Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[derex3592]

Needed a quick break from 1/72 airplanes, so I spent today on the 1/500 Yamato, man this kit is just massive! I love it. Two tiny drops of Tamiya quick setting cement so far to this point. No putty. Bandai was on their game back then! 

Edited December 22, 2024 by derex3592

[electric indigo]

@derex3592 Looks like another impressive display piece in the making!

_

Worm masking & gouache panel lines going on at my Corsair II:

Can you believe the mold is over 30 years old?

[nightmareB4macross]

Took a bit of a break away from my 1/55 custom. In the last couple of days feet and thrusters were created with extensive detailing.

This sure is a fun project.

[SteveTheFish]

I've had this done for a while now, but I didn't get around to taking proper photos of it until recently. This is Arii's 1:100 scale Regult Recon Pod with some aftermarket customization parts. Namely Wave's H-Eyes lens parts to replace the molded detail I filed off.

 

Here is a photoset of the kit with a description of the build:

https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/768755550031921152/arii-1100-macross-regult-scout-type-battlepod

Edited December 23, 2024 by SteveTheFish

[Big s]

3 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

I've had this done for a while now, but I didn't get around to taking proper photos of it until recently. This is Arii's 1:100 scale Regult Recon Pod with some aftermarket customization parts. Namely Wave's H-Eyes lens parts to replace the molded detail I filed off.

 

Here is a photoset of the kit with a description of the build:

https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/768755550031921152/arii-1100-macross-regult-scout-type-battlepod

That’s a really good build of that ancient kit

[pengbuzz]

Well, I saw this pic in the "Hey look at this really cool model build I just saw" thread:

https://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/48334-the-hey-look-at-this-really-cool-model-build-i-saw-post/page/34/#findComment-1725188

It inspired me to redo my version of it (Imai):

All I really did was change the color from chocolate brown to my attempt at their lighter tan (mine still went a bit darker though. Go figure).

Next up: I have a 3/34 GI Joe figure coming in the mail; I finally found a basis to start my next "Matchbox" RT Figure: Kakizaki!!!

 

Stay tuned...

 

Edited December 23, 2024 by pengbuzz

[Urashiman]

@electric indigo 30 years old? What kit maker is that? The panel lines look so crisp ...

@nightmareB4macross so much evergreen. looks like it is coming along well.

@SteveTheFish looks nice

@pengbuzz aah ... good old cannon fodder. Haha

[electric indigo]

2 hours ago, Urashiman said:

@electric indigo 30 years old? What kit maker is that? The panel lines look so crisp ...

Hasegawa, Baby! 😄

[nightmareB4macross]

Non-splitting engine exhaust looks so much better.

[Radioguy]

Quick question: Has anyone here had success dying white nylon parts darker colors? (Like maroon)

Thanks in advance.

[Big s]

23 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

Quick question: Has anyone here had success dying white nylon parts darker colors? (Like maroon)

Thanks in advance.

No. But I’d be curious if someone did. Nylon is kind of interesting since it’s a plastic that doesn’t seem to like paint in most forms, but I have heard of some people dying plastics like action figure bodies and not sure if that process works for nylon.

Maybe get some cheap nylon parts at a hardware store or even some nylon chord and experiment with it. There was a YouTube video of a guy that had a flesh colored blank toy body and odd soft goods that he needed to customize the colors  to make a black base body and deep red cape for a Spawn figure and the process may be similar. I don’t remember the channel name or anything, but I saw the video about a month ago and he had to go the dye route because the materials weren’t paint friendly 

[Radioguy]

I was curious as I had asked someone to do a custom paint of a DX figure of mine, and they pointed out the nylon joints won't take paint, which kinda ended that endeavor.

I don't have the dexterity to do the custom paint job myself, so I doubt I'll be experimenting with dying, but I did wonder if that part of the equation could be solved.

Thanks though!

