The Chimera Borne

I decided to convert my "Tutorial in Progress" Unicorn project (otherwise known as "The Itch") into my BAKWC entry this November.

The Chimera is a mythological creature that Has the head of a Lion, the body of a Goat and the tail of a Dragon/Serpent, and is sometimes depicted by artists as having 3 heads (Lion, Goat and Dragon) and wings like that of a bat or dragon. I chose the Chimera more for its mythological meaning rather than the visual, though I might take a few elements of the mythos into the build

I've had additional modifications made on the Vfin assembly to make it stable and "thicker" on the forehead. The modifications have a secondary purpose.

Anyways, the flaws of the Unicorn continue to reveal themselves the further I dwell into the project. For an MG, it's quite strange that the Unicorn does not have crystal eye (the NG RF Astray had one, and so did the older 1/100 HG Wing mechas). The eyes are cut from the H-runner which is made of ABS, and thus prevent any "easy" LED modifications to be made. I wasn't planning on using the Destroy mode's face anyways so it wasn't much of an issue. With that I opted to give the Chimera a monoeye LED.

The modification is rather a simple one. I used a 1X2 surface mount LED, this one had rather small contact points that I crimped a little to be able to mount the 0.5mm koto springs I used for contact points.

I wanted a Red Monoeye, but the only color available with that size is green, so I cut a piece of transparent red runner, shaped it to fit the internal mask assembly and glued it directly over the LED. The resulting color was a bright orange, so I hand painted it with several coats Tamiya Clear Red (with 30 minutes of drying time in between for maximum adherence) and top coated it with Semco clear acrylic.

The result is actually very favorable. Will fix the light leaks, of course, as soon as I start painting.

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Also, I missed my HLJ/Tomopop Prize delivery yesterday.  It was a Saturday after all.  The Delivery guy left the receipt with my neighbor who gave it to me this morning.  Will be getting it hopeful on Monday.

Angelus Rising Part IX: Powering up the MonoEye

While working on the Unicorn improvements I got a chance to finish ALL the painful engravings on the Angelus' armor, but kinda screwed up the shield.  Sufficed to say that I'll be fixing that.  I'll start working on the diorama this week, and hopefully my plans for the dio will pan out.

Alternatively, I've been thinking on how to power the Monoeye and decided on a rather simple setup.  Instead of building an external power pack, I opted to use the main back pack to encase the batteries.  I've used two of the second to the smallest batteries I have on stock (each is 2mm thick).  I built a battery case by sandwiching four ample-sized pieces of 1mm plaplates together and carving out the middle to fit the diameter of the batteries.  I then cemented 0.5 mm at opposite sides to enclose the case and drilled a small hole underneath to help push the batteries out. 

For contacts, I used metal wafers used in electronic circuits.  These nifty little buggers come with connector modules or can be purchased as is.  I simply mounted it on the 0.5mm plates by punching slits on the plates inserting the legs, and securing it by bending the legs.  The bent part become the contact points.

I then added 1.0mm wave springs (which I now prefer over kotobukiya springs because the latter have the tendency to rust over time), and simply encased the setup between and withing the back pack frame.  The only modification done in this case is removing one of the connector pegs to fit the battery pack.

I'm still deciding if I'll include a micro switch in the setup, or simply employ a contact assembly as it is now.


The Monoeye Wiring.  I decided to be neater with this build by hiding the wiring altogether.  Since the Angelus' head frame is actually small, there wasn't really enough room to maneuver the wiring if I have decided to use springs (as I have done with the Impaler).  It's a good thing I was forced to use thin wires here because I don;t have to worry about the wires coming into contact and causing a short circuit.  I let the wire run inside the head cavity towards the back of the head. 

There's enough space between the head frame and the head armor to let the wire run through freely without being stressed.

From there, I simply routed the wires into the neck frame into the chest cavity, then out the lower back, just below the back pack mount. When mounted, the back pack hides the wires coming out.  I'll be mounting 1.0mm springs over the wires at this point for consistency.

Angelus Rising Part III: Of Horns and Wings

The Angelus Horn.  Like in most kits, the V-fins and horns are often the most easiest to modify or customize.  These are identifiers of those MS designs that sport them, and is most variable in protagonist machines.  The Sinanju's stock horn is very basic and is similar to the "stabilizer fin" of most Zakus and seem out of place in a slew of curvy and massive armor plates.

Scratchbuilding master Julius "Juju" Lim built a whole Sinanju using an MG Saz as a base which was also featured later on in an Issue of Dengeki.  I kinda like how he remodeled the Sinanju's horn and made it look organic.

But, rather than copy his redesign, I opted to design mine own that follows the Angelic theme I had in mind, well, sort of.  I usually start with a sketch, and with trial and error prototyping, arrived at this semi-final shape.

Angelus Rising Part II: The Revelation

The Rise of the Angelus.  A Major Update.  By now, a few people already have an idea what kit the Angelus is built on.  The Sinanju, by far, is my most favorite MS design (next is the GN-X, then the Exia), both in form and "functionality."  It has the perfect blend of lines and curves, and has a great overall balance.  My first Sinanju, the Grim Impaler, attests to that; it looks great out of the box, and better with the right color scheme even without modifications.

The Angelus technically is a year in the making, after I've shelved the Impaler X/Devil Wings idea.  I've now resurrected it and gave it a new call sign, as well as a new overall concept.  Like I mentioned before, this is a thematic, non-Gundam universe build, so I guess I'll have a few more raised eyebrows and condemnation from a few UC hardcores I know.

Lighting Up the Angelus' Mono-Eye.  LEDs have always been a dilemma for me mainly because it has been difficult to procure small enough SMT/SMC (Surface Mount) LEDs.  The smallest I could get so far were the standard 3mm bulbs, then I was able to find a few 1X2mm surface mounts at a cellphone shop at Baclaran, which later on proved a bit difficult to use because of its size (as in, they are almost flat, and their contacts are a tad too small for my taste).  Then a fellow modeler tipped me off to a shop near De La Salle Taft called e-Gizmo.  The shop sells a lot of nifty electronics stuff, surplus machine and board parts, robotics, and of course, LEDs.  Though their LED selection is still basically limited, they have more compared to other shops like Alexan and Deeco.

I got me a few 1X2mm Surface Mount LEDs, but it was these that got my interest.