vf-31 siegfried WIP: Alternate Weapons Pods for VF-31

[Sanity is Optional]

Ok, updated the runners for 1:60 scale. The product pages for the 3 runner versions now have the option for 1:60 or 1:72 scale. 1:60 is set as default.

[Xigfrid]

A quick update on the latest version of speaker pod, I printed it in WSF Polished and FUD for internal details, and everything worked fine. 

 

[kajnrig]

Some more notes on working with these on 1/72 model kits and as a noob to Shapeways materials. Note I haven't yet sanded anything yet, which will definitely affect some of the notes. I'll try to update this post with pics tomorrow; for now my phone is about two percent from dying and it's late. :/

(EDIT: Added pics. Please forgive the shoddy nail coloring. The niece just loves her nail polish. )

Speaker pod:

• I'm 60% of the way to thinking that the shell would be best served being printed in FUD alongside the speakers. I'm not a big fan of the brittle plastic (and boy is it so, you weren't kidding Xigfrid), but I would imagine that the fitment "out of the box" would be much better than it currently is with WSF, especially between shell and speaker parts.
• Sanding the WSF shell to a smooth finish will alleviate some but not all fitment issues. (Sanding the two halves of the central shell might allow them to actually fit together). (EDIT: I dunno what a day did, but today the parts fit together much more smoothly than yesterday.)
• 
• I would recommend that you get rid of the pegs that plug into the centers of the speakers and plug the matching holes (styrene rod will suffice). Sanding the pegs down to shape is possible, but seems like too much trouble.
• 
• The two small triple-speaker pieces that slide onto either side of the main shell fit fine if snugly. Sanding the shell down here for an easier fit seems easy enough to do. (Or just glue the speakers on, that works too.)
• 
• If you're crazy enough to attempt an articulated speaker pod, FUD shell is definitely a must. The drill indicators just aren't there with WSF, and the channels for rods to go into are too rough in WSF. Also, this goes without saying, but keep in mind that this is scaled down from a model designed for the 1/60 toy, so take your time and be careful. (EDIT: The hinges have a diameter of ~2mm, so size your bits and rods accordingly. You can probably get away with using plastic rods instead of metal, if those are easier to come by.)
• 
• The speaker shell pieces all have tabs designed to help hold things together in closed form. If you're going to make the speaker pod static-pose, then snipping them off wouldn't be a bad idea.
• 
• My speaker pod's hole to plug onto the Bandai 1/72 VF-31 is slightly too big (the hole is 3.4mm in diameter according to Xigfrid, as opposed to 3mm for the kit's peg), so I'll have to wrap the peg in some thin styrene or thin tape or something. He confirmed that he fixed the hole size on the 3D model now, though (many thanks!), so anyone who prints future speaker pods won't have to worry about this point.

Missile pod:

• Being simpler, there's not as much to say about this. The same 3.4mm hole "issue" as above remains here, as this is also a simple scale-down from the 1/60 model designed for the DX toy.
• FUD plastic is very brittle, just need to reiterate that. I used my hobby nippers for some of this, and I found that if you apply pressure to the FUD extra slowly instead of quickly like you might for your typical model kit runners, you can get a nice clean cut. Think of it like cutting clear canopies off a runner, just with even more care.
• Articulated doors is... probably a no-go. It might be possible if you scratch-build your own doors, but if you're going with the ones in Sanity Is Optional's shop, you should just glue them open or closed.
• (EDIT: The missile pod fits snugly between the legs in fighter mode. If it doesn't appear to seat perfectly, that's because there's an additional peg on the fighter's underbelly that pegs into a hole on the stock charging pod. That will have to be snipped in order to get the missile/speaker pod to sit nicely between the legs. I have a feeling it provides support in other modes as well, though, so... I dunno. I'll get back to you on this.)
• 

Edited March 20, 2018 by kajnrig

[Sanity is Optional]

I've personally had some luck shaving the FUD with a hobby knife, it's definitely brittle though.

As to the doors, if you can get a drill and drill-out the holes a bit, it might be made to work. Unfortunately the doors are quire thin, even at 1/60 scale, so the hinges had to be really small shaft.

McMaster Carr does offer hardened steel shafts down to 0.5mm diameter, the hard part is finding a drill that small.

 

I'll go back and tweak the hole on the 1/72 model for a 3mm shaft sometime this week, then it's on to making a clip to hold the VF-31s gun on one of the wing hardpoints. I'm thinking I'll mount it with the grip up, so the shell can slide forward into firing mode. Still unsure if I want it flush with the grip behind the wing, or dropped down a little so the grip can fit under.

