WIP- 1/8 Alita with Trenchcoat

[Arieanna]

While waiting for some epoxy putty to dry on my scratchbuilds, I decided I needed something diferent and since Ishtar is just a bunch of sanding at the moment I decided I'd do a test fit and start the prepwork for Alita. I'll take her as far as the grey primer I think then she'll definately be saved for an airbrush.

Originally I was planning on doing her so that I'd be able to change out the arms and trenchcoat and display the bare arms, but after messing with the coat I realise that will be a major pain to do without having a major chance to wreck the paint when i do it. So i'll just have to get another copy of her to build without the coat.

I did get her at E2046 since it was the only place I have seen her in stock. I have yet to stumble across her on YJ :sad: Over all the casting is ok. There were some faint black lines along the seams so I know she was one of the first from the mold set. Unfortunately the mold was offset slightly to there will need some extra work to even things out. I darkened the lines with black permanent marker so it would be easier for me to make sure i get everything.

Her trenchcoat is slightly warped so that I'll need to add to her left bicep to get it to touch the coat. Right now there is a good size gap. I'm also going to have to try and attempt to heat her right elbow and bend it so her hand actually goes into the hair the way its suposed to.

It also seems as if there are 2 small pieces missing that go at the back of her knees. There are big gaps plus dots on for lining up something else on both the lower and upper portion of her legs. The check-off list I got from E2046 shows all the parts are there though so I don't know what happened. Either way I'll be rebuilding this small area so it doesn't look so odd.

At least she is free-standing so it's really well balanced.

Sorry for the pictures. They're a bit blurry.

Reference Pic-
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/eb1fa2fe3a16ad35791f1369b2b6d9c5_6.jpg

Parts Pic-
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/BattleAngelAlita.jpg

Build UP-
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/TestFit1.JPG
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/TestFit2.JPG

The wierd missing piece. It's kind of hard to see but if you look closely you'll see a gap behind her knee that is totally out of place. When I take her apart and start sanding more I'll get better pics but I didn't want to mess with that trenchcoat at the moment.
http://www.gkjapan.com/gallery/files/4/missingpiece.JPG

[Joa]

The missing pieces aren't really missing; you have to make them yourself (as you can see in the desctiption) ;)

It's simply supposed to be rods. I made the ones for my kit using brass tubing in order to simulate hydrualic pistons.

You should also use this as an opportunity to pin the upper and lower legs together securely.

Good luck! =)

[Arieanna]

ok cool. good to know. Thanks Joa! :D

I was about to go through all my mangas to try and find a pic of the back of her legs. lol

[Masa]

I'd pin it like Joa mentioned... but cover the pins with this - springs! :) The military and mecha modelers use them all the time with good results. I'm sure you can find something like it in model shop or craft shop near you. If not, you can always add it to your next order at HLJ or Rainbow10.

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYMS06

[Arieanna]

oo thats a good idea! ^^ definately going to have to pick some up!

[Arieanna]

Well seeing as my hubby called me from work right as his phone was about to die to tell me that the offer we'd put on a house was countered but.... <phone dead>, i needed something to work on.

Since I've had Alita pinned just sitting on my work space I decided to do some of the prep work on her. As I mentioned before she is an E2046 recast and honestly, the more I work on her the more disappointed I am in the casting.

There are actually double seam lines on almost every piece, so obviously the shop decided not to clean up the seams from the master they used to make the mold. Many of the seams lines are pretty heavy telling me the mold was offset as well.

I'm almost wondering if the resin they used was going bad as well since there are some odd color distortions in some palces. The resin in these places is more yellowish brown than the rest of the resin.

The resin itself is ok quality, better than thai recasts surely, though not as good as a couple other recasts I have. Definately far from the quality of the couple original kits I own.

I've done a couple hours worth of prep work so far and decided to prime some pieces to see how much more I had to do. It's definately going to be quite a bit more unfortunately. :wacko:

Anyway, I should be getting my new digital camera tomorrow so I can take some pics of the semi-prepped and primed Alita to try and point out some of the flaws.