Mog

Yah, I found what I was looking for at an online Gundam store. Pretty much a snap-on model with a tiny windup motor in it. Was pretty easy to build and just had to superglue the Legioss missile rack mount to one obvious spot. Adhesive putty was added to keep it solidly on the wing, and it‘s been locked in place since being put in the display case earlier this week.

Most of the newer “collectible” shops that have popped up around me have been for Pokémon and similar card stuff. Maybe some Funko Pops too, but stuff from our (older) generation are a dying breed. There used to be a few small local toy spots around me, but they’ve all closed down. Ain’t no way I’d risk opening a physical shop. As I’ve said, I’m getting close to a good stopping point. Of course, never say never in this collecting game. But I’m pretty satisfied where the collection is at (with a few minor exceptions). Plus, my eyes aren’t as sharp as they used to be (constantly have to remove the glasses to see details up close). And the available time and responsibility factors are always ever present. So, doing a big mecha custom similar to the Tread is probably out of the question now.

Honestly, never considered it. Been staring at the Toynami’s for so long, that I always pictured the cockpit as white. Also, that model I linked in the first post probably left a lasting impression on me.

The “Dammit, Mog! Just show us pics of the finished product already!!” Post: So about that Gatling gun, it does rotate: IMG_8964.mov BUT I wanted to make sure I could also mount it in bomber mode. Slight shifting of parts and some adhesive putty, and the gun stays in place: All hardpoints have weapons thanks to adhesive putty too: Also, Hou-Rey combo in effect : So because of the “wonderful” limitations of the Detolf shelf, I did have to pose the fighter combo at an extreme angle: But I did make sure to snap a bunch of glamour shots: Especially with her Alpha-Beta cousins 😎:

WORK IN PROCESS POST 1) The Prep: Since this was no longer going to be a Mars Base Tread, I went about sanding off the MB markings on the white parts: Also, sanded off the NO STEP printing on the wings later. Not sure how they do it on real wings, but I always thought the NO STEP signs are supposed to be read from the edge of the wing, not the opposite way they are marked here. I also tried to sand down the shoulder missile racks, in order to reduce some paint rub: Probably didn’t work as well as I had hoped. 2) The Painting: I looked over the Tread and spotted a few screws here and there. There’s probably a few screws hiding under some panels. But I was too nervous to try and pop them out or risk damaging the Beast. So, spray painting went out the door. Because I have no skills or experience with an airbrush, had to go with brush painting. So, apologies for any visible brush strokes and flaws in the painting. I also used white paint to better cover up the parts that had the sanded off tampo markings. It’s a little rough and thick, but just had to make due. We shall call it Optimus Tread : The poor Tread had to be put in some compromising positions, just to get properly painted 😅: And as previously posted in the Mospeada thread, I went ahead and painted the fixed pose pilot in Rey’s outfit: I would have preferred if Sentinel had packed his bike there too, BUT he does look good in the Tread: The missiles also got red-tipped to give them a little “pop”: 3) The Panel-Lining: After taking forever to paint every nook and cranny and then using a toothpick or sandpaper to pick off any excess and paint slop, it was time to panel-line the Beast: As I’ve done in with other birds, I use a grey micron pen for the lines on white parts and a black micron pen for the lines on the colored bits. Always liked the results. 4) The. . . Umm P’Stickering (to keep the alliteration going ) : So if the Tread was gonna combine with Houquet’s Jupiter Base Legioss, I had to properly sticker her up. I recall singing the praises of Toynami’s stickers for the Beta many years ago. And they still hold up even to this day: I did have to make bigger stickers for the wings too: Went through a lot of trial and error with the sticker paper back when I did the custom YF-21 years ago. But got it down to an exact science now. Now, we tie it all together in the next post. . .

So as I said in another thread, the Sentinel Tread is (most likely) the last large-scale mecha I’ll ever purchase (barring some insane holy grail coming out). Other than getting few 3.75” scale figures, I’m basically out of display space at this point. (And IKEA discontinuing the Detolf kinda kills off getting another display case to fill up.) . . . So, bear with me as I get way too damn long-winded and wax far too nostalgic in this thread. It’s my last custom mecha, baby!! I’ve been in this collecting game for over 20 years at this point. And over that period, I’ve made my fair share of customs. From this board alone, I’ve learned way too much about panel-lining, white-backed decals and stickers (RIP ALPS printers), styrene sheets, the power of adhesive putty, and about photography (and using a tripod with those old point-and-shoot digital cameras). I already have two blue Alpha-Beta combos. I already bought a red Sentinel Legioss (because I like the unique color-scheme and that longer rifle was too damn cool). And I wasn’t sure if Sentinel was going to release a red Tread. So when Sentinel finally announced the Tread was going to be up for preorder last November, I knew I had one last custom mech to mess with. Because as cool as the designs are, this color-scheme needs a little “extra” to tie it all together: Pre-Planning and Weaponizing the Beast: Once I knew what the Tread was going to be armed with (originally behind that Japan-only paywall ), I got to pre-planning last November. 1) Blame this model (http://policap-inside.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2007/06/post.html) for originally giving me the idea, but I wanted to arm the Tread with a Gatling gun. I’ve shown pics before, but here’s what I got, along with a pic of me testing it with the similar sized Toynami Beta (more info in a later post): 2) I REALLY didn’t want to jump through extra hoops to get the extra missiles. Plus, last I checked, the Tread has six hardpoints under the wings, and Sentinel was only offering FOUR missiles. Add in the two hardpoints on the Legioss, and that’s eight total hardpoints to arm. I don’t think Sentinel realized how many extra missiles I have lying around or how petty or ingenious (take your pick) I can be: White ones are from the Yamato 1/60 Version 1 VF-1’s. Grey missiles are from the 1/48 Yamato Stealth (added the greys for a little color variety). And adhesive putty is my friend. More pics and posts to come! TLDR?: Moggy’s customizing the damn Sentinel Tread. That’s why his old Tread avatar had a red background on it.

