Kit Information :
Scale : 1/144
Grade : High Grade
Made by : Bandai
Completed : 14th April 2006
Box Art :
ms-06f zaku II (Forest diorama)
Completed last month - the Zaku II from the 08th MS Team range of kits :
I have painted it in dark olive green and brown with black highlights around the brown to give it a forest camo look.
These colours were chosen for the diorama - a forest scene where there are lots of trees and the Zaku II is hidden away in them.
The camo paint was done using the commonly used blu-tak method. I painted the olive green first, applied the blu-tak and then painted the brown. The blu-tak was then removed and the brown areas highlighted with black.
The mono-eye is a sliver of transparent pink sprue that I kept from another kit. I simply sliced off a very thin sliver and glued it on. The black paint behind it was removed first - a light colour behind the piece makes the colour stand out better.
The gun and other black metal parts on the model where dry brushed with chrome silver to give a worn look. The internals of the thruster bells have been done with dark copper.
Panel lines were done with a very thin mix of enamel black and thinner, some turned out good while others, well, not so good (they looked great until the thinner dried up). That is one area I definently need to work on.
I weathered the kit using the Tamiya Weathering set (the snow/soot/rust one) and the Tamiya Mud Stick. There are small chips in the paint (mainly around the upper legs) to give it a worn look, like it had been used that much that the paint was starting to come away.
The Diorama :
This Zaku II is lying in wait, ready to pounce on the first unsuspecting enemy it sees.
I took inspiration for this diorama from a picture in a Gundam Weapons book of a GP01 painted in dark green, set in a dio made up of thick trees.
The base is just a small wooden plaque I purchased from a local craft store. I added styrophoam covered in air-drying clay to make the hilly areas at the front and side. The grass is a type of flock from Woodlands Scenics, called Thick Turf. I also lightly sprinkled brown and light green very fine flock over the top to give a dropped leaf/pine needle look to the grass. Rocks are just small rocks that I had left over from my fish tank and the longer grasses, that's just pieces cut off of my old door mat. Once everything was in place, it was coated with a PVA/water mixture to try and bond everything together.
The trees are the Woodland Scenics type. They come in a pack with different sized plastic trunks and thick, green moss type material that you glue onto the plastic trunks to create whatever style of tree you want. I placed the trees around the diorama first and left an area just off center for the Zaku II to stand. Once I had the positioning right, the tree bases were glued and the trees removed. The grass and stuff was put down then and then the trees replaced.
I gave three of the front trees the chop. I sliced them half-way across the trunk and bent them over to give them the effect that they had broken when the Zaku backed into the alcove. The broken bits where painted with a dab of Deck Tan, to give it a 'freshly-broken' look.
I probably could have made the trees thicker, but they are pretty hard to work with, especially when it comes to fitting them in nice and evenly. The grassy areas could have been more darker too, it looks a little bit too colourful. The rocks and bushes look a little too fake also. The diorama part is one I'll have to really work on.
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