MechTech

You can't rush art! No hurry! - MT

Awesome sculpting! Keep it up! - MT

Howie, that's the same situation I'm in. Two things you can do. Get some used or cheap brushless fans and make a basic spray booth. I even have two fans on dryer hosing on my bench to suck out the glue fumes - that stuff is nasty! Take a piece of wood, plastic, whatever and tape it over your window with a hole(s) for the ducting to go through. VERY low budget and it gets the fumes out. For painting, I usually spray the base color from a quality rattle can (Krylon is converting most of it's products to the fine spray). Immediately bring the model inside and stick it in a room or big closet where it can cure with the door closed and YOU can breath. Finish off with Tamiya's acrylics. If the weather is too cold or humid you can still do this method, just don't take your time outside - MT

Paint looks good optimator! Hopefully it won't scratch off. I've heard mixed reviews about the Krylon stuff sticking. Jardann, they are from Revell Germany. You're paying for the weaker dollar. Over here they are only £4.50 (about $6.70 right now). Plus shipping it across the pond. With that in mind, I SHOULD buy one - MT

Jardann, funny enough, I'm sure the kit is 1/200. It is the smaller mylar foil wrapped kit. It's pre-painted and the painting detail is really good (snap-fit). There is a lot of clear parts to include the waist and wing turrets, ALL pre-painted! The missiles on the bottom of the wings are backwards, but it's hard to tell unless you look really close. I opened the kit and thought, I otta get one just 'cause it's 1/200 scale . The cannon need some help, but the whole kit looks great! - MT

Cottage cheese, the "breakfast of champions!" (and craftsmen) Those parts look great! Which one's mine Payment sent today! - MT

Just a quick "thank you" for all the efort on the webpage! I used it to figure out that a VF-1 in battloid and a destroid tomahawk are nearly the same height! I blew $105 on that information to purchase two Yamato 1/200 variable sets - MT

Berttt, if you don't mind the suggestion, I scratch built one of these in 1/100 scale (before my 1/200 days ) I found some Plastruct 1/200-N scale stairs in a local shop back then and knew they would come in handy. They worked perfect for the vents in the foot. Lay them in horizontally and they look just like vents and have the added benefit of already being in uniform distances. Cut or sand one of the rail sides off and they will bend into almost any curve (like around the heel area). Just a suggestion that saved me a lot of time! - MT

First off, the Yamato 1/200 variables are right on the money for scale. I double checked sources for measurements and the Yamatos are right on! In fact, I put the fighter right up to the line art in Perfect Memory and it's dead on except the legs are slightly longer. The VF-1 and Tomahawk are almost the same height! So I bought two boxes of the first edition at Big Bad Toy Store for the reduced price of $42.00 a box. The Nichimo valks are running $14.00 at HLJ so this is good. Plus the "bonus" valk makes four a box I can use. I'll probably have a couple spare YF-19s and VF-3s when I'm done to sell. Thank you claude grant, big F and Berttt for the compliments! A lot of work is paying off now! This project is a labor of love. I am thinking about sending photos to Hobby Japan or other Japanese magazine. And for the reason that they don't know how much we out West really do love anime! If they published me, I'd say that too! Berttt, I wouldn't worry about getting destroids if I was you. I know what a pain it is to get and ship stuff overseas! UPDATE 1 December 2008 ALL of the interior details you see (except for the ceiling) in the line art for the forward section are DONE! Here are some: The forward space with winch. I guessed this thingy is a heater in the line art My ship comes standard with A/C Control Cabin Here's everything on the port-side wall, remember, this isn't all glued together yet and my camera "warps it"! This is what it looks like in place. You can see where I ad-libbed and added air handlers to the "condensor." There is a huge "blindspot" in the line art that is about one foot long on my model. It's near the ramp on the port side and not shown. So do I leave it empty? No way! The A/C air handlers are part of my "ad-libbing." There will be another, larger control cabin to "see" the front ramp operations and overhead crane. There is nothing around to control those GIANT mechanisms or control traffic coming or going. I'm working on the cabin now. It seemed the best thing to do. That's it for now! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend (where applicable). - MT

My son and I (mostly I) built a Republic gunship from one of the pre-painted Revell kits. In the first hour the main front cannon were busted off so I replaced them with 1" long guitar string "cannons." Those suckers will bend but NEVER break now! Oh yeah, and A LOT of work on the Daedlus (thread updated). - MT

Remember, throw that "other stuff" to the side and build the monster (whispers) build the monster... -MT

Awesome sculpting! - MT

Is it just me, or does the very first post look like a Hanna Montana doll? My daughter has been looking at her stuff lately in the store. - MT

Flourecsents put out ultra-violet light (it's what excites the phosphorus to glow). If you have to go with lights, I hear LEDs are safe - SO FAR. Incadesent bulbs will still put out some types of radiation. I hear now to NOT look into a white LED, I just don't know why yet. Maybe no light is safe . - MT

Looks great! Are there any reinforcements in the main rotors? I know thin resin will sag, although a little is alright in non-rigid rotor airframes like this. I'll contact you soon for payment. - MT

All tyhat in a day! I'm going way too slow on my Daedalus Looks great, keep up the great work! - MT

