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Indonesia | dt.modelworks

Hello! Please introduce yourself

 

Hi! I’m DT from dt.modelworks! I’m a Gunpla and figure modeler/painter from Indonesia. I’m self-employed, running a family business. Aside from Gunpla modeling, I have a strong passion for photography and hobby board gaming.

My love for Gunpla started way back around 1998/1999. I saw the MG RX-78-2 Gundam 1.0 in my local toy store, and I was lucky enough that my Dad was in a good mood. As a 9-year-old, I was thrilled to bring home a Master Grade model kit. However, my excitement soon faded when I realized that I had to assemble it myself. My dad eventually built the entire Gunpla for me while I watched in excitement as he meticulously cut and assembled each piece until the model was finished.

The first kit I painted was the RG Banshee in early 2020. I tried painting it up as I have a decent collection of acrylic paints (Vallejo and Citadel paints from my board gaming hobby). This Banshee is my first painted kit, and it’s all hand brushed as I didn't even know about primers back then. It did not turn out great, but I did really enjoy the painting process and decided to take it more seriously.

From that point on, I learned mostly from watching YouTube channels and reading some tutorials online. The biggest contributor to my growth most definitely came from joining the community through various Discord channels. During the period of 2020 to 2021, I primarily focused on my learning curve. Through trial and error, I discovered my preferences and dislikes.

I think I’ve settled down with my style and what I want to achieve now. I look at myself as a painter first and a builder second as I know that I enjoy painting more than other aspects of the hobby. In the past two years, 90% of my works are mostly resin-related. Below are some of the kits I have completed in the past few years.

Aside from painting Gunpla, I also started painting anime resin figures, especially from Fate Stay Night and Evangelion series. At first, I’m doing it out of curiosity, but it quickly becomes another major aspect of my hobby. Unlike Gunpla, anime resin figures are static statues with a more organic feel. There is a world of opportunity to experiment with various painting techniques, including shading and highlighting. You can learn how to hand paint anime eyes and even paint or sew fishnet stockings. There are endless possibilities to explore. I currently love my ¼ scale figure of Lacus Clyne wearing a bunny outfit. It's a recast of a Megahouse PVC figure. I had to sew fishnet stockings for it using real fishnet cloth. My ¼ scale Mash Kyrielight in beach outfit is also another favorite as she’s so fun to paint!

Tell us about your favorite gundam project you have worked on so far?

 

My favorite Gundam project so far is my Yujiaoland Hi-Nu Gundam resin conversion kit that I completed back in 2021. It is my first resin conversion kit and took me around 5 months to complete.

I believe completing a YJL Hi-Nu is considered a feat by itself, and to have it done as my first attempt at resin conversion truly makes it even more special.

Working on this project was quite challenging for me since it was my first time dealing with resin. Moreover, there were over 500 resin pieces to handle, not counting the Bandai inner frame parts. This learning curve forced me to try working by section instead of my regular workflow, and it turned out to be my new favorite workflow ever since. In fact, I almost exclusively build my figure by section these days.

This kit also has a massive hurdle at the very end: the fin funnel set, which consists of 12 repeating painting processes.

The things I took away from finishing this project are very personal. The effort and focus to complete a project of such scale are definitely very satisfying for me. It taught me that the journey and the fun I am having during the process is as important as the final result.

Describe your process when starting a new project

 

Since most of my projects are going to my own collection, I always question myself before picking a new project to build:

“Which kit would I really like to have on display on my shelf?”

I don’t accept commission work because I want to keep this as a fun hobby and I never do a project half-heartedly.

“How would I put my twist/signature on this kit, so it can stand out a bit more than the rest?”

I usually opt for traditional or established paint patterns, but I like to find ways to incorporate unique elements into these designs. This may involve including accent hues, blending in unique paints, or alternating between glossy and matte finishes, among other options.

“What new aspect can I learn/improve/try on this project?”

I want every new project to improve me in some way, rather than just repeating the same process over and over. This final part is the very reason I have a strong affection for every single project I have done. It’s not something that others will easily notice or see but to me, each one of them has their own story in it.

