Nice build.  I too like the looks of these battle suits.  Thanks for sharing.

Your welcome, and thank you in turn.

I'm kind of proud of this little guy - he's won me some nice awards, and people who see it in person seem to "get" the off balance thing. It's fun watching people look at it and then lean to the left.

Who knew a sci-fi mech could inspire empathy?

Very nice finish!  And I like the base as well, all around a great display.

Gotta love MaK

.....dont make me finish my RAPTOR!!!!!!!

I love the base...vey well executed!

ponch

Very nice finish!  And I like the base as well, all around a great display.

Gotta love MaK

Thank you,very kind. I do love me some MaK too.

Ti4019

.....dont make me finish my RAPTOR!!!!!!!

I love the base...vey well executed!

Oh yeah? Well I double dog DARE ya to finish it!

(What is it?)

Thanks for the kind words.

Wow, very cool Cosmic J. I really love the way you faded the paint to give a used look to her.

I wish the MK stuff was a little cheaper, I'd love to pick some up. Hoping when the new Hasegawa marketed kits are out for awhile retailers will start putting some of them on sale.

Gamera

Wow, very cool Cosmic J. I really love the way you faded the paint to give a used look to her.

Thank you sir, and thanks for noticing. There's actually about 10 different colors on the model, high-lights and shadows of every shade - even the striping is post shaded/highlighted.

It;s kind of a tradition to weather the heck out of MaKs, but I really prefer them clean, so I have to find other ways to suggest wear and tear. You can't really see it in the photos, but I also played w/ the reflectivity of the paint on the kit. Some areas are worn to a satin sheen,  and others have a dull matte finish. I got the idea from looking at  pictures of tanks in WWII - much more than chipped paint, they have worn areas that get slightly shiny w/ wear, so I tried it here.

I wish the MK stuff was a little cheaper, I'd love to pick some up. Hoping when the new Hasegawa marketed kits are out for awhile retailers will start putting some of them on sale.

Agreed. Some of the new kits are in the $75 to $100 range, which is more than I can afford. I'd love to build that Lunadiver, but it costs the same as my monthly electric bill...

Very cool, and I like your clean finish, because you're right, everyone weathers 'em like crazy.

I just watched Scott Girvan's (Scale Model Addict) videos last night, in which he's building a Melusine suit, and I'm getting the bug to plunge into MaK kits, I think.  Great opportunity for scratching and for playing with painting techniques.  Plus, they remind me of so many anime stories, too.

Well done!

Brad

Now you did it Cosmic J, your build impressed me sooo much, I purchased a Ma.K 1/20 S.A.F.S. or  the Super Armored Fighting Suit.  Just got to give one of these a try after seeing yours.  As if I did not have my hands full enough w/Gundams

Wow!

You really went the extra mile with the paint, the base, the decals... and I'm sure you took your time with the photos.

I rrally like the look of these kits going to have to get some

And you did an awsome job on it

Thanks for the feedback guys, I’m feelin’ the love!

@ the Baron: I just watched that video too!

 I’d really like one of those Mels (love the design) but I already have the Gustav and the Konrad, and Mel is just the Gustav w/ a new sprue of hull parts. For the price, I just can’t talk myself into it. If it was like $25, I’d be all over it, but $40 is too much.

Thanks for the compliment.

@ Gunpla Master: Heh! Well, I can’t take all the credit, the design aesthetics of the Maks are pretty compelling all by themselves. Welcome to the madness.

The SAFS was my first Mak too. That kit hasn’t survived over the years, but I liked it a lot. Did you get the Wave version, or the Nitto? If you got the Wave kit, I love to see a build thread if you feel like it. I’m interested in the differences between them.

@ Steel Snail: Thank you sir. I did obsess on this little guy for a while, but now I’m just glad he’s done.

The photography is the thing I’m worst at, I think. I couldn’t figure out how to photograph this model. It has this bulky/graceful look to it in real life that the pictures don’t catch. I tried, but it just doesn’t translate. I’m glad you liked it though.

