MechTech

Thanks guys! Sorry, I've been off line awhile. The gearhead is not strong enough that I got for the rear, so it will fold the short front piece and a larger gearhead for the rear two pieces. I'm having fun engineering it all though! - MT

Looking awsome! Gotta love those small brass parts. You can firmly attach armor n' stuff, then just unscrew it off! - MT

UPDATE 21 OCT 07 Thank God Royal Mail finally finished ALL of it's strikes. Yesterday I got the gearcase so I'm starting in on the folding mechanisms. The included photos cover the hydraulic support that's supposed to go down "perpendicular to the ramp" as described in the drawings and notes. Nothing really works on this (of course). The foot actually sits VERY loosely on the hydraulic cylinders and just hangs or swerves into position. When the ramp goes down (as shown), the foot swings out and the cylinders just sway wherever the foot goes. When everything moves,it actually looks real. Machined Tamiya ball joints (brass). One of the joints snapped into place and the other joints shown. In the end the brass parts went because they occasionally bound up. I replaced them with hinged ball joint-looking joints. Those work 100% every time and are lighter (there's the at word again). On to the actuators... - MT

Looks great! Not bad for younger students either! - MT

You know, my son is only three and he already knows what FIREPOWER means. That's a pretty good definition pictured there! Nice creativity. If it's 1/72nd scale, I'd recommend getting after market brass shells to throw underneath it. Like 1/32nd scale products. 35mm tank shells would be about right I think (I can't scale the magazine from the photo very well). An old mecha with a few holes nearby is good... An unfinished labor with "Barret" styled 75mm cannon. - MT

That looks great! Don't tell me you didn't include the missile load; that's the best part! - MT

Thanks guys! And welcome Ahab and Juan Jovv! I think after all this work, I'm going to make a special shelf for it to sit on and occasionally play with it. And when my children turn about 35 (in thirty years), I'll let them play with it too . For now it's in about four pieces on every shelf! I probably will take it with me to modeling shows and stuff. They're always fun! Royal Mail FINALLY finished all of it's strikes in all areas so I'm hoping to get my gear cases soon! I'll post videos. Thanks again! - MT

You got to get them off their butts or current projects to finish these first . I saw the update and thought they were! I know honneamise is busy on a 1/200 IJN Yamato (52" long) last I heard. That takes some serious detailing! - MT

Great work! It's nice to see someone else building something HUGE too! Keep us up to date. - MT

I'll be building a ton myself. I bought the whole collection and have about another 30-40 or so various kits for the Daedalus build. Personally I love the 1/200 scale kits. They were the smallest scale Macross mecha I could find and the detail is great for their size and period of production (the newer molds kick butt over the older sulpts). I just don't like the VF's in fighter mode. I'll be redoing an accurate nose section and other mods when I get to that point. Some of the 1/170 fast packs can be substituted too. - MT

UPDATE 14 OCT 07 First off, my apologies for taking so long to post. I ordered geared drives for the articulation of the ramp two weeks ago and the stupid Royal Mail strike is holding up the parts. Normal delivery time is 2 days! I even had extra time to install them! First off, both hinged joints were built twice. The first fastening method of the brass hinges didn't work out. So I took sewing pins, filed the heads thinner than paper and counter sunk them into the hinges so the hinge movement would not be hindered. A gearhead and threaded rod will articulate this section for speed and strength at a lighter weight. The styrene hinges froze up when glue ran into them. That was a blessing since I found better fitting plastic tubing. The styrene hinged parts are large so the doors fold back (180 degrees) with a large gap to make room for the machinery and side details. This is the section that the ramp folds down for in the Daeadlus Attack Mode (Assualt Mode is a beach landing). A gearhead will turn a clutched gear (for safety) that runs through the hinged parts and actuates the folding of the parts. I made brass clutch parts that worked fine, but the weight was higher than I wanted. So I went with an old clutch form a toy tank (always save cool looking spare parts). The weight of the whole hinged assembly was still lighter than just the clutch parts! I'm almost done building the hydraulic looking brace that goes perpendicular to the ramp. It will just free fall into place as the ramp lowers down. More pictures later. When the ramp folds, it will travel along a gear driven threaded rod to extend and retract from the hanger deck. Brass and styrene hinged joints. The brass hinges are 1.5mm wide (very small, but strong). Machined brass parts (not used after all). Brass and styrene hinged joints. Assembled brass clutch (not used). Acetal plastic geared clutch (ratchets if too much pressure is applied or forced upon it). The 180 degree folding joint assembled and reinforced. The frame (as it will hopefully look) folding up. The frames are light and the corners reinforced with epoxy for strength and styrene adhesion. Total length extended is about 25" or 63.5 cm long by 11" or 28cm wide. With something so big that folds up high into the top of the hull, weight is more critical than ever! That's it for now. C'mon Royal Mail, where's my gearheads! - MT

