[WIP] MG Star Build Strike X LED WIP 3

I'm already on the final stretch with this project. Since I've already rewired both plavsky wings so that they have the same light intensity, I've also done the same with some parts like the universe booster.

I've also finished wiring the connections at the back. What I did was to separate the connections for the main body, universe booster, and the plavsky wings so that I can still disassemble them for easier storage and transportation.

Now that all mods are done, it's time to put them all together and test them out.

Read More

[WIP] MG Star Build Strike X LED WIP 2

It took quite some time to update this project. Last time, I was working on the plavsky wings. The reason it took this long was that lighting those wings took a lot of work and LEDs.

Anyway, since I've already finished wiring the main body, it's time to assemble them.

To make the wiring easier, I didn't bother hide most of the wiring inside the body. I concentrated on passing all the wires towards the back area near where the backpack connects to the body. There I will use a connector so that the backpack is still removable.

Now that the main body is done, it's time to get back on the back pack. Last time I worked on this, I've only finished wiring about half of the backpack.

After finishing wiring the backpack, I noticed that the newly wired parts look brighter than the old ones. Maybe because they're from a different batch of LEDs. Just when I thought I was done, I had to rewire most of the backpack.

Going back to the plavsky wings, I've finally finished wiring both of them. unfortunately they have the same issue with the backpack.

The newly wired wing looks brighter than the older one. I'll have to rewire the other wing. It took 32 LEDs to wire each wing.

Here's a pic of the 0603 LED used.

This looks much better.

Read More

[DISPLAY] RG Amazing Red Warrior

Painting is finally finished. It isn't perfect but this project turned out better than what I expected.

I do plan on putting decals, maybe that for a different time.

Read More

[WIP] RG Amazing Red Warrior WIP 4

It's been quite a while since I worked on this kit. Primarily because I haven't got the time and skill to start painting my kits. But thanks to the previous long weekend, I finally had the chance to setup my airbrush set and start painting this.

I first primed the parts using an industrial grade primer in a spray can.

I'm using a DIY airbrush set. You can see I have multiple pumps connected together just so I can get the pressure I needed. This setup actually ended being more expensive than just buying a hobby grade air pump. But I don't want to waste any more money so I'm making the most out of this.

I'm using polyurethane paints, commonly used in automobiles. I got this from a paint shop where the owner is also a plamo builder.

I've managed to paint most of the kit during the weekend.Though there a few rough spots and some paint inconsistencies, I'm really satisfied with what I achieved here.

Read More

[WIP] Custom LED unit

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own this design. Credit goes to Steezy(you can look him up on Youtube or Facebook) for the design and specifications of the parts used.

Since this is my 100th post, I'd like to commemorate this event by sharing with you something that even you guys can do yourself quickly and easily.

Bandai's LED units are really expensive. And it's really hard to justify buying those specially for someone like me whose experienced with LED lighting and that I know how the stuff works. I do like to use one of these every once in a while, for my kits that don't really need to be/ aren't slated to be LED wired.

I've actually been trying to replicate Bandai's LED unit for quite some time. The main issue with this was the unit's size. The unit needs to have the same dimensions, if not smaller, than the original to fit inside the kits. I originally planned on replicating the the same design Bandai uses. Same batteries, same dimensions. Unfortunately, 3d printing or laser cutting isn't accessible to me and/or it's just too expensive for something like this.

After some research around the internet, I found Steezy's video on Youtube detailing how how build your own LED unit. Since this design is already very simple, only 4 pieces including the base that will contain the circuit, and I wouldn't want to reinvent the wheel, I went ahead and tried it myself.

The key to this whole design is the CR1220 button cell battery and its battery holder. I think this type is the closest size to Bandai's LED unit which uses 2 LR41 button cell batteries.

