11/24/2016 - Heuer 1550SG I'm a bit of a watch nut, specifically "tool watches" and recently, military types. Below is a German military issue type from Heuer I recently purchased. As there are many dial variations this is a goo resource on on the watch.   11/1O/2O13 - Artist Do Ho Suh and Ma.K maker in the Wall Street Journal Not only a sculptor whose work can be see around the world, but a fellow who has a long time love for Ma.K. He's the gentleman behind Hexa Models - http://www.hexamodel.com Check out the WSJ article and note the Ma.K kits Kow is credited for - Artist Do Ho Suh Explores the Meaning of Home   O5/25/2O13 - Another Ma.Ker in New York Recently, Judy (me lady friend) and I became
friendly with a Japanese jewelry designer in our neighborhood. She owns a
shop near us. It's name, Written by Forest (www.writtenbyforest.com ).
She's very talented and has lovely things; pearls the size of your
cornea and beautiful honest ring designs. Who doesn't love
a beautiful truth? She's also done some genius repair work on Judy's busted bracelets and rings. "Ohhhhh. My husband makes models too! Tanks and airplanes.... he has so many, it really drives me crazy!"One day while looking for a gift for Judy, I apologized to Mrs.Inada for having paint on my hands. I was handling her delicate rings from the showcase and felt self conscience. She asked if I was a painter and said I make scale models. I presented her with my iPhone with a picture of SAFS suit I was working on. Sure enough her husband does and knows Kow too. Being a fan since he was 13 and traveling often to Japan in the mid 2000s, they began to correspond and then later met.  We connected and he invited me to his SOHO office to check out his collection. We sat around for a few hours chatting about Ma.K., our builds, painting techniques, his art work, our livelihoods, surfing, sharks and what swims beneath the Atlantic ocean when you're not thinking about it. Back to Ma.K though, he built two 1/16 Silicon Tribe kits recently. The scale is killer.     Though I loved and already know the
SNAIL, he turned me on to the world of Hyper Weapons by Makoto Kobayashi.
Funny enough, earlier that day Ethan Den B and Francesco Benedettini where talking about Kobayashi's work on FB. As with Kow's work, there is so much detail to to appreciate as well as an entire world to get lost in. I'm sure many of you know Kobayashi's work already, but I'm inspired and feel the need to share.  Anyway, my host gave me a bunch of material to look at over the long weekend, so it looks like I'll be taking another trip down a rabbit's hole.....  Who the "BLEEP" in this? After a visit to LA in the summer 2010, I still find myself obsessed with the Ma.K.(aka SF3D) genre. While in Little Tokyo I came across a NITTO AFS kit in a JP specialty store. I built the same kit when I was 12. It was the "bomb". With detailed mixed media parts, sophisticated packaging, incredible box art and camo card; I was stoked. Unfortunately because of girls, beer and rock n'roll, it was one of the last plastic model kits I would build until now — almost 20 years later. During that trip to LA, I couldn't stop trolling the web for information on the genre's history. Ultimately, I started lurking around Lincoln Wright, Bryan Krueger, Jason Eaton, Michael Fichtenmaye and Will Chin's sites. After enlisting my girlfriend's mother to translate some Japanese web pages for me, I eventually picked up a few kits and in October 2010 completed an AFS MKII, then a Fliedge and so on. I'm still not sure what it's about these "little men" or "Robot Friends" (as my girlfriend likes to call them). There's defiantly a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment felt when a kit is completed. I continue to spend time looking at others work's, hunting for kits, checking in on the Ma.K. Forum or hanging around the Kow Yokoyam FB group. As a result, I've also connected with some really great people from around the world who dig the Ma.K. and Yokoyam san's style. So, why JSAN9? Named after Judy, my girlfriend. The name started as a joke. In the beginning, she had little patience for my new interest, so I named my first SAFS after her. We live together in Brooklyn, New York with our two cats, Chip and Stormy and the occasional visits from Toby, the dog.  Judy and I along PCH, CA 09.2010 Thanks to the Gentledudes for being a source inspiration and great encouragement! Cheers! |
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