captain america

Hi Retracting. I've been hearing feint whispers of this model since about this time last year, but nothing solid whatsoever. As you can see now, sites are starting to show it as To Be Released, and one actually had a price of $148 for the model. I think they SHOULD have released it last year, but seem to have held-back in order to improve the tooling and correct a few little details. It's to the point now, that even one aftermarket decal company is planning to release an upgrade decal sheet to coincide with the kit... Unfortunately, still no official date of release. http://argo.net.au/jbwhole/trumpeter/tr32.htm http://www.discountmodels.com/trumperter_32_planes.htm http://www2.stevenshobby.com:5641/si/produ...supplierid=5270 http://www.udisco.com/hobbies/inv/Trumpe.HTM

though I wouldn't normally bother with a silly "pie-in-the-sky" rumor of this nature, I've seen this listed on at least 3 sites so far as being slated for 2004 release by Trumpeter. Unfortunately, no pictures or prices. Just wondering if anyone had any solid info of any kind on this (possible) upcoming release?

Hi David. The Techniks and Cutting Edge update sets are one in the same; just packaged differently. With regards to the "incorrect-ness" of hasegawa's wing-glove fairing, it's too flat when you look at the aircraft from the side. The area where the wing-glove meets the foreward fuselage/nose section should have a bit more of a curve to it. In the end, most people won't notice, and despite all my scratchbuilding skills, I deem it as not worth the hassle to repair. I did a quick write-up on the hasegawa kit here: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Fea1...cato/fea681.htm One sample picture:

Hi David. I actually have the 1/32 Tamiya Tomcat ( 1994 re-issue.) All in all, I firmly believe that it has more potential than any other Tomcat kit out there on the market at the moment. The lack of scribed detail on the aft fuselage is a blessing in my eyes: considering tamiya's tendancy to carve very deep trenches in offerings like the 1/32 Eagle and Phantoms, I'll gladly do my own scribing in the proper size. Regarding the Cutting Edge fuselage/engine nozzle update set, I think it falls rather short in my eyes: there's absolutely no need to cut away the aft fuselage to make it correct, you just need some putty to square-off the outer fairing and re-model the adaptor fitting aft of the alligator plates, which is really just a bare carbon-fiber part. Even worse, the update kit completely ignores the fact that you need new burner cans to go with the GE nozzles, so scratchbuilding skills are necessary if you want to do it right. Having said that, it's still my pick as the best F-14 kit out there, with the 1/48 Hasegawa a close second. The latter definitely provides more bang for the buck and gives you more lattitude to build alternate versions, but they did screw-up in the shaping of the upper portion of the LEX/wing glove, which is a tad too flat, and the lower aft fuselage just foreward of the engine nozzles is improperly shaped.

What? No review of Tamiya's 1/32 Tomcat??

Hi Jesse White metal (pewter) is intrinsically difficult to cast because of the fact that the metal cools/solidifies very quickly. I've tried doing some home pouring myself, but for anything more detailed than a 1.5 by 1.5 inch cube, it'll result in much of the detail not coming out because of the above problem. As it turns out though, I currently have a supplier that specialises in white metal casting. He uses spin-casting ( centrifuge) to do small stuff, and from firsthand knowledge, his work is quite nice. Just let me know if I can help.

Hi Anthony ...I really should've been more careful about posting that; looks like I've opened up another can o' worms. The Vf-1D project sounds like a relatively interesting one. However, if you look at the foreward fuselage of the D conpared to the A/J/S, there's quite a length difference. That, combined with the shortened chest armor and the need for a very long heatshield (to cover the elongated canopy) might result in an engineering "brick wall." Probably the best solution would be a "cheat" technique similar to what Yamato did in 1/60... It's a lot of work though.

Yeah why don't cha cast it for us, we'll all buy it? Sure thing. Just line-up 50 or so people who are willing to shell-out $520.00 apiece for the kit, and I'll get right to work.

1/32 scale.

That's not a knife... THIS is a knife. **shameless attempt at self-promotion**

...Not just re-casts, his absurdly-high prices didn't help. I still have a few of his catalogs from 12-13 years ago; seems like he just bought the kits for retail in Japan, and tried to make a mark-up on that. If anything put him out of business, it was HLJ. When his clientele realised what the original kits actually cost, they defected in droves to greener pastures.

http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/mwat/j...giosstreadd.jpg The picture isn't mine, but it IS of my model. The warped port-side wing and angled wing stripes give it away. I also have the magazine article somewhere. I'll try to scan it in the next couple days.

I built the Newtype-issued kit about 11 years ago for a magazine review... Funny, most of the pics I see on the net of the kit built are of my model. It's an ok kit. As Jesse mentionned, the Legioss' cockpot canopy is opaque resin, but as the Legioss itself is just a resin casting of the 1/72 Imai plastic kit, you may want to swap the resin chunker for its plastic counterpart. The tread portion is cute; nothing spectacular, but detailed enough for what it is. Though not actually transformable, it can be re-worked to transform to Tread Soldier with some minor scratchbuilding and refinement. Decals are plenty, and are of the same type issued in the Imai kits. They go on with no problems. The only drawback of the kit was the Tread's wings, which are molded in a soft resin which seemingly has a tendancy to sag with time... More so if placed in a warm area. You may want to scratchbuild a set of these out of styrene. Doubtful that you'll find that kit for $50. They usually fetch over a undred on E-Bay, and that's for the re-recasts.

