captain america Posted May 25, 2011 Author Posted May 25, 2011 Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I received some updated joint prototypes and they absolutely rock! I'm close to finished with the instructions, and those will be posted tomorrow. I'll also do a little update later on to show-off the special composite joints that are going into the kit. There have been a few speed bumps, but otherwise, the Legioss is progressing nicely! Stay tuned Quote
Ignacio Ocamica Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Great news!!!! Nice to see new pics with the instructions. Quote
captain america Posted May 26, 2011 Author Posted May 26, 2011 Great news!!!! Nice to see new pics with the instructions. Indeed. There was a lot of work involved in this phase of the project, and I'm happy to be back in gear, so-to-speak. I'm also going to start shipping next week or so; I would have started sooner but my printer gave up the ghost, almost as if on cue. Oh well, just another speed bump Quote
captain america Posted May 26, 2011 Author Posted May 26, 2011 Hello again, it's me: The Beast Master! I just thought I'd provide a mini-update with the new joint parts that I've been raving about lately. These are provided courtesy of fellow MWer Codam23, whose help and expertise have helped make this project possible. As I'm told, the parts I have are actually pre-production prototypes, and the material to be used for the final parts will actually be even stronger than what I have now, which are already ridiculously tough, especially considering that they were made in a 3D printer. Pics 1 and 2 show the joint parts in question, complete with 3mm alloy screws for optimal strength. Pic 1 shows the socket joint for the hip, while pic 2 shows the ankle joint (left) and hip hinge assembly (right.) Pics 3 and 4 show the assembled hip joint as it will fit into the thigh module. While complex, this elaborate setup was needed in order to not only allow the joint sufficient range of motion, but also configure the parts to allow them to line-up correctly when in fighter mode. Pics 5 and 6 show the same parts mated to the main body in both fighter and soldier modes, respectfully. While CNC technology was available a decade ago when the Legioss was being fabricated, the 3D printing technology certainly was not, and consequently, the parts would not only have been devastatingly expensive to make, but would have had to be made of aluminum, which I'm told is perhaps even a tad weaker than the new composite material, and the latter is much lighter. Quote
Ignacio Ocamica Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Those joints are unbelievable awesome. John's Legioss undoubtedly deserves the title of "Masterpiece"!!!!! Quote
electric matthew Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 Hey Capt, The new stuff looks great. The joints are coming along impressively. I look forward to seeing the next 2 installments (more pictures please). I just noticed something though. In picture 5 that you posted, the upper torso has "ride armor stowage" written in marker. Is this an indication of things to come? I would love to get a 7th installment featuring the pilot/ride armor + all the variant specific Legioss parts. Keep up the good work. Also, when do you next(4th) installment payment? Quote
captain america Posted May 27, 2011 Author Posted May 27, 2011 Hey Capt, The new stuff looks great. The joints are coming along impressively. I look forward to seeing the next 2 installments (more pictures please). I just noticed something though. In picture 5 that you posted, the upper torso has "ride armor stowage" written in marker. Is this an indication of things to come? I would love to get a 7th installment featuring the pilot/ride armor + all the variant specific Legioss parts. Keep up the good work. Also, when do you next(4th) installment payment? Good catch! In fact, the bottom of the ride-armor stowage compartment is visible under the chest thruster when the model is complete. No ride-armor will be included in the base kit, but dimensionally, the stowage compartment space was taken into consideration when I did the design. However, I feel that it's important to mention that for reasons of moldability and structural integrity, you can't actually put a ride-armor in the stowage location. When I did my re-design, I made it such that the ride-armor would have to be manually lifted from the compartment by the pilot or a technician: the compartment is accessed by removing the main viewing monitor inside the chest module. I did it this way because it seemed more realistic considering the space limitations on the fighter, and I also wanted to do away with any unnecessary gadgets; just makes for more stuff to break-down and cause problems in a real-world scenario. Payment 4 will be due June 1st; just about when i'll be shipping installment 3. Quote
