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Post by magengar on Jun 4, 2015 16:01:20 GMT -5
Also... the 3D print makes your job easier. I'm really impressed by how quickly you've picked up in that technology. You've learned it faster than the years I've spent learning how to use my DoGA CGA programs.  PS: I've got a new Maz wallpaper and screensaver coming up which you'll love... part CG animated, and part DX Maz.  zozo-mag |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 5, 2015 20:13:37 GMT -5
Almost dare to think that I finally nailed the OVA look. My custom looks like it is ready for a manga!  }D |
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Post by droutmaster on Jun 6, 2015 15:27:08 GMT -5
Looking good so far, looks like you made him more taller as well. Are you gonna fix the small details like his nose and the neckguard on the back to make it more to the OVA? also tell me you have plans to give him articulated hands because if you can that would be even more awesome. Bandai could've done this a whole lot easier than me, but they were lazy, lacked vision, or just did not care. }D I have to dissagree with this statement and its a very stereotyping remark that you just made, just because a company makes the character more updated to today's standards or a take on it in a different prespective it doesn't mean there any of those accusations. That is just simply making the character more relevant, refreshing and interesting for the consumer as oppose to have the same figure sold by everyone that has no difference to one another at all which brings nothing new to the table and that alone can be accuse of those statements. |
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Post by droutmaster on Jun 6, 2015 18:55:14 GMT -5
Looking good so far, looks like you made him more taller as well. Are you gonna fix the small details like his nose and the neckguard on the back to make it more to the OVA? also tell me you have plans to give him articulated hands because if you can that would be even more awesome. I have to dissagree with this statement and its a very stereotyping remark that you just made, just because a company makes the character more updated to today's standards or a take on it in a different prespective it doesn't mean there any of those accusations. That is just simply making the character more relevant, refreshing and interesting for the consumer as oppose to have the same figure sold by everyone that has no difference to one another at all which brings nothing new to the table and that alone can be accuse of those statements. Well, the truth hurts... I stand by the fact that they were lazy, lacked vision, AND just DIDN'T care. }| Where are this facts you speak of in what you said, have you seen the contract that it states the character has to be 100% accurate and no changes must be made?. A company can do a retake on the character as long as its allow trought contract as well the creator is satisfied with it, if there not allow then wouldn't the creator of said character protest? If what you said is true then ALL companies and the fandom are a lazy, lacked vission and do not really care for such character. |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 6, 2015 20:05:57 GMT -5
It is so weird to me when folks claim to like a character but at the same time welcome and praise changes to it. It lacks originality. Folks enjoy something different, then ask for a new character. Stop twisting and ba$t*rdizing the original concepts and have the intestinal fortitude to try something never done before. Is that too much to ask? Oh wait, Fewture did it with the EX Gokin line - original figures based on classic super robots! Wow! What a concept! I bet that if a company put out a Hulk action figure with as much design twists as Bandai does to the classic super robots, it would be placed in the clearance section in no time flat. But this is not a thread for debates. It is to show off customized figures. Let's keep it that way. }D |
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Post by Mechanical Flesh on Jun 6, 2015 21:37:34 GMT -5
The changes on the SRC look great TMZ. The thighs are great, and I suppose you'll paint the arms white as well sooner or later, right? Just to match colours with everything else. Those are looking really good too. Now, about that "changes in design: good or bad" discussion you people have been having here.. I believe that some changes in design are natural, as time goes on and toy-making machines and processes become more precise, allowing the manufacturer to produce figures that resemble the original source material more and more. Look at the old Chogokin GA-01, the proportions are completely wrong, yet people had no trouble enjoying it back then. Decades pass and here we are, 40 years later, after many iterations of Mazinger Z figures. Their design has evolved constantly, mostly following the rule of trying to be as faithful as possible to the original look. Sometimes though, there'll be slight alterations to the sculpt of the figures, designer choices or just something that lets us know that times have changed.. Example. Bandai's GX-01R is probably one of the best diecast representations of classic 1970's Mazinger Z. But that doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the GX-01R+ sculpt. The figure itself