MechTech

To answer the question, I've never seen that in a kit. Mospeada's creators lost out when it came to marketing. Thought it was an interesting series too.

Thanks Fernarius, I hadn't thought of using urethane rubber for some reason. I'm going with that my next run. No degassing! Awesome! Even turning my molds so the bubbles won't show up doesn't always help. Now if they could just get the bubbles out of the resin without degassing. Big F, if you find a good place in England, please shoot me a PM. Having to order from across the pond is, well, ponderous! That type of resin you mentioned first was what I first used. It stinks to high heaven and so do the parts. My wife loved that! Another good source where I normally get my stuff is Micromark.com. They have ALL the accessories you need and they even have metal molding supplies! I am a big fan of tinting my resin. It saves paint and adds a proffesional touch to production runs. Just a little drop and you have your part molded in color! - MT

For casting pieces needing strength, try using epoxy resin. It's more durable, especially with fiberglass filler. If the part is large and "open" in the mold, you can simply use 45minute epoxy off the shelf.

Whatever you do, stay away from flourescent lights (all types). They DO put out UV and even break down the very plastic fixtures a lot of them are made with. I say this from personal experience. ABS and Styrene plastics are really susceptable. I'd go with the LED's myself. In fact, I just bought a Christmas wreath with 45 white LED's on it. It cost about 30 bucks for 45 LED's. you can't beat it! I'll take them off their flasher circuit and on straight battery (I'm putting them in my 6 foot Daedalus model). Plus, you can arrange them around the cabinet and arrange them to spot light affect in areas. Really slick! I'll be putting them around the top for overhead lighting and the side for "spotting." Just my two cents from a model builder and a "do it yourselfer."

That's an intersting idea. Make some custom album art, put it in the jewel case and attach some coat hanger wire. If you take the wire and bend a triangle into one end and attach it to the bottom with some epoxy and do a half loop out and over the front of the case, you can either do a "model on a stick," or hang from it depending on the size and scale and length of wire used. Using a CDR-W holder sounds great too. I kept one to do the same thing.

Looks great! I think someone is single handedly keeping Hasegwa in business!

Anyone get the VT links before they died! Super VT would be awesome. Dead links are the pits!

If those are the pens I think they are (petroleum solvent based) you can use a bit of laquer thinner, acetone (acetone nail polish remover), or other petroleum based paint thinners. If it's a water based marker, Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol works wonders (not to be confused with Ethyl Rubbing Alcohol) and it costs about a dollar for several ounces. You can usually tell by the smell. Tamiya and the Gunze BOTTLED paints are water based. Testors enamels and other enamels are uasually petroleum based. Use good ventilation with both too by the way. Hope that helps!

Hey Spatula, the others are correct in what they say. This place is a great referance for most topics. Some of the books that helped me were the Macross Model Book (Japanese) and others. I was able to go to a book store and look. If you can, check out some on anime model building. They come and go with reprints. Sorry I can't be of more help than that. There are several Gundam building books out there, just pick your major series and you can find it. There's even one out there on the "Sentinel" series. Can you check out any Japanese bookstores around you (if there are any)?

Spatula, I've read (looked at) a lot of anime books and whatever you can look at in person first is usually best. I've ordered books that didn't help, and I've found others that I still use as referances years later. In English, Fine Scale Modeller magazine is excellent for all general notes on model building. I've subscribed for years and have learned all that we discuss here years ago. They do little on anime subjects (few readers submit anime articles). Just a suggestion...

That model looks a THOUSAND times better than the plastic kit. I've got the whole set and and the only thing accuarate on it is the box art! I wonder if they'll do all the classes in the fleet, hmmm...

Looks SHAWEEeeeet! I'd agree with posing the photos so that they look like they're comin' from the ARMD. If there weren't so many licensing complications, I'd say photograph and sell it as a poster. Maybe you can get one of our coherts in crime to take photos of the arm and Valk seperately and do some digital work to make the valk look like it's launching off! That wood be awesome!

Thanks Dave for the link. I've seen it before, but forgot about it. I'm considering giving it a try.

