Today's the big day! Sketchbot Custom Show tonight at My Plastic Heart, and I'm kicking things off with the full reveal of my custom, GigantorBot!
Anyone who knows me is fully aware of my obsession with all things Gigantor/Tetsujin-28. In fact, the Sketchbot design itself was partially (sub-consciously?) influenced by a few design elements found in the amazing work of Mitsuteru Yokoyama, most notably the dead ahead stare of the half opened eye and minimal use of rivets.
It was painfully obvious that I had to do a Gigantor version of Sketchbot. I did a quick Photoshop mockup, and then went back to my original computer model to further explore the idea in 3d. After a few test renders, I knew this was the way to proceed.
However, I also knew there was going to be no way I could hand sculpt these pieces to the tight precision required to pull off the concept and do it proper justice, so I opted to utilize the same method in which I fabricated the original prototype - print out the pieces in 3d! I was going to try and match the vinyl blank, but decided to just print out the entire object so that there would be no discrepancies with fit and finish.
I broke the character down into various components to make paint and assembly that much easier. After much wet-sanding and priming, the pieces were ready to mask and spray. Final assembly went fairly smoothly, although, my connector tabs for the rocket pack were way too thin and one snapped off. Liberal use of Zap-a-Gap rectified the situation, and the model was completed!
You really need to see the model up close to appreciate how well the 3d print matched the 3d geometry. I hope you get to see this, along with the rest of the amazing pieces I've gathered, tonight at My Plastic Heart - stop by and say hi!
