big F Posted December 22, 2008 Posted December 22, 2008 I think that if there are no illustrations available for areas, then MechTech has full authority to CREATE the area himself just as any artist would have. This is after all just fiction. I say that whatever MechTech creates is what the area WILL look like. Why leave it up to the original illustrators? An artist is an artist. Do whatever you like in areas that have no real data and it WILL be the data to go by. Exactly You may just become the cannon model maker Quote
MechTech Posted December 22, 2008 Author Posted December 22, 2008 Thanks guys for the compliments and support. I'm trying to keep things as canon as possible! UPDATE 22 DECEMBER 2008 Sorry for the delay in posts. I was out sick a week and was even too sick to build - stupid influenza! As I said before, there was a BIG empty spot and no control cabin for the cranes, main hatch(about the size of two football fields), ramp (several football fields), and all the other operations going on in the front. So I built and installed a bigger control cabin with a 180 degree view from front to back. And because you can't have enough cranes (they're drawn all over the ship's interior lineart): Get some old (fine pitched) printer cogged belt and Plastruct "I" beam and glue them together (both 1/8" wide). Then get some micro (1mm) bearings (http://www.technobots.co.uk) and gears (gizmoszone) and build a gearbox that hugs the track like a giant rack and pinion system. Attach a second gearcase next to it to winch up your load. Then waste several hours trying to solder 2mm wide, 4 conductor hair thin ribbon cable lengths together to feed the whole thing! It works great and should handle moving around even the Monster destroids (like you see in the animation). I purchased the Preiser 1:220 (Z Scale) people. Turns out they ARE 1/200 scale and you can get 160 of them unpainted pretty cheap. They funny part is you even get their sets like "at the beach" cattle, horses and stuff. I'm trying to figure out what do with all the livestock too That's it for now. Working on the wiring now. I'm hoping to have an extra special post for Christmas! - MT Quote
valkyriepm Posted December 23, 2008 Posted December 23, 2008 Oh, MT, That's amazing! Your work on the hull is beautiful, but I was really expecting all the inside detail Just make want to shrink and take a walk inside the Daedalus. Martin Quote
nightmareB4macross Posted December 23, 2008 Posted December 23, 2008 Amazing work as always MT. Seeing how small the parts are in comparison to that penny makes my head hurt and my eyes strain. I think for your miscellanous 1/200 figs, you could just chuck them out into space and blame the "Fold" system. Quote
big F Posted December 23, 2008 Posted December 23, 2008 I purchased the Preiser 1:220 (Z Scale) people. Turns out they ARE 1/200 scale and you can get 160 of them unpainted pretty cheap. They funny part is you even get their sets like "at the beach" cattle, horses and stuff. I'm trying to figure out what do with all the livestock too You could save them up for your Macross 1/200 city scape that you will have to build to go with the Daedalus Quote
dizman Posted December 24, 2008 Posted December 24, 2008 You could save the at the beach guys for a beach landing and the cattle could be stored as food . Quote
MechTech Posted December 25, 2008 Author Posted December 25, 2008 Thanks guys! I think I'll have a 1/200 scale "steel beach" party (beach party on a ship) UPDATE 25 DECEMBER 08 MERRY CHRISTMAS As promised, here's some special video of the main hatch and ramp in full affect. I realized none of you have seen the whole thing. I only did the "Daedalus Attack" mode, not the Assault Mode (Beach Landing). Don't laugh at my hodge podge destroids . Sorry for the back ground noises (my children were playing and my wife was preparing our Christmas Dinner). I also had a hard time filming and controlling the switches at the same time. The control box is not done yet so everything is "hot wired" for now. Of course paint and further work (like the ceiling) is yet to come. I also had diskette limitations so the ramp down segment is in two parts. Yes I still use a diskette camera (only for model building), great small size files! I also included a brief bit of the newer overhead crane too. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! - MT Main_Hatch_Up.MPG Ramp_Down_1.MPG Ramp_Down_2.MPG Overhead_Crane.MPG Quote
claude grant Posted December 26, 2008 Posted December 26, 2008 I just cannot believe what I'm seeing! This is the bee's knees, the cat's meow, and any other crazy saying that I can't think of right now! MT, you have truly blessed this Christmas with this update! Keep the faith, and stay the course, because the goal line is in sight! Quote
Ahab Posted December 26, 2008 Posted December 26, 2008 Great work MechTech! Can't wait to see primer on that baby. Quote
neptunesurvey Posted December 30, 2008 Posted December 30, 2008 That is some cool s***. When will you finish the remote controlled destroids to walk down the ramp? Quote
UN Spacy Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 Pardon my language.....but #OLY $HIT! Amazing work MechTech. Simply amazing. Quote
