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AcroRay

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Everything posted by AcroRay

  1. That's really excellent! And inspiring. Hoping to get around to building my own someday...
  2. Yes, I just folded the 1S head that was on the piece (a junked Jetfire head that was on it when I got it) back for the dryfit. So the final product won't have a Zaphod Beeblebrox thing going on. Since then I've removed the Jetfire head. I also test-fitted the stock SD head assembly against fighter & GERWALK modes, and for mechanical clearances during transformation, and it worked out well for those. Mechanically, the challenges I see will be working out a clean parts-separation that keeps mold-lines to a minimum or keeps them consistent with the toy series' design conventions while allowing for articulation of the head's laser (which is vital for fighter mode and transformation mechanics), and also accommodating the variations in neck post & socket dimensions between the original Matsushiro tooling and the retooled parts in Bandai's modern reissues... especially if I develop this for a production run that can be shared with other members of the community. Yes, perhaps by a couple of per-cent. I was thinking of perhaps sanding down the two halves along the midline to narrow it out a bit. Unmodified, the chin and lower surfaces also have some excess structure on them specific to the plastic kit's connection needs. It will come off for this mod. So the overall profile of the piece will be reduced a little, and it may shrink a tiny bit in recasting. Do you have any pics of your mod around to share? Did the transformation mechanics accommodate the larger head?
  3. So, how does this look as a possibility? Anyone interested in a custom head based on this, cast in resin? This is just a very basic dryfit on a Bandai reissue DYRL 1/55 VF-1A. The head actually comes from this plastic SD-series kit: Thoughts, anyone? While it's SD, I think it has the style of interpretation seen in the other superchunk 1/55 heads. It would look right at home on those big square shoulders...
  4. Nice! I think you'll do fine! I just missed a loose one with no accessories dirt cheap at Etsy, that's already been flipped to eBay. :/
  5. AcroRay

    Custom DYRL 1A 1/55 Head Project

    Converted from the giant head used in an uncommon 1990s SD VF-1A model kit by Bandai. I'm going to try to develop it into a kit that can be copied.
  6. AcroRay

    SD1AMax90boxart

    From the album: Custom DYRL 1A 1/55 Head Project

    Source kit for my custom DYRL style 1/55 VF-1A head project.

    © Ray "AcroRay" Miller

  7. AcroRay

    SD Valk Head Dryfit 1

    From the album: Custom DYRL 1A 1/55 Head Project

    A closer shot of the dryfit of Bandai SD Super Max VF-1A SD kit's head to reissue Hikaru Bandai 1/55 DYRL VF-1A (which I obtained minus its original head, fitted with an old Jetfire head instead), to check scale & style. Looks in-scale, and the big SD-style eye doesn't look out of place on the big, blocky 1/55 body design.

    © Ray "AcroRay" Miller

  8. AcroRay

    SD Valk Head Dryfit 2

    From the album: Custom DYRL 1A 1/55 Head Project

    Dryfit of Bandai SD Super Max VF-1A SD kit's head to reissue Hikaru Bandai 1/55 DYRL VF-1A (which I obtained minus its original head, fitted with an old Jetfire head instead), to check scale & style. Looks in-scale, and the big SD-style eye doesn't look out of place on the big, blocky 1/55 body design.

    © Ray "AcroRay" Miller

  9. Back in the 80s, I recycled a 1/72 variable kit's GU-11 for the Armored Battroid. It actually looked rather nice in spite of the scale difference. And it was easy to re-fit to the big ham-hand: I just cut down the stock & the finger-guard to fit over the fist & trigger finger, and glued it in place. Unfortunately I don't have it anymore to provide a photo. The 1/00 armored factory kits were - and still are - great fun.
  10. Selling that giant, boxart hanken mono cel of the SDFM Storm Attacker cutaway without making a 600dpi scan of it first!
  11. Is anybody still making 1/55 custom parts? I'd love to get a more-accurate 1A or 1S head, or a 1D head. I happened across some resin-cast hands not to long ago at HLJ that were the perfect size & design for 1/55 Valks.
  12. From the album: My Macross Collection

    Joke machine that I'm trying to complete....

