Thom Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Finally started this one up. this is my first time working all in resin, and so far except for some parts that needs fettling she's going together pretty good. I intend to finish her off as an AWAC assigned to Skull Squadron, and will be changing and adding some pods and bulges to depict a craft updated after the Earth-Zentradi War and assigned to the Megaroad. Parts layout, Since I'll be doing an in-flight display, the gear doors are closed and I'll also be needing a mounting spot for the rod. The model comes with a big cavity in the belly that is closed up with a panel. That's the best spot for a mounting rod though, so I had to fill that cavity up with resin in order to supply a place for the rod to seat into With that dry, I need to put the cover panel in, but it needs some trimming. Its a little over-large at the front edge. You can also see the gear doors. They weren't perfect fits, but some dissolved putty has neatened the gaps quite a bit. The nose gear door though is going to require a bit of edging to get it to settle in flat. The wing tips have also been glued on. Again I'm using dissolved putty to neaten the join lines, as well as the wing folds.That canon to the left is not going on this model! This is it so far. I'm going to try and keep momentum going on this. Hopefully, doing as straight a build as possible with help keep things moving! Edited July 18, 2016 by Thom Quote
VF-1A Grunt Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 Great project! I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on this one. I've always loved the Cat's Eye but don't really have the spare hobby funds to try to get my hands on one. I'm a little late to the game and missed out on the initial sales of the several model versions out there. Quote
slide Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 Looking great so far Thom! Query: "Dissolved putty"... please elaborate, I wish to know more! Quote
coronadlux Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 Excited to see this. I'm always missing the casts from Neptune models. Hope I can get in on the next one. Quote
VF-1A Grunt Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Query: "Dissolved putty"... please elaborate, I wish to know more! I thought he was referring to Mr. Dissolved Putty, from the Mr. Hobby line of paints. I just got a jar recently but haven't had a chance to try it yet. I think there are similar products available from other brands. Edited July 18, 2016 by VF-1A Grunt Quote
spanner Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 absolutely love the Cats Eye! this build should prove to be very interesting indeed! Looking forward to seeing it completed! Quote
derex3592 Posted July 18, 2016 Posted July 18, 2016 I have this in my to build pile, will definitely be watching this build! Quote
Mintox Posted July 19, 2016 Posted July 19, 2016 Ooooh nice. I wish I had picked one of these up. Quote
Thom Posted July 19, 2016 Author Posted July 19, 2016 (edited) Yeah, Mr Dissolved Putty. Nice stuff. Shrinks though, so if you want to fill a gap, it may take a couple of applications. Wipes off good while wet, and sands good when dry. I'm making the hole for the central stand right now. Going to go with clear a acrylic rod into a simple wooden base. And I like the Skull Squadron motif. This ship is probably assigned to them for recon and battle management. Also check with Starship Modeler. Last word I had from Blappy was that a new run is - or soon to be - in the works. Edited July 19, 2016 by Thom Quote
coronadlux Posted July 19, 2016 Posted July 19, 2016 Nice. I'll start checking it every day, twice a day. Lol. Quote
MechTech Posted July 19, 2016 Posted July 19, 2016 It's great to another cat getting assembled! - MT Quote
Thom Posted July 19, 2016 Author Posted July 19, 2016 Thanks for all the cheers! Did work on the fan discs amid also making the mounting and stand. The fuselage nacelles are only taped on. They will require more color work to blend them in. Also realized that with only four fans included in the kit, all going to rear for all four engines, I'll have to think of something for the fuselage inlets. Otherwise there naught in there but open resin cavity. Time to hit the VF spares box! Quote
NZEOD Posted July 20, 2016 Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) There is a Games Workshop/Citadel version too... liquid greenstuff. http://fromthewarp.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/quick-look-at-liquid-greenstuff.html http://piratevikingpainting.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/liquid-green-stuff-review.html Edited July 20, 2016 by NZEOD Quote
electric indigo Posted July 20, 2016 Posted July 20, 2016 Also realized that with only four fans included in the kit, all going to rear for all four engines, I'll have to think of something for the fuselage inlets. Otherwise there naught in there but open resin cavity. Time to hit the VF spares box! Um, aren't the fans supposed to go into the inlets? Quote
NZEOD Posted July 20, 2016 Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) ...yep.... intake fans to the front black jet exhaust to the rear.... It has atmospheric turbofans when in planets and jets when its a vacuum, same as the Valks have their intake fans covered when in space and run on reaction jets. Think the ones on the wings are the Turbofans and the ones on the fuselage the space rocket motors Edited July 20, 2016 by NZEOD Quote
NZEOD Posted July 20, 2016 Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) Notice the way the parts are laid out... especially the fans front and rear of the wing engines... Edited July 20, 2016 by NZEOD Quote
Thom Posted July 20, 2016 Author Posted July 20, 2016 Yeah, they are meant to go to the exhaust, but I'm going to change that. I'll put them all forward instead and hit the parts bin for some new exhaust parts. As for the mounting, that's all figured now. I have a bit of pipe that's going to secured with two-part epoxy into the little cavity I dug out, and I just so happen that the acrylic rod I'm using is the perfect fit inside it. Moving on! Quote
