Posted in

Falldog’s Gunpla Projects

Here’s a list of my completed projects in more-or-less order from the most recent completion to when I first got back into the hobby in 2007. You’ll notice various spurts of improvements and, if you’re like me, may cringe at some of my earlier works. Below are all of the projects that I’ve completed. The number of projects currently straight built or in mid-project state are too numerous to count. For a better list of those check out my Flickr gallery.

Don’t forget to check out my overall collect and the kit reviews I’ve done. read more

Falldogby Falldog••0
Posted in

Shooting a Pseudo Skull

The other week our trip to the range included some interesting targets. Realistic skulls used to train medical students, filled with red Jell-o and spaghetti. For the record, that wasn’t my idea. The still shots were taken with my old D300 and a cheap, painfully slow, 70-200mm lens. Due to being cheap bastards the shots were taken using FMJ rounds fired from an AR-15. The movies were filmed by smaller point and shoot cameras mounted much closer to the target (everyone was safely behind the firing line prior to any weapon going hot). The shots turned out fairly well but there’s a lot of room for improvement. Anyone want to donate a higher fps camera? read more

Falldogby Falldog••0
Posted in

Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine Episode 10 Review

 Episode 10, "Ghost Town"

  *****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: Lupin awakes from a dream only to see an owl-headed man in his room, telling him to "steal" Fujiko Mine. Zenigata and Oscar arrive by plane to meet with Count Almeida of Glaucus Pharmaceuticals. Months earlier, the owl headed men hired Lupin to go to where the Frauline Eule cult is and "steal" Fujiko. In the present, Lupin sneaks around Almeida’s house as Zenigata and Oscar arrive, demanding to see Almeida about Lupin. Zenigata reveals that he knows that the drug cult was a cover for Almeida’s drug company, which was performing human experimentation. Lupin later confronts Almeida, but is knocked out with a drug.  When he awakens, he finds himself in the old Glaucus Pharmaceuticals facility the company of Dr. Fritz Kaiser, who explains that Frauline Eule drug has euphoria as it’s short-term effect, but longtime use produces bodies that look like owls. Thirteen years earlier, Dr. Kaiser was working at the lab when there was a chemical spill. In present day, he shows a picture of his daughter to Lupin. The girl in the picture is a young Fujiko. When Lupin looks up, Kaiser has disappeared. Lupin encounters Zenigata, who thinks Lupin wants Fujiko as evidence of the company’s wrongdoing. The two are ambushed by gun-wielding lab technicians and split up. Lupin encounters several bizarre visions, revealing that Fujiko was part of the company’s experiments. At the end, Lupin isn’t sure whether he experienced what he experienced, or it was a dream.      Comments:   Wow. This was one bizarre episode. Sort of straddling the line between "artsy representations" and "weirdness for weirdness sake". But while it wasn’t one of the best episodes of the show, it was pretty enlightening.    The pieces are finally beginning to fit together here. The first meeting between Lupin and Fujiko was actually arranged by Count Luis Yu Almeida, making the revelation of the fake prophet from episode 8 not a surprise at all to Lupin, who already knew. The whole first episode of the show, then, was Lupin scoping out Fujiko more than attempting to steal the drug statue (though he probably intended to do that as well). He already knew who Fujiko was and expected her to show up to steal it, too. It may even be that Fujiko showed up in that case because she knew of the connection between the drug cult and Glaucus Pharmaceuticals, who had experimented on her.    It appears now that Fujiko is the daughter of Dr. Fritz Kaiser, though whether it’s biological or he was simply put in charge of her by Glaucus, is still up in the air. Apparently he was working with the Frauline Eule drug, which causes euphoria, but can also cause aggression and body changes that make people look like owls. How, exactly, does that work? I guess it’s just a funny coincidence that the company links itself with the Owl of Minerva (Glaucus), the goddess of medicine. Or perhaps we’re not meant to take the owl transformations as literal events but figurative ones. It’s hard to when the guy says outright that the drug causes people to start looking like owls. Nobody seems to treat the owl-men that work for LYA as being something that abnormal. Perhaps, though, people just assume those are costumes.    Zenigata actually gets off his ass and does something in this episode, though to what degree is questionable if you take it that Lupin dreamed all of this, or at least some of it. Zenigata made the connection between the drug cult, Glaucus, and Almeida, which even surprises Oscar, who gets shamed by him later on when he’s told to keep quiet. I said it’s about time that Zenigata take some action. I think it’s even possible he had his eye out for this well before he teamed up with Fujiko in episode 4. I hope we get to see him in action some more before the show ends.    I want to point out that the town Glaucus’ old laboratory was in was called "Eulenspiegel". A trickster figure called "Till Eluenspigel" comes from German folklore. In English he’s come to be known as "Owlglass". In the tales told of him he plays practical jokes that expose the vices of his contemperories, such as greed and hypocrisy. Now who, in this story, sounds a bit like that, huh?    A pretty clever show.      Overall Score:

4 out of 5

Penguin Truthby Penguin Truth•
Posted in

Layman’s Gunpla Guide – Gunpla Project Flowchart

This is an idea I’ve been tinkering with since 2012. New friends to the hobby often ask questions about what order to perform some steps, or whether or not one is even necessary for their project. To help answer I’ve created this little flowchart with some of the most basic steps that goes into an average build. Over all I tried to keep it as simple as possible so it’s easy to understand and applies to the greater number of builders. It’s okay to add or remove steps here and there if it fits your personal style or is necessary for the project you’re working on. I’ve added comments below the chart to highlight some key talking points and related tutorials. Make sure you check them out. read more

Falldogby Falldog••0
Posted in

MG AGE-1 Titus “Ground Grunt”


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

 

I’d like to present another one of my many works in progress, the AGE-1 Titus "Ground Grunt."

She’s been painted from the ground up using an airbrush, notable as it’s been the first time I’ve used one since my first Zombie Nemos. Things went well from that prospective and I want to thank GoodGuyDan for making the brush suggestion late last year (yes, it took that long to try out). Dry brush weathering on the frame came out a bit thicker than I wanted (which always seems to be the case for me) but my first attempt with digital camouflage turned out quite well. The paints are Tamiya, some straight and some random mixes. Details are in gold, along with IC sockets, also painted gold. read more

Falldogby Falldog••0
Posted in

Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine Episode 09 Review

 Episode 09, "Love Wreathed in Steam"

  *****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: Lupin and Jigen attend an auction that was disguised as a carnival sideshow. The item for bid is a painted woman, used as a canvas for the famous artist, Natar Aiden. It’s interrupted by a mysterious person in a black cloak, who turns out to be Fujiko. Lupin and Jigen take custody of the painted woman, but are attacked by Fujiko. They make an escape, but Fujiko persues them relentlessly and ruthlessly. The police take the painted woman in custody, but Fujiko attacks. At the last moment, Jigen saves her. Lupin runs off with her with Fujiko again in pursuit. Confronting her, Lupin surmises that Fujiko is trying to kill the woman because like her, she had a life controlled by other people. Exasperated by this, Fujiko tries to kill herself with Lupin’s gun, but it turns out to just be a water pistol. Fujiko leaves, now confused over what to do. She encounters Goemon.      Comments:   Like the last episode, this episode has this sense of charming cruelty, where the characters just sort of do what they feel they have to, without letting up much or apologizing for it. It’s like the first Lupin III TV series in that way. Sort of darkly amusing, containing equal parts levity and harshness. The characters don’t hold back, but at the same time, still come off being very amiable in their own right.    For one thing, Fujiko seems to have snapped a bit. Having seen the woman with the tattoos be offered up as a prize, she goes into a state of calm fury, attempting to kill her at all costs. What we’re seeing in this episode is a breakdown for the character. Instead of taking things lightly and letting things that bother her in stride, Fujiko is geniunely disturbed to the point of trying to kill an innocent woman simply because, as Lupin put it, she wants to kill herself. Those owl guys seem to have really fucked her up as a child. There’s no sign of the coy and sultry con woman here, just a broken and shaken woman driven to attempted suicide. At the end of the episode she’s lost, not knowing where to turn to. This is probably the most sympathetic she’s come across yet. I actually feel really bad for her.    It looks like Lupin and Jigen are officially a team now. We get more great interaction between them in this episode, as well as cooperation. They seem to be working seemlessly in concert, trying to protect the painted lady. I love their chat during the carnival game and after they rescue the woman for the first time when Lupin warns Jigen not to get too attached to the merchandise (the woman). They worked together pretty well in the gondola scene, too. Now they need to bring Goemon on board, and although neither of them has met him, I have a feeling that they’re about to.    One of the noteworthy bits was when Jigen shot down the gondola Fujiko was on and they wondered whether she survived or not. Lupin says, "If she didn’t, I guess she wasn’t the woman I thought she was." He has high expectations of her.    Another rock solid episode.      Overall Score:

