captain america

Cheaper is debatable, since we have yet to see what the re-issued kits will retail for. Second, unlike "Gunpla" kits, the old Macross kits actually require considerably more dexterity and skills to put together, so the idea that they'd be aimed at a younger audience does not jive with me. Third, using the second point, the re-issues are also not molded in the component-specific proper colors like Gunpla, and because of all the puttying that's needed to get surfaces flush, they will need to be painted to look half-way decent, so when you factor in the cost of sanding supplies, putty and paints, it probably comes out to more than the cost of a similar size Gunpla kit. Then again, if you can get a young child to master those kits, they'll really develop excellent building/finishing skills that many of the current Gunpla-only youngsters have lost.

Honestly, I don't see the point of these re-issues. The only reason I'd want the old kits is my nostalgic feelings for the original box art/layout. The kits themselves are badly proportioned, poorly (or not) articulated and just generally sub-standard compared to anything currently being offered, which is why I've been known to snap-up old kits, keep the boxes and dump the (useless) plastic contents on my friends. But not to fear, I'm sure that the re-issues will come at the newer, "correct" inflation-adjusted prices, even though the tooling was all paid for over a quarter-century ago.

Pic 9: I'm test-fitting the main fuselage parts, and everything looks excellent! As you can see, the engine nacelle is now properly rounded. The main fuselage now sports the bucks for the canopies, and the wings have their trailing-edge flaps secured temporarily with tape. The rear V-tail also has a separate flap, so the builder will have the option to build the plane in flight (wheels up), on the ground with drooped flaps & wings extended, or on the ground w/wings in stowed (folded) position. Oh, did I mention that I plan to add a mid-air refueling probe? Just seemed like a natural (if not critical) thing for a carrier-based bird to have, so that's just one more display option... Now I just have to find a place to put it (those mid-fuselage intakes prohibit putting the probe in a more “conventional” location.) Pic 10: front view of the engine nacelle. I may still round the top & bottom slightly. Pic 11: a better view of the flaps. This bird's wings have absolutely MASSIVE chord!! I was contemplating leading edge slats, but trust me, she doesn't need 'em! In fact, I have to wonder if the drag they produce doesn't outweigh the lift benefits... Pic 12: here is the wing fold mechanism again, this time with the trailing edge flap attached. Not finished yet, but looking great so far. That's it for this week; I was going to do a comparison with the YF-23 as well as show a few “homemade” tools, but I think that can wait another week, seeing as how this was already a pretty dense update. Stay tuned for more next week

Pic 5: here, a more detailed view of the mechanism; the stub attaches to the engine nacelle. There will be a bit more detailing done to these parts, but not just yet. Pics 6 and 7: here we have the newly-converted double-bogey main gear and nose-gear being test-fitted. The struts themselves still need to have some parts & detail added, but for now I will content myself with the knowledge that everything fits. Pic 8: once again, testing for symmetry and fit. A-OK so far.

Captain's log, Friday, May 14th. The Enterprise is trapped in a strange energy fi—woops! Sorry, wrong reality! I've had such a long week that I lose track of what dimension I'm in. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, the Kaa 'Tsai update. Pic 1: solder. It makes soldering possible. It also makes super-detailing possible—and fun! Its easily pliable nature and availability in several different diameters makes this a wonderful tool for adding wires or piping to a model. Pic 2: this is just one example of what solder wire is good for. The main gear bays are now starting to take shape. I don't normally get so busy with detailing so early into a build, but the nature of this project requires a much less conventional procedure. Pic 3: the aircraft's V-tail undergoing some spot putty repair. Due to the complex nature of the shaping of the tail, I couldn't just carve the whole thing out of one solid block, so certain structures are added gradually along the build process to ensure that the kit has a good foundation and good symmetry. Pic 4: the aircraft's sto-wing folding mechanism. The interlocking teeth you see were all added one by one, by hand.

Actually, it was a marketing decision to "cheat" with regards to size. Gotta remember that the conceptual stage doesn't exist in a vacuum: ideas are swapped back and forth with sponsors and/or the merchandising arm. Contrary to popular belief, product ideas start off as price-points, and are somewhat "back-engineered" to meet a target price.

The Glaug in the pic is actually the ARII kit; IMAI never made the Glaug in 1/72. If you base yourself purely on numerical values, the ARII kit is more accurate, but as was mentioned above, from a functionality and realism standpoint, the plastic Zentradi kits are quite disappointing.

Funny Fact #1: I actually used to work at a MUCH faster pace, fueled by substantial amounts of coffee & sugar, but I started to slack off in the last few years so as not to wreck my health. Funny Fact #2: working from scratch is actually a lot easier than most people think; far, FAR harder to fix "problems" on an existing model. In fact, I'm glad you reminded me, I'll try to do a little segment in the next update to cover custom tools.

Pic 9: ...And speaking of bogey, this is the unit that will be transformed into the main gear; it's off a 1/144 scale 747-400. It will have to be modified to two bogeys in stead of four, and the retraction mechanism will need to be replaced, but it's nothing I can't handle. Pic 10: Perfect fit! Pic 11: ah, now we're getting somewhere! After lots and lots of hand sanding and shaping, it's finally starting to look like a plane. Pic 12: underside view of the same. I placed the hatches over the wheel well and belly cavity so that the hatches would be a perfect, seamless fit. On a side note, this plane is MASSIVE for a carrier-based bird, not just compared to the VF-1, but also compared to modern birds. In a future installment, I'll show photos of it next to a YF-23 and you'll see what I mean. Stay tuned

Pic 5: and here I'm milling the vertical sides! This is why I keep many of my shapes square until the last possible moment: once you start shaping those compound curves, you lose those geometric flats and reference points become much harder to calculate, not to mention that it makes it infinitely harder to clamp a rounded part in the mill vise. Pic 6: here's that leading edge engine nacelle again, now starting to have more of the desired, tapered shape. Pic 7: this is the aft view of the engine nacelle; I strategically split the pod in upper-aft and lower-fore sections so that I could hollow them out (precious weight savings!) and also makes it easier to get the tunnels shaped. Pic 8: the main gear bays, a step closer to completion, needing to be checked for bogey-fit.

