Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Bolt]

43 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

So much cool Macross stuff!! I can contribute too! Just landed yesterday on my porch! Also picked up my 1st GSI Creos Mr Hobby airbrush. Went with a. 2 for fine detail work. New but no packeging from Sprayguner - Like $85 shipped! Can't wait to try it out! 

Good times ahead  

[pengbuzz]

All I can say is (not aimed at you derex):

(don't want to go into details)

 

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Help a peng out for his birthday:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=Y47AZGLL5NK5J

Edited March 4, 2023 by pengbuzz

[arbit]

M&M 1/72 pilots available now.  Milia with Komilia is the public version based on your votes! https://www.patreon.com/arbitscalemodels

Edited March 11, 2023 by arbit

[Rock]

7 hours ago, arbit said:

M&M 1/72 pilots available now.  Milia with Komilia is the free version based on your votes! https://www.patreon.com/arbitscalemodels

Finally seeing them off the computer screen and they look amazing! Will you be offering 1/48 options? I'm curious to see if more of your sculpting details show up in the larger scale.

[arbit]

52 minutes ago, Rock said:

Finally seeing them off the computer screen and they look amazing! Will you be offering 1/48 options? I'm curious to see if more of your sculpting details show up in the larger scale.

For 1/48 or other scales, you can just rescale, and then test print.  I dont own any 1/48 of anything, so I cant really test exact size, but it should be upscaled 150% +-5 to 10%

[Thom]

19 hours ago, derex3592 said:

So much cool Macross stuff!! I can contribute too! Just landed yesterday on my porch! Also picked up my 1st GSI Creos Mr Hobby airbrush. Went with a. 2 for fine detail work. New but no packeging from Sprayguner - Like $85 shipped! Can't wait to try it out! 

Dang that looks sooo good!  Looks like I'll have to pop for one of these.

[Thom]

9 hours ago, arbit said:

M&M 1/72 pilots available now.  Milia with Komilia is the free version based on your votes! https://www.patreon.com/arbitscalemodels

Those are great looking scuplts. Awesome!

[arbit]

Who wants?

Edited March 5, 2023 by arbit

[Bolt]

That's cool. I was thinking either a stand alone display or a simulation diorama. And it got me thinking about Isamu's simulator pod, lol. 

[derex3592]

GSI Creos 02 is a winner! Love it already for fine detail work! Mottling continues on the Dallas! 

[505thAirborne]

@derex3592  GSI Creos 02... Is that the brand Airbrush you're using? I need a new one. 

I have lots of touch up to do but I'm making some progress on these VF-2SS Valks, these have the green stripe which I'm almost certain was called White Ox Squadron in the OVA.

These are the Bandai 1/100 kits and I'm trying to keep the colors close to the HMR version.  A panel wash & matte clear coat should darken things up just a wee bit.

It's windy as sin outside, so just a few quickie indoor shots. 

 

[Bolt]

@derex3592 nice job there👍🏼The new airbrush is nice! The Dallas will soon be ready to deploy and go on a hunt!

22 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

@derex3592  GSI Creos 02... Is that the brand Airbrush you're using? I need a new one. 

I have lots of touch up to do but I'm making some progress on these VF-2SS Valks, these have the green stripe which I'm almost certain was called White Ox Squadron in the OVA.

These are the Bandai 1/100 kits and I'm trying to keep the colors close to the HMR version.  A panel wash & matte clear coat should darken things up just a wee bit.

It's windy as sin outside, so just a few quickie indoor shots. 

 

Nice squadron!

[derex3592]

1 hour ago, 505thAirborne said:

@derex3592  GSI Creos 02... Is that the brand Airbrush you're using? I need a new one. 

I have lots of touch up to do but I'm making some progress on these VF-2SS Valks, these have the green stripe which I'm almost certain was called White Ox Squadron in the OVA.

These are the Bandai 1/100 kits and I'm trying to keep the colors close to the HMR version.  A panel wash & matte clear coat should darken things up just a wee bit.

It's windy as sin outside, so just a few quickie indoor shots. 

 

@505thAirborneYes, Mr Hobby Procon Boy(Or GSI Creos) . O2 is the one I got for fine detail work. . 03 is good for all around use and . 05 is good for laying down a lot of paint. For $100 or less you can't beat this brand IMHO. My Iwata is nice but man it was expensive and it's finicky, it has a sticky trigger no matter what I do sometimes, which apparently is commen with that brand. Also the main selling point for me on the Mr Hobby is it has the adjustable stopper knob on the back for how far you can pull the trigger back. Great addition! And it has a MAC valve... Haven't even played with that yet.  Hindsight being 20/20 I would have bought two sizes or styles of Mr Hobby instead of the Iwata...