[pengbuzz]

8 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

I was curious as I had asked someone to do a custom paint of a DX figure of mine, and they pointed out the nylon joints won't take paint, which kinda ended that endeavor.

I don't have the dexterity to do the custom paint job myself, so I doubt I'll be experimenting with dying, but I did wonder if that part of the equation could be solved.

Thanks though!

Also: use RIT dye made specifically for synthetics:

https://www.ritdye.com/instructions/how-to-use-dyemore-for-synthetic-fibers/

It's made for stuff like nylon, so it will work better than the regular one. You just dip the parts in and let the dye soak in.

[Radioguy]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

Also: use RIT dye made specifically for synthetics:

https://www.ritdye.com/instructions/how-to-use-dyemore-for-synthetic-fibers/

It's made for stuff like nylon, so it will work better than the regular one. You just dip the parts in and let the dye soak in.

As that describes fabric, would it work on solid nylon?

[pengbuzz]

18 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

As that describes fabric, would it work on solid nylon?

Yes, it should; here's one article I have about it in my files:

https://www.angelfire.com/mech/jinsaotome/JinsDangerousToys2/Slitherfang.html

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Radioguy said:

I was curious as I had asked someone to do a custom paint of a DX figure of mine, and they pointed out the nylon joints won't take paint, which kinda ended that endeavor.

I don't have the dexterity to do the custom paint job myself, so I doubt I'll be experimenting with dying, but I did wonder if that part of the equation could be solved.

Thanks though!

The channel on YouTube was decentcustoms. And the video comes up if you search perfect spawn figure. He kinda goes over the process a bit, but also has links to others that have done it

[SteveTheFish]

Here's something else I recently completed. An SD sofubi figure of Devil Hunter Yohko by Falchion. I used V-Color vinyl paints.

Here is a photoset of this build:

https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/768754345306112000/falchion-sd-devil-hunter-yohko-sofubi-figure-build

[Big s]

51 minutes ago, SteveTheFish said:

Here's something else I recently completed. An SD sofubi figure of Devil Hunter Yohko by Falchion. I used V-Color vinyl paints.

Here is a photoset of this build:

https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/768754345306112000/falchion-sd-devil-hunter-yohko-sofubi-figure-build

Turned out pretty great 

[Chas]

7 hours ago, SteveTheFish said:

Here's something else I recently completed. An SD sofubi figure of Devil Hunter Yohko by Falchion. I used V-Color vinyl paints.

Here is a photoset of this build:

https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/768754345306112000/falchion-sd-devil-hunter-yohko-sofubi-figure-build

Awesome job on the detail painting there. It's all so good, but those eyes are particularly well done. How big is this?

[SteveTheFish]

9 hours ago, Chas said:

Awesome job on the detail painting there. It's all so good, but those eyes are particularly well done. How big is this?

Thanks! She's only 12cm tall. I only wish I had added some flat base to her hair as it's a bit shiny. I painted her eyes with Delta Ceramcoat acrylics, but the rest is V-Color paints. The emblem on her chest was hand-painted with V-Color paints mixed with retarder. It could've turned out better, but my original plan was to mask it off and airbrush the black and white. The detail was a bit too soft to accomplish that, so I hand-painted it. The gold trim was airbrushed though. Hi-Q Parts makes circle masks that made it possible.

[nightmareB4macross]

Left foot complete.

Edited December 28, 2024 by nightmareB4macross

[MechTech]

@derex3592 I LOVED building that kit with my son! The cannon are awesome how they progressively elevate.

@electric indigo That Corsair is looking GREAT! There are some awesome molds from even 60 years ago! I guess its all in how much effort or skill was put into the mold. A lot of panel lines are too wide in scale, but current tech is limited to what can be done.

@SteveTheFish I love the recon reconfig! It's cool that they made those conversion kits.

@nightmareB4macross Those mods are looking GREAT! That is DEFINITELY going to be an improvement over the stock version - and then some!

@pengbuzz GREAT change of paint on the kit! It does look like the scene you posted.