    © Ray "AcroRay" Miller

  13. Has anyone here used Monster Kolor spray paints on Takatoku/Bandai Macross toys? I've got a Takatou 1/3000 SDF Macross that's got badly-yellowed white parts, and blue parts that are going a bit aqua. I'm strongly considering just taking it apart and repainting it at this point. (I have a set of repro decals for it, so that issue is covered.) Of course there's always issues with paint wear on moving parts, engineering tolerance issues when paint is introduced on non-painted mechanisms, etc, etc. - I do have those concerns clearly in mind. My questions involve how well MK spray white (or blue) works - how thick it tends to be, how opaque at light coats, etc? So, does anyone have any direct experience using MK paints on the classic Macross transforming toys, or other similar transforming toys made from rigid ABS vs today's more pliant plastics?
  14. As before - I'm happy to see the game made, and I don't have any problem with the components or delays. I also voted that they should sell some at GenCon - which would be for marketing value. I'm cool with that. When mine finally shows up, they'll sit around for another year before I have time to built, paint & play with 'em!
  15. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The film has all the melodrama of Harlock, as well as the often obscure twists and inexplicable character motivations typical of Harlock. Logic is less important than drama in Harlock's world. And there are so many alternative Harlock continutities... I thought this was a beautiful addition to the 'collection'.
  16. AcroRay

    1/55's revisited

    I would absolutely take that 1/55, Spanner76!
  17. My buildup of Arii's "Metalize Custom" 1/100 Destroid Spartan kit. This was on & off of my workbench so quickly when I built it last weekend that I didn't take any process shots. A simple rubbing with a #2 pencil and a Gundam panel line marker against the cut-off gate points touched up the lack of chrome in those spots. Kit took me maybe 5 hour total, scraping, test-fitting & waiting for glue to dry, and working out a couple of bugs in the engineering.
  18. From the album: Personal Macross Kits

    My recent buildup of Arii's "Metalize Custom" 1/100 Destroid Spartan kit. A rubbing with a #2 pencil against the cut-off gate points touched up the lack of chrome in those spots.
  19. I recently picked up a case-fresh Nosjadeul-Ger toy from the Matchbox Robotech line for just about $28 shipped. This is the latter Harmony Gold edition from the early 90s, prior to the Playmates reissue. I give a bit more credit to these toys, because they were originally designed & tooled-up in Japan. The work reminds me a great deal of Clover's last Aura Battler Dunbine toys (The "SF Fantasy Figure" line), and I suspect these share the same Japanese contractor. Anyways - It's chunky, sturdy, colorful & playtime fun like most of the early Takatoku Macross toys.
  20. From the album: My Macross Collection

    Recent case-fresh (!) purchase - Harmony Gold edition of Matchbox Nosjadeul-Ger toy: "Quadrono Batallion" - female Zentraedi, I guess based on the name given to female armor in the Robotech adaptation,since Matchbox didn't make a Q-Rau toy. These aren't so bad, really. They were actually designed & originally tooled-up by a Japanese company. The rendering reminds me a lot of Clover's last few Dunbine toys. The colors of this edition differ a bit from the earlier Matchbox edition, and the later ExoSquad edition.

    © Ray "AcroRay" Miller

  21. From the album: My Macross Collection

    Recent case-fresh purchase - Harmony Gold edition of Matchbox Nosjadeul-Ger toy: "Quadrono Batallion" - female Zentraedi, I guess based on the name given to female armor in the Robotech adaptation, since Matchbox didn't make a Q-Rau toy. These aren't so bad, really. They were actually designed & originally tooled-up by a Japanese company. The rendering reminds me a lot of Clover's last few Dunbine toys. The colors of this edition differ a bit from the earlier Matchbox edition, and the later ExoSquad edition. Decals are kind of iffy. They don't fit well to the compound curves in many surfaces on the toy. But the joints are nice & tight.

    © Ray "AcroRay" Miller

  22. I'm happy with what I've seen. I'm glad they're plastic. It's such an easy material to work with compared to metal or resin!
  23. From the album: Personal Macross Kits

    Vintage kit from Arii's "Metalize" sub-line. These are a unique challenge to build!
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