MechTech

Pasted from a couple of threads down... I know you DID NOT want water transfer decals, but keep in mind you can do laser jet or inkjet really cheap at your local printers ( I did mine when I was back in the UK years ago before I had a good inkjet printer). The same will go for whatever "dry" decal paper you decide to use. All you will need is a diskette or thumb drive to transfer your work to the printers to do up. Give it a shot. For those wanting to try water slide decals, laser jet or ink jet, try: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...roduct&ID=81490 In short, draw or paste your artwork onto your illustrating program and print it onto decal paper (inkjet or laserjet). There are severall suppliers, Micro Mark is only one that's been reliable for me. Like I said above, you can even have a print shop print for you. The only limitation is white lettering or marks that are small. As you'll see, the paper comes in white or clear so there are some limitations. Anastazi can print white onto his sheets. Like I said, give it a shot and try it. I've made severall sheets up myself and it only takes a little practice.

Hey TSP, That's exactly what I've been doin.' Working On my workbench. I've had to put everything down and spend some bucks on it. I took my awesome little Microlux 11" x11" tablesaw and sunk it into a butcher's block table for more work space. I'm ripping a bunch of sheet parts for a 6 foot Daedalus model and had no place to do it (neccesity is the mother of invention they say). I then had to build a new rip fence for that. I also got a 10" disc sander as my birthday/Christmas present. Then I had to fix the folding front end of my work bench because it got warped a little with age. I also built a small hand pinvise drill for more accurate cutting of those small parts. My workbench has been on my workbench I guess you could say. Now I can get back to plastics, it's Daedalus time! I ripped some sheet parts just yesterday. Take a step back and see what you can do. I bought all of my stuff in bits over the years. I'm using cheap ole' plastic drawers to the side of my workbech, but they work great! Get a cheap table of any kind to work on to "expand" your area.

Yep. When I heard that the Valks were in 1/55th I thought, "what the heck is that! Nothing else is in 1/55th! No accessories no nuthin'!" Like 1/60th is much better, but at least Yamato is making more than just Valks in it.

Respirator, that's my next "tool" purchase. O.K., that picture of Frank Zappa in Captain Garb is like totally freeky!

QUICK! Put a pipe in his mouth so he doesn't look like Frank anymore! Pipe before chin! looks great so far. A word of caution, use a face mask when sanding the Milliput. I've been using that stuff for over a decade and just found out about the dangers of cured epoxy dust. The longer you use, the more "sensitized" you get. I still use Milliput though. I'm gonna need a lot soon for a big project! Chin up(bad puhn)

I know you DID NOT want water transfer decals, but keep in mind you can do laser jet or inkjet really cheap at your local printers ( I did mine when I was back in the UK years ago before I had a good inkjet printer). The same will go for whatever "dry" decal paper you decide to use. All you will need is a diskette or thumb drive to transfer your work to the printers to do up. Give it a shot. For those wanting to try water slide decals, laser jet or ink jet, try: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...roduct&ID=81490

They are nice kits. They're not as nice as the original VF-1 transformable series (1/72), but really close. The new VF'sa are more complicated in transformation; that's all. I have both kits and have built one of them. Like Graham said, a little glue at the right spots helps a lot! don't expect them to look like the Hasagawa kits though because these are transformable and have to work in all modes. These are just like the Bandai MG kits only better (because they're Macross )

Yep. I was up in the F-22 looking at everything; even the cool engine nozzles and thought, "one step closer to a YF-19/21." We're gettin' there. They say "art imitates life," but the tables are turning. Look at the movie "Aliens." Most of the futuristic weaponry on there is now in acceptance testing! Maybe someday a valk...

See if this helps: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~cyc01/ If not, than I have a good stockpile of pictures.

Yeah man! Postage to the U.K isn't that bad! If you like had to fuel up and arm the Monster, that'd be another story! I've purchased several mail order things and the cost is better than what I thought. If I didn't build in another scale, I'd buy one too! I already built one in 1/100th scale and it's huge! I'd say, "go for it!"

Looks great! Great coloring on the nozzles. Just add fuel and space now!

