Deadzone

For some reason when I go to the fantofan.com site, it gives me a bunch of gibberish. I can't seem to watch the movie, and I have a cable modem. Any suggestions? Also, I saw a picture of the new black Unicron coming out. Apparently, links aren't allowed to it because of prototype issues. Personally, I think it looks pretty lame. I wish they would just release a movie version. It would save me the trouble of having to repaint the damn thing.

Thanks for all the praise guys. Always nice to know that someone appreciates the work I put into this thing.

For those of you who are wondering how long this took, this was my first custom EVER! So, I had a lot of trial and error. Must have repainted some parts three times because of mistakes. Anybody without painting experience, do yourself a favor. Buy Tamiya model paints and skip the Createx. I used Tamiya orange, aluminum, light grey, and yellow for the colors. The orange you see on his chest is actually a mix between the orange, light grey, and yellow. Tamiya is excellent because it is strong enough to take light wet sanding for certain colors. If you mess up with aluminum though, forget it. Got to start over. It seems like the aluminum has metallic flakes mixed in with a dark grey. During sanding, the metallic flakes usually come off first leaving the ugly grey behind and an uneven surface. I tried several times to repair certain spots only having to redo almost the entire piece again. Tamiya is easily removed with windex and a lot of Q-tips. I tried painting with createx for the waist and chest areas. Unfortunately, I ended up having to redo the chest area with Tamiya because the createx was so fragile when it came to apply clear coats and doing fixes. The createx clear coat I used also was very fragile and will cloud when exposed to excessive water. To this day, I am still wary of touching painted parts with sweat on my hands. The Future floor wax coat I used on other areas seemed to be stronger. However, don't use Future on Createx paint. I think it strips the paint a little. Tamiya on the other hand is pretty solid. I worked on this thing for three weekends straight and on and off during the week. The next one I do will probably be easier and faster now that I know all the pitfalls (Avoid Createx at all costs!) that is, if I do another one. Note: Createx is probably fine for the experienced modeller, but I can't stand the stuff.

I thought of painting the ring orange but thought, "That's too much work!" Actually, the rings are too thick for painting orange. I think they would stand out too much. In the movie, they were toothpick thin which was fine. On the toy, they look like giant tree trunks. Also, the paint would probably chip off too easily due to the amount of movement and handling needed to be done with the rings. Here is a picture of robot mode. There still is the problem of the crack in unicron's chest. I didn't want to glue it shut and put putty all around it because I kind of like the chest missle. Yeah, it's cheesy but I always surprise my friends by shooting it at them. He is a bit silvery due to me trying to cover up all that ugly purple. Still, I think it turned out a lot better than the Armada version.

Ehh... close enough.

Whoops:

And one more for the road:

Here's some more:

I already know there is a Unicron thread, but I was hoping this could be a new one based on people customizing Unicron. I spent too many damn hours on this thing for it to get burried in some thread nobody looks at anymore. When Unicron first came out, I said two things to myself. The first was go out and buy that thing. The second was repaint that thing. I liked the toy itself, but the color scheme was terrible in my opinion. Robot mode was okay, but planet mode really bit hard. So, I decided to paint it more like the movie. This is my first custom ever, and I think it turned out alright. Some paint chipped off during tranformation (even though I used primer and clear coat) > so I still have to touch up the robot mode. At first I thought, who in their right mind would want to buy a display stand to show off the uglier planet mode. Now, I'm tempted to buy a stand for mine. Check it out:

Had to add my 2 cents on this topic. I used to do things like Napster because of one simple thing. I didn't want to buy a whole bunch of crappy songs just to get the one song I wanted on the CD. Let's face it. A lot of bands are one hit wonders. For the ones who had several songs I liked, I went ahead and bought the CD. It's not like the music companies deserve no money what so ever. They're a business that needs to generate profits like any other business. This is what pisses me off. When companies like Microsoft or the Record labels tell you to follow the law when they break it themselves. Price fixing, monopolizing, you name it, they'll do it if they think they can get away with it. And this is why a lot of people download songs. They "share" songs as long as they can get away with it. So it comes down to both sides trying to stick it to each other which creates a very bad situation. Personally, I do not regret my Napster years. I know most people did Napster because they just don't want to pay for music. I did it to send a message to the record companies. WE WILL NOT PAY $15.00 FOR ONE LOUSY SONG ON A CD! I think things like Napster are forcing the record companies to start doing things like the Apple Music Store. So far, I have downloaded and paid for around thirty songs from it. I love the Apple Music Store! It's cheap, legal, and the selection is pretty good for just starting less than a year ago. I see the Apple Music store as a way the Music companies are trying to meet the consumer halfway. Now it is up to the consumers to do the right thing and do their share. Who can complain about $.99 per song? Of course, I'm not sure if non Apple users can purchase from the store. In conclusion, if the music companies make the effort to provide affordable music, it is time that consumers start doing the same.