captain america Posted May 31, 2011 Author Posted May 31, 2011 Hi everyone! Just wanted to provide a quick heads-up to all that Installment 3 will be shipping between tomorrow and Friday. The kit will contain screws, but the joints and landing gear parts will be contained in Installment 4. Also, since payment time for Installment 4 starts tomorrow, I merely want to give a quick reminder to use my new paypal ID, which changed approx. 2 months ago. If you're not sure if you have the updated info, just shoot me a PM, thanks Quote
neptunesurvey Posted June 4, 2011 Posted June 4, 2011 Just received Installment 3. I just love the attention to detail. Quote
jadefalconguard Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 Got my third installment today, thx John. I must agree with Neptunesurvey, I love the attention to detail. It's almost a shame to build it soldiermode Why didn't I get 3 Quote
gilermo Posted June 7, 2011 Posted June 7, 2011 (edited) any pics of what you guys have this far? are some of you already painting stuff? I wish i had this piece Edited June 7, 2011 by gilermo Quote
captain america Posted June 21, 2011 Author Posted June 21, 2011 Hi guys. Casting for Installment 4 is already underway and has been for some time. I'm sort of on forced leave ATM since I ran out of resin and am awaiting replenishment. In the meantime, I'm occupying myself by preparing boxes and doing some minor prep for the last 2 installments. Oh, and I may take some time off in July also; mostly to avoid doing too much casting during the sticky season (problematic due to most resins' sensitivity to moisture/heat.) Until then, the Little Engine That Could, soldiers on! Quote
Valkyrie Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 I was looking over the 'destructions' a couple days ago, and saw the clear lenses that it calls for to be cut out. And I got to thinking, that'd be a good application for my snazzy new laser engraving machine! And 30 minutes later, I had a lens cut for the hip that fit like a glove. Then I got to thinking, it be too much trouble to just make them for everyone, and make that my little contribution to the project! Since then, I think I might have gotten a little carried away with it... but I just finished the first prototype, and I'm pretty proud of the results Above, there's my test 'print' on a piece of cardstock, and below is it cut out of .015" PETG plastic. The edges look slightly scorched in the pic, probably because I had the power set too high. But I still have some time to refine it Quote
Myersjessee Posted June 24, 2011 Posted June 24, 2011 I was looking over the 'destructions' a couple days ago, and saw the clear lenses that it calls for to be cut out. And I got to thinking, that'd be a good application for my snazzy new laser engraving machine! And 30 minutes later, I had a lens cut for the hip that fit like a glove. Then I got to thinking, it be too much trouble to just make them for everyone, and make that my little contribution to the project! Since then, I think I might have gotten a little carried away with it... but I just finished the first prototype, and I'm pretty proud of the results Above, there's my test 'print' on a piece of cardstock, and below is it cut out of .015" PETG plastic. The edges look slightly scorched in the pic, probably because I had the power set too high. But I still have some time to refine it Wow!!! Awesome! Thanks V~ Quote
captain america Posted June 24, 2011 Author Posted June 24, 2011 I was looking over the 'destructions' a couple days ago, and saw the clear lenses that it calls for to be cut out. And I got to thinking, that'd be a good application for my snazzy new laser engraving machine! And 30 minutes later, I had a lens cut for the hip that fit like a glove. Then I got to thinking, it be too much trouble to just make them for everyone, and make that my little contribution to the project! Since then, I think I might have gotten a little carried away with it... but I just finished the first prototype, and I'm pretty proud of the results Above, there's my test 'print' on a piece of cardstock, and below is it cut out of .015" PETG plastic. The edges look slightly scorched in the pic, probably because I had the power set too high. But I still have some time to refine it Epic win!! Thank you so much for doing this, the parts look fantastic!! Gotta love it when the community pulls together like this, you guys are awesome! Quote
