Are Japanese Sci-fi Modellers the Best in the World?

I guess I can't definitively answer that, but I will emphatically say that Japanese science fiction model makers are fearless and imaginative, routinely producing work that is some of the most jaw-droppingly bonkers stuff I have ever seen. I'm not talking about Gundam or Anime kits.

I'm talking about scratch building stuff like this:

Or this:

Based on the American sci-fi modeling forums that I visit, most people seem perfectly content to all build the same Star Wars or Star Trek kits over and over. Occasionally, someone will post a fantastic kit-bashed original design and get a fairly lukewarm reception when compared to the reaction that a bog-standard build of a common Star Wars kit will get. I find it quite curious. There is, of course, nothing wrong with enjoying building popular kits.  I'm just surprised that more people aren't excited by the creativity and skill that is usually expressed in these original designs.

Meanwhile, over in Japan:

    Here's a closer look:

Whatever it is, it would seem that the Japanese modelling community embraces experimentation in both technique and subject matter, which of course promotes risk taking on the part of the modeler.

Here's a few more:

Vacuum Former

I found a Corning Electomatic Table Range (circa 1974) in working condition

at a local thrift store for $6 dollars. I had been planning to build a small self-contained

vacuum forming machine for a couple months prior, but was unsure what I would use as a heat

source. This thing heats to 500 F (260 C) and it heats very evenly across the glass/ceramic top.

A week or so later, I got this vacuum motor from Ebay. I housed it in a simple box built from 3/4 MDF. The Table Range was mounted above on an aluminum frame.

The platen was a square frame from MDF with a sheet of drilled aluminum bonded to the top.

A hinged frame was constructed from aluminum, to clamp the plastic sheet during heating. Some high temperature silicone gasket material ensures a good seal around the plastic. The frame is held just below the heater with some cabinet magnets. An on-off-on switch that is rated for high current, switches between the heater and the vacuum. The frame is designed to hold a 12" square of plastic (30.5cm). I have successfully formed plastic as thick as .0625" (1.6mm).

Welcome

Hello and thanks for visiting.
2020: Styrene Warriors is a visual diary documenting my continued efforts at science fiction model making, with a occasional foray into thoughts about tools or the hobby in general.
The name is a playful reference to the movies, 1990: Bronx Warriors, and Space Warriors 2000.