Monster and Defender

[Viceland]

Same idea but for modelers. Im lookig at it from a cost saving point of view. Whats easier? He  has to remake the same legs for each destroid OR He makes one set of legs and then the 3 torsos seperate. It would make it easier for anyone who would master  the parts for kits like these. Whenever you order a kit you would get a full destroid it wouldnt be a conversion kit.  Plus these would be  1/72 scale MODELS, not toys.

326542[/snapback]

Exactly, and to top off better quality and detailed resin Defenders and Tomahawks, we would finally have a readily available Phalanx in 1/72, other than that overpriced WF event only kit.

Poor Destroid Spartan will be lonely, that'll teach it to wanna be different with those platform feet of his!!!

[kazuki]

Good works there Mechmaster.

But I noticed seamlines on the kits. Might want to take note of that.

[HWR MKII]

You have no idea how difficult the plastic used in these kits is to work with. I was using liquid cement on the parts of my defender that werent glued together. i let it dry for a day or 2 and then go sand. the slightest pressure from sanding would pop the seam againbecause the mating surfaces on the plastic were so uneven. Or you would get the cracking crumbling plastic that was mentioned before. Building these you sometimes have to be more careful than an archeologist removing 2000 year old pottery from a dig.

The Monster had plastic so tough in some places that my sand paper was wearing out before the plastic would. I actually had to go as rough as 100 grit to literally file the plasic down to even it out as much as i could before i applied putty. These kits may assemble simply but they test your skills and patience in seam filling.

[Grayson72]

Yeah the Defender had horrible fit and seam issues, what a pain. It's like they had one person create one half and another person create the other and hope the two halves match up.

Edited September 8, 2005 by Grayson72

[HWR MKII]

Oh i almost forgot. Kazuki i am thinking M.G. Rex I just hope that mike finishes the new monster soon. I so want that kit. Maybe ill sell my 1/160 on Ebay once i get the big monster there are no other kits in the macross line that are 1/160 so its kind of the odd man out

Edited September 8, 2005 by HWR MKII

[armentage]

I had similar experiences back in the day with my IMAI designed Monogram "Go-Bots" (Legios & Mospeada).

The plastic was so fragile...

I was a kid, I did stupid stuff like strip the paint off using amonia. Make the plastic even more brittle. Luckily the pieces were molded kinda thick.

[kazuki]

HWR MKII, very cool MG.Rex you have there. Will be looking forward to seeing more kits from you.

[HWR MKII]

Just bumping this for those who want paint and weathering ideas for the 1/72 monster. Ill probably use this as the thread for my big monster as well so i dont need to start a new thread.

[HWR MKII]

well here is the first nights work. The upper body plates are in and just need to be blended and sanded in place. Need to get some putty/bondo for that. The hip "whistles" are assembled, they fit snugly in their sockets but will not provide enough tension to hold the monster upright when complete. Thats ok for me. They will be held firmly in place using magnets and tension. The magnets will be embedded into the socket of the hip and the ball end will be drilled out and filled with steel BBs. The red fillet on the lower hull is a really tight fit and required extra sanding inside the slot where it goes to get it in. Looks good in place though. I wont be lighting the kit but i will be backing all the red pieces with white r chrome so any light getting in will be bounced and amplified back out. This will give the parts a "glow" that wont distract from the model.

Another thing i will do to extend the overall life of the hips is to drill them through and insert a hardwood dowel into them to keep the weight from warping the resin over the years.

Well Enjoy the first pics of a monster under construction

[Ignacio Ocamica]

A build up thread!!!

And Mikes Monster!!!

What a combination

Thanks for provinding us with pics!!

