New Macross Model base(s) being produced

[electric indigo]

With the help of my old Imai kit, I worked out this proposal for a SDF-1 base.

[modelbaseguy]

Hey Gang,

All great ideas for bases. Now I keep seeing SDF-1 as a request and as Grayson72 said I am a newbie to Macross so I have no clue as to what that is. Electric indigo was so kind as to work something up for a SDF-1 base and I like it but is that what everybody would like to see for this base? Could anyone explain what SDF-1 is to me? Just from what I am seeing here I would imagine it to be some sort of aircraft carrier that hauls around the Macross fighters, excuse my ignorance.

Well gang I will leave it with you, please post more picts or you can email them to me of what you would like to see for a Macross base. I will have my crew working on getting them produced for you. Thank you all so much for you interest and your help on this project, oh and my wallet curses you for introducing me to Macross modeling. I just found a whole new genré of models to blow my paycheck on.

[Mechleader]

This is the one to start with!

Nice job!!!!

Edited August 8, 2005 by Mechleader

[Grayson72]

This is the one to start with!

Nice job!!!!

318395[/snapback]

Yup definately that one to start with.

[Grayson72]

William, SDF-1 stands for Super Dimension Fortress - 1. It's the main human spaceship in the conflict against the Zentradi in the Macross series.

Edited August 8, 2005 by Grayson72

[electric indigo]

So what sizes would be reasonable? I think that a CD-size base can hold a 1/72 fighter kit pinned on a rod. A standing battroid may need a larger base.

[Mechleader]

That I'd buy RIGHT NOW!!!!!!

[Grayson72]

A CD is 5-1/2 inches more than enough room for a battroid or destroid to stand on in 1/72 scale.

[007-vf1]

I would agree that the base should be large enough to fit a standing 1/72 hasegawa battroid...

[Grayson72]

A standing batroid feet normally posed should be about 3" accross.

Edited August 9, 2005 by Grayson72

[Valk009]

Are those bases already for sale or are the pics CAD drawings? I would immediately get a few

Btw, can the base be made hollow (less weight, less shipping cost and the end user can add weigh afterwards if it is planned for supporting a valk in fighter flight mode).

[electric indigo]

How do we go on with this project?

I could provide William with a .DWG file for the the Macross Kite. We should define a size and then maybe open a preorder thread.

-i-

Edited August 23, 2005 by electric indigo

[Ishimaru]

Let's use our refrences from Macross, that would be best in info and ideas.

[modelbaseguy]

Hey Gang, sorry I have not been around much since this thread started. Been busy with my newborn son, Jack, those little ones take a lot of one's time you know.

I have three designs ready just waiting on a definitive answer on the size. I sent Chad some sample bases and he was going to get me some test shots back as soon as he could. The three designs are the Kite, the Jolly Roger and an anamorphic shape that I think refers to "the bad guys", please forgive my ignorance on the subject. I also have some art for a carrier ship is it the UN SPACY in a starfield and the kite logo in the background courtesy of Electric Indigo. As we draw closer I will post some vector art of these designs to get your feedback on them. I think that things will move rather quickly once we get the size and finalize the designs.

I would certainly be in favor of a pre-order thread or I can set it up on our website. I will have to add these items to our website anyway so now is as good a time as any. We use a paypal shopping cart so you can add multiple items and best of all you don't have to be a paypal member. You can use your checkcard or credit card to pay but if this does not suit you then you can always drop us an email with your order and we will reply with a quote including shipping. Then you can send a check or money order and we will be happy to complete your order. International orders are a little tricky for the Paypal shopping cart so please bare with me on those. It seems that paypal's shipping uses only one table and shipping rates overseas are more so we can't put a flat fee for domestic and international shipping. I am working on this now but I am not getting much help. If any of you are web gurus and think that you could help I am sure that we can work out something for your services.

Getting back to my ignorance on the subject, does anyone know where I could rent some videos of the Macross series? Is there any feature length movies of Macross? What about reference books? I have seen the kits you guys are turning out and the bug has bit me so I got to have some of these kits. Unfortunately I am unsure of what kits to buy. I have been modeling for some time so I think that I can tackle any project that comes my way. I would like to find some of the better kits cause I know from dealing with Gundam kits there is a big difference in quality between the grade levels. I would assume that these kits would be the same.

Well I hear Jack singing my song so I had better go check on him and mamma. Take care guys, I will be back online tomorrow morning I'm sure. Happy Modeling.

[wm cheng]

Hey fellow William!

Looking forward to your bases. Personally, I'd prefer a bit more slope (chamfer) on the base but without the four rectangular tabs - I prefer a cleaner look.

As for models, check out some of my previous threads;

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=691

Unfortunately the first few (with a *) are on the older boards and are not yet accessible - but the ones further down are here. I'd start with a YF-19 or YF-21, I think they were the easiest and yielded the best results with minimal effort.

