MechTech

You're right Derex. I'm just mostly military stuff, so not much gloss coating going on. Your paint is looking great! By the way, it looks like you got a great Christmas ornament going on there. It's just the right size. I wonder what the inhabitants of the Death Star think of the giant furry creatures waiting to bat them around the "galaxy." Thank you Convectuoso and Derex! I thought of cheating and just making it a flap, but realized how much other detail is on the turret. It would look unfinished. - MT

Chas has a great idea! There's been a few. Try not to get overwhelmed by this person: https://dorobou.blog.ss-blog.jp/archive/c2305690677-1 It's not the same model kit, but he's got GREAT work and ideas: I hope that helps you out. - MT

Your work is looking awesome Aztek! I'm with Sqidd, I'm going to have to buy this if my budget allows (then a 3D printer) and then buy stocks in a paint company! Your parts engineering is looking great too! I've attached a simple ratchet joint from a Monster I did if you're interested. The breakout shows the parts and the other photo shows it partially assembled so you can see the function. Friction joints with something this big and heavy may be an issue. - MT

Thank you very much guys! Thom - I didn't post the photo, but the secret to the ejection port cover was to cut/carve it from the end of very thick sprue. The sprue was almost 1/4" thick from an Airfix ship kit. Don't throw away stuff you know you can use. The sprue stayed in my lathe chuck until it was finally cut off. Otherwise, yes, flying all over the shop! That is the backside of masking tape you see keeping it "tied down" to the bench. Derex - I agree and know what you're talking about! I had the Nichimo Yamato in 1/200 scale. It is ABS so after a little work, I sold it. I had all the gun barrels for it and about two, roughly 11 x 17 PE sheets. It was insane! The kit is older so there were a lot of PE "fixes" for it. PE IS a pain! Arbit - I have to agree with you. I have made ONE model my whole life in gloss coat! It was my 1/200 Fan jet. The decals were line thin lines and the gloss paint took like a week to cure. I painted a test piece and kept checking it. Everyday I got home from work, I was like, "Are you kidding me, still not dry!?" Tamiya flats all the way! I polish the areas the decals go and then clear/flat coat them. -MT

"So MechTech, what did you do this weekend?" Most of my weekend was spent on this tiny part. Third time's a charm. A 10X magnifier was a big help too. That's a #11 X-Acto knife blade and tweezers in the photo. Though it looks like some kind of leaf or alien symbol, it goes here: It's the ejection port for the 5" shell casings. Then there were some small details for the turret mechanisms under the rear and lug points for handling the turret on a crane. And a quick shot of it sitting loose where it will go on the weather deck. And now it's turret time! The laser turret as part of the CIWS network. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

Brett - It's time WELL spent! Great weathering and finish even at this point.- MT

Thanks for posting that NZEOD! Where did that come from? That is a TOTALLY AWESOME build!!! - MT

That looks great Convectuoso! Now you guys got me thinking about getting these - MT

That flight deck scene is awesome! It's like a 3D version of the anime! The colors and shadows/shading are spot on, I'd say. - MT

That's cool Chas! Great idea for a base. If you have white decal paper, that would look great. You just need a white backdrop for it. You might be able to get a third stand on that base. Fill it with sand or something? - MT

"This is what the JJPrise should have looked like!" I agree! Dobber - I'm dating myself for sure now, "But is it live or is it Memorex?" For you youngins, see the video. Is it the movie model or a copy - "I'll never tell!!" AWESOME WORK!!!! - MT

Thanks! Yeah, I saw those on MicroMark for about $300+ just for the toner cartridge! Too bad... - MT

Chas - That's looking great! It's weird just how small they are supposed to be. Pengbuzz - Great job on the model! The box art is great too! I like the layout. It definitely looks retro! Peter - Nailed it! 20max20 - What a HUGE variety of models! Great paint and finishes too! Some great modern designs and paint to go with them and the Macross kits. - MT

This makes me want to buy a 3D printer just to do this! It's looking great! - MT

That's cool Thom! - MT

I would LOVE to be able to print white! Being a graphic artist, it drives me nuts not not being able to make my own full decals. Some things can be fudged, but there's nothing like printing white! - MT

The Palladium ones seam to have better lines on them over all. The teal looks good! - MT

Thanks for the scans guys, this is cool to have. This is that gray area, like being able to burn discs. I create copies of company discs to be distributed within the company. Other people use the same gear (not ours) to bootleg stuff. It can be the jerks that ruin it for everyone else. What do you do? - MT

Grayson - That 3D printed model looks great! That's a cool idea too! Peter - Are you sure maybe you didn't glue that together after a few shots of whiskey? Uh oh, the hardware is coming out again... Macross Junkie - Don't do it! You'll mess up your BEAUTIFUL finish. But then why get a transforming model, right? - MT

Honestly, save yourself the hassle and get this (or the Imai 1/5000 kit for twice as much - same kit): https://www.ebay.com/itm/Revell-Robotech-SDF1-Space-Fortress-Model-1-5000-Scale-Sealed-1985-Made-in-Japan/283985370506?hash=item421ed8dd8a:g:sgwAAOSwwgRfPtuS This is STILL the best cruiser mode kit PERIOD hands down. Even the Daedalus and Prometheus are accurate on it. Yeah, it's expensive, but you don't need anything else and you can find them cheaper if you keep your eyes open. It's sad how badly Hasegawa messed up the TV version. - MT

That's cool! I've seen that before or similar. It's too bad the Simple Green didn't work better on your kits. Maybe it's just on water-based paints it's good? - MT

That's awesome Gabe! The colors are great and the finish is sharp and clean! I would say your panel lining is spot on too! Congrats on a great display piece. - MT

Thank you guys, I appreciate it! It's fun to be back on styrene work and off metal work. Peter - All tjhat time soaking and that's all the paint that came off!? That's too bad. You'll make it look good. But does it smell good too? Derex - The DS is looking cool. Electric Indigo - You're making that Russian plane look too good! - MT

There were a lot of photos from a lot of work I finally caught up on, but I'll spare you guys with just a few. I made two rings (actually four for failures). One conical that goes directly under the gun housing, and a second that the gun mount goes into. The conical one is straight forward, but the mount ring was a lot of work. The ring has bolts all around it. I drilled holes just to keep them evenly spaced. I tried to use leftover bolts from the 1/20 Votoms kit, but there weren't enough! So I had to make my own. Thankfully there was the die I made for the flight deck months back. I thought that and a cut-out die might work - thankfully they did! This was also a second attempt. The first one with thin plastic and just stamping out heads didn't work. SSSssshhh, yes the heads are actually Torx bit shaped, but I won't tell anyone if you don't! A quick note about scale. The Rings are the wrong size since parts of the turret need strength or the mechanism in the turret is bigger than scale. It was a balancing act. I used simple sewing pins and old floppy disc springs to make the metal parts on the turret. Those are the doorstops, door latch (on the door) and a door catch on the bottom back of the housing. And a few specs of styrene at their base. A male Torx bit and cut-out die made the door latch/handle holder. The magnifying glass is my friend. Just before calling it quits, I managed to get the gun base shaped out of pine and vacu-formed. The ring with bolts will go on top of this. Thanks for checking in guys! - MT

Convectuoso - That's looking good so far. Derex - You should just stick some decals in the windows that look like people. Don't you just love it when your cats "help you" build your kits! Your cat looks like one of our two, minus 20 lbs! - MT