mslz22

Lots more done on this, feet have been roughed out as well as the arms...getting closer to getting on with the fine work/finish work. i have a little of the cockpit done, here is a bit of a rough up with an very bright flash showing every bit of imperfection....the main console is not correctly angled but just wanted to share the rough up... thanks mike

Sorry for the lag in response, crazy kids and crazy wife keep my head spinning....As for primer, i really only primed the seams that i needed to fill, and seam filling is the PITA of this "kit", no more than other resin kits but if for people who are primarily a toy collectors and not a model builder that will be the toughest challenge next to painting. Otherwise the resin is nice and flat so the paint bites into it really well. I did find that the seams on the legs needed the most attention, while the fit of the parts together was overall good I was left with some gaps that needed filling. One bit of advice is to really pay attention to the vent gates that are all over the castings, for the 1/2000 macross they did a very good job of cleaning all of it off, but on this, at least mine, the vent gates were all over the place, and they are very small, like pin sized over many of the interior structures like the male/female pegs that align the legs together. I understand that the vents are required with the resin casting, and likely even more with the HDP as it is likely a filled resin and thicker when pouring. I mention it because it's important to get everyone of these hard to see vents to get the parts to fit together correctly, I am pretty sure i missed one or two here and there that wound up with me needing to do more filler work. thanks mike It was totally worth it to me if it stays limited to a HDP release, if it comes out as a full production toy i may feel like the value would be diminished. Being a pattern maker/model maker/sculptor I am familiar with how much time, effort and engineering goes into projects like this and the 1/2000 Macross and understand the high cost due to the limited production and did not mind paying for such a high quality "kit"

Awesome news....I am soooooo glad I got in on this!!

Thanks everyone, for me i went with the 4 colors because I thought it was an interesting look, if i had $ for 2 I would have done DYRL colors on the 2nd...but will need to do that on my 1/72 bandai re-releases. I did not detail the inside, at least not yet, i will likely get to it but on the regult it's a little bit of a waste to do the inside IMO, you just can't see much of it...now the glaug would be a different story! For paint i went with my new favorite paint line, Montana Gold Acrylic spray cans. You can get them online or in some fine art stores, I am lucky to live pretty close to Yale so there is a really good art store in downtown New Haven that has the whole line. They take a little getting used to as the paint dries so fast if you are not close enough to the subject the paint will be almost dry before it hits the parts, but that can be used to your advantage depending on what effect you are going for. They are my new favorite because they do dry so fast, with practice can be use like and airbrush without the clean up, which is really important to a lazy guy like me, and come in sooooo many colors. They are a bit expensive, $9.99 where i am, but come with 2x what a Testors or Tamiya spray can would come with so i think it's worth it, some of the colors i picked will do double duty on other projects so it's worth it. I used the following colors, but if you look at the colors around them (the colors are grouped by colors that are in the same family) you can tweak the colors if you choose to go with these... Legs Silver Grey #7020, I also used this on my 1/2000 Macross for the medium grey. Earmuffs/mid body Diamond Grey #7000, this is almost white with only a hint towards grey, better than straight white IMO Leg accents/ Toes Deep Sea Blue # 5160 This color is also great for DYRL super armor IMO Body Mt Fuji Blue # 5140. A pretty good choice for TV super armor IMO. If there is anything else i can answer just let me know.. thanks mike

Ok, just about finished up, i went with the 4 color scheme, medium gray for the legs, blue main body, deep sea blue for the leg accents, and superlight gray for the rest, and gunmetal for everything else. Still dialing in the weathering but here is where it stands now. I did not get any decals, i don't think it came with any, so i scanned some of the vintage decals, cleaned them up in paint and printed them out on waterslide decal paper. I want to add some more when i get around to it.. thanks mike

I've got mine about 1/2 built and painted and I am getting about 41-42cm depending on the position of the legs, that is to the top of the laser cannons on the top of the head. I like the regult considerably bigger than the valks, they look more menacing that way, i am happy to call this 1/60. Interestingly going by yamato's scaling, it would put the re-release of the old 1/72 kit closer to 1/100. mike

Looking great so far, i built the 1/2000 one for myself and put thousands of tiny mechanical pencil lines all over the ship along with the oil wash and it really brings out the detail. I was also inspired by the star destroyer and the galactica with the use of the pencil lines. At first i was going to be a bit more conservative with the pencil but wound up using it generously, it really wound up making the ship look "bigger" due to the layering of the detail.... mike

Thanks, right now the plan is to start with the very basics, kit, flight mode, very reasonable entry level price point for something so large.....so yes in the range of most of my larger SS kits, as low as i can get it. After that i will think about super armor, I doubt there is enough interest in something this large for some of the more obscure stuff like the elint and super o, as much as i would love them, practicality will likely win that fight. I think someone asked about landing gear, right now i am not planning gear, not only as a cost saving measure, but practically speaking, the "footprint" of this model is so big that no standard shelving is big enough to display this landed, I am thinking it needs to be displayed much like a studio model, pipe/brass armature mounted to a wall/ceiling etc..... thanks mike

Thanks guys, not much progress the last week or so..just a little work on the decals, and likely not much more this week, . I should be back full steam right after the holidays.... mike

Quick update from the weekend, got a few more of the major parts roughed out, a little more detailing going on, and the biggest PITA of the weekend was building the intake fan part. It's not only a detail part but is structural in that it will connect the intakes to the mid leg, providing not only a good amount of surface to glue the two together, but will also align the two parts. thanks mike

Those look fantastic...I will send you a PM thanks mike

I think Steve will be across the aisle from me, I think I am booked at the what is now 3rd JT graphics table, for the last couple of years they had 2 with another dealer on the bookend. I think Steve will be across the aisle with 2 tables this year, I think sharing with REL (but don't quote me on that)....but May is a long way away so things may change mike

