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Hmmm... I thought it already opens, at least on the Storm Attacker version. And here is my final video of the motorized valk. I'm giving you guys the unedited version. Shorter cut is in my Model Kits thread.

Thanks. Having WM Cheng's guides helps move things along. I tried to bring lots of ideas from different modelers, and a touch of my own ideas for a change.

Thanks kajnrig, I worry about putting everything together with all the wiring and tight spaces. But the arm itself is very strong. That metal tube is not only for show, it runs all the way through. Actually I weighed the valk because it felt so heavy, but it only weighs 100 grams even with all the stuff inside.

Got the decals on, and then tried my first post shade to muck up the base and arm. Wont be trying that on the valk though...

Off the painting workbench, moving to the electronics bench.

I was hoping for a VT-1 next, but with the HM-R versions of the VE and VT not flying off the shelves, I am worried it wont happen.

My suggestion is you paint a few of your Gundams for practice first. Much easier than a Hasegawa Valk.

And she's up!

Preparing the electronics in the base, and threading the wires one by one. That is two Trinkets, one for the lights and sounds, and one dedicated to the motor. There is a motor driver IC, an amp, a speaker, two LiPo's and LiPo chargers, and an SD card. If you replace the Trinkets with Arduino Micros, this whole set up costs less than USD 20, with most of the cost going to the batteries. Most importantly, anyone, and I mean anyone, can manage the Arduino. So let me know if you are interested.

Looking forward to see how you paint that LED Gundam. And Nadesico? I too kind of want that.

MLP rocks. Cant mess with that. My girls would kill me.

Google search tells me you have April Fools in New Zealand.

I've decided its time to quit Macross modeling and switch over to Transformers, because Jetfire is cooler.

You recommended PMMA fiber a few years back. That's all I use. Give it a go. But I did't see it working, so I didn't try it with this project.

Here's a project concept for you. Rising platform, opening wings, rotating platform, rising catapult, and engine burn. Flying optional...

Here is my approach, I learned it the hard way: Use desk magnifier. Never touch the iron to the SMT. Clamp the SMT with a bench vise gently, BUT clamp only on the plastic side, not on the pads, or they will be damaged. I use rosen core and put a blob on the end of my wire by heating 5mm away from the end. Bend the wire to prep final position. Apply heat ONLY to the blob of solder really quick and you usually get a good connection. I destroyed many SMTs at first, but since then I have been all good.

Cool. But remember, fiber wont work with movement.

He also says, "One case that I can think of where you can use a resistor powering several diodes would be if the maximum current going through the resistor is small enough that a single diode can work with full current. This way the diode won't die..." Which is what I have done. So I think the wings will melt before the led goes out .

That would be optimal, I always have resistors for each led, but in this case, there would be no space for the wing gears. So it is an either/or situation: Wing lights or motor. There is no space for 6 wires out of each wing, there wasn't even space for one resistor inside the valk. I wont be redoing the wings now, but I have broken their lighting out so I can have them on with a momentary switch only. I can always go back and change the wings when I get a beater set. Actually for the next project, I just ordered SMT resistors to save space. We need a wiring plan for the wings that minimizes wires AND heat AND resistor space, and still works on 5v. (I suppose we could also use a 9v outside the Arduino control. Are 1/8w different? I always use 1/4w. Can a series circuit handle different leds with one resistor?

Lookin good. Try to tone down the panel lines. How hard was it to swap the wings?

Faaaar better than the box art.

Sweet Kairos. Im not into the F1 colored valks, but I love that one.

The 1000ohm resistor is outside the valk. The wing is getting power from the 5V Out of the arduino powered by 3.7v-4.5v lipo. Why am i using 5V Out and not the GPIO pins, because the MaH from the arduino pins is not enough to power the 3x parallel leds with 1000ohm resistor. But I suspect I have a short in there.

Some stuff I have learned about Arduino on this build: - The reversing motor sketch, micro limit switches, and motor driver IC are very reliable. Any bugs I had were user error. - The Trinket has a couple high-powered PWM especially for servos, and the rest are normal PWM pins. I have been using the low powered ones which led to problems sometimes. - I learned the "Repeat" code which is great for blinking lights at high speed without coding "On-Off" a thousand times. - I also learned how to code Functions, which make complex blinking patterns for multiple leds/neopixels, and then you can call on the Function and "Repeat" the entire thing. - Also learned how to break down the Neopixel Library Strandtest into its component parts, so I can use only the parts I want, such as Colorwipe, Rainbow, or Theater Chase. Anyone wants details, let me know. @Mechtech, I am sure I can code your Wave Motion Gun Pulsar Cannon effect now.

That's the warped wing. Not too worried about it, but...