MickyG's Yamato VF-1S Unpainted, Unassembled Kit Build

[caslon]

Hi mickyg,

This is totally awesome! Very impressive! If I have this unpainted kit, i would go for "VF-111 Sundowners" paint scheme..

Edited September 16, 2010 by caslon

[mickyg]

That's a scheme I'd love to see! There are quite a lot of markings on that one. If it were me, I'd have to come up with an airbrush template for the tail markings. It'd be hard to find decals that would fit the oddly shapped tails on the VF-1. I'm sure it wouldn't be terribly difficult as it's just a half circle with straight rays coming out of it.

I'd love to see more buildups of this thing - c'mon people, post!

[mickyg]

Still home sick, so managed to get a bit more done today. Nothing outside this time, my cold's bad enough as it is.

I didn't show pics yesterday of the canopy seam removal. The canopies on Yamato VF-1 v2 toys have a seam running right down the middle of the outside surface. Something to do with the profile of the canopy and how it gets molded. Anyway, you probably don't usually notice it because of the rainbow tint. I don't have a new, untinted version so can't really comment. Anyway, on the kit, it's very noticeable and I thought I'd tackle it. I've never done this on any clear part before and all of my Hasegawa kits have this seam, so I figured it'd be good practice.

I went the typical, "start with coarse sandpaper and work your way up to as fine as you can go" route. I think I started at 300 (which was too coarse, in hindsight) and then to 600, then 800, then 1200, then 2000, then fine Tamiya rubbing compound, followed by the finishing (finest) compound. Probably could have started at 600, skipped 800 and saved myself some time. But the results were pretty good (no pics of the process, unfortunately). I dunked it in the Aussie equivalent of future (Pledge "One Go") and it dried overnight.

Here's how it looks now, though you can't really see if there's a seam or not, due to the reflection on the glossy surface:

I also finished another ongoing project over the last few weeks - the decals for my VF-1A. These are water slide decals from "ibuyxyz.com" and they're cheap, and surprisingly good quality. The printing is really good, with the only real problem being the semi-opaque white they use. This means anything you put over a dark surface (the green on the fast packs, for example) ends up looking less than white. The other gripes I have are the inconsistency in quality of the clear sealant they use. On half my sheet, it was all cracked and spider web looking. The other half was fine. So on the large skull emblem, you can see this really weird, crazed surface. The only other concern, although minor (hey, these are only $5!) is how thick the decals are. They're so much better than stickers, but they're not quite up to the "melt into the surface" that I'm used to with some better model kit decals.

Once the decaling was finished, I did a quick oil wash on the top of the valk. I tried to do the sides, but realised how badly that turns out - gravity pulls the wash right out of the panel lines when you do it that way. So this will have to dry, get wiped off, then I can move on to the next surface. It's tedious but the results are well worth it, in my opinion.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming...

The decals included with the VF-1S kit are amazing! OK, well in comparison to the ones I bought from ibuyxyz, they are. These ones are very thin, and almost completely blend in to the paint. The colour printing is a bit dotty but only if you look really close, and nothing anywhere near as bad as the Bandai Frontier models.

Here's the gun done:

Black oil wash:

And after it's been wiped down (only waited an hour or so - the thinner the wash, the faster it dries. Pure artists oil would likely take a week to dry!):

Edited September 17, 2010 by mickyg

[comicguru]

i just ordered mine from HLJ. it was on a price of about $55 USD before shipping. cant wait to get it though. a little nervous. havent put together a project like this in a long time. thanks for the details on what to look for.

[Chronocidal]

Looking good Micky, you're gonna inspire me to experiment with my own soon.. didn't realize the kits were so cheap on HLJ, so I just ordered two myself. Been meaning to grab a couple more tamiya paints too, so it was a good time to do it.

So, now my v.2 VF-1 collection is up to 12... oy. I'll probably take a good long time to build them though.. probably half deciding how I want to paint them. I'll probably do one as either a pure 1970s VF-1 CAG scheme or a VF-142 one (I don't know why, but I love that paintscheme). The other I don't know about, but given my current location, I might do a modern VX-9 scheme, or possibly the old VX-4 "Vandy 1." We're talking pure US Navy markings too (no kites or SPACY) so I can sneak it in among the other real aircraft I keep on my desk.

Actually, I'm still not sure.. I mean, I still have a couple 1/48 Hasegawa kits to play with, so I'll probably keep the complicated schemes there since they don't transform. Ideally, I'd like to actually make one scheme that's pure white to minimize the painting, so I might make one in the old Super Tomcat prototype scheme with the red stripes, or possibly the old F-18 prototype markings that the YF-19 supernova schemes were based on.

So many possibilities..

I just wish I could get different heads with the kit, because now I've got a disproportionate number of S's for my little squadron. Oh well, they're easy enough to swap at least.

