MechTech

I think the tape cost more than the paint Really nice scheme and excellent painting! - MT

Absolutely positively awesome work Capn'!!!! I wish I were getting one! Where was the sound system supposed to fit again? No 12" subwoofers going into that baby - headphones only! Thanks for keeping us posted. - MT

Claude - Thank you for your support! We could use the prayers; I know I'm praying a lot! Neptune - Thank you as well. I know exactly what you mean about the car carrier. I think it does too ! I don't know if it would ever be possible to bring this thing anywhere than in my car! It's just too big! Why the heck did I even start this thing! PROJECT ON HOLD These will be the last photos I post for about two months. Tomorrow we begin the process of packing up our stuff. I'm requesting a crate be built for "my baby." I'm out of time to build one myself and have lots to do! I've been saving up polyurethane and styrene foams to make cushions for the crate interior. My model has a few thousand miles to go stateside! In a nutshell, I added more braces to the very rear area. These strengthened it and added braces for the floors to go in. Then I skinned the lower area. I'll engrave and cut these area later when my mind is more focussed on building versus moving. How big is it? I stood up against the wall and held the camera so I could'nt see the viewer any more. I still didn't get it all in! There is about another four inches to add on to the rear too, so I kinda lied, it will be well over six feet when completed. That's it photo wise for the next two months or so. I'll still have PC access so I'll "be around" - virtually speaking. Enjoy and thank you guys again for your support. - MT

This reminds me of the thread where someone said all they had was a coffeemaker and something else (?) and they built this (insert photo of Deathe Stat) Looks great! - MT

FINALLY resurrecting this project? I wondered what happened to the older version. This would be WAY too big for my collection and available space, but I hope all goes well if yo go ahead! - MT

Welcome to MW! Looks great! Nice and clean looking too. - MT

Thank you everyone. This thing is moving from skeleton to "filled out" stages finally. I don't know how much work I will get done in the next week or two, WE ARE MOVING. We're headed stateside now! Maybe I'll make it to Macross Con next year? Now I need a crate that's the size of a coffin for the Daedlaus UPDATE AUGUST 9th 2009 I finished the second elevator, it's just a dummy. It still has all the details to include tie-downs and teeth in the rails. They will still be visible through the interior when its open for display. The next fun step was adding the rear hanger extensions and crane container. This whole assembly will be the largest when done, about 4 feet long. I'm praying I can get this hole thing in a crate to protect it. I thought of using one of those GIANT plastic boxes for a Christmas tree or oother large items. Nope, their all too small! Just another thing that has to be custom done! The first picture is a set of rails run along the sides. This keeps everything square throughout the build. The rest you can figure out. The pictures may be mixed around. The attachment manger had files all out of the usual order. That's it for now. Thank you all for your continued encouragement and I'll post when I have a moving date. - MT

Absolutely stupendous work (awesome's getting over used )! Not to mention how quick you're progressing! I think you're going to finish before me! Especially since I'm moving and everything will be in transit for a while. Keep up the great work and thanks for updating us. - MT

Actually, out of all the older Macross Valkeries, I think the 1/72nd transformable was the most accurate before Hasegawa made their non-transformable one. It only needs some seam work to make it look good. The joint do become loose with age like all articulated models. There are also weapons store points on the wings, plus the gunpod expands! What else could you want? - MT

Awesome work guys! The Garfish looks great too. In fact, I would be jealous, but I'll be able to get one! - MT

I think he means the "meat wagon" to haul off damaged destroids. I definitely would like some of these. Time and price are factors for me. You may also want to check over at the Starship Modeler boards. I KNOW these will sell well if they aren't over-priced. - MT

It's always good to see some old school goodness get some love. Good job regardless of skills! - MT

Thank you guys. I'll update you on the whole moving situation a I know myself. Nickster, I can't take credit for the valks. They are Yamato's 1/200 valks ( http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?SeriesID=934&...archpage=Scitop ) I believe they are more than worth the money. They are also in scale. I thought otherwise until I got measurements. They go great with my high end die-cast aircraft also in 1/200th scale. You'll be seeing helicopters go with this too. Think Macross Zero. - MT

Thank you guys for the compliments! I'm hoping to finish it by next year. I may be moving soon so there might be a delay, we'll have to see. I do want to get this thing done though! There's other things piling up I'd like to build. Cos 918, welcome and thank you. I should be really updating things back at Mayhem's site, it just takes so long! Don't hesitate to PM for ideas. I love doing stuff like this and I've been doing it since I was a kid. I always put my engineering ideas into my model ships versus planes or cars; ships don't crash as easy! Here's some more photos from the table I made. I made some improvements here and there and it works great as you'll see in the next part. I added a fence and secured the pounce head so the bearing takes all the rotation force. UPDATE 26 JULY 09 You can see I FINALLY finished the elevator. In fact, this is the second one I built! I mis-calculated on the first one and it would not rotate properly. You can see the tie-down holes potted across the elevator surface. Some are clearer than others because of a wash of ink from cleaned markings. They are all uniform depth though (for the most part). Note the gray tube hinge pieces. This next picture is darker to bring out the engraved details. It shows the elevator stowed (as in all the line art) and how the whole thing goes together. The little tab you see sticking out in the bottom left hand of the elevator rail is what the elevator pivots open/closed on. The elevator platform is hinged. The upper hanger deck is where all the aircraft will go and it too has been "pounced" with holes all over for tie downs. How does it work? Check out the videos. The elevator is really quiet, but my camera's mic is nearby so it picks up EVERY little noise. The loud clicks are my battery box switch (only for bench top tests). The elevator will actually go flush with the top deck (when its built). Elevator_Open.MPGElevator_Closing.MPG[atta chment=69661:Elevator_Up.MPG] Elevator_Up.MPG

Lookin' good Nickster, keep it up. - MT

Welcome and thanks Budokhan. A lot of people have been looking for those. I have the book too, but it does seem to be rare and hard to find. - MT

Great work! I always wondered what the finished kit looked like. I too think your choice of shades looks good. - MT

Thanks Ron! You're helping bridge the thousands of miles. It looks like I missed out! Maybe next year! - MT

I'm in. I think Jason did a great job building that. Having it printed in 3D would be great. It will take a while to get the dough together, so once again, give us a heads up when you're ready and a final cost. I think you'll have more people say "yes" as the project progresses and people see progress photos too. - MT

Nice photo effects! - MT

Awesome work Maverick! It's really taking shape. All that from flooring tiles too! Another source for styrene you might find is in commercial signs. I've noticed my local hardware store sells signs like "beware of dog" and "no smoking." Some plastic food serving ware is made from it too. Just some ideas. Styrene is everywhere, even yogurt cups are made from it. - MT

Everyone's work is looking great! I'm still building one elevator - MT

John, instead of making an arm from scratch, you should have just used a REAL Darrenger pistol and cast it instead! That's what that thing looks like. Although your barrel diameter looks to be .50 cal Awesome work as always and I wish I was getting one Keep up the GREAT work! - MT

Looks good so far Nickster. I think the marker idea is great. I use it sometimes when my lighting isn't good (more so at night). Bright direct sunlight will show scratches when viewed at different angles and that's what I prefer. But the marker (thinner than paint) shows ALL your goofs before painting. I don't prime most of my tiny 1/200 models because the detail gets lost. Thanks for sharing and keep it up! - MT

The table is done! It looks really "McGuyvered", but it works! - MT