UPDATE 24 November 08 COMPLETED the gantry crane, would have painted it too except for the 40 knot winds The Gizmoszone gear motors are SOoo cool, I just glued a micro spool on one end and stuck it on the traversing carriage. The carriage AND crane are both fed by a paper thin ribbon cables, the crane's is 4mm wide and the carriage ribbon is about 2mm wide which goes into the red connector. I stopped building hidden rails like on the top overhead crane due to build up of oxidation on the rail. This way nothing can oxidize except the exposed metal and oil should stop that. I'm building this to last. Soldering onto the ribbon cables took hours until I figured out a system. The exposed hair thin segments were more delicate than you'd think. Just bending them broke them! All in the name of a better looking build! Another part I was waiting to sink my "teeth" into, the details under the internal ramp and the ramp itself. This took some engineering. The ramp GOES UP AND DOWN with the main ramp extending or retracting so it had to move up and down about 1cm. I bet everyone recognizes the green piece. It's alright, the rest of the model is gone Sorry about the poor photo quality. The camera warps stuff up close! The ramp is perfectly straight and the lines are all geometrical - pictures can lie after all! In the line art there are even trucks parked underneath! I thought it was an efficient use of space so... Ramp NOT permanently secured, top piece overlaps ramp gear and moves up and down according to main ramp position. A "full size" truck to scale (bad airline food not included ) The truck will be modified to load Phalanx missiles. NOTHING completed is glued in place yet. Painting will be required first. Nearly done with the front half internal details. Mostly small stuff now - well, really small stuff - MT

Thanks PetarB! I think your project will go great! If Misa is any indication, you will sell a lot and make a lot of fans here happy. I build mostly 1/200, but I'll probably take a set too! John's helo will need some pilots! - MT

Just let us know when you want payment by. I may have to wait a couple of weeks. The postal service lost my first Gizmoszone order (micro gearcases) and then they just came in over a month later! They'll have to re-charge me. - MT

Big F, I talked to a local engraver about it. He was sick of doing plaques and thought it would be cool to do this. He was amazed that his laser could that stuff. The bad news is he's retiring soon! I have to get the control box laid out and engraved before he goes! I got a second shipment from Gizmoszone. I love those motors (will be in my next post) Order EMS and they are here in about 5 days - faster than HLJ! - MT

Thanks Chas,that is cool! - MT

Ah hah! Just get the micro mark (or other brand) set with proper silicone mold compound. Your resin not being shiny may mean it's bad and not generating enough heat during the cure process. - MT

Thanks L-V! I have seen the website you spoke of and seen most of those ships. It reminds me I'm still sane . Your project will need a full sized rowboat for a hull (I've seen it done). I believe the elevators fold up too to seal off the side hatches (like the old carriers). I'll be doing something similar, more linear drives to build! At least I'm getting good at it . The drive will lift the elevator and when going down, will fold it up when it goes past a certain point. UPDATE 11 NOVEMBER 2008 And on this day all allied countries are remembering our war dead and and those still alive protecting our freedom! That's what the address is in my Avatar. Here in the UK a lot of people wear poppies or "Poppy Appeal" to "remember, remember, the 11th of November on the 11th hour of the 11th day and the 11th minute." Poppies strung the battlefield of the French countryside. Poppy appeal is a charity for veterans and a big part of British culture (for those of you across the ocean or "pond"). I'm at the cross roads of building a ship and a diorama right now. I FINALLY got to get parts cut and glued together I wanted to do for the past four years. getting other stuff done to ensure these fit correctly came first. Last week they were cut and the last couple of weeks assembled and fitted. Raw laser cut components for the interior Here are the walls and control cabin assembled. The cabin still needs interior details and windows. Here's the assembled outcrop and shown in place (various views). I still have to add details to it too. Note the angle on the right hand side going up. That accommodates the ramp angle and keeps the outcrop wall flush with the ramp. The detailed walls and outcrop are in this line art, walls on the left and outcrop on the lower right. No I couldn't leave well enough alone! I got my new motors from Gizmoszone in. They're awesome and only 6mm in diameter! They are so small I had to get a special close-up lens for this shot. They run smooth and quiet, I recommend these guys to anyone. Their address is in my signature block below. So I installed one and made my crane even more realistic and shrunk the gearing on it too. Here's the ramp installed and folded in the "water tight" position - yeah right it's water tight I also cleaned up the corner area with a styrene block smoothed into position, it's dirty from my bench I have a lot of little detail work to do, but most of the components are done of you look at the line art. I can't install the walls until I begin painting. It will be a tight squeeze. The top floor is only three inches high or so. That's it for now. - MT

I'm guessing the matt is from the talc. The resin should not sweat unless it's condensation you're talking about. Bad resin will leach out from cured parts. If that's the case, you have an old or bad batch! I can't vouch for anyone other than Micro Mark. It's just easy to order my tools and resin from one source. Without talc your parts should be shiny as the master part. Minor bubbles are normal inside parts. I'm thinking your resin is bad if it is leaching liquid out after curing. - MT

Absolutely top notch work John! I'll have to build it, put it on my desk and see how many people ask about the design Getting money ready... - MT