[mickyg]

are these screws of the head? and other question the curled metal pins are the reason of break shoulders and all my pins have it so it is possible fixed or no matter

Valhary, I finally got the head half assembled a few weeks ago but forgot to post any info on it. The things in the right of your pic are for the head, yes. And they're pins and very difficult to get pressed in correctly. If you use pliers, you'll crush the plastic, as it (the pin) sits inside and lower than the surrounding plastic. So I ended up using a spacer (a very small brass nut I had lying around) and a piece of rubber to cushion the nose of the pliers while I squeezed it in. It worked great, except I ended up pushing the pin in a bit too tight for my liking. Means the head lasers are a bit tight and take a little more effort to turn that I'd have liked. Also means, there's a chance I'll break one (or two) off if I'm not careful.

Looking good Micky, you're gonna inspire me to experiment with my own soon.. didn't realize the kits were so cheap on HLJ, so I just ordered two myself. Been meaning to grab a couple more tamiya paints too, so it was a good time to do it.

So, now my v.2 VF-1 collection is up to 12... oy. I'll probably take a good long time to build them though.. probably half deciding how I want to paint them. I'll probably do one as either a pure 1970s VF-1 CAG scheme or a VF-142 one (I don't know why, but I love that paintscheme). The other I don't know about, but given my current location, I might do a modern VX-9 scheme, or possibly the old VX-4 "Vandy 1." We're talking pure US Navy markings too (no kites or SPACY) so I can sneak it in among the other real aircraft I keep on my desk.

Actually, I'm still not sure.. I mean, I still have a couple 1/48 Hasegawa kits to play with, so I'll probably keep the complicated schemes there since they don't transform. Ideally, I'd like to actually make one scheme that's pure white to minimize the painting, so I might make one in the old Super Tomcat prototype scheme with the red stripes, or possibly the old F-18 prototype markings that the YF-19 supernova schemes were based on.

So many possibilities..

I just wish I could get different heads with the kit, because now I've got a disproportionate number of S's for my little squadron. Oh well, they're easy enough to swap at least.

That sounds very cool! Make sure you at least post up some pics of whatever you end up doing.

I'm in complete agreement on the colour dilemna. If you choose anything other than white, you're going to have wear issues and scratches. I still don't know if I like the idea I've got, which is to keep all the commonly rubbing parts white (so inside arm pieces like the upper and lower parts around the elbow, inside the folding mechanisms, etc). I had it in my head that it could be treated a bit like the landing gears on most aircraft. They're painted white and it doesn't look stupid so why not for all the parts that are "inside" in Fighter mode but visible in Battroid?

I guess we'll see.

No other progress to report I'm afraid. I've been very, very busy with work and social events in the last few weeks so haven't had much (any) time to "play" it seems. And I must admit, trying to get the motivation up to do a lot of what needs to be done has been lacking. It's looking very challenging instead of fun at the moment.

[valhary]

thanks for the tips mickyg

[MR_Hyde]

I think this is looking fantastic, mickyg. Seriously- LOVE THE SCHEME YOU HAVE CHOSEN! I love any of the past Tomcat paint variations. I want to get one these [very] badly but my holdup is the decal/paint side of the equation. I have been scale modeling (aircraft & sci-fi) for a long time, so it isn't the idea of painting that scares me- it's the durability factor. I'm eager to see how the acrylics hold up and how many clear coats you use. I love using acrylics for a variety of reasons: less odor, easy clean-up, better "flat" than other mixes. My concern is just how well the acrylics bond to the plastic. Even on the injection molded plastic kits (polystyrene), acrylic is able to be rubbed off pretty easily. Which is why I use a couple of gloss or flat coats, so that it seals in both the paint and the weathering that I have applied. Normally this works pretty good, I'm just wondering how well it will hold up to transformations or play, because I do play and transform my Valks.

What I'm wondering is how well lacquer would hold up. I have a ton of Gunze Mr. Color paints. When I have used it on polystyrene, it's been super hard and durable and I like the way it holds a wash. I'm DYING to weather my own Valk and not the half-ass crap job that Yamato charges an arm and a leg for. Plus, I'd love to see some dirty rivets.

I'm watching your progress closely, mickyg- looking forward to seeing this completed! Btw- well done so far!

[totallyrobot]

Just got mine in, super excited to start but it will be a month before I can. hopefully I can learn from your build.

[comicguru]

good afternoon all. i just got my 1/60 unpainted in the mail today. i havent put one of these together in quite a few years. i think that it is a good one to jump on board with. i will be following along here with the rest of you. wish me luck.

[mickyg]

Best of luck!

Thanks for the comments guys. Sometimes it looks like this isn't moving. And occasionally, that's an accurate observation! But at the moment, I'm super busy and progress has been pretty slow. I have been wanting to do this properly and document every stage. I've found the times that members here do that to be so helpful that I'd like to return the favour. Only, it takes so long!

