MechTech

Thanks guys for the news and translation! I like the look. It's better than Bandai's 1/100. It's got potential... - MT

Good progress and the photos type j9 posted are great! I'm still whishing this was a "canon" design "in the Macross continuity." - MT

Thanks Graham! I think I might buy one after all! If this is poly-capless, all is not lost. I have some of the Kotobukiya joints and they are nice. Like styrene, there are different grades/densities of ABS they can use. If the joint gets loose, a little CA will tighten it up. This looks way better than the prototypes we saw. Time some people to get some salt and eat some words - MT

Thanks guys for the compliments. I'll put something to scale next time around. The funky piece is cut from styrene tube. I cut grooves into it with a saw and then folowed those with various files widening out the grooves. This was the lightest way to go. The motor still opens it - yeah!!! I've got a class this week so I don't know how much time there will be to work. I'm working on the spot lights on the hatch and minor details - almost done with the hatch! - MT

Aaaah, I see. FIRST, clean all the parts with detergent (or wipe down with 70% Isopropyl). Next, lightly sand the seam areas. THEN use a solvent glue. If your glue smells like citrus, it's not solvent. My personal preferrance is the watery liquid stuff. You can clamp the parts together (just where you want them) together and run along the seems with a bead of it, or build it up on the halves and connect. If you use enough, the softened edges will even fill in seemed areas if you work it right. A little goes a long way too. - MT

Howie, welcome to the boards! I'm not sure which type that is (they have a couple of orange caps). Regular solvent glues like Testors, Revell, Humbrol, etc... should work fine. After the parts are put together, it should only take about five minutes or so for the parts to hold on their own. If you're in a rush (bad idea), you can use super glue. Super glue is fine, I use it all the time. The only problem is that it is harder than the plastic when cured. Sanding/filing afterward can make uneven areas. Try another type of cement. Most evaporate quickly. If it's an "eco-friendly" glue, those take longer to evaporate verses regular solvent glues. Hope that helps. - MT

Thanks Gunny for the rack link! Everyone should check that out! Ron, the SDF-1 looks great! I must say, you did the Daedalus justice ! Cowie's right, that does look like a Domino! Domino shields up! - MT

Gunny - I'm jealous of your paint collection (especially since most of mine are old and crusty). What paint rack system is that you're using? I'm thinking of dropping down money for most of Tamiya's paints and racking them for easy ID. - MT

Still looking great! If I designed that thing, the sensor would be more missiles - but that's just my missile-itis flaring up! - MT

I think the sculpt looks good. The landing gear looks to be the same PC parts as on their VF-19 series. It's not a mark against them, but it shows the model/toy hybrid mentality Bandai has. It does look better than their 19 model too - improvement! I think it's a good model overall considering Bandai caters to younger children and not those of us who have children of our own! Plus metal gear for strength as on the VF-1's cost more. If you don't like it, dig into your spares box I guess - easy fix. Great opportunity for some MW'er to make after-market parts to fix it - subtle hint... - MT

Thanks again guys for the encouragement! B-52 Gunner, that's really cool - both parts! I knew a dude who used to work around B-52's with the radar/vulcan cannon upgrade. He was walking around the flight line one day and had the feeling some one was watching him. He looked up and the 20mm was tracking him everywhere he went!!! He stopped and yelled out, "Can someone safety this thing!!!" They left it on after the mission! UPDATE 12 AUGUST 08 Now we're getting closer to line art reality. The progress is slow, but there is a lot of detail and measuring. Two notes, the hatch plastic is so thin, you can see through the corners after smoothing them over. Only the super glue is there (visible as lines). The indents on the front of the hatch on either side towards the middle aren't going to happen. The carbon frame is under there. So I'm going old school and using raised panel lines and black paint to represent them. Plus the structural integrity would be weakend. Putting the side marks on. A piece of brass channel for spacing/alignment. Most of the external details applied. The "deflector dish thingy" is sitting in front before gluing on. This was a piece of cut tubing and A LOT of shaping. I tried to wrap some 1/2 round plastic around a tube. It looked wrong and was too heavy, so I went this way. Nearly complete exterior views - sorry about the lighting. The lower lip indented to match the hatch. The fit is pretty good over all. Next comes panel lining and cleaning up some corners and scratches. - MT

So when can we put in our orders? . It looks great, more like a prototype (and much better looking) than some of the stuff we've been waiting on and drooling over here. - MT

