Let’s Make This Quick: Big Kitty

Hi, everyone!

I seem to be posting awfully often lately—please forgive me. I’ll report on all my finished kits (only one left!) and then disappear into a six-month long build I have this little compulsion to give every kit a concluding blog post. Whenever possible.

After finishing a kit for the E2046 contest, I really wanted to do something quick. A vacation was also looming on the horizon, outlining a kind of notional deadline. I started this kit on July 8 and finished it on August 3, which is incredibly fast, considering that I’m constantly traveling and rarely at home. Altogether, I probably spent two or three hours on it per day for about seven days This was the very first original kit I ever bought, from Mandarake a couple of years ago. At the time it seemed simple and ideal, as well as fairly large—1/6 scale. Well, there really were no problems with the parts fitting together, but the sheer number of seams left me discouraged, and the kit was abandoned to a long wait. At some point I took it to the dacha, and whenever I visited I’d sand it a little without any particular intention of actually working on it. Then, on July 8, I decided I needed something quick. And this kit caught my eye. Already sanded. The stars aligned.

Everything was pinned in a single evening. On the original, the pin goes into the knee, which I didn’t care for, so I put the main supporting pin in the shoe whose toe touches the base. It stands beautifully; in the final version I added a little epoxy around the pin for peace of mind.

Next came Lascivus flesh tones, followed by a very thin layer of Mr. Crystal Color Moonstone Pearl for a highlight effect. I spotted the technique on the Twitter account of a Japanese painter whose gorgeous Love Live girls are equal parts delightful and demoralizing. The effect is easiest to see in person, but here’s a comparison photo of the leg with and without it.

Striped panties, a classic

And straight onto the base she goes!

And this sad little problem is why the kitty has no cast-off

I added a thin layer of chameleon paint over the hair to give it a more interesting shade.

Time for some exquisite stripe-related perversity on the skirt, using the narrowest masking tape I own. I got through it in two sessions because it was terribly tedious. But among my many shades of red, I found exactly the one I needed! The photo shows the two colors used on the skirt, not counting black.

Little corrections, final result.

Eyes!

Touch them up, matte them down, then cover them with nail topcoat (the last two photos, respectively).

And the kitty is finished!

And for scale:

The kitty is big and heavy!

But she was quick. That’s exactly what I love about builds like this: even if they’re not without flaws, they’re perfect for getting some practice and trying out techniques. And there you have it.

Thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful week!