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (and Hannakuh since it's still going on). I finally got some free time on the workbench and got somewhere on the Dougram kit. The first photo is from the stock Gatling gun barrels. You can see how all the voids molded into the parts REALLY detract from it! So I decided to rebuild it. Filling them neatly would take about as much work!

The first step was to create the clamps and muzzle to hold the barrels together. Here's the muzzle getting hand machined - with a Dremel bit! Can you see how this was made from an old bolt head? See the threads? All three were to keep the colors the same.

And all the pieces together including a center "nut" machined for the muzzle clamp.

Then all the barrels were cut from simple K&S Metals aluminum tubing in two thicknesses. Old air line fittings were machined for various pieces including the bearing holder. A nice gear motor is what drives everything. It's quiet and has some torque.

Then the barrels were blacked with acid. Which had to be redone since the first coat literally came right off!?

Do you see the part on the left? It was an old garden hose fitting - now HEAVILY machined! The back part still has its barbs for the hose. All the parts fit inside of each other like those Russian dolls to keep the parts centered. Note the two LEDs in tandem for double the light output. And then covered to reduce the light.

And everything connected together that slides into the "garden hose housing." The motor couplers were made as well because of the small size.

The bench test (which actually rotates clockwise, but the GIF looks opposite).

And with the light shining through the barrels...

I can't emphasize enough how God was a HUGE help to me on this project! He even pointed out where I messed up with the main shaft. I couldn't figure out where I went wrong since it wobbled more than what you see. So many pieces just came together as I looked through my spare parts - it was no coincidence! I screwed something up, and it ended up working for the good! Especially with the brass pieces.

There's still more to go on this. The handles and base with ammo cans are in the works. Thanks for checking in! - MT

Edited December 29, 2024 by MechTech

[pengbuzz]

On 12/28/2024 at 7:19 PM, MechTech said:

@derex3592 I LOVED building that kit with my son! The cannon are awesome how they progressively elevate.

@electric indigo That Corsair is looking GREAT! There are some awesome molds from even 60 years ago! I guess its all in how much effort or skill was put into the mold. A lot of panel lines are too wide in scale, but current tech is limited to what can be done.

@SteveTheFish I love the recon reconfig! It's cool that they made those conversion kits.

@nightmareB4macross Those mods are looking GREAT! That is DEFINITELY going to be an improvement over the stock version - and then some!

@pengbuzz GREAT change of paint on the kit! It does look like the scene you posted.

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (and Hannakuh since it's still going on). I finally got some free time on the workbench and got somewhere on the Dougram kit. The first photo is from the stock Gatling gun barrels. You can see how all the voids molded into the parts REALLY detract from it! So I decided to rebuild it. Filling them neatly would take about as much work!

The first step was to create the clamps and muzzle to hold the barrels together. Here's the muzzle getting hand machined - with a Dremel bit! Can you see how this was made from an old bolt head? See the threads? All three were to keep the colors the same.

And all the pieces together including a center "nut" machined for the muzzle clamp.

Then all the barrels were cut from simple K&S Metals aluminum tubing in two thicknesses. Old air line fittings were machined for various pieces including the bearing holder. A nice gear motor is what drives everything. It's quiet and has some torque.

Then the barrels were blacked with acid. Which had to be redone since the first coat literally came right off!?

Do you see the part on the left? It was an old garden hose fitting - now HEAVILY machined! The back part still has its barbs for the hose. All the parts fit inside of each other like those Russian dolls to keep the parts centered. Note the two LEDs in tandem for double the light output. And then covered to reduce the light.

And everything connected together that slides into the "garden hose housing." The motor couplers were made as well because of the small size.

The bench test (which actually rotates clockwise, but the GIF looks opposite).

And with the light shining through the barrels...

