Upgrading a classic: yet another custom Bandai/Matchbox 1/3000 SDF-1

[tekering]

Since my unpaid COVID-19 "vacation" has been extended another couple of weeks, I've decided to rescue my poor old Matchbox SDF-1.  

Love it or hate it, most of you have one...

...and, if you were anything like the ignorant teenager I was, you put stickers on it, played with it, broke bits off it, and left it in direct sunlight for days at a time.  

Now, there have been several others here who have taken a toy in similar condition and restored it, repainted it to be more cartoon-accurate, or even made structural improvements to it, and I've been inspired by your work... however, the underlying proportions remain a problem.

Here's what a side-by-side comparison reveals:

And here's how I've decided to modify it.

The legs will be repositioned and extended, the cannons will have a whole new section added to lengthen each, the bridge will be substantially modified, and the biceps will be redesigned from scratch.

The result will still be a transformable toy, but with significantly different proportions:

Step one requires scratchbuilding extensions for the cannon booms.

These are just hollow boxes I've made by gluing pieces of 1.0mm styrene together.

[Bolt]

Looks awesome @tekering  you're a true craftsman 

[nightmareB4macross]

Eagerly awaiting your progress.

This is going to be a fun WIP.

[claude grant]

nb4m should know....the upgrades he did to his were truly awesome! 

Go on and make this thing truly bada$$, you can do it!

oohh this will be fun.

[tekering]

1 hour ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Eagerly awaiting your progress.

Indeed, as one of the first to prove this turd could be polished, your input is most welcome.  

12 minutes ago, claude grant said:

Go on and make this thing truly bada$$, you can do it!

I've already managed to improve the silhouette, at least...

[nightmareB4macross]

Hey Tekering,

That is looking pretty awesome. The base toy used is a Takatoku 1/3000 SDF-1. My approach to this was quite different as I used the size of the chest blocks to determine the size I wanted and try and maintain the 1/3000 scale as much possible so it could match the Yamato 1/3000.

By using this method I only needed to extend the booms. But I did reshape quite a few parts like the Prometheus and Daedelus hulls. Reworked the elbows to release per TV and lineart capabilities (using magnets and metal parts). Provided an A-stance hip. Added knee joints with 1/55 VF-1 parts. Opened the Daedelus hatch, and added PE parts for the bridge amongst many other custom tweaks.

My real goal was to produce a “what if old school modelers during the Takatoku era decided to customize this toy” type of custom. And so I met my goal quite nicely for me and in the process kept the firing mechanisms intact for pew-pew fun. 

I am really looking forward to another one of your awesome builds! If there is anything I can provide to help I would be happy to do so. 

 

Claude - Thank you. I really appreciate you kind acknowledgement.

[big F]

This is right up my alley. I even have the remains of one of these. 

[Convectuoso]

Great work, @tekering. Looking forward to seeing this completed

[derex3592]

Awesome project @tekering!  What do you plan to do about the rail guns or whatever they are on the shoulders?  THAT is the thing that drove me most crazy even as kid was the angle of those things in cruiser mode! 

[claude grant]

Man I can't believe how much of a difference just that one tweak made in the profile! 

The angle that you took those pics make it look just like some of the artwork I've seen before.

8 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Claude - Thank you. I really appreciate you kind acknowledgement.

Just telling the truth bro.  Your laboratory works on the 1/48th Yammies alone was legendary!

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Awesome project @tekering!  What do you plan to do about the rail guns or whatever they are on the shoulders?  THAT is the thing that drove me most crazy even as kid was the angle of those things in cruiser mode! 

Ditto derex3592

[nightmareB4macross]

2 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Awesome project @tekering!  What do you plan to do about the rail guns or whatever they are on the shoulders?  THAT is the thing that drove me most crazy even as kid was the angle of those things in cruiser mode! 

Ball joints can resolve that issue pretty easily. Cutting at the base of the barrel where it meets the turret will allow you to keep the swivel intact for transformation and positioning.

Edited April 3, 2020 by nightmareB4macross
Added second photo. Sorry not the greatest quality.

[tekering]

1 hour ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Ball joints can resolve that issue pretty easily.

My thoughts exactly.  

10 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

My real goal was to produce a “what if old school modelers during the Takatoku era decided to customize this toy” type of custom.

And you succeeded!  But that's pretty much the opposite of what I'm going for.  

I want it to look like a modern toy, not a chunky monkey.  

1 hour ago, claude grant said:

Man I can't believe how much of a difference just that one tweak made in the profile! 

The stumpy main cannon booms were always what bugged me most about the toy, so that was the first problem I decided to address.

Now, since they tended to droop a little in cruiser mode even before I extended them, I've taken steps to keep them level with the main body of the ship:

See the notches I've cut into the base of the boom arms?

They'll fit over the tab that sticks out in front, to help secure the booms in place.

After considering a series of slots and tabs to keep them locked together more securely in cruiser mode, I instead chose to reinforce their connection with magnets.

[claude grant]

Thinking outside the box; or 'boom' in this case...I like this idea. 

Those notches + magnet system is pretty brilliant, just so you know.

