Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[derex3592]

I gotta admit, for a bare plastic kit OOB build, with only a panel lining and a few details, that looks pretty damn good! 😯

[tekering]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Is it the Nakatomi building from Die Hard?

Now you're in the ballpark.  It's a Japanese high rise condominium.

Once completed, it will be nearly as tall as I am. 😅

1 hour ago, Urashiman said:

for stuff that came off after a night, the waterslide decals.

You gotta add this stuff to your toolkit:

It fuses waterslide decals to the surfaces they're applied to.  I never apply decals without it. 👌

[Papa Rat]

1 hour ago, Urashiman said:

It has been done.

The last few steps. Kid didn’t want to build anymore and instead went to play super Mario.

and … DONE.

 

Tools and colors used:

Tamiya Super Thin Cement

Tamiya Black panel line color

Turpentine substitute 

180/600/1500 grid sandpaper

Stanley carpet cutter

Model kit pliers

Red permanent marker (Edding)

Blue permanent marker (Edding)

silver gloss permanent marker (Edding)

Black gloss permanent marker

the plamax sticker and for stuff that came off after a night, the waterslide decals.

 

A fun build. The plamax VF-1 is such a nice kit to build. I recommend it.

Came out great! My kid would have done the same but they are loving the new-ish Ratchet and Clank game. It’s awesome!

[Bolt]

6 hours ago, tekering said:

You guys seemed to have missed my other hint, "Earthbound," as in bound to the earth... 😝

It doesn't fly, it doesn't transform, it doesn't move at all.

It does, however, consist of hundreds of laser-cut acrylic panels...

I hope to see your Gojira stomping through it 

[Thom]

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Now you're in the ballpark.  It's a Japanese high rise condominium.

Once completed, it will be nearly as tall as I am. 😅

It's upside down, and that's what through me off. Yeah, that's it...

[Papa Rat]

@tekering That looks awesome

[Urashiman]

9 hours ago, Urashiman said:

the plamax sticker and for stuff that came off after a night, the waterslide decals.

Oh man - that happens when you type up stuff when tired, and on phone using sausage fingers. Hahaha

What I meant to say was, that the PLAMAX stickers came off after a night, like peeling themselves off on the vertical stabilizers and the little fins on the engine bays. So I was using the water slide decals for these parts instead.

@tekering Yeah, I have the super strong stuff. But for stickers (not water slide decals) it would just dilute and dissolve the adhesive of the stickers.

 

@derex3592 Yeah, right? I believe that was the intention from PLAMAX. The kit comes in different colors, so it is more of an entry grade kit that doesn't need much painting. As I've said a like two years ago. The PLAMAX VF-1 is a really nice kit and I would recommend it to anyone.

Edited 23 hours ago by Urashiman
Forgot to add pictures.

[tekering]

13 minutes ago, Urashiman said:

I have the super strong stuff. But for stickers (not water slide decals) it would just dilute and dissolve the adhesive of the stickers.

It certainly would.  A heavy matte coating is the only way to ensure stickers stay put (or look halfway-decent). 😉

The condo's starting to take shape...

5 hours ago, Thom said:

It's upside down, and that's what through [sic] me off.

I need to rely on the force of gravity to hold these acrylic panels together until they're securely bonded, so the orientation (be it face-down or upside-down) is temporarily dictated by distribution of weight...

...and I need to make use of whatever's on-hand heavy enough (like the bicycle) to support the walls, at least until the glue starts to set.

4 hours ago, Papa Rat said:

That looks awesome

I'm glad somebody thinks so.  My wife thinks I'm certifiable, spending hundreds of dollars on a model that's too big to assemble (much less display) in the house. 😅

[Urashiman]

7 minutes ago, tekering said:

It certainly would.  A heavy matte coating is the only way to ensure stickers stay put (or look halfway-decent). 😉

The condo's starting to take shape...

I need to rely on the force of gravity to hold these acrylic panels together until they're securely bonded, so the orientation (be it face-down or upside-down) is temporarily dictated by distribution of weight...

...and I need to make use of whatever's on-hand heavy enough (like the bicycle) to support the walls, at least until the glue starts to set.

