Metal Earth

[Mushtang]

Anyone here built any of the Metal Earth models? I picked up one today but haven't opened it yet. Online reviews say the Lunar Lander is fairly difficult so I may have to buy a few others that are easier to start on first. Here's a couple of pictures I Googled, not mine.

 

[markkoelsch]

That is cool. They appear really small- how tall is it?

 

[Nytrunner]

I love the Metal Earth figures. Great way to work out the near vision focus eye muscles.

Tips from assembling about a dozen different figures: I recommend needle nose pliers for the twist-lock steps, a quarter (knurled edge) for the fold-lock steps, and a healthy dose of patience. A sharpened wooden Pencil may be really helpful for rolling the cone/cylinder pieces around.

I think if you're a careful and conscientious rocket builder, you can probably handle this well enough too. The parts are just smaller.

Good luck and post pictures!

 

[mpitfield]

I built the Titanic and have a Star Wars something can't remember, in the package somewhere. The Titanic was pretty difficult to put together and took a lot of tweaking to get it right, but they are pretty cool once built. Did you use the twist tab or fold tab method? I used the twist tab and just left them.

 

[Nytrunner]

I built the Titanic and have a Star Wars something can't remember, in the package somewhere. The Titanic was pretty difficult to put together and took a lot of tweaking to get it right, but they are pretty cool once built. Did you use the twist tab or fold tab method? I used the twist tab and just left them.

Can't remember previous builds, but the set of WWII tanks I made last call out twist/fold depending on location and aesthetics. If it's exterior, they'll probably call out fold.

If I hadn't discovered the quarter-edge trick, I'd be pretty tempted to leave them twisted too lol

(wait a sec.....do Canadian coins have knurls? 0_0)

 

[EXPjawa]

The junior engineer that I have to keep track of has a couple of these on his desk, a P-51 and an M1A1. I had to tell him that he put the Mustang's wings on backwards... I'll have to look for that LM, that's pretty cool.

 

[mpitfield]

I had to tell him that he put the Mustang's wings on backwards.

Calling him a Jr. eases my anxiety a bit seeing as I could be driving around with some of your hardware one day.

 

[Planecrazy]

I have built the Wright Flyer as a starter, even that was challenging. I did have the LM but messed it up.

You have nearly inspired me to have another go at it. I also have the B-17, that looks like a serious mission

 

[Woody's Workshop]

I Binged the Metal Earth Models, but I didn't get a web site for them, just Amazon, Ebay and other vendors.
If they have a web site, please list it.
Thanks
I'll be back later today, have to get ready to go for my back injection this morning.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

I Binged the Metal Earth Models, but I didn't get a web site for them, just Amazon, Ebay and other vendors.
If they have a web site, please list it.
Thanks
I'll be back later today, have to get ready to go for my back injection this morning.

Hmmm... shows up on google.

https://www.fascinations.com/metalearth

 

[neil_w]

Can't remember previous builds, but the set of WWII tanks I made last call out twist/fold depending on location and aesthetics. If it's exterior, they'll probably call out fold.

If I hadn't discovered the quarter-edge trick, I'd be pretty tempted to leave them twisted too lol

(wait a sec.....do Canadian coins have knurls? 0_0)

Until you mentioned Canadian coins I literally had no idea what you meant by "quarter (knurled edge)". I was trying to think of what sort of tool you could be referring to that I had never heard of before.

I have an R2-D2 kit waiting for assembly. I have to say, the Metal Earth kits are marvels of design.

 

[Nytrunner]

Until you mentioned Canadian coins I literally had no idea what you meant by "quarter (knurled edge)". I was trying to think of what sort of tool you could be referring to that I had never heard of before.

I have an R2-D2 kit waiting for assembly. I have to say, the Metal Earth kits are marvels of design.

The laser cut steel sheets certainly are a lot nicer than varying balsa thicknesses.


Whaat? You mean you don't have a 1/4 edge-knurler? What kind of a modeler are you!? :lol:

 

[Woody's Workshop]

Thank You Kindly SB
I use Bing to accumulate points for MS.
Someday I might even use them for something.

As for the folding along those pieces, a straight edge and solid wheel would work better.
Something like those screen installing wheels. Get a nice straight fold started that way.
I wonder if they make a modelers break?

 

[Nytrunner]

As for the folding along those pieces, a straight edge and solid wheel would work better.
Something like those screen installing wheels. Get a nice straight fold started that way.
I wonder if they make a modelers break?

That's a great idea for the long folds. There were a bunch of those in the WWII tank pack. I made do with the edge of my needlenose pliers for lack of a better method at the time.

The fold-lock I was referring to was for the little tabs that hold the pieces together. A quarter catches the tab nicely and rolls it down flat where its supposed to go.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

As for the folding along those pieces, a straight edge and solid wheel would work better.
Something like those screen installing wheels. Get a nice straight fold started that way.
I wonder if they make a modelers break?

I wonder if something like a rolling pizza cutter might work (dulled so it doesn't actually cut). You can make a small break using a couple of pieces of angle iron. You can just use them "freehand", or you can bolt/weld hinges on them. Works for cardstock, too.

