captain america

Captain’s log: January 20th. Pic 13: Once the parts have been shaped as far as they can be on the mill, it’s time to break-out the rotary tool and begin grinding the compound curves into the blocks. This part is more art than science, requiring a good eye and making sure to remove just a little bit of material at a time. Pic 14: here you can see a variety of parts in various degrees of refinement. Since the hip sockets on BIO LLOYD MK I worked so well, I decided to import these into the MK II as well. In total, five parts will carry-over from the previous iteration: the hip socket cups, and the three midsection pieces. A couple of other parts will be scavenged from the MK I, but they will be heavily modified. Pic 15: one of those heavily modified parts is the main torso back, which you see here undergoing major surgery. The only reason I retained this part (and the breastplate) is that it houses the excellent inner shoulder socket assembly, and would have been much longer to start again from scratch. The height, depth, upper width, as well as the abdominal joint mounts are all different, and require considerable modification. Pic 16: the blocky thighs from pic 14 are back, having been ground-down much closer to their final shape. An interesting detail about this MK II is that it’s more high-waisted than its predecessor, so shorter torso and longer thighs. Pic 17: the same parts with the left thigh now having received some rough love from the sanding sponge. This is a tedious process, requiring the removal of vary little material at any one tome, and also checking to make sure that the shapes and symmetry are maintained. Pic 18: the line-art shows what appears to be a « calf-like » crease pattern on the back of the lower leg armor, so I start by sketching out the plot lines with a pencil, then running over it carefully with a hobby plade, followed by some chiseling. A variety of files and sandpapers will be used to iron-out the shapes until everything is nice and smooth. Pic 19: just like the back, the breastplate has itself seen considerable re-shaping and modification. Here I’ve added some putty to close-up the neck hole around the cockpit. Pic 20 shows the same part and all the putty work that went into its alteration. The neck collar shown is for the Hemorroid variant: the Bug Face unit will have a completely different neck housing. Pic 21: the rough cockpit ball assembly in place. This too will require some modification, but it’s off to an excellent start. Pic 22: one area which I thought needed upgrading was the shoulder joint: because there’s a different shoulder armor on this variant, I decided to make something more robust and reliable fo the hinging mechanism. Pic 23: I’m quite pleased not only wth the amount of progress I was able to make in a single week but also with how attractive this mecha is becoming. While the design had numerous engineering hurdles to overcome, I can tell even at this early stage that it’s going to be more eye-catching than its predecessor, and has more hidden joints that will allow for, in some cases, even better range-of-motion than the MK I. I will cover all those little innovations in next week’s installment, so stay tuned!

Captain’s log: Friday, January 14th. You may now send your payments, as construction has commenced on BIO LLOYD II. Take a look at pic 00. A really long, hard look. Now take a deep breath, and thank God that you’ll never have to pine or yearn for such a lackluster and uninspired sculpt ever again. Pic 01: in my own particular custom, now that the technical diagrams are (mostly) done, I can start making a mess in the shop. In addition to the schematics I made myself, I always have some copies of the original line-art on hand as reference. I also have some leftover blocks of modelling board from the last Bio Lloyd that will come in handy because they’re already squared and not too big. Pic 02: as per usual, I cut the paper templates out so that I can glue them to the blocks in order to guide the cutting and shaping process. Pic 03: … But first, some of the blocks need to be trimmed and made smaller. One particularity with these projects is that there are a myriad of small parts (blobs) which, when combined, will look like a mecha robot. Once a block is cut down to size, it then needs to go to the mill (pic 04) so that the roughly cut surface can be made smooth and square. however tedious this step is, it can’t be rushed: the accuracy with which the blocks are made will determine the accuracy of the final part and its fit with all the others. Pic 05: I’ve decided to create a new shoulder joint; something better than the MK I, so I start by drilling the peg hole that will serve as the shoulder pivot. This new, larger peg will be much sturdier. Pic 06: a number of templates have been glued to their respective blocks. This is really just the first phase, and some parts are so complex that they need a frontal and side template. Pic 07: with the templates in place, I proceed to remove as much rough material with the band saw as I can: this saves time and makes less of a mess than machining straight away. Pics 8-10: Because there are a multitude of curves in the parts to be shaped, I implement an array of different tools on the mill. Pic 8 shows a rarely used hack, which is to use a large grinding stone as a makeshift milling shank. Something like this would be unthinkable when working in metal, but because modelling board is easy to machine, I can implement this hack. Pics 10 and 11 show the use of more conventional milling shanks. I can expect to go through several different cutters on one part as a standard routine. Pic 11: the milling process can only go so far with some parts, so now that the vast majority of the excess material is removed, I can proceed to sand the parts manually for the final contouring. Pic 12: phase one of the parts shaping process has come along nicely. The plots you see in the upper-right corner are another reference I use to gauge my progress and make fit adjustments. Due to the… I will be polite… Very vague and incongruous reference material, I give myself the lattitude to make in-progress adjustments as I see fit, or to tweak the proportions to better match the 3/4 view of the mecha, which I esteem to be the prettiest. This first update is far from the most exciting, but the basic procedure laid-out for you is fundamental when employing classical scratchbuilding techniques. Things get more ineresting next week, so stay tuned!

It is!

The wrist attachment will be the same as for Bio mk I. BUG FACE also appears to have 4 fingers, which makes sense, given how it's a derivative of the Biopsycher.

The resolution on the line-art I had wasn't high enough to determine the finger count, which is why I resorted to the animation.

