MechTech

That looks cool!!! - MT

That's looking beautiful! - MT

@derex3592 Your Millenium Falcon looks GREAT! The Stormtroopers add a dynamic touch and some action to it the scene too! The Titanic is coming along GREAT too! Nice and clean for such small pain-in-the-neck pieces too! All the rigging on it was a nice segway for the tall sailing ship. Thanks for sharing your sailing and NASA photos with us too! Those rocket engines are HUGE! We have one a the Smithsonian here. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near one of them running! The piggyback shuttle reminds me of when I was in basic training. Our Training Instructor (TI) had us in formation outside waiting for a mass appointment. One of the guys starts turning his head and gets yelled at by the TI to straiten up. The guy says, "Sir, it's the Space Shuttle!" Everyone starts laughing because it sounds so ridiculous. Then somebody else says, "Yeah, there it is!" There it was, piggyback on the back of the 747! Very rare site and cool to see in person. We were ALL looking then! It stopped off to get fuel nearby us. On the building front... I didn't get much done, but I'm happy with what I DID get done at least. First I located the right spot for the push button arrow (salvaged from something a long time ago). Then I carefully drilled corner holes and trimmed it out. Thankfully from the back side. The backside got all scratched up😉 I cut another pocket out for the switch and push button. Then milled out a path for the wires. It was fun getting everything to line-up correctly. If you remember the last connector I made was plastic. I could just see it easily breaking like a toothpick! So I re-thought it out and redid it. I threaded and machined a "T" piece to put a short length of square brass tube on. I machined the tube and got it to fit onto the "T" smoothly. Then redid another connector. This connector fits INTO the square tube. The metal parts will now bare the weight. This version also came out more sleek and less bulky than my original design. Then I drilled out the 20mm projectile top and tapped threads into it. This is what it looks like now. The soldered tabs will be hid up inside the model plane now. And altogether so far... Thank you for checking in guys! - MT

Just do it!😁 @Sanity is Optional You're right. It is actually mixed media, but Cardboard Craziness sounds better!😁 He used laser cut plywood, metal bits, wood skewers and metal bits along with cardboard and clear plastic sheet. - MT

"Saw this the other day and thought it was awesome. " Cardboard CRAZINESS!!! Swap the cardboard out for styrene and it would be AWESOMENESS!!😁 - MT

Thanks for posting! I haven't been to our Aldi in forever. I'll have to check them out now. Stock might vary too between Europe and the states. Produce and baked goods certainly do. - MT

Thank you guys, I appreciate it! Love the puns too! @CrossAir That looks great! I guess that's what they replaced the ole' Toyota Hilux model with. It had a BIG metal gearbox with shiftable gears! Needed at leats three channels to run. No, you would never see that baby over in Europe (maybe Iceland for touring). The Panther finish looks great too! Running it outside will help with "weathering" it realistically😄 - MT

That looks great! I'd guess those "bumps" are for exhaust pipes. There's 8 of them. A V-8 would be ample power for that aircraft - especially with "new technology". - MT

Got more work done on the stand today. It's getting there... Milled out a pocket for the battery box to go into. Then milled out a slot for the wires to go up and into the pedestal through. I forgot to show earlier, but I drilled through the base of the 20mm round and tapped it to fit over the bored-out screw on the base. I still need to bore out the tip of the round. And the 20mm "pedestal" screwed down onto the base. The base was then covered with aluminum sheet. The sheet then had a battery cover area cut out and a cover to match it made. The sheet was drilled out and riveted. There are holes in the base for the rivets to sit in, but they are not riveted into it. Its just sitting loosely on top for now (with a little warp until glued down). The sheet metal work is to simulate the skin of an aircraft. It will be painted up and weathered to look like aircraft skin too. A second 20mm casing will sit as you see here with the model title on it. Some type of switch will sit where you see this one with a label. I'm looking for a better switch to go here. That's it for now. Thanks for checking in everyone! - MT

@electric indigo Does it have Corinthian leather seats? Sorry, just had to ask! She looks AWESOME! Great photography and lighting too! - MT

