Kaa-'Tsai Lecon Prane?

[ultimateone]

Are we there yet?

Now I get it. Whoops.

[Weasel]

If they can be delivered to Europe (UK specifically) I am in for one.

p.s. and off topic, but does anyone know where or how a 1/72 VF 2ss could be found or even where the best place to look is?

Edited April 23, 2010 by Weasel

[cool8or]

41!!!

[Maxtype]

41!!!

Lets get happy!

I've already started saving!

[captain america]

Lets get happy!

I've already started saving!

I've already started carving

[cool8or]

I've already started carving

There will be process pictures?

[captain america]

There will be process pictures?

Of course. I feel that showing the sculpting process is important in the grand scheme of things.

[leon1974]

Ok, all much good… but to pay?

How and when?

[ultimateone]

Ok, all much good… but to pay?

How and when?

Read back a few posts, not till June-ish. Plenty o' time to save up!

[Grapeape]

Awesome Can't wait to see our kit taking shape!!!!

[Grayson72]

Of course. I feel that showing the sculpting process is important in the grand scheme of things.

Sculpting process?...PULLLEASE! you wave your magic wand, spin around three times and POOF!!! modeling perfection.

You're previous "in progress" pictures have given you away my friend, I've seen sparkly pixie dust residue in the background.

[Thom]

If they can be delivered to Europe (UK specifically) I am in for one.

p.s. and off topic, but does anyone know where or how a 1/72 VF 2ss could be found or even where the best place to look is?

I bought two resin versions from http://www.e2046.com/index.php?language=en a couple of years ago. They were recasts and had a bit of a waiting list. I didn't see any listing for them now, but e-mail them. Hopefully they still carry them.

[ahiachris]

If they can be delivered to Europe (UK specifically) I am in for one.

p.s. and off topic, but does anyone know where or how a 1/72 VF 2ss could be found or even where the best place to look is?

Weasel. I believe I can get a 1/72 VF-2ss for you here in Hong Kong. Let me know if you want me to look for it or not. Last time when I aske my supplier he still have a few in stock. I can give you a quote on the shipping.

[Weasel]

Thanks for the help, but Viceland has one and I think I am going to get it of him. Thanks again.

Weasel

[ultimateone]

Weasel. I believe I can get a 1/72 VF-2ss for you here in Hong Kong. Let me know if you want me to look for it or not. Last time when I aske my supplier he still have a few in stock. I can give you a quote on the shipping.

Weasel covered, U-O in. PM sent.

[captain america]

Sculpting process?...PULLLEASE! you wave your magic wand, spin around three times and POOF!!! modeling perfection.

You're previous "in progress" pictures have given you away my friend, I've seen sparkly pixie dust residue in the background.

That's not Pixie Dust, they're cookie crumbs. Chocolate chip cookie crumbs, to be exact!

[captain america]

Guess what day is today?

Update day!!

Captain's log. Stardate: April 30 2010

Well folks, here it is, the start of the infamous KAA'Tsai Lecon Prane. As per my usual routine, step one involves getting a hold of all the available animation style sheets, and if necessary, viewing the episode(s) in which the particular mecha made its appearance. This is my way of “taking it all in” so as to have a good idea of what the craft is all about so that I can hopefully do it justice in three dimensions.

With that, I then commit myself to drafting the in-scale plans. I have an odd way of doing this, since I don't go for every chamfered corner radius and rivet; in stead, I go for overall shapes and alignment points, which is just enough to give me the precision I want and still allow my spontaneous creativity to shine. After the diagrams are done, then comes the fun part.

Pic 1: the diagrams I made are now printed and joined by the usual suspects: my trusty calipers, ruler, and of course, chunks of modelling board.

Pic 2: the next step involves cutting the modelling board down to more manageable-sized chunks on the table saw. Gotta watch those fingers!

Pic 3: while the cuts from the table saw are relatively smooth, they still aren't smooth and flat enough to allow for really precise work, so the freshly-cut piece is then milled to more acceptable tolerances.

[captain america]

Pic 4: after a few hours of cutting and milling, the printed diagrams are then cut out and pasted on the appropriate blocks. This cookie-cutter method might seem crude, but it works surprisingly well. There is still quite a bit of excess modelling board, so that will be trimmed with the band saw.

Pic 5: after a bit of trimming, the parts go back under the mill to remove yet more material and get all the flats and angles just right. This particular piece will eventually become the wing root/main gear bays.

Pic 6: as I'm sure some of you already suspected, I use an assortment of milling shanks, so as to allow me the greatest amount of flexibility and precision in my cutting.

[captain america]

Pic 7: here is part of an engine nacelle. The milling allowed me to remove much of the excess, but as you can see, it's still not conformal to the paper template, so...

Pic 8: I use an improvised grinding device, which consists of my drill press set on high speed, and a harsh grinding stone to smooth-out the rough spots and reproduce all of those subtle, organic curves.

