MechTech

@peter Thank you! Your buddy's brake looks cool! It looks like a viper's head. @Thom Thank you! That's what I'm going for @arbit Your print is FAR BETTER than any of the other "stock" figures. GREAT sculpt and detail. He's got more hair peeking out the helmet than I have on my head! I think hand painting will cover up any bias marks. @joscasle That's a great "minty fresh" build! Nice n clean. @pengbuzz Your improvements look great! The landing pad is sharp! I did check out the other build and it DOES look cool. I've probably laminated hundreds of printed pieces to foam board and never thought of it for hobbies. It does dent easily though. - MT

The updates look AWESOME Arbit! - MT

This is AWESOME!!! It's a bit of cockpit and model together. Brilliant! thanks for sharing!

@peter Great looking models Peter! The finishes give them a nice touch. Can putting the Start Trek stuff and Yamato stuff in the same photo cause a rip in the space-time continuum? The lighting on the Yamato kits is cool. I like the way the engineered it. @arbit You've brought kit-bashing to a whole new level - digital! That's a cool idea and came out great! I've gotta start doing the same myself. Time to get into 3D. Both for my job and hobby. @Thom That's a cool kitbash; I like it! It doesn't look pieced-together. I redid the heavy unit's muzzle brake. The original was the kit plastic with a HUGE alignment tab right where the muzzle should be. When I drilled it out, there it sat in all its glory looking like something was in the barrel. Plus the barrel hole was way out of scale. So I milled one out of steel. Here it is on the final stage before being parted on the lathe and then up close. Where did all those scratches come from!? I didn't see them. As I was taking the last photos, the muzzle kept going out of focus. I thought my camera was messing up. Then when I looked at it, I realized the barrel was drooping downward. Yes, it's that heavy! I have to pose it so the frame can take the weight or it falls over! Next, on to the lighter version's armament. 25 years ago when I originally started on this build, I bought Tamiya brass rounds for it on sale (I miss a local hobby shop). I wanted to work them into the build. So I thought an ammo chute would look cool. This is laminated styrene sheet that has been milled one out. These are slots cut to make it more like the real ones that are segmented and flexible. To keep the Tamiya brass ammo aligned, there is a spacer that slips into the chute with the rounds. And a cap loosely fit on to cover it. That's it for now. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

@arbit Sorry Arbit, your thread didn't pop-up when I made my last post, so I didn't see it until after the fact. That's awesome how your figure came out! Do they advise against sunlight to cure the resin? I know it can make a difference. The problem with all SLA prints is that they get brittle with age. Exposing them to light can affect that from what I've seen. @peter Despite a quick build, it looks good! @pengbuzz Thanks, Pengbuzz! Torching can make an uneven finish and then doesn't give you that nice deep black color that the acids can. I tried it before with disastrous results - MT

@derex3592 You know, you can build that as the sunken version - it won't have to be as "perfect." @slide As far as I know, the steel is not hardened. It was originally rollers in an inkjet printer. I haven't treated them myself not seeing the need in a model. I used Birchwood/Casey Super Blue ($8.99 at Wallyworld). The instructions end saying to allow to cure overnight. You must do that. I rubbed it a bit after treatment, and it came off slightly. The next day the coating was on solid. I've read other places to boil it after finishing to ensure all the acid is flushed out. I've also heard the heat helps to cure it. I may try that too after a cold rinse. A lot of companies use brass or aluminum for their model accessory parts. Steel has actually been easier for me to use. It holds up better in smaller pieces. Aluminum really never has a natural finish, even after polishing it will rub off. That's why it gets anodized a lot. Steal I have found to be solid. It just needs rust protection of some kind. - MT

