MechTech

Some cool stuff on the bench guys! Speaking of cool - SNOW DAY MK 4!!! How cool is that! So I caught up on some stuff and built an Orange Hobby X-47B in 1/350th scale. There's some small filler (Squadron White putty thinned with Acetone and wiped off with a Q-tip). I'm in the middle of painting it, but no photos of that yet. - MT

Don't forget: https://www.gasolinealleyantiques.com/kits/ They have some rare kits there often (check the Japanese Anime section). - MT

This is the smaller kit and sadly the only sized scale kit available now in production. Here's an opening of the same kit with "special (chrome) coating." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVPa41UUo5k Video NOT by me ;^) The bigger version with a little better detail is here, decent price too!: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROBOTECH-ATTACK-FORTRESS-SDF-I-1-5000-MODEL-KIT-GUNDAM-MACROSS-SDF-1-SDFI-RARE-/360685800910?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item53fa8c8dce#ht_4316wt_916 This kit is roughly 10" high (from memory) versus the 1/8000 which is about 7 inches or so (soemone please correct me if you have one built). The BEST SDF-1 INJECTION kit is in cruiser mode, it's 1/5000 scale too and hard to get - it averages $150 at auction! It's about 9.5" inches long and is the BEST detailed and representation of all the injection kits regrdless of scale. It is packaged in Imai yellow or Robotech's scheme. Hope that helps! - MT

If you don't have an airbrush, Tamiya has a good color that fits closely, I used it on my 1/100th and was pleased with it. I'm not sure the exact color name, but it is one (of a few) Olive DRab colors. - MT

That's funny!!! - MT

That's great looking! Don't forget everyone, paper is another form of wood A good primer coat and it'll take most paints. - MT

That's a beautiful build, ESPECIALLY being scratch built!!! - MT

A spring with a washer against the ball joint might work (if there's room). I've done that before to pretty good effect. Plus as the plastic wears, the spring keeps tension on it. - MT

I was wondering what happened to that! It came out great. What do the gamers think? - MT

That's funny AND cool looking! - MT

What I've had to do with stubborn decals is coat the bottom and then keep coating the top. SOMETIMES that seems to help. I hope the new bottle works out for you! - MT

That EVA-01 kit is nice, I have one myself. - MT

Thanks guys, I WILL let you know when I work on the Yamato and make decals. It might mean making a display case FIRST. Shopping around, I need one that's about 40" wide minimum to fit my future built ships in. Curios that size are about $1000-$1,500!!! So I'm gonna have to drop the X-acto knife and pick up the Radial Arm saw! The glass will be costly too. Unless anyone knows of a better dust proof solution. I've already got a ton of ships (all unbuilt of course) that will need that much length. Doing the rough numbers a 1/350th Daedalus will be about 40-43" long. That HAS to fit into the case! - MT

I think the Bandai kit is the old Arii kit, especially since they bought out the molds. I've got two of the armored Millia kits in 1/100. - MT

Molto Grazie Sifos! More work coming up as the weather warms. - MT

I dreaded making that part on mine - 19 years ago for the 1/100th and the 1/350th now. There's no easy way to do it! So do you have a price yet for parts/installments? - MT

I have an old bottle of Solvaset and it's easily the strongest I've used over Testors or Mr. Mark Softer. For "good" decals it may need to be thinned with water a bit. - MT

Great job Vifam! There is a BIG difference in the sculpts, details AND decals between the two! Actually great job on both! - MT

I love the VF-1J! Nice articualtion on it. DEFINITELY NOT STOCK! Do share. - MT

This looks AWESOME! My eyes hurt from all the differnt colors, but the sculpt looks great! I'm glad the ratchets worked out for you. That's what I hate about my other monster kits, they all bow or "reach for the sky!" Get some paint on that puppy! - MT

First off, NO, the Flanker Camo scheme never does get boring! It's an oldy but a goody! THAT IS insane painting! And thank you guys! As far as painting tiny aircraft goes, the ONLY way to paint them that small is an airbrush. The smaller one I did than this is the Fanliner from about 10 years ago (attached). I had to use -thinned- out paint and cut the decals from larger ones with a new razor blade. It still needed decal set too! @WM Cheng, yes, the F-35 comes with basic US roundrels. I have the 1/350 Yamato as well and I'm trying to figure out how they "painted" it on the box. I think it was Photoshopped because brush bristles are bigger than that! I'm waiting to get a curio to put my models in before I build the Yamato. I'm not building a $600 kit to have it get damaged or dusty. What can be done for the figures is to make decals and print them to mark the uniforms. That's what I'm thinking of doing for the boat anchor and Tiger Squadron markings on the uniform. I was hoping they would come pre-painted! Oh well... Another option I've used a lot is to spray paint decal paper You just spray paint the decal paper and cut to size. That's how I do my windscreens (or anything that small). Cheat whenever you can! I try to use sliced rubber insulation or drilled poly-cap sprues to make rubber tires for my tiny planes. The Fanliner has poly-cap sprue "tires" and they didn't have to be painted. P.S. Some 1/350th Macross kits will be coming out soon - more to come... - MT

Snow Day!!! I didn't have time to start anything "big", so here's an F-35C from Orange Hobby in 1:350 scale. I currently don't have the right color to paint it, but it will take like four spray passes to cover the top and bottom The kit was well done and the resin is good stuff with PE doors, wing hinge (optional build) and decals. Any issues are litterally magnified by the magnifying glass lens! - MT

Great finish! And when you run out of bullets, you just kick 'em in the bearings with those stilletos! Nice job! - MT

That would make the pnultimate garden decoration. It kicks butt over pink flamingos and scares away would be robbers! Awesome build! - MT

Nice job on such a small kit. The Zentraedi ship especially looks squarish, but the paint takes the emphasis off it. - MT