I can't emphasize enough how God was a HUGE help to me on this project! He even pointed out where I messed up with the main shaft. I couldn't figure out where I went wrong since it wobbled more than what you see. So many pieces just came together as I looked through my spare parts - it was no coincidence! I screwed something up, and it ended up working for the good! Especially with the brass pieces.

There's still more to go on this. The handles and base with ammo cans are in the works. Thanks for checking in! - MT

Okay...REALLY jealous of you night now bro!

Seriously, awesome job on the mini-gun light and motor!! Your Dougram is going to seriously rock!!

-------------------

Meantime, one  of my Christmas gifts:

 

So, with this, you can either choose wings up or wings down, which royally sucks. If they should be able to move, then it should have been molded as such. Instead, you have to buy this kit to accomplish that task:

And at $90.00,  I don't think so, Tim. >_>

So, what about making this hinge myself? Well, counting out 26 slats per section @ 3 sections that have to be done, that would permanently ensure my carpal tunnel would become The Pengbuzz Memorial Carpal Express Freeway, complete with truck stops, on and off ramps, restaurants and a few dozen New Jersey Barriers!!!

 

(Don't laugh; my wrists ache just from looking at that pic!! O.O  )

 

So.... how to proceed?

 

I remember a smaller KBoP model kit from the "Adversary" model set Ertl had a while back:

 

They actually managed to hinge the wings on the smaller version, ad from what I saw of it, it looked and worked just fine:

So, if they can do it on the small one... then why not on the BIG one?

I got to work:

First thing I did was to take the two sets of both "up" and "down" hinges, and trim the lower baffles from the wings down version, and the upper baffles from the wings up version. This way, I would have the full length needed on both, and have the extra material needed to ensure the wings could hinge up and down to their full extent.

I then took and slotted the grooves on the upper baffles so they'd slide easily over the ridges on the lower baffles:

 

A pic of the underside (sorry about the lighting!):

Test fit for the wing during the initial fabrication:

At this point, I had taken the rear end plates for the upper baffles and ground down (and sanded) them to less than half their original thickness (due to the "blocks" inside for attachment and lips/ nubs for the same purpose). If you follow along on this, be careful while grinding this, as the indented detail on the outsides will become paper thin!!!

A look at the extended-position end plates for the lower baffles:

I glued this and left it overnight to dry; this was to make sure the unit was strong before testing it out in the main body, as it is a main structural unit. I'm planning on using sprue before final assembly to reinforce this "box" and make sure it doesn't come apart once finished.

Upper baffle wing boxes (with and without camera flash:

You can see the light through the "vents" at the end; that's how thin the parts were ground down! I had to remove everything that would interfere with the lower baffles sliding up into there.

On that note: a warning about fitting the wings:

The areas I circled in red are a major concern: you have to widen this space with a needle file and/ or hacksaw blade. Otherwise, it will be too narrow for it to accept the edge of the rear upper baffle end plate (also circled in red in the second photo):

Speaking of the baffle end plates: I had to use a section from the other baffle sets (about 3 ribs in from the front, three ribs total taken) to extend the upper baffle boxes to accept the lower wing baffle "cassettes":

This also required a slight modification of the "upper radiation shields" (per the instructions), trimming away some material from the inside curve to accommodate the extended baffle boxes:

The baffle ridges will be sanded/ filed to conformity with the rest, once the glue is fully set and dry.

I then added the front end plate to the baffle boxes on both sides:

  

 

FIt-up tests for the wings (Starboard side one shown here):

I just have to figure out the actual hinge for the wing; I built the body before planning anything so I could see what kind of space and obstructions I would encounter. I also needed to see where the actual pivot for the wing would be (inside the wing itself or inside the main body), so I could decide where placement and attachment would be.

Stay tuned...

 

Edited yesterday at 03:23 AM by pengbuzz

[derex3592]

@MechTech Wow that's amazing! Love watching you in action! Nothing short of incredible! 

@pengbuzz Cool BOP! Can't wait to see you work your magic on it! 

Hope everyone has and still is having a great holiday season. 

