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1/48 VF-1S Head Lasers


fulcy

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Alright, so I got rohby's wonderful recast 1S head about a week ago, and there was one small problem with it - the head lasers were warped badly. True, I could have put them under some warm water, and then bent them back to shape, but that's when I started to really take a look at them - now, I don't know if it was the head lasers they were cast from or not, but there is a horrible seam line along the sides of them, and they aren't even round! So, I got to thinking, it'd be great to have 1S (or any other head, for that matter) head lasers that were:

1. Round

2. Had no seam line running down the side

3. Had a hollowed out end

So, I got to work, on this quick little project - and made a master laser barrel, that I hope to use on all the 1A and 1J head lasers in the future. I took this master barrel, which is built around a brass tube, cast it, and made a set of 1S head lasers, then cast those. This final mold is complicated - because the head lasers barrels again contain brass tubes, to allow them to be hollow. The brass tubes first need to be cut to length, then roughed up, and a slot must be cut into them, to allow resin to flow properly. The first two pics show the prototype, compared against a rohby head - you can see how warped they are, and how oval shaped they are. The last few pics are the final painted head (crappy paint job, yes I know...). The only problem I've run into - the mounting hole in the side of the head seems to be larger on one head half then the other - and this causes a sloppy fit. Should be fixable with some superglue though. I hope to have these available in the next week, so keep an eye out!

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i hear what you're saying cause i just got mine heads yesterday though mine weren't warped. the seam line is unavoidable since it suchs a thin skinney piece but at the same time, it wasn't a big fix.

i just used the putty to smooth things over and hit it with some sandpaper and they came out fine. they definitely aren't as stiff as the real lasers but i'm gentle with my toys so no biggie.

the one thing i've learned since working with resin parts is, they never come out perfect. theres always something ever so slightly off, always some kind of seam line, sometimes even a bubble but its never that hard to correct, putty goes a long way and its rather a quick fix IMO. :)

added:

the hollowed out lasers are definitely cool. B)) but i think it you get a one of those jewelers drill bits? like a jewelers screwdriver but it has a drill bit on the end instead, you could bore out the holes off the regular head as well as rohby's recast.

Edited by haterist
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i hear what you're saying cause i just got mine heads yesterday though mine weren't warped. the seam line is unavoidable since it suchs a thin skinney piece but at the same time, it wasn't a big fix.

i just used the putty to smooth things over and hit it with some sandpaper and they came out fine. they definitely aren't as stiff as the real lasers but i'm gentle with my toys so no biggie.

the one thing i've learned since working with resin parts is, they never come out perfect. theres always something ever so slightly off, always some kind of seam line, sometimes even a bubble but its never that hard to correct, putty goes a long way and its rather a quick fix IMO. :)

added:

the hollowed out lasers are definitely cool. B)) but i think it you get a one of those jewelers drill bits? like a jewelers screwdriver but it has a drill bit on the end instead, you could bore out the holes off the regular head as well as rohby's recast.

Thing is, there is no seam on these head lasers, because the mold doesn't have a parting line that runs down the head laser - it's a continuous mold that surrounds the laser.

As far as drilling out the head lasers - it could be done, but it wouldn't be as easy to do...

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Nicely Done Fulcy!

Sorry about the warped laser. Must have gone through some intense heat on it's route to your place. Also, the original head lasers do have a seem line which is why I followed that seem line on my molds. Also, if you take a look at the original lasers from the top view you can see that they aren't perfectly round at the tip. It's slightly on the oval side but the tip's so small that it still seems round.

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Nicely Done Fulcy!

Sorry about the warped laser. Must have gone through some intense heat on it's route to your place. Also, the original head lasers do have a seem line which is why I followed that seem line on my molds. Also, if you take a look at the original lasers from the top view you can see that they aren't perfectly round at the tip. It's slightly on the oval side but the tip's so small that it still seems round.

Yeah, that's what I kinda figured - sitting in the mail truck, heated up nice and hot, and just kinda warped. I knew the originals had a seam running down the sides of them - didn't mean to imply that it was only because of how you molded them.

Oh, and just to clear up - this will be made available, for sale, in about a week - once I get a second mold poured, and some more brass tubing. Stay tuned!

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  • 3 weeks later...
So'd these things ever get finished? I'd be interested in picking up a few pairs if they're available.

