1/48 SOUTHERN CROSS BIOROID

[Convectuoso]

This is looking soo good!

Thanks, Cap'n

[Tober]

Awesome work, Capt'!

[CoryHolmes]

I know you don't want to hear this, but I showed those last pics to my brother.  First thing he said?  "It's too good to stay alone, it needs a Hovertank." 

[captain america]

8 minutes ago, CoryHolmes said:

I know you don't want to hear this, but I showed those last pics to my brother.  First thing he said?  "It's too good to stay alone, it needs a Hovertank." 

I understand where he's coming from, and I want to tackle that too eventually if I can. I figured I'd try to shake the Bioroid tree as much as possible before I propose that project, particularly because it will have its own complexities and challenges.

[CoryHolmes]

45 minutes ago, captain america said:

I understand where he's coming from, and I want to tackle that too eventually if I can. I figured I'd try to shake the Bioroid tree as much as possible before I propose that project, particularly because it will have its own complexities and challenges.

Don't hype, don't hype, don't hype, don't blow it a-hole, don't hype don't hype just breathe it's your imagination don't hype...

 

More seriously, this is the first kit of yours that I've bought and I'm already smitten with what you've made.  I am in awe of your skills, good sir.   With Renshape being carvable with a sharp knife, do you use a mill just for the precision of the cuts?  Or do you have another use for the mill?

 

[captain america]

11 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

  With Renshape being carvable with a sharp knife, do you use a mill just for the precision of the cuts?  Or do you have another use for the mill?

 

The 460 grade I use isn't really carvable with a knife, it's far too dense. I can do little details with a chisel and maybe an exacto blade when it comes to carving very small, shallow details, but that's it. Precision is everything! Without it, mirrored parts would be wonky, things that should be straight would be crooked, and large, complex parts would be large and wonky. Back when I used to buy garage kits, there was one 1/100 Sazabi I had (Kotobukiya?) and you could see that everything was sculpted freehand, and not in the good way. The rifle had lots of very perceptible angles that were off, it wasn't symmetrical, and a lot of the shapes that should be flat had a noticeable bow to them; a real eyesore, especially when that was a very expensive kit (like 300 USD back in the mid 90s). 

You have to remember that I'm my own first customer and critic. If I didnt have manual machine tools, I'd very likely resort to 3D modelling for the necessary precision it provides, as I have a few times in the past, when some parts were just too big for my equipment.

[CoryHolmes]

15 hours ago, captain america said:

Precision is everything! Without it, mirrored parts would be wonky, things that should be straight would be crooked, and large, complex parts would be large and wonky.

Ah, so what you're saying is that you want parts that DON'T look like I made them Large and wonky I can make.  Precise and meticulous?  Beyond my skill set, which is why I love watching master craftsmen at work.

[captain america]

12 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

Ah, so what you're saying is that you want parts that DON'T look like I made them Large and wonky I can make.  Precise and meticulous?  Beyond my skill set, which is why I love watching master craftsmen at work.

Skill sets can be acquired with time, patience and repetition. It's amazing how much can be learned just by watching and studying. When I started out, there was no internet. I'd buy issues of Hobby Japan and Model Graphics and study the pictures of scratchbuilds in progress, and making molds. A lot of those techniques are crude, but it's a good introductory step. As you experiment, you find different (and often better) ways of doing things. You'll make lots of mistakes, and if you're clever, you'll learn the most from those to become even better. 

[Dax415]

Considering I'm not a big Southern Cross fan whatsoever......  just incredibly stunning and masterful how well the Bio Lloyd has turned out.  Absolutely looking forward to more progress pics and following along with everyone else. 

[captain america]

Captain’s log: April 7th, 2021.

Mold prep for the sled begins! While this might not be the most exciting update for the casual observer, it will focus on the mold-making process and the preparation of the parts and boxes, which is perfect for all you DIY enthusiasts.

One of the first things that needs to be done is a little session of mental chess, whereby each individual part is studied, and an orientation is selected for optimal resin flow of the (future) mold cavity. At this point, any small cracks or crevices that aren’t upposed to be there are sealed with some diluted PVA glue. Once that’s done, I begin to attach flow gates to the parts using hot glue, which is what you see in pic 77.

Why hot glue? Because upon demold of the masters, I usually need to reove the gates in order to slice in the right places, and hot glue will hold most parts just firmly enough for the molding process, but can then be easily removed without damaging the masters.

Because I tend to be rather ambitious in the creation of certain parts, I sometimes have to squirm my way out of a casting corner by adding some resin flow aids to the masters before molding them. Otherwise, you can end up with air pockets that turn to nasty voids on your castings. One such part is the top of the control column, which is what you see in pic 78. The black piece is just styrene sheet, but it is placed strategically to help air escape the mold upon casting.