[Xigfrid]

@kajnrig thank you for the feedback, I am sorry for the fit issues you are facing. As per the 1:60 scale, for the assembly I don't even bother with sanding the parts before assembly, I just clip the FUD inside the WSF shells.

You are probably right about the fact that this model should be exclusively made in FUD, but it would be only fixed position because I can't see how one can insert a pin in the parts made in FUD without breaking it. Anyway, I hope you will finish it soon

 

As per my copy, I am done with sanding the outside shell and I will now mask and paint it !

Edited March 19, 2018 by Xigfrid

[kajnrig]

Updated my previous post with some pictures. Nothing major, but hopefully the visuals help.

17 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I've personally had some luck shaving the FUD with a hobby knife, it's definitely brittle though.

Yeah, working with it some more today, I found it good at shaving very thin ribbons of plastic material. But when doing more than fine cleanup, it tends to chip the plastic rather than slice through it. So one should just be careful using it, as they should all their tools.

I tend to use a knife extensively to remove sprue material from styrene kits. If I can avoid sanding, I do so. But with this stuff, sanding is definitely mandatory, and in some cases the safer option.

17 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

As to the doors, if you can get a drill and drill-out the holes a bit, it might be made to work. Unfortunately the doors are quire thin, even at 1/60 scale, so the hinges had to be really small shaft.

McMaster Carr does offer hardened steel shafts down to 0.5mm diameter, the hard part is finding a drill that small.

Easiest way I've found to get the drill bit I need is to search by drill bit number. In the US at least there are standardized drill bit sizes ranging from

#80 (0.34 mm) to #1 (5.8 mm)
then
A (5.9 mm) to Z (10.5 mm)

...plus a whole slew of sizes beyond that, but for most model kit work I've never stray far from the 80-30 range.

17 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I'll go back and tweak the hole on the 1/72 model for a 3mm shaft sometime this week, then it's on to making a clip to hold the VF-31s gun on one of the wing hardpoints. I'm thinking I'll mount it with the grip up, so the shell can slide forward into firing mode. Still unsure if I want it flush with the grip behind the wing, or dropped down a little so the grip can fit under.

The hole isn't a major concern, but thanks nonetheless. As for the wing mount, is the point to replace the arm guns with the gunpod, or just to mount the gunpod onto wing hardpoints? (Seems the latter. The former would be really cool, though, even if it means re-shaping the gunpod itself.)

For my part, I think having as little separation between the VF body and the gun would look best from a front-on view, but top-down it would probably look better to have the gunpod protruding as far forward as possible. Have fun deciding.

15 hours ago, Xigfrid said:

@kajnrig thank you for the feedback, I am sorry for the fit issues you are facing. As per the 1:60 scale, for the assembly I don't even bother with sanding the parts before assembly, I just clip the FUD inside the WSF shells.

Ah, no worries, elbow grease comes with the territory. I've never met a model kit I didn't want to alter drastically (or rather time-consumingly) in one way or another.

15 hours ago, Xigfrid said:

You are probably right about the fact that this model should be exclusively made in FUD, but it would be only fixed position because I can't see how one can insert a pin in the parts made in FUD without breaking it. Anyway, I hope you will finish it soon

I agree, FUD would most definitely be best suited to fixed pose. For a model kit, that's fine, but I definitely see why you went with WSF to fit the DX toys. Drilling holes into FUD would have to be a painstakingly slow endeavor, and even then the chances of breaking/cracking/etc. is high.

[Sanity is Optional]

On 3/18/2018 at 11:05 PM, kajnrig said:

• (EDIT: The missile pod fits snugly between the legs in fighter mode. If it doesn't appear to seat perfectly, that's because there's an additional peg on the fighter's underbelly that pegs into a hole on the stock charging pod. That will have to be snipped in order to get the missile/speaker pod to sit nicely between the legs. I have a feeling it provides support in other modes as well, though, so... I dunno. I'll get back to you on this.)
• 

 

3 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Updated my previous post with some pictures. Nothing major, but hopefully the visuals help.

Yeah, working with it some more today, I found it good at shaving very thin ribbons of plastic material. But when doing more than fine cleanup, it tends to chip the plastic rather than slice through it. So one should just be careful using it, as they should all their tools.

I tend to use a knife extensively to remove sprue material from styrene kits. If I can avoid sanding, I do so. But with this stuff, sanding is definitely mandatory, and in some cases the safer option.

