Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[Thom]

3 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

.update

well, I gt back onto the cat and got some work done.

was going prety good too-

55

 

..,until i managed to MELT the front canopy:

i give up. this project is done and just going in the trash.

 

fed up and disgusted.

 

 

Great to see it back out! Just don't fret the set-back. You made that whole thing, you can fix that.😉

Edited January 21, 2022 by Thom

[electric indigo]

 

@arbit That, mate, is the Original Jumpjet, the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, actually it's second generation ( ~ 1980) with the laser nose. The red line just marks a no-step area with the four-legged Pegasus engine underneath.

Edited January 21, 2022 by electric indigo

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, Thom said:

 

Great to see it back out! Just don't fret the set-back. You made that whole thing, you can fix that.😉

Actually, it's much harder than that...

The material of the canopy (soda bottle plastic) had to be draped over the sides of the nose, then hot glued and taped over. I would have to 1) remove all the tape; 2) try to peel the plastic from the hot glue and 3) manage to match the color of the paint I just laid down.

And manage to do all of that without destroying the nose or the pilots I just put in.

So, this is going back into the box. I think maybe it's just time to stop with the masking tape models; they're not coming out well anymore.

[Thom]

@pengbuzz Dang! Alright, sorry to hear that. Try and get something quick and easy to win back that mojo.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Thom

[MechTech]

Thank you very much guys! Yes, I love the ability to improve upon things when they're not quite right. Look at all the aftermarket stuff out there to "fix" stuff.

@pengbuzz That is too bad about the canopy! Don't give up though! If I can fix all of my mistakes (and there has been a lot just on this project - so far), you can too!

@electric indigo Great decal work on the Harrier! Getting all that clear to disappear is tough!

Part of the lined area on the wing is also where the whole wing comes off the bird to work on the engine and associated systems - not popular with the ground crew. - MT

[pengbuzz]

15 minutes ago, MechTech said:

Thank you very much guys! Yes, I love the ability to improve upon things when they're not quite right. Look at all the aftermarket stuff out there to "fix" stuff.

@pengbuzz That is too bad about the canopy! Don't give up though! If I can fix all of my mistakes (and there has been a lot just on this project - so far), you can too!

I appreciate the vote of confidence MT; the problem is that repairing this is going to be a major pain due to what I listed previously. I can't simply remove the canopy without ripping apart the nose and potentially wrecking the flight crew I just put in there.

All the same, I don't want you folks to think I'm just being whiny or difficult; just thoroughly disgusted with 2 projects in a row now blowing up in my puss. >_>

[MechTech]

@pengbuzz I'm sorry and I understand!

 

Alright guys, don't kick my butt! I just saw these advertised on MicroMark. The TV, arcade and handheld game all play videos/audio from a micro SD card. If you wanted a tiny screen and audio for a project, this might be a good idea! I also saw they have similar elsewhere. This might be a good way to bring that large scale cockpit or bridge to the next level! - MT

https://www.micromark.com/search?keywords=tiny kit

[arbit]

1 hour ago, MechTech said:

Alright guys, don't kick my butt! I just saw these advertised on MicroMark. The TV, arcade and handheld game all play videos/audio from a micro SD card. If you wanted a tiny screen and audio for a project, this might be a good idea! I also saw they have similar elsewhere. This might be a good way to bring that large scale cockpit or bridge to the next level! - MT

You can get these 0.96 RGB LCD screens for Arduino for just a few bucks.  However, I have not found an easy tutorial on how to load videos on these, but it is something I really want to figure out for my projects.  These are what the Japanese modeler 6jirosdc, who is customizing the Hachette and the MaxFaxtory valks, is using for his screens (I actually recommended him to switch to these RGBs from B&W screens he was using, and unlike me he actually knows how to code).

 

[Zolana]

Hello all, this is my first time on the forum. I wanted to share some of my 3d printed valks. All are about 1/72 scale and the 3d modeling was done by Senovisuniverse on Instagram 

[arbit]

1 hour ago, Zolana said:

Hello all, this is my first time on the forum.

Thanks for sharing!  I wonder how smooth those would print in resin, and if they would warp.

