CoryHolmes Posted January 30, 2021 Posted January 30, 2021 One miracle at a time, please. Let him deliver the moon before we ask for the sun and the stars. B-but...! Quote
captain america Posted February 1, 2021 Author Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) On 1/30/2021 at 9:12 AM, tekering said: One miracle at a time, please. Let him deliver the moon before we ask for the sun and the stars. This. The BIO LLOYD project was only possible because a devout fan decided to bankroll the tooling of the masters. Due to the complexity of the project and the generally lackluster support for SC, I don't think it would have been possible to purely crowdfund it. Because of their devotion and because I don't think anyone else will ever give this design the treatment it deserves, I'm giving this project the 110% treatment. Expect an update by Thursday at the outset. Edited February 1, 2021 by captain america Quote
CoryHolmes Posted February 2, 2021 Posted February 2, 2021 This. The BIO LLOYD project was only possible because a devout fan decided to bankroll the tooling of the masters. Due to the complexity of the project and the generally lackluster support for SC, I don't think it would have been possible to purely crowdfund it. Because of their devotion and because I don't think anyone else will ever give this design the treatment it deserves, I'm giving this project the 110% treatment. Expect an update by Thursday at the outset. Good on you Cap'n Indeed! Don't let my bitching and whining imply that I'm not thrilled this is coming at all! Quote
captain america Posted February 3, 2021 Author Posted February 3, 2021 Captain’s log: February 3rd, 2021 It begins! After about a week of studying, tracing, correcting and editing rudimentary technical diagrams, I’m finally ready to start chopping modeling board. The START image shows you all the basics I start my project with: -several print-outs with parts diagrams and line-art references -modelling board blocks of various sizes; some of which were scavenged from other projects -some 2-part expoxy sculpting clay (this will come in handy later) -some thin CA glue Pic 01: the plots are now carefully trimmed-out. Because there are so many generic looking blobby shapes, I’ve made it a point to scribble notes on some of the templates to better keep track of them. Pic 02: because work on the milling machine is critical to the construction of any project, I figured I’d show you some of the cutters I use most. From left to right: a bull-nosed (detail) cutting flute, a 4-blade standard cutter, and finaly a face-end mill. The latter is used for creating perfectly flat surfaces. As a rule of thumb, the fewer cutting blades on the shank, the faster you can carve the material. Pic 03: some initial surfacing going on before I attach the paper templates. I can use this tool for blocks, but when I need to re-surface smaller parts, I will generally resort to the drill press. I use this face-end mill whenever I can, just because it produces less dust. Pic 04: some of the blocks need to be cut down to size, just to avoid wasting excessive material, so the larger pieces are chopped-down on the band saw. Because the saw makes a jagged cut, the block will need to go back to the mill for proper surfacing. Pic 05: only after a considerable amount of block re-sizing can I begin to attach templates to the blocks. Many times I will have both a plan and side template, but cannot attach both at the same time, so I need to add one template, shape the part to that one view, then I can attach the second one. Pic 06: the grinding stone on the drill press being put to good use shaping one of the many curved parts. Pic 07: I’ll use the band saw to do some rough trimming of many parts. Because I can’t do precise cuts with this tool, I always have to leave some extra material and remove it by other, more precise means. Pic 08: one of those more precise means is the mill. Depending on the part, this can be a very tedious process, using many square-cut passes to make a pseud-rounded shape, but it’s precise AF. Pic 09: once the bigger machines clear away most of the excess, I can now get in close with a sanding block and get the shape just right. Pic 10: I loathe parts like this. This long, curved part is actually the cross-section of the ankle armor, which I need to make as left and right pieces. By making the cross-section as one piece, I can more easily ensure that the parts will be mirror images of each other. The concave curvature must be machined one pass at a time. Pic 11: this block represents the cross-section of the thighs, which underwent the same process which you saw in pic 10, and can now be sanded to conform precisely to the template. You can se that there’s still some excess material that the mill didn’t remove, and that’s a judgement call: the mill is precise but slow, and there’s a point beyond which extra milling will not yield extra precision and manual shaping can be done. It all depends on the shape and the part in question. While this probably wasn’t the most exciting update with regards to progress, it’s probably the most critical and informative in terms of laying-out the process by which an idea is turned into an almost-part. More to come next week, so stay tuned! Quote
