Nausicaä with Kai

[LSP_Kevin]

So, I finished repainting the gun, and thought it looked OK. Not fantastic, but good enough for gubmnt work. Then I took photos of it. Yuck! It looks horrible. My eyes must be worse than I thought, as it still looks OK to the naked eye (well, I do wear glasses), but the hi-res on-screen close-ups tell a different story. I wasn't going to post the photo here out of sheer embarrassment, but I figure since I'm going to repaint it now for a 3rd time, I may as well:

 

 

Bear in mind that the photo shows it at roughly twice actual size, and I'd probably get away with it anyway, but I'm just not happy with it, and one of the things I'm trying to change about my modelling, is my habit of settling for less than I should at times. This is one of those times.

 

Kev

[Guest Peterpools]

Kev

Three times is a winner for sure and really the gun looks very good, There are times I wear my glasses, Optivisor ((highest magnification offered) and it still isn't enough

Keep 'em coming

Peter

[LSP_K2]

I can relate, Kev. Taking high res photos for updates, has probably improved my models a lot, as I now see boo boos in the photos that I had previously been unaware of. It's a good thing, I guess.

[LSP_Kevin]

I can relate, Kev. Taking high res photos for updates, has probably improved my models a lot, as I now see boo boos in the photos that I had previously been unaware of. It's a good thing, I guess.

 

I think ultimately it definitely is a good thing, but only if you take what you see and attempt to improve on it. Either way, it's certainly disheartening at first!

 

Kev

[Kahunaminor]

Interesting side line Kev,

 

I must admit I was a bit in the dark about the subject until Google was my friend. I have enjoyed other "manga" (Ghost in The Shell) That and the kids watching Wakfu have increased my knowledge base!

 

Yes, the camera doesn't lie damn it!

 

Regards

[LSP_Ray]

Giant chickens? Great. I just had a nightmare a couple days ago with chickens. I am betting on a repeat now...

 

Seriously, it looks like an interesting project, Kev. Look forward to it all painted up. Looks like it will make for an interesting canvas.

[LSP_Kevin]

Kent, Ray: thanks for the interest, fellas! I've stripped the gun of all the original paint, ready for another go. It'll probably be at least a few days before I can get to it, though, as I'm fully booked for the next little while.

 

I have, though, just scored a Bandai Laputa Flaptter kit on eBay. It's originally a Tsukuda kit, just like this one. Bandai bought up all their old moulds, so most (all?) of the Miyazaki kits in a Bandai box are from the original Tsukuda range. From Nausicaa, there's also the gunship, glider, and Ohm kits (that I'm aware of), and from Laputa, I think there might be a robot kit, but I'm not sure what else. The Bandai kits are surprisingly common, so perhaps their re-release was relatively recent.

 

Kev

[BloorwestSiR]

Hope to see more Kev.

 

There's also a tank that's crewed by a bunch of pigs. It's made by Tasca

 

https://starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/2337_162/172-bad-guy-akuyaku-1-go-all-crew-set-w20-pig-crew-figures.html

 

I'm not sure which film it's from but could be another interesting build.

 

 

The robot from Laputa is available although HLJ is showing it as out of stock. Aoshima make a couple kits too.

 

I know you mentioned you're not as interested in Porco Rosso but you may way to check out the 1/48 kit of the Savoia. It has a full interior on it and builds up really nicely. I'll have to dig mine out from wherever it is.

 

Carl

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks, Carl. It looks like that tank is not actually from any film, but a concept design book called Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Data Notes. I can't seem to work out much more about it than that.

 

Kev

[Lee White]

Thanks, John. The information on the box and instructions is almost entirely in Japanese, but I'm led to believe that the name of the kit is actually "Nausicaa with Horseclaw". I got Kai from the renamed Bandai release.

 

Kev

 

In that context, doesn't "Kai" mean "modified" or "improved", like in "Shiden Kai"?     

[Thunnus]

I think the gun looks great but I understand your decision to strip it down and give it another go.  

 

I built the Flaptter and Gunship kit for my two daughters, who are also Ghibli fans.  Very fun kits to build.  I actually like Isao Takahata's work a little more than Miyazaki's but that's like picking a favorite daughter... I love them both!  Did you get to see Princess Kaguya?  My daughter and I both cried at the end.

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks, John. I'm not aware of Isao Takahata's work to be honest, so I'll have to check him out. Can you recommend some?

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

No further progress on this one unfortunately, or at least, nothing on the actual model itself. I have, however, managed to wrestle my USB Blu-ray drive back off my daughter, which means I've been able to play the movie on my computer, and take screen grabs of relevant frames for later reference. I was initially mainly interested in the various colours involved, but as I made my way through the early scenes, I noticed that the kit depicts features that are simply not present in the movie. After scratching my chin for a bit (always helps), I came to realise that the kit seemed to have based the Nausicaa figure on this depiction that graces the cover of my Blu-ray disc:

 

 

Things like the tassels on the sleeves, and the exposed wrists under them, are simply not part of the character as drawn in the movie. The sleeves tuck into the gloves, and don't billow or expose the arms. Also, the cap/helmet in the kit has some sort of neck piece or flap at the rear, whereas in the movie, this is actually Nausicaa's hair! I'm going to remove the tassels, as they're fairly crudely rendered anyway, but leave the other things alone.

 

A closer examination of the colours reveals some interesting things, too. They shift around a lot, as previously mentioned, which is frustrating, but also gives me the freedom to fudge it. For example, the gun shifts from a very dark green to an almost Navy blue, but mostly isn't black (like I originally painted it). The nature of the medium also dictates that the colours are all fairly flat, but I'll be looking to create a more realistic outcome than the movie does - assuming my painting skills are up to the challenge!

 

Kev

[Thunnus]

The details on the model that do not show up in the anime may be sourced from the manga, which can be more detailed than the anime.

 

 

 

Thanks, John. I'm not aware of Isao Takahata's work to be honest, so I'll have to check him out. Can you recommend some?

 

Kev

 

Besides the recent Princess Kaguya, Grave of the Fireflies is probably his most recognized work.  It is the story of a young boy and his little sister trying to survive after the atomic bomb blast.  It is often brought up when there is discussion about the saddest or most depressing movie.  My personal favorite is Only Yesterday but that is probably colored by the nostalgia that it invokes in me from living in Japan as a small boy.

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks for the info, John. It was only after looking at some images of the manga that I realised that most of those extra or changed features I mentioned are actually present in the manga versions of the characters. So, it's clear that Tsukuda based their interpretation off the manga, not the movie. I'll try to adapt those features to represent the movie version, since that's what I'm familiar with. Or maybe I'll just leave them!

 

Kev