I'm glad somebody thinks so.  My wife thinks I'm certifiable, spending hundreds of dollars on a model that's too big to assemble (much less display) in the house. 😅

Wait a minute ... is that a kit or do you scratch build this?

Either way that is a crazy project hahaha XD

[pengbuzz]

12 hours ago, tekering said:

Now you're in the ballpark.  It's a Japanese high rise condominium.

Once completed, it will be nearly as tall as I am. 😅

 

*Imagines Tekering looking in a window, and some lady who just got out of the shower screaming her head off and running for dear life!*

[pengbuzz]

On 12/21/2025 at 12:44 PM, Big s said:

Was definitely a great intro. I loved 70’s and 80’s intros, they were always cool and had great music 

I just had a crazy thought:

Spoiler

What if Buck Rogers was a descendant of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter?

 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

I just had a crazy thought:

  Hide contents

What if Buck Rogers was a descendant of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter?

 

That crazy family, always getting frozen and woken up years later 

[derex3592]

@tekering - wow!! You're a madman! I love it!  In my next life I would love to design and build architectural models. Will it be lit up from inside? 

[Thom]

6 hours ago, tekering said:

It certainly would.  A heavy matte coating is the only way to ensure stickers stay put (or look halfway-decent). 😉

The condo's starting to take shape...

I need to rely on the force of gravity to hold these acrylic panels together until they're securely bonded, so the orientation (be it face-down or upside-down) is temporarily dictated by distribution of weight...

...and I need to make use of whatever's on-hand heavy enough (like the bicycle) to support the walls, at least until the glue starts to set.

I'm glad somebody thinks so.  My wife thinks I'm certifiable, spending hundreds of dollars on a model that's too big to assemble (much less display) in the house. 😅

I was being sarcastic, but then I sometimes have trouble getting that right...😁 I like it and it's looking good. And if your wife doesn't understand, just wait until it's been set up in the bedroom. 

[tekering]

7 hours ago, Urashiman said:

Wait a minute ... is that a kit or do you scratch build this?

Neither, actually.  It's an architectural model of a real high rise condominium in Shibaura -- custom-built to demonstrate the design to construction company executives -- and probably cost over a million yen to produce.  It somehow ended up in the possession of a used furniture store in the hills north of Tokyo, and was eventually listed on Yahoo! Japan auctions (where I bought it earlier this month). ☺️

However, since the model wasn't intended for sale (much less transportation across the country), it was not built to last... and what I ended up receiving was badly damaged. 😱

There were hundreds of broken panels rattling around loose in the box... 

...and with no internal support structure, the whole building just collapsed in on itself as soon as I removed the plastic wrap. 😭

So now it's just a giant puzzle to reconstruct, without blueprints or instructions to follow. 🤕

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Will it be lit up from inside? 

Of course!  In fact, it came lined with eight individually-wired LED strips that run the full length of the building.

I intend to create a seemingly random, disorganized lighting scheme using a variety of tinted yellow, orange, and smoke-tinted gels to vary the color and brightness of each apartment, giving the appearance of a real condominium at night.

[Papa Rat]

4 minutes ago, tekering said:

Neither, actually.  It's an architectural model of a real high rise condominium in Shibaura -- custom-built to demonstrate the design to construction company executives -- and probably cost over a million yen to produce.  It somehow ended up in the possession of a used furniture store in the hills north of Tokyo, and was eventually listed on Yahoo! Japan auctions (where I bought it earlier this month). ☺️

However, since the model wasn't intended for sale (much less transportation across the country), it was not built to last... and what I ended up receiving was badly damaged. 😱

There were hundreds of broken panels rattling around loose in the box... 

...and with no internal support structure, the whole building just collapsed in on itself as soon as I removed the plastic wrap. 😭

So now it's just a giant puzzle to reconstruct, without blueprints or instructions to follow. 🤕

Of course!  In fact, it came lined with eight individually-wired LED strips that run the full length of the building.

I intend to create a seemingly random, disorganized lighting scheme using a variety of tinted yellow, orange, and smoke-tinted gels to vary the color and brightness of each apartment, giving the appearance of a real condominium at night.

