The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

NicoNico Super Kaigi held at the Makuhari Messe on 28th & 29th of April!

In a showy corner of the Good Smile booth there were nine sculptors hard at work sculpting and painting a prototype Nendoroid in just 11 hours!

This article is the finale of their work!

Don’t miss out on the previous three articles which you can find here!
 
Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 1)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 2)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-2/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!
(Duplication / Painting– Part 3)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-duplication-painting-part-3/
 

That brings Tasshi’s section to an end!

The hair is certainly a very important feature of any character! They are particular important on Nendoroids seen the head is the biggest part of the figure!

I’ve personally tried mixing colors trying to get the perfect color for a figure in the past, and I have to tell you it is not a simple task! Just a single drop too much of one color will cause the color to look off. Plus because each of the parts is painted separately, you need to ensure that the colors of all the parts will look alright together in the end.

That brings the Oda-P section to an end!

The most difficult and most important part of the figure – the face, is finally completed!! As mentioned on the Live broadcast, normally it takes even the best sculptors at least a day and a half to complete, but Oda-P kept a nice constant pace and still performed incredibly well! Unbelievable work!

Now to put it all together!

Nendoroid Super Sonico: Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

Prototype Complete!!

In total it took 12 and a half hours!

The battle took a little longer than originally anticipated, but even so the final product was worth the little bit of overtime! It was incredible to see the professionals in action!

But the battle isn’t over yet! (`･ω･´)
While the painting was going on, the packaging and poster were also being made!

That brings Nagai-san and Station’s section to an end!

Everything needed to make and print the poster and packaging were all brought along to the event hall just for this! The actual project was actually only to create the figure, so this was all bonus work inspired by Aki.

Another great example of watching professionals at work! Thanks Nagai-san and Station!

Sonico placed in her packaging!

It looks just like a normal Nendoroid in the stores, except for the fact that she has no optional parts. 😛

The blister pack used here was specially made for Sonico super quickly for the event (seen they are normally made in China, it was a rather on the spur of the moment job). I think the ability that Good Smile has to adapt quickly to any situation is definitely one of the most amazing parts of the company!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver. is currently up for order on the Good Smile Online Shop!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.:
http://goodsmile-global.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html

Orders close on the 31st May at 21:00 JST!

You can only order her from the Good Smile Online shop and from the GSC Tetsujin Cafe, so don’t miss out!

After the event, the prototype has gone though lots of intricate adjustments and revisions to ensure good quality!

I’ll be taking a look at the final version on Friday!

The super cute Sonico is now cuter than ever before!
 
But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!!  (・∀・)ノ゛
 
 
(C)2006-2012 Nitroplus

The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

NicoNico Super Kaigi held at the Makuhari Messe on 28th & 29th of April!
In a showy corner of the Good Smile booth there were nine sculptors hard at work sculpting and painting a prototype Nendoroid in just 11 hours!

This is the diary of their challenge!!

Nendoroid Super Sonico: Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

Last time we got just to the point where the initial sculpting was complete!
To get this far took five people just seven hours!

A normal Nendoroid is in production for around 2-3 months, so that gives you a good feel to just how far these guys have been pushing themselves! If you want to read the previous two reports you can find them here:

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 1)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

Nine Sculptors in an 11 Hour Figure Making Trial! (Sculpting – Part 2)
http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-2/

After sculpting was complete, the figure was sent to Matsudo for duplication! 

Kiyo-sanIn charge of : duplication (home-stay team!) ■ This machine creates a vacuum that is used to create a silicon mold! ■ The duplication cast can be seen here, together with the silicon mold! Duplication work requires a lot of care, but Kiyo-san is still able to get through it quickly and smoothly!

Just two photos for Kiyo-san! Sorry!!

The duplication process is actually quite an involved process which I took a look at back in 2010, but that was unfortunately before the blog was translated into English. You can find the Japanese versions of the duplication process here – the images should tell a story on their own! ^^;

Day 1 : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!
Day 2 : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!
Day 3 : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!
Final Day : Mikatan’s Research Diary – Duplication!

 
The next day!!

The Heroes of Day 2 have arrived!

Day 2 will feature the five heroes you see above, who will be giving color to the duplicate figure made last night!

