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  2. captain america
    Captain's log: Thursday, May 1st, 2025. Some of the components for this 1/48 project are going to be on the large side, and because of that, I'll need to cobble some Renshape blocks together. You can see this in pic 21, and this piece will eventually become the main hull/chest of the mecha. In pic 22, I'm checking the block size with the paper template before I stick it down. I want the block to be a little bit larger. Pic 23: I'm putting that resin bar stock to work on the lathe now. While I can carve resin faster than metal, I still have to mind my pace because whenever you machine a part, it gets hot. If too much heat builds up in the resin, it can become soft and cause the cutting knife to jam and potentially damage the part (and the machine!) Pic 24: here I am test-fitting the part for snugness by mating it with an existing crotch component. This piece will eventually become the mecha's 'waist.' Because many of these parts are big & heavy, I prefer they fit tighter so as to hold together better when built. Pic 25: here's the inglorious side of machining: piles and piles of resin 'hay' and Renshape shavings. You'd be shocked at how much of this stuff is produced with every project! Pic 26: I'm going to turn some Renshape on the lathe, and it's a pretty big part, so I start by checking the measurements on my diagram using my trusty compass-cutter. Pic 27: using the same compass-cutter, I now score a circle to the exact diameter I need from a larger block of material. Pic 28: I then trim the part from the larger plank of Renshape, leaving at least 3mm of wiggle-room. Pic 29: here I've removed most of the excess with the band saw, and the part is almost ready to be mounted to the lathe. Pic 30: using some CA glue, I attach a resin mandrel to the part. The latter is perfectly round, so the lathe chuck will hold it securely, while the knife can attack the Renshape end. Pic 31: because the part is so big, I enlist the dead-center to help hold the part during machining: this is critical, especially in the early stages when the part isn't perfectly round and the cutter jams into Renshape then air at high speed, causing the part to vibrate. Once again, I have to proceed slowly because of the vibration and the largeness of the part. Pic 32: after a LOT of machining (and vacuuming!), the piece within is being revealed! This will eventually become part of the missile pod's interface with the shoulder joint. Pic 33: more blocks being readied with paper patterns, about to go under the band saw. Pic 34: the tedious process of carving-away excess material begins; there's just no way around it. Pic 35: once the band saw has done its part, the chest module now goes to the mill for proper surfacing. Pic 36: It may not look like much, but these parts were a LOT of work! Things are starting off slow, simply by virtue of the size of the components needing to be made and the preparation they require. By next week, you'll see a drastic improvement, with lots of recognizable parts coming together, so stay tuned! 21.HEIC 22.HEIC 23.HEIC 24.HEIC 25.HEIC 26.HEIC 27.HEIC 28.HEIC 29.HEIC 30.HEIC 31.HEIC 32.HEIC 33.HEIC 34.HEIC 35.HEIC 36.HEIC
  3. Today
  4. Black Valkyrie
    Nice I like it 7.5/10 > The best current MCU after Spidy No way Home and Dp&W.
  5. Big s
    I know the rebels had some questionable members, but this show makes them seem a certain kind of special. Now whenever I see an X-Wing, dueling banjos will be stuck in my head
  6. Papa Rat
    Good looking build! Also like the old decal transfer trick. Very cool.
  7. shazam
  8. jvmacross
    If only prices somehow went down when available stock became scarce.....or better yet, prices stayed the same forever....lol
  9. Duke Togo
    You have no idea what you're talking about. Just wait until next week...
  10. PointBlankSniper
    I've said in some other thread before. Nin-nin are scalpers. Their prices are automated to go up exponentially as stock goes down. And then continues to go up over time at the last unit or two. It's a promised future extortion if you don't buy now. Basically they are coersion scalpers, so I avoid using them if they aren't the last choice left, or significantly lower priced during PO, and I have to not have anything I want to combine for shipment, because their policies for that are not really to your convenience either.
