tetsujin

All three of those pics were from like a 5 second sequence, Focker was about to run into a wall (almost) and was all "oh, crap, I'd better get above that thing." I did scratch my head when the flaps hinged up, and got the feeling that the flaps went down too far for that maneuver... I think in general there are some finer points of Mac Zero's animation that don't fit. Some bits are elements of consistency (auto-reversing "UN Spacy" on the gunpod), some bits are just cheap-looking (odd poses on Battroid legs where it looks like the hip parts/intakes aren't connected to the upper legs), and some things, like the position of control surfaces, maybe just was done wrong. I think getting the control surfaces animated correctly probably wasn't a priority... probably they were more interested in viewers being able to tell there was something going on than getting the control surfaces to actually match the maneuvers.

I have a CH compressor, I use the yellow hose, and I normally spray around 15PSI... I guess I can't really say if it sprays as smooth as it ought to, lacking a basis of comparison, but I do alright.

Another question (I should really just ask David, but...) - lights: When would formation and anti-collision lights be on? Just when a plane is flying formation or taking off/landing? I assume they'd be off during combat to avoid the "shoot here" effect... And what color would those light strips on the wing ends, vertical stabilizers, and sides of the nose be when lit? White or yellow? Also, does anybody have a good understanding of the VF-0's tail section, and how it hinges, folds, unfolds, extends, etc. to go from fighter to gerwalk/battroid? I'm thinking mainly of the tail deck that appears behind the thrusters, and the hinged plate which connects the assembly to the main fuselage. My best guess based on screencaps would be that the tail assembly extends backward, and both the rear deck and the connecting plate emerge from inside the fuselage. My best guess based on the lineart would be that the connecting plate is the upper rear segment of the fuselage, and that the rear deck is the lower rear segment of the fuselage, and that there's a notch taken out of the rear of the fuselage for those two plates when in battroid/gerwalk. But that'd be a bit strange on the model, since the lower rear segment of the fuselage on the model isn't level with the inner deck of the backpack. I also think the VF-0D is somewhat different than the VF-0S, so I don't know if I can trust screencaps of the VF-0D for that information.

The common solutions are alcohol (high-percentage rubbing alcohol, denatured alcohol, etc.) or Windex. I wouldn't use water, though. Tap water can have a lot of crap in it.

Just don't use the Bandai as a base...

Turns out there's a pretty good shot of the spoilers and the flaps in episode 2 during the canyon run...

They weren't "simple coaxial wires". They're shown in an earlier scene connecting themselves to the appropriate receptacles. It's a robotic convenience feature. And the YF-19 did have video screens through the whole cockpit, a Gundam-style panoramic monitor. It's not beyond reason to assume the panels can create the illusion of depth. It's also not unreasonable to expect that projection techology 40 years in the future will be rather more advanced than what we have now, regardless of whether an alien starship is cannibalized for its secrets. (And please, no apostrophe on posessive "its"... it's hard to look at.)

There are less than two months until Otakon and there's a lot I want to have done by then. Model-wise right now there are two big projects: the first I can't talk about. The other one is my VF-0. I guess I may as well let the cat out of the VF-0 bag. It's more fun that way. For the VF-0 I'm doing a Gerwalk conversion (full Gerwalk, with folded backpack, deployed arms, extended gunpod) and adding conventional missiles on underwing hardpoints. I'll probably put on a couple AMRAAMs and 2-4 sidewinders. I also want to put at least the ailerons into some kind of slight maneuvering position - I may do something with the flaps and spoilers as well. (The spoilers, however, would require some fairly extensive reconstruction of the wing if I were to lift them enough that whatever's under them would be visible... and to reposition the spoilers at all would probably imply photo-etch. I'd be willing to do that, but I don't think I have that kind of abundance of time right now... Both this and my other Otakon model project are massive pieces of work.) I'm also trying to get my Hasegawa Battroid fixed up, it hasn't been showable in a long time, which is a shame because I think I did pretty good work on it. I messed up the original paintjob, so I need to fix up and repaint the arms and legs, and somehow match the color of the other parts. It'd be nice to have that available to show. I think it'll be a great year for me at the Otakon model contest, if I get even just one of my two major projects done and fix up one or two of the models that are in "need some fixing up" state, I'll have a bunch of cool stuff to show. I'd really like to hit one of those "grooves"... I've done a lot of model work in the last few months but I've never quite felt comfortable with it - my ambitions always outreach my abilities a bit and I'm a bit of a perfectionist, too.