Whet the heck happened!? I was a kid building models, and then all of a sudden, my oldest "child" has graduated high school! It's been a good, but bittersweet week! Where does the time go? Sorry for all the photos, there was a lot I got done between last weekend and this week. Progress is going well with the "Bobbsey Twins." I spent last weekend trying to up-gun the second unit. I originally built the 57mm cannon barrel in the last post, but decided to go with a 75mm cannon instead. At the same time (25 years ago) I was working on the original mecha, I got a bunch of Tamiya brass ammo on sale. It too has been sitting around waiting to be used. So I made the bigger barrel to go with it. The barrel was easy. Making realistic muzzle brakes was another story. I went through five types before settling on the final version. I just didn't like the smaller muzzle brake. It looked like the vents were too small to actually work. That's what drove me to redo the whole design. The old barrel and the new one, both fluted for detail. The 57mm muzzle brake and newer ones. The middle was a reject due to spacing. Here's the new 75mm cannon recoil dampers close up... And an overall shot with the new muzzle brake (the aluminum tubes will be cut shorter). Close-ups of the new muzzle brake. The vents aren't perfectly spaced, but it will have to do. I'm at the limits of my machining abilities drilling at an angle. The gun is now complete for the heavy unit. The ammo drum got some anime styled details and bolt heads to make it look that much more convincing. And finally, people spend so much time trying to make model gun barrels look so realistic. Since these are machined in steel, I thought, "Why not blue them like a real gun barrel?" So here's a test on a reject part. It doesn't get any more realistic than the "real thing." So the barrels will be blued and I won't have to worry about paint peeling off them. Bluing is about the same cost as getting the paint for them. Thanks for checking in! - MT

@arbit In all honesty, her proportions look fine. The real test is print something mechanical and check the fit of parts, like a nut and bolt - with calipers. That should help you troubleshoot. Going backwards is the only way to go! Reverse engineer it! A buddy and I back in the 80's had a Japanese VCR tape rental place near our homes. We would go to check out videos, and they only had the end of the series available. So we saw the series backwards. It makes things more interesting. - MT

@peter Those Yamatos look great! @pengbuzz Cool Transformers design. Your Photo shopped photo looks great! Don't toss the model, that's what Photoshop is for @arbit Does she break dance? Congrats on a good print! I've got to get a 3D printer one of these days. - MT

Thanks, Peter! The adapter I made some months back made it relatively easy. Your muzzle brake is so big it must block part of your scope view! Your buddy's barrel must be expensive! Plus powder coated. For that I would have some kind of widely opened stock just to show it off! - MT

I can see clearly now...the haze is gone Great idea!

@peter Nice painting on the Yamato hulls! I agree, the sister ship should have been Musashi. Maybe they changed it for political reasons in the script. @Thom Good point with the battle damage! Great post with the clear lenses too! Thanks for the positive comments guys! The second unit will be lighter armored, more anti-aircraft. I have the Tamiya 1/35 35mm barrrels from the Flakpanzer Gepard and thought they looked cool, but also saw them getting easily broken. Like even if the model just fell over. So I machined a slightly thicker version in steel as a single 40mm cannon. I was feeling musical so I fluted it! Sorry, bad pun. I'm thinking of redoing the muzzle brake, but not sure. Got the second unit's shoulders on and fixed a figure's bust to fit in the cockpit hatch area. He's removable. I also modified some other figures for display to show the scale. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

@peter Dude, you're making the airframe technicians furious with all that battle damage! That would take forever to fix! Seriously though, it looks great! You're the master of disaster - I mean that in a good way. @joscasle Your valk is looking great! The magnets are a nice touch too! I love using magnets when I can. They add flexibility to an otherwise static model. @arbit Speaking of flexibility, now you're just showing off!!! That's cool though and looking good. Which Adobe software are you using? @pengbuzz That really sucks about your paint - and apartment. I've lived in places like that. You're sitting there and all of a sudden, "Where's that smoke coming from!?" No fire, just the neighbor's smoke leaking into your house. @Photogirl Pengbuzz is right, you can probably fix that without trashing the wing paint entirely. Quick update. Swapped the shoulder armor R to L thinking it made more sense to balance it out (weight wise). Added in a box for ordnance and smoke grenades and attached a shield. I was looking for a scrap of plastic, when a rejected gun barrel from the old 1/200 Monster build rolled out. I thought, "HEY!" and milled it down to replace the stock barrel that was too small and had VERY deep recessed lines. Add in an unfinished tank driver for scale. - MT