Once I’ve decided on those, my painting process is quite straightforward. Since I mostly work with resin these days, I always do surface preparations on it by sanding the whole surface to remove imperfections, rescribing the panel lines, and then dipping the parts into 70% IPA solution for about an hour to clean leftover oils and greases. Then I wash it a second time in water with an ultrasonic cleaner just to make sure the dust is gone.

Priming resin can be tricky sometimes, so I strongly recommend using a multi-primer as your base prime. Then I put a 1200-1500 grit surface on top before continuing with my color paints and tons of masking tapes for separating the colors. The final three steps before assembly are gloss coat, decals, and matte coat. I prefer not to top-coat my kit after assembly to ensure complete coverage on every surface.

Photography is also the final step that I quite enjoy even though my process is quite simple. I always use diffused natural light from a big window behind me and photograph my kit straight against a dark gray or black background. One of my favorite photography tricks is using the focus stacking technique. This involves combining multiple images with different focus distances to capture the full depth of the kit.

Here’s a quick process of focus stacking:

  1. Arrange and frame the kit.
  2. Find the area of the subject that you want to keep in focus. In the example below, the tip of the sword. Take the first picture.

  1. Shift the focus manually to another point further away from your camera and take another picture. The photo below is an exaggeration in terms of focusing on the body instead of the tip of the sword.

  1. Keep shifting further and taking more photos until you’ve covered the furthest part that you want to keep in focus from the subject. The image below is a series of photos I’ve taken to achieve the final look.

  1. Load the photos as a stack in Photoshop (File - Scripts - Load Files into Stacks), select all the layers, then use Auto Align (Edit - Auto-Align Layers) before using Auto Blend (Edit - Auto-Blend Layers).

Advantages of Focus Stacking:

  1. You can decide the size of the area in focus precisely.
  2. No image degradation due to lens diffraction if you pick the optimum aperture for your lens (usually F/5.6 for most lenses).

Disadvantages of Focus Stacking:

  1. It’s a slow process and takes a fair bit of computing power depending on how many images you’re blending.
  2. Focus breathing (frame shifting when you shift the focus distance) on some lenses can cause inaccurate blending.
  3. Artifacts can sometimes appear in highly detailed photos.

One tip I would like to share is that I always, whenever possible, try to work on the most difficult aspect of the build first. I find it’s so much better to work on it early while our mental state is still fresh. I usually spend days planning ahead and brainstorming alternative ideas on how to tackle this part (usually during my daily commute driving LOL).

Who do you follow on social media?

 

I would take this opportunity to give a shout-out to two builders who have had the most impact on my growth in recent years. I think I owe a lot to these two great builders and close friends of mine. Personally, this hobby takes us to the next level as we continuously challenge ourselves and build stronger relationships not only as builders but also as individuals.

The first one is my color theory guru, AI Paintworks (IG: @aipaintworks). He is the person responsible for improving my airbrushing skills in shading and blending colors. Whenever I'm unsure about a color combination or trying to recreate a certain look, I always turn to him for his opinion. He has a talent for breaking down colors and making it seem easier to achieve.

My partner in crime for Gunpla and resin figure painting is Jofajito (IG: @jofajito). We have collaborated on projects together and have more planned for later this year. If my resin figure collection is synonymous with the FATE series, then his is with the Evangelion franchise. Make sure you check his page if you’re an Evangelion fan!

Give Us A Tour Of Your Workspace/Workbench

 

My studio is shared with my hobby board gaming room. It’s still continuously evolving as I’m still adding stuff into this room. My workbench is located at the corner of the room with an L-shaped desk to maximize working space with minimal chair movement.

On the left side of the workbench is my water curtain spray booth. I recently upgraded my old spray booth into this one to reduce the amount of fumes and dust inside the room.

I prefer to save money on the compressor as long as it is reliable and has a pressure tank. However, I believe it is important to invest in high-quality airbrushes. I absolutely love using my Proconboy PS 270 airbrush. It's my favorite tool in my collection. A 0.2-size needle is perfect for shading and precision work, even though I am still dreaming of H&S Infinity CR Plus one day. Another tool that took me a while to appreciate is the David Union DU400 power sanding tool. A definite must-have for resin builders in my opinion.

 

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