They're not AIM-120 AMRAAM's as we know them. They're AIM-200 AMRAAM II, or as I called them before I found out about them, Super AMRAAM. SAMRAAM, if you will. They don't look like AMRAAM's. Similar, but not quite the same. Interesting... do you have a link to info on them?

#1: I figured it was probably something like that. (I do love the missile swarms, and know they aren't real.) I guess now I just need to decide my personal middle ground between anime-style Rambo loadouts and real-world practicality. Side note: do we even know if those were AMRAAMs on the VF-0? I don't have a good screenshot but they didn't really look like AMRAAMs to me... Interesting... so the control surfaces I figured for ailerons may not be ailerons at all? How can you determine whether they are ailerons or not? Just by checking the anime to watch for movement during roll? Or by looking at the structure of the wing design? Thanks for the info.

Hey, I'm planning to use the Hasegawa aircraft weapons sets to give my VF-0 a little bit of firepower. I've heard that the VF-0 actually carried AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles at some point in the anime... maybe episode 1, where Focker's plane is carrying the twelve underwing missiles when it first transforms? I don't know... Anyway, my questions, if there is anyone here aircrafty enough to answer them: - twelve AMRAAMs on four underwing hardpoints - is that something that could actually work? If so, what sort of launcher would hold them? - Are wing-mounted missiles on a variable geometry (understatement - heh) fighter a totally screwed-up notion, or is it valid? I suppose the missile launchers would need to turn if the wing sweep were changed... - Would a payload including some AIM-9's in place of some of the AIM-120's be more sensible? Other quasi-related questions: - Can anybody explain to me how the flaps might be expected to work, and when they would likely be deployed? (I guess I'm already familiar with the airbrake behind the heat shield, and I suppose the ones on the wing closest to the fuselage are flaps, as well as the little scribed-in rectangles on top of the wing in front of the ailerons and rear-edge flaps... (Is that correct? Are those rectangular ones flaps/airbrakes, which would hinge upward? If so, what would be underneath them?) Maybe I don't want to mess with the flaps. (EDIT): To rephrase part of the missile question: if a payload of 12 AMRAAMs on four hardpoints is impractical on current aircraft, why is that the case? Weight? Cost-effectiveness? Control circuit issues? Or can pilots generally not be expected to effectively use that many missiles on a single flight?

That's news to me... But I do think a VF-0 Battroid kit from Hasegawa is pretty likely.

Yeah~ agreed. That headlamp has been bothering me for quite some while, but I'm too lazy to mask the thing and paint the lamp. Maybe I should just hand brush it in. And I couldn't decide on whether I should use silver or a light blue. If you decide to use silver, you could just coat the lens with adhesive-backed metal foil. It's available at most hobby shops and is one common way of making chrome-coated parts. Another option would be reflective safety tape. That provides a good "light source" illusion under the right conditions - and in situations where the tape doesn't get light at the proper angle, it'd just look sort of white. So you put some polycaps in your Nichimos? Nice. I definitely agree that it's nice to be able to break down the assembly to easier-to-paint pieces, so I do that sometimes. For the Regult and Battroid I didn't (partly because I wanted to get them done quickly, partly because I wanted to use them to practice methods any beginner would be able to use) but I trimmed off enough of the kit-supplied pegs on certain parts (like the thruster housings on the Regult, arms on the battroid) so I could still pull them off after plugging them in.