Pic 79: because the platform sections are so incredibly large, hot gluing gates won’t work: the parts are too heavy, and the glue may not hold the part securely, so these gates are bonded to the masters using CA glue, and also reinforced with styrene. This will help hold the part securely in place, but the white triangular fins also help with resin flow. Each of these parts needs to be measured, cut, and fitted into place  very carefully and deliberately to avoid obstructing details. Now that you know what these are, you’ll know to cut them off on your kit parts

Pic 80: because the sled hull parts are so massive, I don’t have any mold containers large enough to hold them in, so I need to scratchbuild one, so here goes the plexiglass under the band saw.

Pic 81: I didn’t have enough 5mm plexiglass for the whole mold box, so I’ll need to bond two 2.5mm sheets together to get the necessary rigidity for such a large mold. That said, it actually works out better, because I need to dril some holes on the inner plexiglass: this will create interlocking tongue-and-groove segments when the silicone is poured, thus preventing the large, heavy mold from shifting or sliding in its box.

Pic 82: the surfaces of both layers of glass are then roughened with 80 grit sandpaper… Then bonded together using CA glue (pic 83.) It’s crude and not pretty, but it works, and works well!

Pic 84: the pic doesn’t do it justice, but that’s a big mold box, and will require almost a gallon of mold silicone all by itself!

Pic 85: I roughly estimate the main sled hull parts to be about a kilo’s worth of resin, so I stocked-up. Even then, I fear I will need to re-order more resin. The pails you see are 5 gallons each.

That said, I’ve quietly been casting the BIO LLOYD mechas over the course of the last week, and got almost half the kits made, so the molds have proven their worthiness! Hopefully by this time next week, the sled parts will all be molded too—stay tuned!

 

[Bolt]

Wowza!

[derex3592]

[Boobytrap]

I really hope you end up doing another run of these. Funds were tight the first time around. I have created a BIO LLOYD fund just so that I can drop some dollars the moment it becomes available (even if that moment is years from now). This work of art is just too beautiful to not have in my life. You are doing God's work good sir.

[captain america]

Captain’s log: April 14th, 2021.

Because the hover-sled for the Bio-Lloyd is comprised of some of the biggest parts I’ve cast in the last 15 years, I had to take some exceptional steps for the molding of the hulls. Last week you saw the adding of the gates and sprues, as well as the construction of the mold box. Understand that these are some of the more extreme procedures needed for large parts, but can easily be transposed to smaller parts as needed.

In pic 87, you can see that the whole part is hot-glued down to a 5mm acrylic base. You want to have a base thick enough to not flex under the weight of the box and then the silicone when poured, otherwise the part can detach and shift in the liquid silicone and ruin the whole mold.

Pic 88: once the parts are attached to the base, the mold box is carefully placed and it too is hot glued to the base. You have to be very careful with this step; make sure the entire perimiter is sealed, otherwise the smallest gap will cause the mold to spring a leak!

Pic 89: the whole box is sealed and now ready to accept the silicone rubber. You may notice that there’s lots of room inside the box, and this is by design: the bigger the part, the more resin it requires, and thus the more heat produced by the resin. Over time, the exothermic reaction will slowly cook the silicone and break it down, but the more mold material there is, the more the heat can be dissipated and thus preserve the mold.

Pic 90: I worked-out some of the bugs in using the Mold Star silicone, so this is what I’ll be using. One distinct advantage is the very short cure time: a scant 8 hours as compared to the 24 hours needed for MOLD MAX, and because it’s platinum based and contains no ammonia, I don’t have to let the mold air-out for the next 2-3 days.

Pic 91: even though Mold Star 30 is low viscosity, it still needs to be degassed before pouring, so after I mix the two parts thoroughly, they go into the vacuum chamber for a few minutes.

Pic 92: another critical trick you need to use with large molds like these is to pour it in 3-4 parts. The idea being that you pour the first part a quarter of the way and let it partly cure: in doing so, the silicone will gel and help seal the bottom of the mold. You have to remember that the sheer weight of the silicone will push against the mold box and if it’s not properly braced, can cause it to burs open. Ask me how I know…

Once that first part turns relatively tacky, I can pour the rest of the mold (still in stages) until the parts are fully submerged.

Pic 93: an important tool when mixing silicone rubber is a squirrel cage mixer, which you see attached to my drill. Hand mixing, particularly for anything over 500ml, is neither fast nor thorough enough, so a good mixer will ensure a uniform mix, and no uncured surprises.

Pic 94: the mold is now cured! Before demolding, I need to create a reinforced bottom to support the mold, and since this is one heavy mold, I didn’t want to take the chance of just using resin and have it fail, so I mixed the resin with some chopped carbon fiber for added reinforcement; I’m just extreme like that.  The exact product I used is shown in pic 95.

Pic 96: now that the reinforcement has also fully cured, I can proceed to the extraction of the masters. Using my trusty hobby knife and a new blade, I carefully cut the mold open and extract the masters.

Pic 97: 4.7 kilos, baby!! That’s a little over 10lbs for you Imperialists, and this is without the box, and he masters extracted. Now the real test will be the castings themselves.