Convectuoso Posted February 3, 2021 Posted February 3, 2021 I love seeing your projects coming to life, Captain Quote
derex3592 Posted February 3, 2021 Posted February 3, 2021 Ohh man, this is gonna be fun to watch! Quote
captain america Posted February 5, 2021 Author Posted February 5, 2021 On 2/3/2021 at 2:18 PM, derex3592 said: Ohh man, this is gonna be fun to watch! It's fun to make, too! I've found quite a few interesting hacks to make the design more posable while still being faithful to the source material. i can't wait to show you more. Quote
ChristopherB Posted February 5, 2021 Posted February 5, 2021 Really exciting project, I'll be ordering one. Thanks Captain and the person who commissioned it. Quote
captain america Posted February 10, 2021 Author Posted February 10, 2021 Captain’s log: February 10th, 2021 Pic 12: the adventure continues as I can now begin performing secial operations on designated parts. Here you can see the calf module being hollowed-out for the joint interface. Pic 13: a similar operation being performed on the thighs. Because of the shape of the parts, the paper templates will be slightly distorted by conforming to the block, I’ll have to make some minor pencil marks to adjust the shapes prior to further cutting. Pic 14: now that I have some basic parts taking shape, I’ll need to make some ball-joints. My lathe was perfectly clean just 5 minutes before this pic was taken. Initial operations are done with knives, just like working with metal. Pic 15: unlike with metal, turning resin does offer some advantages, the first being speed of machining. The other is that I can employ hand tools and sanding blocks to sape parts. Here you see me using a photo-etch saw on a part to scribe lines. Pic 16: some crude shapes now beginning to resemble the intended subject. These will be put aside temporarily while I labor on the joints. Pic 17: things get dirty fast when I whip out the rotary tool, but it’s so much fun! The calves are the first to get the shaping treatment. I actually have to stage these shots, because it wouldn’t be safe for me to be grinding the part while holding the camera in my lap… To say nothing of getting dust all over delicate electronic equipment! Pic 18: one of the more challenging parts to make are the thighs. Their overall jellybean shapes need to be perfectly symmetrical, so I operate on both of them in slow sequence, making sure to check my dimensions frequently. It’s a lot of tedious back & forth, and it needs to be done right. Pic 19: to a normie, this would look like a mess, but it’s carefully harnessed chaos. Mold release is applied to one part, while ample putty is applied to the other, then they are both pressed together to achieve perfectly fitting, conformal parts. It’s more an art than a science, because you have a very short window in which to pull the two components apart to get the desired effect: too soon and the putty will crumble and the effect is ruined, too late and the parts will be bonded together! Pic 20: more putty shaping taking place here, this time with Tamiya polyester (yellow) putty. This actually gives a cleaner result than the Bondo (blue) putty, but takes 10 times longer to harden, so there are different putties to be used for various operations. Pic 21: here we see the arm, wich is 60% done. If you study the original line-art, you will see that the elbows are drawn such that they are both facing outward on each side, and the arm bends in the direction shown by the red arrow; basically like an ape. So how do I take this clusterfrack retarded elbow joint and make it bend sensibly while still remaining faithful to the source material? By cleverly repositioning the joint! Pic22: you can see here that the bending point is camouflaged, but through a combination of joints I can get a 90 degree bend. Considering the limitations of the source material, I’d call that a win, and there will be more. Pic 23: I’m not quite sure how, but BIO LLOYD is looking really good, really early into development—an encouraging sign to be sure! As of today, you can begin sending in payment for your kit(s). The details for CAN/US customers is in the pics, while overseas customers can make arrangements with Return2KitForm Quote