Yay, Nichimo love! Mervin, excellent work on those hatches and missiles. VF-1J, those destroids are looking sharp (though you seem to have a bit of a raised seam on the Tomahawk's left leg). The markings aren't colored, but in the case of the Tomahawk that's looking surprisingly good, and the sticker work in general looks solid. The paint work on the Spartan is nice and clean, too. You ought to do something about the headlamp lens on the Tomahawk, though. I've done two Nichimos this year, my Regult and my Super Battroid: http://1-4-4.home.comcast.net/models/Works.../regult_02.jpeg http://1-4-4.home.comcast.net/models/Works...egult_size.jpeg I don't know if I have pics of the super battroid handy... it isn't "officially" finished as I still need to touch up the dullcoat. I had decals printed for my Nichimos, based on markings from other kits. (So far, just markings for some destroids and the Regult) - if anybody wants some, talk to Peter Savin at http://models4you.whoadude.com and tell him I sent you. I imagine he still has the decal sheet design that he made for me.

Hey, So there are certain points on the Hasegawa valks that are obviously lights and their color is known, and others I'm not so sure of. Like is that orange striped decal that goes on the end of the wing supposed to be a light? I don't know. So maybe somebody can fill me in on what and where all the lights are, how they should look and behave?

One thing about the Koto ball double joint: bear in mind the whole thing is polycap material, and thus not paintable. If you are OK with that then there's no problem. Otherwise, there are also parts like Wave L-Joint #2 and #3 which have plastic covers for parts of the joint.

The Mac Zero F-14 and Mig-29 were limited releases. They're hard to find now because they aren't being made any more. But you could substitute another F-14 or Mig-29 kit and get someone to print the decals for you. (Not a bad option, considering that there are much better kits out there...)

That might be the problem, come to think of it...It was a relatively new pot (bought it maybe a week ago) and so with new paints I have a habit of shaking them for about thirty seconds rather than stirring. Older paints I do stir because the (I don't remember the actual terms so bear with a blood metaphor) plasma and serum seperate over time. How much should I end up thinning the paint by, and with what? As for an airbrush, that's a good idea. but I'm going to have to hold off on it for a while, only because I really don't have the room or the money to buy one right now. Airbrushes are indeed expensive. For a full setup (compressor, airbrush, booth, respirator) you'd be talking at least $150-$200. Great stuff, though. But skilled modelers can get good results by brush-painting. I did a model-building class at Anime Boston a few months ago, so I had to improve my hand-painting skills while working with acrylics, so I would know what kind of advice to give. (I still need more practice) The best I've done handpainting Tamiya was with this Regult: http://1-4-4.home.comcast.net/models/Works/Workshop_Regult/ I did have problems with the Regult - I rushed through a lot of it and had a few instances of paint lifting off, things like that... and there are places, particularly with the dull-coat, where you can see brush strokes and the like. But I'm happy with the model. Yeah, you always need to stir those paints thoroughly. I find that shaking the paint can help in addition to stirring, but it's no good on its own. It simply doesn't dislodge the stuff that's settled to the bottom. As for thinning - you may need to experiment. For hand-painting I like to thin Tamiya with either rubbing alcohol or Windex. Windex is nice because it has sort of a soapy nature which helps the paint flow more smoothly. Alcohol evaporates very quickly, too. I generally add as much thinner as there is paint, or a little less - but practice, experiment, and try to figure out what works best for you. (Actually I may thin the paint too much - it generally takes me a bunch of coats to get a solid color. I should experiment more with different ratios.) And remember to thin the paint in a separate container, as thinned paint will generally cure in the bottle faster than unthinned paint.

Except for me, thinning wasn't an issue. I used the paint straight from the bottle, as I brush-paint everything. You shouldn't do that. For any kind of painting, you should transfer the paint to another container and thin it before applying it. Otherwise, your brush will deposit debris into the paint bottle which will appear in your paintjob later on. Also thinning helps you to get a smooth paintjob - if you apply the paint unthinned, it can partially dry out while you're applying it or immediately afterward, resulting in your brushstrokes being too-visible. It's hard for me to say exactly what's going on with your model. Did you stir your paint thoroughly before applying it? That's my best guess at this point, if this is a flat paint it may have separated out, in which case the flat base may be appearing in too-high quantities.

