Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Sanity is Optional]

20 minutes ago, arbit said:

Glad u like it. I'm just trying to figure out what to do with it. Realistic lighting seems out of the question.

Paint some phosphorescent stuff inside?

[arbit]

16 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Paint some phosphorescent stuff inside?

Great idea for painting the warning lights and cockpit lights, etc.

Only problem is that the good stuff  is REALLY expensive. I have some cheap stuff which didnt work for me on plastic.

Edited August 23, 2018 by arbit

[Sanity is Optional]

40 minutes ago, arbit said:

Great idea for painting the warning lights and cockpit lights, etc.

Only problem is that the good stuff  is REALLY expensive. I have some cheap stuff which didnt work for me on plastic.

Mix some phosphorescent powder into transparent paint? Looks like the powder's not that expensive.

 

[edit] This place sells a bunch of colors 0.5oz for $6. https://www.technoglowproducts.com/glow-in-the-dark-powder/

Edited August 23, 2018 by Sanity is Optional

[MechTech]

Hey Arbit, that will look cool! Two things. Don't worry about lightly sanding and then buffing it out to get rid of the outer seams. Its a pain, but not too difficult.

Second, make sure you use a solid solvent type glue. Those with acrylic fillers in them will eventually yellow a bit. I've got old models I never painted and that's what happened to them.

You may be able to place one or two lights around it and get it lit up. Clear parts are cool in that they conduct light like fiber optics. I think this will look cool! - MT

[arbit]

12 minutes ago, MechTech said:

make sure you use a solid solvent type glue. Those with acrylic fillers will...

Examples please?

[Thom]

Go all out on it! That would look great in a dark room.

[electric indigo]

Finally got around to snap some pics of my Frame Arms (in Mountains of Mars outfit)

 

 

[arbit]

I made a little light box for the cockpit PE part. It's necessary, to reflect all the light around for one neopixel smd led to light up all the PE panel light holes. 

I have some light seepage around the edges, hopefully I can paint the outside of the light box black to reduce that without losing any brilliance; but the inside of the light box needs to be white to spread the led light around to all those panel lights.

Edited August 25, 2018 by arbit

[MechTech]

Looking cool Arbit! There are several types of solvents that melt styrene, but Lacquer thinner, Methyle-Ethyl Ketone and Acetone are most common. MEK is what a lot of glues like Testors are made with. I just got Tamiya for the first time (love their tiny applicator brush) and it smells like lacquer thinner to me. PLEASE test on scrap styrene pieces. Sometimes pieces will craze, so test first to also check bonds. Pure solvents also dry faster too. - MT

[Thom]

Nice lighting effect on that MilF! And just from one light source?!

[Urashiman]

@arbit Great work on that Millenium Falcom cockpit! AWESOME!

Yesterday I managed to finish my WAVE VF-4G Lightning III

Let the pictures speak for themselves.

The cool thing about this is that the Hasegawa Macross display stand works perfectly with the VF-4.

[MechTech]

That came out great Electric Indigo! I like the color scheme. Very different from a lot of conventional schemes.

That looks great Urashiman! Nice n clean, but well colored in the panel lines. - MT

Edited August 27, 2018 by MechTech

[Grayson72]

Ooooh nice job on that VF-4. Can’t wait to build mine. 

[20max20]

Finally got some time to work on these. It’s been a while I wanted to try some “real” color schemes on valks. Not a fan of small scales but it was fun.

[electric indigo]

These 1/100 kits are pretty good for alternate paint schemes. More pics of the VF-2SS, please!

[arbit]

Carefully balancing and blocking off the light to get full effect from the PE. Too much light and you lose the display details.

I might need to cover the circular light box further, so that the light doesnt overpower the second Gun Port. 

[derex3592]

Great work on those grey CF's and that Falcon lighting is looking awesome! 

[wm cheng]

WOW arbit!!!  That gunwell turned out great.  I used the same PE kit and maybe because I might have gotten the first run, a lot of my lighting holes weren't drilled all the way though.  It looks so good - congrats!

[arbit]

32 minutes ago, wm cheng said:

WOW arbit!!!  That gunwell turned out great.  I used the same PE kit and maybe because I might have gotten the first run, a lot of my lighting holes weren't drilled all the way though.  It looks so good - congrats!

Glad you like it. Now only if I could weather like you...

I think a lot of people have trouble lighting these.  I took it slowly  to figure it out with trial and error, and a lot of youtube videos to learn from others..

You can't just throw an led in and think it will work every time,

[Urashiman]

@arbit look what you have done. You caused me to be inspired and work on my Gundam RX78-2 ver. One Year War 0079 and make something crazy like this:

I have to get smaller cells if I want to build all that stuff into the head. Probably R41 hearing aid batteries. Also the LEDs are too big and too bright. Ordered some SMD LEDs. Muhahaha!

[Thom]

On 8/27/2018 at 4:37 PM, Urashiman said:

@arbit Great work on that Millenium Falcom cockpit! AWESOME!

Yesterday I managed to finish my WAVE VF-4G Lightning III

Let the pictures speak for themselves.

The cool thing about this is that the Hasegawa Macross display stand works perfectly with the VF-4.

Lovely work on that VF-4! Hikaru would be bouncing on his toes!

17 hours ago, 20max20 said:

Finally got some time to work on these. It’s been a while I wanted to try some “real” color schemes on valks. Not a fan of small scales but it was fun.