Over here I finished up the Academy 1/72 Academy A-10. Only thing that didn't work out was somehow a tiny bit of overspray somehow got inside under the canopy. Grrr.. It's not noticeable from a foot away but still annoying. I'm guessing it got in somewhere from the bottom of the kit. Whatever. Still pretty pleased with how this turned out. Added a pilot and modified for in flight display. 

Edited December 29, 2024 by derex3592

[Thom]

Wow, you did some awesome work on that mini gun @MechTech!

@pengbuzz I am in awe of that conversion work! Once you get the hinge figured it'll be perfect.

 @derex3592 Great looking 'hog! A Legend of a plane loaded for bear!

[Chronocidal]

On 12/27/2024 at 10:04 PM, nightmareB4macross said:

Left foot complete.

That may be the best option I've seen for how to get a good toe extension yet.  About time someone actually used that joint for something!

14 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Okay...REALLY jealous of you night now bro!

Seriously, awesome job on the mini-gun light and motor!! Your Dougram is going to seriously rock!!

-------------------

Meantime, one  of my Christmas gifts:

 

So, with this, you can either choose wings up or wings down, which royally sucks. If they should be able to move, then it should have been molded as such. Instead, you have to buy this kit to accomplish that task:

And at $90.00,  I don't think so, Tim. >_>

So, what about making this hinge myself? Well, counting out 26 slats per section @ 3 sections that have to be done, that would permanently ensure my carpal tunnel would become The Pengbuzz Memorial Carpal Express Freeway, complete with truck stops, on and off ramps, restaurants and a few dozen New Jersey Barriers!!!

 

(Don't laugh; my wrists ache just from looking at that pic!! O.O  )

 

So.... how to proceed?

 

I remember a smaller KBoP model kit from the "Adversary" model set Ertl had a while back:

 

They actually managed to hinge the wings on the smaller version, ad from what I saw of it, it looked and worked just fine:

So, if they can do it on the small one... then why not on the BIG one?

I got to work:

First thing I did was to take the two sets of both "up" and "down" hinges, and trim the lower baffles from the wings down version, and the upper baffles from the wings up version. This way, I would have the full length needed on both, and have the extra material needed to ensure the wings could hinge up and down to their full extent.

I then took and slotted the grooves on the upper baffles so they'd slide easily over the ridges on the lower baffles:

 

A pic of the underside (sorry about the lighting!):

Test fit for the wing during the initial fabrication:

At this point, I had taken the rear end plates for the upper baffles and ground down (and sanded) them to less than half their original thickness (due to the "blocks" inside for attachment and lips/ nubs for the same purpose). If you follow along on this, be careful while grinding this, as the indented detail on the outsides will become paper thin!!!

A look at the extended-position end plates for the lower baffles:

I glued this and left it overnight to dry; this was to make sure the unit was strong before testing it out in the main body, as it is a main structural unit. I'm planning on using sprue before final assembly to reinforce this "box" and make sure it doesn't come apart once finished.

Upper baffle wing boxes (with and without camera flash:

You can see the light through the "vents" at the end; that's how thin the parts were ground down! I had to remove everything that would interfere with the lower baffles sliding up into there.

On that note: a warning about fitting the wings:

The areas I circled in red are a major concern: you have to widen this space with a needle file and/ or hacksaw blade. Otherwise, it will be too narrow for it to accept the edge of the rear upper baffle end plate (also circled in red in the second photo):

Speaking of the baffle end plates: I had to use a section from the other baffle sets (about 3 ribs in from the front, three ribs total taken) to extend the upper baffle boxes to accept the lower wing baffle "cassettes":

This also required a slight modification of the "upper radiation shields" (per the instructions), trimming away some material from the inside curve to accommodate the extended baffle boxes:

The baffle ridges will be sanded/ filed to conformity with the rest, once the glue is fully set and dry.