Do you really need ball joints in those points? A more typical solution is to use a double hinge and have pivot points where the peg struts coming out of the hinge plug into the rest of the model. For instance, the Wave T-Shaft #1: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?WAVOP-291 Or Kotobukiya Mecha Joint: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?KBYD-110G The hinges can bend 90 degrees in either direction (180 degree arc total for each of the two hinges: combined total 360 degree sweep) and you can change the orientation of the hinge if you mount the end pegs in such a way that they can swivel: for instance, by burying them in Bondo, or by plugging them into appropriate polycaps: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?KBYD-104B So for the whole installation, that's 360 degrees on the (let's call it the) X axis, and 360 degrees on the Y axis: so given adequate clearance, while the first peg is pointed in a given direction, the second peg can be oriented in just about any other direction. I used the Kotobukiya Mecha Joint to re-elbow my Gundam Strike: (shameless self-promotion... ah, well.) http://1-4-4.home.comcast.net/models/Works..._Strike_Gundam/ If you really need the joints to be ball joints for some reason, there are pre-made double-ball units you can buy: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?KBYD-111G But like Stamen said... as ball joints go, you just can't beat the Yellow Submarine Kansetsu Waza: http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljpage.cgi?YLS40101 You could brace two balls or sockets together to make a double-joint by using a combination of metal pipe, reinforcing wires, adhesive, and filler.

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. errr... super glue doesn't melt plastics. Certain types of plastics, with enough glue, and it will. I think ABS in particular doesn't mix well with super glue.

One can also get the VF-1 Super valks in order to get the folded backpack, and the Battroid kit if they want to attach arms. You can even order those parts separately, without ordering a whole new kit, from places like HLJ and Rainbow 10. I know it's not a great solution, but it's what we got.

I did all my hinge work with just a pair of pliers. It's tough, though. I'll see if I can scare up some images of my finger hinges. I understand about the explanation, it's really hard to explain something like that with words. I'm sure it didn't help that I was trying to be so thorough. Times like this I wish I were a better illustrator. The basic technique is just to take fairly hard wire and wrap it around (in a single loop) relatively soft wire, and make the loop just a little bit too small. That way, once you finally do get it onto the soft wire and move it around a bit, it'll dig into the soft wire, forming a groove. That'll give the joint a nice fit and all.. but when I've made joints like this I think they've always still needed pressure from the sides of the hinge to keep the two loops from working their way off the center wire. I'll have to do some more experimentation one of these days, see if I can improve the hinges. Maybe I could send you a sample at some point, too. I do wonder if a better solution might just be to have the hinge itself be floppy, but install a strut like you did on your canopy, but install it in such a way that it not only provides support in the "up" position but also resistance to keep the canopy where you put it. If the strut wire extended down into a drilled-out polycap or something. That way the hinge itself could be really tiny, and wouldn't need to be installed so rigorously, but you'd still get the effect of having a strong hinge. The weak hinge in a case like that could be made out of something like music wire - which is strong and resilient at small sizes. (Music wire might also be good for making the loops for the hinge... I haven't tried it yet, though. Music wire is pretty hard to bend, too.) I'm curious about what you did with the VF-0's canopy hinge.

I'm not convinced of that. The nosecone was altered to fit the design, and I think the chest was narrowed, too. And the arms must have been beefed up... But I could be wrong. If I am wrong, all the better... means it's pretty easy to make a VF-0 battroid.

Nonsense. Why's that? Because my taste differs from yours? Yeah, that's pretty much the size of it. I think it's pretty nonsensical to give designs like the YF-19, VF-11 and VF-1 so little credit, and to give the VF-2 so much. But that's just me, right? I think there's enough space on this thread in between the "wow, that's cool" and "thanks for the scans" for us both to interject our irrelevant, off-topic design commentary. Looking back at the VF-0 battroid model I'm not really happy with how they did the nose. The taper is too sudden, even given the proportional changes in the VF-0 design.