CoryHolmes Posted February 11, 2021 Posted February 11, 2021 Hey, Cap'n? After you take your time to come up with the paper plans, do you still have to make any major decisions while shaping the material? Or is it pretty much just making your sketches into 3D objects? Also, how do you want payment? PayPal? Wire Transfer? Several goats delivered to your doorstep? Quote
captain america Posted February 11, 2021 Author Posted February 11, 2021 2 hours ago, CoryHolmes said: Hey, Cap'n? After you take your time to come up with the paper plans, do you still have to make any major decisions while shaping the material? Or is it pretty much just making your sketches into 3D objects? Also, how do you want payment? PayPal? Wire Transfer? Several goats delivered to your doorstep? The paper templates are mostly shape outlines. When I have to deal with more complex forms, the paper templates can only convey so much info, so once I start Dremeling I have to switch over to intuitive mode. Also, there's a lot of stuff I just eyeball, like the knee joint. I had one thing planned in the drafting stage, but once I started cutting, I saw that I could get more range of motion if I ventured beyond the blueprints, which is what I did. That's both the challenge and fun of taking sketches that someone phoned-in and turning them into something usable. I take Paypal & Bitcoin, just PM me for details. Quote
Convectuoso Posted February 11, 2021 Posted February 11, 2021 I'm soo going to regret not getting this one Quote
Ignacio Ocamica Posted February 11, 2021 Posted February 11, 2021 Me too Worst timing for me, going with the wife and kids three weeks to Hawaii. Hope I can pick up another run. Quote
derex3592 Posted February 11, 2021 Posted February 11, 2021 2 hours ago, Convectuoso said: I'm soo going to regret not getting this one same..... Quote
captain america Posted February 17, 2021 Author Posted February 17, 2021 Captain’s log: February 17th, 2021 Even though I try to conserve as much modelling board as possible, I always end up with a huge pile of leftover bits, and that pile grows with every project! Thankfully, beause this project is made-up of numerous smaller blobs, I’ve taken it upon myself to recycle some of my scraps and convert them into useful shapes. Pic 24 is one such instance. Here I’ve cobbled-together threee different parts with some CA glue, and will begin shaping it into one of the blobs on Bio Lloyd’s back. Pic 25: small parts means many slow, delicate operations. Here I’m going in with one of my many files to shape what will become one of the fingers. Pic 26: after many frustrating hours, the hands are getting close to finished. The missing knuckle joints are by design, as I will need to cast multiples of these and bend them into predetermined poses before adding the joints. While it’s certainly possible to scratchbuild all the different fingers directly from modelling board, one thing I’ve learned is to take advantage of the different attributes of various materials. Polyurethane castings will be much easier to cast and shape than carve from scratch, and the fingers will have consistent shapes for both hands. Because these mecha hands will only have three fingers (two and a thumb) the fingers need to be beefier than usual to hold its weapon, especially the drum. Pic 27: remember that cobbled-together scrap in pic 24? That’s it on the right. The different mecha variants have somewhat different back parts, so I’m creating them all modular and separate, which is part of what makes the project so tedious. The advantage is that there will be almost no compromises for the different variations, and even then, I believe that some of those minor differences may be due to a rushed production and rendering schedule than actual differences in shape. Pic 28: more putty forming being done, and much more to come! The part on the left is the chest housing being fitted for a sensor blob for the green variant, while the head parts you see will be for the blue version. Pic 29: it’s nice when my camera actually focuses on the foreground subject like it should! Here I’m chiseling the schnozz for the red variant. The chisel in question is in fact an old flat blade screwdriver which I repurposed. Sometimes it’s just easier to make your own hand tools than bying purpose-designed stuff that just never feels quite right. Pic 30: I decided to use the same visor part as the foundation for all three variants. There are still certain shapes and blobs missing, but that’s because I’ll need to mold the visor first. Those parts will be so small and dainty that it will be safer to mold them as one piece with the head housing. Pics 31-34: the legs are coming along nicely! As you can see, the shapes