is almost identical to its predecessor, the biggest change being the head sculpt, which is no longer trying to emulate the vintage look, taking on a more modern approach (OVAs Mazinger Z if I'm not mistaken). It's an alteration, but the figure is just as good. It's a bit a different with the SRC, as there are some design choices that just don't click with me.. like the weird-looking connection between thighs and waist and the slightly-too-big chest plates. Yep, those count as downsides to me, but I can tolerate them because the figure also sports very good articulation, it's a tradeoff (would've liked a better-looking figure, oh well). SRC Great Maz is even worse, I almost can't stand the pin-head design they went with, which seems unjustified to me. Still, the articulation is nice, the Thunder Break FX look cool, so I'll end up getting one. Of course, I wouldn't just settle for the SRC: the GX-02R is way better looking (almost perfect), so that's on the list too. Accuracy in design must be pursued, I like when companies do that. But that doesn't mean we can't have different, less faithful renditions of the character as well  as long as we keep in mind what the "canon", the standard model is. Also.. if we go by your definition of anime accuracy, TMZ, then the head on the SRC Great Mazinger is anime accurate. There must've been several scenes where the head was drawn smaller than usual (as there were scenes where it was bigger than it should've). |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 7, 2015 0:04:52 GMT -5
I totally agree with the different designs through the years analogy. The first Chogokin Mazinger figure was indeed horrendous by today's standards. I also understand that companies have to do what is necessary to make figures more marketable, like altering the design to accommodate for better articulation, or even gimmicks. What I don't like is when companies just change the design just for the sake of changing them - for no reason at all. You know, like they did with most of the SRC figures. Some where left as anime accurate as they could after including the articulation, like Dai Guard, Mazinkaiser SKL, and even the recent God Sigma. But many others saw their classic designs altered, like Mazinger Z, Grendizer, Shin Mazinger, Gurren Lagann, and the list goes on and on. So, if I could come up with a way to make the SRC Mazinger resemble the anime character (from the OVA at least) more closely, with my super limited resources and know-how, why couldn't (or should I say WOULDN'T) Bandai or another company do the same? No, not the same - do it BETTER, with all their resources at readily hand? Like I said, I feel people would rather have an accurate representation of their favorite characters (Hot Toys anyone?), so why not make them as such? Unless, the companies do not want to - which I think goes against what people would like (Hot Toys anyone?)... Now, to address your anime accurate Great Mazinger comment, I don't recall any scene in which Great Mazinger had a head with proportions as small as the SRC Great Mazinger does - unless it was a "perspective view" shot. Now, if that is what Bandai was going for, like they did with the extra SRC Mazinkaiser "Perspective view" sword, then Bandai nailed it to perfection. Unfortunately, it doesn't work well in all other situations. }D |
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Post by Mechanical Flesh on Jun 7, 2015 5:12:11 GMT -5
Now, to address your anime accurate Great Mazinger comment, I don't recall any scene in which Great Mazinger had a head with proportions as small as the SRC Great Mazinger does - unless it was a "perspective view" shot. Now, if that is what Bandai was going for, like they did with the extra SRC Mazinkaiser "Perspective view" sword, then Bandai nailed it to perfection. Unfortunately, it doesn't work well in all other situations. }D I remember some scenes where only the upper half of Great Mazinger was shown, or even better, some others where we see only the upper chest and the head. "Gimme a close-up, Jerry!"  And in those instances, many times, Great Mazinger's head looked incredibly small, resting upon its giant shiny-black potato-looking chest. Maybe it looked even smaller than what we got with the SRC. But, as I said, I also remember a scene where Great Mazinger was tied to a giant cross by a sentooju of the demon army (ghost army? whatever), well, in that moment its head was huge. Like, GA-05 huge, I'm not kidding. Found an image from one of the last episodes of the series, not quite what I was looking for, but good enough:  |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 7, 2015 10:53:26 GMT -5
Awesome picture there! I may be wrong, but I think the artist was trying to do a perspective view that didn't worked out very well. But you nowl
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 7, 2015 10:59:25 GMT -5
Awesome picture there! I may be wrong, but I think the artist was trying to do a perspective view that didn't worked out very well. But you nowl f**king cellphone... I swear I'm gonna smash it against the wall!  anyway, I was trying to type: But you know how the consistency of drawing the characters was on those old super robot anime. Funny thing is that now a tiny head is backed by anime accuracy - since it did show in the anime like that. }D |
