Justiciar

Hi All, Probably not a lot of interest to you guys since it's pretty small, but today was a milestone. The first digital kit I ever started was the Monster. That was almost 5 years ago. Had a whole lotta problems with it. But I finally sent it off to the printer a couple weeks back and I received it in the mail today. Here's the link to all the digital work: http://s66.photobuck...across/Monster/ (and yes, I fixed the feet to be round like they're supposed to) And here's the link to all the pics of the actual model: http://s66.photobuck...ticiar/Monster/ Sorry the pics are so bad. It's a translucent material and doesn't photo for beans. And I'm a lousy photographer. The solid white inside the model is support wax that didn't drain out during cleaning. It won't be an issue for use guyse. It was printed on an HR Invision Plus in super high resolution. It's pretty darn smooth and the details, panel lines, etc. came out great. It's my new favorite material to print in. Not really visible, but the main body is actually left and right halves. I thought it would make the casting easier. Unfortunately it warped (they throw it in an oven to remove the wax) so they don't line up quite right. I'll see if I can fix it, but I might end up re-growing it as a single piece, though I'd rather not. Might require a bit of putty in the end. That's a rubber band holding the hips onto the pelvis. No, the stick is not up his... Everything else is held on by friction. The shoulders rotate, the "wrists" rotate, but everything else is pretty rigid. Well, the hips are ball-in-socket. That's the poopy-plate in the foreground, along with some Frankenstein bolts. That's one of my Tomahawks thrown in for scale. Now, my Tomahawk is more like 1/240 to keep it closer to modern Iron Wing Metals castings. The Monster is 1/300, and it's still 3" to the top of the cannons. If that doesn't put the Fear of Dog into your players nothing will.

Somebody makes a 1/2500 TV ARMD? Or are you suggesting that since the TV ARMDs were destroyed early on that there's no desire for them? Or that I could find an alternate method of making them?

I don't have a 3D model of one already, which is another cost. Beyond cost, I find the TV ARMD to be unappealing and I have a harder time getting motivated to do things that I'm not interested in. That is not to say that it won't happen, just that it might take me longer than normal. Right now, I'm leaning towards doing each "ship" as a separate kit and letting people roll their own. For the short list, that's Jay-Lew's TV SDF-1, Prometheus, Daedalus, TV ARMD, DYRL ARMD-01 and -02.

The "fast one" comment was based on the response when I said I was thinking about DYRL ARMDs with TV SDF-1. I personally think it's the best of both worlds, but apparently that's Not Cool. No misdeeds were intended and no, there hasn't been anything going on "Behind the scenes."

I feel like I did a bad enough job representing what I wanted to do that people here don't trust me. It's as if they feel that I'm trying to pull a fast one, violate their childhood or some other unsavory act. I'm sorry if that's the impression I've given because it was not my intent. This past year has been financially ruinous for me and I don't want to invest in a gamble. I rarely outright cancel a project, but I will back-burner it until circumstances change to something more favorable. What's the "1/2000 toy fiasco?"

I currently have 24 kits available, ranging in price from $8.50 to $35 apiece, all of which include decals. I posted info for this in my initial post for this thread. I wish that sales of those kits provided funding for developing this, but they're still haven't paid for themselves. My reasoning was similar to yours; it just hasn't worked out in practice that way.

Not actually using STL/SLA, but Polyjet instead. Somewhat similar process, in that it builds layers up, but otherwise different. Polyjet has a layer thickness of 0.0006" thick, which is an order of magnitude better than most rapid-prototypers. I'm considering looking into running it on a CNC mill, but that costs a helluva lot more than growing, unless one knows a guy with mill (I was quoted $125,000.00 to CNC a 1/285 Tomahawk mold). I know two people that might be able to do it. If I grow it, it really will look like the renders. I have over 20 models available for sale that were created in this process, so I know it to be true. I'm still working on getting photos of casted parts, but anyone who has seen them will say the same. I'm just not willing to spend $3300 developing this and then hoping that people want it. I can almost understand not wanting to commit to a model without seeing it, except that I can think of several instances here where that has not been the case. Community involvement and reputation has its privileges, which is only natural. Still, I did ask that no one say "Go for it!" if they weren't willing to ante up when the time came. So I got what I asked for and that's quite all right.

