MITEAM - Alphaleo

* 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: Raymond Yap

Pseudonym / Nickname: Alphaleo

Usual Genre: Gunpla, Sci-fi,

Description: A animator in profession. This modeling friend of mine is truly a low profile one. Only being active in deviantart and forum (a few years back). Even during the forum time, he is not the type where he will make u notice him by post or spam or cracking jokes or anything. People will just know about this fella who love to use a white lion to represent himself through his work.

Being a commercial artist, he has idea. However, in modeling, the most impressive stuff is, he is willing to break his own zone to recreate his vision into a 3D model kit.

When I first knew him, he was still quite new in the hobby, learning all the basics. However, as far as that's his vision concern. there is nothing can stop him. Can't find the model? Can't find the parts that suits the modification? He just go and scratch build it!! no matter how risky they r in the eyes of old school modeler like me, he just went full gear n try his best to create it.

Yes, in terms of bigger size scratch building, probably among my group of friends, there are Alphaleo and Julius Lim (that is another crazy builder whom i am tempted to talk about later).

From his first work that caught my attention: HG unicorn where he build to join Unicorn vs Blue Frame GB in ZeroG forum, which he used 4 (or 5?) HG unicorn and various scratchbuild to create a unicorn Centaur. Ok, the weathering n finishing wasn't top notch, but the modification got my jaw dropped. It was just too beautiful!!!!.

Later on, he build another HG Kshatriya, and this time he modified it to become a 2 footed dragon!!!! On his second piece, the weathering n finishing is already a level up from the unicorn. This work of his,  Unicorn Centaur vs Kshatriya has won Malaysia's BAKUC Champion and world's 1st runner up in the year of 2010!!

Monster Modification vs Finishing

After that, he tried on another scratchbuild frenzy project: converting a PG Zaku into a High Mobility Zaku (note: is for Weathering vs Metallic GB). Personally, for the modification part, i think is absolutely impressive!!!! The only thing is, besides scratchbuilding a ton of parts there, he made it a candy color zaku; which is like a almost zero tolerance to finishing n flaws; the finishing of the kit was being compromised. This, I really think is a pity.

After that, a unicorn/sinanju hybrid, which personally, i think there s a lot of improvement in finishing, but still, in comparison to his modification work, still consider a weak point in his build. (Please dont get it wrong, although i might sound like his work is crap, but in fact they r not. he's still winning in competition after competitions. I am merely comparing the level of his modification to his finishing.)

Not sure whether it is because of this or due to his work load, after that, his projects started to become smaller.

- Gundam NT1, won (2012?) 3rd in GBWC, with not as much modification as his previous projects, but he showed the world he is capable of achieving great finishing.
- Leo San. This is definitely another gem!!!! With loads n loads of highly skilled modification and scratchbuilding, not as lous as his previous projects, but he manage to keep a high quality scratchbuilding and pretty good finishing!!!! I am so love of this project!!!!
- Ball Minion. This one can show his level of confidence in scratchbuilding n finishing. Seems like it s a rush project, but he managed to pull it off with no problem at all. More importantly he showed that his is comfortable in building kits with such high level.

From these 3 projects, I am having more n more confidence onto him. He didnt rush it, but took his time, keep improving what he's weak at, and making what he is strong at, even stronger!!! I am almost seeing another modeler among my friends whose work is going to be something I could never able to build!!! Yes, a little envy, but i am more happy and excited. I believe if his work load is not stopping him, his next mega project will be one that will be shared and seen in the internet for a very long time!

And as for competition wise, I hope Bandai will not push their not-value-finishing judging criteria to far too soon. I believe his work will awe the world.

Yes, I am hoping to see a classic born from his hands!!!

Website: The only site i know where he share his work is his Deviantart. http://alphaleo14.deviantart.com/

MITEAM: JeffHo

* 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: Jeff Ho

Pseudonum / Nickname: Jeffho

Usual Genre: Gunpla, Resin Figurine, Sci-fi,

Description: This is actually a friend i am always very proud of introducing to others, or simply being recognized as a friend of him. He is in fact the first modeler who won the World Champion title among peers from my batch!

 In terms of skill, personally, i would see Jeff the the most consistant and stable. Every piece of work he produce, especially for competition, there is always some eye opening thing. As a matter of fact, in many occasions, he does set up a benchmark of me to reach.

