mslz22

Can anyone read the description? Not sure but to me it looks a little like a modified version of that WF kit from years and years ago. It's got some similarities but the arms are way different, the arms on the WF one, according to one of the guys here, looked like "someone dipped a wrench into a gumdrop" I am due to get delivery of the rotocast machine tomorrow, provided it gets here without a hitch I will try to spend some real time thinking about this. I did some tinkering over the weekend with the body and I was pretty happy with the results, still bit to go but laid some groundwork for sure. I have too many projects going right now, I kind of need to find some focus! thanks mike

Well all fingers crossed it looks like I have a rotocast machine on the way here, I won't breath 100 % sigh of relief until it's in the garage, plugged in and spinning.....once that happens it may really breath new life into this project... mike

Ok, i am doing test cast today and the decals are ready to print and should be on the way to me in a day or so for my reissue. If you are interested in a reissue casting PM me for info. If you are interested in decals for your original CA kit you can get them direct by emailing info@jt-graphics.com, be sure to tell him that it's for the 1/72 kit. He will get you pricing and info on when they can ship. thanks mike

Looks like my rotocaster is still a week or so away, and i am still waiting on decals. Looks like i may do a few of the 1/72 CA glaugs first.....I

I will keep it at or slightly below the original price, part of it will depend on how much each decal sheet costs. I have about 95% of the mold making done at this point. The molds will need a handful of days to post cure and then I will get test casting. Right now the kit will be almost exactly like the Captains, with the exception that the acrylic pins will be replaced with either brass or aluminum pins, the acrylic pins tend to be brittle. The other change is that there will be 2 less part cast in the HDP resin, the main foot attachment point is beefy enough to be just regular resin IMO. I will likely start a separate round 2 thread soon. thanks mike

Once i proof the decals I will be able to direct you guys from the first run to get them direct from the decal guy. I already told him that there would be some people that wanted it for the first run. mike

Hey everyone, hope it's ok to drop a note here that the patterns for this have landed in my camp, thanks Capt! I've got a 2nd run planned and decals will be included, more to come soon. mike

Awesome, loving the bad guy mech these days!!!

Thanks guys, couple of quick pics to finish out the day, this paintjob is the definition of quick and dirty but it gets the point across. i will tune this up more when the decals get here. I still need a few odds and ends like molding the "cap" an the handles but i am just about done... mike

So my rotocaster won't be here for another week or so but i could not resist doing a quick slush cast one for myself.....came out really well if i may say so myself, onto painting it up so I can finally see this thing together for real. Group shot with a 1/48 friendly, I've just discovered the macross the first comics, and i have to say seeing the size the pods depicted in there i am pretty happy with the size i went with... mike

Thanks everyone, a little paint work today in between casting work and pulled the head pattern out of the mold...

The main legs, not counting the back "fin" are 5 separate parts which are jointed by pins as well, so you can position them to a certain degree in and out. What i am missing is the internal ratchet to make them appear up and down. Having an real working internal joint is not practical at this size and for the price i want to offer it at, but what i do want to see is if i can come up with a solid piece that would represent the inside of those joints, so for example if you wanted to have one leg up, or one leg stepping on something you could add that part to position the leg the way you wanted. That type of pose would require some additional support, like a hidden screw holding up the pod from underneath a stand or something. This is designed to be positionable while building but you need to fix it in that pose when finished. thanks mike

Ok, little update, i am pouring the 2nd half of the head mold tonight. I've started to assemble the legs in the position that i want them in. This is some of what you can expect if you are interested in a casting. I made the legs with ball joints both at the hips and the feet so that they can be posed in a number of dynamic poses. This would likely stay put pretty well with just glue because the head will be rotocast and light, the "earmuffs" are also hollow so all the weight is at the bottom. However as an added bit of sturdiness i pre drilled a 1/8 inch hole into the back of the feet and at the hip (at an angle). I then positioned the legs where i wanted them and drilled thru the ball. I then used 1/8 brass to hold it together, right now the brass needs to be trimmed back but i will do that and fill in the holes later. What you see here is held just with the pins, no glue.....oh and the toes are on ball joints as well.... thanks mike

This is something i am really hoping for as well, i do have a fear that the 1/48 line did not do well in Japan, I don't really have anything to base that on, just my fear. I think a 1/48 battroid would be the next step in the line, or at least after superpacks for the fighters...would love to see that as well!

