This week, we chat about the wonderful world of Gundam and snapfit injection-molded plastic kits. That leads to a discussion about some of our favorite model kits from our childhood, and an appreciate for cockpit design. Plus, an appreciation for the recent achievements of SpaceX!
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Adam embarks on one of his most ambitious builds yet: fulfil…
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Adam recently completed a build of the royal St. Edwards cro…
Making
Viewers often ask to see Adam working in real-time, so this …
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Adam and Norm assemble a beautifully machined replica prop k…
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One of the ways Adam has been getting through lockdown has b…
Making
Adam unboxes and performs a quick test of this novel new hel…
Making
When Adam visited Weta Workshop early last year, he stopped …
One Day Builds
Adam tackles a shop shelf build that he's been putting off f…
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Time for a model kit build! This steampunk-inspired mechanic…
One Day Builds
Adam reveals his surprise Christmas present for his wife--a …
http://www.educraftdiversions.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=DSKY
Speaking about cockpits and models, you guys should consider building one of these! It’s a paper model of the Apollo Guidance Computer DSKY (display/keyboard) and is my favorite feature of the panel. I have one but have not had time to assemble it yet! It is insanely detailed.
I based my switchpanel in my rally car on NASA design specs and in the process ran across a number of folks out there replicating cockpits for flight sims! They are our kind of people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RceCLJWoiIY
Can someone share a picture of the earth gauge Adam mentioned from the mercury capsules?
They already have moved to the touch screen cockpits in a number of aircraft. They call it a “glass cockpit”.
As well, the band Rush wrote a song about someone who preserved a gas engine car, and occasionally takes it out, to his peril. The song is called “Red Barchetta”. Here is what Wikipedia says: “The song’s lyrics tell a story set in a future in which many classes of vehicles have been prohibited by “the Motor Law”. The narrator’s uncle has kept one of these now-illegal vehicles (the titular red barchetta sports car) in pristine condition for some “fifty-odd years” and keeps it hidden at his secret country home (previously a farm before the enactment of the aforementioned Motor Law). Every Sunday, the narrator sneaks out to this location and goes for a drive in the countryside. During one such drive, he encounters a “gleaming alloy air car” that begins to chase him along the roads. A second such vehicle soon joins the pursuit, which continues until the narrator drives across a one-lane bridge that is too narrow for the air cars. The song ends with the narrator returning safely to his uncle’s farm.
Video:
https://youtu.be/P9Q05UyIOX4
Michael Ironsides was in Top Gun too!
There’s great Star Wars Bandai. I just did my first one (a Stormtrooper) and was amazed as you guys were at how awesome it went together. Great possibility too. Possibly better than a Star Wars Black Series.
https://timeandnavigation.si.edu/multimedia-asset/project-mercury-earth-path-indicator
More images: http://collections.si.edu/search/tag/tagDoc.htm?recordID=nasm_A19721170000
The Earth Path Indicator, to my knowledge, was only present on John Glenn’s flight (first manned US orbital flight) but he found it to be pretty useless, as he had decent spatial awareness and a view out the window. (Source: http://bit.ly/1VBkrBz) The gauge was not present on Gemini and Apollo, a nice artificial horizon was used instead.
I misspoke but cannot seem to edit my previous post, the Earth Path Indicator also flew on Gus Grissom’s (before Glenn) and Scott Carpenter’s flight (after Glenn), but was then removed. My guess is that Carpenter’s spacecraft was already too far along to make it worthwhile to follow Glenn’s note to remove.
There was also an Earth Path Indicator on the Russian Vostok and Soyuz spacecraft, but it was eventually removed from the Soyuz as well. I am not sure when.
Thanks! That is a beautiful piece of machinery.
Okay, Gunpla talk was just the kick I needed to finally make an account and comment. There really are some impressive techniques involved that are easy to take for granted as an existing fan, like the internal frames.
I’d recommend http://www.dalong.net/ if you need a comprehensive visual guide, it’s a Korean Gundam fan site that doesn’t technically have everything, but it’s as close as you’ll get across almost 40 years of kits. Check the “Bandai-ETC” section for some recent Star Wars kits too, using the same Bandai technology as Gundam kits.
Also worth noting that you don’t need to go to the super-expensive Perfect Grade kits for a good build experience, the smaller MG/Master Grade (1/100 scale, ~$60 on average) and RG/Real Grade (1/144 scale, ~$30) kits give you the same color-molded plastic and full inner frames, with several more designs available thanks to the cost. The MG line is the go-to for a lot of builders. HG/High Grade kits are also fun, more beginner-friendly and they lack the inner frames of other lines, but they’re great if you want a cool little Gundam in just a couple hours.
Definitely interested in seeing Gundam stuff pop up again any chance you guys get. Sorry for the unsolicited infodump of a first comment, but hope it was informative in some way.