Overall, his vision and design sense in modifying a mecha is just top notch. Clever, skillful, and seamless kit bashing is something i always look upon to and wish i could be half as good as him. Besides that, there is something i admire about, which i m currently learning n practicing is: he is an explorer of possibilities in materials and technics; and most of all, a good planner for his projects. His usual trend is, for the beginning of the year, he will engage in some other projects, like resin builds, or some smaller Gunpla builds. At the same time, after knowing him for quite sometime, I realize he is actually using this time too for exploration, research, and testing of new stuff: either techniques or material! He seldom stay idle!

He has used materials that none has even thought about, he has tried techniques that none of us ever tried. In the end, all these will be incorporate into his big project of that year. As a result, his project always have a new gimmick, something new for me to admire. Be it clean build or weathering.

COMPOSITION
As a whole, Jeff has good sense of mecha design, the skill to properly execute it out, the courage of experimenting n exploring new techniques n materials, patience to plan, being outspoken n helpful; seems like he is perfect in every aspect. Of course nobody is perfect. If there is one tiny little picky thing i would like to comment about his previous project in general, I would say it's his diorama's composition.

I feel that is because there r some of his diorama, while the mecha is just mind blowing, eye popping kind of beautiful, i think the diorama/vignette setup that pulls down the impression overall. Although the final works are still really high standard works, I would think those can be even better is the diorama wasn't setup in such a way.

Just an example: Once he did a stunningly beautiful kit bash of HG, MG, and PG Zaku. That Zaku I would say it falls in the top 5 list of my all time favorite mecha design. However, when he was composing the diorama, where a supposedly puny n weak n doesn't stand-a-chance GM trying for his luck to fight the Zaku, he'd chosen an 1/100 MG GM for the job. For me, although the Zaku is still much larger in overall size, once the 1/100 GM is in, it immediately reduce the threatening impression of the obviously overpowered, oversized Zaku. In other words, it just make the Zaku looks half weaker.

This is just an example, solely based on my personal opinion.

Anyway, having such a modeler friend, I believe i will still continue to have the privilege to admire eye opening stuff from him, which he will never fail to do.



Website:  I do not know he has any blog or website for his work. This is his Facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/jeffhoyy

MITEAM - Neo_Sigma

* 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: Edwin Chong

Pseudonym / Nickname: Neo_Sigma

Usual Genre: Gunpla, Sci-fi, Plane, & all sort of other things

Description:  Neo, that's how i call him, even in real life when we meet. Again, this fella is my senior when come to being active in Gunpla community. When I first knew him, he's the most dedicated and passionate guy who's willing to drive all the way from Seremban to Setapak for

gathering.

To me, Neo is a person with great passion in model making. He builds because he loves to, especially when u notice his relatively lack of interest in showcasing his work, or doing well in competition and such. A simple soul of plastic modeling: he builds because he likes to build. Who cares about showcasing or getting recognition?

Even until now, where his work requires him to travel from town to town on a regular basis, staying short period in some places far away from his home in KL; his work station (including air brush hand piece, compressor) are all in his car! Imagine a GBWC winning piece that is born like a gypsy! This definitely earn my respect!!!!

As a modeler, he has a solid fundamental, a good sense of mecha design, and one of the best skill in modification among my group of friends. Well, with 3 of these characteristics, Neo should be shinning in the community or even in competition; at least a lot brighter than now he is at the moment. However, the truth is, he is not. So, why?

ZEN
"zɛn/
noun a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition rather than ritual worship or study of scriptures."

Hahaha! First of all, for those who also knows Neo in person, this is definitely not to describe this women-magnet as a whole. This is to describe his attitude in this hobby that he loves.

To me, Neo probably is one the most underrated modeler among our group of modeler friends. It's nothing to do with his skill, nor his achievement in any competition; it is everything about him being like a fundamentalist in this hobby: building is merely for own satisfaction. Not because of wanting to showcase, not because of responsibility from group builds, not peer pressure, not competition. He just do his own thing, n if he is feeling lazy, he doesnt even showcase it out no matter how many will get to know him base on his work.

      
Also because of this attitude, sometimes i am feeling a lil pity for him & his work in competition. Probably also because of all his traveling n lack of a permanent n proper place for modeling. I always see some top notch design from his work (of course, the finishing is also very high level), but the problem is, i also realised, many time, it ends there. Seems like he is not pushing forward enough for his brilliant work further to make them into something that stun the world. Well, i think he definitely has the ability to do that. But he just didn't.