ultimateone Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I love watching the progression of this project and I'm not even buying one!! You lucky owners have got one hell of an exclusive model on your hands, enjoy. Also, the more this progresses and the closer it comes to completion then the sooner the wild and rampant speculation of the next project will start... Quote
ahiachris Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I love watching the progression of this project and I'm not even buying one!! You lucky owners have got one hell of an exclusive model on your hands, enjoy. Also, the more this progresses and the closer it comes to completion then the sooner the wild and rampant speculation of the next project will start... Indeed I agree with Ultimateone that the sooner the project comes to completion the sooner there'll chances for another Macross release (hopefully in 1/72). It's just torture for not getting the Mospeada kit. Anyways it's just really not the scale I'm looking for. I'll wait for the 1/72 from Wave if they are really going to release it. Quote
captain america Posted July 26, 2011 Author Posted July 26, 2011 Hi everyone. Apologies for my long absence, I've been trying to take care of a few things behind the scenes and enjoy some of the summer weather while we have it. As it stands, installment 4 has been ready for quite some time; I was hoping to have the joints done by now, but it seems that there are delays related to that, meaning that the joints and the landing gear have been (unfortunately) pushed back and will be included in the last 2 segments yet to come. As such, installment 4 will begin shipping August 1st, just as I begin taking payments and doing the prep for installment 5, which will be the main body/right engine nacelle/right wing. There are a few components that I'll be updating for the next installment as usual. In the meantime, I've tasked myself with doing molds for the buck that will be used to vacuum-form the canopy; seems that there will be some very interesting technology used to make this. More news as it develops Lastly, a single, solitary pic of the canopy masters being prepped for molding. More to come next week! Quote
Ignacio Ocamica Posted August 1, 2011 Posted August 1, 2011 I'm starting to panic again, haven't received installment #3. It's taking 2 months again (like installmet #1) I guess the Canadian Post and the Argentine post sometimes don't get along too well Hope to get the package this week. Quote
captain america Posted August 1, 2011 Author Posted August 1, 2011 I'm starting to panic again, haven't received installment #3. It's taking 2 months again (like installmet #1) I guess the Canadian Post and the Argentine post sometimes don't get along too well Hope to get the package this week. Ugh, sorry to hear about that. I really don't know what's going on globally with mail service in the last year; it's like everything's going haywire. Let's hope that they're just slow like the last time. On a higher note, it's August 1st, so time to send payment for installment 5. Part 4 starts shipping today, later than expected due to a few unforeseen snags that were mentioned in a previous post. Anyway, since we're on to a new installment, you can expect a mini photo update by week's end, followed by a more comprehensive update the following week Quote
ae_productions Posted August 1, 2011 Posted August 1, 2011 If I may, I just got a notification that the Canada Post is on strike. All mail to and from Canada (international) have been greatly delayed due to this. Just an FYI. Your mail will get to you. Just a lot slower than normal. Quote
505thAirborne Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 If I may, I just got a notification that the Canada Post is on strike. All mail to and from Canada (international) have been greatly delayed due to this. Just an FYI. Your mail will get to you. Just a lot slower than normal. Canada Post was on strike, luckily that ended a few weeks ago, I ship International for my business Weekly and that strike made a real mess of sales & deliveries, but should be running normally again. Sent three parcels out and all delivered. Quote
Kicker773 Posted August 2, 2011 Posted August 2, 2011 Is it too late to jump on this thing? LMK please thanks.. Quote
Ghadrack Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Oops, installment payment incoming tonight when I get home from work, sorry I missed the note the other day. Quote
