MechTech

Looking great so far. Two tough colors to work with together. - MT

I just saw this too! Looks awesome! Congratulations! - MT

Thank you guys very much for all the compliments. After the bow section is done, it's all downhill from there! - MT

Looks great guys! Makes me want to work on my destroids, must r-e-s-i-s-t! - MT

Nothing much more to say other than awesome (and the stuff everyone else said)! It looks as real as you can get for 1/72nd! Any live action Macross movies coming up? - MT

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm humbled. UPDATE 27 APR 08 WITH MOVIES One warning, we're limited to 500MB uploads so the movies are SHORT. I took movies in 5 second intervals. This is only the ramp in ATTACK MODE, not ASSAULT MODE (landing). The noise was amplified by the camera being on the table too, otherwise the servos are really quiet. Note the flap on the joint to allow room for opening up, it fits smooth and flush when the ramp is opened. These are just teasers until I finish skinning the ramp and painting it. You can't see all the panel lines yet in the photos until a good wash goes down. Ramp_Up.MPGRamp_Up_II.MPGRamp_Stowed_Back.MPG Going up... Ramp_Down.MPG Ramp_Locked_Down.MPG Going down... More photos of the ramp folded with all mechanical parts. All joints and even the tip "serrated edge" move automatically. That's it for now. Time to skin the rest of it and get the far end edges covered with the facade. - MT P.S. Something's up with the post and things are slightly out of order. - MT

That thing is awesome looking! Totally awesome job on it! It looks like it would do Mach8 right off the rails!!! - MT

Absolutely awesome work!!! I gotta ask, are you doing ant CAD/CAM CNC stuff? All the parts look it. For sloppy rivet lines, you sure laid them down straight! I've been panel lining this week on the ramp and it's driving me nuts. At least all my runs are on level surfaces. Keep up the awesome work Moscato! - MT

Those are awesome! That's skillful. - MT

I've never seen the Spartan either and I thought I saw it all! Please share if you got 'em! Thanks! - MT

I would recommend using the sprues from the kit and practice on them - with all the chemicals you spoke of. Melt or screw that up instead of your kit first. Panel lining is as difficult as getting a fine tip mechanical pencil and running it through the lines! A wash of water based paint will catch the other areas and recesses. If you haven't, do a search here for a lot of your questions. It's all been covered before in depth. There's just so much info it would take hours to type! Have you been here: Truffles Ansley, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV13 0BX Telephone: 024-7639-5749 Craft Goods Retailers. Hobby toy and game shops, stores Hopefully they are not too far away and even carry what you need (unless you've been there). Just mess with the kit's sprue (runners) and see how everything works out. - MT

I know Bandai can do it, the question is will they? And what kind of goodies can we expect with the kit (armament - fast packs [if there are any])? They have some of the best prototyping and molding gear in the world. Will they take the time and skill? Questions, questions. - MT

Looks great HWR! Thanks for posting those. What's that, like 50 pounds of resin all together? - MT

Hey wait a minute, you can't be mixin' Gundam up with Mospeada weapons! That's just not right (in a styrene kinda way). With the weapons on the back opened up it looks a lot less like a nutcracker now! Cool model! - MT

I've seen less milking being done on a dairy farm! I love Hasegawa and all, but I think it's time to pick the needle up off the record and move on...on...on...on And yes, the "1/200th guy" owns SEVERAL of their kits - just in case... - MT

They both look awesome guys! The only thing I don't like about the design is that it's not "canon." I love the design and looks personally. - MT

Oh yeah, that's the stuff you heat up in hot water isn't it? I think you'll have issues with gluing and paint adhesion. It's good for making molds and prototypes I hear, not finished products. I'm curious about how good it is too! - MT

OK, I can't vouch for the booze, but an awesome Dremel unit is the 800. It's cordless, lasts a long time on the battery, and most important, has the lowest stock speed of any unit I've used. It has a lithium ion cell so no memory problems with charging and I've charged it and used it on and off for months before needing to charge it again! As a bonus, buy the keyless chuck ($10) and the light unit. It runs off the speed of the dremel and helps you see intricate work. The light is awesome, but you can drop the keyless chuck if you're always using 1/8" bits (their standard size). I've had my unit for two years and ou of all the rotary tools I've owned (5), it's my favorite! Oh yeah, and it comes with loads of bits in a case already! - MT

Thanks for sharing! That looks like an awesome set up. Man I got an ichin' to get some more styrene and resin work done. All the carbon fiber stuff is messy and just doesn't have the same satisfaction; no matter how high tech it is! - MT

OK, even I know a nutcracker when I see one! Actually I don't get into Gundam much except to but the kits for parts . I like some of the designs though. WM Cheng, the booster looks absolutely awesome! Great metal effects on the boosters. I just saw the episode with those yesterday and was thinking of you guys building that kit here. Neptuensurvey, the destroid looks great! I always did like that design. It's a good cross between giant and practical. - MT

The dimensions look good to me too. My children and I have been watching Macross and we just saw one of the episodes after the big battle that has one of these nosed into the ground with the pilot (skeleton in armor) holding a MinMei doll. There's a bonus item - MinMei doll in book case . The sculpt looks awesome as always! The pilot is a nice touch too! - MT

I think you got it on the button the second time around! MUCH better! - MT

Great job! I love the flying surfaces and other details on the VF-1. - MT

I used to be an assistant manager in a hobby shop, sell the stuff all day, blow half my paycheck there, and go home and build the same stuff! I can't believe how fast stuff is changing! Brushless motors, LiPo batteries - we used to dream about having that kind of stuff! The servos aren't really that small. There's much smaller around! The thinness and metal gears are what I needed...case in point: UPDATE 13 APRIL 08 ALL of the folding mechanisms are done! It works great! I'm not posting video until I skin the ramp and finish the end folding part - just in case . Here's some photos. I had to redo the frame to strengthen it. The servos are directly driving the ramp - I didn't want to do it this way. There's no room for a mechanical safety device, but I'll put some micro switches in to stop the ramp at the start and stop points. If it hangs up, there's no mechanical protection like on the end segment. But it works great! The servos are dual bearing so no sweat off there bushinged backs. Everything come apart including the servos from the assembly - just in case. The connectors on the servos will be covered over so no one will see them. Next came the wiring. It has to look real where exposed and be durable. The answer; use conduit (2mm micro styrene tube), cable armor springs and paper thin wires. All the light colored runs are wired electrical items.The lighting cables are wound up and masking taped to the frame until skinning the surface begins. Flex springs from an old Gundam kit, now really carrying electrical cables! One got over stretched . You can see the thin wire ribbon, armored springs and conduit. Yes, the best way to lay out the lighting wires was to use micro styrene tube and make my own "junction boxes" out of styrene squares (hole drilled in the middle and filled with colored 5 min epoxy). Folded up and in the stowed position (it will do this under power now) And the big deal with keeping it thin? Making the anime magic come to life! At the thickest point, it's 13mm thick. A real colossal giant like this would probably be very different! That's it for this time. Next comes the serrated end. I have to make it fold 180 degrees! After that, it's time to skin, wire it up and finish it off! - MT P.S. Sorry about the photo color, my camera hates flourescent lighting.

Awesome finish man! The colors are mesh together great! - MT