I just know that HWR is using a stolen fold pod and just not telling us about it . Nice job on the armor! - MT

If you're going with spray can's for now (I'm a heavy user for LARGE areas) here's some MORE tips (if you're eye's and brain aren't burning yet). Clean the surface with soap and water, or Isopropyl rubbing alcohol (70% - drug stores) if you're in a hurry. It won't harm styrene, Shake the snot out of the can to ensure it's mixed well; especially if the ball inside was stuck when you first started. It's obvious but most forgotten. Spray outside if you don't have a booth. Even if it's freezing outside or the humidity is high, it will save your brain! Then bring your project in right away to a room that's sealed off and hopefully humidity/temperature controlled. If you can't let it ventilate, let it sit all night/day to let everything settle and cure. The only drawback is you may get some lint on it - maybe. At least your body won't hate you for it. Let the paint cure thoroughly before painting over it with a trim color or handling it. Unless you want Zentaedi looking finger prints all over. If you can work out fluid dynamics, you can do this too! - MT

AWESOME valkyriepm, AWESOME! She looks thirsty for paint now. I wondered what happened to your build. I've spent more time with my children too lately, so less time on the build. Can't wait to see what's next! - MT

Nice collection! - MT

Yeah, what they said! There's so much I could say; but my advice is use the search function! I think it's all been said one time or another here! I'm still surprised at the wealth of info on these boards! - MT

I'm starting to think I need to see Venus Wars. Looks great HWR. I've seen that guy's "bike" in action Vermillion. He ate it once at speed and almsost bought the farm! It oscilated bad at higher speeds. I think he fixed it though. - MT

Looking greater than ever! Yeah, make ONE that you really like and cast it for uniformity. It WILL save you time and improve the professional appearance. Plus you'll learn more about the hobby; even if you've casted before. Keep up the good work! - MT

I guess the question is have you built many models before? I saw it's your first Macross kit, but I don't want to assume you're first kit period. The Hasagawas are the most accurate in detail, but I have to agree too that the Bandai transformable kit is the bomb! I've built a few and modified a few. The only kit I've thought was better is the 1/200th IJN Yamato kit by Nichimo; 52 inches of beautiful ABS battleship!!! - MT

Awesome work as always cap'n! That kicks butt over any other sculpt of any regault I've seen yet! - MT

Looks great. I still think its an unorthadox design. - MT

Sorry, I've been off line for a while. I will be using carbon fiber for the rails the ramp retract on and the rest of the upper hull structure. I just hinged the first segment and have to do the other half. I've been working on the mechanics of the retract and folding mechanisms. I've got to keep it ultralight, but very robust, Tough combo! - MT

Looking good! - MT

UPDATE 23 Sept 07 I thought which parts I need to be working on first and I figured I better get the ramp and all it's mechanisms in first. That way I don't have to worry about working around walls or destroying details. Plus this is the toughest engineering part of the whole ship for me. It's not exciting, but here's 42 pieces of precision cut and machined carbon fiber being epoxied together. The two metal parts are keeping all the parts squared off while the epoxy cures (Devcon 2-Ton). These three frame make up the panels for the bow ramp. The sides and tops will be thin styrene to keep the weight down. I don't know whether I'm building a ship or plane some days in trying to keep the weight down. These three panels will then be hinged together and have three actuators to fold and expand/retract the ramp into the bow. That's where I'm really having to do the thinking! Talk to you later. - MT

somebody has been doing a lot of thinkin'. It looks good so far. The only dead giveaway is the head and different looking windscreen. - MT