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6 Foot Long Daedalus Scratch Build Up


MechTech

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Thank you guys for the encouragement. I FINALLY got to do some work this weeknd. On that note, Happy Fathers day to my fellow dads in the UK and Stateside (yes its on the same day).

UPDATE 21 June 2009

Progress has been a little slow, but it has been to detail and engineer a few things. This time, I'll work my way backwards.

post-2518-1245570705_thumb.jpg First the tower and mast temporarily fitted together. The radar antenna leaning against the tower is what would have been the radar to fit on the tower. It would have been "canon", but just too plane for me. (Note the two gray radar antenna - both rotate) So I built this:

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Why do all of this? Because there is already a fixed planar array on the lower part of the tower like the Aegis ship's SPY-1D. Even the Aegis ships have a couple of rotating antennas on them so I thought I'd add them for realism. So I took another Gizmoszone motor (their WWW address is below) and added rubber to it to insulate the noise from the structure. The motor is quiet, but the design of the plastic structure amplifies the sound.

post-2518-1245571124_thumb.jpg The gear case connects to a MICRO drive belt (1mm thick, 2 cm circle).post-2518-1245571381_thumb.jpg

Next I sealed off the "arm" with thin brass.post-2518-1245571460_thumb.jpg You can see how thin it is:post-2518-1245571512_thumb.jpg

And for the secondary surface search radar, some take off gears the extend the unit away from the mast and keep it in unison with the bigger unit:

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That's it for now. I still have a lot to do on the bridge (tower) assembly) I knew it would take a while, just not this long ^_^ - MT

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Happy Pappy Day to you to MT! Some of the finest works have always taken the longest time to reach fruition. And in the case of this masterpiece, I would expect a lengthy window of time to achieve this level of perfection. I mean the things that you're taking into account just astound me. Again, continued success on your studies, Happy Father's Day, and keep up the phenomenal & groundbreaking work on this legendary build! Personally, I'll be around to see it completed, God willing.

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I still have a lot to do on the bridge (tower) assembly) I knew it would take a while, just not this long ^_^

Well You know if you were HWR mkII you would have made and painted two by now :p

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  • 3 weeks later...

UPDATE 12 July 09

Thanks to everyone keeping up with this build. Sometime you have to first go to point A BEFORE going to point B. That was my problem. I built my elevator assembly, but needed the top piece of the elevator. That calls for a finely engraved deck piece with simulated tie downs in the top piece. The Daedalus elevator is about two tennis courts long! That's a lot of tie downs and it has to match the top deck piece. So I did this (copied from the "What's Lying on Your Workbench" section):

What's lying on my workbench is a TABLE! A ghetto fabulous X-Y table (manual) made from spare parts and a $10 cutting board. I'm mostly done scratch building it. Only the top arm needs doing which is easier than the bottom part was! This was two days of hrd work and it meant stopping work on my Daedalus.

I finally got to the point where I decided I REALLY need one. I have to make simulated tie downs (like you see built into aircraft carrier decks) - six feet of them - several thousand! It would take weeks to do it or take this table and equip it with a special made ponce wheel to indent the marks. Roll the wheel back and forth, advance the table, and one perfect row is done. Repeat the process a bazillion times and you get a nice effect instead of plane smooth surfaced flight deck.

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Back stepping a bit, I was working on the tactical tower and just wanted to make more impact on the model. I finished the mast lights:

post-2518-1247430625_thumb.jpg That's the edge of an X-Acto knife blade. That box is now covered with resin so you can't see the wires anymore. I think I could have really been a brain surgeon if I applied myself more in school :lol:

So I moved on to the main hanger bay section that has been collecting dust for over a year. This a before photo:

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It's now heavily modified it for the elevator and other details that will be going in.

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These parts are the sides AND rails for the elevator. There will be only one operation elevator on the port side. The starboard side will be a dummy. The lightest design I could come up with and the strongest is to have a shaft that stretches across the elevator and drives a gear (2 total) on either side of the rails. This ensures it climbs evenly on both sides and has no slippages.

post-2518-1247431208_thumb.jpg The sides in place post-2518-1247431250_thumb.jpg

The elevator drive is mostly metal and the worm gear gives more torque and prevents the elevator from slipping down. Next to the center of the motor you'll see a dot, that's a hinge point. The spring pulls the motor towards the gear, but slips if too much resistance is put on it. It's a mechanical clutch basically.

