captain america

Well if you REALLY want to see... I have a couple of pictures of the parts being prepped for molding. I just pour the rubber and then slice it to extract the parts. Gravity pouring, nothing fancy, but it works.

Just a quick heads-up guys, I'll be skipping tomorrow's update because the parts are all in silicone and there's nothing to show ATM. However, I will have cast parts in a few days so... Wish me luck!

The point where the beam gun mates to the body is ball-jointed, so the cannons actually have quite a range of motion. You can even position them such that the beam gun muzzle is almost parallel with the eye. I did have to cheat a little bit though, because the line art isn't consistent and fails to account for the upper shell humps interfering with the beam guns. Will take better pics once the parts are cast.

Sorry, I don't understand your question.

The resin bar I used to make the master from just happened to be blue. The kit part will be clear and so you'll be able to make it any color you like. I'm glad that you guys really like King Crabulon. Ever since I was a boy I wanted Inbit kits, but as you know, there weren't even crappy Imai kits to choose from and so now I'm over-compensating for all these years of Inbit deficiency!

Captain's Log: Friday, November 29, A.K.A.: "Black Friday." King Crabulon's masters... Are done! This update will mostly consist of beauty pics. I did want to get into one little build detail, and that's the eye. There was just no way that I was going to mold it into the housing because while it's a small model, I do like the idea of having a little red LED in there for special effects... Just wanted to underline that point. Also, kindly forgive the rough texture on some parts: that's just the primer and the wet-sanding before the molding process will do away with it in a heartbeat. I didn't try to mount the beam cannon to avoid damaging the kit, but I think that based on previous pics, we get the idea. Anyways, enough yapping, enjoy the photos!

King Crabulon is in the primer stage. Pics of finished masters tonight before I dump the parts in rubber

I was merely saying that with time comes experience, and it's only natural to find more efficient ways to do something over time. Revisiting the 1/32 Beast would be quite difficult, and probably too expensive.

That's like comparing an apple to a watermelon, claiming that they're both fruit! The Legioss was infinitely more complex, had to transform, have opening panels, joints, the whole shebang. The Inbit is much smaller and requires a much more "Yin" approach to the sculpting. Of course, also bear in mind that you garner a lot of experience in a decade, so even if I had to do something like a Legioss today, I dare think that I'd be able to get it done a little bit quicker and more efficiently.

Thanks! Yes, I use automotive Bondo primarily, and a Mori-Mori type putty for finer work.

And the glam pics!

Captain's log: Friday, November 22nd. The beast takes shape, I shall name it Crabulon!…Maybe. It has been a fairly slow week, and I wasn't able to put in as many hours as I would have liked, but she's very close to being finished: it's mostly down the small bits and details now. Pic 1: one of many balls being machined for the Inbit's joints. While I do use the lathe's knife, I mistly use a combination of sanpaper grits to "grind" the balls round as they turn. Pics 2 and 3: the previously neglected beam gun gets a bit more attention this time. Rough parts are hand-spaped, scored, and then putty is used to ensure a good fit of the kit's many blobby parts. Pic 4: the Inbit's backside is being prepped for its thrusters: an excruciatingly long and frustrating process that will end up looking rather superb… Assuming my nerves hold out. Pics 5 and 6: the forearm claw, in all its glory! To ensure perfect symmetry, the claw opening was sculpted and polished as a positive buck and was puttied into the rough openings I'd Dremeled by hand. Pic 7: oh, so much putty! Yet more parts are puttied into place, while you can see a more refined version of the forearm in the back. Pic 8: some people have asked me how I scribe my panel lines, and it's really quite simple: using a ruler, French curves and masking tape, I cut the desired shapes into tape and apply it to the part. Then, I simply take a fine razor saw and very lightly drag it along the taped line several times. It really IS that simple! Pics 9-14: beauty pics of King Crabulon. I must apologize for the very improvised posing, It's a bit tedious when the kit has no complete joints. In spite of that minor setback, it really is coming along nicely, even the beam cannon. Anyways, I'm tired and off for some much-needed rest!

Hey guys! I'll be posting today's update a little later than usual, just because I'm working on a lot of minor details. The masters are really coming along nicely.

Yup, just putty. I used to use CA glue for some things, but cured putty has a similar density to the modeling board and so can be worked much more easily.

