MechTech

Big F - Why do you remind me of the TV show "Only Fools and Horses?" Do you have a Reliant Robin parked next to your VW Bug? Thank you guys, I am very honored and humbled-really. The oldest -whole- model I think I have is from 25 years ago. My 1/100 Monster. It needs a new paint job after traveling around the world with me. Let us know how it goes Peter after more soaking. It's looking good so far! Duymon and Peter - I wonder if a light scrub/soak with baking soda would remove the smell? Can't have the Klingon's smelling minty fresh - it would ruin their reputation! - MT

Urashiman - OK, I REALLY did laugh out loud!!! That is TOO funny!!! It reminds me of the time my dad and I put a whistling Pete firework on the back of one of our R/C cars, lit it, and watched it go screaming down the street! Pyrotechnics make models better - that's why the cap gun cannon on my ship Peter - That's why your ships make perfect book ends! They won't be close together to compare But hey, fireworks are fun too! Big F - Don't let that stop you! I sometimes build on a TV tray table over my lap on the couch to sit with my family (especially when the TV is boring). One of my first workshops was on top of the laundry machines. Even now, I'll sit on the floor and use the coffee table while everyone watches TV. F18Legios - That is nice and clean looking! That glossy red color looks perfect! - MT

Yeah, the differences between country's products and shipping can be crazy. Too bad your Future scheme didn't work out! - MT

Chas - That looks like it would work! Urashimen - Is the "Silvester cleanup" short for Silvester Stalone? I had friends that did that. It's funny at night. I had one friend stick a cherry bomb in a model car. It exploded and then you heard all the parts fall to the ground a second or two later! - MT

Peter - $48.30!!! You'd think it was booze or something! Yeah, a lot of the cleaner/degreasers may work too. Big F - Sorry man! The markup on Future IS horrible! Like I said, sometimes living in the UK is tough in terms of some hobby stuff TM Bounty Hunter - I agree! Not living there, I wouldn't be familiar with what's around. I was hoping you guys could get it there too since I saw it up on Amazon. - MT

Thom - Thank you very much! Yes, it fires plastic strip caps. I'll post video when I get a chance to get it all together. WMChaneg - Thank you very much! I like making something out of nothing (in models - not life ) Funny thing is I used to be a "styrene purist." No metals, just plastic. When I started machining stuff, the styrene doesn't hold up to some loads and heat when a blade is applied. But metals are just that much cooler to add into some projects, especially to add strength. Derex - That looks great with your movie posters in your office! It's a nice personal touch! I do too much on my desk to have anything nice on it! Arbit - That is definitely jacked up! Let's see, you either have decent hobbies in your spare time, or you're a crack head and an alcoholic. Dah! You pick the guy with decent hobbies! Big F - "He’d already made it clear he didn't like classic VW’s which I do so his card was marked already." That's funny! We had two growing up as a kid, so I suppose my family is alright with you. That is messed up though. You don't judge a person by what they eat. If they're looking anorexic and about to pass out, then maybe you ask if they ate something at least. Not, "Do you prefer beef or beans?" Chas - The Legios are lookin' good! - MT

...And just when you thought it couldn't get any better! This is totally AWESOME!!! It's like the Macross World version of those baby toys with all the buttons and zippers on them for kids to play with. I suddenly want a Petit Cola with my lunch! - MT

Anasazi - This stuff tore through the Tamiya acrylics. I've known about oven cleaner for paints, but hate using it on ovens because of the fumes - so never tried it on models. Thanks Big F and sorry! After being in the UK for a few years, I know what a pain it can be to get certain chemicals. It's sad that what costs us $1.00 (about .75 P) costs so much to get to you. That's funny that most write-ups are from modellers! An alternative that may work for you is Simple Green. There's videos out there on using it too as a paint stripper. I'm sure you're heard of it, but just in case you haven't: https://www.simplegreen.co.uk/ Peter - Looks like you're gonna need the big jug! - MT

Thanks, Gabe! It was so easy I just had to share it. That's a good question, David! I do not know. That may be a good job for Pine Sol. I would test some out on sprues to be safe. I know Pine Sol got sap off of Christmas glass balls, then stripped off the gold color too! The lacquer coatings on styrene can be a challenge. Cars guys I know say oven cleaner works. I've heard Walmart's Great Value heavy duty oven cleaner works in a bag over the parts. I personally don't use oven cleaner because of the fumes, but I hear it's great as a paint stripper and of course, chrome and chrome/lacquer cleaner. I hope that helps! - MT

I recently bought a vintage model that was pre-painted on the sprues. It wasn't the color scheme I wanted to go with so I researched some common types of paint strippers safe for styrene. For several years I've said to use Pine Sol and 50% water, but heard mixed reviews about it being safe for styrene. Doing a search, the miniature RPG guys say that LA's Totally Awesome General Purpose Cleaner works great. So I gave it a try. It is only $1.00 at most dollar stores in the U.S. In Canada ($3.00 for a jug). It looks like you can get it through Amazon. Here's LA's store locator link: http://www.lastotallyawesome.com/store-locator/ First the parts. These were painted with Tamiya paints. The miniature guys say this will take other paints off too with more time (like 8 to 12 hours) overnight. The parts were then covered up with the cleaner UNDILUTED in a glass pan. Then allowed to soak for two hours. In a few minutes you could already see it begin working. I then scrubbed the parts with a brush to get into recessed areas, but really didn't need to. The paint was coming off with a rinse of water like melting butter. You're not done yet. The cleaner leaves a residue on your fingers and parts. No problem! A bath in a basin of dish washing detergent cleans you and the parts off. Then just a rinse in warm water and then dry with a towel or air dry. The important part is this stuff is non-toxic and of course, won't mess with the styrene. I've seen cleaners ruin styrene before. They break down the plasticizers and weaken the bond. You can feel and hear it when you tap the plastic. The plastic parts now look new - Mint In Box! No damage was done to the finish or to the styrene makeup as far as I could tell. This stuff worked so good, I thought I'd share it with everyone here. The de-greaser works so good, you may need to use some hand cream afterward or your hands will get chapped and dry. - MT

