MechTech

Lots of great stuff guys! Too busy to photograph, but primed my ship from months ago and a couple of other kits ion the bench. - MT

That's looking good 505! I like your modification Nyankodevice. Yeah, what hinge did you use for that? I might steel your idea if I buy one of those kits That is some SERIOUS scratch building Pengbuzz! You put everything but the kitchen sink into that model. Forget styrene! Arbit, that valk came out AWESOME!!! Great all the way around! I'm building a Dougram Ironfoot /Hasty right now and going to put fiber optics in the cockpit too since the model is so rare and expensive. Plus, the hatch opens so you can see everything. That's cool NZEOD! What's the nail polish for? - MT

That's cool Nyankodevice! Man, I love Mandarake! They have some awesome stuff there and their shipping is the fastest I have experienced yet! Got two packages on the way from them too. - MT

That's looking good Brett! Just seeing this now. The base is classy and the blue paint looked very "automotive" before adding the other colors. Great paint chipping. Nice sponsorship decals. They going on the pod? Just kidding! Looking good! - MT

Your VF-31 is looking good 505! Hammina hammina! Your Hamma Hamma looks great Electric Indigo! Great finish and colors too! It just goes to show you can never have enough engines. You scared me Arbit! I thought you were sniffing glue or something. Plus there aren't many Transformers models anyhow My daughter will love the Kelsain! Coolest Pony mod ever! For those that "like it dirty," I completed the Dougram Bromry JRS Native Dancer with a little "mud." Modifications: added tiny screws and covers to hold the missile pods in place. The surface area to glue with was small and wouldn't hold up well under pressure. Created a new stick shift. The original was tiny. If I had a 1/72 scale skull, I could have used that for the shifter handle. The two holes on the roof were made larger to match drawings and artwork. Added reflective material for the mirrors. And of course the antenna and flag mentioned last week. The crew still needs painting. There is a gaming store nearby so I tried the Games Workshop paints out. I used the brown wash and the darker tan color you see in the photos. Great paints and the lid has a special decanter on it to pick some up on your brush. This was a fun kit all in all. I have this in the new 1/72 scale kits too so I'm not really done. The 1/48th Iron Foot / Hasty is next on my workbench / coffee table for construction. - MT

I like it Kenny! Right now it has that underwater look of light patterns hitting it. That sucks about your experience. It may just be the rapid drying, I don't know. A friend told me to strain the paint with pant hose fabric. I haven't tried yet, but he says its the best thing prior to painting. Despite it all, it is coming along great! - MT

Post some picture guys of the parts. I'm slowly getting back into 1/72 kits. I might get one. I love my old resign kit back in the 80's... - MT

That looks AWESOME Arbit! Both function and the LED jobs on it! Now you just need to load sound effects to cover the gearbox sound Those little motors are SO noisy! I've isolated them in rubber sleeves and tried everything else to include slowing them down. Still no success! But it looks too cool to notice anyhow! - MT

You're right MickyG! But of course in the series-they just chase down the mecha and fire away! No getting off to a safe distance to "light the fuze." Thanks CrossAir! I've made a ton of antenna from styrene, and like you said, they break easily. I've even made them from softer materials like some of the leftover PC sprues, but those bend too or don't hold their shape well. You mecha looks great! My son and I considered getting one of those, but we're still not sure. Nice use of the GIANT canon! Thanks Xigfrid! I may try that out. I have several types of steel for doing engineering stuff. I didn't know they made it in aluminum. I'll have to check some out. Both those paint jobs look great Hiryu! The Mirya inspired one is classy! - MT

That looks good 505! Nice kit swapping. I'm mostly done with the Native Dancer from Dougram. Just need to decal it and and paint it. I wanted to add a long antenna, so I used thin piano wire and then realized even with a spring to make it "springy," it could put someone's eye out! So I made a styrene flag No eyes poked out, but the drill bit skipping off the nearly paper thin edge got my thumb! - MT

That looks AWESOME Arbit! Both my son and I think so! And the hing on the canopy is sweet! Nice job! - MT

That IS REALLY COOL! Nice collection! - MT

Nope, never enough guns OR missiles! Especially when the human race is at stake! - MT