Pic 9: here we see the main fuselage, which is back on the mill in order to create the cockpit openings.

Pic 10: here are all the parts I have to date, crudely mocked-up. It has the rough shape of the plane but will benefit from much more sculpting before it achieves its full potential. More to come next week, as usual. Stay tuned!

[Grayson72]

Hmmm looks a bit more... "geometric" than what I remember from the show and the line drawings but hey you're the master. So all that's left are wings and canopies and your done right?

LOL thanks for the in progress pics, the drill press used as a small drum sander is a great idea.

Edited April 30, 2010 by Grayson72

[baxojayz]

Looks good already!

[captain america]

Hmmm looks a bit more... "geometric" than what I remember from the show and the line drawings but hey you're the master. So all that's left are wings and canopies and your done right?

LOL thanks for the in progress pics, the drill press used as a small drum sander is a great idea.

Wings yes, canopies no. Canopies are clear (invisible) so I don't need to make them; just imagine the canopy being there

Oh, and the drum sander works great, but be warned though: only use a high quality bit/stone and be as gentle as possible, or risk having the stone de-laminate and/or spontaneously explode from heat and pressure. Happened to me just a few months ago. Not fun.

[Grayson72]

Wings yes, canopies no. Canopies are clear (invisible) so I don't need to make them; just imagine the canopy being there

Oh, and the drum sander works great, but be warned though: only use a high quality bit/stone and be as gentle as possible, or risk having the stone de-laminate and/or spontaneously explode from heat and pressure. Happened to me just a few months ago. Not fun.

Oh crap! thanks for that tip as well

[neptunesurvey]

Great start and looking good.

[cool8or]

Interesting to see how that blocks are transformed into a grial.

Go Captain Go!

[neko_fr]

Great job!

It's a kind of magic seeing you creatng like that

[ultimateone]

Giggity.

[captain america]

Captain's log, Friday, May 7th. Also referred to as pizza day. While I've been able to progress on the Kaa 'Tsai, the progress has admittedly been a bit slower than I would have liked. Probably because unlike, say, a Destroid, which is mostly a series of blocky, geometric shapes, this project has a lot of subtle, compound curves that require lots of hand-sanding. More fun for me, but also more time-consuming.

Pic 1: here is the leading-edge intake of the engine nacelle. This is a particularly tricky area, as the intake tunnel will need to go from a square with rounded corners to a cylindrical/circular shape at the compressor face. I started by boring the channel on the mill, and will follow-up with some homemade sanding tools to get the desired square taper.

Pic 2: here is yet another part that has “complex procedures” written all over it: the LEX/wing/main gear bay. I really had to plan-out the sequence of work on these pieces or risk fouling them up. Being the LEX/inner part of the wing, it has a normal air foil cross-section that, just like on any plane, tapers off in width, height, but it also has to be partially hollow to accept the main dual-bogey main gear, and then it has to have a conventional flap/aft control surface (yes, these will be separate and positionable—it's me afterall!)

Pic 3: this is the belly of the main fuselage. The smaller opening will become the front gear well, while the larger hole in the aft fuselage was simply milled to reduce weight on the structure and will have an appropriate cover.

Pic 4: the same part, as seen from above. I've overlaid yet another paper template so as guide me as I mill the vertical sides.

[captain america]

Pic 5: and here I'm milling the vertical sides! This is why I keep many of my shapes square until the last possible moment: once you start shaping those compound curves, you lose those geometric flats and reference points become much harder to calculate, not to mention that it makes it infinitely harder to clamp a rounded part in the mill vise.

Pic 6: here's that leading edge engine nacelle again, now starting to have more of the desired, tapered shape.

Pic 7: this is the aft view of the engine nacelle; I strategically split the pod in upper-aft and lower-fore sections so that I could hollow them out (precious weight savings!) and also makes it easier to get the tunnels shaped.

Pic 8: the main gear bays, a step closer to completion, needing to be checked for bogey-fit.

[captain america]

Pic 9: ...And speaking of bogey, this is the unit that will be transformed into the main gear; it's off a 1/144 scale 747-400. It will have to be modified to two bogeys in stead of four, and the retraction mechanism will need to be replaced, but it's nothing I can't handle.

Pic 10: Perfect fit!

Pic 11: ah, now we're getting somewhere! After lots and lots of hand sanding and shaping, it's finally starting to look like a plane.

Pic 12: underside view of the same. I placed the hatches over the wheel well and belly cavity so that the hatches would be a perfect, seamless fit. On a side note, this plane is MASSIVE for a carrier-based bird, not just compared to the VF-1, but also compared to modern birds. In a future installment, I'll show photos of it next to a YF-23 and you'll see what I mean. Stay tuned

[cool8or]

PURE MAGIC!!!

[baxojayz]

Amazing progress! Nice work Cap!

[neptunesurvey]

[Maxtype]

She's a beauty already, Cap!

I almost can't wait to get her.

[Amirn]

I wish I could afford 2 now!

sigh

Looking beautiful.