Ron,
Those pics make it look like making an earth path indicator would be an interesting project since Adam got his Bridgeport. I’m guessing that the Honeywell treated it the same way that I would. Like a prototype using available material, stock parts and simple machining from stock material. It looks like it was made from gears from Wm. Berg, standoffs, cut sheetmetal and some machined aluminum plates. Interesting device.
As I recall there was a similar movie as well
Perfect Grade all day
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=Perfect+Grade+Kit
$200-250 average for that scale though
Go for this one, pretty crazy for a model at least
http://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-Strike-Freedom-Perfect/dp/B00435WX76/ref=sr_1_11?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1461084560&sr=1-11&keywords=Perfect+Grade+Kit
Or most likely just go for a Zaku, it’s basically the Model T of Gundam
http://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-MS-06F-Mobile-Perfect/dp/B0006N14BU/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1461084698&sr=1-1&keywords=Perfect+Grade+Zaku
Michael Inronside recently played the villian in a campy movie about post-apocalyptic wasteland set in the future of the then 1990’s. It has a very Mad Max, retro, B-Movie vibe to it.
The movie is called TURBO KID, and it is currently streaming on Netflix. Definitely not for kids, due to often used graphic, gratuitous violence.
Seriously, you must watch it…
Landing on a barge in Kerbal Space Program is super easy: http://gfycat.com/LiquidOrangeBoar
Agreed. Would take some time but the specs for that unit have to be around somewhere in NASA’s archives. Getting the clockwork spring would probably be a bit tricky but it may have been an off the shelf part from a clock of some sort.
Full disclosure I was wondering why it had a Wind adjustment for spaceflight. Then I realized it was for winding the unit. D’oh!
Nothing will be changing in the car business in 20 years. Maybe electric cars will be less ugly to compete with Teslas but that’s it. Try 200 yrs. There maybe self driving cars in some regions LA, NY, London, Berlin for example. But most of the world will be guzzling around with little change. Try a google car in Mexico city Nairobi or Hanoi where no one, driver and pedestrian a like, have any comprehension of even the concept of traffic rules.
13:40 Good job Will on cutting yourself off before finish saying, “wouldn’t you like to be a prepper too”.
Haha, so is that a giant robot, or a giant mecha catching the rocket? Also, is there a snapfit model of it available?
Plamo (プラモ/puramo) = plastic model
Gundam + Plamo = gunpla / ガンプラ (ganpura)
I say Adam should build a Real Grade gundam.
I’ve built perfect grade gundams, and everything in-between and real grade is just perfect.
as to what model to make, well any one that looks cool. just look up a wiki on what ever model you are making.
I still think the original white gundam that was sent in would be perfect. but that is a bias opinion.
and yes it is called Gundam Plastic model building or Gunpla for short but as long as you are respectful calling it just “model making” is fine.
Fun fact: Falcon 9 and the drone ship don’t talk to each other at all.
They just both independently meet at the same GPS coordinates. Elon Musk has said that the drone ship is capable of holding a steady position in the ocean, down to a meter.
The Falcon 9 also has range finders that it uses to see just how far above its landing zone it is, for more precision in the last stages of landing.
I think John Saxon was Maskatron in the Six Million Dollar Man series. I remember watching the episode and being creeped out when his face was knocked off, showing all the circuitry and gears underneath.
Here’s a picture of what I thought Adam was talking about because I had never heard of the Earth Path Indicator. The thing with spacecraft was that they had to start from scratch and figure out what instruments were going to be required.
http://www.spaceaholic.com/csimages/dual_fdai.jpg
In regards to Gunpla / Gundam, MG “Master Grade” 1/100 is king. They’re by far and away the best bang for your buck. You can find almost any specific Mech from any of the series / manga in this scale, and the scale is large enough to allow for high detail, lots of parts, and a great stature, but still decently priced. These are also great as they look fantastic even without paint, so you can still display them and paint them down the road when you have free time.
RG “Real Grade” are nice, as they have the similar quality to the MGs, but at the smaller scale they tend to be less fulfilling.
So basically the MG and up kits are what you’ll want to aim for. And if I’m to suggest a specific kit I’ve pushed the MG Gundam 3.0 as the go to kit. It not only has excellent overall build quality, fantastic articulation, and stupendous color variation that shows really breaks up the design nicely, but it’s also the newest rendition of the original Gundam, and was hands down the most fun I’ve had building gunpla. So much so that I bought a second just to use as the base for a kitbash. You’ll love it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CRSXK4Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1461101013&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=mg+gundam+3.0&dpPl=1&dpID=51G36Yn97fL&ref=plSrch
Guys have you ever considered or are considering or (psst ask these guys to help case they rock) using 3d printers to then design a virtually indefinable amount of options of things to print in a download able online format (at virtually no running cost once setup btw) or even better an app like (legos online self build) so that you suddenly have a million+ fans and up and coming designers with a combined and mutually beneficial arrangment for you guys and fans alike? (Btw guys if that’s a good question I have a really cool project but would like your opinion as market experts on crazy ideas lol).
