MechTech

UPDATE 24 November 08 COMPLETED the gantry crane, would have painted it too except for the 40 knot winds The Gizmoszone gear motors are SOoo cool, I just glued a micro spool on one end and stuck it on the traversing carriage. The carriage AND crane are both fed by a paper thin ribbon cables, the crane's is 4mm wide and the carriage ribbon is about 2mm wide which goes into the red connector. I stopped building hidden rails like on the top overhead crane due to build up of oxidation on the rail. This way nothing can oxidize except the exposed metal and oil should stop that. I'm building this to last. Soldering onto the ribbon cables took hours until I figured out a system. The exposed hair thin segments were more delicate than you'd think. Just bending them broke them! All in the name of a better looking build! Another part I was waiting to sink my "teeth" into, the details under the internal ramp and the ramp itself. This took some engineering. The ramp GOES UP AND DOWN with the main ramp extending or retracting so it had to move up and down about 1cm. I bet everyone recognizes the green piece. It's alright, the rest of the model is gone Sorry about the poor photo quality. The camera warps stuff up close! The ramp is perfectly straight and the lines are all geometrical - pictures can lie after all! In the line art there are even trucks parked underneath! I thought it was an efficient use of space so... Ramp NOT permanently secured, top piece overlaps ramp gear and moves up and down according to main ramp position. A "full size" truck to scale (bad airline food not included ) The truck will be modified to load Phalanx missiles. NOTHING completed is glued in place yet. Painting will be required first. Nearly done with the front half internal details. Mostly small stuff now - well, really small stuff - MT

Thanks PetarB! I think your project will go great! If Misa is any indication, you will sell a lot and make a lot of fans here happy. I build mostly 1/200, but I'll probably take a set too! John's helo will need some pilots! - MT

Just let us know when you want payment by. I may have to wait a couple of weeks. The postal service lost my first Gizmoszone order (micro gearcases) and then they just came in over a month later! They'll have to re-charge me. - MT

Big F, I talked to a local engraver about it. He was sick of doing plaques and thought it would be cool to do this. He was amazed that his laser could that stuff. The bad news is he's retiring soon! I have to get the control box laid out and engraved before he goes! I got a second shipment from Gizmoszone. I love those motors (will be in my next post) Order EMS and they are here in about 5 days - faster than HLJ! - MT

Thanks Chas,that is cool! - MT

Ah hah! Just get the micro mark (or other brand) set with proper silicone mold compound. Your resin not being shiny may mean it's bad and not generating enough heat during the cure process. - MT

Thanks L-V! I have seen the website you spoke of and seen most of those ships. It reminds me I'm still sane . Your project will need a full sized rowboat for a hull (I've seen it done). I believe the elevators fold up too to seal off the side hatches (like the old carriers). I'll be doing something similar, more linear drives to build! At least I'm getting good at it . The drive will lift the elevator and when going down, will fold it up when it goes past a certain point. UPDATE 11 NOVEMBER 2008 And on this day all allied countries are remembering our war dead and and those still alive protecting our freedom! That's what the address is in my Avatar. Here in the UK a lot of people wear poppies or "Poppy Appeal" to "remember, remember, the 11th of November on the 11th hour of the 11th day and the 11th minute." Poppies strung the battlefield of the French countryside. Poppy appeal is a charity for veterans and a big part of British culture (for those of you across the ocean or "pond"). I'm at the cross roads of building a ship and a diorama right now. I FINALLY got to get parts cut and glued together I wanted to do for the past four years. getting other stuff done to ensure these fit correctly came first. Last week they were cut and the last couple of weeks assembled and fitted. Raw laser cut components for the interior Here are the walls and control cabin assembled. The cabin still needs interior details and windows. Here's the assembled outcrop and shown in place (various views). I still have to add details to it too. Note the angle on the right hand side going up. That accommodates the ramp angle and keeps the outcrop wall flush with the ramp. The detailed walls and outcrop are in this line art, walls on the left and outcrop on the lower right. No I couldn't leave well enough alone! I got my new motors from Gizmoszone in. They're awesome and only 6mm in diameter! They are so small I had to get a special close-up lens for this shot. They run smooth and quiet, I recommend these guys to anyone. Their address is in my signature block below. So I installed one and made my crane even more realistic and shrunk the gearing on it too. Here's the ramp installed and folded in the "water tight" position - yeah right it's water tight I also cleaned up the corner area with a styrene block smoothed into position, it's dirty from my bench I have a lot of little detail work to do, but most of the components are done of you look at the line art. I can't install the walls until I begin painting. It will be a tight squeeze. The top floor is only three inches high or so. That's it for now. - MT

