THOR

Update: Still waiting for my parts. Had a snafu with Paypal thinking a scam was going on. Labor Day Weekend should give me some time to finish the cockpit. -THOR

my lessons learned... if you paint first, you risk scratching the paint off and spraying it again with the airbrush. you make the call if you don't think you can paint all of the surfaces on it once the photo etch is glued to the model. i recommend all the various bending tools on http://www.micromark.com/Etch-Mate-3C,8737.html i cut off the part with snips or i use a sharp blade and cut the part from the metal sprue and grind off the excees with a metal file. the parts are typically very intricate. i don't know how many times i've crushed a part or lost it. the adhesive sheet helps the parts from finding a new home in your carpet. use a well lighted area and take your time. that video mentioned above will help too just seeing how delicately you have to treat the parts.

kickin' arse & taking intials! (b/c you're moving to fast to take names!) so awesome!

i thought it was a drone, too.

13.3 x 7.8 I'll have to get the kits out and compare...

ron 5864...great job!

working on cockpit and landing gear...

i like the kit but mismatch is hell creating uneven seams down the middle of verything. i'll try to post pics of both the arii 1/160 and resin 1/144 kit so you can decide. 1/144 is about $105.

don't know if easy-off oven cleaner will work. it's what i use to strip paint and chromed part. test it on a unwanted model cockpit first to make sure it doesn't ruin the clear piece. there should be an oven cleaner product in japan...???

very nice!

would simple tripod setup be ok? basically sticks with skids on the bottom...

update: printed body and engine/thruster covers: up close of the white-detail process (more expensive to print) no sanding yet up close of the white-strong/flexible (less expensive to print) no sanding yet i printed the radar sensor/wing in the white-detail and it is pretty thin. pic to come. i might need to throw in a carbon fiber rod in the resin to keep it from sagging. i'll try to clean up[ these parts and make them as smooth as possible before casting. i've got some ideas for a cockpit. use a veritech seat and a destroid-type video screen... i'm stumped on what to do for landing gear. any ideas?

I got back from G-fest last night. G-fest is a convention in Chicago for Godzilla and all things Kaiju (giant monster) put on by G-fan magazine. I met the producer and sculptor from the Gamera movies in Japan. I also met with a contributing sculptor of Resin Chef-Team Ukeke. http://rc-ukeke.com/ I designed and my friend molded the saucer for them and it sold out at the last Wonderfest in Japan. I got another tour of Badger airbrush and bought their awesome silent air compressor that can handle three brushes at once. Their stuff is really nice. After meeting the employees and ownership, I'm sticking with Badger. Nice people. I'll take pictures tonight of the parts I've had printed. Main body, wing etc. I'll also post pics of before and after sanding. I'm going to try baking soda through badger's "etching" air brush. It's just like sandblasting only using baking soda so i don't chew too much off the parts. I hope that will help smooth down some of my rougher parts. I've got to get a few molds done for other projects this week and then I can go at this full-steam.

I'm on my way to Chicago to G-fest. I'll work on a cockpit & landing gear. I'll add a pilot, too. -THOR

Heavy... i can't stand the lines either. i will clean the parts up as smooth as glass before i cast them. no cockpit...i thought this was a (space) drone like the ghost is an (atmospheric) drone? am i wrong? landing gear? never saw any line art. if someone has them, i'll put them in. did a search...guess a cockpit is in order... BACKGROUND The Lancer II Spacefighter was one of the first creations of the UN Spacy utilising the new technology found onboard the SDF-1 Macross. Whilst the Variable Fighters and Destroids were being developed Lockhee put forward a proposal for a space borne fighter that was cheap to manufacture and easy to maintain. The UN Spacy approved the SF-3a Lancer II Space Fighter for use on board the new ARMD platforms being developed and manufactured at the Lagrange Space Dry Docks. 78 Lancer II Space Fighters would be carried onboard each ARMD, their long range high powered Laser Cannons and Medium range missiles making them excellent and agile fighters rivalling the agility of the VF-1 Valkyrie in Fighter Mode. However unlike the VF-1 and later Variable Fighters the SF-3A Lancer II is limited to space operations only. It is not designed to enter an atmosphere, and it would burn up on re-entry and be reduced to a fireball, the Lancer II's heat and radiation sheilds only being designed to defend against natural radiation and heat found in space. After Space War II the Lancer II Space Fighter was still manufactured and fighters were assigned to the ARMD platforms and Factory Satellite, as well as the Apollo Moon base. As the Variable Fighter took precedence over other mecha the SF-3A Lancer II was gradually phased out, many of these fighters being scrapped or sold to Colony World space defence fleets. By the late 2020's the SF-3A Lancer Space Fighter could only be found in the remote and poorly supplied Colony world defence forces, or in the hands of private collectors and museums. http://unsd.macrossroleplay.org/lancerfighter.html

I loaded pics from the computer just now...the master measurements were taken from a 1/72 resin kit. I printed most of the parts out in 1/48. Other scales possible. I'll post some of the 1/48 part pics tonight or tomorrow. THOR

looks sinister!

Reply to this topic if you are interested. $135 + shipping If I see at least 20 interests, I'll start making molds. No decals, no base. Computer Generated Pics in SolidWorks... 3D Printed Parts Pics in 1/48... Interested List: Spitfire_BR...1 Heavy Melder...2 Cool8or...1 Kicker773...2or3 neptunesurvey...1

Everybody, I'll be posting prices for landing gear and weapons this weekend, God willing. Getting computer fixed today! -THOR

hard drive crashed! new computer on the way. good thing i always back up my work like a true nerd should. i'll be back in the sadle this week hopefully if all the software installs go well. i made good progress on the 1/24 landing gear before the crash. need to finish the front gear and all three wells so that they fit with the model. i'll also post prices for 1/24 weapons. sorry about the delay!