[pengbuzz]

23 hours ago, tekering said:

Since my unpaid COVID-19 "vacation" has been extended another couple of weeks, I've decided to rescue my poor old Matchbox SDF-1.  

Love it or hate it, most of you have one...

 

I'd love to get one again to do this kind of project. Trouble is, I can never find one for a price that is reasonable when I have the funds. Not even sure what "reasonable" would look like nowadays, tbh. Most I've seen easily top 100 bucks.

Edited April 4, 2020 by pengbuzz

[MechTech]

This is looking great Tekering! I like your idea and mods. Plus the yellow will be gone when you're done - MT

[pengbuzz]

Just now, MechTech said:

This is looking great Tekering! I like your idea and mods. Plus the yellow will be gone when you're done - MT

Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see how Tekering finishes this one!

[tekering]

Overlaying the line-art confirms the length of my cannon booms is accurate, but illustrates a new problem to address...

The Daedalus isn't too far off, but look how much bigger the Prometheus is supposed to be...!  

The so-called 1:3000 Prometheus toy is barely any bigger than Hasegawa's 1:4000 model!  

I guess I'll have to find a more appropriately-sized aircraft carrier model (or toy) to modify...  

[jenius]

Check the dimensions in attack mode, it may resize during transformation.

[tekering]

35 minutes ago, jenius said:

Check the dimensions in attack mode, it may resize during transformation.

Good call, @jenius.

The size discrepancy is far less significant in "attack" mode... and now I'm starting to notice other little inconsistencies in the line art as well.  Were these little differences a mistake, or did Miyatake deliberately fudge the proportions between modes for aesthetic reasons...? 

I suppose I'll have to decide whether to choose accuracy in one mode over another, or just produce a hybrid that compromises both...  

[Bolt]

Looking awesome! The larger Prometheus , while accurate, throws the balance and symmetry off. But the larger one does look cooler, at the same time.

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

Good call, @jenius.

The size discrepancy is far less significant in "attack" mode... and now I'm starting to notice other little inconsistencies in the line art as well.  Were these little differences a mistake, or did Miyatake deliberately fudge the proportions between modes for aesthetic reasons...? 

I suppose I'll have to decide whether to choose accuracy in one mode over another, or just produce a hybrid that compromises both...  

I believe he fudged them, as I ran into that issue when I converted the 1/8000 Revell SDF-1 into a transforming version. The booms aren't the same size (or even shape) between Storm Attacker and Cruiser mode, and other things "shift" in size and proportion.

What I ended up doing is "averaging" the parts between modes (making them a mid-point size that would work in both modes):

 

 

As a result, the booms came out a little bigger, but they don't look too small in Cruiser mode.

[tekering]

That's terrific detail for that scale, @pengbuzz.  Thanks for your input.

I've decided to favor "attack" mode because it's closer to Miyatake's animation model than "cruiser" mode on the Takatoku/Bandai/Matchbox toy (and I see many of the same inaccuracies present on your Revell model).

[Rogueload]

On 4/3/2020 at 1:32 AM, nightmareB4macross said:

Hey Tekering,

That is looking pretty awesome. The base toy used is a Takatoku 1/3000 SDF-1. My approach to this was quite different as I used the size of the chest blocks to determine the size I wanted and try and maintain the 1/3000 scale as much possible so it could match the Yamato 1/3000.

By using this method I only needed to extend the booms. But I did reshape quite a few parts like the Prometheus and Daedelus hulls. Reworked the elbows to release per TV and lineart capabilities (using magnets and metal parts). Provided an A-stance hip. Added knee joints with 1/55 VF-1 parts. Opened the Daedelus hatch, and added PE parts for the bridge amongst many other custom tweaks.

My real goal was to produce a “what if old school modelers during the Takatoku era decided to customize this toy” type of custom. And so I met my goal quite nicely for me and in the process kept the firing mechanisms intact for pew-pew fun. 

I am really looking forward to another one of your awesome builds! If there is anything I can provide to help I would be happy to do so. 

 

Claude - Thank you. I really appreciate you kind acknowledgement.

@nightmareB4macross how and what did you use for the A stance hip? Looking at doing that to mine. 

[nightmareB4macross]

Pengbuzz, great little build. I built that kit as well and considered making it transformable, but opted not to do so as I think it looks pretty good only in attacker mode. 

Rogueload, sent you a PM. I want to be sure to respect tekering’s thread and not hijack.

Tekering, I like the direction you’re taking. The only thing I noticed is that the inconsistency between modes will become more apparent if you decide to extend the legs in attack mode. In cruiser mode, according to your overlay, the legs would dangle way out too far behind as you have not yet added the extension you planned for them on the toy. Hope that make sense.

 

Edited April 5, 2020 by nightmareB4macross

[tekering]

3 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

I want to be sure to respect tekering’s thread and not hijack.

Not at all, man.  Now's the best time to be throwing around ideas and suggestions about how to fix this toy, and what better place to do it?

Please share your mods with us here.  

3 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

In cruiser mode, according to your overlay, the legs would dangle way out too far behind as you have not yet added the extension you planned for them on the toy.