As I've said earlier, the design only uses 4 parts: The LED, switch, battery holder, and battery. The circuit can't get any simpler, one thing to note is to follow the polarity of the battery and the LED. Positive side of the battery connects to positive terminal of the LED, same as with the negative side. Putting everything together, Its even smaller than Bandai's LED unit. I plan on putting some hot glue around the circuit to protect the circuit from moving, thus breaking the circuit and also to give it some more bulk.

Another benefit of this custom LED unit is the choice of light color. Bandai's LED unit comes in 4 colors: red, blue, green, yellow. I like using white LEDs because I have the superbright ones and I can just paint them with any clear color that I want. Or you can also use any color LED that's available. 

And here's a shot of the custom LED unit in action. Since the custom LED unit is a bit too small, there were plenty of space for it to move around so I secured it with some blu tack.

Read More

[WIP] HG Unicorn Gundam [Destroy Mode] WIP 4

We're down to the home stretch with this project.

Now that  all sections of the kit has been wired, it's now time to put everything together.

I started first with the upper body. At this point, it's important to make sure there is enough wire allowance for the articulation. As usual I'm wiring everything in parallel. Combine all the positive wires together same as with the negative wires. Once that's done, I'll have just one pair of wires going out the abdomen area that will be used to connect the upper and lower bodies together.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to take pics during wiring of the lower body. But it's just the same principle with the upper body, Just combine all the positive wires together, same as with the negative wires. 

Since I'm using the smaller 0603 SMD LEDs, there isn't much light in the clear pieces but still enough to spread light evenly. I've also put connectors on 3 locations, 1 on each foot and another underneath the crotch area near the action base connector. That way I have options how to hide the connection to the power supply depending on the way I want to display it. 

Now I just need to do a proper photo shoot of this. same as with my other completed projects.

Read More

[WIP] HG Unicorn Gundam [Destroy Mode] WIP 3

We're nearing the home stretch.

Continuing where I left off in the upper body, I proceed on working the chest area. Using the 0603 SMD LEDs were really helpful that now I can place LEDs in areas I was previously unable to. Now, lighting kits specially in 1/144 scale need less modding to fit the LEDs. Less mods means less plastic removed which equals more sturdy parts specially in the joints.

For the chest area, I used the back to back LEDs so that I could light up more areas of the chest pieces. Again, due to the size of the LEDs, aside from drilling the holes for passing the wires, no mods have been done on the parts. Previously I had to cut off as much plastic inside the chest to allow the LED to light as much area of the clear piece.

The shoulders were also quick and easy, I just glued an LED underneath the clear pieces.  

And that completes the pieces for the upper body.

For the waist area, the peg holes originally for the clear piece fits the LEDs quite nicely.

The front skirt area actually took a good amount of time during planning since it was a fairly large piece to be lit by a small LED. Though there were plenty of space behind the piece, the problem was finding the right position for the LED to light the whole piece. 

The crotch piece was fairly easy. I just glued the LED onto the frame part and ran the wires on opposite ends. This will be the start of me segregating the wires per polarity. Separating the wires on each side makes managing the wires easier.

Finishing the legs required the most amount of work. Each leg used 9 LEDs from upper leg down to the feet. There was also limited spaces inside that made managing the wiring more challenging.

There was just enough space to manage the wiring in the lower leg. good thing I was using very thin wires.

Passing the wires through the knee joints also challenging. I need to be able to pass the wires through the joint without sacrificing articulation and without putting too much strain on the wires that could damage them.

Last part was the upper leg area. this required 2 LEDs since I needed to light up 360 degrees of the part. Here it can be seen that I used 2 types of LEDs, a 0603 LED and a 3528 LED. The 0805 was used to light up the separate smaller clear piece while the 3528 LED was used to light up the other 3 sides.

Good thing I didn't get any issues putting the leg together, no parts were damaged beyond what was already there, articulation is still good and light looks good. It only appears too bright in the pictures but it's dimmer and more balanced in actual.

Now it''s time to put it all together..

Read More