Battle Rex

Produced by Bandai in 1999, this is the First Grade RX-78-2.
I wanted to finish this suit in a powder baby blue color scheme
to add sometime to the build and hone my amateur Gundam skills, in hopes have having to it takes to properly execute a Perfect Grade build.

Being a first grade this does not have and poly caps, and is a great build to understand the mechanics of a basic kit. Construction is simple, but detail can extend the build time exponentially.

I am very happy with the way it turned out, and it put some valuable experience in the books. I think do full paint on an entry level should be a pre cursor for any Gunpla customizer.

Gundam Zen: I did get a few questions about “throwing away” the sticker sheet and decided to post a picture as an example. The first two pictures in the gallery below are from a 1/100 Buster Gundam illustrating how a nice paint scheme blows away foil stickers.

The HG 144 Calamity Gundam GAT-X131 with pictorial gallery.

Continuing my venture into the Zen of Gundam, I had the chance to pick up the Calamity Gundam. Appealing right from the start do to it’s dual back mounted cannons, and sexy curves. I do not usually groove on the 1/144 scale, but this build may have changed my mind. Just because it’s a 1/144 doesn’t mean you will spend less time. Intricate painting awaits anyone with this piece. The first lesson of Gundam Zen is to take a look at the foil stickers that are intended to be placed on certain areas like gun barrels and chest pieces, and throw them away.

Well, not literally throw them away, but put them to the side and place you order for a set of Gundam markers, or break out those uncanny little jars of enamel paint. Painting the model greatly extends the time it takes to build, and (at least for me) gives me a better sense of fulfillment upon completion.

Pictured below with an action base, the build was pleasant and took longer than I had envisioned. I have also discovered that using air brush paint works wonders where you want a flat and even coat which can be hard to attain with enamel (little jar) paint. I find the water based paints to be more forgiving, and they really work well with a brush. Another little tip:

Sharpie Markers work very well for panel lining, the standard issue official Bandai Gundam panel line marker provides a flat finish while the sharpie will provide a gloss finish. Not all markers are created equally, thus giving you even more control on how you want your panel lining to appear. For a 1/144 High Grade, this kit ranks high and is a great value for the money you fork out. Pick it up.

Recently I have been doing a ton of Gundam! I have almost every Zoid that I desire, and found myself longing for the the building aspect of the hobby. It was time to dust off the airbrush and get to work. I “do” my Gundam, a lot different than I do Zoids.

With Gundam, a complete collection is almost (if not) impossible to complete. (When I talk about “complete” I am referring the OG 1978 RX-78 200 scale glue required releases.) So in my mind, I do not OCD much about “sets”, or completing a release, which is a nice “release”. I started with a couple kits, and did nothing more than some panel lining but enjoyed it so immensely that I longed for more.

It was at this point that I discovered what I call the “Zen of Gundam”. Some may call it obsessive, others may refer to it as compulsive, but there is just something about tinting colors, worrying about sprue marks, and completing a model kit with hundreds of pieces that draws me to the Gunpla hobby. I almost enter a state of bliss where not much else matters when I sit down for a session. It has been awhile since I have actually taken pictures and did a review so for my latest build I busted out the camera, and decided to update this site with a Gundam category which I hope you enjoy.

So the first “serious” build was the Master Grade version of the Neo Hong Kong Mobile Fighter GF13-001NHII.
I have not really viewed too much of the Anime, and I base what I buy on aesthetics, which is a huge departure from my previous world of Zoid collecting. The MG version of this kit was a great build, the arms can and will get a bit tricky and special attention should be given when assembling the joints.  Of course I am still a Gundam rookie, so this is just my perspective (I can build Liger legs in my sleep, lol).

I did order a set of Gundam Markers and had the opportunity to put them to work in this kit. The set I purchased was a Musha SD Gundam s
that came with a nice assortment of metallic colors including the classic gold and silver. The metallic red went nicely in the grooved shoulders
of the NHII, and I spruced up some of the inner working by applying gold. The gold trim really did work wonders when posing the piece, especially when appendages expose inner joint workings.