Well, since most of the leg is hollow, I figured I could rig a sliding mechanism so the extension could retract into the base of the leg:

I can make space for a couple of extra centimeters in there.

I've just got to figure out how to engineer the legs so they hold their extended position, and support the weight of the toy when standing up...  

[pengbuzz]

13 hours ago, tekering said:

That's terrific detail for that scale, @pengbuzz.  Thanks for your input.

I've decided to favor "attack" mode because it's closer to Miyatake's animation model than "cruiser" mode on the Takatoku/Bandai/Matchbox toy (and I see many of the same inaccuracies present on your Revell model).

Well, some I left in, as I wasn't interested in fixing them. The booms are actually new-construction, as I felt the originals were too skinny:

 

This was the original configuration, and the new ones I scratched up at that time.  I also had to add in elbow joints so the Daedaulus and Prometheus could pose properly.

 

 

[nightmareB4macross]

8 hours ago, tekering said:

Not at all, man.  Now's the best time to be throwing around ideas and suggestions about how to fix this toy, and what better place to do it?

Please share your mods with us here.  

Well, since most of the leg is hollow, I figured I could rig a sliding mechanism so the extension could retract into the base of the leg:

I can make space for a couple of extra centimeters in there.

I've just got to figure out how to engineer the legs so they hold their extended position, and support the weight of the toy when standing up...  

Thanks for letting me add to your build.
 

I am very curious to see how you make the telescoping leg work.

 

[big F]

Good work all round

[nightmareB4macross]

Hi Tekering,

Now I remember why I opted for the Takatoku custom look versus the anime look. Everything needs to be highly modified. Many parts are too short, thin, or just plain incorrect.
 

To get that truly awesome anime look, this should have been the first dimensions to begin with. I always noticed that the body was too thin and the chest did not protrude as much as needed and was the main reason why the bridge could never lay all the way back as it should in cruiser mode. 

Extending just the booms is what gave my custom that perfect balance for all modes so it didn’t feel like it had too much of a forced perspective and the arches and details would not be positioned too far towards the back.

Apologies up front if I am being to forward. I am just remembering my thought process from more than ten years ago.
 

 

[nightmareB4macross]

Just want to provide a quick list of what was performed that you could definitely improve on for your project:

- Extended boom tips.

- Magnets in booms to close better during cruiser mode.

- Extended booms.

- Added PE parts for bridge array and PE antennae.

- Cut out bridge for glow in the dark effects.

- Reversed L to R elbow so screws would hide away cruiser mode. 

- Cut away elbows to attach via magnets with docks reshaped more like lineart.

- A-Stance

- Knees

- Pivot in feet for side to side angles.

- Daedelus and Prometheus reshaped hulls.

- Added assimilated safety net poles and antennae with piano wire on Prometheus.

- Panel lines Prometheus. 

- Added PE parts to Prometheus.

- Cut and reshaped bridge on Daedelus.

- Opened Daedelus hatch for “Daedalus Attack.”

- Panel lines Daedelus.

- Added glow in the dark effects throughout for dark time lighting. Effects last a few hours.

- Custom Removable Yamato Stand Adapter for Fortress/Attack Mode.

- Added vinyl decals to cover most of the screw holes.

Kept:

- Firing mechanisms.

- Storage bays.

- Landing gear.

- Most pf the dimensions.

 I am pretty sure there were a few other simple mods, but I just don’t recollect them at this time.

Hope this helps.

[jvmacross]

1 hour ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Kept:

- Firing mechanisms.

- Storage bays.

- Landing gear.

- Most pf the dimensions.

 I am pretty sure there were a few other simple mods, but I just don’t recollect them at this time.

Hope this helps.

You left out one important thing (IMO) to your "Kept" list.....you kept the "toy" aesthetic....it looks like something that would come out of a Bandai box if they had ever decided to update the Takatoku mold...Amazing work!

[tekering]

3 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

- Added PE parts for bridge array and PE antennae.

These parts?

Edited April 6, 2020 by tekering

[nightmareB4macross]

I picked up a set from a 1/700 vessel. I have to look for the packaging. The set had the antennae array I needed and extra bits.

It was similar to this. 
 

When I bought the PE sets it was way before Hasegawa or Yamato decided they would do the sets.

Edited April 6, 2020 by nightmareB4macross
.

[claude grant]

Man I'd forgotten how nicely that came out nightmare...back on track. 

If you can integrate leg extension along with that A-stance mod tekering that would be most awe-inspiring.  

That should solve the line art fudgery between the 2 modes.

[Mog]

After caving and finally purchasing a Matchbox SDF-1, I don’t know whether to be thankful or bummed about this thread.

At the very least, I wanted to try an A stance mod, repaint the thighs blue, and panel-line like an idiot.  

But now, there’s a rabbit hole of mods to consider. 

In all seriousness, thank you NB4M for the detailed steps, descriptions, and pics!  I definitely referred to your old custom pics to see what was possible.

And thank you @tekering for starting this thread.  I’m sure I’ll be referring to it a billion times in the upcoming weeks.