The big sticking point as it stands, is that I can't find the brass tubing anywhere. I cleaned out the only local hobby shop that had them, and they are still waiting on their supplier to get more in - this was a week this past saturday - so he's expecting to get the brass in this week. Once they get the brass in, orders will start being taken (I don't want to have too much of a backlog building up before I'm able to fill any orders)...

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Not to increase the demand on Fulcy or anything since he's having such a time getting the brass tubing, but I have to say that I got my two sets yesterday, and they are AWESOME!.

Very little touching up is needed, just basically snip em off the sprue, touch up the sprue points, and trim down the pegs so they are the correct length to work with the screws in Rohby's head recasts, and you're ready to go.

Great work!, and cheap at twice the price. I can't wait to get mine finished and painted, they're gonna look great!.

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Not to increase the demand on Fulcy or anything since he's having such a time getting the brass tubing, but I have to say that I got my two sets yesterday, and they are AWESOME!.

Very little touching up is needed, just basically snip em off the sprue, touch up the sprue points, and trim down the pegs so they are the correct length to work with the screws in Rohby's head recasts, and you're ready to go.

Great work!, and cheap at twice the price. I can't wait to get mine finished and painted, they're gonna look great!.

Twice the price, eh?? Hrmm... :D

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Totally worth it! I've been meaning to take pictures...

You can paint it right on the sprue and then remove it. Looks great with Rohby's VF-1S head recast.

I can't think of people getting it for the originals unless they want to split it open when the recast is just as good...

Schemes are running thru my head now... I might have to get some more.

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Oh, heck.

So, how much are we talking here?  I've ordered one of Rohby's heads (and a BP8, which I sorely need--Rohby, you da man!), so I might as well get it all spiffy at once...

Ok, I finally found a place online that sells the brass tubing I need - so I ordered, oh, about 32 feet of it! So that should be here within the next week. Pricing breaks down as follows:

$8 for the first set

$7 for the second set

$6 for each additional set

Prices include shipping in the US - add an extra $2 onto the overall order for priority mail shipping. There will be a limit - I'm thinking it'll be set at four sets - and then I'll complete the rest of your order after I've completed all other open orders. However, this is not to screw people over who want to order more than four sets. This pricing covers all laser sets you ever order from me - so if you order a total of 8 laser sets, you pay $8, $7, then $6 for each additional set - even though I'll be shipping the first four and the last four seperately...

EDIT: dumbass - I'm only selling the lasers, not the heads too, why would I say heads?!!?

Edited by fulcy
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I want!!! I want!!! I want!!! *grubby hands clinching* :D:D:D

By the way...any chance of getting some done for the 1A and 1J, as well? Just gotta ask.

The 1A and 1J head lasers are planned, but they aren't going to be done for a few months - other projects are a priority at this time...

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Oh, heck.

So, how much are we talking here?  I've ordered one of Rohby's heads (and a BP8, which I sorely need--Rohby, you da man!), so I might as well get it all spiffy at once...

Ok, I finally found a place online that sells the brass tubing I need - so I ordered, oh, about 32 feet of it! So that should be here within the next week. Pricing breaks down as follows:

$8 for the first set

$7 for the second set

$6 for each additional set

Prices include shipping in the US - add an extra $2 onto the overall order for priority mail shipping. There will be a limit - I'm thinking it'll be set at four sets - and then I'll complete the rest of your order after I've completed all other open orders. However, this is not to screw people over who want to order more than four sets. This pricing covers all laser sets you ever order from me - so if you order a total of 8 laser sets, you pay $8, $7, then $6 for each additional set - even though I'll be shipping the first four and the last four seperately...

EDIT: dumbass - I'm only selling the lasers, not the heads too, why would I say heads?!!?

Ok then. Put me down for one set (only the one Valk, you see), and could you please PM me a SnailMail address to send a money order to?

Jeez, I'm always buying body parts from Rohby, and guns from you...what must my mailman think of me? :D

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Ok guys... settle down with the preordering. I've still got to get the brass material in stock, and I want to do some tests with tinting (though you'll still need to paint the ends black). I am going to try and tint these guys as close to rohby's head as possible (need to fool around with the pigments a little) - but that is the only color I am going to be tinting - so don't ask me to tint some for use with max and millia, etc... :p Just to keep the list someplace convenient, here's who I have so far, in order of request...

Hurricane29 - 2

hirohawa - 4

Daysleeper - 1

Neova -

007-vf1 - 2

UNSpacy - 2

Stormrider - 1

Die, Alien Scum! - 4

mantisfists - 2

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