The Way of Tetsujin

dust has finally settled. It's curtains down for Tetsujin 2018. I am already looking forward to a bigger, grander one in 2019. Hopefully.

Tetsujin is the brainchild of Ms Joyce Teo/Sam Lim of Hobby Art Gallery and Hobby Art @ Work. The aim of this event is to create awareness for Gunpla and also to raise our local "plastic" standards, if I may lol.

The first Tetsujin happened in 2004, followed by 2005 and after a long break, 2017 and of course 2018 this year. Tetsujin is open to all genres and disciplines but primarily Sci-Fi, mecha based builds. We broadened the range of subjects participants can choose from, and not restricts to Gundams. So how you approach or tackle the subject matter, it's your prerogative. This is of course subject to the rules and regulations set out in the respective categories.

Following the competition, I realized a lot of you guys out there are still very unclear when it comes to Tetsujin. So the local judges and I took the liberty to digest and came up with this post to give you all an inkling on how the game works.

Do bear with me though, it's gonna be a long post. I probably should have break it down into several chapters. But I rather bore you guys to death. ;)

OK, for starters, we have three main categories, Open, Out-of-Box and Youth. Unfortunately, we have to do away with the youth category this year because there were just too few entrants. We still have a good turn out for the rest though. We also had a one-off special category in Frame Arms Girls (FAG) this year considering its recent rise in popularity.

Well before I go into the specifics, let's talk about the competition's general requisites or rather, what are the first things we look for? (applicable to all categories)

1. First Impression

Yes, that first impression. That eye-catching display. That crowd wooer. We are not going to DENY it, the bigger entries will always be the attention grabbers. No doubt about it. But there is always two sides to a coin. The bigger the surface, the more potential mistakes you may make. So can your work stand up against that kind of scrutiny in Tetsujin? It is a delicate balance many hope to achieve. It can go either way if you ain't careful in your quality of work.

2. Color Scheme

Color has always been an important aspect for any entry. Most of the time, it's make or break. You spend months, weeks and days creating awesome details and modifications so you do not want to screw it all up with a bad color scheme.

So what constitutes a good color scheme? Firstly, it has to blend in well with the whole theme you are trying to achieve. You can use the color wheel to come up with complementary colors as well.

It could be a metallic, chameleon, clear, pastel or even a whole new painting style experimenting with different mediums. Yes, always explore all possibilities! Surprise the judges!

3. Presentation

Presentation can create interest in the subject matter. It attracts people's attention and draws them closer for a better look.

It can be used to relate or tell a story/plot/scene or simply just be a static looking statue-like base. Or, even both!

So interesting presentation vs drab looking, boring unimaginative stand-alone ones. Which one do you prefer to see? Although you still can achieve the desirable results with the latter, you just need to come up with a really good strategy in presentation and also possesses the relevant skills to pull it off.

Alright! Let's jump back to the 3 main categories in Tetsujin!

Out-of-box Category (OOB)

As the name implies, this is basically building straight from the box. And nothing more. This category is initially catered for beginners who wants a taste of joining a competition but do not dare or have the know-hows to venture into the tougher leagues. For the intermediate and above, it is a revision for them as well as an acid test for their basics. Although a base is not necessary here, we did not stop participants from adding one if they want to.

We concentrate on basic modeling skills like:

1. Assembly/Construction

How obstinate are we? Yes, nub marks will cost you, big time. So does uncleared seam lines. Poorly constructed kits are frowned upon. Broken parts will incur the wrath of the judges! LOL.

2. Painting

Painting is like the livelihood of any modeler. We stress a lot on the quality of the paint job. Blotchy, messy and even those with stuck with hairs and fingerprints on them are definitely a no-no! We seen it all! Yeah, and also entries with unpainted parts. Thought you can get away with it, don't you? Hahaha... We know some could not afford the tools to paint, but we still encourage them to work towards getting them in the future. It opens up many possibilities.

Wasn't what we had in mind, but you get the picture, right?

3. Finishing

Or be finished! The last leg can be your clowning glory or a free-fall disaster. Here, we look at decals and finishing. We all know that decals can enhance a kit and top coat improves the outlook/appearance. You can get a satin, consistent or high gloss finishes. There are of course semi-gloss depending on your taste. It all boils down to the subject matter and topic. The usual problems we see in top coats are uneven applications, dust particles stuck in between coats, frosting, insufficient coverage etc. For decals, silvering is a common occurrence as well as bad placement and wrong choice of decals like pasting Seed decals on a Unicorn kit! It's debatable though!

The two entries above were the 2017 and 2018 winners for the OOB category. Titled "Nemesis Prime" by Wilson Wong and "Alto Armored Messiah" by Muhamad Rizal. Both have top notch workmanship.

Wilson's Prime stood right out because of the bright, metallic colours and almost flawless paint job. We all know the Dual Model Kit (DMK) Optimus Prime has a lot of small parts and it is painstaking to assemble and paint. But he did a really decent job. And he used a base to elevate the kit so it was too obvious to be missed.

Rizal's Messiah was impeccable, all the basics were well covered and the paint job, flawless. But what really caught the judges were the decals. Macross planes are notorious for its decals because the come in large pieces. So it takes skill and patience to apply them and coming up with a flawless finish. And he did it for all that it's worth.

Open Category (OP)

From the small pond into the wide open sea. Yes, I think there is no better fitting analogy than this. Leaping from mere out-of-box to modified kits, it is for the more adventurous ones. Anything goes here, the sky's the limit. There is nothing you cannot do here. Well, except utilizing bootlegs of course.

We still take into consideration the basic things like construction, painting and finishing. But in addition, the list extends to concept, modification and creativity. And that includes the base. So technically, it's more challenging.

