Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Greetings,

I am posting regarding your inquiry for vehicles proudly produced by Thor's Mechworks. I am building them on a build to order basis, currently the wait time is about 1-2 weeks. Prices do not include shipping from the 65745 zip code. Be aware that I try to keep the shipping as low as possible. Additionally, the models are significantly lighter than cast resin models further reducing shipping costs.

Here is the current list of items produced:
Obliterator Tank    $60
Engineor Mech      $70
Bunyip Mech         $80
Winchester Mech   $90
Mjölnir Mech     $100
Yumi Mech     $100
Creeper Mech        $110

Obliterator Tank - This tank is big. It can demolish anything in it's way.
Length: 19cm (7 1/2")
Width: 15cm (6")
Hull Height: 3.5cm (1 3/8")
Overall Height: 7cm (2 3/4")
Engineor Mech - Jenner was originally an occupational surname for someone who was a military engineer.[1] It comes from the Middle English version of the Old French word “engineor,” which meant “contriver” or “cunning.” The Engineor stands about 13cm.

Bunyip Mech - Fun fact:In Australia, a common name for the cicada is the Brown Bunyip. The overall height of this mech is around 14cm (5 1/2"), depending on how you pose the legs.

Winchester Mech - The Winchester is like a rifle, man... I got nothin. 20cm to the top of the radar array.

Mjölnir Mech - Mjölnir was the war hammer of Thor. 21.5cm to the top of the torso. 25cm to the top of the rocket pod.

Yumi Mech - The yumi was a Japanese longbow for samurai. 19.5cm to the top of the torso. 24cm to the top of the sensor pod.

Creeper Mech - This guy likes to stalk around the battlefield. Like a stalker. The overall height is around 24.5cm (9 5/8"), depending on how you pose the legs.

You can see some awesome pictures of the mechs on these websites:
About the ABS materlial:

All models are printed from ABS plastic and partially assembled for surfacing and posing purposes and they are all almost fully articulated (the Bunyip has one joint that has to be glued). You can assemble the model, pose it, move it around, make it dance, etc. without gluing it.

The ABS material that is used to construct the models is the same kind of common plastic that milk jugs, model kits, plastic forks, etc. are made from. It is very light and quite durable. The printing process is a lot like decorating a cake. The printer heats up the plastic in an extruder and squirts it down in very small layers (about 0.2 mm). The final product has a grain a lot like wood. With the grain is very strong and flexible but when stressed against the grain the layers can separate. Luckily, fractured pieces glue back together very easily with a little super glue, usually without any noticeable breaks at all. The separations don't tend to happen all at once so they are easy to catch, glue and clamp together for drying before significant damage occurs. Also, if absolute disaster strikes I can print off individual pieces and send them out, generally free of charge.
You have to be careful when using a hobby knife and cutting with the grain of the material. I have slipped and sliced my fingers a couple of times this way as it take far less pressure to cut with the layers than against them.
The pieces are printed in a way that they have exterior layers and a hexagonal infill of about %15 so the pieces are not solid all the way through. This cuts down the weight and material usage. A problem with this method happens when big drill bits are used on the surface layer. When using a large bit (1/4" plus) in a low RPM power tool such as a cordless drill, the bit tends to grab and tear at the outer walls. A dremmel works much better as the higher RPMs and smaller bits alleviate the problems of the bit grabbing and tearing at the plastic. It is still possible to drill the pieces with a larger bit and slower tool, but you will want to start with a small diameter drill bit and work your way up in sizes to the desired diameter.

The ABS plastic has a slight lined texture from the printing process but this can be remedied with some primer and a little sanding. It is much lighter than cast resin and is more durable in almost all respects. When it does fracture it tends to be along the grain, but this is easily fixed with a dab of superglue.

You can smooth out the texture in two ways.

1. Acetone - Acetone on a paper towel will smooth the surface out. Just remember that acetone melts the ABS so don't dump it in a vat of it or it will turn into goo.

2. Sanding - This is your fairly straightforward method of working down from a large to small grit sandpaper. It also helps if you sand, prime, then sand again as the primer, then prime again. This helps fill in the gaps with primer.


If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.


Thor.

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