Nishibu In charge of : Priming and the hoodie. (1) The silent solider, Nishibu, begins spraying primer to prepare for painting! (2) Mixing colors for the hoodie! The colors are sprayed again and again and adjusted until perfect! (3) The collar area looks to be complete! (`･ω･´)  (4) Starting paint work on the reverse side of the hoodie! (`･ω･´)  (5) Sticking on camouflage decals to the hoodie. (`･ω･´) 　 (6) The decal is adjusted here and there to make sure it looks just right!

That brings Nishibu’s section to an end!!
Previously the painting used to work as “Cast -> Surfacer (Gray) -> White -> Color”, but now it instead simply goes “Cast -> Primer -> Color”. The reasons for this include:

・ It’s easier to achieve transparent effects.
・It’s less likely the paint will peel from the oil of the cast, as it is sealed inside.

It’s kind of like getting all your preparations done before actually applying make-up – girls will understand just how important that is!

Kawahara In charge of: skin painting, skirt painting and hoodie. (1) Kawapon is carefully placing down some masking tape in preparation for painting. (`･ω･´)  (2) Kawapon has painted Sonico’s head! Lots of changes were made before he decided on the perfect skin color! (`･ω･´) (3) Starting to paint the hands! He is so fast and yet still so careful!  (4) Applying masking tape to the tiniest little areas… truly an artist at work!  (5) More careful masking work! The tape is carefully cut with a craft knife to ensure it is the right size! (`･ω･´)  (6) The level of minute detail Kawapon goes to is outstanding!! 　 (7) Making sure the colors are all looking right. (`･ω･´)  (8) Painting the skirt!  (9) The skirt has been painted, so now the masking tape is carefully removed.  (10) Filling the gaps in the pattern of the hoodie with some decals. (`･ω･´)  (11) It looks like the skirt and legs have been completed now! (`･ω･´)  (12) Matte spray is applied to the hoodie to remove any shine or gloss.  (13) A glossy effect is applied to the wire part of the headphones! (`･ω･´)

That brings the Kawapon section to an end!!

As you can see from the above, masking tape is used to carefully mask the areas that don’t need to be painted a certain color. It is all very delicate work and isn’t just a case of spraying paint all over the figure.

I think that image #5 is the easiest image to get a good feeling for the masking process. The tape needs to be cut into incredibly fine pieces and then carefully placed piece by piece around all the curves of the figure. (The fluffy part of the skirt in particular here, which has so many curves that it must have taken ages to ensure it was masked correctly!)

I know that if I were to do the exact same job, it would have taken me well over a day…

Nobu-san in charge of : necklace decals and body adjustments. (1) Nobu-san begins work on creating the decals for Sonico’s necklace! (2) Nobu-san working on the decals using Illustrator! (3) Placing the decals on white background needed for printing. (`･ω･´) (4) The decals are complete! Lovely shiny necklaces! (`･ω･´) (5) Now one of the decals has been stuck on Sonico’s body. (6) The body is all coming together now! (´◉◞౪◟◉｀) (7) Nobu-san working on small adjustments to the body! (`･ω･´)

That brings Nobu-san’s section to an end!!

Not only is Nobu-san an unbelieveable sculptor, he also makes stunning decals in Illustrator!! Often when the decals are first stuck onto the prototypes the colors end up looking completely wrong to how they should look. For that reason, each decal printed in image #4 actually has slightly different CMYK color values, so that various different colors can be tested at once to find the ideal one.

But there is still much to be done!!

We still have the guitar and hair coloring done by Tasshi, and the face and package design to be done by Oda-P! I’ll be taking a look at those tomorrow!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver. is currently up for order on the Good Smile Online Shop!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.:
http://goodsmile-global.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html
Orders close on the 31st May at 21:00 JST!

You can only order her from the Good Smile Online shop and from the GSC Tetsujin Cafe, so don’t miss out!

Bonus!

A twin shot of Miku and Gumako!

There were all sorts of people in costumes like these all over the event! At one stage Miku, Gumako, Manbe-kun, Sgt. Frog and Frieza were all together and it was absolute chaos! But so much fun at the same time
 
 
Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛

The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

NicoNico Super Kaigi held at the Makuhari Messe on 28th & 29th of April!
In a showy corner of the Good Smile booth there were nine sculptors hard at work sculpting and painting a prototype Nendoroid in just 11 hours!