4.5 out of 5

   
Penguin Truthby Penguin Truth•
Posted in

Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine Episode 08 Review

 Episode 08, "Dying Day"

*****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: Shitoto, a fortune teller who can predict you’re dying day is the common link between several victims of Lupin’s theivery. Jigen is hired to destroy the man’s beloved lithograph, while Zenigata and Oscar seek him as well. However, Jigen discovers that the lithograph has already been destroyed. Jigen is then arrested by the police, but is rescued by Lupin, and the two team up. Lupin confronts Shitoto with the theory that he probably had his clients killed to be accurate. Shitoto wants to buy a copy of the lithograph from Fujiko, who had made a copy and destroyed the original. When they meet, Fujiko has Shitoto pegged as Lupin in disguise, while the real one is in the trunk of the car. The real Shitoto claims that he really could read the future at one time, but the power gradually faded until he couldn’t read the lithograph anymore. He reveals that he was hired to do one last death reading: Fujiko’s. The police appear and a shootout commences, but Jigen assists Lupin. Shitoto is about to reveal Fujiko’s dying day until she shoots a downed power line which electrocutes him.      Comments:   This is probably my favorite episode thus far. Interesting set up, great character interaction, some insight into Fujiko’s past, and some fun scenes (Monkey Delivery Service, anyone?).    We finally learn the identity of the mysterious "LYA", a man named Count Luis Yu Almeida, who seems to have designs on Fujiko’s life. He’s connected to the owl men in Fujiko’s flashbacks, likely the leader who gave Shitoto his abilities (if he really has any). He also seems to have an interest in Lupin, with Shitoto telling him that he was told to test him. The mere mention of his name to Fujiko sends her into brutal mode. I hope we’ll be seeing him sometime soon.    I loved the interaction between Lupin and Jigen. Jigen complaining about the Gitanes cigarettes (a real French brands), Lupin cooking Jigen dinner, Jigen complaining about the wine, and just the casual attitude they have towards each other. The last time they met, they were determined to kill each other, but I suppose finding themself in a new sitaution changes things. These scenes help to establish the bond between these two that will last for many years. I’m reminded of some of the scenes in Episode 0: First Contact.    The interaction between Lupin and Fujiko is interesting, too. She sees through his disguise immediately, subverting the usual trope where Lupin fools nearly anyone. I love the sound of frustration he makes when he starts turning pink over it. I liked the bit where Lupin says, "Don’t die. I haven’t slept with you yet." and she answers, "If I die, you’ll have to settle for a description from Zenigata.". Poor guy.    The question is, did Shitoto ever have real powers? He insists he once did. But why does he need a lithograph to tell him the future? It seems less like a lithograph and more like a giant construct of crystal, without any writing on it. How is that a lithograph, which is usually stone? Did he really predict people’s deaths or was it, like Lupin said, all set up? It was pretty clever to target Lupin’s victims, because it would obviously draw his attention. But the poor bastard made a mistake mentioning LYA to Fujiko, because she killed him for it, in a vicious fashion. That look on her face as she watches him burn to death is cold.    The episode seems a lot like an episode of the original series in the setup and the atmosphere. There’s sort of a charming cruelty to it.    Overall Score:

