Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[MechTech]

@Thom The Asuka looks BEAUTIFUL! Clean paint and just the right weathering too.

@pengbuzz Your fighter AND base look very menacing! COOL design of the fighter AND the base too! Great imagination! - MT

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, Thom said:

Thanks @pengbuzz! And yeah, those little plaques are quick and easy. I like the artwork you put on the base. Self made?

 

Yeah; it was based on a design I did for the "United Earth Armed Forces" (UEAF) seal right before finishing the base that I then painted by hand onto it:

31 minutes ago, MechTech said:

@pengbuzz Your fighter AND base look very menacing! COOL design of the fighter AND the base too! Great imagination! - MT

Thanks!! Both of you inspired me and assisted me in many ways with this build, whether you know it or not!

[Thom]

@pengbuzz Real cool bit of artwork! And if I was in any way a contributor, then that's awesome!

[derex3592]

Back in the mid 80s I was about 10 years old, I never saw FIREFOX in the theater, but I'll always remember when it was run on ABC Sunday Night Movie night... We had a VCR by that point and I recorded all the movies with commercials cut out. My parents didn't buy movies.. Too much $$$ back then. To this day I still remember the voice over guy talking as the trailer they had cut played before the movie started.. One of the lines was "The East is about to meet Eastwood" I mean... It really doesn't get any better than that right?! 🤣 I wore that tape OUT!!! I was a model builder kid, and had a few imitations, but never anything official because there never WAS anything official. I still maintain this is one of the meanest, coolest looking planes ever thought up! Fast forward to now and my FB feed popped up a build of some guys FIREFOX. I Googled it and a few weeks later... YUPP! I went with 1/72 for space reasons, but I would have LOVED a 1/48!!!  I haven't done a resin kit in a while since the Moscoto Invids, but I'm gonna try to get back on that horse and makes this look good! For good ole CLINT! 😁 

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Back in the mid 80s I was about 10 years old, I never saw FIREFOX in the theater, but I'll always remember when it was run on ABC Sunday Night Movie night... We had a VCR by that point and I recorded all the movies with commercials cut out. My parents didn't buy movies.. Too much $$$ back then. To this day I still remember the voice over guy talking as the trailer they had cut played before the movie started.. One of the lines was "The East is about to meet Eastwood" I mean... It really doesn't get any better than that right?! 🤣 I wore that tape OUT!!! I was a model builder kid, and had a few imitations, but never anything official because there never WAS anything official. I still maintain this is one of the meanest, coolest looking planes ever thought up! Fast forward to now and my FB feed popped up a build of some guys FIREFOX. I Googled it and a few weeks later... YUPP! I went with 1/72 for space reasons, but I would have LOVED a 1/48!!!  I haven't done a resin kit in a while since the Moscoto Invids, but I'm gonna try to get back on that horse and makes this look good! For good ole CLINT! 😁 

Wow, thanks for reminding me this exists!  I remember piecing together a pretty large scale pseudo-copy of this as a kid using cardboard and construction paper, based off of a single magazine photo about the movie.

Thanks for the reminder.. one more model to add to my "to print" list.  

My Excalibur update is coming along, I've got one more 24-hour print before all the parts are completed.  Then comes the "fun" part, where I sand and polish all of the pieces to get rid of the printing layers and ripples.  Or, maybe this time I'll try a sand-able primer?  Not sure yet.

I'm really bad about actually finishing kits though.  I don't exactly know why, but I always get a weird satisfaction from the pure un-painted forms.

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Back in the mid 80s I was about 10 years old, I never saw FIREFOX in the theater, but I'll always remember when it was run on ABC Sunday Night Movie night... We had a VCR by that point and I recorded all the movies with commercials cut out. My parents didn't buy movies.. Too much $$$ back then. To this day I still remember the voice over guy talking as the trailer they had cut played before the movie started.. One of the lines was "The East is about to meet Eastwood" I mean... It really doesn't get any better than that right?! 🤣 I wore that tape OUT!!! I was a model builder kid, and had a few imitations, but never anything official because there never WAS anything official. I still maintain this is one of the meanest, coolest looking planes ever thought up! Fast forward to now and my FB feed popped up a build of some guys FIREFOX. I Googled it and a few weeks later... YUPP! I went with 1/72 for space reasons, but I would have LOVED a 1/48!!!  I haven't done a resin kit in a while since the Moscoto Invids, but I'm gonna try to get back on that horse and makes this look good! For good ole CLINT! 😁 

First Secretary of USSR: "Are you enjoying your ride, Mr. Gant? Do you like our new toy?"