Thanks everyone, it will be big for sure, but not massive..around 2 feet in length. I will be casting it in PU resin, with the wings being done in a Heavy duty PU resin, much like what the 1/2000 Yamato macross is cast in, i don't want any warping on those. Most of the parts are relatively hollow to keep weight down, but the molds will still be pretty big.... I hope to have this and the 1/72nd monster done by Feb, at least the patterns, that will give me time to mold and finish a test kit before Wonderfest in May, right now i have half a table booked in the dealers room....I hope it comes together the way I would like, with 2 kids things do not always go as planned.... I will be working on this today and tomorrow and should have some more progress pics up over the weekend. thanks mike

I know i know, why not work on the 1/72nd scale monster....well my search for some decals for a set of replacement monster decals (that i still need to mail to HWR...sorry) yielded a box with some foam core parts for a 1/24 that i started scratch building a long time ago, they were cool but, since they were done so long ago, not reflective of my current skill set...my current skill set is improved but still humbled by some of the masters here...you know who you are. Anyway it sparked something in me and i began working feverishly on this scratch build for the last couple of weeks, it is still in it's very rough stage but I felt confident enough to start showing some of the WIP. This is the current state that it is in, it's obviously just cobbled together for a quick pic, but many of the major parts are at least roughed out, and i have started some of the panel lines etc. I am approaching this build a little like some of the studio models that i have done so much work on, both in style, like the slightly heavy handed panel lines, and limited amount of internal detailing (ie engine detail stuff like the 1/48 USV). I am planning a very detailed cockpit and pilot figure. Right now it's just a fighter mode model with no plans to make it variable, but I may use the parts to make a battroid at some point... thanks mike

As long as the installments are at least a month and a half to two months apart.....count me in.... thanks mike

I know i am a bit late in the game to respond to this but I have to say to vf_1s that this build inspired me to buy one of these things.....I tried so hard not to but this thread made me give in...I had to sell a ton of stuff off to afford it but I just got it in today and have to say i think it is worth it. So I hope you take that as the highest form of flattery, the work here is fantastic... If i could bother you for some tips..did you have a particular paint you used? Did you kit come with any decals at all? I know you did the city art yourself, but so far i have not seen any decals in my kit so i was just wondering....Also, if it is not too much trouble, would you mind sharing the screengrabs of the city, i understand if you do not want to, but i would like to imitate the way you did the city backround.. Again, thanks for "pushing" me into the purchase, I kept coming back to look at the pics until i talked myself into it... your build is amazing. mike

Sorry guys, this summer was a blur...the new addition to the house has made hobby time very scarce, I don't even get on line as much as i used to. I do still want this to happen, I have been stalled all summer, part of it is taking whatever side work i can to make ends meet, so right now I still would like to finish the rework, but it may not happen too soon. I also want to check on what wave is doing, i just now see that they are doing the defender in 1/72, if they switch the mnstr from 1/100 to 1/72, then i won't be doing this.. Sorry to sound frustrated, I don't want this to be vaporware but until i can catch by breath a bit, this will only get a few minutes here and there of attention... mike

Quick update, progress is being made, I made a last minute change to the back plate of the body so that i can open up those back missile bays. They may still need to be built open or closed unless i can figure out a good hinge system, but i wanted to at least have the option of them being open. That and the continued effort to lighten up the body has left the body currently in an "ugly" state so i will hold off pics until i clean it up a bit. I have also lengthened the forward part of the arm cannon about 1/4 inch and i think it will make it look "tougher". If i remember correctly the line art seems to show a shorter version of the arm cannon and a slightly longer one, or maybe people just preferred the look of a longer cannon, i just remember getting requests for a longer cannon.... thanks mike

That AT AT is funny, when i glanced quickly i first thought it was the AT AT from Family Guy holding it's knee in pain....then i realized what it really was... Here's a few pics of my large AT AT, both before WF and at WF...the figure is a 3 3/4 inch luke and the speeder is old MPC...

Ok, back from Wonderfest, I need a few days to collect myself and i will start getting on with this in the next few weeks... thanks mike

I'm done as of today, leaving for WF tomorrow. Going to take a little break for a few days after and break out the monster and start playing around with it. I hope people are still interested, pending it coming out good...

It's always on my mind.....I was really, really thinking about a 1/2000 TV one...I have a guy that does 3d stuff for me now for some of the more complicated stuff, in fact on the big AT AT the neck, drive units, and a handfull of other parts are "grown" parts. I also did a 1/12 TOS BSG viper and almost 1/3 of that was "grown" parts. Now that we have worked on a few projects together we have a good groove going where i can do the bigger stuff with traditional methods and really tricky stuff gets done in the computer. I really need to hammer out this AT AT and the monster and think about what comes next, I have more ideas than i have time is usually the issue with me.... mike

It should be just about 1/16 scale....it makes the monster look tiny...

Thanks Guys, for WF i am working on an AT AT that is nearly 4 ft long and will be over 3 feet tall when finished. I hope i can get it done...

Hey Guys, the baby has kept me busier than i expected as well as some delays on another huge project that i have been doing for WonderFest. I do still fiddle with it from time to time but I don' think i can expect major progress until after Wonderfest. But his is still on and right now should be my major focus after Wonderfest. So much of this is done it would be a shame to not to finish it, in fact most of the heavy lifting on the rework is done, and the finer detail stuff is the part I enjoy doing the most so i am still motivated to get it done, time just flies by with a baby in the house..... thanks again and sorry for the delay is updates... mike