I'm guessing the matt is from the talc. The resin should not sweat unless it's condensation you're talking about. Bad resin will leach out from cured parts. If that's the case, you have an old or bad batch! I can't vouch for anyone other than Micro Mark. It's just easy to order my tools and resin from one source. Without talc your parts should be shiny as the master part. Minor bubbles are normal inside parts. I'm thinking your resin is bad if it is leaching liquid out after curing. - MT

Absolutely top notch work John! I'll have to build it, put it on my desk and see how many people ask about the design Getting money ready... - MT

Awesome job Ron! I'd be afraid to touch it, it looks so clean! - MT

First off, DON'T GIVE UP! You do have a problem like TSP said. Moisture or expired hardener cause similar results. 1) If your hardener has been opened for a while, it could be expired. Later stages of hardener expiration are like expiring food. Color darkeners and solids begin to form in the bottom. Remember, it should be clear and only slightly tinted when new. 2) Excess humidity will cause the resin to bubble. If your resin cured fine outside of the mold in the same enviroment, it's your mold. You can let the mold sit in the oven on low for a while to chase out the moisture - if the mold is silicone. 3) You may simply have a bad batch, it does happen! Micromark (in my signature block) also sells molding supplies too. Out of all the stuff I've bought from them (A LOT), I have got one bad batch before, I just used it for filler and glue . They are responsive to customers too. Be tenacious and don't give up, the shiny white part you'll hold in your hand is worth it! - MT

Thanks guys for the compliments! Big F, get off your bum, it's been about three years man ! On the Yamato size issue, I'm seeing two different heights for Valks in batteloid mode - still researching it! Lord Valkyrie, welcome to MW. Here's what pictures I still have: Winch_Moving.MPG Basically I took an "I" beam and lined the indents of the "I" with copper tape. The part that hooks/slides on the I beam has contacts for a tiny planetary gear drive motor. I've found smaller ones since then (see my signature block under Gizmoszone). Don't hesitate to ask for help on your project. I've had to work through a lot of engineering issues. One of the next things I have to do are the side elevators - like on a carrier. - MT

What everyone else said and if they are yellowed, hang them out in direct sunlight to bleach them. I use Microscale to coat toner printed decals, just brush it on smoothly, it'll level out. It's great stuff and my bottle is as old as Macross too! And shame on another MW'er for not caring for their collection - MT

The details really add more realism Zombie - keep up the great work! On another note, I didn't take pictures, but I converted a Tinker Bell figure for my daughter (hey, it's a Bandai action figure!) My daughter has a nose for details like me. The figure had a puffy shiffon skirt in a addition to her regular skirt - not canon! She knows I do tiny models so she came to me and said "this doesn't belong, can you remove it!" So Tinker Bell WAS on my workbench . I'll have more Daedalus updates later. - MT

She's coming along great! The cockpit and all the other details are great looking. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was a real design. - MT

Looks good to me! The rotors came out much better than the line art or or anime; they're more probable and 1980's-ish. - MT