Yeah, I got a nightmare. It involves a beautiful 1/200 scratchbuilt fanliner (Hikaru's yellow one) with opening canopies, spinning fan blade and two months of work. My three year old "melted" mine. I saw this pin head sized landing gear door on my bookshelf and thought, NOOOOoooo! I looked in the case I keep it in and well - it was in a lot more pieces than when I finished it off. How she got up that high is a mystery!? I don't honestly know if I can fix it. It may be easier to make a new one. I always wanted to do the fan racer(red and white one), but it has to wait for my Daedalus project.

Thanks fernarias. I might be able to use this next time around on some of my projects.

If you don't wanna airbrush, get the GOOD automotive paints with a fine fan spray nozzle. The nozzle will look different than the regular ones, the button on top has a pin that you can just barely see, it should also have a graphic on the side showing it (help me out there guys with the brand). Make sure you get primer and coat it first to find scratches or other flaws you won't see 'till later on. Clear coat when you're all done! For airbrushing - personnally, I love Tamiya's paints. With a good primer, they'll stay on through a lot of abuse. Clean up is with their stuff or Isopropyl rubbing alcohol ($1.00 at the grocery store). Not to mention using a gloss coat (Future Floor Finish). Cover that all with a flat coat last to stop the shine.

Alright, I'm dizzy and my neck is sore, but looks great! By the way, you should submit some articles to FSM. "Mounting Models on Magnets" could actually get you some money. Get paid for your hobby! Spouses seem more appreciative if you actually have fun and make some extra cash on the side with your hobby.

If you REALLY can't buff it out and if your canopy is TOTALLY wasted, put some Vaseline into it (THIN and SMOOOOTH) then pour some resin into it. When the resin cures, take the molded piece out and vacu-form some clear plastic over the resin "copy." Or you can simply heat up some clear plastic and "pull" it over the resin copy on a stick. Make sure the resin block is cooled before any tries you make. Hope that helps.

Myersjessee, you can get white decal paper (MicroMart.com) which of course won't work for all things, but with a sharp pair of scissors and some time...

Yeah, Major Jonathan is right. It is like Fine Scale Modeler only better. Maybe that's one reason I didn't renew my subscription yet.

Yeah, that picture about sums it up too! Now in days, stores don't stock items like they used to. They keep smaller quantities on hand so they have smaller investments. I bought out a comic books store's supply of 1/100th Regaults, 1/200th "Testors" kits, and several 1/72nd Mospeada kits about 15 years ago. He bought too many, couldn't sell them, and had to slash prices! Worked out great for me though! As to why collect so many kits... My excuse is the 6 foot Daedalus model I'm building. I gotta have something to put in it! Plus, you can always sell off or barter for a kit you could really use! I kinda go with "scale themes" so it's easy to find accessories for them. Like getting ground support equipment or support aircraft. Having a model kit is having a part something "cool." Whether you like a show, or the shape of an actual aircraft. I attended an airshow in honor of the RAF Spitfire's 60th anniversary (that was awesome). I bought a Hasegawa Spitfire (best I could think of) and got several veteran pilots (yes, they were very old) to sign the box with their squadron designations. I also kept the ticket stub with the date and all. Now I have a piece of history and memories of a awesome day out! How's that for "deep" and psychological?

So like, where is the ARMD-1? This looks real enough; like you stole it off the ARMD-1! Next thing you know a bunch of giant space aliens are gonna show up wanting a fight...lol!

It looks great so far. I won't tell anyone about the magnets sticking out slightly if you don't!

I need to get my wife to read this thread! That way she knows I'm not the only "nut" out there with tons of kits. I've got soooo many kits, I just stuck them all in containers. Most are 1/100 or 1/200 so it's easy to get about 30 kits in one container. You guys make me feel better about the "hord" of kits I have collected! Here's to group therapy!

It looks great for a first attempt. You caught your blemishes. You learn more from screwing up I think anyhow. One suggestion, work on your paint thinning AND mixing. The lumps in the paint are usually from one or the other. Don't be afraid to practice on some sprue or smooth card stock. If you get your mixture and spray right, it will look like you haven't painted at all (it will also make your scratches and blemishes stand out too)! Keep it up!