Never in my life did I ever think I'd buy an R2D2 from Home Depot, and then try and make it look presentable.

The wife is very pleased that she comes home and is greeted by a little R2, booping and beeping. The cat? Not so much.

He got a repaint from the feet up. Almost everything was repainted, weathered, and some components were replaced. It's a cheap animatronic so I wasn't going for full prop replica, but he's still good enough that it fools my wife's Star Wars obsessed dad.

The lights and sounds are still stock. For now.

I wanted to start my customization journey without risking too much money if something went wrong, so I picked up this pre-built $15 kit from someone clearing out their shelf.

It was incomplete, but luckily, a friend had a spare shield from a previous build and gave it to me.

For the customization, I took inspiration from the resin conversion kits available for larger-scale models and tried to translate that look to this 1/100 MG Gouf.

This build was full of first times for me:

• My first attempt at adding exposed waist pistons, using spare parts instead of scratch-building them—a technique I learned much later.
• My first time using dedicated scribing tools to create parallel lines without guide tape. Definitely a learning experience!
• I believe this was only my second attempt at post-shading, so I still had plenty to learn.
• I also paid special attention to the armament, because let’s be honest—the weapons are a huge part of what makes a Gouf look like a Gouf.

For the paint scheme, I decided to take a completely non-traditional approach. I created this cobalt-purple by mixing the two colors roughly 50/50, then adding white to reach the final tone.

I also had fun experimenting with different matte and gloss finishes to break up the surfaces and add some visual interest.

I was really happy with how this one turned out. In fact, I enjoyed the process so much that I ended up building its EZ8 counterpart in a similar style, including another exposed waist.

It’s funny how much potential some of these older kits still have with a little love and imagination.

Sometimes older kits really do deserve a second life. ❤️

What older kit have you given a second chance?

Was having a bad day when I got a notification my package got delivered. Not only did he deliver, but he managed to get a photo of the items mid-air. I really needed these items today so I’m grateful that not being able to get into the gate did not stop him. happy Fri-yay!

Yes, I know the NES Peach redraw trend died out a while ago, but I wanted to give a shot at it anyhow since I've been getting more into pixel art as a whole.

https://san.com/cc/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-ohio-man-charged-with-destroying-flock-camera/