Gant: "it could be improved..."

First Secretary of USSR:  "Heh... your expert opinion, Mr. Gant?"

Gant: "You could say that..."

I have this movie on DVD...sometime I need to scratch this plane up.

BTW derex: here's the movie for free online if you want to watch it:

https://www.lookmovie2.to/movies/play/1689756702-firefox-1982

Edited October 20, 2023 by pengbuzz

[derex3592]

Thanks @pengbuzz, I've actually got the two disc set of Firefox and Heartbreak Ridge on Blu-Ray I picked up years ago from Amazon for like next to nothing. Need to re-watch both! 

[Chronocidal]

So, normally this is the place where I go, "I wish I still had this thing I made as a kid."

HOWEVER.. Turns out, I've had this thing stashed away all this time in a box of balsa wood gliders.   I'd normally call this a cautionary tale about never throwing anything away, but sometimes it's worth holding onto old stuff.

It's very different from the actual Firefox design, but was close enough for me not to care when I was probably twelve years old.. in fact, I'm pretty sure I remember building this during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, because I kept getting interrupted because I had to take notes on the games for a homework assignment.

Overall it's about 15 inches long, so not a bad size.  I learned early that stealthy aircraft are easy to make out of cardboard, since they're all flat surfaces.

I did make one other like this (that I still have anyhow), a Blue Angels F11F-1 Tiger, but it wasn't planned out nearly as well, and just sloppily wrapped with layers of paper and tape to hold together.

I started with CAD and game models in about 7th grade, and I can only imagine what it would have been like to grow up with the 3D printing technology we have now.

 

[pengbuzz]

2 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

So, normally this is the place where I go, "I wish I still had this thing I made as a kid."

HOWEVER.. Turns out, I've had this thing stashed away all this time in a box of balsa wood gliders.   I'd normally call this a cautionary tale about never throwing anything away, but sometimes it's worth holding onto old stuff.

It's very different from the actual Firefox design, but was close enough for me not to care when I was probably twelve years old.. in fact, I'm pretty sure I remember building this during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, because I kept getting interrupted because I had to take notes on the games for a homework assignment.

Overall it's about 15 inches long, so not a bad size.  I learned early that stealthy aircraft are easy to make out of cardboard, since they're all flat surfaces.

I did make one other like this (that I still have anyhow), a Blue Angels F11F-1 Tiger, but it wasn't planned out nearly as well, and just sloppily wrapped with layers of paper and tape to hold together.

I started with CAD and game models in about 7th grade, and I can only imagine what it would have been like to grow up with the 3D printing technology we have now.

 

You were 12 years old in 1996?!!!

 

Somebody get me my walker...

[Thom]

@Chronocidal A very nice 'card model!' Shapes may not be 'right' but it certainly has the Firefox family feel. Maybe that was a prototype, called the Firekit.

I also built some cardboard models as a kid, most notably an attempt at one of the hero ships from Galaxy Rangers, and an F-86 Scorpion made from cardboard and skinned in black electrical tape. It's been more than thirty years, so it is long gone but I recall it had a wingspan of about two feet and was able to fly across the street with a good throw! Unfortunately, it was left out on the porch overnight when it rained and the damp softened the cardboard and drooped it.

Good memories though.

[electric indigo]

There was a styrene kit of the Firefox in 2019, but it was 1/144; kinda underwhelming.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10644835

In other eastern news, I finished the WZ-10 and wanted to take it outside for a proper shooting, but the wind was too dangerous...

So here's another preliminary pic:

 

[Chronocidal]

No lie, that seriously looks like you built a shrink ray.   Beautiful work!

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, Thom said:

@Chronocidal A very nice 'card model!' Shapes may not be 'right' but it certainly has the Firefox family feel. Maybe that was a prototype, called the Firekit.

I also built some cardboard models as a kid, most notably an attempt at one of the hero ships from Galaxy Rangers, and an F-86 Scorpion made from cardboard and skinned in black electrical tape. It's been more than thirty years, so it is long gone but I recall it had a wingspan of about two feet and was able to fly across the street with a good throw! Unfortunately, it was left out on the porch overnight when it rained and the damp softened the cardboard and drooped it.

