MITEAM : Ronnie Phoon

* MITEAM: A short form of the phrase " Modeler In The Eyes of A Modeler". This is just a simple blog based on my personal view to pay tribute and respect to fellow modelers who i know as personal friend.

Name: Ronnie Phoon

Pseudonym / Nickname: Phoon

Usual Genre: Gunpla, Ma.K, Tank, Sci-fi

Description: This is definitely one of the powerhouse builder in the recent years of Gunpla community. With 2 Malaysia Champions and a World's 1st Runner-up in the official Gunpla competition organized by Bandai, he has won quite a reputation among modelers in Gunpla genre.

From a tank model background, Phoon's utilized one of main tank model technique in the world of Gunpla, which in the beginning, was quite a weird thing to many Gunpla veteran modelers. His style of spraying everything black, dont really care much about the tidiness of the fundamental like nub mark, seamline, surface smoothness; did stir some cultural shock to traditional gunpla scene where everyone was working hard for those to create the 'perfect' finishing, CG inspired Gundam kits.

However, that changes where Bandai has overall change their direction from the more traditional way of judging to stress more on creativity and fun.

Technically, Phoon's work isn't so much of a technical advance space shutter; if one wants to just copy and follow whatever he has done in a built, in d context of techniques, that wouldn't be a very difficult process. However, his work reminds me of another modeler who has thousands of followers, and inspired thousands of newcomer modelers: DC23.

What both have in common is: their works attract people! While veteran modelers who tried to analyse it from a technical perspective which it doesn't conclude anything, but one cannot denies that  these works are attractive to so many people, and they inspire people too. I have put some thoughts into this and i realize something:




ART DIRECTION

Phoon's work, no matter one might say how lack of technical difficulties it has, there is one thing that he has that is a lot harder for other modelers to learn and to master. Yes, I am talking about his art sense!

One might see his neglects in taking care of the fundamental, worse, seeing him as just rushing, then screw up, then keep correcting his mistake; but in all these, one shall not oversee the sense of art he is putting into his built. This is not something like the technical side where u look at a step-to-step wip/tutorial and u can reproduce one out. Yes art sense, that is what i m talking about, which is a lot more difficult to copy and learn!

Phoon is definitely not a planning guy, just like different style of artist: some plan on their work before they lay their first stroke onto the canvas, he is the type with a vision, he just put in the first color, and from there, another color after another, fixing what he thinks is not nice n adding stuff he thinks is suitable, and slowly,a masterpiece is born.

In short, a technical powerhouse kit, one should be able to to copy, with patience and step-by-step guidance. However, for a art direction driven project, it is so much harder to achieve the same level as what Phoon did.

Maybe one may say his work is full of modeling mistakes and imperfection, but to me, as long as first, he is happy, second, it attracts the interest in people to admire the work, what more u can ask for?

I used to be confused with the same thing too, but now, i know his work is more like an expression of his thoughts n vision. Modeling is basically not fine art. It's more like a fine craftsmanship work. It's like buying a coloring book from a shop n color the content inside. However, a true artist may still able to make it to fine art level, if he is doing it not bounded by the law of coloring book, but to his own style of artist expression. 

As a modeler, if  my works are crafts-work, Phoon's are a step closer to art than mine.

Website: I don't think he has a blog or a website, only that i know he does has a Facebook Page specially dedicated for his work. For more viewing of his work, please do visit:

Facebook Phoon's Workshop (https://www.facebook.com/RonniePhoon)
or forum:
Pla-zone Forum (www.pla-zone.com)