MechTech

Dude, you haven't even cut all the pieces off the sprues. That's unfinished! Maybe we'll bug you about it when you're done!. - MT

I'll help you along Dobber. BUMP!

My apologies, but one of my posts didn't get posted. Peter - As I posted in your main thread, the base looks great! Keeping it as is focuses on the valks. Adding details, weathering and color to the base will incorporate it into the whole scene. I guess it's what end product you want out of it. Pengbuzz - The factory looks awesome! The detail and colors make it pop and stand out. I always wanted to do something like that, but moving all the time for the military made it impossible. I have the kit from decades ago and never fully assembled it. Congrats on a great project! Derex - Your base will make your project a great display piece! Thank you guys, still more work to go on the whole turret. I'm spending more work on the darn turret than the whole ship put together! -MT

Evil scientists laugh - MuuuHaaahaaahaaa! It works! FINALLY, I got an autocap cannon to work AND fit inside the turret properly! I'll post more photos later and make a movie, but there are still adjustments that need to be made so it can elevate inside the turret. Since the cap gun works, I started prepping the turret to accept the hardware and make scale details. The cool part is there is a slow gearmotor to give it more torque. The motor matches the 2-3 rounds a minute of the real MK-45 Mod 4 gun mount adding to the realism. I can't be in the shop all the time, so I busted out a couple of Dunbine models to sit with the family while one of our cats busted out the box. I was looking at possibly converting one into a Bioroid from Southern Cross. After looking at all the models, I realized there is a theme. Not the obvious "Hey, they look like insects." It was that they all have weapons in the crotch! What the heck!?!? To make it worse, they are built on an ABS ball frame with tiny joints that pop off if you look at it wrong. The green one, "Tod Wryneck" is the worst. The Red/orange "Leprechann" isn't so bad. It's too bad because they have the good ole multi-color sprues Bandai is known for. Still don't know about the bioroid. They're gonna need some "surgery" first - MT

Peter - I posted in your main build thread, but the stand looks great! Maybe some weathering would add character to it? Right now, the focus is on the valks, detailing it may help pull it in together. It still looks great though! Pengbuzz - That build came out awesome! The details really make it pop! I always wanted to do something like that, but with moving all the time, it just wasn't going to survive the moves. You pulled it off great! Derex - Your stand looks professional and will compliment your build nicely! I look forward to seeing it completed. - MT

That's a great way to finish off that project! Nice use of Allen wrenches too. The stand is a great touch, congrats! - MT

Buzz looks really cool Derex! That looks like a fun kit too. They did a great sculpt on that kit and colorizing it. - MT

The VF-1S looks nice-n-clean Peter! I love the colors on that too. It just has a great look to it. - MT

Pengbuzz - That looks great, especially cobbled together from bits and pieces! So where's the masking tape on it Duymon - Cool casts of that pilot. Is it just me, or does it look like the Predator character? - MT

Thanks JVMacross! I'm not sure if I have that already, they don't show the cover. Peter - The two right are of course 15th anniversary kits and the VF-1S is 1997. The box art doesn't bring much vs the Imai box art before they folded and Bandai got the molds. The Macross II kit can be hard to find. I would keep them, though re-issues, they're value keeps going up. By the way, the "Revell" Orbot was also my first Macross kit. I got that because it looked cool. Weeks later, Robotech came out on TV and I was hooked! - MT

I have to second everyone! I've been buying from them since their early days (wow, a couple of decades now?). I believe they are now one of Japan's largest if not THE largest of exporter hobby goods from Japan. Many stateside stores get their products from them fro retail. - MT

Dobber - Pencils! That's funny. I forgot about that. Thom - I'm not familiar with the kit, but if it's 3D printed (vs resin casting), you can take down the bias lines with a good fogging of acetone. Gonna need a big bottle though Peter - That's cool that your "Zentraedi" are having fun with your models. It's not called butchering, it's called modifying. I won't tell anyone you put Gundam hands on a Macross model if you don't. If it does sudden;y burst into flames though, you'll know why. I actually have some of the aftermarket hands to do the same thing on a couple of models myself. - MT

