Lostagain,

Namba is in Osaka, on the south side of the JR loop.  It's just like Akihabara, "Otaku Paradise" as it was described to me by a resident.

I usually shop in Japan in the daytime, because when it gets dark I have this instinct to head to a family restaurant, then go back to the hotel for a relaxing bath and to gloat over the day's purchases while watching wacky Japanese game shows.

I only went out a couple of times at night - Kabukicho is not a place to be if you don't know what you are doing. But we did play Battletech one night and it was realy fun.  The advertisement proclaimed "More fun than riding a cow!"  The mechs kinda steered like them.

Last week I went to see Nausicaa at a local theater that is screening Miyazaki films.  It was the first time I saw it in the theater.  Although the animation looked a little dated (it came out in 1984) I enjoyed it immensely.

Seeing it on the big screen allowed me a better look at the aircraft too, so it gave me a boost of modeling incentive.  Okay so the Pejite Brig has no overhead windows above the cockpit, and the side cargo door rolls open towards the front and slides inside the fuselage, with the actuating crank at the rear...

I think the original Leonardo closed down from the 3 storey place (I got there once, 2011?) Then they split into LG and EG close by.

It can be tiring in Akihabara, there is a bit of sensory overload, especially at night.

I need to go back as there is an eel restaurant just round the corner I want to go to.

I haven't got to Namba yet, next time...

Lostagain,

Oh wow, now there's three Leonardos in Akihabara?  I only knew of LG1 and LG2.  So what's the deal with EG?  Do they sell different stuff?

The last time I was in Tokyo (2016), I spent half a day in Akihabara, completely unsupervised and unhindered.  As I stood outside the train station, I took in a deep breath, looked around, and felt the thrill of a model shopping spree.

And then I got tired.    I actually skipped a bunch of my regular stops because my feet hurt, I had a headache, and I just didn't feel it any more.  And no, my arms were not full of model kits, like the time I went to Namba with a bunch of friends.  Two of them had to help me carry my stuff back to the hotel!  I think I only bought two medium sized kits and a few accessories.  It's an age thing I guess.  Plus there was nobody around me telling me I had to buy this or that.

Real G, I have been to Tokyo a number of times as we head over to go skiing in Japan (more reliable than Australia) Every visit I go to Leonardo LG1&2, Leonardo EG and a few others in Akihabara. The family know I need a good half day in Akihabara to myself to keep me happy!

Lostagain, we seem to cover similar ground!  I have visited Leonardo in Akihabara as well.  I didn't get to their 2nd store which is near the 1st.  They used to be on the other side of the station, where their 2nd floor had perilously narrow spaces between the shelves!  Most big guys from the US would have gotten stuck.    Nice build BTW!  I noticed you did the glint in the lenses for Nausicaa and Kai!    The friend I gave my spare kit to has started building his, so I'd better get cracking too!

Mongoose, yeah you have to be careful about stuff like Miyazaki and anime.  Like I warned Tanker Builder it is a slippery slope - so easy to fall in!  Back in the late 1980s Japanese anime was rather unknown in the US, but it seems to be (sort of) mainstream now.  That is a good thing, as they have hundreds of gems for every taste.  Personally I like the "hardware anime" like the original timeline Gundam and Macross.

Real G: "I built a model of Nausicaa riding Kai for a friend over 25 years ago, and it returned to the shop for a bit of repairs."

I built Kai and Nausicaa for my brother and gave it to him for Christmas last year. He is a Ghibli fanboy, and had been out to the Ghibli museum in Tokyo when we were out there in early 2020. He bought me the Flappter model from Laputa, to add to the Pirate's skyship and Porco Rosso models as yet unbuilt.

This is also the Tsukuda kit, I picked it up at Leonardo's second hand model shop in Akihabara. There was a lot of clean up to do and I added some milliput feathers to blend in some obvious joins.

WOW it's been too long since I caught up with this trhead! G you make it look like it was a kit you bought. Going to be an epic finish I predict.

My kids were really into the Miyazaki series of films for awile so I've gone to see them all - they had a summer of them at the l ocal theatre 1 year. Now the kids have the box sets. You really brought back some memories there. I will say that my youngest son would really get into this build and the background on it. he could probably hold his own in the conversation...I will just say I enjoyed them and move along lol

SplaterMan, I think you have a valid point about Nausicaa's hair.  She did free fall from a flying vehicle, got hit by at least 2 rounds from a heavy machine gun, survived a crash landing, and then got bled all over by the baby Ohmu.  Talk about a Bad Hair Day!

