MechTech

Thank you guys! The box CLEARLY says not to eat it or pour hot water into it. Can't say I wasn't tempted though!😁 @pengbuzz Yes, the cleaner will strip acrylics (Tamiya very quickly). Spray can may take longer. You may need to agitate it a bit too with an old toothbrush or something. A few pages back I mentioned having to use it on my gun turrets. The spray paint was horribly rough and orange peeled. I didn't trust anything else because of how thin the plastic was. It took about a couple of hours. After stripping the paint, there will be a weird greasy film on the plastic. Common dish soap will remove it. Didn't harm the super glued joints either! - MT

@electric indigo That Hornet is looking great! @pengbuzz Three models from one!? "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" I gotta see this one! @Mog Interesting choice of droid, with option parts too! @Bobby Your painting revamp looks REALLY clean! Congrats! If you do it again, try "LA's Totally Awesome" cleaner from the dollar store. Won't harm your plastic, and just needs a bath of soap and water afterward. Works great! @derex3592 You got some busy shipyards! Your work is REALLY looking good! OK, wanna hear something funny? This month's model club contest theme was "Open Mouth, Insert Paint - any subject with a larger than normal intake, A-7 Corsair, F-8 Crusader, etc..." At the beginning of the year I thought about this year's themes, and what to bring. Jesus reminded me of the Cup Noodle model for this month. I thought it was funny, but went for it anyhow. I brought the model in and said, "It's got a mouth, definitely has paint in it, and it has an intake (for water). I'm saying it's in the "Etc" part of the theme. The guys laughed and we joked around about it. I said it;s the first time I shaded shrimp! I mentioned finding some chop sticks to go with it. Somebody said, "Those are aftermarket parts" to which I laughed and agreed. It was funny! And the REAL punchline, I won the contest for this month!🤣 It was all just TOO funny! Full disclosure, there were only two other models in this month's category, so it wasn't all that great! The Bandai model is great! AWESOME parts fit for the complicated pieces too! Look closely, the letters are all pieces that snap in. I forgot to photograph the back, but it was filled in with furniture crayon and permanent markers. I left the stickers (yeah, stickers, no decals) alone. The leek pieces had to be shaded too with a lighter green. The solid green looked way too fake. I left it on the living room coffee table, my son kept wanting to throw it away thinking its an empty cup! Get some hot water and enjoy! Oh, and the box AND instructions warn not to it eat or pour hot water into it! - MT

That's cool! Although in a real-world situation, the bad guys would have taken down the carrier truck in a few seconds😁

@Bolt @Thom Thank you,both! Nearly completed them this weekend. @arbit Your sculpts are looking awesome!!! Funny comments! - MT

Thanks for posting all the photos guys! I'm having some serious flash backs😁 I think those "flyers" are shipping box inserts. They're not color, but help identify stock. - MT

WOW! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME looking! I look forward to seeing the completed model! - MT

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

That is totally cool! Thanks for posting that! He's even got the chute with ammo in it. All he needs is a pair of choptsicks to go with it (the drive through scene). - MT

@derex3592 The next step is to ask your wife if she wants to go to the "Submarine races." No, you can't see them. It's an OLD attempt as a make out trick🤣 @Thom Those mods and details are looking great! Your effort is definitely going to make that an awesome build. - MT

That's cool!!! - MT

WOW! LOTS of cool builds going on! I've been too busy to post lately. Just to highlight: @arbitAWESOME sculpts and the painted bridge crew NEVER disappoints! The new sculpts look great to include the Capn's pipe in hand! @bzwacks Welcome aboard! AWESOME sculpt and rendering of the SDF-1! Are you doing that in ABS? If so, Acetone is an awesome and cheap cement for it - you're gonna need a lot! - MT

Cool! Thanks for the updates! - MT

Thank you guys! @BoltYour mecha collection and finishes are very diverse! Your diorama is getting there bit by bit too. @Gabe QThank you! I'm humbled and honored. Yes, I HATE masking. I always seem to have issues. @Thom Your mods are looking great! Nice details. Got some painting done this weekend, but I'll post photos when it's all finished. - MT