Awesome, that's they way these have been in my imagination for a long time. I did a paper mock up of the officer pod at 22 inches tall.....HUGE, but appropriate size next to this pod, now i just need to decide if it's something i really want to tackle..

If this is just about 19 inches tall, do you guys think 22 inches tall would cut it for an officers pod? I know it's not the offical size by any means but as a companion to this model? mike

Scratchbuilding is the best therapy out there....and my be the biggest reason I need therapy sometimes as well, kind of a chicken and egg thing huh? Always love to see how you do this stuff, and always paying real close attention to the techniques, who else better to learn stuff from...... Fantastic work as usual! mike

I will likely make a few castings available if people are interested, very limited, and as i said earlier in the thread i did not intend to "kit" this so I will want to build and paint one first before i commit to casting any for others. I want to be sure it goes together without too much trouble...

Wow...almost 2 years already! I like many modelers get sidetracked way to easily. This is one of those things that is always somewhere in the back of my head bouncing around. The issue that i have run into lately with it when i examine what i have here is that it really would almost be easier to just start over, sometimes tweaking something just creates more and more issues. I am leaps and bounds better at scratchbuilding than when i did the V1 so starting over is no where as intimidating a proposition as it was back then. One of the advantages is that i am trying to get a rotocast machine here.....that would be a game changer in regard to this thing, lots to think about i guess...

So a little update, i am starting to get freed up a bit as i am getting to the last of the y wings for Nice-N. I was able to spend a little time on this, got the eye gun moved over to where i want it, I left the "socket" holes in the head with a little wiggle room for adjustments. The gun sockets are cast separately from the head so they will be much easier to paint. My legs are glued together but you can see they are made up of 5 parts, same with the feet which are 3 parts. Everything is broken down to make painting easier, eye will be cast in clear. I hope to get this going soon, i have JT graphics working on decals for this (and the commander pod). I have a few scratches and such to fill, head needs a mold, need the back handles finished up, and i am waiting to get a rotocaster soon which will be the last thing i need to get going... thanks mike

Does anyone know the status of the wave monster? Has it changed to 1/72?

Soon, I've got to finish up the last few Y wings for Nice-N Models before i can really dig in. I am hoping to spend the next few months building the "destructions" for this, finishing up the 1/48 pod and get a few other related projects off the ground. Wish I could just build macross stuff all day, but paying gigs like casting work always get in the way! I've started basics on the 2nd build including dremmel work on the wings to run some fiber optics for the wing tip lights....i will likely start another build thread when i have enough done to justify it... thanks mike

That won't be required

I used a couple of markers for sizing, animation, size i thought a pilot should be within reason, the size of the 1/60, and just what i thought kind of looked right. I wanted it to be big enough to look menacing next to a 1/48 valk, i mean these are a race of giants after all right? I have a real respect for the bad guy mecha designs, I find them much more appealing now than i did when i was a kid, and maybe because there is so much available on the good guy side i am really wanting to focus some of my scratch building attention to enemy stuff. Because it's all base off of animation I also enjoy that i can have some wiggle room in the design, interpretation, and size of the mecha.

Right now the plan is to have the pilot standing, so that it can be displayed with the pod, it would be a separate "kit". I have a pro sculptor on the line to do the pilot if i decide to move forward. If i do the pod as a kit the head would be rotocast and foam filled. I have never seen much need for an interior in the pod, there is not much to see, not really practical from a display standpoint. Now the commander pod...that is a different story, and i think i may take a crack at that in 1/48 real soon... I do want to keep the pod real cheap as a kit, at least cheap for how big it is, and real limited, just 1 round of molds... thanks mike