Females and other Garage Kit Build-Ups |     
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I first began to discover garage kits in 1995. I saw a Bunny Lum kit in one of the ads in the back of a Hobby Japan. It was also the time I was beginning to explore the internet. One of the first mail order dealers I contacted said that he could get the kit. Well, things didn't work out. Years later, on the second day of the show, I saw the Lum kit I wanted on one of the dealer tables. I looked at the guy's card and it was the same guy I had met on the net. I bought that kit. For less than she was the first time. Well, she was in pretty bad shape. Obviously someone's rough attempt at recasting. It took quite a bit to fill the froth that ran along the mold lines. The joint surfaces were in pretty bad shape too. Since she was missing Lum's signature locks, I decided to make her into a gerneric anime bunny girl and call her Meg. To further remove her Lum identity, Several other changes had to be made. Removing her horns also took a bit of filling erase them completely. A bit of creative dentistry and her canines were reduced to a more normal size. Her ears got bobbed and the hair was filled in to replace the missing points. To make her a more accurate bunny girl, she would need some other improvements. I used "Playboy Bunnies" published in 1971 and "The Bunny Years". Both these books have some OK photos of costumes, most of which are solid color. From what I could see of the more interesting print costumes, just about anything would work. Meg's costume was inspired by one I saw in a small picture of a group shot. |
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This is what real bunny girls had that Lum didn't:
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The pattern for Meg's bunny suit was penciled onto white primer. Each section ws meticulouly painted with a small brush and Delta Ceramoat Acrylics. The gold was added last. The black lines were donw with Sakura Micron pens. Her hair was basecoated with dark gree (yes, I said dark green) and brick red was applied as a highlight. I used VRush Pens to streak her hair with Crafter's Pic Brush Strokes to give some texture to the otherwise flat surface. Next, I streked different mixtures of gold, copper, brick red and cinammon. Once dry, the hair was brushed with clear satin. |
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Using a technique shown to me by my pal Tony Lamb, I made a bunny logo base out of layers of sheet styrene, This was painted balck overall. Then, I airbrushed a muted yellow onto the raised areas and glued it down to a piece of sanded poplar. Last, I stippled the whole thing with gold, applying more paint to the raised areas. Because of some errors and repairs, she may not be a competition quality piece but I sure had fun building her. She's also quite an eyeful. I have been collecting bunny girl kits for a while now. Someday, Meg and Bunny Lum will be the first two members of a larger collection. Meg was airbrushed with Iwata Eclipse series airbrushes. |