WOW! LOTS of great stuff everyone! Miss a couple of days and you miss a lot! @peter That shading on the Yamato does look great! The other builds are looking good too! @joscasle Your paint job is looking great! That's cool that the fit is so good, you don't need glue just to piece it together to check the fit. @Photogirl (Posted this after your update popped up. Hopefully the new sheet works out)...You may be able to coat the decals with Micro Superfilm, then let them soak in hot water. The film will prevent splintering. All of Microscale's products are great too. http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MI-12&Category_Code=FINPROD&Product_Count=6 Also, when I built the vintage 1/48 Dougram Hasty, each decal had to sit in water for at least 30 minutes each - no kidding! I started laying them out in order to use in the bowl and just let them sit while I watched TV, then applied them one at a time as 30 minutes passed. It's ultra slow, but its cheaper! @derex3592 Looks like you DID buy stock in Tamiya Then again, most of probably have! Runabout is looking good! Time to bring out the BIG gun - really! I highly modified the stock cannon to accept the polycap joint and a canister for use as an ammo drum. I sat there for hours trying to figure this one out. Thank God a solution came to me. The polycap in the joint is so large, I just drilled a hole in it for a brass rod to go through. The brass is needed for strength. So the polycap is working on two axis at the same time now. The photo perspective makes the cannon and chest look larger than it is - smart phones are not too smart sometimes. Then I created a plate to closely match the brown armor plates on the lower chest and added vision slots to the collar area. Have you ever done something and it turned out wrong in some way? After I say this, you won't be able to unsee it, but the chest looks like a frog's face right now! I'm hoping a coat of paint and decals clears it up. Next, I machined discs out of old wheels to cover up the joint area in the forearm. There is also a hexagonal piece added for detail and to space the arm pieces out on the joint. These are either going to be cooling systems or generators on the back of the legs. At least that gaping area is filled in now. And an oblique perspective shot to put it all together so far... Thankfully, everything is starting to come together - except that frog face thing Thanks for checking in! - MT

Thank you guys! Yeah, I think the longer heads looks better too! @505thAirborne Thanks! It is a kitbash of the same kit, but re-arranged with some scratchbuilt pieces such as the chest area. It's like re-arranging a Rubik's cube inside out! It WAS this... @derex3592 Great save on the winglet and that graphic looks great! @joscasle Looking good! Almost ready to be shot down! - MT

@Thom Looking good! @505thAirborne Great ktibash! You can't tell it's not canon-unless you know. @derex3592 An organized work area is a happy work area! OK, it's corny, but true! I did some of that myself too this weekend consolidating stuff. @peter Thanks Peter! Great work on the fence! We did similar last week. We planted a whole bunch of azalea bushes in the yard and got rid of some old rotten barrels overgrown with ivy. Too bad about the variable valk being that messed up, but I'm sure the fixed will look great too when you're done with it. Getting there on the armor. The inner parts of the arm had cut and glued "O" pieces to hold the ball joint poly-cap in place. This is the "wrist" area now. Then I added detail pieces into the shoulder joints and a beefed-up piece to go into the polycap of the fore-arm. I took the outer arms plate and added some resin missiles onto them and then a cover for the gun in the arm. I think I'm going to shave the gun barrel back and add a mini-gun cover instead. This one looks too much like a laser cannon or something sci-fi. Then I completed making the manipulators and you can see one open and closed. Glued on the chest plate armor and snapped the shoulder pieces in to check fit and dimensions. So everyone, what do you think? Which head do you think looks better? The left or the right? I'm kinda partial to the right, but not sure. Both pieces came with the original kit. The head was the head and the second piece was an engine. Thanks for checking in! - MT

@arbit I'll have to ask the ladies in the house what they think. The "neck" area seemed blah so I added a "collar" around it. It helps to cover a piece that holds the neck in place and allows it to elevate upwards. The collar smoothly transitions into the "backpack" power pack and fuel storage. Its not glued together yet for upcoming assembly. The left shoulders are done and the arms still need to be designed. I should glue the breast plates on to show the actual look to the whole thing. Getting there little by little... - MT

@peter Use the old variable valk! That way you can make mistakes on it before I do I think the size of it is closer anyhow, that's why I got the new variable ones (on sale) to try on the old variable kit. - MT

@arbit And...she gets sucked out of the airlock! That's awesome Arbit! Great combining of projects. And now we know what the piano was for! @joscasle That paint looks great! Clean lines. @peter I'm curious to see how you use the armor. I actually have the variable armor (each sold separately) to try and fuse with the original variable valk. Great minds think alike! I need to take more photos, but I'm still beefing up the moveable joints. The newer beefier one on the left, and the original on the right. - MT