Always good to hook new Macross modellers!

Edited August 23, 2005 by wm cheng

[Grayson72]

Hi William, really excited your going to go with more than one design. I sent along those pics of my models with the samples you sent.

Another good thing about the skull squadron logo is that it's used in two of the series Hasegawa makes models for; Macross Zero (the latest series and prequel to Macross) and the original macross series and movie.

There's several reference books that should be readily available, the three I'd recommend are:

Shoji Kawamori Macross Design Works

Macross Perfect Memory

Kazutaka Miyatake Design Works

These contain every machine seen in the series and the "Do you remember love" or "DYRL" movie and a ton of prototypes that never made it onto film.

As far as movies go I don't know of a place that rents them, but you should be able to get a sub-titled version of the DYRL movie for $15 bucks on ebay or any of the numerous anime stores online. Any recomendations people?

As far as models go you can't go wrong with any of the Hasegawa ones. The two WMCheng recomends are from another Macross series you may not be familiar with called Macross Plus. It sounds like you've got plenty of modelling experience so if you want to start with a design more familiar to you then just start with any one of the regular (non-super or strike) versions of the VF-1's (A, J or S). These should be readily available and are a pretty straightforward airplane build with the high standards of Hasegawa.

Edited August 24, 2005 by Grayson72

[promethuem5]

Awesome idea! I'd get a couple CD sized Kite logos, abd I think another good one to do would be the Macross Plus/ Sharon Apple Logo.... anyone got a good pic of it for Mr Base guy?

[Mechleader]

Hi, start with the Hasegawa kits. They are the best and the cheapest on the market.

[Less than Super Ostrich]

Great to hear about the bases. Rest assured I will buy several. As for models, Hasegawa goes together like a dream and only cost about $20. As for movies, I'd be happy to send you my Macross Plus and Macross Zero DVDs if you promise to return them. My original series Macross DVDs are unplayable at the current time... yes, I have kids too that don't understand that DVDs aren't for eating.

[Akula]

Great to hear about the bases. Rest assured I will buy several.  As for models,  Hasegawa goes together like a dream and only cost about $20. As for movies, I'd be happy to send you my Macross Plus and Macross Zero DVDs if you promise to return them. My original series Macross DVDs are unplayable at the current time... yes, I have kids too that don't understand that DVDs aren't for eating.

322785[/snapback]

Ouch... and i thought vaccums eating small parts was a hazard...

Bases that'll fit the Valkyries and such would be awesome... the size issue for me is as long as all the wheels of all the hase macross kits will fit, go nuts!

[modelbaseguy]

Okay gang, Chad has sent me the photos of his kits on some sample bases. I will try to post them here but if I run into a snag, Chad could you post them? Once again I am new to this but it would seem that you could benefit from two different sized bases. A roughly 5" size for your figures and for kits in battledroid mode and a larger 6"+ size for your kits in flight or carrier mode. The smaller base would work great for "In Flight" displays as well and that is what most people use our bases for. There are different thicknesses as well and I do have a couple with a different edge detail. The thickness of the base determines the amount of resin which determines the cost of the base and the shipping costs. Take a look at the photos and lets chat about it, I really need to get a good idea of what works best for the majority. Startup costs for the masters and the molds is rediculously expensive so we have to be sure that we can recover these costs.

Perhaps it would be a good idea to post picts of the various sizes of the bases with the various thicknesses along with a price and have a poll here to determine which will work for everyone. I will try to get some of those picts together and start a new thread tomorrow with a poll. Admins, I may need to contact you about help with this and to make sure that it is cool with you guys to do so.

Take care everyone and Happy Modeling!

If you do not see some picts at the bottom of this post then you know that I messed up. Here it goes.

This is the Battroid on our thicker (.875") 5" base

This is an Ostridge on our thinner (.375") 6"+ base. You can see that this base has a different profile as well.

This is a VF-0B on the 6"+ base again which appears to be too small to me. It just looks a little tight for all of the gear to be securely on the base, perhaps this should be a little larger. Sorry I don't know the scale on this or any of the other kits, Chad?

Finally we have a VF-1A on our 5" base which I think works okay in carrier mode shown here it would work better as an "In Flight" mode mounted with a metal or acrylic rod.

Just have a look and post your thoughts. From what I see here we should shoot for the 5" base and one that is a little closer to 7" or 8". I will try to get more base photos tomorrow.

[Grayson72]

Thanks William, all kits are 1/72 scale.

Personally for aircraft with gear deployed I like the 6" at least for the VF's. Just looks good proportional to the size of the aircraft you could make it even bigger and I think it would still work. I like the thin one on this size too, it'd be better cost wise. This also would show off whatever design is underneath it.

The smaller size I'd prefer for battroid and inflight with a rod. The gear down pic seems like it would block whatever design would be on the base.

Those are my thoughts.