You need to clean the deck, there's a speck of dust on it...oh wait, that's a VF-1!!! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME JOB!!! I agree that it's a labor of love! All the detail work paid off! If I didn't know better, I'd say it looks like a REAL ship in use today! The line work is nice and clean and the weathering looks good too. The weapons were a nice touch as well! The bridge looks great too! The pilot playing with plane puts the whole size in perspective! You did an awesome job on this and it just goes to show that persistence pays off! So, when can we expect the Daedalus and SDF-1? ... -MT

Great work Petar! At last, some crazy micro modeling I can relate too! If you squash mold that, some glass filler or epoxy resin might keep it from drooping over the years. Then again, it may just be light enough for it's size! Keep us updated! - MT

The LAV with stinger/avenger cannon looks great! I thought it was 1/35th. And of course the Ghost looks great too! - MT

For those that have any doubt that Bandai is TOTALLY behind making MACROSS stuff, this picture is for you (from crunchyrole.com) But I digress... - MT

The Glaug looks good. It's a pain painting the lighter round trim over the darker parts on the kit. - MT

Looking great! Keep it up. The finished product will be well worth it!!! - MT

Talk about a multi-media kit!!! This should help your trouble. I've used Micro Mark more times than I can remember. And oh, they have an export kit for you! http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...ct&ID=82084 It may not be great for mass priduction, but it will educate you. I'd guess you could get a couple of kits out of it. Plus molding requires a little practice. - MT

Dave, the Plastruct stuff should work! I've been using a little ABS angle for the Daedalus and Duro superglue stuck right to it too! Not brittle or anything! If you're having gap issues, you may be able to scrape some etchings from the inside of the part and mix it with solvent. Just putty it into place and sand a couple of days later. All that provided you haven't "Done the deed already. - MT

Welcome BostonMacK! If you want some old school fun (and on sale now!), wraith is right. Check this out: http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?MacroType=Inj...p;GenreCode=Sci Votoms is closer to what you've been building. The 1/20th Bandai kits are awesome! Multiple colored sprues, awesome fit, and the Red shoulder Scope Dog has tons of ordinance on it. They are slower on order processing, but most of us here have probably used them for years. What country are you in? There's other options too. The destroid monster is more easily available in resin. The plastic kit can be anywhere from $75 to $200 average last I saw - IF one is available. Other Macross related stuff from HLJ: http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?MacroType=Inj...p;GenreCode=Sci By the way, try not to drool on your keyboard . - MT

The loader looks great! I'm trying to figure out what the happy face on the loader's side does . Talk about throwing in "random details" to surfaces. I thought the Star Wars models had some crazy stuff put on them. - MT

Not bad all things considered! - MT

The carrier does look cool. I always wanted the stealth carrier with one each of most valks. I think it is 1/700th. - MT

Valkyrie addict - I'm guessing about another year to complete. The hard stuff is nearly done. Everything else except the elevators on the sides will be just plane ole construction minus all the engineering to animate parts. Fly4victory - Thank you for the compliment! The upper deck will be laser engraved to simulate the tie-downs for aircraft. The ramp anti-skid strips will be black paint for scale thickness. I love scratch building and this thing is sure keeping me busy doing it! It takes a lot of refitting of parts to ensure it all goes together after an assembly. Sometimes not so successfully. B-52 GUNNER - Thank you as well for the compliment! I'll check out that site, I've never heard of them before. By the way, were you actually a B-52 gunner before the "pepper shot" conversions? UPDATE 4 Aug 08 Only three pictures, but a lot of work. The pictures were taken in low light, sorry. You can see the carbon fiber skeleton disappearing under the styrene parts now. The main hatch is mostly finished with the corners needing to be cleaned up. The front corner of the hatch has been put on and the corners rounded off to match up with each other. You can see the "teeth" on the doorway frame to align the hatch on closing. Now I don't have to put hinge pins back in every time alignment is needed to add something. If you remember (or look back), the lower front carbon fiber frame that was visible is now a "styrened over" pointed lip. The hatch aligns nicely with it. I added the big marks to the hatch topside and now I have to cut out a notch to install the mysterious winch looking thing in the door. If this was Star Trek, I'd say it was a deflector shield!? [att achment=56663:Bow_Hatch_Lip.JPG] I still have a lot of detail work to go on the hatch! That includes the interior spot lights and wiring. By the way, SO FAR the servo mechanism still drives the door open. It sounds like it's really working hard though! I'm still concentrating on lightweight construction! That's it for now. - MT