[HWR MKII]

No prob Ignacio. I hope that by seeing one get built it inspires others to build theirs instead of be afraid of something so large. Mike did an excellent job on this kit. Ill be adding or adjusting a few little details just for my own liking but on the whole the kit is great as it is. One note to add though is that the lower plates that fit into the upper body may require some extra sanding and adjusting to get them to fit flush overall. Once thats done its a simple matter to slather on the filler and wetsand away the excess. The most progress will be over the weekend once i can get my filler. I also want to cleanup the inside of the missile ports on the arms or back them off with a cover like modern missile launchers have. The scale and size of this kit will allow alot of options never before afforded to this vehicle. Its only been COMMONLY available in 1/160 and 1/200 scale . There have been limited ones in 1/144 and a bad heavy paperweight of a 1/72 scale a few years back. THIS ONE will look excellent sitting next to the available hasegawas and other 1/72 scale macross kits.

Edited July 6, 2006 by HWR MKII

[007-vf1]

Could you post bigger or more detailed pics of the defender??

thnaks bud

[mslz22]

I am planning to start the instructions for the kit most likely on monday or tuesday next week. For the "hip" ball joints i am going to recommend drilling a 1/8 inch hole thru the ball joint and into the upper leg, then inserting a 1/8 inch solid brass rod, i did that for the dry fit and it held it together without any glue...

The body panels will be one of the parts that will need the most tweaking to fit in, the main body shrinks a bit more than the 3 panels that fill the bottom because it is 3lbs of resin, and anything that generates that kind of heat will shrink more than some thing that is only 1/4lb of resin...

I will have assembly tips and paint tips in the online instructions.....

mike

[HWR MKII]

The lower body panels didnt take too much tweaking overall. Id rather have a good firm fit in them than a loose fit where weight stresses would cause cracks to develop in that area. I had planned the same fix on the ball joints myself but i glued mine on to facilitate drilling through both parts and having the hole line up. i am going to drive the rod/dowel in fitst then cap it with a steel pin like a push pin. The pin will be countersunk so it will keep the rounded shape. With the strength of the magnet inside, the friction of the fit and the steel cap on the ball i shouldnt have to glue it in. It will allow th joint to retain its movement.

[Less than Super Ostrich]

What are the major differences between the 1/72nd scale and the 1/100 GH one (Obviously the size!)? The "arm" cannons are shorter and fatter. The engine bay is much more detailed. The feet are more rounded (more in line with the lineart). More panel lines. What about the detail around the main cannons?

[jadefalconguard]

HWRII you are a certified Resin addict. What ever happened to "I'll wait 'till I'm Stateside to start building this"

Glad to see the build up, can't wait for the finished product

[HWR MKII]

I decided to say frack it and build it with magnets in the design. with that ill be able to take off the arms, legs, and main cannons and pack them in foam seperately in a large footlocker. This way it will get max protection and travel better. I can also ust the footlocker to take it to contests and shows when im back in the world.

More pics coming up. Its on its feet(temporarily) im building all the subassemblies so when i install the magnets ill be able to test if they will hold or of ill need more magnets. .

No offense to mike but i like the look of the 1/100 feet a little more. The sharp edges i dont like but the toe shape and the indentations on the foot match line art a bit better. Not that this really bothers me much the damn thing is almost 2 feet tall

Edited July 6, 2006 by HWR MKII

[HWR MKII]

OK here it is tonight. I put the Defender and VF-1S next to it for an idea of scale. I also took closer detail pics of the defender since they were requested.

[mslz22]

No offense to mike but i like the look of the 1/100 feet a little more. The sharp edges i dont like but the toe shape and the indentations on the foot match line art a bit better. Not that this really bothers me much the damn thing is almost 2 feet tall

414157[/snapback]

No offense taken of course, the feet went thru a few different versions and ended up most influenced by the yellow sub kit..see the link below...

http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/models...nster-inst3.jpg

..it was one of the parts that bugged me because there seemed to be 5 or 6 different ways you could make the feet if you looked at different sources...