There are already a bunch of images available of the specific mesh in question, rendered by Jason himself. I would not be able to add anything new, until I have additional work done on it (paneling, destroid cupolas). But I'm not going to go to that expense if there's not enough interest to warrant it.* Perhaps I should have waited to bring up the subject until after he and I had agreed on a deal. I was thinking that I did not want to waste his time if there wasn't at least a little bit of interest here. I've been pretty consistent in stating that my intention was for 1/2500 with the only divergence that I was willing to listen to alternatives if that's what the community wanted. Also, I said in the very first post that it would likely be in the $250-$300 ballpark. That assumes either ARMDs or Prometheus & Daedalus. I'm not sure what else I can offer: You know what it looks like, you know how big it is, and you have a pretty good idea of what it will cost. It'll be less, maybe $50-$100, if it doesn't include any "arms." Right now, I feel like I'm going about this the wrong way, but I'm not sure why that is. *I'm not a 3D modeler. I'm just an idiot that's frequently willing to commission 3D work and grow prototypes, at my own expense, to bring to market cool kits. But this undertaking is much more massive than normal and I simply cannot afford to eat the cost if there's not interest in it.

I've posted on a half-dozen or so different web sites and the response hasn't been quite what I was hoping for. I'm sure it's my own fault for not being super clear and whatnot. At this point in time I'm not sure if I'm going to proceed, if only because I really, really can't afford to eat the cost if it turns out that people just don't want it. That said, I'll keep plugging away on it and push off the final decision until I'm ready to actually grow the prototype. So we're not dead, but I'm not committing yet. I'll post updates periodically and if anyone has suggestions, please shout 'em out.

We're still not at a definite "Go for launch," but we're getting there. Everyone remember Jay-Lew's awesome SDF-1? Well, Jason and I have come to an agreement and that's what I'll be using as the basis for this build. I didn't want to say anything until we'd worked things out, and now we have. So this is a bit of a milestone here. His thread garnered quite a following and many kudos, which led me to believe that using it as the basis would be a good idea. Now is the time to express your opinion, good or bad. If you want to see his vision come to life, say so. If it's a deal-breaker, say so. Just understand that it's this or nothing. I don't mean to be difficult on that, it's just that it was his mesh that made me want to do this and I don't have the resources or inclination to build one up from scratch. Hopefully you'll agree that his version is fantastic and deserves the full resin treatment. More of Jason's excellent work can be found here.

I remember you, Ghadrack. I'm glad you're enjoying your Trek kits. Thanks. This will be a multi-month project, so you'll have plenty of time to save. Sorry, Valkyrie. I need to remember to not speak when I'm having a bad day.

I know a few tricks when rapid-prototyping to help minimize costs. My initial guesstimate is that the prototype will be ~$1500 to grow. Just for the SDF-1. Not counting work on the mesh. But I'm hoping to do it for less. A talented modeler, which I am not, could scratch build one for a fraction of the cost, excluding the time investiture. It's going to cost, one way or another. That's also why I'm not going to do it unless there's serious interest. It's also why we're going to hammer out exactly what's going to be done before we proceed. At the moment, I'm hearing TV SDF-1, Prometheus and Daedalus. That's cool. If there's enough interest (at least 25, though that changes as production costs are refined and sales price adjusted accordingly), then we'll make it work. If not, perhaps at a later time. thegunny -- I never make something I can't get behind. If my heart's not in it then I know I wouldn't do a good job, so I'll simply pass. Conversely, whatever I do make will be good (the biggest complaint I've ever had was that a female key had collapsed during molding and I didn't realize it, meaning it required about a minute of scraping on the part with an X-acto to clean out).

