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Posted

While it's more work in some ways, I tend to prefer just painting as much as humanly possible on Star Wars kits, and only relying on decals for the tiny logos and stencils (and maybe those gun barrel stripes).

Most of the Bandai kits have parts breakdowns that help quite a bit with that approach, and do a decent job breaking out the larger colored areas as separate assemblies.  Some like the 1/48 X-Wing and 1/72 Y-Wing even have the marking panels themselves broken out as separate panels that can be painted and then snapped on after the rest of the ship is done. 

On the other hand.. I do wish they'd include the marking panels in the base body color.  I know they want to make it easy for kids to snap them together, but having only half the markings molded in color means you're going to have to just primer over everything anyway to get the decals to match. :p 

Posted

Just finished my holidays work: Old Bandai kit VF-2SS Valkyrie II Nexx with SAP - the original kit of the 90's, not the reissue. Parts were all still in good condition, only the water slide decals are a bit yellowed and tend to break. but I kept them as it is a "vintage" kit. As for the painting details I tried to give it the look of the HMR VF-2SS.

I really love how the Valk looks in Battroid mode. But in Fighter mode the well known inaccuracy of this kit in comparison to the Anime line art is obvious.  The body is far too small in comparison to the SAP parts and all in all it is too bulky. Further, with the HMR VF-2SS aside the deviation of size is extremely visible. So this one will stay in Battroid mode forever! :spiteful:

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Posted
1 hour ago, CrossAir said:

Just finished my holidays work: Old Bandai kit VF-2SS Valkyrie II Nexx with SAP - the original kit of the 90's, not the reissue. Parts were all still in good condition, only the water slide decals are a bit yellowed and tend to break. but I kept them as it is a "vintage" kit. As for the painting details I tried to give it the look of the HMR VF-2SS.

I really love how the Valk looks in Battroid mode. But in Fighter mode the well known inaccuracy of this kit in comparison to the Anime line art is obvious.  The body is far too small in comparison to the SAP parts and all in all it is too bulky. Further, with the HMR VF-2SS aside the deviation of size is extremely visible. So this one will stay in Battroid mode forever! :spiteful:

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looks great... nice finish..

made one myself and was not satisfied with the scale of the various parts... so made some changes..

take a look here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/42086-vf-2ss-valkyrie-ii-wsap-custom/?tab=comments#comment-1174311

 

Posted
1 minute ago, Nyankodevice said:

looks great... nice finish..

made one myself and was not satisfied with the scale of the various parts... so made some changes..

take a look here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/42086-vf-2ss-valkyrie-ii-wsap-custom/?tab=comments#comment-1174311

 

Thanks! I found your thread two weeks ago when I was looking for some ideas concerning the VF-2SS. You did an awesome job in remodeling the whole Valk to an accurate line art scale! For myself this would be a "little" bit too much ;)

Posted (edited)

Happy 2019 everyone. 

I'm trying to raise a 1/72 Prometheus Launch Elevator for my next project.

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This is a prototype to test the mechanics before shifting to a styrene diorama.

The setup:

- 9v battery with N20 long shaft 55mm motor at 150RPM.  

- I am using a tube to give support on the opposite side. 

The Results:

- It is able to lift 300g, which is what I need for the 1/72 valk and electronics base

- The styrene tube balance is giving friction.

- There is some friction from the thread stabilizer hole in the wood block, which I think can be solved with a steel nut instead of the wooden hole.

- There is a wobble on both sides of the lift, which pressure from my finger is not steadying

The Possible Solutions:

- I don't think a spring will help on the thread side because pressure support from my finger is not reducing the wobble. And the spring will only compress so much, so I will lose a part of the lift action.

- I am thinking to replace the styrene tube with a second long thread motor to reduce the friction and balance. However, I don't know if I can parallel two motors with two separate sets of limit switches. Each motor needs its own limit switch in case they are out of synch and need some extra rotation to reach the limits evenly on both sides. (@Mechtech, can this be done?)

- Possibly increasing the no load RPM from 150 to 300RPM.

Any feedback or suggestions appreciated.

Edited by arbit
Posted (edited)

Give a bushing a try on the side with the styrene tube? Might reduce the friction and help prevent crabbing (which is what's probably causing the wobble).

See these: https://www.mcmaster.com/bushings (filter for "plain" at the top left).

You can probably find cheaper ones elsewhere, McMaster just has a good selection.

Edited by Sanity is Optional
Posted (edited)

Bandai X-Wing finished up...came out pretty good for a freebie I guess.  The fact that I actually got the microscopic blue R2-D2 decals down on and around the tiny robot head is nothing short of amazing.. LOL.  I didnt do great on detailing the pilot.  I didn't go for 100% Luke Red 5 screen accuracy on this.. just kinda whatever. Overall I still like my Finemolds 1:48 better however. Enjoy the pics! Next up.. B-Wing time!!! :-) 

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Edited by derex3592
Posted
6 hours ago, CrossAir said:

@arbitWhat about a different concept like the scissor mechanism of a lift table?

A scissors lift would be great, but it requires a lot of math and 3D printing (not my skill set).

Posted
7 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Give a bushing a try on the side with the styrene tube? Might reduce the friction and help prevent crabbing (which is what's probably causing the wobble).

Thanks, interesting. But I definitely need to ditch the tube due to the weight tilting the base.

Posted
Just now, arbit said:

Thanks, interesting. But I definitely need to ditch the tube due to the weight tilting the base.

You can also try centering the drive axle, which ought to help (as the drag is equal on both sides). If the lift runs left-right, you can center the drive on the front or back side instead.

Posted

With some snow falling last night and looking at those big mechanical hands of the exo-skeleton suit of my FA Greifen Girl I finished some days ago a nice outdoor shooting setup came to mind (unfortunately the snow has already melted away way too fast). 

