MechTech

Derex - The Death Star is looking great! That is a lot of detail crammed into such a small space. Thank you guys. Hopefully the final turret comes out as planned. - MT

Cool! That looks like the upper-scale homes in the better part of the neighborhood - MT

I like the finish! It looks great, congrats Jason!

Here are some other shots that I hope help you out (they're originally from my build thread). Some of the same and different - but same idea- designs. It's a very simple design. Flanged ring has indents cut into flanged area. Slotted post goes into flanged ring. The "C" looking piece fits into the post and is the ratchet. The shape gives it spring while in the shaft. The post will probably need to be longer for your model. The last photo shows the indents being cut into the top part of the flange. The one here was for a smaller 1/350th model. I hope that helps you out! - MT

That's looking great!!! The only problem with life-size is you need to get them their own room! - MT

WM Cheng - Looks just like it's on the hangar paint shop floor (minus wheels)! Nice-n-smooth finish too. Working on my ship weapons systems, I thought, "Sharks with frickin' lasers" would be cool! But I thought some people might look down on that. Ill tempered, mutated sea bass, are hard to model in 1/72nd scale. So I built the Super-heating Automated Repulse & Kill System (ShARKS) turret instead. Does that sound like an anime acronym or what! I started by carefully gluing 1/4" styrene pieces together to form rough blocks. Then drilled a 5mm hole for a screw to go through and machined them on the mill. A rotary table and angle plate were used to rotate and index them 45 degrees (for eight sides). Holes and slots were machined-out to fit old, leftover PC parts used to add friction to the joints. I took the optics out of a dead camera and CD player and saved the tiny bits because they looked cool. I knew I'd use them someday. Also shown are the completed parts that were hollowed out for weight and maybe LEDs. And final - VERY - LOOSELY - fit together assembly photos with the various lenses just sitting on top without glue to check fit. The optics have coatings giving them a realistic red or blue tint as the light glances off them - similar to the real laser optics. The kerf marks in the plastic are picking up oil from the machines showing dirt - and that I have more sanding to do! Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

Your PE work is looking great! Yeah, you GOTTA have good light and a magnifier or forget it! - MT

Derex - So you decided to not put it off after all? Cool. Yeah, you need to "replicate" a fruit bowl to put on the table! NZEOD - So how do you like your printer? I'm thinking of getting one someday. - MT

Macross Junkie - Your weathering looks terrific! Nice choice of colors and hues of shading too! Electric Indigo - Don't you hate getting that far and finding out major changes are needed!? Sorry about that. I would not lose those bombs. You did so much great work on them! - MT

My cats could pilot that sucker! I don't think they'd like the green stuff inside though - MT

That looks cool! Especially when you think that those holes to see through aren't exactly very big. Your current light looks more realistic, like mercury vapor lights (all those orange lights you see when flying over cities). - MT

That's cool you did that to honor your father! Great build and great finish! I think you got just the right amount of weathering on there, especially for a Navy bird. - MT

Thanks Aztec. The parts are actually machined styrene pieces. They were designed to be cast from resin. The Monster is so heavy, I knew it needed ratchets to keep it upright. - MT

That came out awesome! I love the tires, they are a realistic touch. - MT

Thanks Chas, that is awesome!!! I'm guessing some Arduino and servo work? I wonder how big that is exactly? - MT

You're right Derex. I'm just mostly military stuff, so not much gloss coating going on. Your paint is looking great! By the way, it looks like you got a great Christmas ornament going on there. It's just the right size. I wonder what the inhabitants of the Death Star think of the giant furry creatures waiting to bat them around the "galaxy." Thank you Convectuoso and Derex! I thought of cheating and just making it a flap, but realized how much other detail is on the turret. It would look unfinished. - MT

Chas has a great idea! There's been a few. Try not to get overwhelmed by this person: https://dorobou.blog.ss-blog.jp/archive/c2305690677-1 It's not the same model kit, but he's got GREAT work and ideas: I hope that helps you out. - MT

Your work is looking awesome Aztek! I'm with Sqidd, I'm going to have to buy this if my budget allows (then a 3D printer) and then buy stocks in a paint company! Your parts engineering is looking great too! I've attached a simple ratchet joint from a Monster I did if you're interested. The breakout shows the parts and the other photo shows it partially assembled so you can see the function. Friction joints with something this big and heavy may be an issue. - MT

Thank you very much guys! Thom - I didn't post the photo, but the secret to the ejection port cover was to cut/carve it from the end of very thick sprue. The sprue was almost 1/4" thick from an Airfix ship kit. Don't throw away stuff you know you can use. The sprue stayed in my lathe chuck until it was finally cut off. Otherwise, yes, flying all over the shop! That is the backside of masking tape you see keeping it "tied down" to the bench. Derex - I agree and know what you're talking about! I had the Nichimo Yamato in 1/200 scale. It is ABS so after a little work, I sold it. I had all the gun barrels for it and about two, roughly 11 x 17 PE sheets. It was insane! The kit is older so there were a lot of PE "fixes" for it. PE IS a pain! Arbit - I have to agree with you. I have made ONE model my whole life in gloss coat! It was my 1/200 Fan jet. The decals were line thin lines and the gloss paint took like a week to cure. I painted a test piece and kept checking it. Everyday I got home from work, I was like, "Are you kidding me, still not dry!?" Tamiya flats all the way! I polish the areas the decals go and then clear/flat coat them. -MT

"So MechTech, what did you do this weekend?" Most of my weekend was spent on this tiny part. Third time's a charm. A 10X magnifier was a big help too. That's a #11 X-Acto knife blade and tweezers in the photo. Though it looks like some kind of leaf or alien symbol, it goes here: It's the ejection port for the 5" shell casings. Then there were some small details for the turret mechanisms under the rear and lug points for handling the turret on a crane. And a quick shot of it sitting loose where it will go on the weather deck. And now it's turret time! The laser turret as part of the CIWS network. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

Brett - It's time WELL spent! Great weathering and finish even at this point.- MT

Thanks for posting that NZEOD! Where did that come from? That is a TOTALLY AWESOME build!!! - MT

That looks great Convectuoso! Now you guys got me thinking about getting these - MT

That flight deck scene is awesome! It's like a 3D version of the anime! The colors and shadows/shading are spot on, I'd say. - MT

That's cool Chas! Great idea for a base. If you have white decal paper, that would look great. You just need a white backdrop for it. You might be able to get a third stand on that base. Fill it with sand or something? - MT