Big fan GordyB @ ( loonaticsballoons.co.uk )
UK fan base
If I had to suggest a Gundam kit for Adam, it would be the Turn A (http://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-GUNDAM-Master-Action/dp/B000RHKZLU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1461105160&sr=8-2&keywords=turn+a+gundam) or Turn X (http://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Hobby-Turn-Model-Scale/dp/B00J4G4FNE/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=03RVQZNZAC90PWJC34EA), both of which were designed by Syd Mead of Blade Runner fame.
I worked for Lockheed Martin for a few years, so I have some knowledge about missiles and how they operate. What’s amazing about the pinpoint landing of S1 of the Falcon is that the thrust to weight ratio is estimated to be about 2 (http://space.stackexchange.com/questions/11972/whats-the-thrust-to-weight-ratio-of-falcon-9-at-landing) when it lands.
The engines are strong enough to lift the entire spacecraft on the initial gravity turn for orbital insertion; this means they lift the craft _and its fuel_ to very high altitudes at very high speeds. What happens to the craft when the fuel is gone? The engines are insanely overpowered – even when only lighting one for landing.
Think of seeing a line in the ground, and driving your car at top speed toward that line. At a precise moment, you have to stand fully hard on the brakes to get your car to skid, full-speed, and stop exactly on that line. That’s what the Falcon is doing here. At its minimum thrust, the engines can lift twice its weight, so it can’t feather down – it’s screeching to a halt. In aero/astro terminology, this is called a “suicide burn” – for good reason. It’s very touchy.
Not only do they land at a particular point on Earth, they do it by slamming on the brakes at precisely the right moment, even with wind, even with delays in the system, even with rolling waves. Frankly, to me, it’s a significant portion of the way toward the complexity of an (unmanned) Moon mission to even pull it off; harder than a rendezvous and dock cycle, but, say, a quarter of the complexity of a Moon mission.
The future is now. 🙂
“The jackhammers got us all off”
Aaaand, scene!
Thanks, Will ,-)
Yeah, me too. One of my earliest nightmares as a kid was that scene. Between that and Doctor Who, it was no wonder I was afraid of monsters under my bed.
And yes, it was John Saxon who played the role, who is still around. Though he did resemble Michael Ironside.
i realize everyone is busy and has other things to focus on but i wish you guys would make the podcasts a bit longer, I always feel like everyone has so much more interesting input to contribute on any subject.
Robby1227
I am absolutely certain that the clockwork is a stock part. Now whether or not it’s a Honeywell part or some part from something else is something that is a mystery for the moment. Remember that in the first years of the mercury Program NASA’s budget was small and everything was going to be a hack. Hence the windup drive. After all it only has to run for couple of hours.
get Adam a gundam for a one day build , for entry get him this “Bandai Gundam 1/144 Petitgguy Future Pink” then any latest kit from the RG series
I love the engineering of the Space-X booster landing on the platform.
Someone needs to explain to me how it makes sense to waste the additional weight in fuel that is needed to land the booster. I understand being able to reuse it but is the booster really destroyed if it parachutes into the ocean? That would seem to be a much lighter, more reliable way to recover the first stage.
I’m just thinking about all the pains that the early rocket scientists went through to shave ounces off their machines so that they could lift that much larger of a payload into orbit. Now we seem to be a lot more cavalier about the whole thing.
(I had a robot in Robot Wars 3, BTW — it got its ass handed to it by a little pesky robot dragging a net. My only consolation is that the following year, nets were outlawed.)
As nifty as landing a rocket on a barge on a (potentially) tossing sea is, I think it’s just as amazing that an object as tall as a 10? 20? story building can remain upright once it lands! Does the barge have ‘grabbers’ to latch on to the rocket and keep it from toppling? Or is the rocket so bottom-heavy that it can’t help but stand up (weebles wobble…). In any event it’s about time that a rocket finally landed the way a “real” rocket was intended to!
When you mentioned a small globe for the position indicator, I kept thinking of the tiny 1″-or-so globe you could find on the top of an el-cheapo pencil sharpener! The globe was 2 metal halves, with an approximation of globe markings.
–Paul E Musselman
John Saxon did in fact play the robot in The Six Million Dollar Man and his face is modeled onto Maskatron. Adam was thinking of Saxon again when he mentioned Enter the Dragon because he did appear in that too.
Trivia John Saxon’s robot was the first time anybody got “the bionic sound”. For most of the first two seasons, Steve Austin didn’t make that sound: only Saxon’s robot did (although Austin’s eye always made the “eye” sound).
