NO more MAC meet ups this 2011!

Just kidding! Aside from the fact that Skype is killing our forums and maybe even our Facebook forum extensions... It is a great way to chat while building kits when you have voice and video chats on. I finished my X-Wing while Skyping and should finish my StarCraft dio this week while Skyping too.



MAC is pretty much international though as most or at least half of are active members are not from the Philippines. In Fact one of the 3 admins is from the US...yes, that will be Kriz. So as much as the actual meet ups here in the Philippines have been fun. We are actually enjoying our meet ups ( video and voice chats ) with our international members and friends so much more.



Kamm has been cursing for almost a week now, PhantomPain sounds like Hero in Heroes, Hummingbird talks like blur in the old Transformers movie, MatX and Kriz are being their usual sinister looking selves, DCMKii has been working with his FSS kit and a few others have started to join the chat these past couple of days.



I also had fun chatting with Toymaker ( Kenny ) for a couple of days now, though he is more comfortable in type chats. Adam Sonar ( creator ) and Lupes of Gundam Australia Forums has joined us last night too! This is great, we are practically having meet ups every night and I get to build Gunpla and practice my english. LOL



I hope to chat with our ZeroGunz brothers one of these days! ZeroGunz was my first forums afterall and it will be really cool to chat with Rayloke and Ryukaze and the other guys!

On a side note: Kamm is bragging about a secret paint that he won't reveal until I do not know! I vow to know the paint and will blog about it! hehehehe

Congratulations to Toymaker!!!

Just a quick post in the office after a meeting... just want to congratulate Kenny Lim ( Toymaker ) one of our officers at M.A.C. for winning this year at the Singapore's Gundam Midyear Challenge 2010! Of course congratulations also to all the winners of that event!



I do not know the other participants, but I do know Titanium who got the second place with his very nice Sazabi...nyways gratz to all! Very much deserved win...very nice Bakuc quality pieces from everyone who participated!



Again, here is the gallery of the first ever heavilly modified Sinanju by Kenny Lim ( Toymaker ) - Sinanju FWS ( Full Weapon System ) by Toymaker



Thanks for dropping by! til' next post! XD

MG Sinanju FWS by Toymaker

Kenny Lim aka Toymaker or Orange ( in Plamo ) hails from Singapore and as I've said a million times is the first modeler that inspired me to do pla plating modifications and super detailing mods. I consider him as my second master in Gunpla ( second only to Fichtenfoo ), not in terms of skills but because I discovered his site after a few months of learning the basics of modeling at master Foo's site.



It is kinda weird and awkward for me to introduce Toymaker because he is so much known worldwide already. Anyways, his style in Gunpla is always an inspiration and his masterpieces are simply marvelous to behold. He has this great sense of design for Gunpla and has his own style... he knows when to cut, add holes, scribe or add pla plate in any Gunpla part and as always he combines all these detailing techniques masterfully.

A million thanks to Orange / Toymaker / Kenny Lim for allowing me to post a few pictures of his latest work... for now let as marvel at Kenny's latest masterpiece... The Sinanju FWS ( Full Weapon System ).



Thanks for dropping by! til' next post! XD