MechTech

@peter Hahahahaha! Great photo! How nice of them to put it in a maintenance stand for her. I hope she had ear plugs in! My wife worked for her more directly (MoD). @pengbuzz That's great that you got that kit like that! Our club president is building the Arizona from that same kit line. Not only is that kit NOT worth $30 bucks brand new, it has a lot of stuff that needs fixing. But its an ancient kit! @Gabe Q I'm glad you're getting into lighting! You'll see, it's easy. Just be be careful with the wires and you're good to go! Great fix on that kit! - MT

@F-ZeroOne @electric indigo Thank you guys! I believe you're both right about the design being from the QSTOL. And yes, it definitively has that "Antonov" feel to it. It's "anime magic," but the shoulders fold up. In this screens shot they're shown folded, but they are too tiny in all dimensions. They also stick up much higher over the front cockpit. Not only that, but there is a paratrooper riding each shoulder on the way down! That is crazy! The line art shows it, but not clearly. If I could read the Japanese notes, it might say that. - MT

That DOES look cool! He actually looks like he's doing something. - MT

@Salamander @electric indigo Thank you both for your help with the line art. I found a Russian site with the book scans (since its out of print now - otherwise I wouldn't post it): https://nevsepic.com.ua/art-i-risovanaya-grafika/9681-this-is-animation-patlabor-the-movieartbook-260-rabot.html I'm superimposing my drawing over the A400. Its tough. The C-4 looks great in the drawings, but the perspective is off and details in the two views don't line up. Of course these drawings weren't intended to be "built on," They're just drawing references. Even the Anime screenshots don't line up with these. I'm still mulling over whether to do the conversion or not. EVERYONE: Please feel free to point out any errors or mistakes you might see in the drawing. I could use the help! I'm still working on the drawing - so its not complete yet. The plan is to possibly take a 1/72 Revell A400M and convert it to a C-4. It will take a lot of conversion, but it looks pretty straight-forward. Out of the box, the fuselage looks like a close match. Yes, the Moderoid Helldiver fits inside! But the shoulders not only have to be folded as in the movie, but require a little additional manipulation of the arms. That is BEFORE the parachute and rocket packs are fit on. So I may leave out the stock interior which takes up more space. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome! - MT

Just don't put her between Godzilla and Darth Vader - MT

@Gabe Q You're Valk is looking good! Don't let some wires intimidate you, you can light a kit! You can get stuff everywhere, but if you want it pre-wired: https://evandesigns.com/ @derex3592 Alright Derex, rockin' the work desk with your shuttle! @peter Thanks for posting that video. That's another way to do it with the cut-outs in the joints. Godzilla and Darth Vader. Good thing you didn't have the Queen's photo on the same shelf, people might start to talk😄 Is it just me, or is that high pitch voice in the video kinda creepy? Like the voice in Macross Plus warning about the fire in the studio creepy. Does anybody else's knife go "Ching!" when it cuts through styrene? I want one of those! - MT

@Gabe Q Thank you for the kind words! Your valks are looking great! Nice and clean paint! @Thom Thank you! I've been saving detail bits up every time I see something that looks like it would work on a model. This project is actually using a lot of those parts up - what wasn't machined. @peter Yes, I was thinking of how much hardware I have on this now compared to your builds. I don't think I actually went to a hardware store for any of mine though. Some of it is jewelry 😄 But it's being used in a more macho way now! Sorry, the tank treads are just plastic tank treads. Your Star Trek models look great! Those decals DO look good too! Yes, time to build something Macross now, though my next build might be Patlabor - I'm still thinking about it. Not much work this weekend - back to school shopping time! Added a hose to the "lighter" gun and did more washing with some "Army Painter" washes from the local hobby shop to support them. They are actually really good and wiped off easy with isopropyl where I slipped-up with the paint brush. Normally you clear coat and then wash. I skipped that so that some of the wash runs out further. That realistically produces what happens when oil coats an area and dirt gets sucked into it. The big gun got more barrel painted and washed. The ejection port got painted too. All that black didn't look right since all the parts are usually the same color. I haven't done a model with a "competition" finish before. I'm trying this time around to build up my skills. I can build, but my finishes have been lackluster in the past. Thanks for checking in! - MT

@David Hingtgen Only if it's styrene😅 Adding more hardware to the twins now. The feet got hoses and a hydraulic "hamstring" each. In the one foot photo I didn't see the hose was sticking out the front until I saw the photo The hydraulic is bolted in with two black styrene bolts. Next I used old tank tracks to make ammo chutes feeding the gun in the back of the arm (the elbow area). A meshed hose was added in as well for more detail. Well, I guess I really hosed-up my model! - MT

🤣 Funny!!! I can't believe there is that little detail on the original Enterprise! Things were more different then I guess. - MT

@derex3592 That came out superb! The lighting is just fantastic and helps bring it all home. The base is a great idea and also brings it up to another level. Congrats Derex on another great build! @peter The blotchiness was a nice touch to an otherwise boring surface. Really, no panel lines? That's cheap. Is that glitter I see in the photo!? - MT

