Hachikuji Mayoi GK Ver.

Hi, kitties!

I want to share the latest result of my garage-kit adventures with you. It’s not as though the Little Snail was high on my immediate to-do list, but in theory I’d like to put together a -gatari shelf. Since the figures I already own don’t have any real consistency anyway, though, why not build a shelf out of whatever I like? I had originally planned to spend the summer working on the girls from Everlasting Summer, but some personal matters left my garage-kit building at a standstill. It finally produced one kit by summer’s end (one I thought would be quick and easy to make).

Come take a look at the process and the results—but first, get stuck watching this (I’m writing this post and listening to )

Embedded media: https://www.youtube.com/embed/jnLGWph0VZ0

Let’s start with the fact that she turned out to be larger than anything I’d worked with before. The description calls her non-scale, but to my eye she’s closer to 1/6.

White resin is many times better than the usual yellowish kind; it’s pleasant to work with (and just to touch, too). Incidentally, this was a lovely surprise, because the sole commenter on E2046 said that parts of her were even made from colored resin, which is difficult to sand. I had been bracing for the worst, but they fixed those shortcomings in the newer batch.

The lower half reminded me of one of those shape-sorting puzzles for very small children.)

The eyes are the coolest thing about this kit (as they probably are in any kit). These were huge, leaving plenty of room for creativity

Something is already beginning to take shape here. I love holding the pieces together just to admire how it’s turning out.

This is where I remembered that lone E2046 commenter lamenting how every part of this figure had to be joined at exactly the right angle or it wouldn’t all come together, and I panicked a little—some of it had already been glued together for good (yes, it refused to come apart; I tried!).

But a little good old Russian force saved the day (just press harder). Miraculously, nothing even cracked, and everything settled into place

The bracelet was absolute hell. I had to glue it, putty it, cut it apart, prime it, paint it, strip it, and repeat the whole cycle several times, and it still came out crooked (at least it’s on the less visible side)

The included map was dreadful, so I had to cut up a map of Berlin (but hey, she could have gotten lost there too!).

Aaaand just when I thought everything was finally ready, it turned out that although she stood perfectly on her toes during the first test fit, the finished figure categorically refused to do so. With trembling hands, I drilled a hole and triumphantly mounted her on a thick pin that had previously been part of some piece of wire.

And now—the result :)

A closer look

And yesterday I managed to catch what was practically the last day of summer with the Little Snail, so I can’t resist sharing :)

Thank you all for your attention, and have a lovely day!