Just try mixing a small amount and putting it in a cap - no enviromental changes from what you've been doing. That's the test. Lot's o bubbles and I bet it's the resin. Cool temperatures only delay or retard resin cure times. Your's sounds like the hardener is out of control. Some people store their resin in the fridge! Didn't work for me though. Shelf life varies, but should average at least a month on the fresh side after being opened. After that it still works, but has various affects. If you check out those nice sheets attached earlier on in this post, you'll note how things look compared to your product. You may have a bad batch, it happens! - MT

If it's not curing right, you're mixture is off or if you're using 1 to 1 stuff, it's defective. High humidity can effect it too. You should not need any mold release agent either. Most resins have their own. If you're still using Vaseline, you can stop. It's only needed for mold manufacture. The fact that the color helps says it's a possible mixture or quality control issue. Try mixing a small amount and sticking it in a bottle cap or something like it. See how it sets up. It should not bubble hard; in fact it should cure smooth on top with maybe a couple of TINY air bubbles. Just from what I can see it's not setting right, but that's just going by a photo. Hope that helps. - MT

I can help you a little, but I'm not sure to the extent of your question. I started out hating to build car kits for this reason (the plating). 1) Carefully sand the seams to remove the coating. 2) If you use superglue anywhere, clean all the surfaces thoroughly. Test the sprues first. Isopropyl alcohol may be safe, but usually strips the coloring off of chrome plating. Like simulated gold plating is just yellow over chrome plating (think Gundam kits). Chrome picks up superglue fingerprints superbly! 3) You can pretty well cover up seams with a like colored metalic marker. They're not a 100%, but neither is the idea of chrome plating an entire model! 4) And yes if you hate the plating, one guy soaked his in Coke. I know Coke is great for cleaning bumpers (phosphoric acid content in most runs of Coke is high). 4) Don't buy special coated models (I don't for all these reasons). - MT

Just when I thought I'd seen it all. I've actually had some good canned bread, but not with anime labels on it! I'm going to go put anime artwork on my canned beans so I can enjoy them more; or just sell them to MW members - MT

Looks as scary as the real thing ! - MT

First off, thanks Neptunesurvey for the update! I went back to order some Spartans originally listed, now they're gone - no trace or out of stock symbol !? Graham, thank you for the heads up too! I actually bought a set and was disappointed to find this out: The VF should be about 14.5 meters high, and the Destroid about 11.5 meters high. The Yamatos are roughly around 1/220 or more, too small. I was really bummed and thought I could save some work! Oh well, I've had to build everything else so far... UPDATE 30 OCTOBER 2008 I started work on the second fully functional crane on the ship. This one is a gantry crane. Shown are the drive parts for the long linear drive in the deck. Note in the last picture the motor changed. The gear case I scratch built worked great, but the pitch of the gears made it a little too loud so I swapped it out and made a new unit with spring loaded clutch. It looks ugly now, but will be covered up. The gantry crane is the yellow piece in the line art halfway down the page HERE Here's the gantry ends with bearings and clutch parts, really "high tech" friction clutch. Changed a little now. The part I'm REALLY happy with, a micro gearbox. This is a HIGHLY modified gear case (thinned, cut out) with new gears (two heavily modified) and a worm drive. It's not as quiet as hoped for, but it's TINY and works great! And the gantry crane frame. The whole crane has working X, Y and Z travels. You will actually be able to pick up a destroid (or the remains from a meat wagon) and move it around. The gantry and winch will be fed by a paper thin ribbon cable folding over like you see in scanners or printers. All of this is why three years later I'm not done yet! But I'm having fun. That's it for now. - MT

I squash mold all the time. The secret is not to press too hard. Just like picking up a pencil for the first time; there's going to be mistakes and a learning curve. If the part will be pretty thick in shape, it's best to go two part due to air bubbles. Squash molding is really only good for shallow stuff due to how easy air guts trapped in. Extra resin usually will flow the air out in a shallow mold. For the record, Vaseline brushed on really thin is my choice. - MT

Looks great! Hopefully the paint job matches the build quality! - MT

You gotta say that's mech-tactucular! I always did like that kit! - MT