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tekering

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Everything posted by tekering

  1. Yeah, Seventh Moon's 1:72 Tread is clearly a work-in-progress. I guess we'll have to check their blog for updates.
  2. The 1:72 Legioss/Alpha Armo-Fighter is the old Imai kit, and the 1:72 Armo-Soldier is the Wave kit. The hand-sculpted Tread appears to be the only unique part of Seventh Moon's display... but it's a welcome addition to the line! The Horizont also appears to be a garage kit, and a depressingly small one...
  3. Well, it's a scale nightmare, of course... ...but we can correct for the scale discrepancy with a little forced-perspective. That's about accurate, I think.
  4. I know I'll be attacked for this, Cap'n, but I urge you not to waste your valuable time and considerable talent on mecha that have already been done (and done, and done, and done again). Macross has been exhausted, and yet Bandai, Arcadia, Hasegawa, Metalbox and countless others continue going back to the same well... so it'll be done again soon. The Southern Cross market may be significantly smaller, but it's been virtually ignored for decades now, and there are some timeless designs waiting to be realized in physical form. Looking for a new challenge? Tackle the iconic Bioroid. Prefer something relatively simple? A decent Spartas Hover Tank would be an easy project for you, and we'd be all over it. Plus, you can charge whatever you want, and we'll bite; no competing product on the radar, or even on the horizon.
  5. Aww, you guys are too kind. Our illustrious Captain did all the heavy lifting; I'm just reaping the rewards.
  6. Well, I wouldn't know how to classify them for the purposes of identification, but I can certainly photograph them for you: Remember any part you paint needs a layer of primer first, preferably after a light sanding to rough up the surface. This is especially true of the joints.
  7. So, is the final product to everyone's satisfaction? If the Toynami MPC Alpha seems a little too small, it merely proves the Invid Shock Trooper is properly scaled at 1:48. My compliments, Captain!
  8. Be careful what you wish for... 200 LEDs could've illuminated a substantial network of tiny fiber-optic strands, giving the model an effective sense of scale: Instead, those garish colors and nonsensical placement give the model an effective sense of... holiday decoration.
  9. No, I've decided not to use it at all. It's too big for the model. Instead, I've made up a smaller eyepiece that scales better, and drilled tiny holes to suggest the camera positions: This is more consistent with the anime depiction, I think.
  10. Merchandising rights are granted for a period of years, not in perpetuity. When their contract elapses, toy manufacturers can choose to extend said contracts (provided they haven't gone bankrupt in the meantime!), or another company can purchase the rights instead. Thus we get a new round of merchandise from a new group of companies once the previous contracts have elapsed. We see the same drought-to-deluge pattern with Patlabor goods, Ghostbusters merchandise, and especially Star Trek figures...
  11. As my Pinky Space Crab nears completion, I look forward to tackling a King Crab... or two, actually (if the order window stays open a few more weeks)!
  12. The Invid sensor eye. Those microscopic metal tubes were cannibalized from ballpoint pen nibs.
  13. The proportions don't look cartoony at all; looks like a real guy wearing a costume to me. If anything, the proportions are too realistic... It's way off the animation model sheets. Apart from the considerable discrepancy in proportion, there's also the color, the markings, and a myriad of surface detailing that differ significantly from the source material. Obviously, this is not intended for Mospeada purists like us. [ . . . ] So who do they expect to buy this? The casual Robotech fan who happens to have an extra thousand dollars to spend? Specialty retail store owners looking for an expensive display item for their shops? Rich landscapers tired of decorating the lawn with garden gnomes? I fear manufacturers will blame poor sales on a lack of demand for Mospeada product, instead of considering the product itself may be the problem.
  14. Tamiya TS-24 Purple Tamiya AS-19 Intermediate Blue (US Navy) Mr.Hobby Gundam Color Spray SG08 MS Purple I spray thin coats over a black surfacer base coat, so the colors appear darker than they would over a typical grey primer.
  15. You should be very proud, Cap'n. First parts to be completed: I'm satisfied with the colors, but I'm not sure if I want to pursue a glossy finish, or a flat matte...