You're Mac II squad is looking great! 

[Big s]

On 3/3/2023 at 3:50 PM, derex3592 said:

So much cool Macross stuff!! I can contribute too! Just landed yesterday on my porch! Also picked up my 1st GSI Creos Mr Hobby airbrush. Went with a. 2 for fine detail work. New but no packeging from Sprayguner - Like $85 shipped! Can't wait to try it out! 

Can’t wait to get mine. Probably gonna be a good while. We can’t even get mail up here in Crestline at the moment and we barely had the road here plowed. Although I think we may have been better off just shoveling the road ourselves since they packed a burm about ten feet of snow wide up against the side of our cars and it’s almost as tall as a person. Lots of digging to go before anything gets delivered.

still waiting on a few kits and my Super 7 GI Joe figures too 

[Bolt]

Just a quick check in. Made a little more progress on the Super Lancer. Some of these older water slides are showing their age and pissing me off. It's ok though. A few key elements to tackle, and we'll be getting close to deployment.

Thanks for zooming by.! See you Spacy Cowboys next Deculture 💫

[pengbuzz]

17 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Just a quick check in. Made a little more progress on the Super Lancer. Some of these older water slides are showing their age and pissing me off. It's ok though. A few key elements to tackle, and we'll be getting close to deployment.

Thanks for zooming by.! See you Spacy Cowboys next Deculture 💫

Bolt,

With the older waterslides, use plenty of water and a "wetting agent" (windex, although I'll often use a tiny bit of micro-sol) twhen applyign then to make moving them and sliding them into position easier. Since they can be fragile, the less resistance on the surface, the better. I'll also use the very tip of an xacto knife to move them so they run less risk of adhering in place on the surface of the model until I can position them, then use a cotton swab to "press" them in place when they are where they need to be.

I don't know if the technique will work as well for you, so give it a try with a non-critical marking first and see how it goes for you!

'Til next Decultured Yogurt!!!

[Bolt]

9 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

Bolt,

With the older waterslides, use plenty of water and a "wetting agent" (windex, although I'll often use a tiny bit of micro-sol) twhen applyign then to make moving them and sliding them into position easier. Since they can be fragile, the less resistance on the surface, the better. I'll also use the very tip of an xacto knife to move them so they run less risk of adhering in place on the surface of the model until I can position them, then use a cotton swab to "press" them in place when they are where they need to be.

I don't know if the technique will work as well for you, so give it a try with a non-critical marking first and see how it goes for you!

'Til next Decultured Yogurt!!!

Thanks for the input Peng👍🏼 I'm mostly doing all of that. And It's mostly going ok, but it's still quite challenging, and requiring of extreme patience. 

[pengbuzz]

4 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Thanks for the input Peng👍🏼 I'm mostly doing all of that. And It's mostly going ok, but it's still quite challenging, and requiring of extreme patience. 

Understood; try option B: threaten them.

[Thom]

Your super lancer is looking fantastic! And I;m not zooming by, I'm zooming in to see more of that pin-up!😍

[wm cheng]

Nice work @Bolt - do I see magnets on that gunpod?  Did you put magnets on all your Lightning hardpoints?  What size are they and where did you get them?  Was it hard to do?

[Bolt]

1 hour ago, wm cheng said:

Nice work @Bolt - do I see magnets on that gunpod?  Did you put magnets on all your Lightning hardpoints?  What size are they and where did you get them?  Was it hard to do?

Hey thanks @wm cheng ! In that image you are not seeing magnets. But rather custom spacers i slipped onto the bandai pylon pegs. I eventually cut those off so as to snug up the pylons and make it look right. 
 I did decide to do magnets, (that's funny you ask) after the last load out swap, as I suddenly wasn't certain i liked the rearrangement. This will contribute to the eventual diorama, wherein the handling and fastening of ordinance by deck crew will be featured. 
Applying magnets are very easy. I started using them on my Warhammer 40k builds for the same purpose (load out swap). I purchased several different sizes on eBay. They are quite small (like tiny coins) and perfect for this application. I will post some pics later tonight. 
Cheers

[Bolt]

So here's a picture of the magnetized ordinance selection. And another picture for an idea of scale . They come in a variety of sizes, of course. I believe these are 3mm diameter and 1mm thick. 

I simply glued the magnets to the underside of the VF-4 in the appropriate locations. But ideally i would have slightly drilled the location points the appropriate diameter. The  magnets on the VF would then be flush (or close enough) . That really keeps them in place and they rarely pop off, once they're recessed., and it looks better.  I also would've done all this before painting. But I was asleep at the wheel.. 

