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Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Advanced Hairspray Chipping Tutorial

This tutorial was contributed to the Guide by the great Vonschlippe! You can check out some of his builds on imgur or catch him helping others on r/Gunpla. If you see him around please give him your thanks let him know what you think of the tutorial. – Falldog

Hairspray chipping is already somewhat complex on its own, but with experience it may be combined or improved upon to create some rather elaborate effects.

Pre-shading

Pre-shading involves precise airbrush control and can be considered a challenge on its own. Here is a tutorial on the basic technique. With a bit of courage, it’s possible to combine hairspray chipping and pre-shading, but this means working on a timer and requires a bit more planning. read more

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Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Hairspray Chipping Tutorial

This tutorial was contributed to the Guide by the great Vonschlippe! You can check out some of his builds on imgur or catch him helping others on r/Gunpla. If you see him around please give him your thanks let him know what you think of the tutorial. – Falldog

It’s been hailed as the best invention since sliced bread by its adepts, but also called a time consuming gimmick by naysayers. It’s a technique pioneered by Philip Stutcinskas and has widely spread beyond miniature armor model making. When it comes to gunpla, it is my opinion that there is no better technique for simulating paint chips that are scalable and hold up to macro-photography. It’s not necessarily the holy grail, but when combined with other chipping techniques it offers unmatched realism and control. read more

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Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Oil Weathering Tutorial

This tutorial was contributed to the Guide by the great Vonschlippe! You can check out some of his builds on imgur or catch him helping others on r/Gunpla. If you see him around please give him your thanks let him know what you think of the tutorial. – Falldog

There is a lot to say about oil weathering. For starters, it’s the best technique to simulate any kind of grime, residue, oily streak, dust, stain, and filth out there. It is less risky than enamel weathering because all the solvents involved are safe for plastic, and the longer drying time means more flexibility for adjustments and cleanup. It’s a great tool to add to your arsenal. read more

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Ernest Cline’s Armada – A Book Review & Comparison to Ready Player One

Ernest Cline is repeating himself, this time with with his new novel, Armada. I’ve never been one to write lengthy book reviews but this is a special situation. Ready Player One (RPO) is such a well received work that more often than not the true nature of the piece gets lost behind the glare of blind appreciation. I worry that Armada will be received the same way. While I primarily want to talk about Armada is this review, it helps to review Ready Player One as it makes for a good comparison point. read more

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After the Cel Shading review: Hibike! Euphonium – Girls Und Blechbläser (Or: These Girls Know How to Blow)

I loved 2012’s Girls Und Panzer. Initially perceived to be some maudlin, meaningless, moe animu with a gimmicky contrivance, it turned out to be the exact opposite. It was a brisk, well-executed, tale with likable characters, great camaraderie, great production values, and most importantly a genuine desire to make the latter part of the title (tanks), authentic as all get out. It did not get bogged down by hyper-existential dilemmas, pointless filler, cynicism, or even apocalyptic endgame scenarios. It was a well-crafted tale of a bunch of girls and their tanks as they grow together as a team and as individuals on the road to glory. read more

Juu-kuchiby Juu-kuchi•
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Foppery and Whim: What to Expect When You’re Expecting Legend of the Galactic Heroes

“There are few wars between good and evil: most are between one good and another good.” – Yang Wen-li

 

 

There are a few less impossibilities in the world of North American licensing of anime these days. The Right Stuf is giving the Gundam franchise its second shot here. There are simulcasts for almost everything Funimaton licenses, including English-dubbed versions. Yen Press is licensing the Baccano! novels. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime is getting a bilingual release here. And maybe Macross is still in Harmony Gold limbo and we still haven’t gotten that Rebuild of Evangelion 3.33 release from Funimation (not that I’m looking forward to that dreck, except to tear it a new one), but at Anime Expo this year, an earthshaking announcement was made. read more

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Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Decanting Paint Tutorial

Decanting is the process of removing paint from a spray can so that you can use it in an airbrush (or possibly with one of those old fashioned regular brushes I’ve been hearing about). Depending on the manufacturer the colour of paint you have in a spray can may not be available in other forms. Or you’re looking to get a thinner, more precise paint job than a spray can can usually offer. That’s where decanting comes into play. It can be a bit messy, but if you follow some simple steps, you’ll be off and running in no time. read more

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Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Changelog

I used to have a log of all the Guide’s updates and changes. Then I put a “New” tag on updated and new tutorials on the main menu. However, some folks don’t swing by the site that often so having a full out change log going forward can’t hurt. I just gotta remember to keep things updated…

2023

  • December – All kinds of fun changes…
    • Updated the header a bit, plus I changed the menu orientation to make it more mobile-device friendly
    • Updates to the construction guide
    • Updated the decade old Glue Guide

    2021

    2020

    • 11/27 – Restored some updates that were lost when I switched the site over to the new version

      2019

      2018

      2017

      • Shit, I think I made changes. But apparently I didn’t update the change log? Or maybe I really didn’t make any updates. Shit.

      2016

      12/2 – Added the Pre-Shading Tutorial 5/6 – Language upddates to the

      Priming Tutorial read more

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Falldog’s Gunpla & Model Collection

[flickr-photo:id=11678003396,size=n] circa Decmber 2013

Like most American Gundam fans I got into the series during the franchise’s Toonami heyday in the early 2000’s. I built Gunpla back then without any real awareness of what I was doing or what things would become. Years later I would rediscover Gunpla at a local model shop. One thing lead to another and eventually resulted in one of the largest private collections in the United States.

When I got back into building Gunpla wasn’t as big as it is now, especially since the release of Gundam Build Fighters and other direct Gunpla promotions. There wasn’t nearly as many tutorials and guides out there, related to models in general or even Gunpla specifically. I started this Guide back in 2008 to share what I’ve learned. Part of the hobby which I enjoy the most is trying new things and experimenting with non-traditional methods. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. The Layman’s Gunpla Guide gives me an opportunity to share that experience. read more

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