I then added the front end plate to the baffle boxes on both sides:

  

 

FIt-up tests for the wings (Starboard side one shown here):

I just have to figure out the actual hinge for the wing; I built the body before planning anything so I could see what kind of space and obstructions I would encounter. I also needed to see where the actual pivot for the wing would be (inside the wing itself or inside the main body), so I could decide where placement and attachment would be.

Stay tuned...

Really awesome work with that hinge, I've been plotting how to do something like the add-on kit myself for a few years, and never got around to it, but your solution looks like a great alternative.

For the actual internal hinge, depending on the actual range of motion you want, you might want to see if you can find a few small LEGO hinges to just glue in place.  If you can get a few of the old clicky ones that would be pretty ideal, so long as the clicks line up with where you want them.  They should fit inside the wing baffles easily, and I think three one-stud wide hinges should be enough for each side (two hinges might be enough, I forget how heavy the wings are).

I wouldn't suggest buying a set just for them, but you might be able to get a few of the hinges on their own for a few bucks through a reseller (I might have some spares myself, but can't look through my supply until next week).  I'll see what I can find later, if you think that's worth looking at.

[Cheese3]

Xmas! I got the falcon and a vf-1j! Finished the Minerva too!

[The Original Cobywan]

15 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Okay...REALLY jealous of you night now bro!

Seriously, awesome job on the mini-gun light and motor!! Your Dougram is going to seriously rock!!

-------------------

Meantime, one  of my Christmas gifts:

 

So, with this, you can either choose wings up or wings down, which royally sucks. If they should be able to move, then it should have been molded as such. Instead, you have to buy this kit to accomplish that task:

And at $90.00,  I don't think so, Tim. >_>

So, what about making this hinge myself? Well, counting out 26 slats per section @ 3 sections that have to be done, that would permanently ensure my carpal tunnel would become The Pengbuzz Memorial Carpal Express Freeway, complete with truck stops, on and off ramps, restaurants and a few dozen New Jersey Barriers!!!

 

(Don't laugh; my wrists ache just from looking at that pic!! O.O  )

 

So.... how to proceed?

 

I remember a smaller KBoP model kit from the "Adversary" model set Ertl had a while back:

 

They actually managed to hinge the wings on the smaller version, ad from what I saw of it, it looked and worked just fine:

So, if they can do it on the small one... then why not on the BIG one?

I got to work:

First thing I did was to take the two sets of both "up" and "down" hinges, and trim the lower baffles from the wings down version, and the upper baffles from the wings up version. This way, I would have the full length needed on both, and have the extra material needed to ensure the wings could hinge up and down to their full extent.

I then took and slotted the grooves on the upper baffles so they'd slide easily over the ridges on the lower baffles:

 

A pic of the underside (sorry about the lighting!):

Test fit for the wing during the initial fabrication:

At this point, I had taken the rear end plates for the upper baffles and ground down (and sanded) them to less than half their original thickness (due to the "blocks" inside for attachment and lips/ nubs for the same purpose). If you follow along on this, be careful while grinding this, as the indented detail on the outsides will become paper thin!!!

A look at the extended-position end plates for the lower baffles:

I glued this and left it overnight to dry; this was to make sure the unit was strong before testing it out in the main body, as it is a main structural unit. I'm planning on using sprue before final assembly to reinforce this "box" and make sure it doesn't come apart once finished.

Upper baffle wing boxes (with and without camera flash:

You can see the light through the "vents" at the end; that's how thin the parts were ground down! I had to remove everything that would interfere with the lower baffles sliding up into there.

On that note: a warning about fitting the wings:

The areas I circled in red are a major concern: you have to widen this space with a needle file and/ or hacksaw blade. Otherwise, it will be too narrow for it to accept the edge of the rear upper baffle end plate (also circled in red in the second photo):

Speaking of the baffle end plates: I had to use a section from the other baffle sets (about 3 ribs in from the front, three ribs total taken) to extend the upper baffle boxes to accept the lower wing baffle "cassettes":

This also required a slight modification of the "upper radiation shields" (per the instructions), trimming away some material from the inside curve to accommodate the extended baffle boxes:

The baffle ridges will be sanded/ filed to conformity with the rest, once the glue is fully set and dry.