That's some awesome work!!! That case is more of an equipment cabinet than a model ""box." Great execution of such a large project! - MT

@electric indigo Your FSS stories collection is looking great! I have to watch that anime again. I haven't seen it since the 80's! That paint color and finish on your model is great! @pengbuzz Those upgrades are sweet! You're collection now has a great place to "hang out" in. @peter That "Puttyprise" is a sad engineering job! Those seems are big enough for a scale figure to walk through; but you're making it look great! @CrossAir SUPERB finish on that 25! It's hard to believe looking at the before and after pictures how different it looks. Congrats on getting something that was so tough to paint and decal to hold up. ABS plastic is not fun to work with and can be tough to get paint to adhere to. I'm starting to get "a-head" on the twins. I added in a spot light for "low tech" use. It's a Gundam nozzle with a foil sticker (save the foil borders from your Gundam stickers) and a custom cut lens from what used to be a ships window to give it that circular pattern. There is STILL A LOT of painting and touch ups needed on these models (to include cleaning fibers from the rag used to wipe excess glue). Also save the optics from your old cameras and phones. For the top optics glass on the head, I took optics glass from an old camera and got that anti-laser coated look on so many military optics today. The bottom blue optics are cut spare clear pieces with a piece of acrylic mirror inside coated with a blue Sharpie. It has a nice reflection with light like laser designators have. Also new on the head are the spring cable conduits. They're already a bit weathered so they didn't need any "help". The decals are also finally picked out from my spares, so that will hopefully get done soon! Thanks for checking in! - MT

That's a cool idea! thanks for sharing! You can buy direct from Plastruc too! I haven't used their rods, but generic acrylic rods (bought by someone else in our club). Colored would look cool. Lighting it would look even better. Just use a USB power supply so you use it like a lamp and actually use it. - MT

Rock on Macross!!! That looks cool!!!

@peter Thank you! I WISH I could make anything! Thanks. I'm still working on the weathering and detailing of these two. Adding hoses and cables now. @Return To Kit Form Thank you for the backstory! I thought it looked different. Especially since there's nothing there to rust like that traditionally. The paint makes sense now! @derex3592 @peter Derex, a Canadian said your Texas roundel is awesome! Winner winner chicken dinner! - MT

@Salamander Thank you VERY MUCH for the drawings and the info! I noticed that too about their equipment. In fact, some of it is just plain contemporary equipment with a new paint job! - MT

@Return To Kit Form OK, we know what's on your mind🤣 Seriously though, the finish and weathering looks great! Is that supposed to be rust on the leading edge slats? - MT

@electric indigo Thank you again! Too bad that's all there is. But this is still a BIG help vs the movie (which does NOT line up with this in areas). Those engines look HUGE from that angle! A head-on shot / side view would have helped put everything into perspective. Looking at my A400, I think it can be done fairly easily - except for those honking engines. Talk about high-bypass turbofans! - MT

@electric indigo That's the one! Thank you!!! The drawing reveals a lot more details than the movie footage, like exhaust ducted / blown flaps for one. And its called a C-4, interesting. Do you happen to have any more drawings for more views? I think I can convert a 1/72 A400 into one of these. - MT

@Salamander Thank you! Yeah, I looked online at the books and thought it's not worth the cost, especially just for this project. I have other books such as Macross, VOTOMS and L-Gaim. I STILL only reference the Macross ones. The Patlabor video is just too short and with too little detail. It even looks like the Helldiver's shoulders fold towards the chest which is a new one on me. I've also learned to never trust video (especially pre-CGI days). There's always errors in it. - MT

@derex3592 Looking great Derex! That Texas roundel is a great idea and looks cool! Well, my two mecha are all washed up! Over the Krylon base coat I airbrushed a slightly darker Tamiya color only over the recessed and shadowed areas. Then I put a custom made burnt-sienna Tamiya wash over everything. The unwanted wash was wiped off with isopropyl. I still have some cleaning to do and then on to the highlights and decals with some weathering. The hoses and tubes are still needed too. I'll probably do them next so they get some weathering. Thanks for checking in. - MT

Thanks, Salamander! Unfortunately I don't have that book. - MT

That's awesome Anasazi! I saw how people are using facial recognition scanners on cellphones to do similar, but I'm sure yours is so much better. Can you share photos of your equipment? Or is that still pending legal review? - MT

That's looking great! I'm also glad to see another kit of this cool subject getting built. They're rarer than unicorns! - MT

Hey guys, Are there any lineart drawings out there of the Patlabor military cargo transport jet from the original movie? Or are there are any other versions from the TV series? (Which I haven't watched yet). Other than the opening sequence footage for the movie, I haven't seen a thing anywhere on the internet for it. I'm thinking of building it from another kit with a Helldiver being deployed out the back. Thank for for your help in advance! - MT