Pencils - They're just not for paper and carpenters anymore! That looks great! - MT

Thanks for sharing guys, it's cool to see a bit of actual anime. It's driving me nuts now. Where were the cels of Mint from Mospeada? We're watching that now and I was going to show my children. -MT

Peter - Thanks for sharing your old models. I don't even have a lot of mine anymore. I believe those are the 1/72, 1/100 and 1/170 scale kits. I'l have to post some of my earlier ones too. My M-16 in Afghanistan was named Frankenstein. Everything was a different color! It looked Frankensteined! Dobber - Derex is just saying what we're all thinking. You are crazy! It looks good though. You should put a hidden message in the paneling. - MT

The dust adds texture! I retired a few years back from active duty. Same reason. Dad was coming home too late or deployed. My family was tired of me not always being able to be there. Now we're in our first home and it's weird not moving all the time. - MT

That looks AWESOME Peter for an old Bandai kit! Personally, I have missillitis. So the more missiles the better! You have a squadron now too! Thanks for the shot of your M-4. I had to use the M-16 in the dessert. Now I know the difference. The M-4 has "Pew" stamped on the selector switch vs Semi and Auto. - MT

Alright, after 17 years, I'd at least expect to see some LEDs in there Seriously though, they look GREAT! The colors look great too! The arrangement give it some presence too, vs the usual, "Look, here's a model on a stick!" Sssshhh, don't tell anyone, but I don't prime either. Maybe in the future when I do more airbrush stuff. I'm mostly rattle can too because of the durable finish. Years of packing up and traveling in the military, you gotta build for practicality. Then my models went into ammo cans since the packers always knew which cardboard boxes to crush! Is the Hase kit even 17 years old!?!? Where does time go? - MT

Looking good Peter! I remember when I got my first Bandai 1/72 "Super Fighter." I was so stoked, and then I saw that nose! I was bummed out! You're making it look good though. - MT

That's cool Pengbuzz! Not even the "real" helicopter got any respect! Looking online, any model of it is INSANELY expensive! That's crazy! Thanks guys, now the dumb theme song is stuck in my head - MT

Pengbuzz - The weathering looks great on that! The nozzles are cool. I don't think I've seen a valk with discolored nozzles (besides the fast packs) before which is an overlooked idea. Is that the fully transformable valk you built a while back? If so, what did you do for the leg joint connections? I searched our boards and found an old post for it, but the photos are no longer linked. Cross Air - There's a tiny mech in your yard! That paint scheme is cool! It fits it perfectly. The decals and splinter camo all compliment each other. I built the green version of that kit last year with our model club at the county fair (to recruit members). That is a neat little kit. The cockpit is cool. A lot of our members were surprised by it because they are mostly plane and tank guys. Gundams (that's they're general termed) are something new to them. Next year we actually have a Bandai theme night which should be interesting. - MT

Thank you, Weiser, I appreciate it! To follow up with this project, the LEDs came with a 4.5 volt battery pack. One pack did power three strips meant for one pack with no problems (except batteries don't last forever). So I actually used a 5 volt USB power supply. It has made the LEDs brighter, but it does not look to the point of burning them out prematurely. So if you have a 4.5 volt LED strip, a 5 volt USB power supply may work safely - just do a test for a while first! - MT

The F-14 is cool! Macross went the way of Star Trek and made the pre-quil machines more advanced looking than the original - never got that personally. That cell shaded model totally looks Photo Shopped until you see it sitting in the box. The storage box brings it back into reality. The video game shot is a cool touch too! Someone took those old Zentraedi kits and made it look good! - MT

That Daedalus looks AWESOME! WAaaaaaaay better than the stock boxy thingy. The panels look great too! - MT

Thanks Shawn, that Tinami page is AWESOME! Tons of stuff and cool ideas. Darth - Where's the HUGE room inside that thing with the little control panel in it to take down the whole ship? That seems to be all the giant Republic ship designs - MT