Had to add my 2 cents on this topic. I used to do things like Napster because of one simple thing. I didn't want to buy a whole bunch of crappy songs just to get the one song I wanted on the CD. Let's face it. A lot of bands are one hit wonders. For the ones who had several songs I liked, I went ahead and bought the CD. It's not like the music companies deserve no money what so ever. They're a business that needs to generate profits like any other business. This is what pisses me off. When companies like Microsoft or the Record labels tell you to follow the law when they break it themselves. Price fixing, monopolizing, you name it, they'll do it if they think they can get away with it. And this is why a lot of people download songs. They "share" songs as long as they can get away with it. So it comes down to both sides trying to stick it to each other which creates a very bad situation. Personally, I do not regret my Napster years. I know most people did Napster because they just don't want to pay for music. I did it to send a message to the record companies. WE WILL NOT PAY $15.00 FOR ONE LOUSY SONG ON A CD! I think things like Napster are forcing the record companies to start doing things like the Apple Music Store. So far, I have downloaded and paid for around thirty songs from it. I love the Apple Music Store! It's cheap, legal, and the selection is pretty good for just starting less than a year ago. I see the Apple Music store as a way the Music companies are trying to meet the consumer halfway. Now it is up to the consumers to do the right thing and do their share. Who can complain about $.99 per song? Of course, I'm not sure if non Apple users can purchase from the store. In conclusion, if the music companies make the effort to provide affordable music, it is time that consumers start doing the same.

Here's what I want to know. How come they got the colors right for prime but screwed up so badly with the Unicron toy? I think that is a big reason why people aren't willing to shell out the $50.00 for Unicron but may put up the money for prime. Trying to make an expensive transformer toy with colors that cater to little kids is just stupid. The Unicron toy says it is for ages 5 and up. What 5 year old's parents is going to buy that thing for their kid? I'm glad they finally got things right with prime. I just wish they had started a bit earlier so it would save us all the hassle of having to repaint Unicron. Yeesh.

Check out kidkorrupt's website. He has some interesting ones, good ones, and really funny ones. Just type in "kidkorrupt" in yahoo or some search engine. That's how I found it.

Well, I decided to go ahead and experiment. I went to a hobby shop and an art store. The art store sales person said I could use a water based primer then an acrylic water based paint on top of that. So far, I have had little success. Even after sanding, the water based primer easily chips off. Not very good. The guy at the hobby shop told me I could use water based acrylic paint but not primer. He suggested a can of Tamiya white which is suppose to be the finer one good for keeping details. I'll try some of that tonight. I think it will work much better but at $7.00 a pop, it can get very expensive very fast. Anybody have an alternative primer that works just as well? I bought two types of paint, Tamiya and Createx. I will try both and see which one works better. I have to say right up front, I hope they work the same or Createx works better. Tamiya bottles cost a lot and you have to buy thinner on top of it. The Createx comes premixed without the need for thinning. Wish me luck. Anybody with any thoughts on the subject, advice is appreciated.

Almost forgot to ask. It seems like the paint the toy companies use usually look great and stick very well. Does anybody know what kind of paint they are using? I highly doubt it is a water base acrylic, but it doesn't look like your standard enamel either. It would appear to be the ideal paint. Maybe somebody in the toy industry would know.

I am getting into the world of custom paint jobs, and I was wondering what was the better paint to use. I've read the many guides and posts about this subject. Each one says that it is all based on preference. However, some things just don't make any sense to me. For example, some people say water base is better because it is almost non toxic and uses water as a solvent. The problem is a primer has to be put on first which is still very toxic. In addition to that, a finish has to be sprayed on which again is toxic and adds an extra step to the process. On the other hand, oil base supposedly does not need primer in every situation. I remember using oil bases once. The smell nearly killed me, but the paint seemed to hold fine without a primer. Also, the finish was glossy without the need of applying a separate coat for gloss. It just dried that way. I would love to be able to paint with non toxic materials, but it seems like you'll be using toxic materials no matter what. So I guess the big question is, why do so many people like the water base paints? What advantages do the water base paints give that make them worth it for the two extra steps? There's got to be something I'm missing here. Are water base paints cheaper or something? I did notice that the water base paints came in larger containers than the tiny testor bottles I see in the model shop. Other important questions: What is the best water and oil based paints to use at an affordable price? What primers can be used without eating through the plastic? What is the best tape to use for masking purposes? Specifically, I am thinking about repainting my 1/55 Bandai Veritechs. Anybody with information would be appreciated. Thanks.

Seems like I'm not the only one looking for the VF-1D Custom parts. Diverdown is searching also, and he only got one reply in the wanted section. Alas, am I never to make a VF-1D?

I have seen several people make custom stickers for their macross toys. However, I am wondering how this is done. Making the image is easy enough on photoshop or some type of art program. The question is how to get them onto a sticker sheet without rubbing off. Do you just put some type of special sticker paper into the printer or is there a different process. Any help would be appreciated.

I want to do a VF-1D custom, but ever since Macross World got redone, I have been having problems finding who sells them. Does anybody know where I can get a VF-1D head and heatshield for the Bandai 1/55 scale? Any information would be appreciated.