tekering

7 hours ago, Urashiman said:

Wait a minute ... is that a kit or do you scratch build this?

Neither, actually.  It's an architectural model of a real high rise condominium in Shibaura -- custom-built to demonstrate the design to construction company executives -- and probably cost over a million yen to produce.  It somehow ended up in the possession of a used furniture store in the hills north of Tokyo, and was eventually listed on Yahoo! Japan auctions (where I bought it earlier this month). ☺️

However, since the model wasn't intended for sale (much less transportation across the country), it was not built to last... and what I ended up receiving was badly damaged. 😱

There were hundreds of broken panels rattling around loose in the box... 

...and with no internal support structure, the whole building just collapsed in on itself as soon as I removed the plastic wrap. 😭

So now it's just a giant puzzle to reconstruct, without blueprints or instructions to follow. 🤕

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Will it be lit up from inside? 

Of course!  In fact, it came lined with eight individually-wired LED strips that run the full length of the building.

I intend to create a seemingly random, disorganized lighting scheme using a variety of tinted yellow, orange, and smoke-tinted gels to vary the color and brightness of each apartment, giving the appearance of a real condominium at night.

13 minutes ago, Urashiman said:

I have the super strong stuff. But for stickers (not water slide decals) it would just dilute and dissolve the adhesive of the stickers.

It certainly would.  A heavy matte coating is the only way to ensure stickers stay put (or look halfway-decent). 😉

The condo's starting to take shape...

5 hours ago, Thom said:

It's upside down, and that's what through [sic] me off.

I need to rely on the force of gravity to hold these acrylic panels together until they're securely bonded, so the orientation (be it face-down or upside-down) is temporarily dictated by distribution of weight...

...and I need to make use of whatever's on-hand heavy enough (like the bicycle) to support the walls, at least until the glue starts to set.

4 hours ago, Papa Rat said:

That looks awesome

I'm glad somebody thinks so.  My wife thinks I'm certifiable, spending hundreds of dollars on a model that's too big to assemble (much less display) in the house. 😅

Feelin' the holiday blues?

That's the ThreeZero on the left, for the sake of comparison.

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Is it the Nakatomi building from Die Hard?

Now you're in the ballpark.  It's a Japanese high rise condominium.

Once completed, it will be nearly as tall as I am. 😅

1 hour ago, Urashiman said:

for stuff that came off after a night, the waterslide decals.

You gotta add this stuff to your toolkit:

It fuses waterslide decals to the surfaces they're applied to.  I never apply decals without it. 👌

On 12/21/2025 at 5:32 AM, F-ZeroOne said:

"Star Fleet" (original Japanese title "X-Bomber") was a Japanese anime-like puppet SF action series created by Go Nagai - yes, that Go Nagai - which was very popular in the UK and Europe for a brief period in the early 80s

Oh, that's where Big Dai-X comes from!

You guys seemed to have missed my other hint, "Earthbound," as in bound to the earth... 😝

It doesn't fly, it doesn't transform, it doesn't move at all.

It does, however, consist of hundreds of laser-cut acrylic panels...

Man, that's beautiful.  As much as I love 3D-printing, I wish there were more PE upgrade parts available for spacecraft conning towers, antennae, etc.

At the moment, however, I have more Earthbound concerns...

Guess what this metal framework is intended to support? 

Hint: it's a 1:48 model.

The couple is reunited.

8 hours ago, Protoman said:

Ben Dixon VF-1A incoming. 

6 hours ago, Radioguy said:

Wish they went and just did his VF-1J first, but this makes me hopeful of that.

Ben Dixon's... VF-1J? 🤔

So nice to see The Ubiquitous is still getting put to good use! 🥰

Quote

Wave Corp are releasing some rounded mecha hands in the new year. 

Nice!  Those look ideal for Master Grade Mobile Suits, Yamato/Arcadia VF-1s, and larger Transformers as well.  Tons of customizing potential! 

21 minutes ago, SteveTheFish said:

I must not be properly communicating somehow.

Your communication is very clear, but you're responding to the wrong post. 😉

10 hours ago, Big s said:

Looks like it can hold the gunpod just fine, but to be fair it wasn’t shown holding one in the series.

My response to @Big s was intended to illustrate that Hikaru's Armored Valkyrie is shown holding a gunpod... in every single shot, actually. 😅

39 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

I'm SERIOUSLY considering forking over some $$$ for a sealed original Monogram 1/35 Starfighter model off Evilbay for a Christmas present to myself

If you want a vintage "Starfighter" model by Christmas, eBay might be your only recourse...

If, however, you want an accurate Thunder fighter that's larger, more detailed, and easier to assemble and paint, there are superior 3D-printed versions that would probably cost you less (especially if you had a fellow forum member print it for you). 😉

8 hours ago, Big s said:

Looks like it can hold the gunpod just fine, but to be fair it wasn’t shown holding one in the series.

To what series are you referring? 🤔

2 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

I guess this print also had a Blue Water gem for her necklace, but that got overlooked when printing.

Actually, it got overlooked on the original 3D model.  The full-body version had it:

However, it wasn't included on the headless version. 😒

Strange, that. 🤨

2 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

I've decided this is an older Nadia, there is no Blue Water as it's been spent.

Actually, that makes a lot of sense. ☺️

I've been disgustingly jealous of these stunningly-accurate Combaticons, but the wonky colors on "Space Shuttle" are a deplorable misstep. 

How did they get everything else so right, only to stumble at the finish line...? 😓

17 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Does Magic Square's Bruticus come with a cartoon accurate chest plate?

Patience, my friend.  All will be revealed with Blast-Off, the final figure in this review series.

14 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Daaaaaaang.

Exactly my response.  I need Night Tracer.

Damn you, Mike! 😤

6 hours ago, Tking22 said:

I can't find a single other source for even an announcement of a Hiya Male MUTO so I don't think that listing is anything genuine.

I suppose you're right...

...which begs the question, "How would such a fake listing benefit the third-party seller on Amazon Marketplace?" 🤔

Promising start, @Papa Rat.

12 hours ago, Big s said:

The anti aircraft dude needs someone watching his back

Totally.  Those Meltrandi cosplayers look very suss. 🤨

13 hours ago, Tking22 said:

I'm glad someone is taking a crack at them, just wish Hiya would've done a male MUTO to go with the female.

I've had the male MUTO on pre-order for over a year:

Apparently, it's expected to ship within the next month.

10 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Hilarious that they blurred that, but I guess they want people to have to think about what it could be.

Nacelle should've blurred a lot harder.  "KIrk as Romulan" is still clearly readable. 😅

Poor Ask Aak.  A distinguished Gran senator gets mistaken for an underworld criminal, even though they look nothing alike...

Another victim of the systemic racism of the Empire. 😒

Next in the queue:

15 hours ago, Big s said:

Is that the older plastic kit from before the IMS series?

Yeah, that's the classic. ☺️

We don't talk about your photos much, Mike, but they're always brightly-lit, sharply focused, and efficiently cropped, frequently combining multiple pics into a single image for practicality.  Your Quintus Prime review is notable in how well the lighting highlights the translucent parts.  I love the effect TakaraTomy has achieved combining paint and tinted clear plastic in various shades, and your photography demonstrates it well. 

Three Luke Jedis, and they all have painted faces? 😓

I've been trying to track down one molded in flesh, with painted hair instead... 

That would seem to be the rarer variant.