This is the diary of their challenge!!

The heroes of day one!

In part one we had a look at Oda-P and Nobu-san’s contributions, and today we’ll be looking at Katou-kun, Takanon and Hiro-san!

You can see part one here: http://gscmikatan.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/nine-sculptors-in-an-11-hour-figure-making-trial-sculpting-part-1/

The challenge is to create a prototype of this cute illustration!

Nendoroid Super Sonico: Tiger Hoodie Ver.!

Let’s take a look at what parts were made by the other three!

Katou-san -> In charge of the headphones and back of the hair! (1) Katou-san carving headphones with a Leutor. (2) Fixing up the headphones with putty. (`･ω･´) (3) Katou-san still working on the headphones! (`･ω･´) (4) Removing air bubbles from the surface! (`･ω･´) (5) Adjusting the shape of the headphones! Looks difficult…. (6) Creating a perfectly flat surface. This is harder than it looks… (7) Working on the wires of the headphones! (8) The headphones are looking very detailed! Great work Katou-san! (9) Careful adjustments to the surface of the headphones. (`・ω・´) (10) Making the connecting part for the headphones! (11) Here we have a part of the wires of the headphones! (12) Bending the wire parts. (`･ω･´) (13) Uh-oh! The headphone parts don’t fit on the head parts Oda-P made!! Luckily they are made from brass and can be adjusted! (14) Reworking the headphones parts! (`･ω･´) (15) The hair parts are handed over to Katou-san! They should be finished soon! (16) The hair parts are looking very nice now! (`･ω･´) (17) Working on the finer details of the back hair! Oda-P requested him to make it flow nicely! (18) The wires are still too big, but this is how the headphones will attach! (19) The fringe and headphones are pretty much complete! Great work guys! (20) Balancing out the headphones and the back of the head. (21) The surface of the back hair is also looking close to completion now! (22) One of the tips on the hair broke off!! (ﾟoﾟ;;

That brings Katou-san’s section to an end!

Normally the headphones would have been made using 3D data, so doing them by hand took quite a few hours to complete – but they still come out great! Normally they headphones would be made together with the head part to get the right size, but that wasn’t an option in such a short amount of time, so the headphones ended up way too big at one stage as well!! Luckily our heroes were able to recover from the problem!

The broken piece in section 22 had a piece of putty stuck on which was then fixed up with a belt sander!

Hiro-san -> In charge of the guitar and leg parts! (1) Hiro-san working hard on the guitar. (2) About to start work on the boots! (3) Hiro-san does such delicate work with a craft knife! (`･ω･´) (4) Smoothing out the guitar! Very quick for from Hiro-san! (5) Making the fluffy top part of the boots! (`･ω･´) (6) Boots! What minute detail! (7) Carefully carving on the surface of the guitar. (`･ω･´) (8) Starting work on the tiny hand that will hold the guitar! (9) A bit hard to see on this photo, but Hiro-san is carving out the fluffy top texture onto the boots! (`･ω･´) (10) More adjustments to the fluffy boots! Hiro-san is incredible to watch! (11) The guitar shape is starting to come out nicely! (12) Hiro-san still working on the fluffy top part of the boots! (13) The boots are finally starting to look complete! They’re so cute! (14) Small adjustments are made to the guitar shape. (`･ω･´) (15) A bit out of focus, but here is Hiro-san’s base guitar! (16) Now we move onto the finer details of the guitar! (17) The guitar is really starting to look incredible!! (18) Hiro-san’s guitar is absolutely outstanding!! (19) Spraying surfacer onto the arm! (20) Each of the parts is covered with surfacer!

That brings Hiro-san’s section to an end!!

Just like the headphones, the guitar would normally have been sculpted with 3D data, so having it done with such minute detail by hand is absolutely incredible to see!

By the way, Hiro-san is normally not a part of the Nendoroid team at all and normally only works on scale figures! He was really amazing and quick with the work, even under the time pressure!!