Uh oh. . .

And light it on fire.

See MacAvoy vs. Big Dave would be a convincing fight. James showed some fight in Wanted and in Split. And has that underdog look, especially against someone much taller like Bautista.

1/60 Yamato Version ONE. Was pretty damn impressive back in the day.

Thought the rumor was that Russell Crowe would be playing Ramirez. Though, I do find it amusing that the most famous Scot in the original film played an Egyptian, pretending to be a Spaniard, while traipsing around with an anachronistic Japanese katana blade.

@lordmasterprince did a custom of that color scheme years ago:

^^True, but Cavill is a pretty big dude himself. Have always pictured MacLeod being a bit smaller than the Kurgan.

I thought ol’ Dave slimmed down significantly in the past few years.

Yeah, it was a pain to paint: Would have been a bit easier if it wasn’t fixed pose. Had to keep looking back at the Sentinel Rey to make sure I got the colors at least somewhat right.

Check out @jenius’ reviews on anymoon.com. He’s got reviews of almost all the Sentinel Mospeada items. Also, got reviews for most other company’s Legiosses/Alpha fighters and Ride Armors/Cyclones. The reviews will give you a good sense of the pros and cons of each release or rendition.

I always looked at the cockpit sternum as a compromise. It didn’t bug me as much back then. If anything, the gaps in bomber mode bugged me more. Obviously, Sentinel came up with a slick solution to that whole issue. And the fact you can still have the pilot pop out of the top in soldier and combo mode? <chef’s kiss>

Some more comparison pics: So obviously if you have to choose between the Sentinel or the Toynami, go with the Sentinel. . . . because the Toynami Alpha is just that awful. However, there are a few things that the Toynami Beta still does better than the Sentinel Tread: - Head turns - the Toynami head may lack and up/down tilt. But its head turns so much better. - Chest - the Sentinel clearly has the better missile layout. But I wished the missile bay doors could drop just a smidge more. It looks like the bay doors block the path of the bottom row of missiles. - Chest Size - the Toynami chest is definitely bigger and wider. The proportions on the Sentinel aren’t bad necessarily. But it kinda looks like the Sentinel Tread never skips legs and forearm day. But doesn’t exactly put in the work on chest day. - Legs - The Sentinel can do a solid A stance, but it’s not as wide as the Toynami’s. Further, the knee articulation in soldier mode is a little more limiting on the Sentinel. Neither will be able to do the Black Widow hero pose, but the Toynami has slightly better leg articulation.

What’s lying on my workbench? A Gatling gun, missiles, sand paper, paints, and pretty soon, some stickers.

So, an Earth bender would be next in the avatar cycle, right?

I agree with this sentiment. Yes, there’s some bad issues (the troubled joints on the Ride Armors prone to cracking/breaking, minor chipping/scratching that can happen to the torso, parts that can pop off but are thankfully easy to pop back on). And some of the design choices can be annoying (Hot Pink Houquet , the overly busy HUD lines on the visors, the uncolored pilots for the birds). AND I’m still pissed over the fixed pose pilot for the Tread, not tossing in Rey’s bike with the Tread, and initially hiding the missiles behind a Japan only paywall. But they actually completed the hero line: the main four bikes, the three Legioss colors, and the Tread. Sure there’s Shinobu’s bike, the Dark Legioss, the drone Legiosses, different colored Treads, and the whole Inbit crew that can still be done. But somehow, Sentinel completed a Mospeada collection, something that only CM’s has ever been able to accomplish. Just the improvements to the Legioss’ and Tread’s designs alone should be celebrated. How they pulled off some of those ideas is amazing. And yes, all these figures have no issues holding dynamic poses. So yes, Sentinel should take a victory lap and enjoy this tip of the hat

Itano circuses at the ready:

So, I’m using the extra support part: Done. I always imagined the Legioss boosters merging into the chest circles on the Tread. The Sentinel combo has the Legioss sitting a little higher, a noticeable smidge above the chest circles. BUT are you seeing that picture above?! I ain’t touching the Legioss AT ALL.

Allegedly, Amazon said the price I paid went down on the Tread. . . to a whopping US$6 or $7. Can upgrade to a venti coffee today!

That’s just dust, not weathering. 😁 I did sticker and panel-line her up years ago, along with making a bigger “MB 07” stickers for the wing. I wish I had more Danger and No Step stickers left from the Toynami’s (yes, plural). But we’ll see what I can pull off. Still gotta check out the fighter combo. Understand, I still absolutely love my old Toynami Betas; they been the unquestioned king for over 15 years now. But my goodness, the Sentinel is a REVOLUTIONARY improvement to the Tread/Beta. It’s like going from the 1/55 Takatoku to the Yamato 1/48. I mean, I always said someone could reduce the gappy-ness and better integrate the cockpit for soldier mode. Sentinel did that. Then they incorporated the connecting boom AND solid landing gear directly into the figure (and not as separate pieces?)?!?! WHAT?! I’m just amazed at all the little tricks and bits this figure pulled off. Just all sorts of nice decisions you can see in the design. There’s some markings I’d personally change, as personal preferences. And the limited range of motion on the head is frustrating. But this is the design that all future Treads/Beta Fighters should be based off of. It’s that damn good. We have a new king. 👑