are stupid authentic to the line art and with a little extra time and effort, I was able to get some impressive range of motion out of them. I even took care to make the inside of the joints look blobby, like the rest of the design. Pic 35 shows the arm and hand assembly. The latter is merely the parts from pic 26 dry-fitted, but they look great together and just like with the leg, the wrist will have excellent range of motion—that will probably be needed for it to properly grasp the handle on its sled. That’s all for this week, don’t forget to tune-in next Wednesday when I’ll have some (semi) full body mock-up shots to show you! Oh, and less than 2 weeks to take advantge of the pre-order pricing. Tick-tock! Quote
levzloi Posted February 17, 2021 Posted February 17, 2021 32 minutes ago, captain america said: Captain’s log: February 17th, 2021 Even though I try to conserve as much modelling board as possible, I always end up with a huge pile of leftover bits, and that pile grows with every project! Thankfully, beause this project is made-up of numerous smaller blobs, I’ve taken it upon myself to recycle some of my scraps and convert them into useful shapes. Pic 24 is one such instance. Here I’ve cobbled-together threee different parts with some CA glue, and will begin shaping it into one of the blobs on Bio Lloyd’s back. Pic 25: small parts means many slow, delicate operations. Here I’m going in with one of my many files to shape what will become one of the fingers. Pic 26: after many frustrating hours, the hands are getting close to finished. The missing knuckle joints are by design, as I will need to cast multiples of these and bend them into predetermined poses before adding the joints. While it’s certainly possible to scratchbuild all the different fingers directly from modelling board, one thing I’ve learned is to take advantage of the different attributes of various materials. Polyurethane castings will be much easier to cast and shape than carve from scratch, and the fingers will have consistent shapes for both hands. Because these mecha hands will only have three fingers (two and a thumb) the fingers need to be beefier than usual to hold its weapon, especially the drum. Pic 27: remember that cobbled-together scrap in pic 24? That’s it on the right. The different mecha variants have somewhat different back parts, so I’m creating them all modular and separate, which is part of what makes the project so tedious. The advantage is that there will be almost no compromises for the different variations, and even then, I believe that some of those minor differences may be due to a rushed production and rendering schedule than actual differences in shape. Pic 28: more putty forming being done, and much more to come! The part on the left is the chest housing being fitted for a sensor blob for the green variant, while the head parts you see will be for the blue version. Pic 29: it’s nice when my camera actually focuses on the foreground subject like it should! Here I’m chiseling the schnozz for the red variant. The chisel in question is in fact an old flat blade screwdriver which I repurposed. Sometimes it’s just easier to make your own hand tools than bying purpose-designed stuff that just never feels quite right. Pic 30: I decided to use the same visor part as the foundation for all three variants. There are still certain shapes and blobs missing, but that’s because I’ll need to mold the visor first. Those parts will be so small and dainty that it will be safer to mold them as one piece with the head housing. Pics 31-34: the legs are coming along nicely! As you can see, the shapes are stupid authentic to the line art and with a little extra time and effort, I was able to get some impressive range of motion out of them. I even took care to make the inside of the joints look blobby, like the rest of the design. Pic 35 shows the arm and hand assembly. The latter is merely the parts from pic 26 dry-fitted, but they look great together and just like with the leg, the wrist will have excellent range of motion—that will probably be needed for it to properly grasp the handle on its sled. That’s all for this week, don’t forget to tune-in next Wednesday when I’ll have some (semi) full body mock-up shots to show you! Oh, and less than 2 weeks to take advantge of the pre-order pricing. Tick-tock! That is just astonishing. You've clearly developed your talent. I just can't even believe the level of sophistication and detail your achieving here. Quote
CoryHolmes Posted February 17, 2021 Posted February 17, 2021 Are the ball-and-socket joints going to be part of the casting, or will you be adding joints to the finished parts after the fact? Also, I see in some of your photos that you're wearing a watch. I've always been taught "no rings, no watches, no sleeves" when working on equipment, so how comfortable are you working with a watch on? Or does it depend on the operation at hand? Quote