Takanon -> In charge of the skirt and helping out with other areas! (1) Takanon is hardening the lower body parts! (2) Making the skirt, carefully checking for symmetry! (`･ω･´) (3) Looks symmetrical now! Now to work on the skirt! (4) Carefully watching the symmetry, Takanon starts carving out the skirt! (5) Takanon making progress with the skirt! (6) Carefully carving the curves of the skirt! (7) The skirt is starting to look good! (8) Cleaning and smoothing out the skirt! (9) The skirt is nearly finished! Takanon is also super fast with a craft knife! (10) Adding creases to the skirt! (11) Marking some part of the skirt… parts of a pocket?(`･ω･´) (12) Working on the fluffy part of the skirt! (13) The skirt is getting some more detail! (14) Cleaning up the surface of the skirt. (`･ω･´)

That brings Takanon’s section to an end!!

Doi-san from Nitroplus actually sent through all the details about the skirt just before Takanon started work so that it could be exactly to the correct specifications!!

Under great pressure Takanon did great, powered by the smiles of everyone who came by to take a look at the booth! Just looking at him so relaxed under the circumstances even made me feel more relaxed!

But what happens when we put the parts together…?

15:30: 5 hours and 30min have past!

17:00: 7 hours have past!

And finally…!

The Sonico Prototype!!
 
Excellent work to everyone who worked on it!!

Oono from the Web team who was commentating on the challenge literally burst into tears when the final product was revealed! I was quite close myself! 😛

Until the very end the nervous question of how it was going to come out was constantly in the air, but watching everyone work on the sculpting so diligently was truly inspiring! I realized just what incredible individuals each and every one of them are! Just look how incredible the figure came out in just a few hours!!

However!

This isn’t the end of the challenge! After the broadcast the figure had to go back to Matsudo for adjustments to ensure that the final product adheres to the standard quality that our customers have come to expect. After that the figure will then return the next day for painting!

We’ll take a look at that next time!!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver. is currently up for order on the Good Smile Online Shop!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.:
http://goodsmile-global.ecq.sc/top/gcp202.html

The GSC Online Shop is the only place that you will be able to get hold of her, so don’t miss out!
 

Today from 20:00 (JST) we’ll take a look at them on a live broadcast!
http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv92393114

If you’re interested in the figure but not sure if you want it just yet, be sure to tune in and perhaps we can convince you! I’m actually not sure what optional parts she’ll come with myself!
 
Anyway, that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛
 
 
(C)2006-2012 Nitroplus

28th & 29th of April 2012!

NicoNico Super Kaigi!
 

The first ever Super Kaigi was held at the Makuhari Messe and Good Smile had their own booth at the event!! (`･ω･´)
Plus the booth was very big!! It was about the same size as the WonHobby booth at WonFes – even about the same size as the giant labyrinth that Bushiroad made!

Here we have the GSC Booth!

The Good Smile Cafe and Indotei were both there as well serving delicious food! There was even a resting corner with tables and chairs for people to relax in!

In this photo you can see replicas of the 0-car and the 4-car which were also on display along with new and upcoming figures. It was a very bustling booth for the whole event!

The one corner of the booth featured this interesting section!

The GSC 11 Hour Figure Making Trial!

Nine sculptors worked together to create an 11 hour sculpting and painting marathon, where a prototype was completed in just 11 hours!

I’ve seen this before!!

A counter suitable for champions! This timer will count down the 11 hours to make sure they don’t go over the allocated time!

The heroes of day one!

These five sculptors will be working on sculpting all the parts of the figure!

As mentioned on the live broadcast, a normal Nendoroid prototype takes about 2-3 months of sculpting!

To complete that in just 11 hours is really a test of skill! (I do wonder why they all look like prisoners, though :P)

The figure they will be sculpting in 11 hours is this lovely Nendoroid!

Nendoroid Super Sonico : Tiger Hoodie Ver.

Nitroplus’ mascot character, Super Sonico-chan, wearing the fan favorite Tiger spotted hoodie! Normally the headphones and guitar would be sculpted with 3D data, but this time around they will all be sculpted by hand!

A base Nendoroid body!

This will be used as a base for the sculpting – making use of this as the basic frame ensures the figure will keep the proportions and balance of the Nendoroid series!

The making of the figure was updated in real time on a NicoNico Live Broadcast and twitter!

Both of those followed a specific time frame, but here on the blog today we’ll be taking a look at each part as it was made! The pictures and text are all borrowed from the Nutty of the production team’s twitter account!
 