Oh dear, TB, Warhammer is a slippery slope!  I almost fell in when someone (oh dang it was Jon, the Nausicaa guy) gave me an Eldar Jetbike.  I had no idea what WH40K was, but I ran out and bought some other vehicles like the Tau hover tank.

But I gave them all to another friend who is an avid Warhammer mini builder (who is coincidentally the one I gave the Nausicaa on Kai kit to).  I only kept an Ork Bomma because I had started it.

So beware, beware TB.  And keep an eye on your wallet pressure gauge, because WH40 stuff is expensive!

No Photos!

 But you did it with the germs! I fell into the Warhammer universe with an " Age of Sigmar" air assault team. Steam punk personal floatation equipment? Gees, these guys are twisted LOL.LOL.

I agree about the Tsukuda kit being much more organic. The bandai kit is nicely detailed but has a slightly CG model feel about it.

Despite the slightly wonky proportions on the Tsukuda head, I actually think it's a bit more accurate because of the hair. Nausicaa has thick bangs with no visible part down the middle and looks a little unkempt. The Tsukuda head captures that feeling better for me.

Anyway, they're both really cool. Thanks for taking the time to let us see them. Can't wait to see one built!

I guess the Ohmu kits have the equivalent of indy link tracks!  

I wonder if the creators of Ultra Q were going to make Bostang a whale or dolphin, but someone told them they would get into trouble with the conservationists?  But I believe Spectreman fought a flying whale monster that looked more like a Tootsie Roll, and the Dynaman team fought a dolphin monster.

Oh wow, those are cool. 

The Ohmu kit- gee that's a pile of legs to clean up and attach! 

And those Kai kits are cool too. I think I posted a photo of the one that LostAgain did for the Japanese GB a year ago? 

PS: I finally got to the Ultra Q episode with Bostang. Oh wow, what a cute alien invader and I loved the 'peeping' noise it made. Too bad the Japanese Self-Defence Forces had to blow it to bits... 

SplattterMan,

As promised here are photos of the two Ohmu kits.  The original version is by Tsukuda (sprues in grey), while Bandai's version is molded in multiple colors:

OK I lied.  Or rather, my memory failed me again - Bandai's Nausicaa bears a much better resemblance to the character than the old potato-shaped rendition by Tsukuda!

Bandai:

Tsukuda:

I still stand by my opinion that the Ohmu's shape and texture are better in Tsukuda's kit, despite it being molded kinda blobby.  But Bandai's underbody has the leg holes in a better postion:

When I built the Tsukuda kit for my friend, I drilled new holes to position the legs as per Bandai's version.

Gamera,

While unearthing the Ohmu kit, I also came across two Nausicaa on Kai kits, both Tsukuda, but with boxes from different issues:

The sprues are molded in different colors, but they are otherwise identical.

Why I had two kits escapes me.  Fortunately, one of my friends who excels at figure painting will try his hand at one, while I will (hopefully) do the other.

BTW, Nausicaa will be screening at a local theater here in July!   I have tickets for myself and my friend Jon, who I built the Nausicaa on Kai model for.  My friend Grant, who gave me my first "screening" of Nausicaa sadly passed away 20 years ago.  It would have been nice to go to the movie as a group, then have our signature nachos at Grant's house like how we used to so many years ago.  As Grant's younger brother used to say "Yeah, come on over any time and smell the cushions!" 

Cool, I'd love to see more work on any of them G! 

Actually, there are two kits of the Ohmu, the original one from Tsukuda, and a new one from Bandai.

Having built the Tsukuda kit and having the Bandai kit in the stash, I think the Tsukuda version is better looking, but not as well molded.  Bandai's version is very cleanly molded with sharp details, and has a much better Tolmekian machine gun, but the Ohmu suffers from being done in CAD.  It does not have the organic flow of the Tsukuda kit.

I think the best way to do it is to cross kit the two, taking the nicer legs of the Bandai kit and using the Tsukuda body and eyes.  The Nausicaa figure is a toss-up, although the face of Bandai's version looks less like the character.