Thanks all.

SLW 45

I rrally like the look of these kits going to have to get some

And you did an awsome job on it

Thank you, sir.  Very kind.

Please buy away. The more kits we buy, the more they'll make, and I do like me some Mak!

Your wish shall be my command.  I will admit I will build the Mk II suit first.  I would like to see a build thread from you as well from start to finish w/all the goodies you do and add to complete.

LoL! Fair enough. you got to give me a little time though, i got other kits lined up first, and I'm kind of a slow builder. I will see what I can do though.

I did my part today, ordered from Starship Modeler.com the following (Wave) Ma.K. kits.  1>Krote,  1>AFS MkII,  1>Snake Eye and last but not cheap,  1>Melusine.  Question?  I have already received some snake chain from mechaskunk, ordered more of them, some lit thruster bells and a decal set, but you mention Kotobukia/Modeling, when I went there I was unable to figure where to find the items you mentioned in the build, ie: white metal hand.  Please help.

Awesome! The body/head on the Krote is a little tricky, but it otherwise builds up awesome. It's also easy to rig for lighting, if you want to go that route.

I order lots of model detail stuff from HLJ. On their Sci-Fi page, go to the left side, and click on the Item Type box, and scroll down to Option Kits - they have a TON of stuff in there.

I'm not a fan of Snake Chain, it looks too much like a woman's necklace to me. I use Kotobukia's Spring Units - the 1mm for arm mounted power cables, and the 3mm for the leg cables. They're cheap, so you can get a bunch of different sizes and then decide what you'd like best.

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYMS02

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYMS06

The white metal hands are long out of production, but these are an inexpensive option:

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYMB-27

http://www.hlj.com/product/KBYMB-32

I've used them, and they look just as good. With the Ma.Ks you bought, the hands in the kit are good enough that they shouldn't need replacing (the Fliege and the Kauz have terrible hands in the kit). If you decide to change them, 1/144 scale manipulators are sized about right. The 1/100s might look too big.

If you want to get really fancy, you can cut the individual fingers apart at the joints, drill holes through them lengthwise, run some wire or brass rod through them and position the hand any way you want.

Thanks for the info and the idea about cutting the hand apart and running wire thru the joints in just up my alley.  So the springs work better than the snake chain, ok I will look @ that as well.  Do you run wire thru too hold the shape you want?  Lucked up tonight and while surfing thru eBay ran across a kit I wanted when it 1st came out but was way cheaper than what I paid f/tonight.  Nitto not Wave, 1/20th SF3D Hornisse with MFS.  Factory sealed.  I like this kit very much and can not wait to get it.  Spent most of this evening on the maschinenkrueger.com forum reading every thread that caught my eye concerning the building of these most wonder little kits.  I am having a blast with this stuff.  When they 1st came out I thought they were a series of models that was set in a time of WWII still going in the future.  That is not the case and @ this site you will learn just what where and when this takes place.  Interesting reading to say the least.  Looking forward to another build from U

You're welcome. I do run brass wire through the springs to get them to retain their shape and position. I also drill the connection points real deep. That way I can adjust their depth to get the most natural looking position, instead of trying to get the short end of the spring bent in the correct fashion.

Hornisse is cool. I built the Fledermaus a few years back, they are very similar. Again, there's a thread arounf here somewhere...

Yeah, lots of people make that WWII mistake when first seeing them. it's the dirty, retro design ethic that's confusing, I think. Plus, Kow used a lot of decals from old Luftwaffe kits.

I don't normally pimp other people's websites on this forum, but yeah, maschinenkrueger.com totally rocks!

Took your advice, went to HobbyLink and ordered some of the different size springs and a 20 pf of the paint clips.  great site for building material.  For anyone interested, HobbyLink.com is the bomb.

Wonderful.....:)

Guney

Wonderful.....:)

Thank you sir, very kind.