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Post by Mechanical Flesh on Jun 7, 2015 12:00:34 GMT -5
But you know how the consistency of drawing the characters was on those old super robot anime. Funny thing is that now a tiny head is backed by anime accuracy - since it did show in the anime like that. }D Yeah. Well, it looked like that only during brief moments in some episodes, the majority of the time everything was correctly proportioned. And that's what I tend to call anime-accurate, when the figure resembles the robot the way it looked most of the time. Thankfully, the SoC version(s) do look a lot better. Speaking of the SoC versions, I think I'm in the right thread when asking this: is it possible to use the GX-02R's Scramble Dash on GX-02's back? I'd do so only because the one that comes with the GX-02R looks better (I don't care about the wings-extending-out gimmick). |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 7, 2015 13:43:01 GMT -5
Yes, you can use the GX-02 Scrambler Dash and Big Booster on the GX-02R. As far as anime accurate, when the figure resembles how it appears at any given time in the screen it's hard to deny it is anime accurate. Just like that capture with the tiny heads... someone tells me the SRC GM tuny head is anime accurate AND shows me that capture, and I can do nothing but to agree - because, as ugly and dumb as it looks, it was in the anime like that. }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 11, 2015 23:30:13 GMT -5
 "I got this". }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 12, 2015 15:44:53 GMT -5
...  }D |
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Post by magengar on Jun 12, 2015 20:25:07 GMT -5
^ ^ ^ Great Maz got that Jealous look on his face.  You gonna do him up with the same mod job like you did with Z? Do it! It would be awesome! You've already done up Kaiser, and now Maz... ...may as well complete the set with a mod job for Grt Maz, and Grendizer. zozo-mag |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 12, 2015 22:41:55 GMT -5
Thinking about it, thou Great Mazinger would be quite more difficult due to the fins on its thighs.  }D |
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Post by magengar on Jun 13, 2015 5:29:22 GMT -5
Thinking about it, thou Great Mazinger would be quite more difficult due to the fins on its thighs. }D Copy the original thighs to a resin casting, and then work on the resin version. You can also try making a scratch-build mock model of the thighs, using JB Weld Plastic Epoxy Putty... ...I bought some of this putty yesterday evening after work, and I haven't tried it yet. It has a working time of 20 minutes, and cures rock-solid in 60 minutes. If that putty is too fast to work with, try making a thigh with its fin... sculpting it from a glob of plaster spackling compound (the stuff used for patching holes in drywall). It has a slower working time, then you can sand it smooth and seal it with acrylic paint so that you can create a silicone rubber mold with it to cast you a resin copy of the new thigh. Air-dry clay would be better, because it has a longer working time and you can still sculpt it while it's drying to hardness. After it dries rock-hard, you can seal it with acrylic paint and then create a rubber mold for it to cast a resin thigh. For the rubber mold I recommend Alumilite HS3, or the Smooth-On mold making brands. However, if you made your SRC Mazinger-Z's thighs from a 3D print... make a copy of the file and work on the copy, and save it as a thigh for Grt Mazinger... ...just add a fin to the thigh and tweak the thigh to fit Grt Mazinger's scale requirements. zozo-mag |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 14, 2015 23:01:23 GMT -5
The problem with the Great Mazinger thigh fins is that they need to rotate in order for the thighs to look properly when posed in different positions. It can be done, but it will not be an easy task. Today I finished painting the bicep armor.  Tomorrow, I'll tackle the thigh armor. Can't wait to be done with this figure so I can continue with the other projects I have. Oh, and of course, the now mandatory sketch filter!  My favorite filter of them all! Makes me want to start my own Manga. }D |
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Post by TheMazingerZ on Jun 16, 2015 14:59:31 GMT -5
The custom Bandai Super Robot Chogokin Mazinger Z is done! Here it is next to the original SRC Mazinger Z:    Now all that is left is a couple of paint touch-ups, and the Scrander. }D |
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Post by magengar on Jun 16, 2015 22:15:16 GMT -5
The custom Bandai Super Robot Chogokin Mazinger Z is done! Here it is next to the original SRC Mazinger Z: Now all that is left is a couple of paint touch-ups, and the Scrander. }D WOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!! Compared to the original SRC Mazinger figure, your version looks so PERFECT from head to toe! Also, at first glance I almost thought it was the Mechanic Collection Maz model kit figure, because of those white limbs. Looking at both of them in that photo, the original SRC Maz now looks like the Hong Kong "jumbo machinder" bootleg as shown here...  Photo courtesy of CollectionDXBonus points for tireless attention to detail and impeccable presentation! zozo-mag |
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