It will be great to see this in 1/60! I might be game! I miss my old 1/200 one 😁 - MT

@pengbuzz Your improvements make the "toy" look a LOT BETTER! Many aspects of it are more line art accurate now, especially the main guns. I think the ships dimensions look better too. Not to mention better coloration too! A movie version would be cool too. - MT

@arbit Thanks! I blew it and didn't spoon test the paint first (didn't I just do that with the LAST project too?!). The primers I usually use are great! This wasn't for some reason. Plus, it's not really a primer. It's OK, it sanded down fine. I just have to paint now. @pengbuzz That is an AWESOME looking base! You wouldn't know it isn't part of the whole model! - MT

Tinting canopies can be fun. Spraying the coating may become uneven and look unrealistic - hand brushing is worse! Get some Future or Pledge floor cleaner/coating (depending on where you live). Its good for coating the model as a final sealing coat and over your decals (airbrushed). It's also great for tinting large clear parts. Clean your canopy and get a small cup of Future/Pledge and add a tint to it. Tamiya clear paints are fine. Then dip your canopy in it and let it dry. I've used that technique and its great! - MT

It IS good to see those old figures seeing some love. They really aren't that bad. They do need some careful time spent on them. My old Misa has Little Orphan Annie lookin' eyes though! - MT

I thought before going any further, it would be good to build the base to ensure everything fits properly. So here is the base and a connector for the stand bored through for the wires. Like Pengbuzz was saying, working with wood is messy! Just routing this made about two cups of sawdust that I swept up from all over the floor (and me)! It will be worth it when done - I hope! Thanks for checking in everyone! - MT

I just saw the new GBP scheme. Pretty cool! They even named the mission for it too. You KNOW there will be more versions. The dairy farmers of Wisconsin could learn from Hasegawa how to milk molds!😁 - MT

@pengbuzz WOW!!! Looking much better than factory already! Your colors look spot-on and the weathering helps give it depth. I look forward to you finishing it! - MT

I haven't got much work done the last couple of weeks, but here's what is done so far. Made new gun barrels for the wings. Not exactly "canon" (heh heh😁 - see what I did), but then again, what is on this plane! Oh, and a coat of Fusion Satin Pewter Gray. OK paint, WORST ever to use as a primer! VERY splotchy. I should have sprayed a spoon first to test it. The barrels test fit too. The exhaust came out great (IMHO). REAL stainless steal and REAL heat. Doesn't get any more REAL than that! A micro connector was made from cutting one of those strips as you see on older hard drive connectors. I added plastic to help ensure it is "keyed" to prevent reversing polarity. It is actually rounded and will fit into the joint that will support it. Still a LOT to do! Must sand it down now and fix some panel lines from thick paint. That's it for now! Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

For those of you who don't like to paint, this is always an option! This is a COOL idea!!! - MT

Don't "woosh" your models around the room when you can make them fly on the computer😄 Great build and diorama (they're coming after Arbit's build). - MT

Great build and I think you got the weathering just right! The color choice looks good too. The lights are a nice touch too!😁- MT

@Urashiman Your 3D renderings are look REALLY good! The VF-9 especially! @GMK That Boxer is really starting to take shape. I look forward to seeing more progress on it! Are you going to get a metal barrel for it? @arbit Sharon Apple can ride a bike!? 😄 Your sculpt of her looks realistic! Great work on the bike too! It's good to see some rare subjects become models now. @pengbuzz Sorry for the setbacks man! The good news is how you are kicking butt over those mods! I DEFINITELY think there are big improvements in your work vs the original molding. Yours will take more wear and tear too. - MT

@derex3592 GREAT looking stacks! I think the color looks authentic. Its MUCH better than the school bus orange of my old Chevy Vega when I was in high school (photo not my car, but the right color). @pengbuzz Your Macross is really coming together great! More and more hardware too! It's getting bulletproof!😁 But it will be nice and hardy, no teasily broken like a lot of toys. @electric indigo The Cordoba looks very realistic! It just needs some Macross music as it comes out of the shadows. - MT

@pengbuzz Great looking work! The carriers kick butt over the old ones even roughly done! - MT