Myersjessee

Just a little plug...review of this kit, by me, here...hope you enjoy it. LINK

overall...I am extremely happy with this kit...no buyers remorse and more so I am happy to be supporting two of our own who I hope read this, smile, and continue doing new cool Macross kits for us. Thanks John and Rob!

and the rest of the pieces....

The arm pieces (large)

and the parts: Man..I love all the sharp little lines and rivits...will look excellent when washed and airbrushed (I hope! )

Now...some closeups...the base: Man..check out those cool weld marks!

Here are some pictures of the kit: First...the pieces

I wanted to take some time and post a review of the Samurai Monkey Atmospheric Booster display base kit. Despite my involvement in the Booster itself (I cast some of them) I was no more involved in this kit then any of you were, so when the postings went up I ordered and waited with baited breath. This base is supposed to be a display piece for the booster and a later add on for the launch vehicle. My kit arrived last week, and I was thrilled…thrilled enough that I wanted to share my thoughts. John has a knack for realism. He must spend a lot of time around real mechanical equipment, because he just seems to have a way of making something unreal look feasible. I first saw this skill in the Legioss. Lots of people loved the kit for lots of reasons, but what struck me most was how it suddenly looked like something based on reality instead of a cartoon. John again uses that knack on the base. In fact, when I first heard he was doing the base for the launch vehicle separately I was under whelmed. I’m impatient by nature and it was the big truck I wanted. While I still want the truck, it was seeing this baby with so many tiny details that soothed my impatience. You see…the base isn’t just a stand now…its something that enhances the VF1 booster…and to me, makes it look real. They say the devil is in the details…well…then John got devilish with this baby! Take for example the base. Its fairly simple..and only visible in a couple grainy cells in the cartoon…and a couple bad line arts. Obviously the time was put into the mecha…not the arm in the art books. So…if it had been up to me I would have slapped a simple base together and called it a day. Not John. (Note…mine would have also been shapped similarly to a piece of 2X4 cut on a band saw! J ) John went and added weld lines to all the joints. His lines are really cool, and I’m not exactly sure how attained….but I can already see how just this little detail will make the kit come to life. Now, a little oil wash, some well placed rust marks and this base turns into a well used piece of equipment. Less technical then the Valkyrie it supports, it’s meant to be functional and last….what a cool little detail that came from that devilish mind! These details continue throughout the kit. My next favorite is the “nose” or end of the ramp. To my knowledge this isn’t visible anywhere. Again, I would have slapped a beam in place and called it a day…not John. His mind brought to life a functional piece of equipment. This base has to launch a rocket…it needs to move, adjust the rockets angle, and then drop out of the way…so he added a separation point into the end of the ramp, and then detailed the hinged tip that I can just picture adjusting the angle of the Booster, then dropping away as it launches. Other items of note range from the rivet markings across the arms and barrels, the very functional design and explanation for the whole base rotation and the incredibly detailed angle actuators. (these babies go all the way down to the collared swivel connector with three heavy attachment points! Wow! I would have glued to pieces of PVC together and called it a day! ) All in all..the design that went into the kit is another John masterpiece. Every angle seems accurate, so piece out of place. So…what have I forgotten…oh yeah, how about the kit itself. I spent so much time ogling the design I forgot about the quality of the kit. Here is where John ticks me off. I have learned to cast over the past 3+ years. I like to think I learn something new every time I do a project. Well…I just learned from this kit that John knows a hell of a lot more about casting then I do! The pieces are, well perfect. Seam lines are invisible. Bubbles are non-existent. The pieces are sharp, and impressive. I really don’t think it’s fair that all this talent gets hoarded in one source! J The kit comes with 12 pieces; some wires and some screws in a nice box with cover art and a well-done set of instructions. Assembly seems straightforward with lots of room for customization. The resin used in the kit is a heavy dense blue resin. Some sanding revealed it to be very dense with no internal air bubbles that I sanded into. (This is great news for model buildup speed) The resin itself, John tells me, is a special mixture meant to hold up the weight of the booster without bending… SUPER COOL! ) I can only imagine how he was able to work so well with this stuff…I have to imagine it’s a real goo compared to the viscous stuff I use! I am very happy with this purchase…so much so that I decided to start building mine now. Stay tuned for my buildup…and please wish me luck! Hope this review is helpful. First...a finished product (John Mosacto's demonstrator)

Oh...and here is a picture of the baby for scale with a Hasegawa 1/72 Angel birds...I just stacked it up on pieces...this isn't the way it should look! (obviously! ) Anyways...Im off to watch SNL....hope you guys enjoyed these and appreciate Gundamheads work as much as I do! Its really a very impressive little kit! In case anyone is interested I'll be casting a few up and offering them for sale soon. Gundamhead really wanted them to be reasonable and attainable so we are trying to keep them cheap. I'm thinking it will be $25 for the complete kit with maybe a discount if your buying two. (We'd both love to see people build these...so I was thinking if we gave a discount on a 2nd that might spur people on to go ahead and finish one!!! ) More details to come. Anyways...cheers all!

