Here's a kit I would have loved to have

I have one sitting on my shelf with a scratch built cockpit and one missile launcher empty.  I have it in Clan Blood Spirit decals and it is impressive.  You have to fill the legs with plaster to give it weight so it can stand.  The decals I got from Fighting Pirannha Decals.  They make decals for all factions in the battletech universe and if requested you can get a set in the a larger size suitable for models.  These decals are put on a single sheet and would have to be cut seperately but they are this and of very good quality.  I have used them on occasions for custom work.

I built that thing years ago. I remember slicing into a finger before learning to heat the vinyl. It took HOURS with a hair dryer to correct the warpage. I remember thinking what a pain in the heat sink it was, and never did another vinyl kit again. I still have it sitting in a shed. It was such a tragedy no one ever made a real cockpit for it (aftermarket).

QUOTE: Originally posted by maxx1969 Back when I was building vinyl kits I remember seeing that one. It is one nice kit thats for sure.

Large vinyl mecha kits are a NIGHTMARE. It's one thing to build a vinyl monster or Star Wars character because any minor warpage or surface fluctuations look kind of natural. But for mecha, the eye picks up the tiniest discrepency right away and the model looks like hell. I have a couple MOONLIGHT SY-3 Kaiyodo vinyl kits and had to cut off and rebuild almost every part with styrene. I also have the Kaiyodo ATRAGON (glutton for punishment, I guess) which isn't quite as big as the SY-3, but the minor warp in the deck is impossible to get out and it's very discouraging. Yes, you can heat the vinyl, reposition it, cool it, fill it with plaster,and all sorts of trickery, but mecha model building is not as forgiving as figure or monster building... Why they did this in vinyl instead of hollow-cast resin I'll never understand...

Here's the site of armorcast: http://armorcast.com/
One day I'll order the madcat. I never played the battletech table top game, but read some books and played through a couple of Mechwarrior pcgames, and always loved "the cat".

Wow i remember that when it was in the sale at £15, i wish i got it now

I agree it wasn't worth $200+, but you know how some folks get on eBay. Strap on those "value blinders" and off they go!

I'll have to look around for those Armorcast kits you've mentioned...

I got that kit sitting somewhere in the pile, got it from a friend as a present.

Mine has got quiet a bit of warpage, 1 broken leg and the decals are yellowed.
Actually thinking of making a mold of the front body area and redoing it in resin/solid material(Balsafoam for a master) with a scratchbuild cockpit.

Said that I don't think that the kit is worth USD 200+, rather go for the smaller resin Armorcast kit.

I got both the armorcast MadCat and Vulture(damaged during a move) but those kits, IMHO, are superior to the Horizon offering.
Those build into nice models and are still a good size and well detailed as they got quiet a few white metal parts..

Same way that the "BEST" ED-209(OOTB) is the old argonauts kit, of which I unfortunately ended up with a recast(another present) prior to getting the real deal.

Back when I was building vinyl kits I remember seeing that one. It is one nice kit thats for sure.