Good memories though.

You know... I had nearly forgotten about Galaxy Rangers until you mentioned it Thom! And yeah; I still build cardboard models!

Was this the one you tried building:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115162374841

Hmm... thinking maybe of of those ships would be a nice next project...

Edited October 21, 2023 by pengbuzz

[Thom]

54 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

You know... I had nearly forgotten about Galaxy Rangers until you mentioned it Thom! And yeah; I still build cardboard models!

Was this the one you tried building:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115162374841

Hmm... thinking maybe of of those ships would be a nice next project...

Now I'm wondering if I'm thinking of the right show... It was flat with a central cargo section that could be jettisoned, but it's been so long ago I may be misremembering. Maybe something from Bionic Six..?

Anyway, I've often thought of kitbashing an X-Wing into the Interceptor.

[pengbuzz]

30 minutes ago, Thom said:

Now I'm wondering if I'm thinking of the right show... It was flat with a central cargo section that could be jettisoned, but it's been so long ago I may be misremembering.

 

Maybe something from Bionic Six..?

That would be the Skydancer:

I found this pic here, along with info on the series:

https://thedorkreview.blogspot.com/2015/09/cool-article-bionic-six.html

30 minutes ago, Thom said:

Anyway, I've often thought of kitbashing an X-Wing into the Interceptor.

I'd love to see that! Meantime, I think the other craft in Galaxy Rangers (the one you have a pic of above) is the Interceptor. They actually have a printable version someone designed:

https://betamountain.org/index.php/Printable_Ranger_Interceptor

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4950691

 

[Thom]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

That would be the Skydancer:

I found this pic here, along with info on the series:

https://thedorkreview.blogspot.com/2015/09/cool-article-bionic-six.html

I'd love to see that! Meantime, I think the other craft in Galaxy Rangers (the one you have a pic of above) is the Interceptor. They actually have a printable version someone designed:

https://betamountain.org/index.php/Printable_Ranger_Interceptor

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4950691

 

Nope, not that. Now I have no idea what it was!

[Chronocidal]

Phew, the big print is done.  Almost 200 hours printing, and about 1.5 lbs of plastic.   It's a hefty build, and thinning down the parts for the larger print could have saved me some time and material, but I didn't feel like messing with part designs that worked.

The big changes were adding the cockpit, and all the little greeblie panels that got left blank on my first one.

Now I get to fill and sand all the print artifacts...   It came out smooth enough that I might fill in the big gaps with superglue or putty, and then just give a primer coat though.  We'll see.  Lots more to do for it, but it's a relief to just have all the parts print successfully. 

Edited October 22, 2023 by Chronocidal

[SteveTheFish]

The Meowmeow's target lock aquired: "I CAN HAS VF-171!"

So last night I finished laying down decals on my Hasegawa Armored Valkyrie. I still have leftover paint from the mixture I made for its blue/gray armor color, so I think I'll build up the old 1:100 scale Imai Armored Valkyrie and use the paint up. (Too bad the decals are kaput...)

The decals are silk screen, and went down very nicely. The only trouble I had were the black stripe decals. They lay down along those gaps and I had a hard time lining them up and wrapping them around. I ended up not using them. Instead I used my Real Touch Gundam Marker Gray 3 (which looks black to me) and it worked like a charm. Very beautiful. I think a bit of acrylic thinner can be used to clean up any mistakes, as I painted the kit with Mr. Color lacquer paints. 

I am also working on a resin garage kit of Asuka from Evangelion I bought on E2046. I do not care for that anime, but I love Sadamoto's character designs. I tried to do justice when painting her eyes, but alas I am not as good at eyes as Sadamoto is.

[wm cheng]

On 10/18/2023 at 7:44 AM, electric indigo said:

Tadpole

I'd love an Intruder in 1/72 - is that a 1/48?  What's the best kit in 1/72?

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

The Meowmeow's target lock aquired: "I CAN HAS VF-171!"

So last night I finished laying down decals on my Hasegawa Armored Valkyrie. I still have leftover paint from the mixture I made for its blue/gray armor color, so I think I'll build up the old 1:100 scale Imai Armored Valkyrie and use the paint up. (Too bad the decals are kaput...)