[pengbuzz]

...

Edited January 25, 2022 by pengbuzz

[MechTech]

@Zolana Welcome aboard the forums! I definitely gotta start getting into 3D stuff!

A little progress this weekend, but it took a lot of time! All of the parts on this Special Hobby kit fit great, but I spent extra time making sure the joints fit as best as I could get. Then I soaked all of the joints with lots of glue. I'm hoping to avoid puttying it. The wheel well doors were fun and the rest of it went together well. The horizontal stabilizers were trimmed to make them sweep back on the leading edges. The wing roots were also filled with glue and stretched sprues. When I sand this down in a couple of days, I hope the seems are gone!

Not only will the flying surfaces be trimmed (to include the wings), but I had to find another seat and find a pilot. This is how you make a seat fit on top of a motor also in the same cockpit area! There's hardly any seat left! Even the headrest got trimmed back.

That's it for now. Thanks for checking in! - MT

[Thom]

8 hours ago, Zolana said:

Hello all, this is my first time on the forum. I wanted to share some of my 3d printed valks. All are about 1/72 scale and the 3d modeling was done by Senovisuniverse on Instagram 

Welcome! That VF-4 looks fantastic!

Build us some more!😁

[Zolana]

9 hours ago, Thom said:

Welcome! That VF-4 looks fantastic!

Build us some more!😁

I have a LOT of them as works in progress. More work done on the vf-1SOL, 2 vf-4s done, a vf-5000, I'm happy with the vf-17, detail work on the Yf-21. If you have a 3d printer i can give the link to all these models. Here is a  pic of what ive printed.

[Bolt]

What ?!? 😲

Damn son !

[Thom]

Thanks @Zolana, though I don't have a 3D printer. Great looking squadron.

[Zolana]

Macross plus valks, i keep making backlogs to paint😁

[pengbuzz]

...

Edited January 25, 2022 by pengbuzz
project terminated

[kajnrig]

@pengbuzzI've been meaning to ask, what were you attempting to do with that Cat's Eye? Was it like a "heat warp" effect on the hull? Or...?

...or now that I look again, is it a duct tape model? What is the backstory of this build!?!? I am INFINITELY fascinated.

[pengbuzz]

...

Edited January 25, 2022 by pengbuzz

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

Masking tape; the hull had been smoother, but in having to replace the canopies, a lot of the exterior had to be torn away.

I had used soda bottle plastic for the canopy on my first try and it worked well, but I had to extend the plastic along the side of the nose and then overlay with tape. When I force-dried the paint, the heat from the hair dryer softened and melted the canopy, ruining it. The only way to fix it was to tear apart half the ship.

As for the rest of it: that just goes with the masking tape/ cardboard process.It can look slightly "bumpy", "wavy" and what not, but that's just part of making it the way I do. But the effect was compounded by the rebuild I had to do to try to save this.

But if it looks that bad, then perhaps I should just go with my original plan, trash it and stop with the tape models altogether. Starting to regret even doing this one to be honest....

Honestly, your projects are fascinating just because you can accomplish so much with just masking tape.  I think as far as finishing goes though, if you want to hide the tape construction and texture, you might try covering everything with a smooth layer of standard office paper, construction paper, or possibly recycled cardboard from packaging.  That would involve gluing everything with white glue though, which could get messy, but you could also cut the panels to cover the model almost seamlessly, and draw all of the panel lines before cutting out the pieces, which would probably be a lot easier than drawing them onto the finished model.  

Either way, the new canopy looks fantastic!  Think my favorite part is how you managed to get the shape so smooth, especially the roundness of the dish.

 

[pengbuzz]

...

Edited January 25, 2022 by pengbuzz

[arbit]

On 1/23/2022 at 6:57 PM, MechTech said:

This is how you make a seat fit on top of a motor also in the same cockpit area!

Archaeologists will wonder about our cult of the legless pilot

[Bolt]

Well @pengbuzz I'm sorry to hear that. But I completely understand the scratch built frustrations that can occur, as well. Just so you know, you've seriously impressed me with what you can do with household materials. Very inspiring. 
Here's an update on some of my stuff. First , I'm finally done with this Moscato 1/72 heavy missile Mega Road 01  Regult  ( i think!) . The RM--1 missiles ( SPACY ordinance) are painted gray with  DYRL yellow noses. 