Easiest way I've found to get the drill bit I need is to search by drill bit number. In the US at least there are standardized drill bit sizes ranging from

#80 (0.34 mm) to #1 (5.8 mm)
then
A (5.9 mm) to Z (10.5 mm)

...plus a whole slew of sizes beyond that, but for most model kit work I've never stray far from the 80-30 range.

The hole isn't a major concern, but thanks nonetheless. As for the wing mount, is the point to replace the arm guns with the gunpod, or just to mount the gunpod onto wing hardpoints? (Seems the latter. The former would be really cool, though, even if it means re-shaping the gunpod itself.)

For my part, I think having as little separation between the VF body and the gun would look best from a front-on view, but top-down it would probably look better to have the gunpod protruding as far forward as possible. Have fun deciding.

Looks good, glad it fits properly between the legs in fighter mode, that was a bit of a toss-up since it's based on the DX version and downscaled.

I've actually had pretty good luck with drilling in FUD, just need to keep backing the drill out to clear the chips. My design ought to have thru holes everywhere with relief for the material to come out on the other end, which also should help.

As to the wing mount, you're correct, it's to just have a bracket to put the gun on one of the hardpoints.

Here's the two possibilities I'm thinking of:

Spoiler

Spoiler

Leaning to the first one a bit.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Sanity is Optional

[chyll2]

I prefer the second option but anything will do and I dont mind waiting. I am still waiting for free shipping option from shapeways

Edited March 21, 2018 by chyll2

[Sanity is Optional]

Looks like the 1/60 missile doors won't print in High-Def Acrylate as a combined model, but they will print individually (I got one as a test-print).

[Jaustin89]

21 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

 

Looks good, glad it fits properly between the legs in fighter mode, that was a bit of a toss-up since it's based on the DX version and downscaled.

I've actually had pretty good luck with drilling in FUD, just need to keep backing the drill out to clear the chips. My design ought to have thru holes everywhere with relief for the material to come out on the other end, which also should help.

As to the wing mount, you're correct, it's to just have a bracket to put the gun on one of the hardpoints.

Here's the two possibilities I'm thinking of:

  Reveal hidden contents

  Reveal hidden contents

Leaning to the first one a bit.

I'd definitely go with the first one; it' still fairly snug to the wing and just looks a lot better. The only detractor is that the shape doesn't transition that well but that should be pretty easy to fix with the shape of the bracket.

 

Edit: you might also want to check how it looks on the inboard hardpoints; I think it'd look better closer in to the fuselage and that'd also put it on the arms in battroid/gerwalk which could look really cool.

Edited March 21, 2018 by Jaustin89

[Xigfrid]

Wow times flies... i can’t believe I had this pod on the bench for 2 months. I had time to paint it, minus the reverse side that need to be color-matched with Arad’s VF-31S. I will do that once it will arrives. 

I am pretty happy with this version. 

[Xigfrid]

[kajnrig]

Nice job. For my part, I'll be honest, the 31A fiasco really got me down on doing anything with my 1/72 kits. Maybe when I have the DX YF-19 in hand, it'll rekindle my desire. That toy has some issues of its own that I'll be looking to fix...

[Mommar]

1 hour ago, kajnrig said:

Nice job. For my part, I'll be honest, the 31A fiasco really got me down on doing anything with my 1/72 kits. Maybe when I have the DX YF-19 in hand, it'll rekindle my desire. That toy has some issues of its own that I'll be looking to fix...

What are you looking to change on the 19?

[kajnrig]

9 hours ago, Mommar said:

What are you looking to change on the 19?

Mostly removing some of the tampo that Bandai got a bit overzealous on - the big "UN Spacy" on the wing, for instance. The feet also look really awkward in the promo pics, and the front of the chest doesn't match the original design. Depending on if they look as awkward in person as in pictures, I might have to scratch-build some feet and/or putty/repaint the chest. But for sure some of the tampo needs to go.

Probably.

Edited May 1, 2018 by kajnrig

[Sanity is Optional]

Update! Far too delayed, but it's still here.

I'm actually working on the VF-31 hardpoint gun mount (finally), should be done by Monday. HOWEVER, I won't get the prototype in for a few weeks to confirm it works properly.

If anyone's got a 3D printer and wants to try it out without waiting, I can shoot the STL file over, it's a pretty small/simple piece.

 

Sorry for the delay, been trying to power through my gunpla backlog, which is something like 4PG/20MG/10RG deep.