Love this VF line-up. Is that a resin VF-2SS? I may have to see about getting another one...

13 hours ago, arbit said:

Carefully balancing and blocking off the light to get full effect from the PE. Too much light and you lose the display details.

I might need to cover the circular light box further, so that the light doesnt overpower the second Gun Port. 

And that's a real nice looking gun pit. Sweet work!

[arbit]

10 hours ago, Urashiman said:

@arbit look what you have done. You caused me to be inspired and work on my Gundam RX78-2 ver... I have to get smaller cells if I want to build all that stuff into the head. Probably R41 hearing aid batteries. Also the LEDs are too big and too bright. Ordered some SMD LEDs. Muhahaha!

That's how I started too, lighting a 1/100 Nu Gundam.

- Thin wires are very important or you wont be able to close the model. I use 0.25 and 0.30 magnet enamel wire. 

- I use pre-wired SMDs with soft thin wires (I change their resitsors depending on what I need). The hard brittle type wires need to be epoxied immediately or the LEDs break off.  And you want pre wired because soledring these little guys is tough.

- As for batteries, let me know what you use. I have never figured out a solution for a good internal power source that will fit in our little models, and power multiple leds with resistors.  The really thin car remote batteries run out very quickly.  

[arbit]

On 8/25/2018 at 2:56 PM, electric indigo said:

Finally got around to snap some pics of my Frame Arms (in Mountains of Mars outfit)

Nice painting dude. You are so talented, it's a priveledge to sit back and see your hard work.

[20max20]

Both the VF-1j and the VF-2ss are from the HMR line, few more shots (I’m really not good with photos).

[Urashiman]

1 hour ago, arbit said:

That's how I started too, lighting a 1/100 Nu Gundam.

- Thin wires are very important or you wont be able to close the model. I use 0.25 and 0.30 magnet enamel wire. 

- I use pre-wired SMDs with soft thin wires (I change their resitsors depending on what I need). The hard brittle type wires need to be epoxied immediately or the LEDs break off.  And you want pre wired because soledring these little guys is tough.

- As for batteries, let me know what you use. I have never figured out a solution for a good internal power source that will fit in our little models, and power multiple leds with resistors.  The really thin car remote batteries run out very quickly.  

haha! nice, thanks for the advice.
I am good at soldering stuff. I am doing this since I am 8 years old, so no worries. My uncled worked in a chip factory for Siemens and teached me how to "bake" SMDs. Use low temperature solder, put the solder on the circuit board soldering points, align every SMD where it has to be and preheat your oven to 250°C. Bake for 2-3 minutes, and done. This only works if you are actually using a circuit board. Else you have to do manually with a soldering iron.

I have thin litz wire, insulated and bare wire in various sizes. PR41 batteries are really small. I am only going to power 3 SMD LEDs in the voltage range of 2.7-3.1V. One PR41 battery has 1.45V, so I would need two to have ~2.9V. PR41 batteries provide power in a range from 160mAh to 200mAh. 3SMD LEDs suck ~60mA (20mA each). Quick math - 160mAh/60mA = 2.6h. For switching it on and off from time to time this should do.

[slide]

7 hours ago, 20max20 said:

Both the VF-1j and the VF-2ss are from the HMR line, few more shots (I’m really not good with photos).

 

Spoiler

 

Very Nice!

[Chronocidal]

On ‎8‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 1:09 AM, 20max20 said:

Finally got some time to work on these. It’s been a while I wanted to try some “real” color schemes on valks. Not a fan of small scales but it was fun.

Those little 1/100 VF-25 and YF-29 kits are amazing for alternate schemes, I grabbed a dozen or so of them with that exact intent.

Also helps mitigate the fact that the decals that came with those kits are of absolutely terrible quality.  

[arbit]

On 8/28/2018 at 9:26 PM, wm cheng said:

WOW arbit!!!  That gunwell turned out great.  I used the same PE kit and maybe because I might have gotten the first run, a lot of my lighting holes weren't drilled all the way though.  It looks so good - congrats!

Actually, looks like you used Green Strawberry PE. I used Paragrafix which are  less detailed, but also a lot simpler. 

For this small scale I didn't care too much about detail, and its less fragile for the kids to play (If they can get off Fortnite).

[Urashiman]

Did some SMD LED soldering for the Gundam.

[electric indigo]

Spiders from Mars

[joscasle]

Well, almost finished. It is still necessary to place the clear parts and the small pieces on the hatches (the black circles). Very good kits. I love 1/48 !! All the marks painted, except Macross logos and the stencils.

 

Edited September 3, 2018 by joscasle

[electric indigo]

Fantastic work, joscasle! It really makes Hase's great kit shine.

[20max20]

Started working on Gundam GP01 PG. this kit has a ridiculous number of pieces...

Edited September 4, 2018 by 20max20

[arbit]

Toys for big boys! I will keep filing the landing gears down after painting the body to ensure they stay fun and clicky!

Finished all the prep work for lighting, Then blacked out the interior and dremeled out all the unnecessary pegs to make room for the wiring. I used a drop of epoxy to connect the magnet to the servo radar sweep. Much stronger and safer than super glue.

Not sure how much more detail I want to add to the cockpit at this scale. Overkill is probably in order.

 

[MechTech]

LOTS of AWESOME stuff guys! I wish I had more time to get online and keep up with everything.

Arbit, that Falcon is going to be an engineering masterpiece when you're done! - MT