I also had the opportunity to paint the pilot figure, I did decide to depart from the standard color scheme and do think he came out well with more of a matching scheme. When finished the kit offers so many different choices for positioning, I am posting some of the better shots. Overall this kit gets high marks from me, and should be picked up by any avid Gunpla model fan. I am slowly craving a Perfect Grade, as always should you have any interesting MG or even a PG hit me up!

Hello and welcome! I am starting a new category here on brex.com titled “The Things I Find”. I have wanted to do this for quite some time, and and I hope it proves to be an interesting read. As many of you know, I have always been a treasure hunter, a modern day pirate pillaging thrift stores, garage sales, and estate sales. I hope to update this section with some of my more interesting and unique finds, I hope you enjoy!

This past week was a nice one, with a good variety of discoveries. First was a hockey table, as I passed it by I didn’t give it a second look due to the stickers and pieces looking so nice, I knew it couldn’t be more than a few years old. But with the well running dry at that stop, I decided to take a minute to examine it. Upon checking out the actual playing pieces, I decided it was older than it appeared, the metal hockey sticks were a dead give away, and the “Made in Finland” was also a major indication that this piece was not of this time period. Into the truck it went.

This is a large piece that plays almost like a foosball table. Each knob is connected to a rod and can be pushed, pulled, and rotated by hand allowing the hockey players to move within the rink. Underneath the board, the rods are connected to a series of gears that allow the hockey players to rotate and simulate that “real gaming” experience.  I did a little bit of research online which yielded almost no results.

I did manage to find a sole seller wanting over $400.00 for his unit, which had a broken knob and some of the players missing sticks. To my amazement, this piece works wonderfully well and has the full set of players!

It’ll be interesting to see what this brings at auction, I bet the nostalgia factor is high as people will remember playing this set during their childhood. I would love to see what type of monster box housed this unit, and what the retail price is on something that was produced in Finland.

Further on down the road, the timing was perfect as a store worker started to unload left over hobby store stock. I swooped in like a bird of prey on the still factory wrapped glistening boxes of gold. Indeed they were Bachmann and Life Like N-Scale model railroad pieces. Not just the regular old house and cow, these are cool. I’m talking 1985 Pizza Hut and Burger King cool. Best of all, they are still mint and retain the original factory price tag from a local hobby store that closed down about a decade ago. I wonder where these sat for this long…….

Rounding out this edition is a nice Jack in the Box. I like items that have a distinctly odd feel. You know that down home feeling of innate evil? I think the following Clowny friend fits the bill quite nicely, and will be sure to take his place in a collection of oddities somewhere in the world.

I can’t resist putting up the Playmobil set. I have never understood the fascination that abounds these. It seems to be more European focused, but it still confounds me. This one is unique in that someone rode it till the wheels feel off. Literally the only thing missing here are the wheels…

In closing, I am happy to report that I did actually find a Mangodemon. I have been wanting to get into the Manglord realm for awhile now. While the Zoids still remain packed up and in their Kevlar coated boxes hidden in a secret location, I will finally have a good reason to check the mail like a little kid again. When he arrives, I will do a small write up, and should you find any, be a friend and let’s trade!

Until next week, thanks for reading!

Bastards. Ebay and PayPal are bastards. You try and do the right thing, follow all the rules, earn a living that allows you to stay home with your children and you get fucked!! With funds being tight due to my wife just finishing nursing school and awaiting a job as an RN, Ebay has become the main source of our family’s income. Sounds simple enough, right? Nope. Why, you ask? See the first sentence of this entry…

Not only has Ebay changed all of their policies to be anti-seller, including allowing buyers to do and say anything they want, yet only allowing sellers to leave positive feedback, now the blood-suckers want me to 1) sell my item, 2) kiss the buyers ass, 3) ship my item and then, the kicker: 4) wait for 21 MOTHER FUCKIN’ days for MY MOTHER FUCKIN’ money to be released to me!!! So  currently, there is $557.66 sitting in limbo whilst  I am forced to make Ramen noodles yet again for lunch.

