mslz22

Lot's of work to get from the above base color to the bottom cannon. First the fore mentioned filter, then clean, then clearcoat with future for the decals, then decals, seal the decals. Then it gets a bit more interesting, the issue with the darker colors, just like the boosters on the vf-1's is then can look boring and blobby without the drybrushing. It's even more complicated in this scale, I realized during this build that the cannon alone is as big as a 1/48 scale tank. I mixed the base color with some white to brighten it up. Then drybrushed, sometimes doing to much, in which case i knocked it back with some extrafine steel-wool, back and forthed it a bit until i was happy, then tuned up the shading on the panel lines now that i had a background that it would show up on better. Finally dusted it with future+ flatbase. thanks mike

Not a lot of time to spend on this this week, but got some more done. Still some refinements to do, got the lower part done for the most part. Tricky part, this was the 2nd or 3rd revision, tried to follow the available reference like screen caps etc, but was not happy with it. Again, not cannon but think it will work. It's near 18 inches long with the lower part attached, it will be cast as a separate part and may be part of the 2nd tier kit with the base etc. mike

Giant feet done, put a Tamiya spray can in there for size. Each foot is bigger than some 1/72nd kits alone. Same subtractive weathering technique used. mike

Looks like it has been sent off to another caster at this point.... mike

Thanks, sent off a note to John, offered to either buy the pattern or do the casting on it.... mike

I don't want to step on any toes, but i would be open to the possibility of either purchasing the pattern for a reasonable price, or just offering casting service. Does SSModeler own the pattern at this point still? I have plenty going on, so again don't want to step on any toes, just would like to get my hands on one without building a new pattern if possible.... mike

Any more news on this? I'm hoping to get a couple at some point....

Agree with this, being someone who has hauled around kids with one of the car seats is what made me look in the first place. Assuming i had a few seconds to remove a child from the seat, it would be my choice. Having a little more time to think about this, and it may be more reading into it too much.....

Right, and this is where it gets fun to speculate....since it's all we have until Feb.

My thought was....

Did anyone else pick up on...

I'm hoping so for certain, I am just worried it will be a year from now.......I'm not getting any younger...

Pics of the grabber unit, not done yet are the "clamps" that attach to the boosters. Just like the main boom arm, I started out kind of plain jane and added details until i thought it was something that will look good with the level of detail on the hasegawa kits. Again, not cannon, but straight line art would likely look cartoonish next to the hasegawa kits. mike

After a couple of thin layers of future, i put on the decals, lots of solve a set to get it to conform to the curvature of the engines/body, cut the decal in the panel lines and add a little chipping to really give it that painted on look. I also drybrush a little of the filter over the decals so it blends in with the rest of the pod, don't want them to pop out and scream DECAL!!!! mike

The main arm will have a 5/32 brass tube run all the way thru it, so you will have no problem running a wire up to that point. The swing arm is going to be cast in 2 parts so you will have easy access to hollow out a track for wires in the part that winds up hidden once assembled. Depending on what you have planned any wires from that point are easily disguised as hoses or such. mike

So I just built the gripper mechanism/gripper arms. First round is set up for just regular super packs. As for the strike, I will come up with a plan soon, I want the arms cast into the overall mechanism so i may need to mold it, cast a copy as an archival master, mod the original and remold for the strike cannon. I think all it would mean is making people indicate if they wanted strike or super when they order. mike

It's renshape, need to get some more soon too, absolutely love the stuff for most applications. The only exception is when i do the big stuff that is cost prohibitive for renshape, for that i use the precision board plus foamboard. I should have this set in a couple of weeks for molding, it's really nice to work on a pattern that does not take months to finish, or years! I really need a couple of 1/72nd launch arms too, anyone have any idea on the SSM one? I don't want to get that recast one from Kit'spower or whoever that is, and don't want to scratch a new one if possible. mike

Ok, so this has really gotten me worked up, stayed up late last night, and skipped pizza night with the boys. Here is what i have come up with so far, the main boom is not entirely cannon but found that it looked a little plain jain without extra detail. Built in a few "ports" to plug wires and such into. Still rough in a few spots and ignore the gap by the swing gear. Right now i am thinking a 2 tier kit, the main boom + swing arm + all the attachment stuff to the valk being tier 1 and lower price. Tier 2 with the base + the boom receiver. That way i can keep it more affordable to those who may want to build their own base. This is engineered to have brass cast into the main boom, all the way thru. Let me know any thoughts. thanks mike