[arbit]

Claudia and Misa are on lunch break. The boys are on their way to to see if Vanessa, Kim and Shammy need any help on the bridge.

[Gabe Q]

@arbit You just keep getting better and better! Those figures look great! They're getting more natural looking in their poses and you're absolutely nailing the likenesses! 

[Bolt]

3 hours ago, arbit said:

Claudia and Misa are on lunch break. The boys are on their way to to see if Vanessa, Kim and Shammy need any help on the bridge.

They look awesome 

[arbit]

3 hours ago, Gabe Q said:

@arbit You just keep getting better and better! Those figures look great! They're getting more natural looking in their poses and you're absolutely nailing the likenesses! 

Thanks Gabe.  But I have no aspirations for perfect figures🤣  Just fun stuff for our dioramas.

[MechTech]

Hey everybody! First off, my apologies for not being on the boards more. More of my hobby time has been spent with family as I try to keep things balanced.

Second, my apologies for not replying to EVERYONE'S GREAT WORK! I missed several pages of updates and A LOT of GREAT work! I'm glad to see everyone is keeping at building.

Third, my apologies AGAIN for all the photos I'm posting. I didn't realize how far behind things got. I'll try to keep up with everyone's work better.

Nearly done with the Oto Melara 76mm gun mounts. I FINALLY got Brass Black to finish bras pieces off with a nice finish. Like gun buing, it's just an acid that turns the metal black and preserves it. No paint scratches either! I believe these represent the recoil spring housings on the real thing.

 

Good ole' Gundam markers to the rescue! They were used to color what I believe is the gasket that seals the turret housing from the gun mantlet. It was also great for highlighting the etched doors on the back and handles. The housings will get another coat of paint.

The gun mounts sit on a riser that is covered with an angled shield. Various navies use various covers. This design was the consensus of them all.  If you remember, these are the base that were done last year (wow, last year!). I then took a old piece of stainless tube, about hypodermic needle sized and "punched" it into the plastic to simulate fasteners. They came out better than expected.

Next I used thinned CA with acetone to get into tight areas with a cut sewing needle.

NEW FINISHING IDEA! BEFORE building these turrets, I struggled with what to use to cover or coat the mantlets (the cylinders the guns go into). They will rub with the housing so paint is out of the answer. I prayed and was like, "Lord, what the heck can I use?" Then I was reminded about graphite lube. So the undercoat is flat black and then coated with a rub of graphite. Then its burnishd over. The color was perfect and stands the friction (after all, it's a lube!). Just don't use it where your fingers will touch it. The fingerprints start to show up in the finish. Mine need another coat before I glue them together.

One of the hardest parts was these dumb little rings! I tried gluing them and that failed miserably! So I had to solder these tiny pieces (smaller than a pinhead) to the barrels. Gundam marker to the rescue again! It coated these nicely and left no shine like a Sharpie marker.

The mounting rings got some paint, weathering, and a flat coat. Needed some scraping to keep tings turning smooth, but they're done!

Another TINY but LARGE pain to create were the water cooling pipes and grounding strap that go on either side of the barrels. The real gun actually has a water cooling jacket that the water flows through like a hose at the very end. After messing with a lot of materials, TINY insulating tubing stripped off micro-electronic wire waste worked out great! These are the pieces for each gun compared to a sewing needle for size. They were CAREFULLY glued in place with CA.

The pieces all glued in place... (note the discoloration on the mantlet that needs touch up).

And with the top test-fit in place...

I'm hoping to finish these this weekend. I'm short on time so sorry for any typos. Thanks for checking in! - MT

[Bolt]

Most excellent work @MechTech , very impressive 

[Thom]

Nice @MechTech. That Brass Black should work good on scale anchor chains too!

 

[arbit]

Hikaru's taking Misa out for a joy ride, to make up for the VT-1 Fan Racer incident.  Misa wont forget so easily.

Edited March 12, 2023 by arbit

[Thom]

25 minutes ago, arbit said:

Hikaru's taking Misa out for a joy ride, to make up for the VT-1 Fan Racer incident.  Misa wont forget so easily.

That's why we love her so much!

[Bolt]

1 hour ago, arbit said:

Hikaru's taking Misa out for a joy ride, to make up for the VT-1 Fan Racer incident.  Misa wont forget so easily.

I really love Hikaru's pose. I can imagine Misa with her arms folded. Lol. 

[MechTech]

@Bolt @Thom Thank you,both! Nearly completed them this weekend.

@arbit Your sculpts are looking awesome!!! Funny comments! - MT

[electric indigo]

Meanwhile, on your six...

[arbit]

I never dreamed...