Oh but wait, there’s more. Because the only way to get the bastards to release MY money to me is to ship the item. Guess what? Shipping costs MONEY! MY MONEY!! So Ebay “graciously” has allowed me to put shipping labels on “credit” until MY MONEY is released. Thanks, Ebay. Except apparently they forget to mention that this is not the case for International shipments. And I bet you can guess what type of shipment I printed a label for today, can’t you? Yep. International. So $46.12 gets deducted from my bank account rather than MY MONEY that Ebay and PayPal are holding. And since $557.66 of MY MONEY is in PayPal and NOT my bank account, the $52.72 that IS in my bank account is now going to become $6.60. And 3 phone calls to the fabulous customer service representatives at PayPal, what with their uber easy to understand accents and uncomfortable computer-generated pauses and responses, were super successful. Not. “Sorry this happened to you” and “Sucks to be you” and “You can suck on your $46.12 shipping label and die” was the gist of it. Oh, but don’t worry, “this is happening to millions of bay users right now. It is not only you” Oh, well THAT make me feel so much better. Again, thanks Ebay.

Que: high-powered NY attorney, class action lawsuit awaits.

A. At what point does compromising personal happiness become detrimental to ones own fulfillment and happiness? When risk can only be justified by the person performing said risk to make said person happy is considered “abstract” or out of the “socially” acceptable risk range that risk is perceived as and considered deviant and unacceptable by society.

Of Considering outside factors that can contribute and manipulate the personal risk equation.

1.Must be consider but the weight at which they contribute can also vary by person and spiritual values , culture, and ethnicity.

B. The overwhelming theme running through and dominating the risk factor equation seems to base the most value on producing what is considered beneficial for the sum of the population. Health care workers seem to be (for the most part) exempt from calculated risk as their practice tends to be self sacrificial and to benefit the greater general population even when the risk equation could in fact jeopardize their personal family and (in most cases) what’s considered socially unaccepted risks.

C. Where does this line blur? The psychological factors contributing to taking calculated risks in a professional vs. recreational manner seem to be separated by not only what’s socially acceptable but what could potentially benefit the entire population therefore increasing each and every members chance of benefiting from risk taking professions including but not limited to health care professions, fire fighting personal, and law enforcement officials.

D. Taking another look at this fading line we must also factor in for profit risks in non human beneficial services. Dangerous profession in which the risk factor seems prominent but not beneficial or even necessary to the preservation of humanity. Deep sea fishing in arctic weather or piloting commercial aircrafts fall into this category.

1. For profit exploitation and exemption from nominal vs. minimal risk and socially accepted normal psychological risk levels seems to dissipate even further when humans enter a variety of sports arenas.

E. Risk taking has to be psychologically engrained and probably  genetic with levels varying greatly from individual to individual. Society has a massive impact on how individuals who participate in risk taking behavior are labeled depending on not only what is acceptable, but what will give the greater payoff for personal preservation and pleasure.

1. In relation to keeping venomous species the risk factor line is almost invisible and in most cases one sided. When venomous are kept in standards that can be duplicated by the personal hobbyist, the act of keeping these animals is often seen by the rest of society  as purely deviant. Just as one accepts the risks and benefits of modern personal transportation which could never truly be a controlled environment due to a variety of chaotic outside forces including, but not limited to intoxicated drivers.

2. In essence the desire to keep potentially dangerous animals should be viewed with the same social acceptance as the weekend warrior rockclimber, scuba diver, and plane jumper. It’s not an inhert death wish which is a common misconception. In reality it’s quite the opposite and a great love and respect for not only the select, pleasurable  and/or profitable forms of life, but rather all forms of life.

Contemplating the notion, you tell me?

I’m not the one who’s so far away
when I feel the snake bite into my veins.
Never did I wanna be here again,
and I don’t remember why I came.

Candles raised by desire,
why I’m so far away.
No more meaning to my life,
No more reason to stay.

Freezing, feeling,
Breathe in, breathe in…
I’m coming back again…

I’m not the one who’s so far away
when I feel the snake bite into my veins.
Never did I wanna be here again,
and I don’t remember why I came.

Hazing clouds rain on my head,
Empty thoughts fill my ears.
Find my shade by the moonlight,
why my thoughts aren’t so clear.

Demons dreaming,
Breathe in, breathe in…
I’m coming back again…

I’m not the one who’s so far away
when I feel the snake bite into my veins.
Never did I wanna be here again,
and I don’t remember why I came.