I take a little bit of offense at that. I don't do anything in modeling "half-ass." I love the TV SDF-1 and don't like the DYRL? version. I prefer the DYRL? ARMD over the TV ARMD and was already working towards it at customer request. I don't particularly care for Daedalus and Prometheus, but I'm happy to make them if that's what people want. High quality CGI meshes take time and/or money to develop and aren't found just "lying around." I tend to go towards what I would like because a consensus is so infrequently reached and I thought that this might interest you guys. So I asked and it turns out that I'm wrong. That's cool and I'm happy to change my plans because it seems like there might actually be a consensus here, but let's not act like I'm trying to pull a fast one, violate anyone's childhood, looking for a quick buck, taking the easy way out or whatever else. @MechTech -- I'd love that Prometheus and Daedalus material. The more reference material the better. I'll PM my email addy to you. Thanks.

Which is why we're talking about it before I actually proceed with anything. (Star Trek fans can be pretty hardcore as well) The SDF-1, regardless of film or TV version, is just that: It's the SDF-1 and nothing more. In both versions the ship was meant to dock with the ARMD platforms, yes? (and actually did in DYRL?) My personal preference would be to do it as it was intended, but that's just me. That's why I'm asking for feedback. An added bonus is that I already have an ARMD mesh that I can use. It's a film ARMD. I don't have Prometheus and Daedalus meshes and generating them would cost me. I don't want to do that for obviously reasons, but again, I'm perfectly willing to go that route if that's what the masses desire. OTOH, we could also do this as just the SDF-1 and keep Prometheus, Daedalus and ARMD models as separate kits. That would make the SDF-1 itself cheaper. Or we could go with an uber-kit that has all of the above, though that would make it cost more. Plenty of time to hammer out the kinks. I guess my general thought on the subject is that it's not uncommon to see garage kits with some liberties taken, making them stylized, etc. But it's completely OK if others don't agree. There's nothing binding here. Like I said, right now we're talking about it to figure out if it's viable and how we want it. It'll be crystal clear what's in the kit once we start talking about real money.

It'll be mostly TV version. The basic hull shape will be TV version, but I'll grab detailing info from whatever sources I can find, maybe throw in a little artistic impression here and there. If you dig through my Photobucket page you'll see my Destroids, which I think would be representative of what I mean. Just little tweaks here and there. I'm also considering doing it with the ARMD platforms rather than Prometheus and Daedalus. That's not hard and fast. I just have a hard time putting my best effort on things that I don't like (like the Prom & Daed). If I do, think of it as how it would appear had things gone as the UNSPACY had planned. Or not. YMMV. If there are any particular features you'd like to see, now is the time to say it. I'm also looking for reference material. I've seen all the stuff at Mr. March's site, but I don't have any of the books. The absence of input just means you'll have to live with what I think looks good ;-)

Hi All, I'm a little burned out on making Star Trek kits and want to go back to my first love. I'm considering making a 1/2500 SDF-1 Macross in resin. It would be cruiser mode, non-transformable. Assuming 1200m, that scales to 48cm long, or just under 19" long. It would also be quite detailed (scale destroids in pop-ups, frex). I'm not looking for any commitments yet (because I'm really not known around here), just realistic expressions of interest. It'll likely push $250-$300, so please don't say "Yes" if you not serious about following through. Hope that didn't come out harsh. Here's my blog: http://scifiskunkwerks.blogspot.com/ and my photobucket page: http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h256/justiciar/ for examples of stuff I've done.

Thanks and I've added you both to the list. The Tomahawk hasn't been released yet, so don't worry about missing it. No one has missed anything. Yes, it was supposed to be released first, but there have been a few delays with casting that one. I had a couple of early generation prototypes that weren't going to be used for anything and decided to have them painted. Yes, I'll announce when the Tomahawk is ready.

Sorry I can't help on the scale. Right now I have people requesting the same figure in 1/300, 1/285, 1/200, 1/160, 1/72, 1/60 and 1/55. I'd like to do it, but it's just too hard to support that many different scales (and volume being cubic, the prototype cost goes up real fast). There's a chance I'll revisit 1/160 (N-Scale). There's also a chance that I'll do try one of the big ones. Both of those would be quite a while down the road and the latter would require significant commitments. I'm sure you'll find the cash for at least a dozen of these little gems My boss (read: wife) is making me wait a week before the next announcement concerning the Glaug.