I would concur with this evaluation. In my experience using pretty much all types of paint over the years, automotive paint and its solvents (up until just recently) tends to be very hot. My suggestion would be to obtain a primer from the auto paint store that is compatible with your paint. Preferably an epoxy primer, which is thinner than a high-build primer which is used for scratch-filling. Also, surface prep is critical: light sanding, then thorough washing with soapy water and let the parts air dry.

I wouldn't worry too much about colors: between original Vs. Remastered footage, lighting conditions, printing color variations, it's pretty much impossible to get a spot-on match. Just mix and match based on what you like and be happy!

And the last pictures.

November 15 2013 Captain's log, Friday!! The first update of the Mo-Suu-Pii-Dah Inbitoh begins now. In my usual fashion, I have elected to catalog the building process as closely as I can without getting putty on my camera lens… Which almost happened a couple of times … I feel that I need to preface this first update by saying that of all the Anime mecha subjects I've tackled, this one is perhaps the most inconsistent in terms of line art. To further compound matters, I don't think that the designers really gave much thought to the joints on Inbits in general: more often than not, the joints, particularly in the legs, just look like a series of blob-shapes that are somehow supposed to move and allow for articulation. Alas, have no fear, I'm an expert in the interpretation of Anime magic! Since the line art is so variable from one view to the next, I decided to focus on the principal beauty shot for this mecha (pic 001) and simply try to harmonize all the other views with this one. With that said, the journey begins! Pic 01: these are the blocks of modeling board and basic tools that I use when commencing a build. I also print-out some same-size line-art, which comes in very handy for reference. Pic 02: I first begin by chopping my larger modeling board blocks into smaller, more manageable pieces. Pic 03: Next, I take my line-art and carefully cut-out certain key parts to maintain a really tight build spec. Pic 04: since certain components appear only in perspective, I use my compass to measure and then draw certain other components if I feel I need to. For more mechanical components, I will draft on the computer, but due to the very organic nature of this subject, I have elected to render free-hand. Pic 05: my smaller blocks were insufficient, so here I am prepping another block on the mill. It's important to maintain perfectly right angles: this helps make the transfer of proportions much more exact. Pic 06: I stick my paper cut-outs directly to the modeling board to make the sculpting of parts easier. Pic 07: using the band saw, excess material is removed, but I'm mindful not to cut too close, since it's much more work to add material than to remove it. Pic 08: I use a grinding bit on a drill press to remove as much excess material as possible, all while maintaining a right angle on the part. I try to keep parts square for as long as possible, so as to make the verification of dimensions much easier. Pic 09: the upper crab armor goes under the mill. I use my machine to remove material incrementally in complex, curved areas: it becomes a kind of manual CNC job where I remove material in tiny steps forming a curve, which I can then sans smooth later. Pic 10: the main components, still in their crude, blocky form. Pic 11: this is the "calf" armor. I'm machining out the openings for the joints while the parts still have square angles. Makes machining much easier. Pic 12: now comes the fun (and dusty) part: using my dremel, I now begin to carefully round-out the given shapes. This particular piece will become the forearm. Pic 13: a cluster of very carefully-crafted "blob" joint parts. This is a particularly tedious step, as the parts have to look convincingly blobby, but still be identical left to right. A considerable amount of time and effort was expended to get them all just right, and then somehow fit together. Pic 14: the lower leg calf component, now adequately rounded is used to fit the shin armor. I use a kind of "putty smash" technique to ensure that these very organic parts all fit like a glove. Pic 15: the toe/foot claws were too short, so here I am widening them. Don't worry about that blob of putty, it will all be cleaned up. Pics 16 and 17: a very quick and crude test-fit, courtesy of some plasticine to hold the parts together. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. That's pretty much it for this week's update. Next week comes the fun of adding all those wonderful details… And beam guns! Stay tuned More pics!

WIP pics will be posted tomorrow. I actually only started on Monday so there won't be a whole lot of progress made. I seem to have quite a few pics though

That's simply a fantastic Star Destroyer! I can just imagine the hours upon hours of hard work that went into that.

OoOoOoOoh, I know what that's going to turn into!

Heck no. PM incoming...

If you'd like. I'll be doing another segment in a couple of weeks so if you have anything to ask, I'll tackle the question in the podcast.

Not too late! Payments are still coming in...

I never get tired of seeing you guys show off your work. Absolutely beautiful, Mike!!