Thursday, September 17, 2009

My Secret Obsession: Resin Model Kits

Let's start with a brief history:
For some reason, when I was a little kid I felt compelled to draw and color on the faces of my dolls. Little plastic toy figures got full make-overs, including a small bugs bunny figure I painted black and white. Around the age of 11 I got a ceramic Santa and painted him with much love and care...only to be knocked over by my parents while it dried on the room divider, breaking into several pieces.

Time went by and my hobbies turned to comics and video games. One particular time i remember running to the magazine store with my girlfriends after school(one of them being Hwan, lol) to drool over the long awaited sequel Final Fantasy 7.

I can't quite remember where, possibly the store 'Anime Crash' that I used to visit, but when I walked in, there was a Final Fantasy 7 box, and to my amazement, it was a plastic model kit. With my hobby reborn, an obsession started.

I had no prior experience or knowledge with these type of kits so I learned along the way. I knew enough to find a hobby store and purchase the paints listed in the pamphlet the kit came with, some putty, and glue. The store might have actually carried the paints, I don't recall, it was a long time ago. Remember, this was a time where the internet was different from today. No youtube to look up tutorials. I had to go to Japanese bookstores, follow the pictures in the magazines and learn Katakana so I can read names of kits, colors and such. Anyway, here they are, kits 1 and 2.

My first kits. I was 16 years old. Aeris was actually the first out the 2 I painted. I didn't put much concern into the base so I left it as it was.

Blurred the corner so you don't see the junk in my house. Lol!

The kit came with decals for the eyes. The first and only time I've ever used decals.

Cloud and Aeris where painted entirely by brush with Tamiya paints. I used most of the colors out of the jar and only used putty around Aeris' waist. I had no sanding tools but the kits where clean enough.

More kits to come!

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