THOR

great googly moogly!

It would be cool if we could unite 3 of these built monsters and a host of battroids to recreate the "Daeadelus Attack" in 1/72nd say for wonderfest next year... I'd have to rent a van and drive up but it would be soooo kick-arse. -THOR

it's the monster mash...

great job is an understatement!

Maybe the smaller machine could do the larger part in sections? I want one of these 3d scanners: https://www.nextengine.com/indexSecure.htm?section=store This would allow us to scan any current real model, get it into the computer, scale it to the size we want, and then machine the masters at the scale we chose. -THOR

Justicar, For the main barrels, I measured the tubes of my 1/100 resin kit. Those tubes probably press fit into slightly larger holes at the base so it's probably a little shorter. For the arms I measured from flat surface in the rear to flat surface on the front of the main body of the arm of both my resin 1/100 and arii 1/160. I've almost completed reverse engineering the Spartan in AutoCAD at 1/35th scale. I've deviated from the 1/72 kit to match what I see looks the best in different line drawings and reference materials. I've also changed areas to accomodate what I can make on a milling machine or lathe. I've also started work on the Defender and Tomahawk. I figure those guys have practly the same legs but different torso's. Educate me on what you want the files to look like and what machinery you are using and maybe we could colaborate? -THOR

He's a champ! Can I get on the list? -THOR

I have a 1/72 Tanmen Dragon I'd let someone borrow to recast if I could get 1 or 2 in return. -THOR

I'm just a milling machine and lathe away from making 1/35th kits. Anyone have the next winning lottery numbers so I can dedicate my life to making cool macross kits? -THOR

The arm cannons would be 29.5" to 29.625" in 1/35th scale depending upon which model you reverse engineer. The main cannon barrels only are 28.5" long and 1.426" in outside diameter.

If the price is right, i'll go for 2!

BTW, Does anyone want to sell me their 1/35 figs from those 1/100 kits? -THOR

Well, I bid on it. I definately want it or a recast. I got outbid last year for one that was on yahoo japan. Jarowar, If you have a price in mind, let me know. I'd definately want to get it recasted to spread the love. -THOR

woops...

not a whole lot of progress since i can't get my hands on a milling machine. my boss won't let me in the toolroom at night or on the weekends despite my bribing/etc. it seems every chance i get to rub a few dollars together to buy one, they vaporize into thin air. i sold my ford bronco to buy a mill but my mom needed money for medical bills. i've been slapping together pieces of styrene and will post some of those pics this weekend. i haven't given up because 1/35th destroids are too cool not to make into reality... -THOR

neptune...that's sooo cool!

fooling around in 1/35th

I like to draw blueprints of my kits in AutoCAD. That doesn't mean you cant draw stuff by hand. I like to make side, front/back, top/bottom views of the pieces I need to make. I print out the blueprint on craft-like sticker paper. I cut the design out of the sticker paper using scissors and stick the design on the plastic I'm going to cut my pieces from. I use my table saw or nibbler to follow along the design to get my desired shape. For square and angular pieces, it's hard to beat a milling machine. With a mill, you basically remove material from a chunk of materal like "butter board". This is one of the techniques Captain America I saw use so I try to do the same thing. To me the harder but more economical way to make square/angular pieces is to build a box out of flat sheets of plastic. This is simular to how paper models are constructed but in our case we use sheets of styrene instead of paper. For surfaces which have compound curves, it's hard to beat good old putty/clay. A good sculptor can make extremely convincing reproductions. Machines just add a level of acuracy and repeatibility. Me being an engineer with no sculpting ability, I prefer a solid 3D computer model and a 5-axis CNC router or a stereo-lithography machine. All of that is super overkill for our hobby but that's what i do for a living. The hard part for me is finding 3D solid models of Macross stuff. It takes a lot of time to draw this stuff on CAD software. I find most of my scratchbuilding inspiration and techniques from MW and fine scale modeler magazine. I'm a mechanical engineer, so I also know/do a fair amount of machine shop and rapid prototyping work, so blueprints and hi-tech are second nature to me. I just need to make more time for my beloved Macross/model hobby.

I wanna try your putty. What is it called and where do you get it?

Hey Andy! I print directly onto sticker paper I find at Wally World. Maybe your spray adhesive method is cheaper? Messy? -THOR

MADD? damn already taken.... sweet job valk! can i get on the list for the vf-11? I missed it. please add me to the list for this drone too. -THOR

More pictures...

i'll add more pics of the boxart by wednesday

LTSO, I figured I could just snap some pics of decal placement on my 1/160th instead of sending you poor copies from my copying machine at work. Let me know if this helps...

oh hell yeah...ditto!