The decals are silk screen, and went down very nicely. The only trouble I had were the black stripe decals. They lay down along those gaps and I had a hard time lining them up and wrapping them around. I ended up not using them. Instead I used my Real Touch Gundam Marker Gray 3 (which looks black to me) and it worked like a charm. Very beautiful. I think a bit of acrylic thinner can be used to clean up any mistakes, as I painted the kit with Mr. Color lacquer paints. 

I am also working on a resin garage kit of Asuka from Evangelion I bought on E2046. I do not care for that anime, but I love Sadamoto's character designs. I tried to do justice when painting her eyes, but alas I am not as good at eyes as Sadamoto is.

You could go back in with a very fine mechanical pencil, then seal it and no one should be able to tell the difference.

[electric indigo]

2 hours ago, wm cheng said:

I'd love an Intruder in 1/72 - is that a 1/48?  What's the best kit in 1/72?

You might want to wait until next year for the new Trumpeter kit:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11030655

[Thom]

Picked this lil gem up from Etsy. At 3 inches long, it's about 1/4000 and was $20 with shipping.

[Urashiman]

9 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

The Meowmeow's target lock aquired: "I CAN HAS VF-171!"

So last night I finished laying down decals on my Hasegawa Armored Valkyrie. I still have leftover paint from the mixture I made for its blue/gray armor color, so I think I'll build up the old 1:100 scale Imai Armored Valkyrie and use the paint up. (Too bad the decals are kaput...)

The decals are silk screen, and went down very nicely. The only trouble I had were the black stripe decals. They lay down along those gaps and I had a hard time lining them up and wrapping them around. I ended up not using them. Instead I used my Real Touch Gundam Marker Gray 3 (which looks black to me) and it worked like a charm. Very beautiful. I think a bit of acrylic thinner can be used to clean up any mistakes, as I painted the kit with Mr. Color lacquer paints. 

I am also working on a resin garage kit of Asuka from Evangelion I bought on E2046. I do not care for that anime, but I love Sadamoto's character designs. I tried to do justice when painting her eyes, but alas I am not as good at eyes as Sadamoto is.

That cat is actually eyeing the empty food bowl there ... XD

[pengbuzz]

Just started this one today:

Yeah, need to refine the face and hair a bit; this is still in progress. But I was never a fan of Matchbox's attempts; need to find a set of hands for him and make the outfit (sewing...erk. )

Stay tuned, miclones...

[mechaninac]

46 minutes ago, Urashiman said:

That cat is actually eyeing the empty food bowl there ... XD

Or the empty box...

[electric indigo]

It's done. No outdoor shooting, but some nice soft light from overcast sky.

Some more in my Flickr album

[wm cheng]

Wow @electric indigo that is absolutely stunning!!! Congrats on another amazing addition to your collection.  Love it so much.  Is it 48 or 72 again?

[electric indigo]

Thank you @wm cheng! It's the new 1/48 kit from Trumpeter, my eyes are too old for 1/72.

[Thom]

Very nice and clean build, @electric indigo! Definitely more of a 'real' look than model look.

[Big s]

5 hours ago, electric indigo said:

It's done. No outdoor shooting, but some nice soft light from overcast sky.

Some more in my Flickr album

Looks great and a lot of the detailing looks very believable, like if you photoshopped a cool airfield or hangar around it that it could fool the eyes into thinking it’s the real thing 

[derex3592]

@electric indigo Damn man, that chopper looks REAL! Great job! 

[SteveTheFish]

Yeah, that is magazine quality for sure. Submit it to FSM or something!

[Gabe Q]

7 hours ago, electric indigo said:

It's done. No outdoor shooting, but some nice soft light from overcast sky.

Good God, that is beautiful! Absolutely nailed it! Nothing is too over/underdone. All the little details are perfectly executed. You've set the bar higher for us builders. Thanks for sharing.

[electric indigo]

@all Thanks for the flowers, always happy to keep you entertained!

Big props to Trumpeter for this awesome kit and it's level of details (like the PE wipers). In the end, I just added some bits of wire.

Back with my Intruder soon.

[wm cheng]

On 10/23/2023 at 4:13 AM, electric indigo said:

You might want to wait until next year for the new Trumpeter kit:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11030655

OMG!  That looks amazing especially for 1/72 scale.  Thanks so much for pointing me in that direction.  Although they could have had a more interesting colourful scheme to provide decals for.