Jasonc

It's is Alumilite clear resin. It's a little difficult to get it super clear. The process starts by "baking" the mold in about 200 degree oven temp for an hour to heat the rubber so that the clear resin can run through the mold easy and get rid of bubbles. Then once the resin is mixed, it's slowly poured in the hot hold and then put in a pressure tank and cures for 2 eays.

Last batch of rubber for the molds has arrived today, and that means that the last couple parts to recast can begin this weekend, as long as the molds are up to par. The kits sold should be going out next week, and I hope to have a diagram or copy of instructions to put up soon after.

So, just a quick update. I have to order more rubber for the molds, and everything is taking slightly longer to set, now that it's been colder. I have placed the order for the extra rubber, and it will come in beginning of next week, which is perfect since I'll be in Japan. I have 5 sets done, and just need to recast the lance attachment pieces. I should have these out soon. I have 2 or 3 paid orders already, and as I said, I may only be making 5 of these. If you want one, but haven't inquired or paid, shoot me a pm.

I had a chance to read the review, and it appears her grade of B- is not a bad review at all. Because of this thread, I actually (against what I planned) listened to the Speaker Podcast in which she is a guest on. Between that and her written review, her two views seem to be that it is a good film to watch. In not watching the series, it does seem to be that there were some aspects of it that she would have needed to know from the series that would've helped the movie make a lot more sense, but that one can still get the overall meaning of what is going on. Without it, some things do seem a bit jarring, but to fans who have seen the series, it should be a lot less. Overall, the reviews seem genuinely good from multiple sources. Now, I've also heard some of the criticisms, and they seem to be a little of what I expected. I wouldn't go as far as say the writing is pure crap, because it simply isn't. If that were the case, the overwhelming support of fans here in the U.S. (macrossworld is not a good indicator of the general anime fandom, mind you) would probably reflect that. In what I do with the convention, and in going to multiple conventions as part of being one of Super Dimension Con's "ambassadors" as we go to various conventions, I meet with a lot of fans of this series, Macross in general, and those that don't know much about it at all. There are different aspects of Delta that each like, but out of many of the newer fans, one criticism I haven't heard, is the writing, story, or anything in that realm. Even after bringing that up, it doesn't seem to be something that is a major issue at all. Every Macross Movie has had some pieces that seem a bit jarring to people not familiar with its previous counterpart. Of course, it may seem strange to hear amongst us fans who know these stories better than most, but I've come across this in showing past girlfriends DYRL, people I've shown the Plus movie to, and as of late, the last two Frontier movies. There always seems to be some explaining I have to do afterwards, or during, but when one takes into consideration the fact that this particular review was from someone who fits that type of viewer, some of those criticisms are in fact, par for the course. I'll be seeing the movie next week, so maybe I'll have more to add in this thread, and I do intend to view the movie from a more objective POV.

Just as I typed this, I came home today, to see the parts I designed sitting on my doorstep. I made an attempt to put the two pieces together to see how well the part that is attached to the lance would hold on the harness, and it is a perfect fit. I'm still going to put in magnets and the 2 2mm steel rods in both pieces for extra security, but they are not needed. I do need to adjust the ball that holds to the armor piece, as the ball is slightly too big and a little high. Other than that, the pieces are looking pretty good. The new lance connection pieces are already on a piece of clay for molds, so those will be done this weekend as well. I'm really happy with how the new pieces look.

Last piece to produce and recast is in the process of mold making, and once that's done, I'll be sending out kits. If you're interested in a kit, pm me, and I can send one out. I've only made 5, and that might be all I make, so if you're interested, let me know. I don't know if I put the price out for the kit, but it is everything needed for the Paladin parts only. I will have another knee part available for sale on Shapeways, and here's the link... https://www.shapeways.com/product/F5XJ55ENM/paladin-knee-fix?key=c91eefab72da950120309da379cf8a03 I will be sending out in the kit all optional parts, including parts that appear like the original offerings from Frameout. The set is $50. I'll probably add a for sale thread in the for sale section, but this is my trial and error ramblings as I move along.

Looks great, Xigfrid. I'm sure this has been asked already, but where did you get the mini figures at?

I'm going to be recasting parts, so crucial parts have been enlarged to account for resin shrinkage, but using fxd will save on cleanup, and the resin will make these pretty solid pieces. I do need to keep in consideration once I makeparts for a store though. It's why I tried to order two material versions. I'll readjust the model for way premium.

Exactly. I think they took some of what they did for the model kit, and just didn't care about the adaptability in a toy that transforms. In any case, this will hopefully fix it, and with two tiny magnets, along with the support structure, provide what's needed. I think it'll work and if it does, these will be included with the magnets for people buying it if they so wish to use the new structures I've made that are, well, vastly different than the original redesigns. On another note, the way I designed the entire set can't be made in WSF premium due to the small supports that I made to attach all the parts together. However, it looks like Extreme Detail passed A-OK.