The molds are a success: 850ml of resin just for the sled parts, and another 400 for the Bio Lloyd mecha, so 1250g of resin for one kit, excluding the rubber parts. As I type this, production is already underway, and this brings my 1/48 BIO LLOYD tutorial to a close. I sincerely hope that even if you never get around to using any of these techniques, that you still learned a few things, and come away with an appreciation of old-school model making, as well as all the time, effort and planning that goes into making a model like this.

[Convectuoso]

Can't wait to finally have it!

[CoryHolmes]

re: Pic 95

 

I'm deliriously happy that Fibre is spelled properly for us Canucks

 

4.7 kilos for the mould alone!  How does that stack up with some other larger moulds you've made before?

[Shawn]

Your work on these projects continues to always be jaw-dropping awe-inspiringly awesome. I never thought something like this could look so good.
We are SO happy you share these projects with us over 1.5 decades. I always look forward to your posts the most!

 

[captain america]

10 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

 

 

4.7 kilos for the mould alone!  How does that stack up with some other larger moulds you've made before?

The last silicone mold I'd made that was roughly this size was for a 1/6 E.T. toy prototype I did circa 2002-2003. I only needed 2-3 castings, so I made the mold box from MDF. I would have liked to make the saucer from several smaller, interconnecting segments, but I thought that two large, main hull parts was the sturdier option.

[captain america]

Hey y'all!

Just wanted to let you all know that the first kits will be shipping some time next week. My next point of focus will be to finalize and publish the kit destructions, wich should be done in the next 2 weeks.

I would like to thank all those who decided to make this kit possible, and special thanks to Podtastic for his zealous devotion to the project: without him, I don't think that this project would have ever seen the light of day.

Second run of kits: stll a possibility, provided I can get 12 orders. There will be a substantial price correction, however. The first run tooling was bankrolled by Podtastic, which helped to greatly reduce the final kit price. The second run will be entirely financed by the customers, and as you've seen throughout the build tutorial, both the tooling process and material resources are substantial. Therefore, the new price is listed below, and it will be for the red (SATAN CLAWS) version only. 

 

[Boobytrap]

I am IN for a second run!!

[tekering]

35 minutes ago, captain america said:

The first run tooling was bankrolled by Podtastic, which helped to greatly reduce the final kit price.

Our mysterious benefactor is finally revealed! 

I'mma shoot some Invid Shock Trooper vs. Bioroid diorama pics just for you, bud. 

7 minutes ago, Boobytrap said:

I am IN for a second run!!

Even without the biover, it's still a good price. 

[captain america]

33 minutes ago, tekering said:

 

Even without the biover, it's still a good price. 

Not everyone will think it's good, but it's certainly fair considering the work necessary to bring the model to fruition. The second run would make not only my casting life a lot simpler, but also allow customers to taylor the kit to their budget, as they can forego the sled. 

[CoryHolmes]

I want to back a second run, but I can't   I can only hope that when things are better, you'll have one or two squirreled away

 

When you say that the tooling will be funded by viewers like you, - err, the customers, will you have to resculpt the masters all over again?  Or just make up new moulds from the existing masters?  And for that matter, is there a limit to how many moulds you can make from a set of masters?  eg: if you wanted to, could you start cranking out your 1:48 Legioss from the already-completed masters?

[Podtastic]

Thanks for all your hard work on this project Cap.

12 hours ago, tekering said:

I'mma shoot some Invid Shock Trooper vs. Bioroid diorama pics just for you, bud.

Epic.

[captain america]

On 4/21/2021 at 12:27 AM, CoryHolmes said:

I want to back a second run, but I can't   I can only hope that when things are better, you'll have one or two squirreled away

 

When you say that the tooling will be funded by viewers like you, - err, the customers, will you have to resculpt the masters all over again?  Or just make up new moulds from the existing masters?  And for that matter, is there a limit to how many moulds you can make from a set of masters?  eg: if you wanted to, could you start cranking out your 1:48 Legioss from the already-completed masters?

New tooling = new molds. The master patterns are made to be repeatably molded as needed. Occasionally, some parts do get damaged but those are rare and can be repaired.

[Boobytrap]

Shameless selfish bump to keep this on the first page. I really need the second run to happen.

 

You don't want this to be me if we don't get to 12. 

[captain america]

5 hours ago, Boobytrap said:

Shameless selfish bump to keep this on the first page. I really need the second run to happen.

 

You don't want this to be me if we don't get to 12. 

I'm probably going to open up the payment channel next week for the second run and leave it open until June 1st. If I get the required orders, I start the new molds. If I don't meet the order threshold, I'll just hit refund on all the Paypal payments. Nice and simple. 

[Boobytrap]

16 minutes ago, captain america said:

I'm probably going to open up the payment channel next week for the second run and leave it open until June 1st. If I get the required orders, I start the new molds. If I don't meet the order threshold, I'll just hit refund on all the Paypal payments. Nice and simple. 

[captain america]

Destructions. Brace yourselves, there are many pages!

 

[captain america]

Part 2

[captain america]

Pt 3

 

[captain america]

[captain america]

[captain america]

[captain america]

Aaaand done!

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by captain america