I then added the front end plate to the baffle boxes on both sides:

  

 

FIt-up tests for the wings (Starboard side one shown here):

I just have to figure out the actual hinge for the wing; I built the body before planning anything so I could see what kind of space and obstructions I would encounter. I also needed to see where the actual pivot for the wing would be (inside the wing itself or inside the main body), so I could decide where placement and attachment would be.

Stay tuned...

I created that hinge upgrade kit decades ago.  Sold the patterns shortly after.  I wonder how many hands they've passed through over the years.  That price isn't that far off of what I was asking back in the 20th century.

[pengbuzz]

24 minutes ago, The Original Cobywan said:

I created that hinge upgrade kit decades ago.  Sold the patterns shortly after.  I wonder how many hands they've passed through over the years.  That price isn't that far off of what I was asking back in the 20th century.

I understand (and nice job on the pattern, BTW!!! ), but it's $95 dollars more than I have right now! O.o

I peng, therefore I buzz....

[Big s]

21 hours ago, MechTech said:

@derex3592 I LOVED building that kit with my son! The cannon are awesome how they progressively elevate.

@electric indigo That Corsair is looking GREAT! There are some awesome molds from even 60 years ago! I guess its all in how much effort or skill was put into the mold. A lot of panel lines are too wide in scale, but current tech is limited to what can be done.

@SteveTheFish I love the recon reconfig! It's cool that they made those conversion kits.

@nightmareB4macross Those mods are looking GREAT! That is DEFINITELY going to be an improvement over the stock version - and then some!

@pengbuzz GREAT change of paint on the kit! It does look like the scene you posted.

 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (and Hannakuh since it's still going on). I finally got some free time on the workbench and got somewhere on the Dougram kit. The first photo is from the stock Gatling gun barrels. You can see how all the voids molded into the parts REALLY detract from it! So I decided to rebuild it. Filling them neatly would take about as much work!

The first step was to create the clamps and muzzle to hold the barrels together. Here's the muzzle getting hand machined - with a Dremel bit! Can you see how this was made from an old bolt head? See the threads? All three were to keep the colors the same.

And all the pieces together including a center "nut" machined for the muzzle clamp.

Then all the barrels were cut from simple K&S Metals aluminum tubing in two thicknesses. Old air line fittings were machined for various pieces including the bearing holder. A nice gear motor is what drives everything. It's quiet and has some torque.

Then the barrels were blacked with acid. Which had to be redone since the first coat literally came right off!?

Do you see the part on the left? It was an old garden hose fitting - now HEAVILY machined! The back part still has its barbs for the hose. All the parts fit inside of each other like those Russian dolls to keep the parts centered. Note the two LEDs in tandem for double the light output. And then covered to reduce the light.

And everything connected together that slides into the "garden hose housing." The motor couplers were made as well because of the small size.

The bench test (which actually rotates clockwise, but the GIF looks opposite).

And with the light shining through the barrels...

I can't emphasize enough how God was a HUGE help to me on this project! He even pointed out where I messed up with the main shaft. I couldn't figure out where I went wrong since it wobbled more than what you see. So many pieces just came together as I looked through my spare parts - it was no coincidence! I screwed something up, and it ended up working for the good! Especially with the brass pieces.

There's still more to go on this. The handles and base with ammo cans are in the works. Thanks for checking in! - MT

I don’t have the tools nor the skills for that. It looks absolutely awesome.

[Nyankodevice]

hi everyone been some time since i posted something... been busy with life and stuff..

here is a kitbash i made with some scratchbuild parts

if any of you want. heres a link to download the stl files

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6893163

and here are some pictures of the spaceship

have a good day...