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That's all the photos I have for now. I would have finished the elevator, but the top would have looked plain. I'll post more photos as I get along and a movie of it working. - MT

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yeah.. can't wait to see this finished.. been following your thread since i started skimming through this forum!

Hi there. I have just finished reading all 39 pages of this thread. I first saw this build on Model Boat Mayhem. I love your build and you have given my so many ideas on how to get items working on my boat. Your level of engineering and problem solving is the best I have seen. Please do keep up the good work and I can't wait till the next up date.

John

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Thank you guys for the compliments! I'm hoping to finish it by next year. I may be moving soon so there might be a delay, we'll have to see. I do want to get this thing done though! There's other things piling up I'd like to build.

Cos 918, welcome and thank you. I should be really updating things back at Mayhem's site, it just takes so long! Don't hesitate to PM for ideas. I love doing stuff like this and I've been doing it since I was a kid. I always put my engineering ideas into my model ships versus planes or cars; ships don't crash as easy!

Here's some more photos from the table I made. I made some improvements here and there and it works great as you'll see in the next part. I added a fence and secured the pounce head so the bearing takes all the rotation force.

post-2518-1248614752_thumb.jpgpost-2518-1248614792_thumb.jpg

UPDATE 26 JULY 09

You can see I FINALLY finished the elevator. In fact, this is the second one I built! I mis-calculated on the first one and it would not rotate properly. You can see the tie-down holes potted across the elevator surface. Some are clearer than others because of a wash of ink from cleaned markings. They are all uniform depth though (for the most part). Note the gray tube hinge pieces.

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This next picture is darker to bring out the engraved details. It shows the elevator stowed (as in all the line art) and how the whole thing goes together.

post-2518-1248615334_thumb.jpgpost-2518-1248615354_thumb.jpg The little tab you see sticking out in the bottom left hand of the elevator rail is what the elevator pivots open/closed on. The elevator platform is hinged.

The upper hanger deck is where all the aircraft will go and it too has been "pounced" with holes all over for tie downs.

How does it work? Check out the videos. The elevator is really quiet, but my camera's mic is nearby so it picks up EVERY little noise. The loud clicks are my battery box switch (only for bench top tests). The elevator will actually go flush with the top deck (when its built).

Elevator_Open.MPGElevator_Closing.MPG[atta

chment=69661:Elevator_Up.MPG]

Elevator_Up.MPG

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MT, I'm almost speechless! That's an outstanding build! I really liked the way you painted the 1/200 mechs, awesome. It will surely add realism on the Deadelus. The moving parts video is wonderful. Like I'm watching a documentary for Industrial Light and Magic! ;)

Cheers! Looking forward to see your final build on this baby.

Nick

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Thank you guys. I'll update you on the whole moving situation a I know myself.

Nickster, I can't take credit for the valks. They are Yamato's 1/200 valks ( http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?SeriesID=934&...archpage=Scitop ) I believe they are more than worth the money. They are also in scale. I thought otherwise until I got measurements. They go great with my high end die-cast aircraft also in 1/200th scale. You'll be seeing helicopters go with this too. Think Macross Zero. - MT

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you everyone. This thing is moving from skeleton to "filled out" stages finally. I don't know how much work I will get done in the next week or two, WE ARE MOVING. We're headed stateside now! Maybe I'll make it to Macross Con next year? Now I need a crate that's the size of a coffin for the Daedlaus :lol:

UPDATE AUGUST 9th 2009

I finished the second elevator, it's just a dummy. It still has all the details to include tie-downs and teeth in the rails. They will still be visible through the interior when its open for display.post-2518-1249803146_thumb.jpgpost-2518-1249803146_thumb.jpg

The next fun step was adding the rear hanger extensions and crane container. This whole assembly will be the largest when done, about 4 feet long. I'm praying I can get this hole thing in a crate to protect it. I thought of using one of those GIANT plastic boxes for a Christmas tree or oother large items. Nope, their all too small! Just another thing that has to be custom done!

The first picture is a set of rails run along the sides. This keeps everything square throughout the build. The rest you can figure out.

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The pictures may be mixed around. The attachment manger had files all out of the usual order. That's it for now. Thank you all for your continued encouragement and I'll post when I have a moving date. - MT

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Thanks for the update, MT! Still the ultimate scratchbuild ever, IMO. Congrats on the pending move; hope & pray all goes well with your transition back here to the states. If you do decide to make it to MWCON '10, I would almost have to make plans to be there...been watching this legendary build for too long not to see it in person!