 

[vcp]

The junior engineer that I have to keep track of has a couple of these on his desk, a P-51 and an M1A1. I had to tell him that he put the Mustang's wings on backwards... I'll have to look for that LM, that's pretty cool.

IIRC the instructions show the wings on backwards.

 

[vcp]

FWIW most of these are really cheap on Aliexpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=SB_20170710133416&SearchText=metal+models

 

[EXPjawa]

Calling him a Jr. eases my anxiety a bit seeing as I could be driving around with some of your hardware one day.

Ah, well, the Quattro isn't mine specifically since its handled by a different group, assuming that's what you mean. You'd have to buy a Ford to get some of my actual hardware, since that's the customer I mostly work with. Anyway, he's learning...

IIRC the instructions show the wings on backwards.

He said that the instructions didn't specify. I pointed out that, if somehow couldn't find a photo of a Mustang, that the stars/bars on the wing ought to give it away. He's a former military man, I'd think that ought to be instinctive...

 

[Nytrunner]

I wonder if something like a rolling pizza cutter might work (dulled so it doesn't actually cut). You can make a small break using a couple of pieces of angle iron. You can just use them "freehand", or you can bolt/weld hinges on them. Works for cardstock, too.

I'm.imagining anything made out.of angle iron being massively too large for these.

Maybe some.really.small angle-aluminum?



Edit: Yes yes, got to "Keep track of" those Jr Engineers. Never know what we'll start putting on our desks next.....

 

[goose_in_co]

Edit: Yes yes, got to "Keep track of" those Jr Engineers. Never know what we'll start putting on our desks next.....
View attachment 323774

And those senior engineers as well ...

 

[Nytrunner]

View attachment 323814

And those senior engineers as well ...

Blast, that reminds me I left my shuttle figure in Texas....

 

[Mushtang]

So I finished my first Metal Earth model - the Aluminum Falcon.



This was so much fun to build, I highly recommend these models.

I've got 4 other kits to build, when I ordered this one I also ordered a Space Shuttle, Lunar Lander, SR-71 Blackbird, Iron Man, and a set of tiny tools that are still nearly too big for these.

 

[Cl(VII)]

So I finished my first Metal Earth model - the Aluminum Falcon.

View attachment 323917View attachment 323916

This was so much fun to build, I highly recommend these models.

I've got 4 other kits to build, when I ordered this one I also ordered a Space Shuttle, Lunar Lander, SR-71 Blackbird, Iron Man, and a set of tiny tools that are still nearly too big for these.

Very nice. How long do you estimate that took you to finish?

 

[Mushtang]

Very nice. How long do you estimate that took you to finish?

Thanks. Start to finish I'd guess 3 hours. If I built another one right now it would definitely take less than 2.

 

[kyle]

I built the Imperial Star Destroyer over a long lunch one day. Slave 1 is next. These things are just plain fun.

 

[Mushtang]

I've completed the Millennium Falcon, Space Shuttle Discovery, and an SR-71 Blackbird. These things are the BEST.

Last night I sat down to work on the Lunar Lander (which started this thread) and it's just a whole 'nother level of difficult. There's pieces that have to be bent and formed into VERY specific angles and there's no way to know if you're right until you attempt to place it on and see that it doesn't fit. The metal is so thin that a few bend, unbend, bend, unbend, and it breaks off. So I broke a piece and will have to buy another kit to keep going.

Or maybe I'll start from the beginning, there's some things I know I could do better the second time.

This kit isn't marked as a difficult kit on the packaging, but the Iron Man kit is, and now I'm scared to even open it. I think I need more experience before trying that one.

 

[goose_in_co]

From my experience, they take about 1-3 hours per sheet, and difficulty.
You have seen the Shuttle, Hubble, Mars Rover, and Hayabusa satellite. At home I have the Wright Flyer, Gypsy Moth (plane), B-17, Spirit of St. Louis, Corsair, F22, F35, SR-71, Space Mountain, and the Batmobile. I have about a dozen more that need to be built. It's really nice to be able to finish one in less than a week of evenings. There are some lesser quality versions of these on eBay that have some models that you can't get here, that's an interesting rabbit-hole to go down.

I tried to keep to just the space and airplane models, but I saw the Disney ones...

Just a couple pics to keep the thread interesting.

 

[EXPjawa]

OK, so I have to ask - how long have these been around? I only just became aware of them a month or so ago, and then was surprised to see the variety offered when I was a Barnes & Noble recently. Now I see that it much more expansive than I'd guessed, so I'm assuming this is not something new?

 

[dhbarr]

Years.

 

[Mushtang]

OK, so I have to ask - how long have these been around? I only just became aware of them a month or so ago, and then was surprised to see the variety offered when I was a Barnes & Noble recently. Now I see that it much more expansive than I'd guessed, so I'm assuming this is not something new?

I'd only first heard about them a couple of years ago seeing them in the hobby shop while looking for rocket kits. A friend a work had me pick one up for her husband one day and she told me a little bit about them, but I only recently (see post #1) bought a kit and built one. I'm so hooked. Right now I'm halfway through the super difficult Iron Man (4 sheets).

Just now I tried to find out about the history of these kits, or the company Fascinations which produces them, and couldn't find much with Google. I'd like to know the story behind these things and would LOVE to see a documentary about the process of designing a kit.