Finally...one more shot of the various pieces and another angle on the arm.

Here is the big main arm...again...wow...lots of extra details added to this baby. (check the main parts picture too....lots of nozzles and such! )

Here are all the different arms that come with it...including a single customizable arm. You only really need 2, but its cool to have all the options. I also like the fact they are joints with a ball and cup joint...easy to manuver for a scene, yet also easy to glue and make strong. I also love all the thought he put into all the different arm end widths.

Hope Im not boring people at this point...but I love this little bugger...here are some closeups of the parts The body...check out all the panels, access points, and tiny details...amazing for the size of the baby...very talanted is that Gundamhead! direct side Its amazing how much detail there is on this that my poor camera skills lose. Take for instance the four rectangular "lights? " in the lower front of the body. These each have tiny lines etched vertically inside them to add extra realism. I didn't get a good picture, but the detail is there and I know it will excentuate the kit when it's built up.

Another shot of the kit...again...sorry for the sprues left...I had meant to give the kit its final prep, but I ran out of time.

Now...here is the guts of the kit. One of the things I noted that was really cool is Gundamhead tried to make this a fun kit with lots of options. He included extra arms, grips, and pieces to allow lots of customization in your setup. As for casting, the pieces are coming out very clean with minimal bubbles clean sharp surfaces and almost no seams.

More pictures of the original: From the back From the top From the bottom Notice all the tiny details...tons of panel lines, ducts, vents, engines, and details...truly stunning for the size

Well....some of you may remeber this thread from a while back. One of our resident sculptors built up this little baby and shared his results with us here. LINK Well....what you may not know is he was kind enough to PM me and ask me if I was interested in casting the kit. To be honest, I swore to myself I was going to take a break and build up some kits, but I couldn't resist such a cool little project and wanted to make sure it came into existence...so here it is...the SpiderBug in all it's glory! I hope you all like it...these pictures were rushed...I never seem to have daylight except for weekends, and then Im swamped with family stuff around the holidays so I just literally popped these pieces from the molds and used nips to clip the sprues and voila. So...they may still show a little flash but I am very happy with them. At this point I would like to give a big thank you to John Mosacato. John shared a lot of casting tips with me, and the results have really been amazing. John is a swell guy and was very generous with his time...thanks John. Now...onto the kit...I have to say I was pysched when Gundamhead PM'ed me...but I honestly didnt expect a ton. he said he sculpted it fairly quickly and I thought it would be a neat little project...nothing more. Well...imagine my suprise when the box arrives and includes a 21 piece highly detailed kit! DAMN! This baby has more detail then some of my WFest kits...amazing! So....realizing I really had to do this baby I got to work...months later I finally got to it...so...here it is... First..some shots of the original: (these are from Gundamheads masters and his pictures) From the side From the front

I think John's services are reasonable, but for the realm he works in. Saying sculptor is a sculptor is kinda like saying all Lawyers, Doctors, PC People etc should be paid the same and do the same level of work. John's work is far superior, takes a lot longer, and thus costs more. Toynami is obviousley looking for a cheaper product. Cheaper means in costs and quality. Its a simple triangle... Good Fast and Cheap...but you can only pick two. I don't claim to be an expert, but from my view thats what is up. John is working at an extreme level of detail...Toynami isn't looking for something that competes with the Yamato 1/48...they are competeing with the old 1/55's.

Sawweettt! DONE! Thanks!!!! I need more figures done like this....accurate, and classy. Sexy to a point is cool...but overtly done is not cool in a house with two kids. (In other words...my wife won't kill me or make me sleep on the couch for this one! )

Email Sent!!!

nice weathering. Its great to see one of the older kits done. Cool!

I think Carl could be on the right track. If Toynami does the Tread it will take a lot more development then they had to put into the Alpha (which is clearly based on the 1/48 IMAI model) If they have the money to spend on that they will overcome the connection point....either a replacement piece, and add on piece, or a bottom latch connector. In the end, I suspect most people will complain that it's not perfect transformation...which it won't be (my guess) If it does happen though, Ill be happy...Ill even buy 2 or 3...after all I'd want one in fighter, one linked in fighter, and one linked in battroid.... Another good point is the new Alpha...that would let Toynami make more money and overcome the connection point. Did they promise a lack of need to buy a new Alpha? Sure...but so did Yamato with the 1/60's. In the end they will have to make a choice functionality vs cost....good fast and cheap...pick 2 I always say. As long as the choice involves doing the Tread they "had me at hello".

love it!

The ventral rudder is a tarps array...I think the Supersylph is a decent design in the VE1 Elintseeker role. In the movie it's more combat then that, but I think thats along the lines of a more accurate role. The Mave is definitly more the fighter. As for the VF-0D...I can't wait...love the delta single wing design...very cool!!!! I never noticed the similarities to the Supersylph...but yeah...they are there....personally I like the 0D better....looks more "real" to me.

just until it degasses is what I do....then I stick the vacuum hose to my head and make hickey marks...