Oh oh! sounds like if it hasn't cured in a week, you may have to strip it. I bet the Model Master and Krylon clash. Get a spare piece of plastic to check the two together. If I recall correctly you Kryloned in white (base coat) AND blue, right? The good news is that the resin won't get attacked as easily if you do have to strip it down. Sorry man, I know the "agony of defeat" too - it's sticky for months!

I haven't seen the Aves putty anywhere in the UK either and I've been all over. The milliput I use is normally the superfine type. I just bought some a few weeks back, so we'll see how it goes.

If you're looking for decal paper, here's a sample pack of clear and white with fixative for $9.75. Here's a link: http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?M...roduct&ID=82859

It's all in the amount of UV shield they add to the plastic. The next best thing is to keep it out of the sun or direct sunlight. Second, keep it out of direct flourescent lighting as most flourescent light pump out decent amounts of UV rays. I learned this the hard way over the years. Keep to incadescent lamps or LED's in your display case or shelving if you can.

Look forward to seeing it. Don't miss living in the south weather wise at all. Nice people, hot and humid weather!

Thanks everyone. A Macross Bowling ball! That's what I don't have yet! Thanks for giving me that idea. My wife has a Minnie Mouse bowling ball, and I have a plain ole' 16 pounder. Yeah, what would I put on there though? Just the plain ole' "Kite roundrel, or like Hikaru's face or a Valk? Hmmm. Next year I'll have to do a Promethius or AMRD platform (since I'm still in "deck swabbing" status)!

That's not bad at all for a start. Decals, a wash and touch ups will make it all worth while. Yeah, the dreaded "paint drying monster" got me before too (maybe that was the monster attacking everyone during "Lost", season 1 - I haven't seen season 2 yet)! I use spray can enamel paint because I'm so bad about that. Otherwise, I use acrylics. Enamels wear the best though! Sometimes you can lightly buff fingerprints out of the gloss paint if the coats are thick enough.

Let's see, what diameter is a "beer can" missile and who was it that fired it in that episode? I would have to go with the Hasegawa and Imai (Bandai - 1/100) being accurate. I looked into it too since no one makes them in 1/200th scale. They are large, bulky and an aerodynmicists nightmare, but so are the fast packs too! I'll probably use those, but then again, Hasegawa put big angles on the corners of the pods which aren't drawn quite that way. Wow, now you got me thinking...

Thanks for the info Kylwell. I'm gonna give it a shot. I've been using Millliput for almost 15 years and loved it, but it seems to get nasty in a short shelf life period. It won't fully mix and leaves lumps after a month or two from purchase, probably because it sits a the store for a while due to cost.

As far as release agents go, I haven't messed with any "home remedies," but I usually use Vaseline for the two part silicone molds. Can't beat the cost. I actually did break down and buy the proper stuff, guess what, no difference. All of the resin I use is self releasing so I have no problems with mold release agents. For heavy undercuts and fine detail, the mold release agent is great to adding life to the mold in my case.

Here's a great fan site for Mospeada: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~cyc01/index.htm

Thanks guys for the tips, and I might hold off on Urethane solely for simplicity sakes. All the stuff I'm using is 1-1 so it's a piece of cake. I am seriously considering getting a pressure chamber. I even purchased an air compressor to de-gas my resin in a chamber someday. New drill press comes first! Resin set-up times vary like the tides! I've had the same resin set at varying times! It's all in the temperature, age of resin (older sets up fast for my stuff) even mold temperature. I heard of a guy puting resin in a fridge to slow the cure time. It worked, the resin never fully "cooked inside." Screwed up my mold with uncured goo too! Even after a couple of days, no catalyst affect. I need to get a face mask respirator too. I've been modeling way too long long now and would like to keep my hobby and health!

I never saw Sapce Gundam V, but does it have a a powrfull space battleship, ditzy super hero girls with guns and a little annoying mascot (robot or animal)? Or did they forget to rip those off too?

Sorry for the delay in posting, I know New Year's Day is around the corner. It's been a busy holiday season for me this year. Here's something I came up with making a Daedalus resin copy for scaling purposes. Everything went wrong from the resin and paint being old to the decal paper getting ate up by my printer. After some serious help, here it is: (Hmmm, wonder if Hallmark will make these)