What's that?  Photos or it didn't happen?  I'll need to dig out the kits to do a side-by-side comparison.  Yes, I also have an unbuilt Tsukuda kit - the one I made went to my friend that showed me the movie.

Oh dangitty - now you have infected my mind.  Fitting color changing LEDs or just red and blue leds into the kit would be a simple task.  Aaaagh!  Must.  Not.  Think.  About.  It.

Your work is outstanding RealG. Have you ever thought of doing an Ohmu? Imagine Vacuum forming and lighting all those eyes...

And here are some other Nausicaa projects forming.

Pejite Gunship:

Pejite Brig:

And Pejite... um... Flower Pot:

I have not yet restarted work on the Tolmekian Corvette, but fully intend to do so later on.  I better also build my kit of Nausicaa on Kai!  Aw nuts, I also have Nausicaa's Gunship and the Ohmu kits...  

And the thread wiggles back to life!  

I built a model of Nausicaa riding Kai for a friend over 25 years ago, and it returned to the shop for a bit of repairs.

The reigns and stirrup straps will need replacing.

This was the second time I built this kit, the first one being for another friend.  I have a third kit for myself, but never built it.  

My two friends have a special place in my heart, because they were directly responsible for introducing me to modern Japanese anime.  One made VHS tapes of Nausicaa and Macross from his laser disc collection, and the other one called me over to his house to watch them.  It was like seeing Star Wars for the first time all over again.  I was gobsmacked that anime had made such a leap from the old "super robot" shows to something that looked every bit as good as the current crop of sci-fi (this was the late 1980s).

Back in those days, I was a strict airplane/armor guy, who sneered at silly Japanese robot model kits.  But on a fateful Saturday somewhere in 1988, my whole modelling world turned upside down overnight.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

lostagain

 

Real G,

 

That is superb, monumental, fantastic, amazing! You totally deserve the award. Such a good result for all your hard work and perseverance.
It has been wonderful to be treated to the full build – for a while there I was worried we would never see it finished! 

 

And I am looking forward to the Pejite Gunship too.

 

 

Lostagain, thank you for the kind words!  Forum members like you have provided the push when I started losing hope.  I could not have done it without you guys!

I'm supposed to build another aircraft for the Steam Punk GB, so it will enter the production queue.  The Pejite Gunship will follow.

Now remember, my main goal is to super spread weird model germs.  So everybody go and build something wacky and have fun!

Tanker-Builder

Hey! Being I am sure, that's you spraying, it's bigger than I thought!

 

Hey! Being I am sure, that's you spraying, that model's bigger than I thought!

Gamera, actually it was in the mid nineties, so the clear coat didn't dry particularly fast.

Back to the Bench, thank you for the kind words.  Don't be a stranger - chime in any time just to say "hi".  The forum grows bigger and stronger when we all join in!  The Bakagalas is Hayao Miyazaki doing the thing he does best - organic machines that still have their roots in recognizable designs.

Congratulations on completing your epic project and being so deservedly recognized!!!! And as many others have said it would have placed first in my contest world.

I have watched quietly from the sidelines for quite a while figuring everyone else had the comments well covered. Also thanks for taking the time to post the amazing progress photos/reports, I am sure that added to the time crunch in a big way. I learned a great deal watching all of the creative techniques you used to bring this to completion.

There is just something about the shape and "personality" of that aircraft that makes me come back and study it over and over again.

Oh wow, nice view in progress as it were. 

I'd guess in the Nevada heat the flat ought to dry pretty fast! 

One last photo before the destination sign is changed:

Okay, so I wasn't in the dark garage, but it was fun trying to spray clear flat in the breeze!  My friends helpfully used their bodies to form a wind break.  That's Dean "Megabucks" Ichiyama looking on.  He scored a first place for his 1/32 scale Lambo, as well as walking off with $3K in gambling winnings.

Next stop:  I'm thinking the Pejite Gunship in 1/48.  Unlike the Bakagalas, the original model will be scrapped and an all-new model will be started.

Thanks Steve!  It's all good, since it is finally done and so now I can move on to other 33 year old projects.  Time's a wastin'!

Looks great G, especially since you put in so much work. I've been following this thread since the beginning. You deserve more than second.