1. Concept

We all know never to charge into a battlefield without a proper plan. And it applies to here as well. It is wise to start brainstorming for ideas/concepts and slowly work from there. So always start early. It could be a Samurai riding a horse with a dynamic pose. Or even a mobile armor jammed pack with weapons. Or combining FAG with Zoids. Always have a notebook ready and when ideas come, jot them down immediately. Keep it for future reference.

If you don't even start to formulate a plan, it's going to be a tough road ahead. By failing to prepare, you preparing to fail.

2. Modification

When it comes to modifications, it is a wide ranging topic. It can be scratch-building, detailing, kitbashing, battle damage and more. There are so many techniques and school of thoughts out there. So we look at how you transform a model kit with these skills and do it convincingly. And that is to be coupled with good workmanship as well. It sounds like a tall order, but at Tetsujin, we expect nothing less from the participants. Everyone will put in maximum effort and have pride in their work. The judges can see it the hard work you put in. Because they are modelers after all.

3. Creativity

Perhaps the most subjective of all the criteria. How do you even judge creativity? Well, it ain't that straightforward of course.

Sometimes, one man's medicine is another's poison. But for starters, we will try to look at an entry to see what the modeler is trying to portray and whether he or she managed to pull it off or not. So it could be in the presentation, diorama or even the paint works. It can be anything! Normally it will have to be something that surprises the judges? Or some clever presentation that intrigues everyone?

Well, even in the judging panel, there will always be differing opinions. And that is because we are comes from different backgrounds and disciplines. But if there is ever one entry that gets all the judges' nods, it's definitely in top 3.

The two entries are the winners for the Open category for 2017 and 2018 respectively. First entry simply titled "Purge" by Kwong Kok Yi and the second one, "KILL" by Saleh M Y. Both won based on different merits.

Kwong's entry was simply stunning. It could have won the Best-Of-Show award if there is one. A crowd puller. In terms of the first impression, it won hands down. It stands out like a beacon. And naturally, people will want a closer look. Normally, impressive looking works are not able to withstand close scrutiny. And this is where Kwong surprised us. It was flawless. The basics, paint job, base and composition is simply astounding. To be frank, it was the easiest decision we ever made LOL.

Saleh's entry was contrary to Kwong's. It was not eye-catching at all. It certainly did not arouse our interest until we had the chance to take a closer look at it. And we were stunned by the concept and execution. Just a simple backdrop that curves out at the base, the background look almost seamless, blending in nicely with the kits. Then came the sight of Barbatos burying it's sword into Gusion creating a sharp contrast with the backdrop. And there is a nice flow to it. Perfectly execution. Not too big or over-whelming and yet packed a powerful punch. The pictures we have don't do it justice though. However, it would be perfect if the support was concealed from the backdrop rather than the base itself.

Youth (Y)

One of the main goals of Tetsujin is to bring in new blood and to nurture them. And I must admit, it has been a tall order. This generation has too much distractions. Some are obsessive with winning at a tender age which will lead to undesirable behaviors in the future. We want to make it fun for them but at the same time, teach them the proper fundamentals and educate them about the hobby.

So basically, it's the same as Open category but limited by age. Same set of criteria but we watered it down considerably.

2017 winner was the "Thunderbolt Comet" by Opheilo Liang. Even at the age 16, this girl displayed an array of skills that can make some of the seniors flushed with envy. The paint job and fundamentals were sound, we couldn't fault her much. In fact we thought she was in the wrong category! Still need to work on the pose and presentation though.

Frame Arms Girl (FAG) - 2018

Starting from 2018, we will have a special category every year to add another dimension to the competition. It has the same rules and regulations as the Open category. And it's Frame Arms Girl this year. Participants are free to use whatever they want as long as the base kit is a FAG from Kotobukiya. We were riding on it's popularity and we received requests for such a category as well. You could say it was fan request. And it came as no surprise to us when we had some nice entries.

Coincidentally, the OOB (Muhamad Rizal) and Open (Kwong Kok Yi) category winners from 2017, get to lock horns with each other this year. Unfortunately, there can only be one winner even though both works were outstanding.

It was close fight but the winning entry went to "The Witch of the Battlefield" by Kok Yi. A bewitching entry indeed! We were bombarded by a visage of colours. There is a lot of interesting details which literally came to life with his superb brush painting skills. The minute parts are painstakingly painted with a range of metallic colours. No stone was left unturned. The attention to details was a herculean effort. In terms of presentation, it was the ace in the pocket. A stylist girl sitting on a mechanical throne with quad-legs, so elegant and majestic. What more can we ask for?

Conclusion

Well, I think I covered almost everything. But just bear with me a little longer. I like to stress that judging is not always that straightforward. We took more than 3 hours in one morning to decide the winners. It was tough when you have to take out and inspect every entry.

It's not always about how much points you are awarded. This is not academic and you won't get a cert for it. Because points mean nothing if it is not explained to you where you went wrong and what can be improved. Which is why we have an open dialogue session with all the participants after the prize award ceremony. Everyone can ask to his/her heart's content.

Of course not everyone will agree with me on all accounts. But this event is still very much a WIP. And we strive to improve year after year. Many of us are volunteers who work for free because we grew up with Hobby Art Gallery and we believe in their capability to bring this hobby to the next level. This year was a far cry from the last in terms of organization and running of the event. It was so much better. I couldn't have ask for more. Well, maybe my only wish is to see a stronger turnout in the next one.

And, that is why I am appealing to the community and also our overseas friends to support Tetsujin. Yes! We are open to overseas participants as well! Support the hobby even if you do not support the shop.

Because there is no denying it, this IS after all