I'll be starting off ordering one of each of whatever you produce

Edited August 25, 2005 by Grayson72

[mechatek]

Getting back to my ignorance on the subject, does anyone know where I could rent some videos of the Macross series? Is there any feature length movies of Macross?

Hey William, I highly recommend you get the feature length movie Macross: Do You Remember Love? DVD. It has some of the most beautiful animation. Also check out the original series, I think the o.g. series and Macross Plus are available at netflix.com.

[modelbaseguy]

Okay so there's one how about the rest of you, what do you think of the photos? Do you agree that we need something larger for the gear down display? Thick or Thin?

[Berttt]

IMHO you could probably avoid the 5" base, the fighters don't fit on it, and the Battroids could do with a bit more room to see whatever image is being displayed.

For fighter: since the VF-1 is the smallest of all the valks, 6" would be the minimum, but VF-0's and the Mac Plus valk will need something a little bigger.

Personally the thinner profile bases look better than the thick ones, but that's only an opinion.

I would probably pick up a couple of bases myself for some of my kits.

Keep up thre good work,

Berttt

Edited August 26, 2005 by Berttt

[HWR MKII]

What about some 12 inch ones for those of us who have the 1/48 resin kits? For the DYRL? valks it could be the "Summer 84" logo and for the M+ ones it could be the standard emblem with the tese center text around them.. Just an idea.

[Grayson72]

IMHO you could probably avoid the 5" base, the fighters don't fit on it, and the Battroids could do with a bit more room to see whatever image is being displayed.

For fighter: since the VF-1 is the smallest of all the valks, 6" would be the minimum, but VF-0's and the Mac Plus valk will need something a little bigger.

Personally the thinner profile bases look better than the thick ones, but that's only an opinion.

I would probably pick up a couple of bases myself for some of my kits.

Keep up thre good work,

Berttt

323307[/snapback]

But what about the 5" for the inflight models with a rod?

[Grayson72]

What about some 12 inch ones for those of us who have the 1/48 resin kits? For the DYRL? valks it could be the "Summer 84" logo and for the M+ ones it could be the standard emblem with the tese center text around them.. Just an idea.

323318[/snapback]

12 inch? get a dinner plate and paint a logo on it

[modelbaseguy]

Well sorry gang I did not get around to taking the photos of the bases. I will give a shot again early next week. While looking through our stock though I came across this base that may work for the gear down displays.

The actual surface area of this base is 7.875" wide by 5" tall. I am not sure that would work for these kits but it is an option. Personally I think that a circle would look better but we would definately have to cut new masters so we need to settle on a size. 12" might be pushing it a bit for the thinner base as the resin will tend to warp as it cures. I think that we could go to 7" or maybe 8" in the thinner base with little or no warpage. I push the thinner base for the cost reasons I mentioned before.

While we are on the subject I was thinking of creating some bits a pieces that a person could apply to a generic base to simulate a hanger. Things like bulkheads and other little greeblies that one could assemble with other items to make a really detailed diorama. What do you think?

[Grayson72]

ooh greeblies, my likey

[Berttt]

While we are on the subject I was thinking of creating some bits a pieces that a person could apply to a generic base to simulate a hanger. Things like bulkheads and other little greeblies that one could assemble with other items to make a really detailed diorama. What do you think?

Now your talkin'

[Mechmaster]

I think the thick 5" base would be ideal for inflight models, not too big but heavy enough to be stable. The larger base definitely looks better, thinner.

As you say though the 6" is pushing it a bit for the larger kits, going oval would be a good idea as the shape would suit a gear down aircraft and you could maybe go to 4" by 8" with it. (I don't have any 1/72 aircraft built, would 4" be wide enough for the rear gear? Anyone?)

I'm not too sure about the greebly idea, such bases are not too difficult for an individual to fabricate, perhaps it would be best if you concentrate on the logo style bases, these would probably have more appeal to a greater number of potential customers. Certainly as a modeler myself I would be keen to buy logo bases but anything else I would be inclined to build myself.

I would suggest a thick 5" 'flying base' with the Macross kite logo, a thin 6" round base with kite logo and a thin 8" oval base.

[electric indigo]

I'd support a thin 5" flying base, no fancy bevel, please. Like Mechmaster said, a "greebly" base might be too specific, on the other hand I'd like to see your ideas.

-i-

[modelbaseguy]

Thanx for the input guys. The greeblies thing would not necesarily be a base, I am talking about manufacturing the greeblies to kit bash into a base or diorama. If we could produce these cheap enough I think that even the hard core modelers would have to say it would be cheaper than building their own. What kind of greeblies would interest you guys?

Sorry for such a short post but I have got to run for now. See ya.

[Grayson72]

Hi William, for me the most useful greeblies would be things found in a hangar diorama inside a spaceship. Stuff that you might see on the walls and such, sorry I can't be more specific than that.