Sdf-1 Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 "Can't believe what I'm seeing" pretty much says it. Quote
shiroikaze Posted January 3, 2009 Posted January 3, 2009 There is only one emoticon to express what I am feeling! Quote
MechTech Posted January 7, 2009 Author Posted January 7, 2009 First off, thank you to everyone for the compliments! I'm really humbled by your reactions. UPDATE 7 Jan 08 Nothing exciting, but a lot of engineering work! This is the controller for ALL of the accessories! There are so many cable pairs needed to make everything go, I needed a 37 pin connector at least! There's no school like the old school so I went with a rugged and good ole DB-37 connector set. Winford.com still sells all that good stuff so I bought a 6ft male to male cable and the controller and ship have the female connectors on them. The female connector JUST fits into the case I bought. A lot of cutting and fitting to get everything to go! Here's the controls. Top two are for power and lighting, switches are for cranes and elevator (still to come),and the rocker switches are all for the hatch and ramp controls. The two side buttons are for the radar and warning lights/sound (also yet to come). The case fits in your hands great (black rubberized sides) and the switch locations took a while to be ergonomic. Almost every switch is a DPDT toggle/rocker just to reverse polarity for the motors. The 4 rocker switches cost $40 - talk about fancy! In typical style with this project, I even had to make the nuts the connectors go into and file the washers on the interior connector to make them fit! I'm working on decals for the face panel so you know what is what. I'm still trying to figure out where to put the massive connector on the ship side of things! That's it for now. - MT Quote
claude grant Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 Good Lord, MT, even your controller design is a work of art!! Still watching & waiting patiently... Quote
505thAirborne Posted January 7, 2009 Posted January 7, 2009 (edited) Hey Mechtech, keep the updates, videos & new pics coming, its still absolutely amazing what you are building!! Edited January 10, 2009 by 505thAirborne Quote
olivers Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 Have a look on ebay for 12CH RF remote, these give either latching or momentary switches. I have loads of these for various projects and they are superb. The ones with the blue faceplate give a lot longer range and are worth the extra money. The only downside is you can only use 1 button per remote at a time but you can have different remotes on different channels. I have a mounting bracket on my Spektrum that the remote sits on so I can easily get to the buttons. Sp is this a model, boat or ship? Not sure what 6ft of scale model counts as Quote
Odyn Posted January 10, 2009 Posted January 10, 2009 WOW that is great! This just keeps getting better and better. Quote
Sebastian Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 This is awesome, and every time I check the thread is getting better... too much. I wonder what macross project will surprise me in future... after this I guess none... so please take your time to finish this bad boy Quote
MechTech Posted January 17, 2009 Author Posted January 17, 2009 First off, a BIG thank you to everyone's compliments. I'm glad people are reading or I wouldn't bother posting (I could be building instead ) I stopped posting at the shipbuilding site since I stopped getting feedback. It was a scale ship site so everyone was probably like "what the heck is that?!" Olivers, thanks for the R/C suggestion. I've already got an expander on my Spektrum for some things: This is for display purposes mainly and means I won't have to sacrifice function if I have to impound my radio at a "float-in." Is it a model, boat or ship - YES! In fact, the crate to store it in will be about coffin sized I'll probably build it two piece to keep it manageable UPDATE 17 JANUARY 09 It's been slow going since I started two on-line classes. My goal is to finish the model and the first part of my degree by summer; can I do it ? I needed decals for the controller to label the switches and needed decals for the Daedalus interior so why waste paper? Yes I do have a sense of humor-park your destroid in my monster spot and it WILL be crushed! The controller case work is done! I just need to wire it up when I decide on the pin-outs. The receptacle parts for the Daedalus: The door is one pieced carefully machined on my drill press to "hug" the connector and keep it dry. Now you see it Now you don't The latch just slides over the receptacle to lock it closed; nice and simple. It's hard to see when right side up. That's it for now. On to some wiring! - MT Quote
claude grant Posted January 17, 2009 Posted January 17, 2009 I just realized something...I didn't blink one time during that update! Keep on rollin' MT! Quote
Gabe Q Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 That monster warning is classic! I'm just checkin in to say how impressed I am. I just wish I could see it in person. Quote
