Behold, the kit that got things rolling again...

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr
This kit was a load of firsts. It was the first kit I painted, the first time I used an air brush, the first time I weathered, and the first time I used water slide decals.
Painting and using an airbrush for the first time turned out better than expected. The paint went on easily and looks fantastic. If you look closely you can see that in my naivety the coverage is down right terrible. Luckily, on this kit, I was able to pull it off. With the weathering it looks natural. It just goes to show that sometimes you just get lucky.
Thankfully Bandai provided water slide decals that look fantastic. This is before I ever heard of Micro Set or Sol. A reminder that a simple application isn't necessarily a bad one.
Weathering was done with some Tamiya weathering pallets and application was no different than using water color paints. A little bit of water, the provided brush, and presto, a unique look.
Best of all is that while I built this kit I remember having fun. It was a blast to paint, build, and detail. Why it's not the most technically competent build it's one of my fondest.

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr
Even before painting the kit looks pretty good.

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr
Behold, my messy workspace. This was before I was presented with the idea of suspending the pieces on picks so they were sat on the table and sprayed.

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr
Whoo, decals!

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr
Before weathering.

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

Click to Enlarge | On Flickr