captain america Posted February 17, 2021 Author Posted February 17, 2021 3 minutes ago, CoryHolmes said: Are the ball-and-socket joints going to be part of the casting, or will you be adding joints to the finished parts after the fact? Also, I see in some of your photos that you're wearing a watch. I've always been taught "no rings, no watches, no sleeves" when working on equipment, so how comfortable are you working with a watch on? Or does it depend on the operation at hand? The ball-joints will be resin parts in the kit. I tried aftermarket units in the past, but they were always too weak and never the right size, so I make my own. They aren't playable, but are good enough for dry-fitting prior to the final build. You can watch a video I made a while back discussing the joint systems found on my kits. https://odysee.com/@moscatohobbymodels:7/M72-Gabriel-2:d Watch: I always have a watch on me, because it's very easy for me to get lost in my work and lose track of time otherwise. It's nothing special, just a Casio junk beater. Short sleeves are a must when operating machinery, though I do frequently wear overalls when Dremelling, just to avoid getting too much dust on my clothes. Quote
Convectuoso Posted February 17, 2021 Posted February 17, 2021 This is looking incredible!. I'm glad I finally decided to get on board Quote
captain america Posted February 22, 2021 Author Posted February 22, 2021 Captain's Log supplemental: February 22nd update I went ahead and bumped-up this week's review in order to mark the one remaining week to take advantage of the pre-order special on the 1/48 BIO-LLOYD kit. This way you can also have a better idea of what you'll be getting, and be able to make an informed decision with regards to your purchase. I've opted to finish the figure before commencing on the sled so as to give me more adjustment possibility and make little fit adjustments for a better overall package. As you can see, Mr. LLOYD is coming right along. Please excuse the slight rickety appearance of the parts: they're mostly just holding with friction and some temporary hot glue. A few of the smaller parts were left off to avoid breakage and are being prepped for molding as I type. The head for Mr. Blueberry was used here, and since the pic was taken, I've slimmed-down the front part of his "beard" to be more faithful to the source material. Several parts like the head, shins and chest plate will have to be completed, molded, cast, then altered and molded again to accomodate all the different variations, thus creating different sets of masters, and that's part of what's taking so long, so your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. Wait until you see the dinner plate-sized sled this guy rides on! Quote
Convectuoso Posted February 22, 2021 Posted February 22, 2021 5 hours ago, captain america said: that's part of what's taking so long To me you're working extremely fast! It's looking great. How tall is it? Quote
captain america Posted February 22, 2021 Author Posted February 22, 2021 25 minutes ago, Convectuoso said: To me you're working extremely fast! It's looking great. How tall is it? About 17.5cm Quote
CoryHolmes Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Convectuoso said: To me you're working extremely fast! It's looking great. How tall is it? 3 hours ago, captain america said: About 17.5cm How does this scale with a 1/48 VF-1? Quote
Convectuoso Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 2 hours ago, CoryHolmes said: How does this scale with a 1/48 VF-1? Something like this: Although John's Bioroid will be a couple centimeters taller, you should get the idea Quote
jenius Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 Southern Cross mechs are very small in comparison to Macross. Quote
tekering Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 2 hours ago, Convectuoso said: Something like this: Nah, more like this: In fact, exactly like this. Quote
Podtastic Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, tekering said: Nah, more like this: In fact, exactly like this. Is that Zaku 17.5 cm? Can you show it next to the Gosu or, if not, the HMR Regult. As is? Edited February 23, 2021 by Podtastic Quote
tekering Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Podtastic said: Is that Zaku 17.5 cm? Precisely, yes. 1 hour ago, Podtastic said: Can you show it next to the Gosu, or, if not the HMR Regult. As is? I'm afraid "as is" remains a rather deplorable state for my King Crab... Quote
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