Thursday, April 9, 2009

MSN-06E - Ebon Enforcer

Started around Christmas. Finished yesterday.

All major operations on this kit are now completed.

Here's the write up.

Notes:

1. Very sturdy kit. Joints are stiff and well fitting. Maintains poses well.
2. Be careful when separating the fingers. Use something VERY sharp and narrow otherwise you may screw yourself like I did. The bottom two fingers of the right hand need to be glued in place.
3. Insane amount of details on this kit. I couldn't tackle them all but hit about 80% of them.
4. TOPCOAT, TOPCOAT, TOPCOAT. If you're going to spend all that time painting, topcoat the damn thing! And do a thorough job. Multiple times. I didn't and the gold chips away constantly. Especially if you're posing it a lot. Blah.
5. Modifying the arm to incorporate the shield assembly was the best thing I did for this kit. SIGNIFICANT improvement.
6. Repaired/reinforced backpack/wing elbow joints. Katoki's design was too weak and both part broke on me!
7. If you are SEARCHING for places to put decals and the answer doesn’t come to you immediately because you've already put about... 200 on already, just stop. Let the decals go. You can use them for another project.

Comparison:

Hard to compare this to anything in a 1/100 or MG scale. It out classes anything that I've seen or built myself. It's PG quality in 1/100 scale. Considerably larger/taller than any MG or 1/100 scale MS that I’ve seen with my own eyes. I think only the RX-0 and RX-93 come close.

Concept:

Originally I was going to go for white but then I realized that the decals wouldn’t show up at all so I went the opposite way with black. I had this... dark angel image in my mind when I first saw it. I decided to stick with black and gold for everything to really accentuate the gold trimmings.

Story:

Model # MSN-06E, officially known as the “Black Sinanju” but commonly known as the “Ebon Enforcer”. Nicknamed the “Double E Anti Gundam” by Neo Zeon soldiers, it is a play (or mockery if you prefer) on the ZZ Gundam which, Newtype ace, Judau Ashta piloted to infamy.

This prototype Sinanju was made primarily for the continuation of research on “Newtype Psycommu Technology”. Militarily, it serves as a defensive escort for ships transporting people of extreme importance. It does not see much combat because of the already heighted security around such ships.

The gold plating is an experimental hybrid liquid-polymer enhancement/upgrade of the full psycho frame employed in the MSN-06S Sinanju and the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam. This plating enables the pilot to operate the suit with increased mental 'awareness' of the battlefield.

Preliminary experiments done with non-Newtype subjects resulted in various trauma ranging from mild headaches to death.

Newtype pilots fared better but often described the experience as 'overwhelming'. Extensive mental conditioning and training is required to fully utilize the system. Inside the suit the pilot can feel hostiles at extreme ranges and can neutralize them before they ever become a threat to ship being defended.

The PsyCo-RPX (Psychic Communication Receptor Polymer - Experimental) is applied in a way similar to a proton exchange/electrolyte membrane except with embedded microscopic PCR’s and without the incorporation a membrane electrode assembly. This process is time consuming and expensive making this suit entirely unfit for mass production.

Because of the random phenomena occasionally caused by psycommu systems used in especially heated battle situations, this Sinanju never sees any frontline combat.

Inspiration:

My imagination I guess.

Conclusion:

This kit is demanding and not for beginners. It pushed the limits of my skills and forced me to learn and try new techniques. It was a very rewarding experience and I learned a lot about modeling in the process but... I'm definitely ready to move on. It was almost too much for me and I felt like giving up a couple times.

I'll have to tackle this kit again, later on down the road, to fix a couple of minor problems that happened during the photo shoot but right now, it is functional and I am quite satisfied with what I’ve done with it.

Even though I tried to do things 'perfectly' I couldn’t in the end and no matter how great it looks standing in one place... once you move it around the paint is going to fade a bit in certain areas.
The adult in me says “It’s a model and you spent a lot of time working on it so just don’t touch it and admire your work.” But the kid in me says... “It’s cool and it’s a toy and toys are meant to be played with.”, and if I think about it... I’m doing this BECAUSE of the child in me... so I won’t be entering him into any modeling contests but I am definitely going to enjoy playing with him for the years to come.

17 comments:

  1. Clap clap clap. Awesome job. It's evident that you've really
    tested yourself with this kit and it's paid off. Great work.

    This is a really nice looking model. I particularly like the gold inside of the
    armour panels. In fact the gold internals are just fantastic all round.
    Really great work with hand painting the trims as well. From what I can see the paint job is great.
    Your eye for colour is very good, you have used just the right amounts in the right places. Kind of like
    the less is more theory if you know what I mean. Those knees look really nice. Great detailing.
    My fave pose is the arms spread out shot. Looks awesome.