 

[edit] Credit to @Xigfrid for reminding me (politely) about this project and getting my ass in gear.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Sanity is Optional

[Xigfrid]

Hum I have been discovered but it is nice to hear these project are still living

[Sanity is Optional]

So, if I have anything that clips around the body of the gun it interferes with the "opening" mechanism. The one I'm working on will thus grab the handle.

[Sanity is Optional]

First pass is done, here's the STL if anyone wants to try printing one out.

Going to order one from Shapeways in WSF for testing. Measuring the various curved and angled bits of the gun handle were a bit of guesswork.

DX Attach SLD.STL

edit: looks like it costs $2.04 (With $5 shipping...)

Edited August 4, 2018 by Sanity is Optional

[Sanity is Optional]

[Sanity is Optional]

Got a local guy to print up the parts. I have 2 on hand, and fit one up with about 30seconds of file work to get it settled.  It works, but the chanel down the middle is a touch narrow (due to material shrinkage I think). The CAD is the proper size, so anything ordered from shapeways ought to be good.

Shapeways page: https://www.shapeways.com/product/7C845WKEM/dx-chogokin-hardpoint-mount-for-vf-31-gunpod

Edited August 7, 2018 by Sanity is Optional

[enphily]

So, file that you linked before  is still good for print or i need to use shapeways?

[Sanity is Optional]

1 hour ago, enphily said:

So, file that you linked before  is still good for print or i need to use shapeways?

If you print yourself, it'll probably need some sanding/filing to fit properly.

If you use shapeways default cheap-o white plastic, it'll probably work, maybe with a bit of sanding.

If you use the "professional" plastic, it ought to be pretty good straight off the bat, no guarantees though.

In any event, no matter how you print it up, it ought to work with minimum alterations.

[enphily]

Thank you for answers

[Sildani]

Hey! That’s nice, thanks!

[Xigfrid]

That’s looking nice I will probably add a couple clips to my next order, I think a 31 could look heavy with armor parts and dual gunpod

[Sanity is Optional]

I may do a revision after taking some more micrometer measurements of the handle.

I'm torn if I'd rather have it slightly loose by default, or slightly tight. Sanding the interior of the clip is a pain, but adding material (nail polish or superglue) is a bit less exact.

[Xigfrid]

If I were you, I would set it tight, the plastic can wear off a little after a few slide in and out, but it is also flexible enough to apply a correct pressure if it is designed tight. 

Applying primer or paint to the clip would be overdoing things, at least for me.

[Sildani]

Has there been any new material introduced at Shapeways that’s stronger then UFD but prints with a smoother texture than WSF? Thanks!

[Sanity is Optional]

6 hours ago, Sildani said:

Has there been any new material introduced at Shapeways that’s stronger then UFD but prints with a smoother texture than WSF? Thanks!

There is, it used to be the HP plastic, but now it's called "Professional Plastic".

I think it's an option on the dropdown for the gunpod clip, if not I'll add it tonight.

[Sildani]

Thanks! Is that an option for your missiles @Xigfrid?

Also, Sanity, does that change the materials you recommend your weapons pod be made out of?

Edited August 22, 2018 by Sildani

[Xigfrid]

I think the smooth, yet strong material was called “black high definition acrylate”. Unfortunately Shapeways has dropped the production because there were issues with print orientation and printing sprues.

However, HP WSF also called Professional plastic is still a bit rough, and I would compare it to the traditional smoothed plastic

[Sanity is Optional]

4 hours ago, Sildani said:

Thanks! Is that an option for your missiles @Xigfrid?

Also, Sanity, does that change the materials you recommend your weapons pod be made out of?

I tried one of the pods using the hi-def Acrylate, wouldn't recommend it due to massive printlines.

I haven't tried the "Professional Plastic", so I can put it as an option if you want to give it a shot.

Edited August 22, 2018 by Sanity is Optional

[Sildani]

Please do Sanity. 

A request: I got some Mirage Super parts off eBay but they didn’t include the missiles or their mounting pieces. Could you or @Xigfrid please create some mounting hardware so I could place Xig’s missiles on the forearm shields of the armor? Thanks so much!

[Sanity is Optional]

33 minutes ago, Sildani said:

Please do Sanity. 

A request: I got some Mirage Super parts off eBay but they didn’t include the missiles or their mounting pieces. Could you or @Xigfrid please create some mounting hardware so I could place Xig’s missiles on the forearm shields of the armor? Thanks so much!

Shouldn't be too hard to work up a bracket, I've got my own set of Mirage's supers to work off of.