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I find the back pack that comes with the HGUC Gouf boring, therefore I've decided to build a new one for it. The first thing I do is to draw sketches of what the new back pack will look like. After drawing the initial sketches, I begin drawing accurate diagrams with correct dimentions.
The sketch in the diagram is one of the first version. After drawing it, there are a few things I'm not too happy about, so I drew more. The sketches are 1:1. It would be exactly the same size as the final product. |
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This is the final sketch. However, this is by no means completely accurate. Of course, it is best if the sketch can be as accurate as possible, but there would always be some limitations, e.g., I don't know if I can find a round disc exactly the same size as I drew it. Another thing is, I'm not sure if I really want the back pack to be this thick, so the final product might not be of this size. Anyway, when you build it, always remember the assumptions you've made to avoid errors. |
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The first thing I built after drawing the sketches is, ah-ha, somehthing I didn't draw. I used some plastic tubes and Wave parts and built a pair of detailed thruster modules. Think about the details that are not in the sketch, build some of those first if you can. |
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On the lower right corner is a crude prototype of one side of the back pack made out of paper. When that is done, we cut out four pieces of 5mm thick styrene sheets that are slightly bigger than the prototype. These pieces must be bigger than the prototype to allow room for error. Error ALWAYS occur. I suggest leaving 1mm on each side. |
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Since all four pieces would be made into (nearly) identical shape, it is best if we can work on them together. Stick the four pieces together using super glue into a block. First use a file to make all the four pieces identical in shape. After that, use the file to make it look like the prototype. |
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Work on four pieces first, then separate them into two pieces and differentiate them. The result is like this. |
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Sticking the parts together, we have the left and right module of the back pack. We can see here a crude form of the back pack, together with the thruster module. |
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The styrene pieces are glued horizontally with the help of some trianglar styrene rods (arrow A). Another styrene rod (arrow B) is glued at a higher position, it is used to secure the position for the base of the thruster module (arrow C), and to indicate the level of which Mori Mori would be filled up to later. The base of the thruster module has been garnished with some wires. It will be difficult to add decorations like this after filling with Mori Mori. |
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One hour later... The parts have been filled with Mori Mori. The surface is a little rough, but we will take care of that later. |
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It wasn't intentional, but according to my sketch, the central 'backbone' of the back pack is 5 mm in width. I happened to have some 5mm square styrene rods, so I put a two pieces of them in the middle. I also put a detail part (Kotobukiya tank nozzle) on top (the gray little piece, see arrow), which would save me some time on creating details afterwards. |
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