Captain's log, Friday, May 7th. Also referred to as pizza day. While I've been able to progress on the Kaa 'Tsai, the progress has admittedly been a bit slower than I would have liked. Probably because unlike, say, a Destroid, which is mostly a series of blocky, geometric shapes, this project has a lot of subtle, compound curves that require lots of hand-sanding. More fun for me, but also more time-consuming. Pic 1: here is the leading-edge intake of the engine nacelle. This is a particularly tricky area, as the intake tunnel will need to go from a square with rounded corners to a cylindrical/circular shape at the compressor face. I started by boring the channel on the mill, and will follow-up with some homemade sanding tools to get the desired square taper. Pic 2: here is yet another part that has “complex procedures” written all over it: the LEX/wing/main gear bay. I really had to plan-out the sequence of work on these pieces or risk fouling them up. Being the LEX/inner part of the wing, it has a normal air foil cross-section that, just like on any plane, tapers off in width, height, but it also has to be partially hollow to accept the main dual-bogey main gear, and then it has to have a conventional flap/aft control surface (yes, these will be separate and positionable—it's me afterall!) Pic 3: this is the belly of the main fuselage. The smaller opening will become the front gear well, while the larger hole in the aft fuselage was simply milled to reduce weight on the structure and will have an appropriate cover. Pic 4: the same part, as seen from above. I've overlaid yet another paper template so as guide me as I mill the vertical sides.

Wings yes, canopies no. Canopies are clear (invisible) so I don't need to make them; just imagine the canopy being there Oh, and the drum sander works great, but be warned though: only use a high quality bit/stone and be as gentle as possible, or risk having the stone de-laminate and/or spontaneously explode from heat and pressure. Happened to me just a few months ago. Not fun.

Pic 7: here is part of an engine nacelle. The milling allowed me to remove much of the excess, but as you can see, it's still not conformal to the paper template, so... Pic 8: I use an improvised grinding device, which consists of my drill press set on high speed, and a harsh grinding stone to smooth-out the rough spots and reproduce all of those subtle, organic curves. Pic 9: here we see the main fuselage, which is back on the mill in order to create the cockpit openings. Pic 10: here are all the parts I have to date, crudely mocked-up. It has the rough shape of the plane but will benefit from much more sculpting before it achieves its full potential. More to come next week, as usual. Stay tuned!

Pic 4: after a few hours of cutting and milling, the printed diagrams are then cut out and pasted on the appropriate blocks. This cookie-cutter method might seem crude, but it works surprisingly well. There is still quite a bit of excess modelling board, so that will be trimmed with the band saw. Pic 5: after a bit of trimming, the parts go back under the mill to remove yet more material and get all the flats and angles just right. This particular piece will eventually become the wing root/main gear bays. Pic 6: as I'm sure some of you already suspected, I use an assortment of milling shanks, so as to allow me the greatest amount of flexibility and precision in my cutting.

Guess what day is today? Update day!! Captain's log. Stardate: April 30 2010 Well folks, here it is, the start of the infamous KAA'Tsai Lecon Prane. As per my usual routine, step one involves getting a hold of all the available animation style sheets, and if necessary, viewing the episode(s) in which the particular mecha made its appearance. This is my way of “taking it all in” so as to have a good idea of what the craft is all about so that I can hopefully do it justice in three dimensions. With that, I then commit myself to drafting the in-scale plans. I have an odd way of doing this, since I don't go for every chamfered corner radius and rivet; in stead, I go for overall shapes and alignment points, which is just enough to give me the precision I want and still allow my spontaneous creativity to shine. After the diagrams are done, then comes the fun part. Pic 1: the diagrams I made are now printed and joined by the usual suspects: my trusty calipers, ruler, and of course, chunks of modelling board. Pic 2: the next step involves cutting the modelling board down to more manageable-sized chunks on the table saw. Gotta watch those fingers! Pic 3: while the cuts from the table saw are relatively smooth, they still aren't smooth and flat enough to allow for really precise work, so the freshly-cut piece is then milled to more acceptable tolerances.

That's not Pixie Dust, they're cookie crumbs. Chocolate chip cookie crumbs, to be exact!

Of course. I feel that showing the sculpting process is important in the grand scheme of things.

I've already started carving

Bingo! It keeps me off the predators' radar for one. Second, "Kaa-'Tsai" is completely separate and legally-distinct from "Cat's Eye" and so a claimant would have no standing to bring legal action (or threats of legal action) based on alleged copyright infringement.

Not yet.

The plastic Bandai kit is the TV version, and it's absolutely nasty; the film version was made by Yellow Submarine in resin, but it's still 1/144 and therefore small.

33 thus far.

Hmm, looks like interest has fizzled. Any other takers?

I won't be pan-handling until early June or so; essentially, you'll only be asked to part with your digits once the master is done I've already started doing some drafting and double-checking the line-art. Based on the original reference material, it seems like Tanmen's interpretation differs slightly with what I see in terms of the fuselage shape, which may not necessarily be wrong, because the artwork leaves things rather ambiguous.

40 is the minimum threshold that will make the project viable, so I need at least that many to give it the green light. If I have the opportunity to make more than that, great