  16. With less than two weeks to release, you'd think Evolution Toys would have a proper paint master to display, at least... regardless, we already know the final product will be better than any previous Legioss toy. I mean, it couldn't be worse, right? I only wish one thing for this figure: - for it to sell well enough to encourage the production of further Mospeada toys, rather than bankrupting the company (like what happened to Beagle or CMs).
  17. Poor Pinky's only a few days old, but he's already going grey... Sorry, I'm not (just) posting to make dumb jokes. I have another idea to share with those of you wishing to articulate your Gurab as I have: I've figured out a simple way to adjust the angle of the claws. By drilling two holes in the recessed mounting point for each claw -- at opposing angles -- you can choose to place them facing inward (neutral posture) or jutting outward (aggressive posture). Just choose which hole you want to plug them into, and you can articulate Pinky's emotional state!
  18. My Pinky Space Crab's ready for painting, but -- as it's pouring rain outside -- conditions are not ideal for ventilation, so I'm watching Mospeada instead. Here are some choice images from episode 10. The ruins of Point K provide some poignant imagery: Stig sits under the shade of a crashed Garfish, isolating himself from the others. Stig's POV. I love the aspect ratio of this image. This episode is full of beautiful background paintings.
  19. I figured out a more anime-accurate way of mounting Pinky's cannons: I drilled holes in the top of the head to connect them directly, rather than mounting them on rods behind the head. This way, they're adjustable, removable, and the connection points are invisible from every angle (just as they are in the show). No disrespect to the good Cap'n intended, but his solution (practical as it is) broke the first rule of alien design in '80s anime: "No straight lines!" From an unscrupulous Chinese factory worker, presumably. eBay is lousy with 'em, guys.
  20. So, Pinky arrived this morning... and immediately, I set to work assembling him. A pin vice and a Dremel made it easy to drill holes to accommodate Revoltech joints: These parts provided a secure means of connecting the various joints together, so the figure could stand unassisted. They also provide a great deal of articulation! Pinky can even be posed in flight, provided an appropriate stand is available. I've still got to attach the guns, before I go about disassembling and painting him... Pinky should keep me busy for the next week at least. Bring on the King Crab, Cap'n!
  21. I always do my own color research before painting (in this case, using the Mospeada Blu-rays). From there, I make my own color guides: And yes, Imai's 1:72 Armo-Fighter takes significant liberties with the underside proportions... but the official animation model sheets are so funky in that area, it's hard to blame 'em! If I had your confidence and skill, Cap'n, I'd have scratch built my own chest module instead. A blue and green one? Yuck. Why?
  22. Looks like my Pinky Space Crab will be arriving any day now... Glad I finished my Legioss Zeta model before I got distracted by the Gurab. Here are some pics of the finished Armo-Fighter: I inscribed some additional panel lines where parts would separate for transformation -- the arms, for instance -- and outlined them in black to make them the most visible. I also hollowed out the feet to match the look of the engines in the line art. Some of the decals are a little dated, but they adhere beautifully to the surface and really complete the look of the model. The landing gear isn't particularly accurate, and looks a little large... ...but that could simply be because I'm used to the toys, with their retractable gear that doesn't even reach the ground. The stock kit was missing some Armo-Soldier detail -- the thighs, for example -- and didn't give the impression of a transformable robot, so I hollowed out some sections of the underside: I then made thighs to install between the intakes and the legs. Now, at least, it looks like it could transform. With the right lighting, you can make out the turbines behind the jet intakes, too. Some of the Imai decals were a little large, so I opted to use Wave's instead: Here's a Photoshop-enhanced Hidetaka Tenjin-style shot. The pilot's visible in the cockpit, but I'm not sure it reads as Houquet... I did my best to re-sculpt and paint her to look more feminine, since Imai's figure was just a generic male pilot. Hopefully, I'll get a proper control panel made for her cockpit dashboard before that pesky Space Crab arrives!
  23. Spectacular! Incidentally, is your properly-scaled 1:48 Legioss to scale with your 1:48 Invid kits? In other words, did you significantly upscale the Crabs as well, or is their scale based on the official anime stats?
  24. That is the saddest thing I've ever seen. The poor guy looks mortified to be on that Exo-Squad/Robotech card.
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