And here is my progress on the 1/72 Spider Bug. I decided on more of an aircraft gray, rather than white, for it. Panel lining this little bugger has been tedious ! And I've given the manipulators all the "white glove " treatment as well. This will further inside jokes by my Spider Bug operators, lol. So , some more touch up on the manipulators and main fuselage, and I'll be close to done. 
One thing I'm also gonna try , is pinning the manipulator arms and drilling small holes in the receiver sockets . I'll glue the pins in the arms but not to the receivers ( or vice versa?) .  I'd like to be able to remove the arms and mix up their placement for different poses. 
That's all for now. See you next Deculture, Space Cowboys ⚡️

[derex3592]

After 10 years of service I decided it was time to strip all the old paint off "The Workbench" and begin again from the ground up with a full redesign for "Workbench 2.0" with my new spray booth I got for Christmas. I wrapped up the LEDs with cling wrap and taped white paper around the inside of the booth so it will remain mostly paint free. Here's the outcome! Can't wait to try it out! Will hopefully be adding a new airbrush to it as well soon... 

[Bolt]

That looks great @derex3592. Ya been eye ballin my own work bench set up as well. Definitely needs an upgrade 👍🏼

[Sanity is Optional]

Good idea with the paper, I think I’ll give that a go with my spray booth as well.

[Rock]

So something you can also do is airbrush dish soap onto the walls of the booth in a few layers. Let it dry up and reapply. You'll get a film that will catch the overspray. When your ready you can just rinse off the parts under warm water and repeat the process for the next time.

[MechTech]

@derex3592 Nothing like a clean and organized bench! And with a hygrometer to help with the Texas humidity too! I've got to put a quieter fan in mine. I was soldering and using it to vent out the leaded fumes. It sucks wearing hearing protection while doing delicate soldering. When the fan wasn't on, 20 degree chills were coming in freezing the room up😁

@Rock That's a good idea for the paint booth, I'll have to try that!

 

While the glue joints are still fully curing on the Spitfire, I'm modifying one of my 1/35 Patlabor Ingram models. You can never find the Bandai LED set for them, so I took one of the toy lightbar wands I have (I bought a bunch a while back for $1.00 at Target). The lights have various modes with the push of a button. I then did some major circuit board surgery. The circuit board was cut back in length and I had to redo the soldering leads on it. Then added a new button cell battery box and glued the circuit board to the box.

I got a scrap LED from a toy, you know, the annoying ones that change color and tempo as they run? It will look perfect simulating monitor light in the cockpit. So I took the monitor and hollowed it out, wrapped the LED in scrap Bandai decal foil (insolating side in) and ran the leads out the back. That's the gray box in the photo. I also cut out the monitor area and created a screen with Testors clear canopy glue / window maker.

The black, lower portion of the Ingram houses a power switch and the selector button for the LED modes (the lights can blink or chase back and forth at various speeds).

The two ends of the lightbar were "translated" into two LEDs per shoulder pack. The LEDs were glued into scrap circuit board that was covered in foil from scrap Bandai decal sheet edge. I tried to use the original red LEDs that came with the light bar, but their quality was poor. So white ones had to be substituted. The static electricity didn't help either. This was the SECOND board I made. Not thinking, I didn't ground myself making the first board or touching the LEDs. So always ground yourself when soldering or working with electronic components!

Don't have a fancy ESD mat to solder on? Take a sheet of aluminum foil, put something BIG and metal on it (I used a metal vice, unpainted side touching the foil). It works great! I shocked myself several times on it after leaving the room and coming back to the bench, so I know it works. Just keep an arm on it at all times to keep the circuit. Hand cream helps with the ESD problem too!

