Mecha Competition Build – Part 2: When the Plan Changes

NecrosKnight Battleworn and pierced — Necrosknight Stabbed

This is Part 2 of my Necrosknight competition build. If you haven't already, check out Mecha Competition Build – Part 1: Building the Necrosknightbefore reading on.

When I started the Necrosknight competition build, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted the finished piece to look like.

The Necrosknight was going to be the hero of the diorama.

I imagined the Knight standing prominently in the centre of the duel, overpowering the Rosan Lancer with the scythe through the Lancer’s head, becoming the focal point of the scene. It seemed like the natural choice, especially with the Necrosknight being the model I had originally built the project around.

But then I built the Rosan Lancer.

And somewhere along the way, the plan changed.

Enter the Rosan Lancer

Building the Rosan Lancer was another step towards turning this from two boxes in my backlog into an actual moment in time, much like some of the other Gunpla projects I've worked on.

At first, I was still thinking about how I could position the Lancer to support the Necrosknight as the hero of the piece. But once I started playing around with the poses, something clicked.

Instead of the Necrosknight winning the duel, what if i stop thinking in terms of a victor but more about the poses and composition of the piece as a whole.

I started experimenting with the weapons and poses, and eventually found a composition that I liked far more than my original idea.

The Necrosknight's scythe is caught in the Lancer's shield, while the Lancer's spear has managed to spear the Necrosknight through the stomach.

Suddenly, there was a story.

Neither model is simply standing there looking impressive. They are locked into the final moments of a fight.

Committing to the Damage

With the composition decided, I've started moving onto the painting stage.

This is also where I've had to properly commit to the battle damage.

That's always one of the slightly scary parts of any project. Once you start cutting, damaging or altering a model, there isn't really an easy way to go back.

But for this scene, I think the damage is going to be an important part of selling the story.

The spear through the Necrosknight and the scythe embedded in the Lancer's shield aren't just details for the sake of adding detail. They explain what is happening between the two models, and all the broken and scratched armour shows the depth and length of their duel.

I'm hoping that once everything is painted, the damage will help make the scene feel like a snapshot of a much larger battle.

The Colour Problem

I'm also questioning one of my original colour choices.

At the moment, I'm reasonably happy with the direction of this project, but I think it needs some more colour.

There is a danger that the darker tones could make the models feel a little flat once everything is finished.

I'm considering introducing some additional colour into the Necrosknight to help break things up and give the eye somewhere else to go.

The biggest question is the cloth.

I've been thinking about changing it to red.

Partly because, let's be honest, red is the stereotypical bad-guy colour.

But more importantly, I think a red cape could give the Necrosknight a much stronger presence against the rest of the model. It could provide a much-needed splash of colour without completely changing the darker feel I'm aiming for.

I'm not completely sold yet, but I'm definitely considering it.

From Hero to Survivor

The biggest change to this project so far isn't actually a change to the paint scheme or the composition.

It's the story.

I started this project wanting the Necrosknight to be the hero.

Now I'm much more interested in creating a scene where there isn't really a hero at all.

The Lancer has landed a devastating blow, but the Necrosknight's scythe is still embedded in the Lancer's shield. Both models are damaged. Both are fighting to survive, but only one can survive.

And I think that makes for a much more interesting competition piece.

I'm really happy with how the build is coming together so far, and I'm excited to see whether the final paint job can capture the same feeling that I get when I look at the two models together.

There is still plenty of work to do, especially with the battle damage, colour choices and finishing the composition.

But for now, I'm happy that I changed the plan.

Sometimes the best part of a project is discovering that the idea you started with wasn't actually the idea you needed.

On to the next.

And remember: Always Paint Your Way