In working on the parts, I realized that the lance being mounted on the top of the fighter isn't designed to hold without any glue. Because of this, I have spent some time redoing the top part of the lance and the backpack harness so that it can hold for both modes. you'll notice there are some indents on the harness, and on the lance piece that connects. I have designed some guides on the harness, as well as indents for 1mm x 3mm magnets to be placed inside it, as well as two 2mm thick steel rods to go in the lance piece that will help keep it down. I don't know how strong it will be, but if all works out, it might be able to provide some swooshing in fighter. I also made two different sized steel harnesses on two different lance pieces. I will try both, and whichever one is better, I'll obviously use that. I was about to send out a set to someone, but after dry fitting them, I was just really unhappy that the original set had two little nubs smaller than 1mm to hold the entire thing. It wasn't designed to hold properly, so let's hope this works better and I hope this design will be worth it for you all who want this.

You may need to get a resin to get that put back on, if you don't want to take it apart. You can use a product called Pro-create, but I don't know how well it'd work. It's a small piece. I have extra that I can send, but you would need to take it apart. If you do that, you'll definitely need to do some touch up work, but it would be worth it, IMO.

I would want one of these, but I'm not going to spend the money on it. I have one that's never been opened, so I'm good for now, and to be honest, the 0 Phoenix isn't my favorite Valkyrie. The SV-51 though, that to me, is a beast of a fighter.

K guys, I have some updates for the set I created. It is finished and I have started recasting parts. If you are interested in a set, I am selling the set for $45. This will include all the parts specific tot he Paladin set. These are parts that I have designed, with small changes, but overall, can be interchangeable with the original set (if any of you have it). There is one part that I did not recast because I simply can't, but can be found on Shapeways. I did redesign another knee joint that looks like the original piece, so I can add that as well for the option. In any case, the set is done, and recasts of the original printed parts are being made now. If you want a set, send me a pm. Shipping should be very low, as the parts are light. I will also scan a copy of the instructions here, so that everyone can see how the parts are to be put together. I have enough for about 15 sets max, and after that, I'm not making anymore of them unless there's a large demand after, which I doubt.

This looks great. I can't wait to see the transformation results.

I'm going to keep it clear. The reasoning is that I don't mix enough clear resin to put any pigment in. Pigment messes with the integrity of the plastic, and because I use such a low amount each recast, I don't want to make it soft. Clear resin already is kinda flexible.

I preordered one. It looks great, and after seeing it on display in Japan, it's a definite buy.

I will. I'll try to do it during the week. I've spent the better part of 4 months tweaking the angles and measurements of the front head glass just to get it where it is now. I'm quite happy to say that it now fits and works as it should. Dome may ask why I'm recasting it, instead of just putting it up on Shapeways. Well for one, you can never get this clarity in any shapeways print work. This allows me to continually recast them and not have to spend a fortune getting any sort of frosted xtreme detail parts made. Plus, FXD is extremely brittle. The idea is to have you guys not have to buy anything from shapeways, with the exception of 1 part that I simply cannot recast due to the complex design. In any case, this is an actual recast part, and you can see how clear it is. I'm very happy with this.

I will. I'll try to do it during the week.

I gotta see that. I used a little thinner on the shield, and bad mistake. Not the worst, but the best action is to just lightly sand it off, then used a liquid buffer, or a nail buffing pad. It worked out just fine that way. I will start this on the wings tomorrow.

For the lance to set on top in fighter mode, the original kit came with a piece that allows it to snap in that upper back part, but the way it is designed isn't to my liking. I am working on a way to make it slightly thicker so that I can either have it attach via magnets, or by some slim 1 - 1.5mm pins. With magnets, I can hide them, but I'll need to search and see what type of design I can use to optimize it for. If not, pins will be what is used. As for the fast packs, covering those parts is easy, and shouldn't bee too much trouble, but my biggest concern is taking off the tampo printed markings that are on it now. it's not the think one really wants to do, and they don't come off easy, but I haven't tried a good method yet. Maybe thinner? I have decals to replace them.

Well, the cheek guards I designed work perfectly. They do require some sanding and cleanup like all resin, but they fit smoothly (after two tries).

That's really cool. You're going to recast the parts you've made? For the head, I used Frameout's head. I can't wait to see the stuff you're working on in the near future. If you do work on anything new for this project, I hope you are able to do a wing replacement with the lead edge shield on the wing and the extended flap.

I finally managed to paint the tail fins and they came out great. I didn't need to mix any paint, but found a Mr Color that works very close to it. I haven't put on the body/wing base covers, as I'm trying to figure out If I want to redesign it to cover the inner part of the wing. I have the one you made, Xigfrid, so if I run out of patience designing it, I'll stick them on. So far, this is probably the happiest I've been with a custom project. Between the work Xigfrid did with the extras, and the parts that were from Frameout Models and the decal work, along with my own work that I'm proud of, I think it's come out quite well. I think my last piece will be customizing the pilot to look as he should.

Progress is going very slowly as of late. The reasoning is mostly due to recasting parts I've made and have tested out. After priming the parts and smoothing them out, a few pieces are now ready for recasting. there isn't much difference between the original parts and the redesigned parts, but what is redone works quite well. there is only knee connector for the left thigh guard that is a complete redesign, and it works great, but due to the way it is made, it will need to be ordered via Shapeways. Other than that, I'll be recasting a few sets of the redesign while working on my own stuff. I'll probably have a couple pics of the redesign parts soon.

Yeah, I have those redesigned as well. Those go on next.