Name: Oda-P In charge of : Fringe parts, back of hair parts and face parts. (1) Oda-P begins work on the hair parts.  (2) Oda-P carving away hair parts with a belt sander.  (3) Oda-P’s craft-knife work is quick but careful.  (4) Oda-P is quickly getting the shape of the fringe parts!  (5) Oda-P still working on the fringe parts!  (6) Face complete! Oda-P is so quick, its incredible!  (7) Oda-P is now checking the volume of the hair is correct.  (8) Oda-P with a dangerous weapon! Or perhaps he is just making rough cuts on the hair…  (9) The reverse side of the hair is starting to take shape! (9) The putty for her side hair has been attached. (`･ω･´) (10) Oda-P is incredibly fast! Sonico is already starting to take form! (`･ω･´)  (11) Oda-P starts work on the mouth!  (12) Oda-P is now molding the side-hair into shape! (`･ω･´)  (13) The head part is already looking mostly finished! (´◉◞౪◟◉｀) < Caterpie  (14) Making adjustments and cleaning up the surface of the hair.  (15) Oda-P fixing up the shape of the hair and removing bubbles from the putty! He is so fast!  (16) Oda-P begins work on Sonico’s cute little teeth! (`･ω･´)  (17) Oda-P has completed the teeth! So cute!! (*^◯^*)  (18) Oda-P is now doing the finishing touches on the hair and face!  (19) More adjustments to the fringe. It looks like it is coming out beautifully!  (20) Oda-P says ‘You probably can’t even see the small changes anymore’. But it looks great!!  (21) Oda-P makes a tiny little guitar pick in her hand!  (22) Oda-P draws on some eyes for the prototype! So cute!!!

That brings the Oda-P section to an end!
The fringe and face parts are where most attention is normally focused on a figure, so normally they go through an incredibly fine and detailed sculpting process… in just seven hours Oda-P managed to create such a wonderful prototype of them! It’s absolutely incredible!

The back hair parts Oda-P was working on will reappear when Katou gets hold of them while working on the headphones at a later stage. The cooperative work that had to be organized on the fly is just another thing that made the challenge so amazing!

Nobu-san In charge of : main body and hoodie. (1) Nobu-san begins work on the body! (`･ω･´) (2) Nobu-san mixing epoxy putty! What will it become…? (`・ω・´) (3) Nobu-san is moving on with the body! (4) The body is starting to take shape! Nobu-san is also very quick at this! (5) Rough sculpting of the legs begins! (`･ω･´) (6) Nobu-san connecting pieces onto the body. (`･ω･´) (7) Nobu-san cleaning up the body with a file! (8) Nobu-san says ‘The putty is still drying while I try work so it keeps breaking… (´・ω・`)’. Working on a clock makes it a lot more stressful… (9) Nobu-san working hard on the body! Making use of his own body to confirm poses! (10) Reinforcing areas for working on Sonico’s clothes. (11) Nobu-san confirms poses on the actual Nendoroid stand. (`・ω・´) (12) Boobies! Nobu-san is creating Sonico’s sexy body using epoxy putty! (13) Nobu-san starts work on the hoodie! It’s amazing to think this glob of putty will eventually become a hoodie! (14) Nobu-san is sculpting rough versions of the hoodie! (`・ω・´)   (15) It’s starting to look like a hoodie! *・゜゜・*:.。..。.:*・'(*゜▽゜*)’・*:. (16) The clothes are starting to take form now! Nobu-san is amazing with his hands! (17) Nobu-san working on the molding of the clothes! He must be nearing the finish line! (18) Nobu-san says, ‘It’s tough as all the clothes are all a single part’. But they’re coming out so wonderfully! (19) The clothes are coming out beautifully! (`・ω・´)

That brings Nobu-san’s section to an end!
His section involved getting the basic body ready and able to take poses, the overall balance of the body and then he also worked on the clothes and hoodie! Lots of work in such a short amount of time!!

Plus while he was working on the joint of the shoulders the putty constantly wasn’t able to dry fast enough and kept breaking off… it was a very stressful event…! But there was a wonderful recovery thereafter and he managed to catch up in the second half of the work! As expected of a Nendoroid sculptor! ^^

The next three heroes will join the blog on the 11th May!!
Be sure to take a look if you want to see where the challenge went from this point!

But that’s all for today!
I hope to see you all again tomorrow!! (・∀・)ノ゛
 
 
(C)2006-2012 Nitroplus