4.5 out of 5

 
Penguin Truthby Penguin Truth•
Posted in

Project N-Unicorn – Start

Of my three upcoming MG Unicorn projects this is the second, project N-Unicorn*. It’s going to be a standard MG Unicorn, with the MG Banshee yellowish psycho frame, and a Nu Gundam color scheme. Here are a few pictures of the kit pre-paint. Frankly I think the clear yellowish pieces look pretty good with the white armor.


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

  read more

Falldogby Falldog••0
Posted in

PG Zaku II ver. Reprise – Fin


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Finally complete, yay!

For those of you new to the project, a little background first. After a long hiatus from Gunpla I returned to the hobby with this, Char’s Zaku II, back in 2008. Being my first kit in a long time, and a Perfect Grade one to boot, my Haro did it turn out like shit. Poor lining job, no details, stickers, and an orange peel gloss coat on top. I’d often thought about tearing the whole thing apart and giving it a proper paint and detail make over. Between my ever growing backlog of kits, and the difficultly of sanding down such a gloss coat, the thought never came to fruition. Instead I decided to revise it and complete another idea I’ve been bouncing around, a clear – yet frosted – Perfect Grade kit. read more

Falldogby Falldog••0
Posted in

Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine Episode 07 Review

 Episode 07, "Music and Revolution"

    Synopsis: Fujiko finds herself in the Central American country of Carib, where she poses as a reporter during a period of upheavel. Goemon is hired by the same people who Fujiko is working for. Philadel is taken hostage aboard his plane by supporters of the old regime, who want the coordinates of a secret oil field. The situation escalates when missiles are fired at the plane, but Goemon appears and slices them. Goemon assists on Fujiko and Philadel’s escape from the plane. Philadel goes onto appear in front of the UN.    Comments:   This episode wasn’t anything amazing, though there were some interesting Fujiko characterization in it, and I liked the history parallel.    Speaking of history, in what decade does this program take place in? The whole situation with "Carib", "Yamurica", and "Runnia-nia" is obviously an expy of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. There’s an expy for JFK and Philadel seems like a mix between Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. There’s a Doomsday Clock ticking throughout the episode to. Lots of times episodes of previous Lupin programs have had historical parallels, but they came off as modern reincarations of previous things (like the Hitler-like dictator in "Hell Toupee"), and not as the events themselves. Here it is so thinly disguised, they might as well just refer to it as what it really is. It’s no wonder that we don’t see too much modern technology in this series.    Fujiko’s interaction with Philadel is interesting. She’s posing as a reporter, so it’s in her interest to be inquisitive, but she seems to come to admire him. After all, they’re similar in philosophies (he says, "I want to dance to my own beat", mirroring Fujiko’s own style). It’s likely that Fujiko decides to save him simply to get the coordinates of the secret oil field, but it’s also just as likely that she spares him because she’s geniunely fond of him. He does have a charismatic aura.    Goemon was in this episode, too, but just barely. I wish they would have given him more to do than just step in and cut some missiles. However, they almost make up for it with the final scene of the episode. Goemon seems not so pleased with Fujiko’s openness with her body. Goemon is pretty reserved, so it’s making him uncomfortable. Then Fujiko reveals that the coordinates she was given were for the beach they’re on, which is interesting because she seems to be just fine with it. Goemon remembers that she had previously told him she was looking for a place for herself. He’s trying to figure out just what sort of woman she really is.    The animation was a little weird in this episode, and sometimes the art seemed awkward, too. It wasn’t the most enthralling episode, either. But it wasn’t bad by any means.      Overall Score:

3.5 out of 5

 
Penguin Truthby Penguin Truth•