MechTech

Looking great guys! A lot of hard work is paying off. I'll have to post my latest find when I get time. - MT

Not the kinda chick I'd wanna meet down a dark alley way - MT

Or do you mean the U.S. Marines "dirty" look. If I saw two planes with multi-services side by side, I can always pick out the Marines plane. Their maintainers are not into soap and water as much as everyone else - MT

I'm hoping you're making one wheel and casting it!? I saw all those treadless blanks and thought hmm... You wanted suggestions so here's my two cents (from someone who WILL be building one). 1) Plastruct makes stairs. Buy theirs and cut it to your needs. 2) Build the cabin out of clear styrene sheets (it's basically square) and paint or cover it with THIN styrene. 3) I'd still recommend toy tires to save time. Just copy one. I was able to buy mine with wheels/tires for HO train monster trucks (manufactured by Busch). 4) I bet the transaxels from a HEMMT (sample - http://www.anticsonline.co.uk/1807_1_1507185.html) will be the right size. DON'T GIVE UP!!! - MT

I ordered two kits as well and sent him the money. Some pictures would be cool! - MT

3/4 of the decals in the top sheet ARE from the same Macross book that the lower decals are from. Mostly almost all are Macross related! - MT

This is coming along nicely! Don't give up! - MT

I need to keep on top of this thread. Lot's of awesome work guys! - MT

Looking good so far. Don't let this die like all the other vehicle threads - MT

While I'm not a "toy guy," my collection of models has slowed a bit. Partly due to caution. I think the same thing is affecting the world economy ironically. Everyone is concerned they may not have a job tomorrow so they cut back on their spending. You just have to be creative. For example, a lot of restaruants are losing customers. But here in the UK, KFC is building several new restaraunts due to the demand for cheap fast food! I'm just collecting cheaper now too - MT

If you guys don't have one yet, I HIGHLY reccomend a pin-vise: http://www.micromark.com/PIN-VISE-and-DRIL...T-SET,7804.html It will make all your modding much easier! Projects are coming along great. - MT

The ONLY way to get rid of the white stress marks from sprue cutaway is heat. Which when applied will probably screw up your part. But heat will allow the plastic to contract to it's molded shape and return to normal color. If you have to sand the area and you are REAL CAREFUL, you can get a heat gun or blue section of a candle/lighter and move it close ever so slowly and carefully. Otherwise paint is a winner (and safer) every time. - MT

The most readily available source I know of are the Palladium books (the Japanese are hard to come by). I'm not a fan, but it beats a sharp stick in the eye. They appear to be out of print. I searched and found this: http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3906180/Pa..._Books_Megapack It WAAAaay near the bottom. Just delete what you don't want. I have the RPG books 1 and 2. I don't play, but thought it would be a good reference for some scratch building I WAS going to do. - MT

Napalm Sorry, my local hardware store was all out I think Pine Sol is safe on ABS and reacts to styrene over time. Styrene reacts to just about everything. Citrus oils will melt it! - MT

I used it on enamel too! I thought it would take forever but it was pretty quick! I always thought commercial paint was die-hard, but Pine Sol kicked it's butt! I don't know how it does on acrylic, maybe I could stick an old paint-laden Tamiya paint bottle in someday. The plastic (ABS for you Valk modders out there) was un-scasthed! An added bonus, it was pine fresh - MT

I finally saw those things in the store the other day. They pretty big! I'd just make up decals and stick 'em on the face for accuracy and ease! - MT

You can also try wet-sanding. Just dab a few drops of water on the surface and sand. Rinse off the paper in the water to clean it. Yuo can also get a smother finish sometimes too. Some epoxy putties sanded this way may require a little time to dry first. I mostly use the sanding blocks that are wet dry and they give you a smoother surface too. - MT

Everytime I look at this thread I keep thinking I'll have to buy the RVF-25. I like all the variants though! - MT

Prime is look'n better everyday! - MT

This is an old thread, but I thought I'd let you all know that Pine Sol does work great! I tried it this week on an old helo project. After stripping it down and doing some modifications, I'll have a 1/200 MH-60. It only took a few hours and all the paint came off. I then soaked it in water overnight to neutralize any left overs. Our boards are an awesome resource! - MT

Thank you everyone for the compliments! Things are slow while I take my online class. I've been wiring up the connectors and controller when I have time. I'm about half way done. No pictures since they would be boring wiring shots. Yes I will have sounds for it. In fact, I ordered the sound boards earlier this week (3ea) for the sounds. I will have the Macross warning alarm and other sounds effects. Each board records up to 30 seconds (quite a lot actually). I also added a green blinking LED to the controller to remind me it's on and an LED to indicate the main lights are on in the inside. I located a better motor to retract the ramp and also replaced that too. Again, nothing worthy of photos. I just thought I'd let you know I'm not slacking After I loop this a few time it will be my alarm MacrossAlarm.wav - MT

The colors do look good! - MT

I received the kit today and love the way you made parts clean-up easy. The detail is great and the brass inserts in the blades will insure they won't droop! Looks awesome and I love all the ordnance! Oh, and the box looks great too, not to mention your packaging is great too! AWESOME ALTOGETHER! - MT

Welcome Tancist! You're problem is that the SDF-1 has several parts that rotate. This is the "Do You Remember Love" model, but the same idea: Don't drink Vodka and watch it at the same time I believe the center section with bridge folds over too in the animation. Get the beginning of the TV series for Macross (or Robotech) and watch the FIRST episode. It shows the gun rotation clearly. You will have to build some parts with styrene or epoxy-putty around the gun area most likely. Hope that helps. - MT

Wow, a lot of great work guys! Great paint and aging affects too! - MT