That it for now. I just hope it all fits in properly! Thanks for checking in! - MT

 

[pengbuzz]

10 hours ago, MechTech said:

@derex3592 Nothing like a clean and organized bench! And with a hygrometer to help with the Texas humidity too! I've got to put a quieter fan in mine. I was soldering and using it to vent out the leaded fumes. It sucks wearing hearing protection while doing delicate soldering. When the fan wasn't on, 20 degree chills were coming in freezing the room up😁

@Rock That's a good idea for the paint booth, I'll have to try that!

 

While the glue joints are still fully curing on the Spitfire, I'm modifying one of my 1/35 Patlabor Ingram models. You can never find the Bandai LED set for them, so I took one of the toy lightbar wands I have (I bought a bunch a while back for $1.00 at Target). The lights have various modes with the push of a button. I then did some major circuit board surgery. The circuit board was cut back in length and I had to redo the soldering leads on it. Then added a new button cell battery box and glued the circuit board to the box.

I got a scrap LED from a toy, you know, the annoying ones that change color and tempo as they run? It will look perfect simulating monitor light in the cockpit. So I took the monitor and hollowed it out, wrapped the LED in scrap Bandai decal foil (insolating side in) and ran the leads out the back. That's the gray box in the photo. I also cut out the monitor area and created a screen with Testors clear canopy glue / window maker.

The black, lower portion of the Ingram houses a power switch and the selector button for the LED modes (the lights can blink or chase back and forth at various speeds).

The two ends of the lightbar were "translated" into two LEDs per shoulder pack. The LEDs were glued into scrap circuit board that was covered in foil from scrap Bandai decal sheet edge. I tried to use the original red LEDs that came with the light bar, but their quality was poor. So white ones had to be substituted. The static electricity didn't help either. This was the SECOND board I made. Not thinking, I didn't ground myself making the first board or touching the LEDs. So always ground yourself when soldering or working with electronic components!

Don't have a fancy ESD mat to solder on? Take a sheet of aluminum foil, put something BIG and metal on it (I used a metal vice, unpainted side touching the foil). It works great! I shocked myself several times on it after leaving the room and coming back to the bench, so I know it works. Just keep an arm on it at all times to keep the circuit. Hand cream helps with the ESD problem too!

That it for now. I just hope it all fits in properly! Thanks for checking in! - MT

 

Nice work!! Really like the idea you have for ESD grounding!

 

What I'm working on right now (got this as a gift):

My progress so far:

None of the missiles are installed yet; that will come later on. The kit is modular wit polycaps for the joints:

No, I didn't ditch the 1J head! But the head lasers did snap off and I had to glue them back onto the "ear pods" (be careful on your build should you get yours; the plastic is still kinda soft). I used a spare polycap to mod an Imai 1s head and fit it on the ball-post neck. No mods to the original neck, so the 1J head (or even a 1A!) can go back on anytime!

Also: the armor on the hips "locks" into place during the build (you assemble the crotch around the hip swivels in blue-grey plastic), but I found I can snap and unsnap the legs from the hip joints by rotating them towards the back along their axis and popping them off. Be careful if you do that though, as I don't trust the plastic the shaft of the hip joint is made of. I'd recommend painting them before popping them in.

Most everything is modular, so you can take this down to components and largely prime and paint according to colors . One issue are the fine panel lines; they can "fill up" pretty early, so that could obscure them, especially if you prime with dark primer and then do white (I like my models to not be translucent!).

The kit also includes both TV and Movie hands, and you'll end up with spares for a VF-1 nose and lower forearms and chestplate (sans color inset); guess they reused some previous molds and just left it at that. Could prove useful for a regular Battroid build!

One more note: the missile doors are built "either/or"; you have plastic connector parts to display them open or closed (DON'T glue them in!!!). If you want hinged ones, you'll have to develop your own hinge for them.

Edited January 31, 2022 by pengbuzz

[neptunesurvey]

I just got mine in the mail.  I have yet to look at the parts or instructions, is it easy to remove the missiles?

[Bolt]

Glad to see you back at it @pengbuzz thats a fine kit to get into !

2 hours ago, neptunesurvey said:

I just got mine in the mail.  I have yet to look at the parts or instructions, is it easy to remove the missiles?

The missiles are easy to remove, like the shoulders , just don't glue them.

