Botcollector:  So how shall we and our surfers refer to you?

Miles:  "Miles Obrien" is how I'm addressed by everyone I know on the internet. I  do what's called "spacebattles."  I render 3d animations that mix Star Wars,  Star Trek, and Babylon 5.  I prefer Star Trek out of those 3, and Miles Obrien is one of my favorite characters.  But, on the Spacebattles Forum it was just the Nerdy thing to do - take the name of your favorite character.  To check out my spacebattles go to www.warped3d.com.  Johan Alm started it all with www.spacebattles.com.

Botcollector:  What model and make is this particular Gundam you used for Rodimus, and what made it the choice for this particular bash?

Miles:  I used the RX-78 NT-1 ALEX.  At first, I wasn't going to make "Rodimus."  After discovering Q's corner, I just had to make an Optimus.  I swear that Optimus Prime kitbash of his is wicked.  I just had to make one too, but when I saw the price of a Perfect Grade MK II, I decided on the Alex.  Now, I was hoping - I really was - that if I made a kitbash, I was going to send Botcollector the photos and you'd put them on your web site.  Then I started thinking, you didn't need another "Optimus"- no one wants to see another Optimus - especially if it would be of a lesser quality model than Q's Perfect Grade MK II.  I just made the decision to make Rodimus Prime because Q hadn't done him yet and he wasn't on any of the vote forms for "who should Q do next?"

Botcollector:  What made you want to Kitbash a Gundam into Rodimus?

Miles:  The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.  The main part of the Transformers movie that nobody liked was the Death of Optimus Prime.  I can look back at it now with more maturity and say, "it was well written and very dramatic," but it doesn't mean I liked it. We see Megatron transformed into Galvatron, but Optimus died.  Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime, but in my opinion, I saw nothing "prime" about him.  I liked Hot Rod better!  Anyway, I rationalized in my head that Rodimus needed to look a little more like Prime in order for me to accept him as the leader of the Autobots.  So, I just decided to use the model I had bought for my Optimus kitbash.

Botcollector:  How long did it take from start to finish?  Can you describe some parts of the process?

Miles:  I'd say about 3-4 nights after work from start to finish.  It went pretty fast after I got it painted.  I started on the project immediately, without spending much time on thinking about it  first.  I was excited.  I could already see him in my head and I was ready to see him with my eyes.  I just had to get started.  To make sure that throughout my kitbashing attempt (to make sure that what I was doing was going to look like Rodimus), I dusted off my Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime toys and set them on the desk in front of me.  I was using them for the color scheme.  They sat there the whole time.  I knew that using a model that in no way resembled Rodimus, I would have to rely on the colors for people to recognize him when I was finished.  Like I said, I was excited to see the end result.  This caused me to hurry - which was a big mistake.  For all those reading this, let me tell you - Let the paint DRY on all your parts before you put them together.  I'll explain why.  The "ALEX" has these hidden machine guns in his forearms; his arm will open for the guns to be exposed.  The pieces are made to snap together without paint.  Once you apply a coat (or 2) of paint, those little joints and moving parts are even tighter.  Here's where my problem was:  after painting the parts I let them dry for an hour.  They were dry to the touch, but some of the colors that I had used were "glossy" and needed a little more time to dry, but my impatience got the  better of me and I went ahead and assembled his arms.  When I came back the next day, the enclosure that held the guns had dried in the closed position.  D'oh!   SO, kids, use FLAT paints!  You can go back with a glossy spare coat to make everything shine when you are done.  I ended up having to force it open and repaint the areas where the paint had ripped off.  Do it right the first time and you won't have to go back and do it again.

Botcollector:  What kind of techniques and items did you use to make the Gundam look like Rodimus?

Miles:  There wasn't a whole lot of kit "bashing," more a job of color matching.  I did cut the "V" shaped antennae into two pieces and glued them to the side of his head.  That was the easy part.  I did it to give Rodimus a more defined "Prime" look.  I also used some of the armor pieces to form the "fins" on the back.  I knew that the hard part was going to be the flames on his chest.  That and the fact that the model that I chose doesn't have much of a chest.  I ended up painting the flames by hand with a small brush.  I used 3 colors - orange, yellow, and white.  I started with the orange and thinly painted some large flame shapes.  Then, with the yellow, painted some smaller flame shapes on top of that.  The last layer was some little white flame  shapes on top of it all.  Again, the paint was a little wet the whole time as I did each layer. They "blended" together a little. Which, I think, turned out quite nice.  I hadn't planned that effect, but it was a nice "surprise."

Botcollector:  What were your favorite and worst parts about the process?

Miles:  Doing things like this or models in general helps me to unwind after a chaotic day at work, because here - it is a step by step process - no chaos.  That was my favorite part; using the experience to unwind.  The worst part was the time it took:  you really need patience.  If you rush it, people will be able to tell; also those $#@% arm/gun enclosures that I mentioned earlier.

Botcollector:  How about the easiest and hardest parts?

Miles:  Assembly was the easiest: Bandai makes an excellent product.  Everything goes together with little or no effort.  The hardest part was going slowly to get it right; I'm a fast paced kinda guy.

Botcollector:  So what's your particular style when Kitbashing?  Do you buy or make specialized tools or implements, or is the standard paintbrush and screwdriver type deal?

Miles:  Well, I haven't done this enough to have a style.  Everything was by the book except for the antennae.  I did go to Home Depot for some of the spray paints. Rodimus' main color is kinda Red/Brown/purple, and it was trouble to match.  But I found a can of red - satin finish that worked beautifully.

Botcollector:  So you used some non-model spraypaints, as opposed to the model-specific colors like at hobby shops?

Miles:  Yeah.  Some of the pieces you HAVE to spraypaint, or they'll look funny.

Botcollector:  Any comments or suggestions that you think Q or other Botcollector
visitors could benefit from?

Miles:  I would say, paint the rest of the pieces while they are still on the "tree" by hand and cut them off, don't break them off, because you'll end up with "pits" or "gaps."

Botcollector:  Any plans for the future in terms of Kitbashing?

Miles:  I was thinking about using one of the versions of the Deathsycthe from Gundam Wing to make a Galvatron or Starscream.

Botcollector thanks you for taking the time to get involved with Botcollector's Community; we are happy to make yours the first submitted Kitbash project a highlight in Q's corner, and we hope others will follow suit.  In addition, Q salutes your excellent work on your first foray into the realm of Kitbashing!

Doing some kitbashing of your own?  Feel free to share your work with us!  Drop us a line and/or send pics to us!