Hey guys, so i have 3 of the new kits on order and really, really want a launch arm. I started tinkering some yesterday during some down time. Since i need at least 3 for myself this will be molded anyway. So I was hoping to get some input from anyone who may be interested in a kit of this. 1. I am planning on keeping the main arm fairly short, not real short but not as long as it "should" be. The reason is simply display space real estate, the longer the arm the less likely it's a practical display option. I'm looking at an overall length of about 13 inches including the main arm, the swing arm and the grabbers. That would make for a display to the wing tip of about 18 inches Let me know your thoughts. 2.For the display base that the arm will plug into, I am planning a hollow (to allow for electronics) base that will basically be a "wedge" to represent a slice of the hanger bay, the full door thing like on the 72nd scale one seems impractical in size. . Thinking something along these lines. http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/magazines/dengeki_aug2001a1.jpg Again any thoughts would be appreciated Some preview pics. thanks mike

Thanks, it's MiG pigments starship filth oil, thinned with oderless mineral spirits. You can use ordinary oils of course, but the Mig starship filth is a good mix of brownish black all on it's own, i like it better than a straight lamp black or such. mike

Not likely, the yamatos are too heavy in my opinion, so is the club m resin, so i am really excited for the hasegawa kits, I have been dreaming of a 1/48 on a launch arm for like 12 years at this point. I wish we had news about a weapons set, I am guessing they will do one but don't know if it's a year away or 2 years. I would really like to hear some news about a 1/48 battroid kit, if i knew there was a battroid kit in the works i would likely sell almost all my yamato's mike

Thanks, i am spread pretty thin these days, at least for the next month, really thinking about tackling something just a little less complicated next, really want a 1/48 launch arm and display base for the upcoming hasegawa super kit that are coming. I already got the plans printed out, may start this week if i have any extra time.... mike

Little more progress over the last week with a few more tips. The sensor dome thingys that go under the back of the body need a little fitting. Best way to approach it is to mark some locations so you don't get into a lot of back and forth. Then it's just a matter of marking any high spot and taking it down until it fits really snugly. Part of the issue with something this big is that the big part shrinks just a little more than the smaller mass parts, in this case the sensor thingy. From there i mark the center radiator fin, glue it in place, and move the outer fin as far over as possible to the installed sensor dome, even notching the dome just a bit for the fin to sit on. I then measured the distance between the 2 fins, replicated the spacing on the 3rd fin, then installed the 2nd dome. For the body painting I primed it up, being sure to mask the arm socket for good glue adhesion later. I painted it with a light blue, polar blue from Montana Gold. It will get kicked to a blueish grey after a filter. I am trying to mimic the Max Wantanabe Mak style painting. I have always done filters in my paint jobs, but the difference with this style that i am trying out is the relative darkness of the filter, that and letting it sit overnight and gently removing material until I wind up with the shading i want for each set of panels. I used to do an overall filter, then go back and shade the panel lines more. Either way has it's advantages but i am pretty happy with the Max technique right now. This is now ready for Future clear so i can start some decals in a couple of days. thanks mike

If you need to stick to a spray can for dull coat, i agree with MechTech that the Krylon spray Matt finish is pretty good, trick with it is a few light coats from a 10 to 12 inches away. I use Future with tamiya flattening agent now but used to use pretty much only Krylon. I switched for a couple of reasons, but like using future and future + flattening agent much more now, and they stink a lot, lot less than any spray cans. I liked it so much i purchased one of the cheaper Iwata's for just clears, and a cheaper Iwata is better than most other airbrushes IMO, I save the real expensive Iwata for color only now. mike

If the lifted paint is going all the way down to the plastic, both resin and styrene, taking even the primer with it, I would look at 2 factors to start with. 1 Are you cleaning the parts, and it may not be what you think. I have had problems with paint/primer adhering BECAUSE I cleaned the parts. The issue is that even mild soap can leave an invisible barrier between the plastic and the primer. I mostly only build kits that i have cast and straight styrene kits like Hasegawa, and do not clean the parts at all and have little to no problems with paint lift. The caveat with that is of course on kits i cast I do not use any mold release at all. I have a few Club M kits i want to build, and they are very slippery, for those i am going to use a walnut shell etching process. 2.is the Mr. Surfacer your are using spray can or jar/mix in airbrush. I am not as familiar with Mr Surfacer and not sure if they even have a jar/airbrush primer. If it is a jar mix you may be on the right track to look at the thinner/solvent. If it's the spray can I would ask about how thin you are laying the first couple of layers of primer. mike