I don't have a RP Marauder to compare to, but I do have their Warhammer to compare to my Tomahawk: Ral Partha's are hand-sculpted with the artists using a calibrated Mk 1 eyeball and are a pretty good effort. For my versions, the official schematics/orthogonal drawings were used as a template in CAD to generate a mesh, which was subsequently printed out on a 3D printer. That prototype is what the molds are taken from. A lot of care was taken to keep them just about as accurate as possible with very few changes.

Most of the joints are snap-fit. They're designed to allow you to pose them as you wish, but they're not toys. The friction will keep them in place long enough for you to glue it together. A very few (toes, knees, waist, top gun) won't ever require glue. Pretty much what you see is what you get.

I'm pleased to announce that I'm now accepting pre-orders for the first printing of my version of the ol' Glaug. What do you mean by first printing? I'm glad you asked. Instead of giving a hard limit to how many will be in this release, I'm going to keep the pre-order period open until midnight, June 8. However many pre-orders come in by then is how many will be cast. It's always possible that there will be demand for a second printing, but there are two things to keep in mind there. First, a second printing won't happen until I'm done with the other 20+ models that are currently awaiting casting. Second, once all those are done, I'm most likely going to be leaving the casting business and getting back into aviation. This has been an...interesting...interlude, but it's just about time to get back to the real world. The model is made from resin and is fully pose-able. Scale is ~1/300. Pricing will be $15-$17 apiece, depending on the final tally. Shipping will begin soon after casting ends and I'll post payment details then. Note that I will not accept payment in any form until I'm ready to ship. Just post your handle and quantity desired in this thread and we'll use that for the tally. Thanks. Incidentally, I don't know how to create thumbnails and did not see a prohibition against full-size pics (though I could have missed it). Say the word if it needs to change and it'll be done.

I'm not stirring anything, I'm simply stating the facts. That's your business if you chose to be offended by it. The fact of the matter is that anybody who knows anything about filmography and story-telling knows that Guld raped her. And if you knew anything about psychology you know that Guld raped her. How's that taste. What, don't like the tone? And I like how you try to defend Guld for cheating, since it was only a couple of times. That makes all the difference in the world, really. You either have integrity or you don't. Guld doesn't. All three of them were best friends, so I don't know where you get this "some tart comes in" nonsense. Nice how you try to make the victim be the problem. You don't have that sort of long-term psychological damage from being smacked once or twice. The beast raped her. And let's be clear: I said my piece without calling anyone out or shoving it down anyone's throat. You decided to make it personal. Grow up. /edit for spelling

Sorry, he raped her, plain and simple. You don't need to be shown the scene explicitly to know that's what happened. There aren't enough choices in the poll to warrant a vote. I like Isamu, as a pilot, better than Guld (Guld, while talented, is also a cheating PoS). I like the YF-21 in fighter mode best, but it's a pretty lame looking battroid. The YF-19 battroid is very cool.

How about a story about Isamu post-Eden but pre-M+? He's a cool character and a hot-shot pilot. Macross Compendium says all VF-4s were replaced by VF-11s by 2030, but also says the VF-4G was in service in 2047, so basically there's room for two VFs in the show, which would be nice.

People are talking about it, but normally not in a good way, which is unfortunate. When I watched the Series, I was content with the ending. Then I saw FB2012, where they basically kick off a new series. So where is it? New direction in the relationship, new ship, new crew, new VFs, new mission, it's all right there, waiting to be told. And for every fan that says they've had enough of H, M & M, two more want to know more. I don't have any delusions that this is what the new show will be about. I'm ok with that, so long as they go back to basics. No more of that froggy stuff in M0 and M7. While I don't dislike either of those, neither is anything special. Well, pretty much the entire last episode of M0 can be forgotten. And I haven't been able to bring myself to watch past ~episode 17 of M7 (because the plot only advances 5 minutes per episode; it just plods along). We'll see.