Hang in there @pengbuzz ! REAL ship building projects encounter the same issues too. I'm sure things will work out. - MT

WOW! I miss getting online for a few days and there's two pages of stuff to go through! I ran out of "likes" going through the photos! Just some quick comments, though everyone's work is looking great and is encouraging! @Urashiman Your models are looking great and so is all that paint work you're doing! @arbit Thank you for sharing all your work on the figures! They are looking awesome as always! Which Myria pose? I don't know! The one with her and the baby are very different from what you might normally see. @pengbuzz I'm sorry one of your Tomcats didn't make it back to the carrier! The rest of the work you did is superb and the details are awesome! I hope you come across that lost Tomcat soon! You need to launch a search another rescue mission! @Bolt Your modifications and revised paint schemes are cool and look great! @wm cheng Absolutely AWESOME photos of your models! I may have to try out your methods. Photographing models and even tiny parts is tough with such short focal lengths. @derex3592 Your aztec decals and paint are looking good. Those details help build its scale up and add realism. @SpacePirateNeko I remember building that Star Wars ship MANY years ago! It's a good platform for detailing and highlighting paint. Quick updates on the Oto Melara Cannon. The mantels and gun bases have been painted. The mantlets need some cleanup. This is NOT an easy masking job. Paint crackle looks cool on antiques, BAD on your models! The top paint coat reacted badly with the base. Used the "LA's Totally Awesome" cleaner to strip the paint down to the plastic and repaint it with only one color. The barrels and muzzle brakes were colored with acids to make them more durable vs using paint. That's it for now. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

@Rock What country are you in? You may still be able to get your workbench with other options. - MT

Looks like they're pulling a Hasegawa! Milk the molds with another scheme - cool idea though! Thanks for sharing! - MT

@pengbuzz I'm sorry to hear about you losing parts. It's frustrating sometimes working in small scales just for that reason. One sneeze and bu-bye! @SpacePirateNeko I think your weathering is perfect. Considering the SDF-1's crew was always flying sorties and always being attacked, who's got time for the wash rack!? That's a great finish! @derex3592 The glass files are awesome! Also for doing clear parts. No more buffing out sprue marks in canopies. Those files do it for you! - MT

@pengbuzz That Victory is beautiful! I love the stand with the fancy paint and text too! @arbit Your pilots look fantastic! Thank you for making them available to everyone too! I'll have to download them some day to hopefully print some day! - MT

@Bolt Your detailing is looking great! Especially the cockpit painting. I'm glad you're above the flood plane. It was crazy in CA! @pengbuzz Your carrier looks AWESOME! About mid-way down the photos I can't help but seeing the swirling space-time rift as in the movie, "The Final Countdown"! Going with people on the deck will add that much more insane detail to your build! @arbit A great sculpt as always! I would say an arguing pose for any female involves both hands up in the air with a "What's the matter with you." 🤣 A short update on the 1/72 Oto Melara Cannon. It's nearly done!!! One of the last details is the ejection port and cover mechanism to keep water out, but allow shell casings to be ejected as it fires. There's few good photos with it in it, so I had to do some educated guessing. First, I machined some tiny "C" channel. I had to manually hold down the channel each pass because the tape wasn't strong enough. It's like playing dodge ball with a machete. Then the pieces were cut out with a razor blade. The ejector chute from the last post had a hole drilled in it because the real one has one for some reason. Then the parts were all glued together with other tiny tid-bits cut from rod and square rod. The actual port covers, which are usually metallic colored, were cut on the lathe. I believe its the recoil spring assembly that is over the barrel. It took me several tries to make one out of brass. Drilling the holes for it to fit into and tinier holes on either side of the barrels was lots-o-fun! And a quick cote of paint to check for scratches and other flaws. There's still more work and detailing to be done. Thank you for checking in everyone! - MT

