173 replies to this topic

[grimmace]

Absolutely fantastic! With the VF-1S head that will be great. Another person wondering if this will be available and at what price.

[kyekye]

Looks Awesome!! This is like a grand scale playground for detailing fun!!

[mslz22]

Thanks everyone, just a quick update 90% of the molds are done, all the big stuff. I got a little hung up on the canopy frame, but i think i have that figured out. I hope to have all the last little bits molded up over the next week, then the WF test shot build....
mike

[Myersjessee]

Man...wish I could make it to WF this year. Have fun Mike!

[peter]

I think this kit takes the title of most awesome macross model ever....well, it's pretty damn close to the 1/2000 scale SDF and the Club-M 1/48.......

.......Strike pack in the works?

[Valkyrie]

Can't wait to see this at WF! Hope I'll be able to afford one!

[Neova]

effing amazing!

[mslz22]

Update, i finally figured out the canopy and frame, once i get another gloss coat or 2 on i will take a pic, hopefully that is the last big hurdle....I have a few projects all converging on me at once right now with WF on the way, but i hope to have castings of all the major stuff this weekend....
thanks
mike

[HWR MKII]

Just like the old NIN song says..."Something i can never have..."

[mslz22]

Getting on with some test casting...canopy and frame are in a mold today, after that i can get on with the last of the mold making and get going on a test build. I hope to have some test decals late next week....The wings are a different color because they are cast in HDP
thanks
mike

[Myersjessee]

You rock Mike! Please sign me up for one of these. Ill bring some blood and a kidney to lunch.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

This is fantastic mike!

[jardann]

Oooooh Boy! Looking fantastic!

[mslz22]

Getting started, i am going to try to document the test build as good as i can and hope that it will serve as a guide for assembly. I am doing this in no particular order, just what i am getting to as parts come out of the molds etc. First up for me was to work on the intake. I wanted to keep the intake fan detail a separate part, but as the kit evolved i was not able to. The work around was that i painted the fan gun metal, made a little paint mask out of a scrap of styrene, glued a stick holder to that mask, then shot the intake with black. The result is what you see here. The intake cover and the center piece of the intake fan are cast separately and will be easy to paint. People may have another take on doing the intakes, but i usually do gunmetal for the fan and cover and flat black all around, eventually will get some blending and weathering with the white....
mike

Edited by mslz22, 29 March 2011 - 03:03 PM.

[mslz22]

Sorry for the weird pic, it's a tough angle to get close up...This is whole assembly that can be prepainted before attaching to the body...

[mslz22]

One of the things that have always driven me a bit nuts about other vf kits, was the mold split right down the middle of the legs... I have an original 1/48 club m and even that has a terrible fit there. I made the legs so that the middle has no seam, pushing it all the way to the edge. More than making the seam work easier, i think it helps the fit. The top and the bottom of the legs still may go a bit out during casting/demold, but the outer leg half is stable, pulling everything back on glue up. To do this I elastic banded the parts together, got them aligned the way i wanted, then put CA glue on the inside seam. The capillary action brings the glue thru the seams. The parts can be aligned using the panel lines, but you should kind of "click" together since i used the squish method with apoxie sculpt when forming the joint. The legs are made so that you can put the feet on after all the painting is done, these also slide onto the mid leg, allowing it to be painted separately. Also seen here is the feet detail, I pre painted the parts as seen here and assembled them later. Also first test shot of the canopy, will be cast in clear for the kit, this is just the test.
thanks
mike

[big F]

I'm loving this thread, you should put up some pictures with Hasegawa 1/72 parts to show just how enormous this thing really is.

Next some one needs to do a 1/6 scale Valk cockpit so I can have a GI Joe in A Macross flight suit and some Uber details

[HWR MKII]

Yeah im going to stop watching this thread now. Its just personal punishment for me right now.

[Flakpanzer]

Really nice, You will sell copies of this isn’t it?

Regards,
Flak

[mslz22]

As long as i am happy with the results...this will be a kit...

Anyway, getting on with some painting and masking, here you can see the suggested position for the leg stripes. I am trying to do this one as a quick test shot, one of the short cuts i was trying to take was to use a semi-gloss white for the paint, eliminating the need for a gloss coat for decals....If i had it to do over again i would have stuck with flat paint and gloss coat before decals...to late now, next build will be a more pro paint up....
thanks
mike

[mslz22]

More masking suggestions, the kite decals will have a white backing but it is still a good idea to mask off the black where it will go. I masked the back of the fuselage first and then the nose area, the nose area was a bit more of a pain but overall not bad. Made a quick temp stand to help with assembly...
thanks
mike

[mslz22]

Skipping ahead on instructions to show off a little bit of the test build. This is really the first time i have been able to see it almost all together. Legs are still dipping down a bit because they are not glued in. pic with a 1/48 kit to show off the size...lots of little paint touch ups will be done, i am doing this at break neck speed...
thanks
mike

[big F]

Wow!!

[peter]

That tiny thing next to it is a 1/48??? Holy crap...

[big F]

That tiny thing next to it is a 1/48??? Holy crap...

LOL just think how silly a 1/72 would look next to it

[ahiachris]

LOL just think how silly a 1/72 would look next to it

Indeed it's a big one. I have a few 1/144 and 1/200. I think I can even launch my 1/400s on it.

[peter]

It would be nice to see that monster parked next to some of my 1/24 scale car models.

There was a CM's toy that came out a few years ago, just the cross section of the VF-1 cockpit with either Hikaru or Roy...what scale was that?

[grimmace]

That is awesome indeed. Will it have landing gear?

[Smegalot]

It looks great. I can not wait to see the end product.

And will it be a kit?

[big F]

It would be nice to see that monster parked next to some of my 1/24 scale car models.

There was a CM's toy that came out a few years ago, just the cross section of the VF-1 cockpit with either Hikaru or Roy...what scale was that?

The Roy Figure is smaller than a Starwars figure and they are about 1/18 scale IIRC so got to be getting on for 1/20

[mslz22]

Pilot is almost done....just a few tiny parts to mold and i can finish up the test build....
thanks
mike

[hirohawa]

I can't believe how fast this came together.

Great work!

[505thAirborne]

Epic!!

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Epiccccccc... Want.

[HWR MKII]

Where are the monster decals..?

Edited by HWR MKII, 15 April 2011 - 03:49 PM.