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The Kappa


Roktman

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I saw this kit at one of the Vendors's tables at the IPMS Nats in AZ.  The Kappa comes from Japanese mythology :
 

Kappa considered to be a type of suijin (water deity) that inhabits the freshwater areas of Japan. According to legend, the Kappa is fond of causing mischief and even harm towards humans. A Kappa’s pranks can manifest in the form of harmless jokes like making noises similar to flatulence or looking up a woman’s kimono. However, some Kappa are more violent and have been known to try to drown livestock, kidnap and eat children, and force themselves upon women.
Although Kappa are generally considered a force to be feared, there are some instances in which the Kappa are considered to be generous – though this most often happens when a Kappa is indebted to a human being. Some of the most common records of friendly Kappa are early Japanese legends that attribute the knowledge of bone setting and medical salves as being taught to man by friendly Kappa.


The kit contains two frets of styrene parts. There are no instructions, but 3 images and corresponding part number to show where they go - 

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The build begins. There are no locator pics and in some spots it's a balancing act to keep the parts where they belong until the glue sets.

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Felt the need to put some paint on the shell.
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Primed in tan and then sponge dabbed in Mahogany.

 

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A little Ivory added the the belly.

 Work started on the hair. There is no "cup" as the myth suggests, just a bald spot. I could have added one, but just didn't. 
While the idea of the tab on the hair fits into the slot on the bald spot looked good on computer, it didn't really work, besides the first one. In the end the tabs were cut off and the hair superglued into place. There was also gaps, and some Aves came to the rescue there. 
 

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Painting 90% complete. The model comes with two round stones in his upturned palm that isn't added yet. I didn't look up the meaning of that. Nothing was mentioned in the summaries, and everything written on the box is in Japanese.

 

 

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The kit comes with a super simple base of just a log stump or is it just a large rock?  Anyway too simple for me. So I took some foam out of my "foam box" and started  carving a shoreline.  He'll go on one of the stones in the water. 

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Check back for completion.

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With the creature finished I turned my attention to finishing the base. I added colors to the river bed. In hindsight, I should have used more muted colors.
 

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 Added a little greenery to the river bed. I was planning on making the  water clear or mostly clear.

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 A closeup of the tree root. Not bad going from a real branch to roots bad from aves.

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 Some plastic aquarium plants painted and added to the river bed. I also added some "leaves" to the shrub.

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 The finished product. Thanks for looking.

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