mslz22

The weapons set sure seems credible, the Max and Millia 1/48 set set already has parts on it to join the 2 nukes together like in DYRL, as opposed to 3 separate like TV. Really hope the weapons are up soon, I have a bunch of 1/48's that need them!

Leg installment molds are done, will post ordering info in FS by Monday. For now, a few pics. Look how big it is compared to a 1/72nd battroid!! thanks mike .

Awesome build! I love in flight for these 1/48's, but it's a pain to close those doors.....

Soon, last molds need to post cure a day or so before i can pull a casting. Looked at the arms today, those should be pretty quick to finish and mold as all they need is a little scratch and dent fixes and the panel lines in the main arm cannon.... thanks mike

Finished the mods to the parts to make the left foot, will get the molds going on that today. I have to say that i am getting pretty excited to see both legs cast up and even mocked up a bit, I gave this thing a pretty aggressive stance for the monstar, but i think it will look cool. thanks mike

All the molds for the right leg are done, I need to modify 2 parts to make the parts i need for the left leg. It has to do with the positioning of the leg, some parts like the upper leg, mid guard etc are fine for either side, but the main foot and the part that goes between the main foot and that back lower part of the foot need to be modified. I don't think i can put this in the model section until i have a finished build to show per the new MW rules. Once the last molds are done I will start taking orders for those who want to do installments, you don't need to do installments, you can wait for the full kit to be done. It will be 3 installments of $150 + shipping if you go that route. My hope for the schedule would be, start leg installment casting in about a week and a half. Mid Sept, arm installments, and finally Mid Oct body installments. After that the kit will be available as long as it can be, but this thing is so huge I only plan 1 set of molds. Talked with JT Graphics about decals at Jerseyfest, those will take a little time and will likely come with the body installment. thanks mike

Molds for the legs are about 1/2 done, should be able to finish them up shortly after Jesrseyfest. thanks mike

Thanks, I have officially poured the first mold on the legs, now lets hope it's a good mold. That mold is a long time coming! mike

BTW have i mentioned just how large this is???

Guessing this is about as good as i am going to get this, as long as people are still interested I'm ready to mold the leg installment.... thanks mike

Putting the final details on the legs, stealing a bit of stylistic influence from John with the rivet type detailing, but figure this is going to be a companion kit to some of the other destoidios out there that he did. I tried some smaller rivets first and it did not work well, these rivets are about the same size he did not the glaug, and this is way bigger than the glaug so i figured it would work stylistically. Just a few odds and ends to finish on this leg installment, then ready to mold. mike

As is if don't have my hands full enough, this is one of the projects that i have slated for the scratchbuilding class that i am teaching at Jerseyfest 2014 next friday so i was forced to start it before finishing some other longer running projects. Kind of dual listed IMO as 1/10-1/12 so it can be a companion to either the old Imai ride armour or the more contemporary offerings. Will be slightly over 20 inches tall with the cannons in place. Thanks, remember it's not to late to sign up for the scratchbuilding class at Jerseyfest. Hope to see some folks at the show if not the class. mike

Here is the reinforcement plate for the chestplate area, this will require a little modification to the bottom of this assembly. It will require a trim to how the wings attach as well, but more on that later. It's as big as it is to distribute the weight of the valk to launch arm assembly over the biggest surface in attempt to minimize any possible "tilting" or distortion of the valk once attached. You will see a dimple on the plate, you will need to drill a 5/32nd hole thru the resin part, then CA the resin plate to the top chestplate with a very even coat of CA to get the maximum advantage of the reinforcement plate. The hole that you drilled will be your guide to start the drilling in the chestplate.

