OMG, even incomplete that beast of a machine is looking freaking awesome!!
So guys, I had a little accident while packing the model for the contest. A big, heavy, resin model with no moveable parts makes for poor traveling, and I must have gotten a little too impatient when trying to put it in a box.
The leg snapped off and the model came crashing down. [:(] I had no time for repairs as I needed to get going to the airport. I had left the arms, gun, and rear stabilizer loose, figuring that I could tack them in place at the contest. This spared the parts from damage.
So I went stag to the contest, a first for me. If I were 10 years younger I would have had a major hissy fit, but fortunately age has its benefits. After about 15 seconds, I realized there was nothing to do but just prop the model up on my desk and head to the airport.
An hour before the mishap, I loaded up all the parts to make sure everything was OK.
I was really worried that the support arm would not hold up the enormous gun, but it held fine. Things were looking hopeful at the time.
The lessons I learned here were:
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Donāt dilly-dally. Finish contest models at least a week early if not more.
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Donāt choose a big, heavy, super-fragile resin model. Think about packing and transport ahead of time.
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And donāt dilly-dally.
Ouch!!! So sorry to hear about the accident G! Nice work getting Humpty Dumpty back together!
Gamera,
Iāll need to make quick repairs at least to the leg, as the model cannot be set down without getting further damage. Itās so close to being finished that I must push myself to get it done.
Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall, but we were able to put him back together again:
Looks good to me G, nice work getting him back shipshape!
I finally got around to taking a couple more pics of the 99% complete model:
I took it to the local model meeting this weekend, so I had to figure out a way to secure the model for transport:
It does not travel well, and is almost impossible to pick up and hold. Still, it arrived at the meeting and returned home safely.
This was my first resin mecha model, and I learned some painful lessons from it. Most importantly, since the modelās joints have to be fixed in place, if anything moves after completion, that means itās broken. The resin material demands either CA or epoxy glue be used. Epoxy allows some time to adjust position of the parts, but cannot hold it until it cures. CA, even the slow set type, is less forgiving and you must also know how to position the parts before the glue sets. This caused me fits when positioning the arm parts. There were so many joints that when I finally got to the hands, I could not position them to hold the gun. Plus resin is heavy, and I unwisely used plastic rod to pin the parts together. Thatās why the leg broke off when I was trying to stuff it into a box. The legs are super heavy, and even now I can feel them flex when I try to move the model.
So for subsequent mecha resin kits, I will be using only metal rods to pin parts together. I will retofit polycaps wherever possible to be able to make some adjustments to the pose. Some high stress areas like the legs will need to be fixed in place though. Resin kits are heavy, so a fully poseable model is undesirable due to stability issues.
But there are some really cool looking resin kits out there that are not available in injection plastic, so the pain is worthwhile (sometimes). I donāt have many large resin mech kits in the stash, but I have a bunch of small ones. I think Iāll pull one of them out next, to try apply the lessons I leaned from the Super ZZ.
The Breda is a much smaller kit and seems like a good candidate. Stay tuned!
ā¦or maybe I neeed a break and should work on something less challenging.
Ony ONE resin part! [:P]
Thatās not sci-fi! Unless you going to build a Nuka-Cola vending machine?
Ha ha, Potchip, no itās intended to be an accessory for a car model. Actually, I bought the vending machine because I thought it was a hoot that there was a kit of such a thing, and it was only one piece. I suppose Iāll have to build a car model now.
But fear not, the robot production line is still open!
Donāt know about assembly, but that Breda looks like it would be a lot of fun to paint. That there is canvas to have a lot of fun with.
Trying not to be jealous. 
PG,
This is what the model looks like built up:
Itās much smaller than it appears due to the excellent kit detailing.
Looks cool G!
You could always have the mech wrecking the vending machine with the title āIT TOOK MY MONEY!!!ā
Gamera,
Both the Breda and the Super ZZ would crush the vending machine like a tiny peanut!
Sorry, I was just being sillyā¦
Thatās okay - silliness is required in this thread!