metal earth models

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Pappy

old man, lovin' life
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had a michaels' 40% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket so, on a lark, i just picked up this flat little metal model package. upon opening, i was blown away at the precision and detail of this thing. checked out their website, and... dang. the dude abides. (pic is from their site, not my work).

0002503_apollo-csm-with-lm_1200.png

www.metalearth.com

(note: this set me back 11 bucks)
 
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I've built a few, and I think they make perfect rear-view mirror ornaments. Mine is currently...a Spitfire (shocking, I know). :)
 
Pretty sure techs related to PCB printing, laser, or photo etching are involved here.

I got me a model with an “Eduard” photo etched parts upgrade and some parts are so small an evening of work seems to get me nowhere.
 
finished my apollo csm with lm model. so much fun. broke a couple pieces feeling out the tiny little metal bending mojo, which i expected and don't really care about, but upon contacting the metal earth folks to throw them some love and ideas, they told me they replace busted stuff for free. and they ship free! i love this stuff... next up; mars perseverance rover and ingenuity drone.

richard branson and robot model b-9 scrutinizing...
20210911_121203.jpg20210911_121233.jpg20210911_121254.jpg20210911_121348.jpg
 
Fun! Just ordered a few for my daughter and myself. She built a couple of them a while back (grand piano and drum kit) - forgot how cool they were.
 
A lot of the Premium line looks really good to me. I'll probably pick up the Razor Crest or the Millenium Falcon at some point. And the full stack Space Shuttle looks great too.

It is somewhat amazing to me how many different models they have. They must really have an efficient design process, and I guess once initial design is done it's not hard to keep them in production and/or stock.

It looks like a lot of the kits are now "full color". How do they do this, are the metal sheets screen printed or something? All the one's I've built so far have been bare metal.
 
I'll probably pick up the Razor Crest or the Millenium Falcon at some point. And the full stack Space Shuttle looks great too.

i'm waiting on the perserverence/ingenuity kit... and the tv show batmobile!! so freaking cool. i threw the idea at them to do a line of old estes kits. how cool would that be? they license everything else, seems like.
 
It looks like a lot of the kits are now "full color". How do they do this, are the metal sheets screen printed or something? All the one's I've built so far have been bare metal.

just got the perseverance kit, which has many colored pieces. just a guess, but i think they inkjet the sheets then flash heat them, like pottery glaze. or maybe they use UV instead of heat.
 
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just got the perseverance kit, which has many colored pieces. just a guess, but i think they inkjet the sheets then flash heat them, like pottery glaze. or maybe they use UV instead of heat.
Could you upload a picture of the sheets? Or just one of the colored sheets. I’m very curious.
 
bought a little set of tools specifically made for these types of constructions, some of which are game changing. the long metal dowel with tapered end is simple perfection. has a little slot at the both ends, the small end makes manipulating the little tabs a breeze, and the fat end is great for flattening tabs and bending longer sections. the small dowels use in series for precise curves. the pliers i got (not pictured) are just okay. the small purple handle set are better. i think they're jewelry pliers. this stuff is all over amazon and ebay.20210914_094102.jpg
 
bought a little set of tools specifically made for these types of constructions, some of which are game changing. the long metal dowel with tapered end is simple perfection. has a little slot at the both ends, the small end makes manipulating the little tabs a breeze, and the fat end is great for flattening tabs and bending longer sections. the small dowels use in series for precise curves. the pliers i got (not pictured) are just okay. the small purple handle set are better. i think they're jewelry pliers. this stuff is all over amazon and ebay.View attachment 481755
find some marbles for rounded things...or those fondant balls sticks. I've often found odd things that help..the back of a spoon, a thimble, macramé needles...even used the base of a stapler for something once
 
Whiteboard magnets like this...
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...are monstrously useful for picking up pieces, at least for those that are magnetic (my gold C-3PO was not, and it was really annoying).

Flush cutters are an obvious necessity, along with extremely fine jewelry pliers.

Jump ring mandrels are very useful, I have these: https://www.hobbylobby.com/Beads-Je...welry-Making-Tools/Jump-Ring-Mandrels/p/12045

Finally: to go along with the whiteboard magnets, a small plastic bin with a magnetic sheet covering the bottom is great for storage and for spreading out cut parts while working. The magnet keeps things from moving around, and the whiteboard magnets are much stronger and easily plug pieces off the sheet.

Finally: a good magnifier!
 
bought a little set of tools specifically made for these types of constructions, some of which are game changing. the long metal dowel with tapered end is simple perfection. has a little slot at the both ends, the small end makes manipulating the little tabs a breeze, and the fat end is great for flattening tabs and bending longer sections. the small dowels use in series for precise curves. the pliers i got (not pictured) are just okay. the small purple handle set are better. i think they're jewelry pliers. this stuff is all over amazon and ebay.View attachment 481755

Thanks for posting that pic. It gives me a good idea of the size of the model pieces. #teenytiny
 
finally finished. a bit sloppy but i'm starting to get the hang. this one is a ball buster. lost my s* on one piece. called it the c word. not recommended if your mmu points are all used up. next up... batmobile!

the testors is just there for scale.20210920_222028.jpg20210920_222424.jpg20210920_222117.jpg
 
Definitely start with an easier one and work your way up. They can be frustrating but the end result is often amazing.

The results are very cool.

I've got to make a fillet puller with a 3' extension for now. It's going to look a lot like a fondant tool taped to a dowel.
 
incredible, but my messed up hands could never do this detail work. I'd like to get my 10 year old grandson one for xmas.
 
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