A few words from James Marc Rafanan Quinsaat, one of the Open Category Winners from our Gunpla Build OFF event! We hope to inspire some of you all out there to progress your skills and explore a whole other side to the hobby.

What inspired you to go with the design and idea you had for your entry? Was it because you’re a fan of a series, grade/scale or a certain theme or did you want to experiment and try something new?

- I don’t know if going back to my old build style counts as inspiration, but for this Build-off I just wanted to go back to my roots and build something more complicated from my past dioramas and try to use new techniques or materials throughout the years, and trying to push myself what can be accomplished in a short span of 3 months. - Always wanted a diorama that has the elements of Land (Jungle), Water, and Air.

The Zaku II and Guntank custom work and detailing are inspired from real life heavy equipment and tanks, which I usually get my inspirations for all my builds. I tend to move away from the conventional were “searching online” is always the go to. Just walking pass any construction projects and I get inspirations from it. - I wanted to do a 1/144 scale but detailing at that scale requires more time, for me at least, and 3 months is not enough so I went ahead with the next best scale I usually do and picked out my favorite ZAKU for a quick build the concept grew from that point on.

What were some of the challenges faced along the way of building your entry?

- Doing the wiring works for both the Zaku and the Guntank, not to add LED and fiber optic works on the diorama. The work itself is not that hard but the planning that goes into it took a lot of time. Which goes first, lined up, or sealed or pre-painted before assembly, is masking going to be a problem are just part of it. - Developing the concept as I build in the span of 3 months is tricky and stressful. (Not advisable and not going to be doing it in the near future I guess.)

What tools and paints did you use and how did you apply them?

- I used a lot of tools and materials for this build and to list a few that I pretty much used the entire build process: (Listing them all will take up much of this interview, if you have any query on the build, I will gladly help out in answering them whenever I can). • Wave router for major cutting and reshaping • Hasegawa saw set for all the medication works. • Hasegawa scriber. Detailing works. • BMC chisels. Detailing works • Bunch of different blades for different cutting purposes. Ex. High Density Foam cutting, boards, Plaplates etc. • I used GAIA and Mr. Color Lacquer paints for the Mechs and part of diorama. • Acrylics: Tamiya, Vallejo, Revell and Citadel paints for the diorama including tint for the water/resin.

Were you overall satisfied with the entry thus far? If you were, let’s say given more time. What would you have done differently?

-In every new build, I try to push and improve on my last build as a sense of giving myself a gauge of where to improve next, what needs to be done first, what can be added, what techniques still need to be learned, in the end it’s a process……… from planning on what to build, to the building process, up to the completion….. You are already learning how to improve. Yes i was satisfied as always with all my builds, but it will never satisfy my urge to learn new things…. So off to the next build.