big F Posted January 24, 2009 Posted January 24, 2009 I just realized something...I didn't blink one time during that update! Me too !! what software did you use to make the decals. The finish looks very Anasazi like Quote
MechTech Posted January 24, 2009 Author Posted January 24, 2009 Thanks guys! I actually got to get some work done today. I got my assignment in on time, so I rewarded myself with most of today working on parts. BigF, I used Corel Draw, but even Power Point will work! I ran out of paper so I bought clear and white sheets from http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/produ...14&catid=14 I also bought their FLAT coating. I wiped the flat coating down with a dry rag after about five coats because it had a "dust" on it from the flat coating. I then just got a brush and brushed on a coat of Micro Super Film. I put a few coats of flat coating thinking it would be enough - nope! Still need the Micro Super Film. The end result gave me a nice semi-gloss finish. Now you know how to do it too! UPDATE 24 JANUARY 2009 After building all those lights on the sides (44 so far), I realized, "how the heck am I going to mask those!" I tried tape and liquid mask. Neither worked or was easy to use in the cramped areas. I prayed and thought, "what else would work?" Then a little divine intervention, I was reminded I have some rectangle tubing. I tried it and it fits snug right over the lights! I set up a jig and sanded/cut about sixty pieces - talk about monotonous! Then I set up a jig on my drill press to mill out a 1/8" goove for the LEDs in the lights to fit into. After I put some tape over these, they'll slide right on like a cap and mask the lights! Remember when I said I was done with the inside details? I forgot about the catwalks over the light conduits! It took most of today, but I made 16 of these. Each rail was Z gauge fencing. After I cleaned up the mold seams, I drilled 7 - .07mm holes in each tab sticking out to put the posts into. Then I got some FINE piano wire and cut all those little pieces (also with a jig) to make the posts with. The posts were then rigged with hair-fine wire. The wire was glued to the posts after positioning it. It looks better than photo-etched parts and doesn't have the "flat" look to it either. The wire has a realistic "droop" to it too. Last week I started to wire things up when I realized the warning lights (blinking and strobing) were not in yet. More details to be built and added in. I saved a few silicone inserts that you put in your teeth I found on sale 8 years ago (yes, I was planning this build that far back!). They contain a flashing LED module that strobes across 4 LEDs. Add some leftover Patlabor lenses, machine them to an angle and glue to carefully cut pieces of styrene, and you get this... I bought my children a few of those ring lolypops that flash. After they finished the candy, I cut the rings open, removed the chip and filed the board to about 3mm wide. The LED was remounted and the whole assembly was put in a styrene case. and the lights strobing/flashing Lights_Flashing.MPG The "Warn" button will activate these. They are for when the main hatch or ramp are in operation. You don't want one of your crew in the way and get crushed That's it for now. I think my next step will be to paint the catwalks white before gluing them in. Oh yeah, fine mesh strips will sit on top of the catwalks when completed to simulate grading. - MT Quote
505thAirborne Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 Simply amazing on all the little details MT!! Quote
big F Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 BigF, I used Corel Draw, but even Power Point will work! I ran out of paper so I bought clear and white sheets from http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/produ...14&catid=14 I also bought their FLAT coating. I wiped the flat coating down with a dry rag after about five coats because it had a "dust" on it from the flat coating. I then just got a brush and brushed on a coat of Micro Super Film. I put a few coats of flat coating thinking it would be enough - nope! Still need the Micro Super Film. The end result gave me a nice semi-gloss finish. Now you know how to do it too! Thanks for that I too Have Corel Draw in my Arsenal of DTP software. Gonna have to give it a go I suppose. I bought my children a few of those ring lolypops that flash. See everyone Children can be useful. Just buy your stuff and claim it was for them. Easy! Quote
claude grant Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 this is my fav. thread at MW...just keep it coming MT!! Quote
neptunesurvey Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Are you going to have a warning siren go off when the hatch opens and closes? Quote
Temjin Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Super cool project! Make sure to have cool lighting inside too! Quote
edwin3060 Posted January 29, 2009 Posted January 29, 2009 Are you going to have a warning siren go off when the hatch opens and closes? That would be badass... multiple sounds for hatches, launch warning, scramble etc Quote
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