slide Posted July 20, 2016 Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) There is a Games Workshop/Citadel version too... liquid greenstuff. http://fromthewarp.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/quick-look-at-liquid-greenstuff.html http://piratevikingpainting.blogspot.co.nz/2011/10/liquid-green-stuff-review.html omg that'll be so handy... and much easier to procure for myself. Thanks for that heads-up NZEOD. Think the ones on the wings are the Turbofans and the ones on the fuselage the space rocket motors I'm afraid you have it backwards, sir from Macross Mecha Manual In Space War I, the U.N. Spacy made extensive use of Glamor's ES-11D Cat's Eye reconnaissance spaceplane. The ES-11D was designed for operation both in an atmosphere and in space the Cat's Eye makes use of two sets of engines for theatre–specific operation. In an atmosphere, the ES-11D makes use of two engines along either side of the dorsal-aft fuselage, while in space it uses two wing-mounted reaction engines for propulsion and maneuvering. Edited July 20, 2016 by slide Quote
NZEOD Posted July 20, 2016 Posted July 20, 2016 omg that'll be so handy... and much easier to procure for myself. Thanks for that heads-up NZEOD. I'm afraid you have it backwards, sir from Macross Mecha Manual No no no... thats Sgt not Sir, Not ever EVER... I work for a living Yeah, just read something similar, Wing reaction engines, Body mounted Rolls Royces BUT... the fanes are still all mounted in the wing engines. SO fail one, score one for a match score of zero Quote
Thom Posted July 21, 2016 Author Posted July 21, 2016 (edited) Another thing is that there is no space allowed for the fans inside the fuselage nacelles. I had to sand them flat on one side in order for the nacelles to sit flush. So with that done, it was onto finding replacement exhausts. Well, as luck would have it, I bought quite a few of these a looong while ago. They were bought on the thought of using them for kitbash detail, and so now some ten years later, they're going to be use!! A little cutting and some real messy sanding, and here we go! I'll paint them a brass color on the outside and burnt iron inside and those should be good. I may need to shave a little from inside the nacelles to help them sit flush, but I'll leave that for tomorrow! Carry on!! Edited July 21, 2016 by Thom Quote
derex3592 Posted July 22, 2016 Posted July 22, 2016 Niiiice! Love the reaction engine solution. Quote
Thom Posted July 22, 2016 Author Posted July 22, 2016 Thanks! I have a bit more done since, mainly in the cockpit. The exhausts are done, except for a little dirtying up. After that. I'll glue on the nacelles and start the wing mounted reaction engines. I also test-fitted a figure pulled from a VF-0 kit. I still need to take one for the front seat too. Also testing the fit of the cockpit parts, which just slip right in place. Then I spent the evening painting the parts. I may need to tone down the colors a bit, but I'm liking the look. Quote
Thom Posted July 22, 2016 Author Posted July 22, 2016 And slight change of plans! I finally found my Studio Starforge figures!! The consoles thankfully mask pretty well the fact that neither has legs... I was going to have a female pilot, but I'll wait til the next one to do that, because the next one will be patterned after a Macross story I have in my head. Quote
Thom Posted July 26, 2016 Author Posted July 26, 2016 A minor update. I redid the consoles, updating them to show newer avionics and radar systems. The pilot's is from a 1/72 F-117 and the RIO's is a piece of bisected styrene to create two big MFDs rather the original, tiny scope. . . Now I'm putting the reaction engines together and creating a 'top' for the tail. It's still in the shaping stage... Quote
derex3592 Posted July 26, 2016 Posted July 26, 2016 (edited) Thom -- is this the Moscato Cat's Eye??? Edited July 26, 2016 by derex3592 Quote
Thom Posted July 27, 2016 Author Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) No, this is the Neptune Models KAA 'TSAI Lecon Prane... I bought it from the Starship Modeler store. From what Blappy is saying, they should be back in stock at some point soon. https://starshipmodeler.biz/shop/index.cfm/product/2920_61/172-es-11d-cats-eye-reconnaissance-spaceplane.html Slightly more progress. I put the reaction engines together and test mounted them as well as the wings. I did have to drill out the mounting holes in the nacelles so the wing pegs could fully seat. The sensor blister atop the tail started out as the foot of a Gundam kit. I have a lot of Gundam kits in the parts bins... That's it for tonight. Carrying on! Edited July 27, 2016 by Thom Quote
slide Posted July 27, 2016 Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) Actually Thom, I believe Mr. Moscato [AKA: captain america on the MW forums] is the person responsible for mastering the SSM kit... so Yes, it's the Moscato ES-11D, Edited July 27, 2016 by slide Quote
Thom Posted July 27, 2016 Author Posted July 27, 2016 Aah, it's lineage is clear! Although Blappy has the molds now. Quote
derex3592 Posted July 27, 2016 Posted July 27, 2016 I must applaud your effort here sir, as you say this is your first time doing a full resin kit...I learned a lot over the last 4 or so years of doing some. I started out with a one piece very small Zentradi Scout Ship and worked my way up slowly from there..The Cat's Eye is the one remaining resin kit I have left in my to build pile..your build is making me want to start it sometime soon! Quote
NZEOD Posted July 28, 2016 Posted July 28, 2016 Can you measure it for me sometime? Wingtip to wingtip Nose to Tail Belly to the radome or tail, which ever is tallest. Curious as to what sized case it would need Quote
Thom Posted July 28, 2016 Author Posted July 28, 2016 Yeah, a big can do! Nose to Tail - Call it a little over at 11 inches. Wing tip to wing tip - Call it a little over at 10 1/2 inches. Belly to radome (which just squeaks a smidgen higher) - Call it a little more than 3 inches. With the radome not seated yet and needing some adjustments, it'll probably sit a tiny bit lower. Hope those help! Quote
Thom Posted July 30, 2016 Author Posted July 30, 2016 Nother small update. Filled some unneeded peg holes on the engine nacelles. And set a few pins, one for the ECM, + And a couple for the tripod mount for the radar dish. Quote
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