You can actually see it if you scrutinize the Biopsycher's left hand carefully. Admittedly the resolution doesn't help, but there are actually four fingers plus the thumb. When you combine that shot with these two other shots, you see that there are indeed 5 fingers and not three. Re-using the Bio-Llloyd hands would have been the preferable option, but these images dictate otherwise.

Captain’s special report: January 7th, 2022. I’ve been feeling a little bit restless, so I decided to start my examinations and drafting for Bio Lloyd II: I figured that this would provide me with some gratuitous anxiety, and I was right! However incoherent the designs for Bio Lloyd MK I were, this particular design is the poster child for incoherence! I’ll spare you all the gory details but to say that Studio Ammonite seems like they phoned this one in. It’s a shame too, because the Biopsycher is the Southern Cross equivalent of the Konigstiger tank: a formidable battlefield weapon that has grown to be revered with time, but despite its technological superiority, couldn’t quite deliver the vicory its designers had hoped for. While I based my plans on the front/side/rear views from the Anime model sheets, I also made some corrections to harmonize it with the far prettier 3/4 front view. The animation stills aren’t particularly helpful, because however inconsistent the line-art is, these are way worse! In fact, I’m not even sure if this particular ‘Roid has three fingers or five, but I’m leaning toward the latter. Interestingly enough, there was at the very least a BUG FACE prototype made, but this is the best quality image of it I could find. If anyone would happen to have a better one, please let me know.

Keep the orders coming in, guys; still a ways to go.

The neck, the shoulders, the knees, ankles, hips, abdomen... What... What even is this?!? And then, of course, the different views show tremendous inconsistencies one to another. It's like someone gave me a 5 year-old's drawing and asked me to make an action figure out of it.

I've already started preliminary drafting, because reasons. Boy, I thought the Mk1 Bioroid was a clusterfrack of nonsense... Let's just say that I hit the nail square on the head by naming this thing as I did.

Happy New Year 2022, y'all! Hopefully everyone had a happy, restful and safe holiday season, because I'm about to be a pain in your butt... Or rather, wallet. As promised back in Spring of last year, I'm offering the Biopsycher Bioroid (hereafter HEMORROID) as a follow-up kit to last year's 1/48 BIO LLOYD. This kit, unlike the Bio-Lloyd, will include a cockpit ball, and will include both pistols featured with the Bio, but with corrected details for the officer's version (Thanks to Ted E.) The kit will be available in 2 versions: -HEMORROID/BUG FACE only (no sled) -HEMORROID/BUG FACE W/HOVER-SLED Please take note: the BUG FACE parts will only be available for the pre-order window Looking to get 30 orders, so who's in?

If enough people are in agreement, the Biopsycher would indeed be the next project in January.

For what it's worth, it was a close call between your Bio and Ted's Norbert in terms of the build, and I realy like what you did with the Biover, but the photography was what hampered you the most. You don't necessarily need a light box as much as you need less harsh lighting. I personally just use regular lamps with a sheet of white paper wrapped over the bulb to diffuse the light. I don't even use a fancy camera, just an iPod. A vibrant background color, like green or yellow would also compliment the red nicely and offer a good contrast to the model itself. Just be sure that it's set a bit further back behind the model, especially with green, otherwise it will reflect on the model and make the reds ketchupy and less vibrant. Helpful hint: dollar store construction paper.

I want YOU and everyone who has ever built one of my kits to make my (and Brett's) job infinitely harder next year!

Definitely finish that dio, I implore you!! You seem to have captured the look of the series in a way I wasn't expecting, and am quite taken by.

Man, its a shame you posted those past the deadline! I'm going to make sure you submit something AT LEAST that spectaular next year, even if I have to smuggle myself to Japan, break into your model room and take the pics myself... Promptly followed by my arrest, return to Canada, and stepping-down as a contest judge for my blatant conflict of interest. Also, I'm most likely going to tinker with the points system to incentivize early model submissions. Now that you all have a year's notice, there will be no excuse for last minute entries.

Submitted by Qhris S: my macross Atmospheric booster, made couple's years a go, always amazed me how big the booster rocket, so heavy and always be my favorite macross jets collection

Jonathan Botting 1:48 scale Pinky Crab by MHM. Painted in Tamiya acrylics and weathered with Tamiya’s panel line wash and weathering powders. Base is a re-purposed 1/100 VF-1 stand with yard sand glued on top and silver paper on the sides.

It begins! Jonathan Botting Macross 1/72 Launch Crawler, purchased in three components; launch vehicle, boosters with launch rail and Hasegawa 1/72 VF-1. Airbrushed with Tamiya acrylics and weathered with Tamiya panel line wash and weathering powders. Decals substituted from surplus collection. Custom made ladder, rail, display console and finished with a unique paint scheme.

Ouch! I feel your pain, man. You know what, ironically, has never let me down? The cheapo store brand automotive primer. I've used lacquers, acrylics, enamels, and even automotive paints over it with no problems.

Not really. My sculpt comes out to about 26.5cm when I pose the legs the same way. If a Zentradi is anywhere near the size of a battroid, the pod has to be bigger. This is the pitfall of officially licenced kits: you have to do what the licensor approves, and follow their nonsensical numerical values, even when those values violate logic and reason.

I really like the tread on the motorcycle tires on the Hoquet sculpt, though admittedly, they would make for a very rough & uncomfortable ride. *Dodges flying tomatoes*

22.5cm, apparently.

Interesting parts breaknown after a few glances. I believe the sprue shown in the pic below is for the black/dark grey parts. The areas I hatched in red should be light grey, but if you look closely, there's a marked depression, indicating that the light grey armor parts will fit over the top of these.