Hi World, Gunjap Interviews today with Diego Quijano !!!
Hi World, Gunjap Interviews today with Diego Quijano. Let’s Start!
[G: Gunjap]
[D: Diego Quijano]
G – Who is Diego Quijano in the Modelers World? And where do you come from?
D – I come from Spain. At present I live in Tenerife, the most beautiful isle of Canary Islands. 🙂
I love every kind of modelling, AFVs, airplanes, figures, Sci-Fi, dioramas, civil modeling… but I mainly build airplanes and AFVs, and some Sci-Fi subject when I find time.
G – When did you start building model kits?
And when did you made your first Improved Model?
D – I built my first model at the age of 13 when a school mate convinced me to help him building an F-14 model he bought after watching Top Gun in the cinema. He was really crazy about the film and he transmitted to me a great amount of passion about fighter aircrafts.
My first improved model was an F-4 Phantom from the Jolly Rogers squadron (I love the skull and bones). It was the first time I used photoetched parts and made some scratch pieces. It was the time I noticed that modelling can be a very complex activity if you want, and that you can make really interesting things if you are ready to make the effort. I think that, for me, modelling has been more a challenge than a simple hobby and it is really stimulating for me when I meet other modellers that understand modelling the same way.
G – Do you have some inspiration for your creations?
D – I have tons of inspiration sources. Internet has opened a gate to a dimension of countless artistic stimuli. Of course I spend much time watching photos of all kind of models and real military vehicles but I also love the illustration and CG artworks, paintings, sculpture, movies… even music or poetry can drive you in the right creative status.
Just a few examples of artists I love are Shigeo Koike´s aircraft artworks, Juan Gimenez and Romain Hugault´s comics, Kris Kuksi´s and Simon Lee´s sculptures, Luis Royo, HR Giger, Poe, Lovecraft, Keats, Deep Purple, The Doors, AC/DC, Metallica…
And for those moments when the Muses seem to have abandoned you, a glass of Scotch while listening Led Zeppelin never fails.
G – After you have finished snap-fitting a model, from where do you start to mod it?
D – I like to watch many photos to find some interesting zone I can detail or build from scratch. When I have decided which elements I want to detail and have selected the photos it is only a work of copying what and see in the photo and try to imitate it in scale. You can build almost everything with styrene sheets, stripes and rods, and some metallic wires.
I do the same thing before painting, first I select some photos with interesting weathering effects I want to imitate and the I try to copy the effect in the model. Of course you can take some artistic license if you want, after all modelling is a kind of art.
G – Have you ever built a Gundam? (or a Mecha in general)
D – In fact I only have built one Gundam ever, it was some years ago and it was a gift from a good friend who travelled to Japan. It was also the first model which attacked me, I mean, before paint it I was having some fun playing with it, changing the pose and that, so I put a cutter in its hand and raised the arm as if it was going to attack and suddenly the arm went down and stabbed my thumb. It was a nice cut, I still have the scar. Since then I have much more respect for these kits, LOL.
I painted it with a winter camouflage. I also transformed a gun into a sniper rifle and built a small diorama with some snowy trees, it was really fun. I have some kits of Gundams and Maschinen Krieger in the closet, I hope to have the opportunity to build them soon.
G – Please some advices for modelers that wanna start building a model kit for the very first time!
[Tools, Paints, others]
D – I think that the only good advice for a beginner is to have fun. Don´t worry too much for the final result, just enjoy the build. You know, when I was a kid I really wanted to play the electric guitar so I became a real pain in the ass until my father bought one for me. I practiced for some weeks, I learn some accords and even managed to play the riff of “Sweet child o´ mine” by Guns N´ Roses (more or less). But actually I didn´t enjoy practicing, I just wanted to play well. Of course I get bored soon of that and didn´t try again.
If you want to make nice models you must enjoy the building process, not only the final result. If not you better look for another hobby.
There are a lot of nice books, magazines or forums where you can learn the basics and lots of tricks but I think that a basic modeller kit must include, a sharp cutting blade, fine tweezers, files, sandpaper, putty, styrene cement, cyanoacrylate glue and some brushes. And when you are sure that you enjoy modelling you can spend some money in an airbrush and an air compressor.
G – Have you a Website/Blog to show your Works?
D – I have all my models displayed in my site Scaleworks, along with some works of other modellers I admire:
http://dqscaleworks.blogspot.com
You can also visit my facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/diego.quijano.3998
G – Future Projects?
D – Now I´m finishing a book that I hope will be published soon. They have been some years of work so I hope people enjoy it. After that I have some offers for other books, mainly about aircraft modelling so I hope to find some time to build Mechas or other Sci-Fi stuff I love.
Many Thanks to Diego Quijano for this Interview 
See You soon for the next!