I've got my kit ready for putty and sanding. Unfortunately it's about 3 kits down the queue .

And on that note, a little update on the Spider Bug. It's close to finished. Needs waterslides and some touch up/ light weathering. Then I'll glue the large center arm and top mounted radar. I drilled and glued pins into the 4 sockets and drilled holes into the ball joints of the arms for pose ability and ease of storage. 
 Aaaaannd the Lancer. It's cleaned up a bit more . Some color and i added some panel lines, as the original mold seems a little spars on details. Although it's pretty spot on with the line art. So no complaints, i just wanted more. 
Here's before .

And here's after with a few more panel lines.

Notice I've added a small , custom , removable mount to the top side . Sandwiched between the angled thruster mount and the fuselage. That is for this..

Super Lancer in the house ! We know that the Bandai 1/72 is a tad smaller than  the Hasegawa. At least for the supers. This works well , IMO , as the supers don't overwhelm the Lancer, in size. Bare in mind the Lancer has very long canons mounted to the front and thrusters to the rear. Both not yet shown. So, more putty and sanding , for a bit and then back to panel lining and coloring.

That's all for now. See you next Deculture, Space cowboy. Folding out !⚡️

[Thom]

@pengbuzz Great start, and it's nice seeing a build back on your table again. Huzzah!

@Bolt Good looking work on he Lancer!

[pengbuzz]

5 hours ago, Bolt said:

Glad to see you back at it @pengbuzz thats a fine kit to get into !

The missiles are easy to remove, like the shoulders , just don't glue them.

I've got my kit ready for putty and sanding. Unfortunately it's about 3 kits down the queue .

And on that note, a little update on the Spider Bug. It's close to finished. Needs waterslides and some touch up/ light weathering. Then I'll glue the large center arm and top mounted radar. I drilled and glued pins into the 4 sockets and drilled holes into the ball joints of the arms for pose ability and ease of storage. 
 Aaaaannd the Lancer. It's cleaned up a bit more . Some color and i added some panel lines, as the original mold seems a little spars on details. Although it's pretty spot on with the line art. So no complaints, i just wanted more. 
Here's before .

And here's after with a few more panel lines.

Notice I've added a small , custom , removable mount to the top side . Sandwiched between the angled thruster mount and the fuselage. That is for this..

Super Lancer in the house ! We know that the Bandai 1/72 is a tad smaller than  the Hasegawa. At least for the supers. This works well , IMO , as the supers don't overwhelm the Lancer, in size. Bare in mind the Lancer has very long canons mounted to the front and thrusters to the rear. Both not yet shown. So, more putty and sanding , for a bit and then back to panel lining and coloring.

That's all for now. See you next Deculture, Space cowboy. Folding out !⚡️

Thanks, and yeah; they are easy to remove if you don't glue them in.

Unfortunately on mine, I had a couple of slight glue overruns and had to sand some seams, resulting in a minor loss of detail (recessed lines and vents) near the seams.

Interesting idea BTW on the super boosters/ launchers on the LancerII!

5 hours ago, Thom said:

@pengbuzz Great start, and it's nice seeing a build back on your table again. Huzzah!

@Bolt Good looking work on he Lancer!

Thanks Thom; been a bit uncertain about my skills since the last 3 projects, and with this GPB-1s Armor, the seam/detail issue really threw me for a loop. Probably try to re-scribe it as best I can, but some of the crispness may be lost here and there.

Admittedly, a little undecided on how to paint this. Originally was planning to replace the scratchbuilt one I did, but after seeing some really interesting paint/decal schemes, I'm re-evaluating that one.

Spoiler

(Also, still looking for a 1/3000 SDF-1, but every time I even mention it,  I swear they jack the prices through the roof and most of them disappear! Had to pull down the topic I had here for reasons I don't want to go into!)

Spoiler

Almost feel like the SDFM version of Elmer Fudd!! lol

 

 

[Thom]

@pengbuzz Scribing is still a little like a 'dark art' for me. I can do it, but I'm always unsure about it. There are times I've had to redo the redo, and then the redo! And hey, if it doesn't turn out right, just add a little battle damage!😉