What a cool find and project. Love it 

[Chas]

@tekering That's  definitely  a unique addition to you collection!  Good luck with the restoration.

Still working away at the Bronco II conversion.
I installed some magnets in the rear bottom of the wing openings and the rear lower claves to hold the legs in place whe in fighter mode, I also added some much needed panel lines to the top surface:

And with legs engaged:

[Bolt]

13 minutes ago, Chas said:

@tekering That's  definitely  a unique addition to you collection!  Good luck with the restoration.

Still working away at the Bronco II conversion.
I installed some magnets in the rear bottom of the wing openings and the rear lower claves to hold the legs in place whe in fighter mode, I also added some much needed panel lines to the top surface:

And with legs engaged:

Inspirational!

[Big s]

3 hours ago, tekering said:

Neither, actually.  It's an architectural model of a real high rise condominium in Shibaura -- custom-built to demonstrate the design to construction company executives -- and probably cost over a million yen to produce.  It somehow ended up in the possession of a used furniture store in the hills north of Tokyo, and was eventually listed on Yahoo! Japan auctions (where I bought it earlier this month). ☺️

However, since the model wasn't intended for sale (much less transportation across the country), it was not built to last... and what I ended up receiving was badly damaged. 😱

There were hundreds of broken panels rattling around loose in the box... 

...and with no internal support structure, the whole building just collapsed in on itself as soon as I removed the plastic wrap. 😭

So now it's just a giant puzzle to reconstruct, without blueprints or instructions to follow. 🤕

Of course!  In fact, it came lined with eight individually-wired LED strips that run the full length of the building.

I intend to create a seemingly random, disorganized lighting scheme using a variety of tinted yellow, orange, and smoke-tinted gels to vary the color and brightness of each apartment, giving the appearance of a real condominium at night.

Are you gonna put on that Godzilla outfit and take som Awsome Pictures?

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Chas said:

@tekering That's  definitely  a unique addition to you collection!  Good luck with the restoration.

Still working away at the Bronco II conversion.
I installed some magnets in the rear bottom of the wing openings and the rear lower claves to hold the legs in place whe in fighter mode, I also added some much needed panel lines to the top surface:

And with legs engaged:

Looks like that hard work on those mods is paying off here

[Chas]

2 minutes ago, Big s said:

Looks like that hard work on those mods is paying off here

Slow and steady wins the race!😉

[Thom]

15 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I just had a crazy thought:

  Hide contents

What if Buck Rogers was a descendant of Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter?

 

Pengbuzz, that is my new head canon!!😁

It looks like it is in good hands now, @tekering. Just watch out for clowns in Godzilla suits! 

Some great progress @Chas! 

 

 

[sketchley]

10 hours ago, tekering said:

However, since the model wasn't intended for sale (much less transportation across the country), it was not built to last... and what I ended up receiving was badly damaged. 😱

Talking about bad packing jobs... did they just wrap it in plastic?  Or did they at least add an outer cardboard shell over the plastic wrap to protect the sides?

 

10 hours ago, tekering said:

So now it's just a giant puzzle to reconstruct, without blueprints or instructions to follow. 🤕

Good luck!

Incidentally, I couldn't help but notice the discolouration on parts of the metal framework.  Is it rust?  I hope its not something that will leech into and discolour anything you attach to it!

 

10 hours ago, tekering said:

Of course!  In fact, it came lined with eight individually-wired LED strips that run the full length of the building.

I intend to create a seemingly random, disorganized lighting scheme using a variety of tinted yellow, orange, and smoke-tinted gels to vary the color and brightness of each apartment, giving the appearance of a real condominium at night.

Are those dim-able LEDs?  I wonder if it's possible (or even worth the effort!) to add a controller to give it a dawn→day→dusk→night↩ lighting effect.

[tekering]

1 hour ago, sketchley said:

did they just wrap it in plastic?

They did indeed.  No structural reinforcement. 🤨

1 hour ago, sketchley said:

Is it rust?  I hope its not something that will leech into and discolour anything you attach to it!

Well-noted, my friend.  Two of the tips have been buried 30cm in the dirt for the past fifteen years. 😅

1 hour ago, sketchley said:

Are those dim-able LEDs?

I don't think so... 🤔