captain america Posted August 5, 2011 Author Posted August 5, 2011 Hi everyone! As promised, I've compiled a short update of my current goings-on with the Beast, which is coming along nicely. One of the realities of old masters that have been handled and moved around over the course of a decade is, unfortunately, damaged parts. This is due primarily to 2 things: one being the very fragile nature of modelling board, and the other being very sharp and delicate edges crafted from that delicate material. Therefore, before anything else, little chips and dings have to be repaired, as seen in pic 1. I find that Tamiya's Polyester Putty is great for this because it's very fine and cures harder than Bondo. Next, I wanted to re-work the compressor face for the engines/generators to better fit in the nacelles and allow all the parts to integrate harmoniously. It's something that I had neglected back in the day, and will now finally be addressed. Step one involves correcting both the diameter and deleting the "bullet" on the compressor face. This is where a lathe comes in handy Pic 3: On the left is the part before the mods, and on the right is the updated piece. More work is coming so as to integrate everything, but I'll get into that more in next week's update. Stay tuned! Quote
PetarB Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 Is that Mori-Mori I see there? I thought you'd sworn off that stuff. Quote
captain america Posted August 6, 2011 Author Posted August 6, 2011 Is that Mori-Mori I see there? I thought you'd sworn off that stuff. Mori-Mori & Tamiya Polyester putty are pretty much the same product based on my experience; it's a fine grade of automotive polyester build putty and I love it to pieces! It's spendier, slower to harden and harder than Bondo, so I don't use it quite as frequently, but it's definitely a top-notch product. See, you can get a similar grade putty from a local automotive finishing supply provider, but the putty comes in this huge-a$$ tin, and what happens is that since I'm only using a small amount at a time, the stuff starts to harden in the tin (exposure to air from constantly opening the container) and goes bad before I'm half-way through. Therefore, even though a tube of Tamiya is 18 bucks, it's still cheaper than a huge tin that will mostly end up being wasted. Quote
Jefuemon Posted August 6, 2011 Posted August 6, 2011 Therefore, even though a tube of Tamiya is 18 bucks, You're not talking about that tube of Tamiya Basic putty in the picture, are you? Because I can get a tube of that for only ï¿¥180 or so. That's one hell of a mark-up you're paying! Quote
captain america Posted August 12, 2011 Author Posted August 12, 2011 Hi guys! Welcome to the latest installment of Building The Perfect BEAST. Today we're going to take a look at parts for the 2 last installments; namely the main body and the nosecone. Though normally I prefer to concentrate on one segment at a time, these two sets of parts are such that they must mate very carefully with each other when building, so alterations to one part inevitably spills-over and affects other parts: a simple principle that translates into more tedious and time-consuming work. In pics 1 and 2, we see the old-style JG-97M power generator, as it was made almost 10 years ago. I was never quite happy with the look of it, and wanted something that was a little more realistic in appearance, not to mention that as it is in the pics, it would be a complete casting nightmare. Therefore, with a bit of clever machining and fabrication... …I end up with something much nicer (pics 3 and 4.) The new powerplant is more along the lines of what I'd envisioned, and sports re-tooled fan blades and no bleed-slots; much more efficient looking IMHO. Pic 5 shows the engine in its chest housing. Since the entire mouth/intake of the powerplant was re-tooled, I wanted to ensure that there were no fit problems with the unit. Pic 7a: the movable intake doors. THe one on the left is the old version, while on the right is the 2.0 version. Pic 6: The engine/housing and intake doors. This shows the parts in flight configuration. Pic 7: intake doors in closed (armoured) position. In my head, I'd envisioned the doors to serve 3 purposes: one to protect the engines from Foreign Object Damage while taxiing on rough runways, two, to serve as intake ramps to control the high-speed airflow to the compressor face in high-speed flight, and third as armored shutters in heavy-duty engagements. Pic 8: the new forward fuselage/radar tray about to be machined. The nose section took quite a while to shape adequately, since I really wanted to nail the shape that would allow the fighter to really come alive. The rough version I'd shown previously was too bulbous and really didn't work with the rest of the fighter. Pic 9: the new nosecone tested for fit and aesthetics. All I can say is wow! The old 1.0 nosecone really doesn't hold a candle to the new one. Be warned though, the Fighter mode should be over 20 inches in length: it has presence!! Well, that's it for this update. I should have all the masters ready to begin mold prep by next week--stay tuned! Quote
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