Think of it, among the regular modeler friends of mine who enter competition, he is the most stress-free n free spirit.

I guess, after all, everybody has his own purpose in pursuing a hobby, an activity that gives satisfaction n happiness to himself. For this cool zen modeler friend, who possess some serious skill,  I just wish someday i could see one of his work that he really pushes it to his limit. I am curious how far he is actually capable of going. :)

Website: Not that i know he has any blog or website. Anyway, for more of his work:
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/edwin.chong.52
or Pla-zone Forum : www.pla-zone.com

P/S: When I talked to Neo about this post & asked him is there anything or any message he absolutely wants to add in, he requested to put in this"

"do your part to achieve world peace"

ok, let's repeat,

"do your part to achieve world peace"
"do your part to achieve world peace"
"do your part to achieve world peace"
"do your part to achieve world peace"
"do your part to achieve world peace"
"do your part to achieve world peace"

ok, afterall, he is a zen weirdo.

MITEAM: Becky Law

* 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: Becky

Pseudonum / Nickname: Beckylaw / Becky Customizer

Usual Genre: Gunpla, Sci-fi, Toys repaint, a lot of mixed genre

Description: This is [probably the rare breed in my group of modeler friends. Ok, is a rare breed  generally in static model hobby community. I am not being sexist, i just state the truth.

Yes, Becky, as the name, is a female modeler.

In terms of being active in the hobby's community, she is also a senior to me. When i first knew her, she mainly did Gunpla, and Japanese sci-fi. An experience modeler, but too, was kinda infamous of having half build projects. Hahahahah! Despite being famous among the community for her knowledge n experience, she is also kinda infamous for being the FFK Queen for GBs n such. XD

Things got changed when the second rendition of Micheal Bay's Transformer hit box office n the merchandise was selling like hot cakes. There was this market for Transformer toys repaint. Becky started of as TF customizer and her career and reputation as a commissioner for toys n model kits painting started from there n then.

Now, she is probably the one who builds the most kits among our modeler friends. Besides that, I think she has the skill all of us do not have: while we r all so proud of our skill and AMS attitude n stupidly feel happy whenever others commission us to paint, which probably ends up in losing money because the excessive time n effort we put in; Becky has the skill, speed, and consistancy in quality to become a professional commission painter.

Besides that, due to her work, she has more chance in dealing with different genre n model kits, something we might have bought (as backlog) but havent got the chance or gut to build, she has basically done it all. In short, I would say she is the most experienced in the context of difference company's kits, different genre, different style etc etc.

She is definitely the Queen now; not anymore in FFK, but experience in building various kits.

HOBBYIST VS PROFESSIONAL

Yes, Becky is a professional/commercial modeler amongst the hobbyist us. In terms of achievement or recognition, she is definitely way ahead of the whole bunch of us. However, knowing her since the time we were both hobbyist, and standing in the position as a hobbyist, I would like to see the whole in this perspective: the question of hobbyist vs professional.

Look at what Becky is doing now, the works are good; no doubt about it. When see it in a hobbyist perspective, those are good, but not great. It's, and it stays in a level that is good, good enough for the client; but is it great? especially in the eyes of hobbyist, is it something hobbyist will adore n admire?

What i have seen are, the kits are well build, beautiful, a standard market kind of good; it's nice, proper, beautiful, free of mistakes, but that's pretty much it is: Not enough to wow a purist hobbyist eyes; in the case if Becky is seeking for that.

I do not know Becky's direction in this hobby. As i said, in terms of commercial build; in speed, finishing, n consistency, she is definitely the King in the group. However, if she still wants to achieve something in the eyes of a hobbyist, i think that would be a decision to at least, temporary, put away the commercial part of the hobby.

Again, this depends on Becky's decision. Anyway I am always proud to have her as a friend; especially sometimes seeing her 100 over likes Facebook post, I have the urge to say "Hey, I know her in person when you guys havent even heard of her, not even say connected to her in social media."

Hahah, is good to know a famous modeler, n yes, i am thick skin! XD

Website:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BeckyCustomizer
Website - www.beckycustomizer.com
Blog - http://becky-customizer.blogspot.com/ (this seems like not so active..)

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)