captain america

Hi guys. Just wanted to give you a quick update on what's going on. I've already begun pouring the molds for the masters, and hopefully that process will be done by friday evening, or Sat morning at the latest (cure time and all), with the first test-shots ready that same evening. My goal is to get a set of molding masters off to Jesse first thing Monday, so that he can begin making molds & casting. My guess is that whole process will take him at least a week to get started, so I'll be making the first kits over here, just so that we don't have to keep folks waiting too long for their models. Hopefully, I can start shipping the first kits within 10 days from now. Cheers,

Hi WM. Actually no, because of the way that the booster litterally "wraps around" the fighter, it can't simply slide in & out. Since there was no official reference material for the booster ejection, I made it so that the very tips of the lower fuselage are designed to blow away with exploding bolts, and pressurized C02 nozzles would then "push" the Valk down slightly, and then the Valk's own thrusters would allow it to slide free of the booster structure. I didn't make those tips separate on the kit, simply because my parts tally is already up to 15, and I wanted to keep the kit as simple as possible.

Hi guys. Actually, the scribing process on this thing was what I call a textbook example in an exercise in frustration: lots of compond curves and hard to reach areas where my scribing templates would constantly deviate as I was scribing. Surprisingly, when the final primer coat went on, it didn't look quite as bad as I thought it would, but Hasegawa could definitely have done better. ...Problem is, I don't think the subject got enough coverage in the series/isn't popular enough for them to warrant producing one... So you're stuck with my crappy resin kit

last pic.

next

next

next

next

next

next

next

next

next

It's finished. As you've most probably assessed from my previous updates, my pictures are simply poo, and I appologize for that ahead of time; there's a great deal of very fine detail and scribing that isn't really clear in the pictures, but I assure you that it is indeed there. The large gap running horizontally fore-aft along the outer hull is simply the junction between the upper and lower hulls. I didn't glue the parts for the photos, as this would damage the masters needlessly. Now that the masters are done, I'm tasking myself with making the first set of master molds, and the test-shots that will lead to the actual finished castings. These should be done by Sunday of next week... Depending on how quickly my mold material is delivered. Hopefully I'll have a new (proper) camera to take better detailed pics by them.

Alas, I think this thread's taken a step in the flame direction, and there's really no ned for that. The mystery of the golden VF has been solved; no sense antagonizing each other over a bad joke, this is MW, and we're better than that. Mods, can we please get this closed before it gets ugly? Cheers,

Hi Guys. Quick, pictureless update. I'm actually almost finished with the masters at this point; I had a minor hiccup with some parts that I still need, which is putting me a bit behind schedule, but all that said, the masters for the booster will be finished on Monday, and I'll have a full picture show then.

If you really want to pressure-cast, you can get a brand spanking new 2.5 gallon pressure tank by Campbell Hausfeld from your local Home Depot, or equivalent home renovation chain. Great big $80 US/$120 cdn, and it can safely take pressure to 50psi without batting an eyelash. If you need more than 50 psi of pressure to get decent castings, you simply aren't doing it right. Vacuum pumps & chambers: you can get these for a song on E-Bay compared to what I paid for mine 7 years ago. A lexan belljar & base are what the simplest vacuum chambers are made of, and they work flawlessly if not mangled or abused. As for CNC machining & 3D modelling. Pure overkill. Unless you need aerospace tolerances, and display models don't, you can get absolutely superb masters sculpted by hand for a fraction of the price.

Hi Eric. There's currently a raffle going on as we speak. Basically, you have the possibility of winning the VF-1 Booster with a Valkyrie, all built & painted by me as the grand prize. I believe that all the details were made available by MonkeyN at the very beginning of the post. And yes, if the booster sells well, I can't immagine why we couldn't organize the same type of raffle for a built-up launch vehicle later

Almost attempting to take credit for someone else's work?...Not the best way to introduce one's self to the MW forums

Hi guys. Mechamaniac: in so much as a 1/48 booster would be both enormous and hugely expensive, absolutely not. Major: yes, you read correctly. Though the production of the launch vehicle will be predicated on sales of the booster, it looks very promising so far. My only real concern will be price control, as the launch vehicle is a surprisingly-massive little bugger at well over a foot long.

Hi King Nor. How much the job will cost depends entirely on what you mean by "touched-up." There are quite a few talented modelers/customizers here who can help you out with that. Additionally, I think that there's an aftermarket decal set designed purposefully for the Yamato VF-1. Either way, you're good to go.

Hi Rob! Congrats on the new baby girl!!! I'm sure you'll have your hands full with your new bundle of joy, so don't worry about this little trinket; I'll get it done in timely fashion. Besides, you're probably running on lack of sleep from caring for the baby... Cranky as you may be now, you'll look back on the sleepless nights & diaper-changing fondly in 20 years

Hi Chad. Yes, Jesse will be doing the bulk of the casting. However, I plan to also make a set of master molds here; particularly for the nozzle/endbells, of which 4 will be required per kit, and because of the high detail in the nozzle area, I'm relatively certain that the mold-life will be far lower than normal. Also, in order to avoid having people impatiently wait months for their kit, Jesse and I can do double-duty, so that kits are delivered more quickly, or in case Jesse just simply bottlenecks from workload saturation. Oh, just for fun, here are a couple of fuzzy, low-quality pics of the Valkyrie mooring point... Simple as it looks, you guys have NO CLUE what bloody hell it was to make.

Hi WM. That's an excellent idea actually. I'll try to include the bent knee parts in the booster kit (depending on if I have any leftover mold material when the main parts are molded). Teeth around the endbell openings: yes, I'll be getting to those in due course. I was initially hesitant to add these, for fear that the gap between the housing and the nozzle would be too constricted and result in binding, but upon more extensive fitting & fiddling, it seems that I have adequate room to add the extra detail and still have plenty of room to adjust the angle of the nozzle.