@arbit Thanks, Arbit! I like Krylon's stuff too. Even if the coat is a little thick, that's OK; I'm basically painting a "tank" model - with two feet. Your detail work looks great! Details are what makes it look real. @joscasle Great job on the paint. I love the color mixture. @pengbuzz That stand looks looks AWESOME! I like how you used the schematic on the base too! @electric indigo Mr. T has nothing on that gold FSS kit! - MT

Thanks Arbit! @derex3592 That's what I would do! Yeah, forget airbrushing that much real estate! It looks good! I LOVE Tamiya's spray paints. I was going to get Krylon "sand" to paint my mecha, but maybe I should look at Tamiya. @electric indigo I loved the FSS stories designs. It will be cool to see how this turns out. - MT

@pengbuzz Wins the prize! What, I don't know! @peter I agree, drill and pin those pieces. That'll teach 'em! Getting there slowly... Milled some round waist pieces with a 30 degree angle and drilled a hole. Then milled a round peg to fit tightly into it. The light blue pieces are old Airfix sprues. They are 1/4" thick! They won't break easily. Then drilled holes in the right shoulders for pegs. The pegs were put in a lathe, had the ends heated up with a lighter to create a flange, and then trued it up to seat flush on the shoulder interior. The interior was then reinforced with a plate. Its nice-n-solid now. Have a good week guys! - MT

@pengbuzz Great repair and final finish on the Enterprise! That finished photo looks AWESOME! Congrats on a great finish to your model! @peter Great finish and photos with the valks! Natural sunlight makes a big difference when photographing. @derex3592 You KNOW that will look great! Definitely go for it. That is better than the heat transfer to metal which looks cheaper and the colors aren't as vivid. @Thom For a closed canopy, that cockpit looks great! - MT

@Chronocidal That stand design goes great with the model. @arbit Oooh, more animated goodness coming our way... Taking a short break from my ship to work on a themed build... BACKSTORY - About 25 years ago I was working on designing / making a realistic looking, 1/35th scale combat robot. Something that would work side by side with mechanized tank and cavalry units in a near-modern day setting. I didn't have the parts needed to make the joints and we also were about to move, so it got abandoned. Plus, I was working on Macross stuff too! All these years I keep moving the "project bag" (not really) out of the way to get to other stuff in the spare parts box it resides in. So it kinda haunts me every time I see it as an unfinished "kit." Most of the model was made from the "Martian Successor Nadesico" Artillery Battle Frame kit. It's like kit-bashing, but with one kit. HLJ recently had a sale for the same kit (only $10.00) and I thought I'd tackle it again for this months sci-fi themed club build. The photo below shows the kit (still for sale at many places). The back supports in the box art are becoming the lower legs and other parts are for the hips and thighs. The arms will be close to the same. It's like having a robot model without the torso. So I have to make that from scratch. When I looked through the old parts, I realized I could STILL use them, so I decided to make two models! In a diorama, it would look more realistic. So everything will be in pairs. Machined a boxwood male buck for vacu-forming. Used OLD Gundam polycaps for the torso / hip joint. Next I worked on the hips. I replaced the joints with much beefier joints and made the hips double-poly cap to last longer. I stole Peter's epoxy putty idea for holding the joints, but also glued them into place after the putty set. By the way, JB Water Weld is about the same as Millliput White, but about half the cost! The feet were redone with heavy duty ball-joints. Stock is on the left and the redo is on the right. Next, the hips were made with a brass rod that won't break easily and the poly-cap balls to fit into the hips. And the nearly complete lower half of the models... That's it so far! Have a good week everyone! - MT

@peter Great progress on the Valks! It is funny how things have changed over the years. That's interesting how the cockpits changed on the battroid kit over the two versions. I remember it being flat too in the back. @derex3592 Is that a model I'm looking at or photos of the Grand Canyon! Nothing on you, Derex. Those kits are horrifically designed! Maybe that's why I haven't built any since I was a kid (and not being a huge Trek fan). All in all, you did an awesome job with the seams, sorry you have more to go. @pengbuzz CONGRATS on finishing your Cat! I like the coloring you used for the boots around the wings - a lot of people miss that and it drives me nuts Nice mod to the Enterprise decals too! I wouldn't know the difference between the original and modified unless you said something. @arbit Keeping the piano secret eh I don't think space is that dirty. I think you can leave that panel clean - if it matches everything else around it. @Convectuoso Nice clean finish - despite the troubles you had with the markings. - MT