Girls playing in the snow :

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Posted
3 hours ago, Mr Jones said:

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Well it Looks excellent so far, but we need Details Man!

How are you mounting the packs?

Where'd the packs come from? A Hase kit? or did you pick up a Bandai SuperPack ?

Armament?

How will you paint her?

and more pics!!

Posted
2 hours ago, slide said:

Well it Looks excellent so far, but we need Details Man!

How are you mounting the packs?

Where'd the packs come from? A Hase kit? or did you pick up a Bandai SuperPack ?

Armament?

How will you paint her?

and more pics!!

Heh I'm still working it out -- they're Hasegawa from the fighter mode ( also looking at the packs from the Gerwalk as they seem to have a bit more detail ) 

I'm going to put VF-1 Weapon stores on it too -- basically inspired by this

 

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Going to magnetize a few things for swapping around when I feel like it -- build a mount for the boosters and also make the fronts swappable for when I feel like getting all VF-4S or double cannon ( if I can dig up another cannon front for the pods )

 

9VWMptY.jpg

Posted
12 hours ago, arbit said:

Thanks, interesting. But I definitely need to ditch the tube due to the weight tilting the base.

Funny thought, but is the construction big enough to fit something like a small lego mechanism inside?  Even if you would rather make all the components from scratch, you could use a few lego elements like lift arms, gears, and drive shafts to work out the mechanism sizing.

In terms of the just using the components you have though, would it be possible to drive two threaded shafts in parallel with a single motor?  Might need some tiny gearing to accomplish that, but it looks like there should be room.

Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Mr Jones said:

Heh I'm still working it out -- they're Hasegawa from the fighter mode ( also looking at the packs from the Gerwalk as they seem to have a bit more detail ) 

I'm going to put VF-1 Weapon stores on it too -- basically inspired by this

 

1EeDQhe.jpg

 

anFp2LJ.jpg

 

Going to magnetize a few things for swapping around when I feel like it -- build a mount for the boosters and also make the fronts swappable for when I feel like getting all VF-4S or double cannon ( if I can dig up another cannon front for the pods )

 

9VWMptY.jpg

That looks great. Love the addition of the fast packs. These look a lot better than the ones that are designed for it. And heck, you could fit a third right between the fins!

Edited by Thom
Posted (edited)

“Night at the improv spray booth” or “Baby it’s cold outside”. 

 

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Edited by Grayson72
Posted
14 minutes ago, Grayson72 said:

“Night at the improve spray booth” or “Baby it’s cold outside”. 

 

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Great idea and cost efficient solution - But my wife would kill me for that :vava:

Posted

Yeah my wife once told me “it’s me or your models!”

I sure do miss her sometimes. Lol

Posted
16 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

Same here! Love it though! Yeh, I'd be sleeping in the garage if I tried that! 

It all comes apart in 3 large pieces and breaks down quickly. 

Posted
1 minute ago, Grayson72 said:

Yeah my wife once told me “it’s me or your models!”

I sure do miss her sometimes. Lol

Now you made me think: What's easier to give up? :diablo:

Posted
1 hour ago, Grayson72 said:

Yeah my wife once told me “it’s me or your models!”

I sure do miss her sometimes. Lol

I busted up laughing at that! You got me real good with that one!

Posted

Love the VF-4 ideas.  They're one of my favorite Macross designs.

Small update for today on the Mk I Viper.

The engine exhausts are all trimmed up and in place.  Also, the vertical stabilizer is attached and Aves'd in.  I added two little F-14/VF-1-ish air brakes in the gap between the engines, trimming the piece that awkwardly jutted back past the engines.  Finally, getting a good looking joint between the added exhaust nozzle detail, the kit nozzles and the engine nacelles is taking forever.  It's taking Aves, Mr. Surfacer and Bondo, along with very creative and precise sanding and sculpting, to get things done and looking natural, instead of just filled.  I am almost finished with them (until priming) but I think you can tell where we'll end up once that's completed.

I also started work on the armament.  I am using the MkII's cannons but I will be modifying the ammo feed a bit to make them fit where they'll be mounted on the Mk I.  I'm also going to make some minor changes to the barrel, with the aim (no pun intended :)) being to make them look like slightly older versions of what we see on the Mk II.  I figure just like the M61 is almost ubiquitous on american fighter and attack aircraft, armament at that time would probably be the same across some marks of Vipers.

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Comments and criticisms welcome.

Kenny

Posted
17 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Updating? Please share.

May be it was uncorrect word. It's not repaint or something else, i'm not so good for this. When i recieved my 31s chogokin i started to think that new bandai releases looks much better visual to compare with old(frontier releases) for me. So i started to visual improve my frontier chogokins. First of them was my first chogokin, i  bought from a friend abot year ago so it was first candidate for training. I disassembled it, fixed leg joints, panellined and covered with matte varnish. Vissually it began to look like i bought version 2 of yf-29 :D Then i made same with my 25a, and couple days ago i recieved my new year present for me - RVF-171. Same things - panellined and matte varnish, yestarday it was finished and i assemble it back again. Only left my CF-171, which is panel lined, but not covered with matt, because it waiting for new triangles T_T.

yf-29 black panel lined with tamiya tamiya panel line accent color

vf-25a black panel lined and second layer gray

cf-171 black

rvf-171 gray.

Left finished matt shield from yf-29, right panel lined shield from vf-25a

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More randome pics under spoiler:

Spoiler

Finished yf-29 to compare with panel lined not finished matt varnish 25a

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Posted

I‘m always on the brink of panel lining and matte at least two of my YF-25. Now looking at your pics and seeing your results I definitely have to do a makeover to my valks, too. :good:

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