1/24 landing gear coming along nicely: the rear gear: made so you fit an aluminum rod down the center for strength front pic coming soon and prices...

since there will be so few wanting missiles/landing gear, i will print the items out for individuals rather than printing a master and making molds and resin copies. i will try to post the missile & pylon prices up this weekend. i will also try to to post pics of landing gear from my Solidworks screen. i might have prices too. lots of work to do this weekend getting ready for casting my 1/48 gerwalk conversion, lancer, and 1/72 syncher cannon...

After talking to Mike, he said I can do missiles and landing gear. I need to know who wants them. Missile Package would include: 12 missiles 4 pylons (3 missiles each) Later Landing Gear Package: modeled directly from the 1/48 kit rear landing gear: box, gear, wheel, 2-3 doors front landing gear box, gear, wheel, 2-3 doors Who wants them? -THOR

sorry i put it in the wrong place...i'll see where it goes on MW so i know in the future. maybe it doesn't belong on this site?

for those who don't know...it's called the synchro cannon in the US and was piloted by Rand for an episode with Sue Graham as the main character. it's a rare and small version of the the main cannon on most capital ships. so basically mount one of these on your ship and let it slice through the bad guys until they say uncle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_of_Robotech "Synchro Cannons By the Third Robotech War, a new portable reflex cannon called the Synchro Cannon[2] was introduced on Shimakaze-class battlecruisers, and later adopted by the SDF-3 and SDF-4 Izumo. A smaller unit was also hidden on Earth by Sue Graham of the Jupiter Division. The smaller version was used by Rand as a prototype and was destroyed to keep it out of the hands of the Invid in the New Generation episode: Reflex Point." http://www.kent.net/robotech/weapons/ref/synchro_cannon.shtml "The Synchro Cannon is the most powerful artillery piece ever designed. Basically, it is a small version of the SDF-3's main cannon mounted on a hover platform. It fires a beam of energy 10 miles long, which utterly destroys everything in its path, no matter the armour." http://robotech.wikia.com/wiki/Synchro_cannon The synchro cannon was a type of Reflex weapon based on Shadow technology and fielded by the Robotech Expeditionary Force. Colonel T.R. Edwards was able to covertly installed a synchro cannon on the Shimakaze-class battle cruiser, Icarus. He revealed this weapon over Optera when by using it to critical damage the Tokugawa, which had been dispatched to hunt him down. (Comic: "Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles 2: Retribution") A blast from a synchro cannon cleaving through the Tokugawa. Added by JrofetaFollowing Edwards use of Shadow technology the Haydonites assisted the REF in developing this technology. A new retrofitted SDF-3 was able to obliterate Edwards on Optera from orbit using its twin syncho cannons. (Comic: "Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles 5: The Children of the Shadows") Other REF ships were also equipped with the syncho cannon including the Garfish-class and the SDF-4. A smaller version was also developed and equipped on some Shadow Beta fighters. (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles) A prototype sybchro cannon for use by ground forces was also developed. It was deployed by the REF's Jupiter Division with an advanced scout force sent to Earth prior to the Battle of Reflex Point. However, this weapon was eventually destroyed to prevent it falling into the hands of the Invid. (Robotech: The New Generation: "Reflex Point") However, the synchro cannon, as with all shadow technology given to the REF was part of an elaborate trap set up by the Haydonites to help facilitate the destruction of the REF. This was revealed shortly after the end of the Third Robotech War when a fleet of Haydonite vessels attacked the REF fleet at Space Station Liberty. Using a disruptor wave the Haydonites were able to initiate an uncontrollable overload sequence in any ship that attempted to fire its synchro cannon, which resulted in the complete destruction of the vessel. (Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles) http://www.xs4all.nl/~ptn/Vehicle/SynchroCannon.html The Synchro Cannon is a very high yield direct-fire weapon system designed to attack enemy emplacements and thick mecha concentrations such as those used by the Invid. As such, it is a complement to the Destabilizer weapon systems, which break down Invid force fields, and thus give the Synchro Cannons a clear line of fire. Originally, the specifications asked for a pure particle beam weapon. However, the required firepower/size combination could not be achieved with the then-present technological levels and the cannon was reworked into a fusion-powered plasma cannon, which used twin synchrotrons, and resulted in the nickname of 'Synchro Cannon'. The Synchro Cannon operates by running a fusion reactor (not unlike those found in fusion turbines) off the protoculture cells. When a shot is fired, a relative large amount of the fusion plasma is drawn from the reactor and injected into a plasma expansion chamber, pre-loaded with a small slug of matter, which is quickly super-heated; this process produces a larger amount of cooler plasma, which can be more easilly handled by the cannon stage. That stage consists out of an ion extractor and divider, which separates the plasma in positive and negative ions. Both stream are then lead to dedicated synchrotrons, which accelerate the matter streams. Both beams are then rejoined in the barrel, and the result is a plasma stream of very high speed and tremendous destructive power. To the left side of the cannon barrel is the fusion reactor and the matter supply for the plasma cannon; to the right is the cockpit. In the rear of both the cockpit and the powerplant body is one of the propulsion turbofans. The cannon uses a hovercraft undercarriage, on which it can rotate through 360 degrees. This gives the cannon some mobility, but speed is low, terrain clearance is difficult due to the high center of gravity, and the cannon cannot be fired on the move. Consequently, the Synchro Cannon is mostly a heavy support or even a siege weapon rather than an assault cannon. However, the self-propelled cannon lacks any defensive capabilities and relies on other mecha to defend it. Several of these cannons made it to the Earth's surface during the attack on Reflex Point. However, they were to few in number, and to cumbersome, to have an appreciable impact on the fighting.