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Impressive work as always MT. Everytime I see the Daedalus I always have to think of a car carrier. If you ever have seen one you know what I mean.

If you can't make it to Macross con their is always Wonderfest in Louisville. :lol: Like Claude Grant said, I would make more of am attempt to go to the Macross Con.

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Claude - Thank you for your support! We could use the prayers; I know I'm praying a lot! ^_^

Neptune - Thank you as well. I know exactly what you mean about the car carrier. I think it does too ^_^ !

I don't know if it would ever be possible to bring this thing anywhere than in my car! It's just too big! Why the heck did I even start this thing! :lol:

PROJECT ON HOLD

These will be the last photos I post for about two months. Tomorrow we begin the process of packing up our stuff. I'm requesting a crate be built for "my baby." I'm out of time to build one myself and have lots to do! I've been saving up polyurethane and styrene foams to make cushions for the crate interior. My model has a few thousand miles to go stateside!

In a nutshell, I added more braces to the very rear area. These strengthened it and added braces for the floors to go in. Then I skinned the lower area. I'll engrave and cut these area later when my mind is more focussed on building versus moving.

How big is it? I stood up against the wall and held the camera so I could'nt see the viewer any more. I still didn't get it all in! There is about another four inches to add on to the rear too, so I kinda lied, it will be well over six feet when completed.

post-2518-1249955995_thumb.jpg post-2518-1249956023_thumb.jpg post-2518-1249956052_thumb.jpg post-2518-1249956076_thumb.jpg

That's it photo wise for the next two months or so. I'll still have PC access so I'll "be around" - virtually speaking. Enjoy and thank you guys again for your support. - MT

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Well I hope you and yours and of cause the build makes it Stateside ok.

On the otherside I am gutted that I now wont be able to see it in person :)

But theres always the internet. That and the U.S is nearer Japan Planewise, so Dengeki and Hobby Japan have less traveling when they come round to photo it for the feature it so rightly deserves. :)

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Well I hope you and yours and of cause the build makes it Stateside ok.

On the otherside I am gutted that I now wont be able to see it in person :)

But theres always the internet. That and the U.S is nearer Japan Planewise, so Dengeki and Hobby Japan have less traveling when they come round to photo it for the feature it so rightly deserves. :)

I have to say I am also gutted I will not be able to see this thing for real.

Please, please please, will you make a series of videos to show it off when it is done?

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Thank you guys for the kind thoughts and prayers. I too am bummed I won't get to see you guys and have a mini-Macross con in Europe. Here's some photos of "my baby" being packed. The crate looked like a coffin sitting out in front of the house. I'm sure it got some curious onlookers. I was too busy taking my work bench and other gear apart to notice.

post-2518-1250946920_thumb.jpg post-2518-1250946949_thumb.jpg

I kept a couple of 1/20th Votoms kits to build in the mean time. Thanks again guys! - MT

Edited by MechTech
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  • 1 month later...

Good news! Everything of mine arrived the thousands of miles safely here and we're in a BRAND NEW HOUSE thank God! The bad news, it's so new, there won't be any communications cables to my house for the next couple of weeks to a month! I'll be working on it though in the mean time! Take care everyone! - MT

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Yeah, I was wondering when you were coming back to entertain us with your silly project. Is the rest of the SDF-1 done yet or what? I can't wait around forever you know.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Thanks raven6, I am interested. Which mecha is it you're in referance too?

For those of you wondering what's the hold up, I spent some time doing some Daedalus related work: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=31945

It's all part of the BIG plan ^_^ - MT

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Thanks raven6, I am interested. Which mecha is it you're in referance too?

The green fellah in the enclosed picture.

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Though looking at it I think what I have is a cheap die cast version and not a collector's model like that one. You're still welcome to it anyway. IM me your details and I'll send it over after the xmas frenzy is over. No cost - my pleasure. If you don't use it, inshallah, but if you do, at least I will have contributed some thing to your magnificent madness.

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Thank you raven6, but I don't collect the diecast models. Plus something that heavy would make the floor of my ship warp ^_^ . Thanks anyhow! I DO reccomend that you sell it. Someone will want it I'm sure. - MT

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Thank you raven6, but I don't collect the diecast models. Plus something that heavy would make the floor of my ship warp ^_^ . Thanks anyhow! I DO reccomend that you sell it. Someone will want it I'm sure. - MT

No worries. It may get used for another project, involving 1/72nd modern figures.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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