I’m not the one who’s so far away
when I feel the snake bite into my veins.
Never did I wanna be here again,
and I don’t remember why I came.

I’m not the one who’s so far away
when I feel the snake bite into my veins.
Never did I wanna be here again,
and I don’t remember why I came.

I’m not the one who’s so far away
when I feel the snake bite into my veins.
Never did I wanna be here again,
and I don’t remember why I came.

Voodoo, voodoo, voodoo, voodoo,
voodoo, voodoo, voodoo.

So far away…
I’m not the one who’s so far away…
I’m not the one who’s so far away…
I’m not the one who’s so far away…

A huge thanks goes out to those who sent in emails, and even took the time to send Bella a gift to aid in her recovery. Wrapped up in legal shit still, give thanks to those you have, and to those who have your back. Zoid.US will never die! A special thanks to Mr. Jerry Wang, woot woot!

All apologies that I have not checked back in. I have been spending time with Bella, trying to support Kara in her school diligence, and dealing with the depressive change in seasons all at once. School is also demanding more than I can give at the moment and I am wrapped up in a legal battle that I have not said too much about until I win.

Bella seems to be back to almost normal save for the wicked back scar and the wincing  in pain in the car whenever we go over a sizable bump. From the start of this whole ordeal I have never mentioned the “C” word as I tend to be highly superstitious. (My doctors call it “OCD”).

I read, Kara reads, and we still feel either the same or worse when we finish. The tumor or to be more specific the “Ependymoma” that Bella had was totally removed and we finally received the final grade, which was grade number 2. Now lets’s go over a list of a few things I find to be odd about this whole situation:

1. And foremost I believe that absolutely no five year old should have to go through any kind of shit like this.

2. Ependymoma is usually found in the brain, how it got that far down is a complete mystery, as it is usually found in adults in this location (90% of childhood ependymoma is in the brain).

3. The second tumor which had contrast and masqueraded itself during the MRI to be a replicate of the first just disappeared. The current theory is that this was just blood that was re-absorbed.

4. The chances of getting an Ependymoma would be about the same chance you would have of winning the lottery.

5. The Ependymoma always tend to come back, and when they do they tend to come back as the next worse level which makes them a “C” word, and I have concluded that this is why it’s so divided as to whether or not  call it the “C” word initially.

6. Most of the research Kara, Myself, and the Neurosurgeon can find on this particular case is 15 to 20 years old only highlighting how rare this type of Ependymoma really is.

Now, we have an appointment with oncology on Oct.29th to discuss which direction we will take. No matter what happen,s life has been changed forever. The MRI machine will become a permanent fixutre in all of our lives and somehow focusing on health and having health has returned.

From my research, it’s likely that Bella will have to have radiation treatment. Now this is good news compared to contrasting radiation with chemo therapy. The thing about the Ependymoma monster is that they tend to return like a bad habit and the key to slaying this demon is small doses of radiation preventing their eventual return. Prognosis depends upon a variety of things including but not limited to location of the tumor and  if and how much of it could be removed.

Bella’s location was optimal but there is still a chance it could have “dropped” cells which opened the doors for radiation treatment. We also spoke with the initial Neurologist who called to let us know her iron levels were low. Generally not a good thing, this laid to rest the daunting thought of neurofibromatosis which normally does not carry very positive  prognosis rates (this would have been manifested with high iron levels).

I hope this update gives a bit more insight. I could go on and on about how bad this sucks and the other negatives results something like this produces in a family environment, but I wont. My goal is to have this documented to show Bella in 20-30 years how much of a scare we really did have with this.

Did anyone notice there is s new section on the mothersite? I was debating for awhile on putting up the OER but the arrival of Krark made the choice easy. Thanks for reading and the next update should contain all the Salamanders or a review of a prototype redler.

In conclusion I would like to thank everybody for their continued support, and apologize to those who haven’t thought I have been myself as of late…

Still BattleRexLess,

-Seth

P.S. The staples came out a week ago this Tuesday. As usual, Bella was a trooper and shed but a single tear. The scar on her back is healing nicely, there may not be any need for that tattoo we had previously discussed ;P Hopefully this whole event will fade as nicely and quickly as this scar has.