Today I continued integration of the forearm parts: A few attempts to check and correct the alignment of the parts, and then the addition of epoxy putty to start making this integration more permanent.

This work was definitely completed on the night of the 17th, and not the morning of the 18th. By no means did I fall asleep before beginning this work.

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This project has a long history. I take some pride in the fact that, way back in 2005 or something, I drew up plans for this thing on graph paper and for the most part, I think what I drew in those plans back then holds up. I think I nailed it. That said, from time to time a detail does come up where I think it benefits from a bit of revision. Sometimes this realization comes long after I’ve built physical model parts for that portion of the design. The forearms are one such area: In principle the forearms on the Zaku Kai are pretty simple, but in practice I find it a bit difficult to execute that design in a way I’m really happy with.

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I’ve run into some trouble with the mold rubber I was using to try to produce a new mold of the “spike fringe” part for the shoulder pauldron. While I wait for yet another new mold to cure, I’ve decided to find another part of the project to work on, to keep moving forward. I wound up finding some existing molds of another part and worked on casting some parts I needed from them. Unfortunately, due to the age of some of my supplies that has proved problematic as well.

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I’m continuing my “hundred day challenge” to rebuild the habit of working on model projects and re-engage with my Zaku Kai scratch build, a project which has dragged on forever and which I desperately want to finish. Tonight I geared up to make my new shoulder pauldron sculpt.

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My Zaku Kai Project dates all the way back to my early days in the hobby. It has stood for years as one of the things I most want to finish, but find most difficult to consistently work on. I’ve decided to take a real crack at wrapping it up, in the form of a “100 day challenge”.

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I have a 3D printer that I’ve been building for several years now – For a while I was working on it quite regularly and making all kinds of progress, but at a certain point family obligations started to demand more of my time and so for a period of about 3 years I didn’t work on the machine at all. I was meaning to get back to it for a while but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and for a while I couldn’t go to the makerspace where I store and work on the project at all. Between the frustrations I faced in the project, my inability to go work on it, and a general frustration in the modeling hobby and a desire to become a productive modeler again, I decided to buy a 3D printer that I could use to print models now, and which could complement the other printer later.
After a fair bit of deliberation I decided on a low-cost resin printer. The great thing about resin printers (even low-cost ones) is that they can produce very smooth and finely-detailed prints. I figured that once my other printer (the typical plastic-extruded-through-a-hot-nozzle FDM type) was done a resin printer would still be useful for common needs like hands, as most mecha kits’ included hands are garbage. I figured I could take the hands from my Zaku Kai model, which I created in Blender back in 2007 or so, and have a good starting point for a first print.
Unfortunately, I made those hands back in 2007 or so. They were terrible. I had to start over. It took me a while but I finally got the new hands to a state where I felt ready to print them.

My hobby pursuits have been in an extended slump. My last progress update on my Zaku Kai build was seven years ago. Stagnation in the hobby and an unfortunate encounter with Plamo King Jackass and his League of Pretentious Shitbags sent my self-confidence through the floor, and a horrible destructive mishap in my workspace destroyed my gear, making it even harder to get that groove back. In short, as far as my relationship with the hobby has been concerned, things have mostly sucked in recent years.
But when you fall off the horse, you have to get right back up and eat that horse.

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In my last post, way back in March, I briefly relayed the story of the basement flood that destroyed a bunch of stuff in my old work room, most notably a few significant pieces of gear like my computer’s UPS and my air compressor. I floated the rather optimistic projection that I could have the place “up and running in a week or so” – instead the process of recovering from that incident has dragged on for most of a year. But a lot has changed, too. I’ll talk a bit about where my 2018 went and then delve into my most recent efforts at setting up my new workspace.

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Recently as part of an effort to improve my figure-painting skills for dioramas I’ve been practicing with various 1:35 scale military figures and gaming minis. I can’t quite say I’ve got the hang of it yet but I’m on my way, and now starting on the first gaming mini I intend to use for actual play:

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