God, some people are cheap. Truthfully, I've never considered myself a reckless spender, but to limit one's self to a $20-$50 price-point on an item simply because it gets stereotyped as a "toy" in my mind, just seems ludicrous. Unlike my parents, who are the cheapest people I know, and spend absurd amounts of time/effort to save a nickel on everything they buy, I've adopted a slightly different philosophy: you only live once, and you're here for a good time, not a long time, so enjoy. That having been said, I don't want to wake up one day, look back and say that I've saved-up all this money, knowing that I won't be able to spend it when I die. To me, toys are a healthy part of everyday life, and if I really want something, whether it costs $10 or $10 000, if I really want it, there's a good chance I'll get it.

Hi Jesse Sounds like a fair challenge. I may feel obligated to do a litle bit of tinkering on the VF-0 though... Most likely convert it to 1/32 scale and make it transformable for starters

Actually, I'll go with a slightly different answer: if your seam-line still shows-up after puttying & sanding, it's probably because your putty was too viscous to fill it in the first place, and when you sanded-off all the putty that was sitting on top--poof! Seam line's back. Take a low viscosity Ca glue and fill-in the gap. The glue flows very easily, so be careful, or it'll end-up everywhere. Wait about 5 minutes, and start to sand. If there's a substantial level difference between tour two halves ( poor molding, etc), don't waste your time with air-dry putties, they take forever to dry, and they shrink. In stead, use automotive polyester putty that you can find at a local car-care store. Make sure you get the fine grade, and un-filled. This is a catalized putty, so there's virtually no shrinkage, but be warned, it stinks to high-hell. The putty should go on very smooth, but make sure you sand your plastic rough first, to give it some bite. It'll start to cure in a few minutes, and you can start sanding in about 15... Faster if you kick-it with a hair dryer(accelerates cure.) If you still have problems, LMK.

Hi Six. Just a silly question: where'd you get that background? It looks fantastic!

Nice, refreshing custom job. You should have no problem unloading it on E-Bay with that scheme. Have you considered adding the proper markings to it? Technically, they're quite simple and wouldn't even require making decals for; you could quite simply cut the designs out of masking tape to make stencils and litterally paint the markings on.

...And another "serious" enquiry bites the dust

ROFLMAO!!!!!!! They're always "serious" until you provide them witrh a real-world quote. Then they disappear.

While I don't share your opinion about "HP" products... I have my own peaves about products made by Xerox, and a few other companies. I do find this idea of a "prototyping" printer interesting.... theoretically you cold make your parts on this printer, and if they are "stable" enough make a mold of the parts... Resin Model making would go extreme! If you can draw it/design it... you could make a model of it. There is one place here in montreal that offers stereolithography services on a contract basis. The service costs $100/hour( the cheapest I've found, by the way), and this doesn't include the cost of designing the part on the computer. The thing is, whether you have a very simple, or a very complex part, the machine works at the same pace, and the average "print" time for a given component is 20-40 hours. I know that Bandai employs this technology on the MG and PG line of models... The only way they can achieve such precise, complex parts. Mind you, Gundam is hugely popular and the enormous capital investment can be offset over the sales of hundreds of thousands ( perhaps even millions) of models. However, even with this technology, I doubt Bandai ( or anyone else ) would like average joes downloading and printing their own parts at home; it just makes counterfitting & theft potential too great.

Hi Jesse. The fact that you heard all this from an HP salesman makes me all the more skeptical: I've owned NUMEROUS HP products in the past, and as a result, they are effectively on my " never buy anything from them EVER again" list; these guys couldn't clean fresh puke off a teflon-coated linoleum floor Hewlett Packard produces garbage, plain and simple. Though I've no doubt that they will succeed in making the 3-d printing technology package cheap, it will also be garbage... Company policy obliges continuity. Besides that, how's your back holding-up these days?

I've seen these 3D printers firsthand, as well as handled "print" samples. The powder that the machine "lays up" needs to be coated with a sealant to protect it, or it'll deteriorate very easily... And even then it deteriorates with age and even the finest powder/resolution is very granular at best. Basically, it's a cheap-crap twist on stereolithography, but without the precision... All for the low-low price of roughly $26 000 plus materials, training & maintenance; courtesy of Z Corporation. Good advice of the day: you can put every fancy twist you want on rapid-prototyping, and though there are indeed purposes for producing prototypes this way ( aerospace and F1 spring to mind) you can still get better prototypes and models done by hand which are as precise as they need to be, and for faster, cheaper and better than anything that comes out of those push-button "part-O-matic" printers. Remember, technology is just a tool, no different than an airbrush, or modelling board. I would caution those who believe that they will get instant Garage Kits galore simply by purchasing/getting access to one of these machines... Technology isn't a replacement for talent. Want custom models that kit manufacturers won't produce? Learn to sculpt, it's that simple.

According to the Mospeada style sheets, the Gurab inbit is roughly half the height of the Legioss in Soldier Mode; maybe just a tad less. The Eager Inbit, in turn, is about half as tall as the Gurab. I'd end to think that the Wonderfest kits are a little too large for the scale, but it certainly makes for a nicer piece to display as a result.

Hi Jesse The re-castings look excellent! No pin holes or other defects that I can see either; probably even better than the originals, now that they've been cleaned-up prior to the new molding. Just for fun, did you end up casting the parts with the Smooth Cast 321?