@pengbuzz Putting it on wavy water AND having a Tomcat launch really ads a dynamic pose to your model. That steam looks very realistic! - MT

@neptunesurvey1 Glad to see you back and thank you! The Clam Ship and the Promethius are looking awesome! These would be awesome kits too. Looks like your Clam Ship has a SERIOUS case of crabs!🤣 There must be at least 100 in that bag. The details look great on them too for that scale especially. @derex3592 NOT painting over your pre-shading is tough! Looks like you're doing alright so far. @SpacePirateNeko Your painting details are looking great! Having the leg panel open adds depth to the build. - MT

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Let's hope this year improves over the last couple! @pengbuzz Your pilots and cockpits look great! Nice details on them. I hate painting 1/72 scale figures because of how tough they are. The physics of brush and paint at that size lead to less flow and coverage to be nicely thinned-out. Your 1/700 aircraft look FANTASTIC!!! I've seen lesser at shows. You should be proud (in a humble way)😁 @Thom That IS a beast! @Bolt The weathering is taking form on your VF-4! And Happy New Year to you too, nice graphic! @derex3592 Congrats and that is a great idea! I remember years ago reading about a guy in Florida doing that. I remember how bad the humidity got in Texas too. Even the metal gutters were dripping on the OUTSIDE as the humidity condensed on it. Sorry for all the photos on the Oto Melara 76mm / 62 cal gun. I haven't had time to download and update this thread with them. I wasted most of a day trying to machine brass (for durability) making handles to go on the doors. That failed, so I went with square styrene rod, a tiny drill and micro brass rod. Here's the handles... The steps needed to have a brace "welded" into them. I punched tiny styrene holes and cut the edges off the cut-offs to make these. And the back-sides of the turrets minus the ladders that will be painted in another color and added when finished. Note the vents at the top made from channel and a cap on one end. Then I wasted another day (and some brass) trying to machine the chutes for the front of the guns. The gun expels the shell casing so far, that a chute is used to direct them down onto the deck. Brass didn't work and neither did other ideas. So I got some styrene channel and bent it over a brass tube with micro clothes pins. Then they were dipped in boiling water for just a few seconds, and rapidly cooled with cold water. Too long and the channels collapsed. Ask me how I know... This keeps the shape of the styrene just like it was factory molded that way. Then the channels were shaped on double-sided tape together to keep them aligned for mass-production. Then tiny "brackets" were cut from channel and glued over the chutes. And a chute shown under the barrel. The gun and drawing are identical sizes, but the gun is higher making it look distordedly larger in this photo. The next step was to re-create the gaskets between the gun mantel and the gun casing. I wasted another day and plastic by: 1) Taking channel and cutting it long wise. 2) The cut pieces were all placed on the mill with double-sided tape and milled to make them the same height on one specific side. This created the "step" of the gasket and its base. 3) Gluing the pieces in place with regular cement, citrus based cement or superglue all made this stock split and break in areas of stress like the curves above or below the guns travel area. How frustrating! This was even after carefully pre-bending parts to fit in. It wasn't as detailed, but I went with square rod that was easier to work with. It still split in some areas, but not as bad - and that was with pre-bending it once again. Superglue was the messiest, but least stressful of the glues on attaching the styrene. What am I talking about? Doing this: And the turrets all gasketed-up! That's it for now. Thank you for checking in everyone. If there's a theme in my work so far - don't give up! Hang in there and find another way to do it. - MT

@Rock Your Tomcat is beautifully weathered and detailed! I like that they even have one of the TARPS recon pod cameras detailed (we have one at the local museum). Congrats on achieving your goals too. @pengbuzz It's too bad they wouldn't fit in with the legs. Who engineers these things? Gotta have leg space! @arbit ANOTHER great sculpt! Maybe 2023 we'll have a "family" printer for "teaching" the children new technology and techniques.😉😁 - MT

Welcome @ElliotGrimes ! You're in the right thread. Just about every build is here other than specific Macross models. Your Macross prints look great! - MT