[MechTech]

@pengbuzz AWESOME job modifying that Bird of Prey! I was thinking of using good ole' K&S brass tubes, but @Chronocidal has a great idea for Lego hinges! BrickLink or similar may have them individually for cheap. If you do go that way, you'll need Acetone to melt the Lego ABS to the styrene, but it will work.

@derex3592 That's a GREAT looking A-10! Sorry about the over under-spray on the canopy; that sucks! All the same, it looks great in "Beast Mode" with all the armaments!

@Thom Thank you, Thom, I appreciate it!

@Cheese3 Wow! You are mixing different genre - and with alcohol! That's asking for trouble🤣 Congrats on getting some great looking builds done before the end of the year!

@The Original Cobywan Wow! you're still alive! I haven't seen a post from you in years! That's cool you created that conversion kit!

@Big s Thank you, Big s, I appreciate it!

@Nyankodevice That's a BEAUTIFUL sculpt and drawing! It's good to see you back on the boards too! - MT

 

[wm cheng]

OMG @MechTech that Gatling Gun is just so many kinds of awesome that I'm speechless.  Fantastic work, just the machining would be enough, but to get it to rotate and then you go and light up just the firing barrel was just over the top and now you're just really toying with us.  If you can combine forces with @derex3592 on that awesome A-10 and be able to miniaturize that gun to fit into his A-10 nose then I'll give up modeling for good 😛  Wow just amazing work everyone!!!

OK @MechTech the next step is to add smoke and slave to tracking - have you seen this?

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/12FsTWag4YL/

 

A little more disaster on that never-ending (16month long project) 1/72 Hasegawa VT-1 - seems like everything that can happen to it did (including that horrible paint crackling reaction after the decals!), so now we had to replace our hot water tank in our basement over Christmas, it started leaking, then they repaired it, then it literally exploded and sprayed hot scalding water everywhere until I could shut it off.  Unfortunately, this happens to be right behind my workbench in the basement.  So they came to replace it with a tankless system, what I didn't know was that they needed to drill a new hole in the basement to vent the new tankless system, so instead of going to the wall closest to the unit, they tubed above and decided to drill and vent out the opposite wall right above my modeling workbench.  My entire bench including all my airbrushes, paint brushes and every tool and pieces of model is now coated with a fine layer of brick dust over everything!  It will take days to vacuum and clean everything out (especially all my brushes which were standing on end with the bristles upward now coated with fine rock particles fallen into them).  From a guy who used to get freaked out if there was a speck of dust or hair on the paint - now just another reason to delay finishing up that model... if ever.

Edited December 30, 2024 by wm cheng

[Thom]

@wm cheng Dang, here's to the light at the end of the tunnel appearing - and it's not a train...

[Big s]

4 hours ago, wm cheng said:

A little more disaster on that never-ending (16month long project) 1/72 Hasegawa VT-1 - seems like everything that can happen to it did (including that horrible paint crackling reaction after the decals!), so now we had to replace our hot water tank in our basement over Christmas, it started leaking, then they repaired it, then it literally exploded and sprayed hot scalding water everywhere until I could shut it off.  Unfortunately, this happens to be right behind my workbench in the basement.  So they came to replace it with a tankless system, what I didn't know was that they needed to drill a new hole in the basement to vent the new tankless system, so instead of going to the wall closest to the unit, they tubed above and decided to drill and vent out the opposite wall right above my modeling workbench.  My entire bench including all my airbrushes, paint brushes and every tool and pieces of model is now coated with a fine layer of brick dust over everything!  It will take days to vacuum and clean everything out (especially all my brushes which were standing on end with the bristles upward now coated with fine rock particles fallen into them).  From a guy who used to get freaked out if there was a speck of dust or hair on the paint - now just another reason to delay finishing up that model... if ever.

That’s hardcore bad luck, but at least things are just dirty and not melted. It’s gonna be a cleaning job for sure, but just keep in mind it could’ve been far far worse. I’ve even seen entire homes explode