Gabe - You are raising the bar! That's looking great! Derex - I have a sudden phobia of tractor beams and villains with light sabers! Not something I'd like to meet down a dark cosmic alleyway! The lighting is realistic and brings it to life! If it wasn't for all the other stuff in the photos, I would think that was a huge model! Time to jump away from that at light speed! Arbit - That hatch is AWESOME man! You just need a whiny kids voice asking for a soda now! That's cool! Regarding paint stripping, I posted a new "how to" in the models section for some good stuff here: So my original gun housing got ripped a new one - literally! Long story short, it couldn't be repaired so I had to vacu-form a new one and redo the doors. This time I got to add the hinge details in there. Still a few small details to go around the doors. The front grill took nine tries to get it right! Cutting those two stupid slots was a pain! A needle was then used in a drill press to "press-out" some bolt patterns around it. Then I added in the "Belly button" thing in the back. Not sure what it is, but it's on the real gun so it's here too. - MT

Derex - That sucks man! Sorry to hear about that. You'd think with Bandai, that would not be the case. Peter - Good move waiting on the decals. Your damage is lookin great! Most people won't be eyeballing for straight pieces, especially since it's damaged. If you're happy, that's what matters. Convetuoso - Great save! I can't tell anything was wrong with your coating. - MT

Welcome Scopedog! I hope to see your build in the models section! Doing just general model building, the "What's lying on your workbench" thread is not Macross specific. I hope to see you around! - MT

Congrats Chas! Great collection That's cool about the folded wing Naussica Gunship. I started a gunship with the hinged wings, but put it up to work on a larger project. Keep us posted as you build it. Nice score Convectuoso! - MT

Convectuoso - Is that a rough finish (lumpy or speckled), or a crackled (orange peel like) finish? It's hard to tell in the photo. Lumpy may be how the media is coming out. Crackled probably means the finish is reacting to something, like grease, oil, or mold release compound - if it's still on there. Arbit is right about how to go about fixing it. You may be able to use a safe solvent to wipe it off (other than over decaled areas). Sorry. I usually clean areas with 70%-91% Isoprpyl alcohol to completely clean all that off. I know guys who use gloves to keep their hand oils from getting on the model to prevent the same thing. I hope you can fix it! Peter - That is an AWESOME looking wreck! Now you got book-ends! "Before and After!" - MT

Somebody likes Dylan and has off-roading on the brain!!! - MT

Derex - Your little ships look great too besides the destroyer! I bet you needed magnifiers for those tiny things. Peter - Your damage looks awesome! Wait, that just sounds wrong!? I think Chronocidal is right, some wire would look cool. Duymon - Should we be worried you're stockpiling weapons of mass destruction (and pilots) That is a LOT of weapons sets for the valk. I think it's cool though! Naked planes are boring (unless they're aerobatic craft). - MT

That looks awesome Takatoys! It's sad you pay so much for something and then have to spend all that time "fixing it." - MT

Nice touch! That adds more scale to it. I imagine something this large would have a lot of weathering taking up so much real estate wherever it goes. - MT

For those who really wanted to "blow the Zentraedi away!" Thanks again JV Macross!- MT

- THANKS A MIILION - JV Macross for posting all of these up here!!! It's great to see all these promos we mostly never got in the U.S. It's funny to see how people were already taking the Macross kits and modding them to improve them. It's so sad that Imai folded. They had SO MANY AWESOME KITS!!! Many a kid (and adult) has spent time drooling over them hoping to get that one kit. No Imai - I will not get sucked into buying your models! Oh wait, I'm 35+ years too late! - MT

Created the mount and trunnions for the mechanism. Now it can elevate! I also shortened the barrel base and narrowed the main mechanism box at the base so it elevates into the cylinder base better. Everything is tightly compacted into a small area. Now it's actually styrene time again for the housing details. - MT

WM Cheng - That Rhino is a BEAUTIFUL build!!! I agree, it does look like a 1/48 build! Great finish and just enough weathering to show it's used. AWESOME photos too! Great shots and angles. If that's just your phone, I gotta get one. My phone is like 8 years old! Peter - Your progress is looking good - in a blown-up sorta way! That's cool that the nacelles line up. Oh, the bits are from the Bandai 1/72 Valk you just built. Convectuoso - The Tornado is looking good so far! Duymon - Nice break from your brownie! Between my second carpal tunnel surgery and going into work too, so slow going on the builds. Question - Is the suit for that solid, or did they do a vinyl cover for it? A track suit would be funny!!! Derex - The colors are looking good. You can see the cross-hatch pattern on the one side. Your call on it, but you know we're with ya! Joscasle - That A-wing is coming along great! - MT

Come on Peter, tell the truth. You're just getting even with that kit for how bad it was to you last build! Have some fun. Try a little match head or black powder in the blast holes. then heat it up with a lighter or small torch. The effect is cool and you can't get any more realistic! Your mods are looking good too! Photogirl - If you feel up to it, the Zenraedi flagship doesn't look so bad if you stretch it and fill it in with some Miliput or similar epoxy putty. I'm thinking of doing the same someday with mine. The kit is cool just for the nostalgia though! - MT

Derex - Just do it! Rock - +1 on the snow coming! Just because of the cooler weather. Duymon - That's a awesome paint scheme! I like the colors. That's also a sad but true meme! Not with my wife though. That would result in my collection going to my next of kin! - MT