Nice stitching Edstuff on the Solomon Grundy. Definitely not Beverly Hills plastic surgery Arbit, with a name like "WeCheer," who could say no! Grayson, I have a Sherline 4500 lathe. If you're thinking about buying a lathe, PM me for details. I researched A LOT before buying one. Regarding "Lazer" saws and razor saws - you GOTTA have them! I also HIGHLY recommend the one from CMK kits (www.cmkkits.com). It is even thinner and awesome for tiny pieces, while leaving a thinner kerf (cut area) than the X-acto blades. It is also great for panel lining too! It is nearly paper thin material. It is actually designed for cutting resin, so it works great on styrene. - MT

Thanks MickyG, I'll have to remember that! The cannon is awesome CrossAir! My son and I got that a couple of months ago. He got the sentry guna nd I got the cannon. Then we saw the video for the motorized bit that goes in there, so we just HAD to order them for our kits. The cannon and even rotary cannon look great in action! Did you get the motorized gimmick to go with your kits? NOT MY VIDEO, but shows everyone how cool they are. Next kit in line is relatively more simple, the Native Dancer from Dougram (J. Locke's main vehicle). I thought it was cool the first time I built ti in the 80's and I STILL think it is a cool looking design. I also have the Max Factory 1/72 scale version to go with it. Only 3 of my Dougram models will be 1/48th. The rest will be 1/72nd. Most of my Saturday was taken up making a precision chuck on bearings to go on my lathe. I made one before, but it had issues. This one spins true and will allow me to make thin parts more easily on the lathe. Not all parts can have a hole drilled in them to rotate around, this fixes that and allows me to pull on parts making them spin outward less. Thank God this came out good. It helps makes up for our minivan getting totaled this week! Some lady cut across my wife and got the "Daedalus Attack" (T-boned) for it. Hopefully the insurance covers a new minivan! - MT

Yeah, I thought it was a matt coat, and yes, thankfully it came off pretty easy! Thinned, it was chalk dust - even felt like it on my hands! Thanks Mickyg, I was wondering about that. Now I know. I've had bottles for years and never used them, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Oh well, it will be good for making washes with since only a little is needed. - MT

Thanks Xigfrid and Thom. In case you didn't see it, I gave a description of how to do it on the previous thread page. I like it because it is so EASY and not a lot of painting is involved. - MT

Looking good Thom! Your -31's are coming along nicely 505! Being nearly fininshed with the Dougram Tequilla Gunner, I used some Tamiya Matt Base and decided to cover some decaled areas with it. BIG mistake! It turned white and I had to clean it all off. Not sure what happened since it was the first time I used it. After cleaning it up and finishing the weathering, I am calling the build done. I just have to paint the crew now! - MT

007 - I like the Valhalla. I almost did that in 1/200 scale because of its size and cool design. That's looking great Electric Indigo! I always wondered what's the deal with all those thrusters on that design. I had the first version model back in the day... UN Marine, what method are you going to use to clean up the bias on the printed parts? It's a big job, but I think your mod is coming along nicely! Alright, be prepared to write down my secret paint formula. 1. Get a model in the right color already. 2. Build carefully without leaving any physical seems. Polish up the seems so they are as smooth as the surrounding plastic. 3. Clean and decal up your model. Use softener to make your decals hug the model. 3. Buy or mix (I mixed) a color that is matt and slightly darker than the plastic. 4. Splotch the paint on with a sponge or old sock. I'm high-tech - I used an old sock. Splotch heavily over the joints to cover them. 5. Wet the sock with isopropyl and splotch it out some more to spread around. Cover the decals a little with the thinned splotched paint. 6. Wipe the edges and wear areas off of any paint to simulate wear. Seal with a matt coating if you need to protect it. 7. Enjoy all the time and money you saved NOT priming and painting your model! Still deciding if I want to matt clear coat this. It takes away depth from the "dirt." - MT

This is looking awesome! The next version of the LED programming is great! - MT

I'm just seeing this thread for some reason, but your model looks great! Sunlight makes all the difference for photographing too. - MT

Those look great, thanks for sharing! - MT

Thanks for the news! I guess time will tell... - MT

This is cool Christopher! It's out of my scale range, but I will be following your progress. - MT

That looks cool QuinJester! Man, I'm sure glad we're a long way off from something like this for real! - MT