More done today between other stuff. The main boom has extra length on the brass than is needed for the assembly. I did this for a couple of reasons. 1. The extra length assures the proper placement in the boom castings. 2. The extra length extends beyond the mold so no resin gets in the tube, needed if you plan to run any power up to your valk. You will need to trim a bit off, be sure to get as much of the brass into the swing arm as possible. Also seen here is what i call the receiver unit. You can see that the screw is cast into the part. This is so that this part has threads in it, that is it has threads in it once you back the screw all the way out. It will become clear why that is important later on, but it has to do with not only strength but the ability to tweak the high of the whole launch arm assembly relative to the valk later on. mike

It's just for the hasegawa model, the toys are too heavy and you would need to drill a hole thru the backplate/rear wings etc to attach it. The attachment point is not the actual "grabbers" those a just for show, the attachment is made via a screw that will attach to a reinforcement plate under the chestplate/backplate of the model thru the backpack and into the grabber unit. I do not plan on selling the launch arm and base until I am SURE, that it's a reasonably strong connection. I am pretty sure at the moment, the Hasegawa kit is actually pretty light, and the launch arm has brass cast into it, the connection of the launch arm and the base is very strong, the above model to grabber unit is very strong, the only one i have a tiny bit of concern about is the one in the pics above. I sized up a print out of the line art for the launch arm to get the proportions, it's actually a fairly elegant design, which is another way of saying it's got potential strength issues in that connection. I do think it will be fine as long as it's pinned the way i have it, and CA'd before painting or priming, the bare resin to resin connection is very strong as long as there is no paint. mike

Got the molds for the 1/48 Launch arm done and i have been doing some work on and off on the 1/48 Hasegawa kit since i got it all those months ago. Couple of quick pics to start. One of the most important parts of the launch arm to pin is the "swing arm" thingy to the "grabber" thingy. It's actually the connection that i am the most concerned with. I centered a 3/32nd brass pin to go thru the meat of the grabber thingy and the swing arm along with a 1/16 pin on the side for a little extra reinforcement, that along with the CA on the unpainted resin should provide a strong connection. Few pics to start.

It looks awesome, I really love the weathering! This kit and the old 1/72nd Glaug can look really good with just a little bit of work, some of the better proportioned releases from back then. mike

A quick look it seems to be the same size box....

Got mine today, they must be planning a weapons pack at some point because the RMS comes with extra parts (not listed on the instructions as far as i can see) to have 2 RMS's joined together with one mount point, rather than 3 individual mount points for the TV style. I was also surprised at how big they were, closer in size to the Yamato rather than the Club M, so i will need to mod a Yamato UMM7 for my current build, unless they announce a full weapons package very, very soon as i am looking forward to finishing up the one i am working on. mike

No, just stealing the ones from Max and giving them to Hikaru, I can't imagine that they are not going to release a weapons pack. I will be using some left over UMM7's from the Club M kit that i will clean up a bit and add a little detail to so i can finish my 1a DYRL Hikaru up and test out the launch arm i made. mike

HLJ states in stock this morning. I'm looking forward to getting them, more so that i can use the missiles for a DRYL 1A Hikaru build, I am counting on them selling the weapons pack separate at some point so I hope borrowing the missiles from this one works out....

Made some good strides yesterday, hope to do the first molds on the legs/feet next week. I need to mold some of the foot parts, cast a copy, modify to transition it from right foot to the left foot, then mold for the left foot. That will take a little bit of work for sure. Luckily i don't need to do that for the arms so that will be the only time i need to do it. thanks mike

I got a little sidelined with other stuff, as usual. But i also ran into a creative crisis with the detailing of the foot. I made an attempt to panel line the main foot, the biggest round part, and i was just not happy with the panel lines, it became almost gaudy, it's a case where less maybe more. I am re detailing it will a bit less and expect to be happier with those results The round, armorish nature of the part just does not lend itself to the panel lines, i will more likely go with light rivet detailing. The panel lines will be more reserved for the arms and body. mike

Hey Guys, thanks, molds are just about 1/2 done. As usual a combination of other projects and real life has me a bit behind. This week will go by fast with Wonderfest fast approaching but this should be done soon. I just got my order of metal in for the arms so were almost there.... thanks mike

Not quite yet, I need to clean and prime the grown parts, plus a little bit more work on the feet, but almost there! thanks mike