magicsp00n

On mine, I had to separatate the foot thrusters further apart than the diagram shows in the instruction manual, but the legs are still connected to each other. Are you lowering the cockpit on the Beta? The text on the instructions doesn't include that step, but the picture indicates it, and your Alpha won't connect properly otherwise.

Well, I took the plunge and my Toynami Beta arrived today. For the curious, the Alpha/Beta fighter linkup definitely does not fit in a Detolf case. The Beta by itself in fighter mode might if you turn it diagonally.

So, who is concerned enough to contact their congressman?

We've seen them do this previously, with the VF-1S MPC. The initial run was quite a bit less than 15,000. A couple of years later they released another batch (much to the dismay of ebay sellers everywhere). I wouldn't be surprised to learn that more blue alphas are on the way. If I remember correctly, the first 5,000 of the blue alpha are supposed to be easily distinguishable by having a lighter blue color on the intakes. But I honestly don't know if I've seen one with a number above 5,000. Everybody knows that the toynami red/green/shadow alphas are still available on Robotech.com, right? It's just the blue that's sold out.

From other posts here, it looks like they can't help with lost parts, only replacing defective / broken parts. Hobby Link Japan is often able to sell individual parts (I got some 1/48 parts from them for a custom). Try sending an email to parts@hlj.com and tell them what you need.

I expect somebody around here will be offering recasts of that Japanese head once the toys are out, depending on exactly how it attaches to the neck. Which brings me to a question... I've seen a few photos of transformation, but does anybody know if you need to pop the head off to transform the Beagle, like you do on the MH and old IMAI kits?

http://www.chameleonproductsonline.com/ A local hobby shop may carry it, but I just ordered directly from the website. Ah, I hadn't noticed that. Nice catch, thanks.

Thanks for the responses, guys. Answers: The blue is Krylon Fusion Patriot Blue. The bits of red (like on the shoulders) is Krylon Fusion Red Pepper. The eye was painted silver, then airbrushed with Tamiya Transparent Green, with a coat of Future for a little more shine. It's prettier in person than in the photos. I don't plan on doing any panel lining; I'm going for more of a standard Yamato look with this one (which is why I stripped the old paint rather than paint over), and since the toys don't come panel-lined, this one won't be either. Stripping the paint was a pain... I tried pretty much everything suggested on these forums: Pine-Sol, Brasso, brake fluid, Chameleon... I think soaking it in Chameleon overnight works the best to loosen up the paint, then using a wooden toothpick to get the gunk out of the panel lines without marring the plastic.

There is a significant difference there, but I actually prefer the Toynami version. The bigger features seem more expressive. Plus, the source material is a cartoon, so I'm not sure that I'm concerned with a deep level of realism.

Well, I'm pretty much convinced that I'll be getting the Beta. In preparation, I pulled my blue Alpha out of the closet where it's been for over a year. I pulled it out of the box and started to transform it before the old fear hit me... dang, am I going to break this thing this time? I think it's going to have to just stay in fighter mode pretty much forever. I can't take the stress of transformation.

Hey guys. I started this Max custom awhile back when I was absolutely positive that Yamato wasn't putting out any more 1/48 valks. That was about two weeks before they announced the limited TV Max 1A, of course. I took a break for awhile, so I'm just now getting around to finishing it off. I've done some models and scratchbuilding before, but this is my first whack at customizing a Yamato valk. Big thanks to everybody who has posted pointers and pictures of their work, for giving me confidence to try it out. The one new thing I tried was to do a custom TV-style head. I cut off the big movie-style eyepiece and fabricated a TV-style lens. I know the back of the heads are a little different between the movie and TV versions, but to me it's close enough not to bother with. I've got a couple little details to add still, and the pilot, but here it is. Any feedback is appreciated.

Yeah, what a tease! Actually, the page seems to show up in Firefox, but not IE.

I have to admit, I wasn't planning on getting the Toynami Beta, but after seeing the positive reviews I'm really re-thinking it. The only question is, which color to go with? (The answer for me is not "all of them!")

That armor looks really good on the V2! I can see retailers around the world fishing the armor parts out of their bargain bins...

Hey all, I'm working on my first 1/48 custom and am wondering if it's possible to get the intakes apart for easier painting. There's a screw on there that's easy enough to remove, but it looks like the halves are glued together. I guess I could spray the whole part as it is and then repaint the turbine fins there by hand, but it seems like there should be a better way... How do you pro customizers tackle these guys? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys, I've been working on a Yamato 1/48 TV Max 1A custom for a couple of months on and off. I'm using a 1st run Hikaru DYRL 1A, except for one piece. Early on, before I knew about the better products for stripping paint, I managed to screw up my original chest plate and airbrake trying to get the paint off. I got a replacement chestplate/airbrake from HLJ last week, which I assume has been manufactured much more recently. Here's the thing, though. I can't for the life of me get the paint off the new chestplate. When I throw the other original 1A parts into Chameleon for 20 minutes, the paint just jumps off, no problem. The new part, though, nothing. I've left it soaking overnight in DOT 3 brake fluid, nothing. The paint is bulletproof. Is Yamato using different paint now than they were for the original run? This is a big bummer, since I was really looking forward to finishing my custom. Has anybody else had similar experiences? And does anybody have a chestplate they can hook me up with?

Oh man. I love Pocari Sweat. They confiscated my big bottle of it at Airport Security when I was leaving Japan. I cried the whole way home. Oh, and that Beagle looks pretty good. Where's the shots with the bike?

Come on, I can't believe anybody's said it yet. A person's first valk should be a trainer, of course. VF-1D.

I've had a Badger 150 for over 15 years, always been happy with it. I also use the jars without any problem. It's best to have at least 5 or 6 jars handy so you don't have to worry about cleaning and mixing every time you want to change colors. Just plug the new jar in and go. I used to work with only one jar - what a pain.

Why is he fighting Sauron?

I have a friend who picked up a Ride Armor toy new in Hong Kong recently. He says it came in a box marked "Robotech", no instructions, and is "cheap and junky". He believes it's a pirated CMs 1/18. Anybody else hear of pirated or bootlegs out there?

Now for my broken parts... I need a 1/48 BC1 chestplate, preferably from a white one, like from a DYRL valk. Thought I'd try a custom and ended up screwing mine up pretty bad. Can anybody help me out with that?

I have a spare VF-0S right arm. Will PM you.

Here's the translation from a friend of mine, with his comments: --------------------------------------------------- Limited availability only with Macross Chronicle. Long-awaited item by fans. Click on the pictures below to download jpeg images. Yamato 1/48 scale VF-1A Max (makkusu) (TV version) Yamato 1/48 scale VF-1S Strike Valkyrie Brilliant Streak (must be part of the name) Weathering. This is the first time the Yamato VF-1A Max has been offered. This model, Ace Pilot Max first appeared in the 23rd episode of (some name of a Macross series that's a bunch of random kanji meaning things like Super and Sky and stuff). Unlike any Macross mecha sold before. Certainly this will become a collector's item among fans. The VF-1S Weathering blahblah model made history at the climax of (holy crap another long string of silly kanji for a movie, ending with something about "Do you remember love?") This time, given a realistic coating.

That does look better than the first two... not so plastic-y. Let's see those missile hatches open.