As for Michael Ironside, I’ll show my age (really close to Adam) and say that for me, he’ll always be the leader of the Scanners.
Found this pic. of the Earth Path Indicator.
https://books.google.com/books?id=Qd8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=Project+Mercury+Earth+Path+Indicator&source=bl&ots=YEhHHKvcdW&sig=tqLwSZHfQVaodrVsVfZOLLiro0Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifypmhrJ3MAhXBMz4KHaK4Ao4Q6AEIPTAH#v=onepage&q=Project%20Mercury%20Earth%20Path%20Indicator&f=false
Earlier version. It does show the clockwork.
I also found this on controlling mercury capsules.
http://web.mit.edu/digitalapollo/Documents/Chapter4/manualcontrol.pdf
Cool Story Bro: I was a child actor in a movie with Michael Ironside. To me he sounds like a great guy when listening to his Nerdist podcast, but I remember him being pretty grumpy on set.
Hey, I don’t want to insult your knowledge. But this video from youtube begs to differ about your theory, that the rocket motor at minimum throttle is still outputting twice the thrust required to lift the rocket. If you were correct, the rocket would not be able to descend in this video with the motor running as you can plainly see that it is. One aspect where you may potentially be correct is that the rocket in this video was carrying much much more fuel that what the Falcon 9 has when it returns to earth after a space launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwwS4YOTbbw
I can’t edit my own post…
I just wanted to say that it appears we’re both right. Most of the time it has to hoverslam (aka. suicide burn). Sometimes it has enough fuel remaining that it could probably ‘hover’ or descent gradually to the pad. The F9R test that I linked to, it must have been heavily laden to allow such a test. Anyway, it’s all really cool stuff.
Love Michael Ironside. Grew up with someone that claimed she was related to him.
As for his film festival –
Scanners
Top Gun
Total Recall
Highlander 2
Free Willy ( for sag)
The Next Karate Kid
Starship Troopers
Children of the Corn : Revelation
Terminator Salvation
and maybe some of the more recent movies. Sure some people have better ideas.
Also wish I still had my 6 million dollar man action toy – look through eye and peel-able skin with removable bionics.
The F16 and the Mig 29 are the most beautiful airplanes ever made.
Proposed John Saxon film festival
A Nightmare on Elm Street – indisputably a horror classic.
Black Christmas – the Canadian slasher film that inspired John Carpenter to make Halloween.
Enter The Dragon – Bruce Lee’s finest film and Saxon’s opportunity to show off his own martial arts skills.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much – the classic Bava thriller that features Rome itself as a character.
Tenebrae – one of Dario Argento’s very best films.
Battle Beyond the Stars – one of Roger Corman’s Star Wars rip-offs that’s WAY better than the official prequels.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much had an amazing trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHzhCEeq6bM
If you want to watch Saxon in television appearances, he’s one of those “he’s been in everything” people:
The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Bonanza, Dynasty, CSI, Vega$, Kung Fu, Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch, Wonderwoman, Quincy, Magnum PI, Fantasy Island, Melrose Place, Murder She Wrote.
I had the pleasure of meeting Saxon a few years ago at a convention and he stands out as one of the nicest actors I’ve met. He was just a regular guy. He didn’t think it was fair to charge people for autographs so while other people with a quarter of his resume were asking for $20 a signature, he would sign anything without asking for any compensation. He’s retired from public life now, but he deserves more recognition than he gets.
Falcon 9 rocket was specifically designed so that they can be transported on trucks on US road system. SpaceX has a dedicated team that does this apparently. Elon mentioned the design feature while speaking in Texas House Appropiations meeting on 3/8/2013.
He did mention Falcon Heavy may need to be manufactured nearer to launch site.
Search on YouTube “Elon house appropriations Texas”. 15 min long.
Another fun fact mentioned at end of the video.
Agreed. Just may be hard to dig up now. Though theoretically it could be replaced with a small motor and the wind knob could be a switch. At least to test the system.
I’m sure Adam knows about Airliner.net and jetphotos.net for cockpit views.
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?aircraft_genericsearch=&airlinesearch=&countrysearch=&specialsearch=cockpit&daterange=&keywords=&range=&sort_order=photo_id+desc&page_limit=120&thumbnails=
Was in Nagasaki recently and came across a comic store filled with aisles and aisles of Anime magazines and books. I found a magazine called Japan Hobby and have attached a review of this great magazine with fantastic content :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeNylo_QxQM
Falcon stands upright on its own until a crew comes in and welds it to the deck using steel shoes for the trip home.
http://www.popsci.com/what-happens-after-you-land-rocket-on-drone-ship
Someone at Empire must have watched this podcast and ……
http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/80s-heroes-michael-ironside/
Apparently he’s a dove not a teddy bear. Whodathought!