  11. PointBlankSniper
    Now that you put them together, even the 01 is distinctly more white than the "white gundam" lol
  12. Big s
    Well, this batch was far better than the first horrible one for the season. Light on action , but still had some tense moments Was kinda fun to see the Nazi vampire from The Strain play a character that is almost the complete opposite as a character trying to lead a rebel faction
  13. Big s
    The guy is pretty neat, but the unicycle bot is a bit odd. It’s got two wheels, but they just form into one. It would’ve been cooler if they had it changed into a bike instead
  14. Big s
    Looks very organic. The colors really give some depth
  15. Radioguy
    Yeah, not defending the pricing which is a LOT more than Mandarake when they have it. Still, aside form how old it is and that it's new, there are few decent TV version SDF-1 iterations after Takatoku (I still think this is too small, and not even on par with WHAM's DYRL one). You also have to wonder if the uptick is also due to the increased SDF-1 talk of the DYRL reissue from Arcadia. Nin-Nin taking advantage of that as well.
  16. pengbuzz
    UPDATE: What you've all been waiting for: First, how to rescue 31 year old decals: Soak them in very hot water for 30 minutes, then carefully slide them onto new decal paper (used backing) and swish around with plenty of water to get rid of all the old, yellowed glue (as seen in the first pic!). And now, the pictures: With flash: Without flash: More pics: Wing positions: Helmsman had too much blood wine: Stay tuned...
  17. grogall
    Yep!
  18. nightmareB4macross
    The mostly white missiles only exist in DYRL. The red accent missiles are for SDFM. The color coincide with the bombs.
  19. Big s
    Love that sliding pose in the top there.
  20. Big s
    I can’t remember which have made an attempt, but I do remember one with a little hole in the front. Maybe one of the recent kits, but I think it was one of the toys. As far as kits, you could basically take either a small drill or maybe a needle point file and make a small hole. Then some red or clear red for the sensor
  21. Shawn
    There have been some really nice Glaug builds on Yahoo Japan auctions. This one is my favorite!! Looks amazing with excellent presentation. https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/o1182899510
  22. Chronocidal
    For Hasegawa to focus on the mainly white versions makes sense, when they got around to making the weapons sets they were mostly focused on DYRL designs, which tended to adhere slightly more closely to realistic weapons markings. Not that the black and red markings on the missiles was unrealistic, it just wasn't the type of marking you'd see on a production air-to-air weapon. I'd still like someone to actually detail the seeker tips with a sensor of some type, rather than just giving up and going "I dunno, make 'em blunt."
  23. Papa Rat
    This Hasegawa set has the white. It’s sort of all over the place. 🤔
  24. Big s
    The older ones are all white for the most part, but checking the vermilion platoon versions and those have red back there. intro for the show only has white, but in a couple scenes it shows red and others I’ve seen are white by the fins. It’s very inconsistent in the scenes I was just checking
  25. Papa Rat
    To paint red or not to paint red? This is the question. Hahaha.
  26. Seto Kaiba
    Maybe, but there's been no indication of that thus far. Based on the last episode, it sounds like the One Year War didn't so much end as go on indefinite hiatus because neither side was able to gain a definitive advantage. Zeon "won" because the technological advantage they gained from the successful capture of the Pegasus and Gundam was just enough to offset the Federation's superior logistics and vast manpower advantage long enough for both sides to give up. Side 6 seems to be developing its own weapons despite being neutral, there are hints of a Zeon civil war, and there's maybe-rogue-maybe-not Federation pilots trying to destroy the Red Gundam. It seems like a cold war that's about to go hot again. Thus far, there doesn't appear to be any evidence that defense contractors are running Clan Battles for secret testing. All the machines we've seen or heard them mention are old ones from the war. Most competitors are using Zaku IIs. One team is apparently using Doms. That Side 6 PMC that let the Witch and another Federation pilot swap in fielded its Gelgoogs instead of Guncannons, but they're still OYW machines. The only categorically NEW hardware in play thus far is the GQuuuuuuX and that's technically stolen. With the tension that high, I'd imagine neither the Federation or Zeon would want to tip their hand so readily.
  27. VF25-F
    You can now listen to all 44 songs from the latest Macross F release album More pix from the event!
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