[mslz22]

Oh, an i just saw in the pics that i did not drill out your cannon mount holes, i knew i forgot to do that on one of them..sorry.....i use a 3/4 inch bit to drill those out.

mike

[HWR MKII]

Actually im glad you didnt. Im going to flush mount the magnets into the areas so i can click the cannon barrels in place. The base of the barrel will be adjusted so they sit at the "proper"angles. This just makes the job that much easier for me

[ChaosWarrior]

Wow, impressive! Nice with some pics that shows how BIG it is

ChaosWarrior

[HWR MKII]

My wife looked into the room while i was downstairs and all i heard was "HOLY SH!T, So thats why they call it the Destroid Monster"

[THOR]

it's the monster mash...

My wife looked into the room while i was downstairs and all i heard was "HOLY SH!T, So thats why they call it the Destroid Monster"

414217[/snapback]

[jorawar_b]

Got a question for the monster owner's, is anyone thinking of putting L.E.D lights in their kits? If so I wonder is there a step by step guide on how to do it the right way?

[nightmareB4macross]

If I ever list ever gets to me, I am definitely doing the LED update. You would want to set you LED in a parallel circuit. It would reduce the amount of power needed to run the ciruit, but it would not be as bright, when running it in series.

[MechTech]

The first comparison picture is worth a thousand words...

[jardann]

Wow Mike, HWR's pictures really show off the great work you put into this monster! And they show off the size too!

HWR, are the legs holding up the body by friction alone in those pics! If so, your magnet idea should work great. Will that allow the hip joints to retain some posability? Please post some detailed pics and descriptions, I'm very interested in that part of the construction especially.

Thanks for the build up thread!

[HWR MKII]

Yes with the legs pitched outward at this point it does support itself. It is touchy and still loose but it stands. I dont know how well balanced it will be once the rear portion, arms and cannons are on but the magnets should make up for it. Im going to see if i can source some magnets locally before i go buying them online. There are plenty of hardware stores and such that may carry them. Ill know more tomorow. If i can get the magnets tomorrow expect to see the first rough, unpainted assembly soon.

[HWR MKII]

Heres a drool pic f the main and arm cannons temporary placement. I have also included a pic of the debris covers i made to hide the hllow interior of the arms. I know it isnt in the line art but i drew my inspiration from modern missile systems like the patriot and Tow missiles. The covers blow off when the missile fires.

[HWR MKII]

A milestone has been reached. I decided that the main cannons would be fine just using the pin to hold them in place. The fit of the brass tube i used is tight enough. All i have to do is dremel the housings out a little to refine the fit of the barrel mount to the body. The arms are held on by their magnets with a pin below the magnet to assist in holding them up. The magnets are strong but since the arms hang down they want to slide off. Magnets have great pull strength but their shear strenght isnt as strong. This model is also well balanced. In these pics it IS standing on its own. I havnt touched the hips yet but seeing how well balanced it is i may see how they fit after painting. It may be simple as putting some paper behind the ball joint to make the fit tight enough. THIS THING IS MASSIVE, and heavy. Be careful working on it, the weight could easily break a finger if it decides to flip backward of forward on you and scissors your finger between the leg and the body.

[mslz22]

Gosh, i know that i am biased, but those pics gave me the chills...the good kind....

[HWR MKII]

OK i should begin painting withing the next couple days. SO i thought id put out an idea for a marking. The ARII 1/160 scale version came with "foot art", I have a decal that could work for that left over from my Tamiya Dragon Wagon. Do you guys think i should add that touch or not. Its a 1940s style woman in a red dress reclining. I know the foot art wasnt seen in the animation but it would add a more personal touch to the model. So foot art YES or NO?

[Robert S the 2nd]

I say yes. Actually planing on doing something like that myself. BTW on the Samurai-Monkey board you mention an artwork or pic out of the perfect memory book. Know of anyplace online that I could see that?

Thanks

[HWR MKII]

I think alot of them were posted in the progress thread of the development of this kit. Youll have to search. My scanner is busted or id post the pics myself.