    The gloss shows up the dust a bit in one of those shots. But I can't really fault you on much. A couple of chips in the gold here and there.

    I would like to suggest utilising a few different light sources
    from different directions at once for your shoots. The details wil show up alot better.
    Also a few of those shots are a bit grainy. Try increasing your shutter speed just a little.
    I can't really see it in enough detail to comment much further.


    I enjoyed following your progress on this kit. I think you've done an exceptional job. Looking forward to your next.

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  2. I feel you, man. From the beginning to the end. Only you've put in tons more effort that I can only dream to ever try to want to do. Your Sinanju is WICKED O_O. I would love to do a photoshoot of it in action :D. I know how you feel about the paint chipping off from posing... I destroyed a few decals while photoshooting mine. It hurts like needles xD.Impressive job and meticulous indeed as always. How about a little vacation for yourself too? ^^

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  3. "Incredible" is an understatement. Like I said before, this has to be one of the most beautiful customizations I've ever seen on Gunpla to date. Congratulations!

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  4. like da new look hehe SIEG ZEON!!!!!!!! lol

    j-asian1skill

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  5. Awesome work! I Love the outcome.. Congrats on finishing this beast

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  6. tonzo - thanks for all your comments. i appreciate your opinion. actually it's not dust you're seeing. there are some parts where the paint didn't go on fully and you can still see a bit of the grey primer underneith. about the light sources... i tried to do that a bit more for this shoot but... i came across some physical limitations for that. the best i could do was try for a light uniform background that would reflect the light a bit more. and im a sucker for the dramatic low light shots haha. i will definitely try adjusting the shutter speed next time. also this time i used the tripod for a lot of shots but sometimes i had to hold the camera in my hand to get the angle i wanted. that shaking might have caused some of the shots to turn out wierd. thanks for your comments tho. let us know when you're done with your MUSHA. im really curious to see that one!

    Z/fudou - yeah if anyone knows what a pain in the butt this kit is it's you. but no breaks for me man. i spent a couple of days thinking about what i wanted to do next and started on my PG red frame a little while ago. no rest for the wicked!

    zro - you are way too kind and while i cant agree with you i definitely appreciate the sentiment. thanks a lot and thanks for viewing!

    j-as1 - thanks buddy! seig zeon!

    gr3 - thanks friend and im glad to hear you got the package ok! let us know when its done!

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  7. Cheers..
    I do say
    Man that is a project I want to work on in the near future... That is if i can get a Sinanju model. Keep up the great job and look forward to more impressive work Busterbeam.
    Best regards
    RX72MK3XA

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  8. Nice job on the kit man....really nice!

    I like the black and gold. I also got the kit too, but don't have time to work on it yet. I probably sticks to the original color.

    I like your blog too.

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  9. In a word, stunning. Execellent job, and I salute your patience. It's beoming more and more apparent that Katoki designed this kit to break the casual Gunpla fan, that's for sure!

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  10. rx72 - thanks for the kind words. i hope my work on this pg astray will be equally impressive

    gg- thanks for that. its a tough kit but im sure someone like you will like it. especially with the bazooka. thanks for reading.

    USsalary - yeah i think your right. its totally different than any other model i've built. thanks for your compliments!

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  11. Finally, I got a Sinanju. T_T so now I have a question Buster. I plan on painting the gold but, I want to know your mix portions of your gold and Zippo Lighter fluid. Thanks in advance
    P.S. with your skills equal impressiveness is guaranteed
    RX72MK3XA

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  12. haha ok im looking forward to seeing it!

    so you're planning on doing the gold lining? you really dont need a lot of gold paint at all. 4/5 fluid to 1/5 paint for me. get it thin and let gravity do the work. i also recommend deepening the panel line a bit before with a knife or etching tool.

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  13. Alright, change of plans. I am now going to do Blue armour with silver accents.
    STORY
    The MSN-06R, Wild Thunder. Named in honor of OYW Zeon ace Visch Donahue, this model is a quick response unit. It has all standard equipment as the MSN-06S Sinanju, but has a toned down version of the Psycommu system. This makes the R model the suit of choice for some unit commanders. The silver plating is and experimental hybrid polymer that has beam defusing capabilities in theory, but due long production time and the requirement of multiple coat applications it is reduced to a decoration. This unit is also the unit of choice for official Ceremonies.

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  14. thats pretty clever. similar to mine in some areas but i definitely like it!

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  15. i'm really looking forward to seeing that one when its done. i'm sure it's going to look great. i like the concept!

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  16. lol i wrote all of this back in early April and here I am in mid Oct. entering him into a modelling contest. haha, who would have guessed.

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