I'd planned to do a proper line art overlay with my scheme, so that if people wanted to copy it, they could. But my skill with photo shop is pretty lacking and I find that because I'm so pedantic, instead of doing it right (and perfectly) I just don't even start.

So the other day I decided to start masking the major sections off. My plan is to mask the parts fairly loosely, draw dots where the lines some together in points (the camo scheme is very angular and basically made up of triangles. I figure I'll do the dots, mark out the colours while it's still on the part, then remove the masking, apply it to a sheet of labels for a printer, but remove the labels. That way the masking goes on the page but can be easily removed (perhaps too easily?) and I can cut the patterns out before I even apply them. The scheme is very forgiving so I'm pretty sure this will work and will be fairly simple.

So far, I've only masked the tails (and only the inside surfaces) and the "pancake" section. The rest is yet to come.

Oh, and I still plan to do that line art map to post in the appropriate section of the member line art posts. Mr March went to the trouble of offering the pictures so the least I can do is post up what I've done with them!

G'day from Cairns! I'm here on business for the rest of the week, so there won't be much progress for at least that long.

[Chronocidal]

My pair just came in the mail the other day, so I've been picking through the boxes. I'm going to build as far as I can without glue I think, just to get an idea of how much will need to actually be glued together.

The paint scratching worries me some, but I think if I stick to high-vis 70's F-14 schemes, the majority of the moving parts will remain white. First things first though, I'm going to detail me some cockpits.

Btw funny thing... I noticed they gave us DYRL markings for everything.. but what's with the TV pilot? Although, I suppose that's the perfect opportunity to save myself some money and make my own TV Roy.

[mickyg]

I wondered that too. I guess Yamato never really made a "TV" style cockpit either so I guess it's just the decals that are technically DYRL. And if you go the Roy scheme, it's actually as TV roy as you can get with the ready made one.

If I had two, you can bet one of 'em would be a TV roy!

[mojacko]

looking good so far...what paint did you use??? cant wait to see this finish.

[Iceblue106]

Just curious if you have made any more progress with this build? Did you ever decide on a paint scheme?

Blue

[mickyg]

Sorry for the lack of progress all. I'm doing lots of thinking about the project but not actually working on it over the last month or so. The only progress I've made is what I posted last (so none, really). I'm still trying to figure out how to make it all work so it's as painless as possible.

To answer the last two posts - I'm using "Lifecolor" paints, which are a (so far) very durable acrylic. And extremely flat. They seem to be designed for military schemes and I hope they'll be OK for this, in terms of durability. And Iceblue - I'm going with the TopGun Aggressor scheme. I think it'll look great in fighter mode at least. I'm not sure where I'll put the top camo in gerwalk or battroid. It'll be pretty boring in battroid particularly if I just stick with grey on the bottom. I expect I'll need to strategically mix it up so it looks interesting when transformed.

Thanks for your continued interest everyone!

[mickyg]

Not really much in the way of progress to report - still have lots going on at work and home so my "hobbies" have suffered as a result. Not sure if it's much help to anyone but here are some photos of where I'm up to.

Just shows how I'm mapping out the masking. I apply enough to cover the part, then draw the outline of the part in pen, then remove the masking and put it on a sheet of labels (with the labels removed) so it will come off easily). That way I can trace the camo pattern on the masking, then cut it out and only apply what I need. I figure it'll work pretty easily. And because the splinter pattern is pretty forgiving (straight edges for the most part) it won't need to be super accurate to the original.

Oh, and another gratuitous shot of the super glossy canopy!

Edited January 26, 2011 by mickyg

[nightmareB4macross]

Damn, that canopy turned out crystal clear!!

Looks like glass, even.

Slow and low is the way to go.

[mickyg]

Thanks - it's still got some work to polish out some fine scratches were the seam was.

Love those magic hands, by the way!

[Shaorin]

i was planning to get one of these kits to build-up in a ROBOTECH VEXAR scheme sometime last year,

but i pretty much decided to can that idea.

nevertheless, i'm interested in picking this kit up someday,

just for the inherent fun of building my own 1/60v.II as one would a plastic model kit...

[Jasonc]

When I bought 2 of these kits, I orginally was gonna do some paint up customs with them, and that was it, but because they are in pieces, it gives a builder/customizer the chance to see what and how these things are made. I couldn't just sit and put a regular kit together, so, as it stands now, I'm doing a Platypus VEA-1 custom, and the other will probably be a Minmay guard, so I can finally say I have one.

I like the canopy, and how shiny it is. Is there a site or link you have where I can get the solution to buff it up like that? I can't wait to see the finished product here, as it's looking really good. Nice job, keep up the great work.

[s001]

Wow, that's exactly what I want to do to my 1/48 Focker!

[mickyg]

I like the canopy, and how shiny it is. Is there a site or link you have where I can get the solution to buff it up like that? I can't wait to see the finished product here, as it's looking really good. Nice job, keep up the great work.

Probably. However, I just went with the, "sand with about 400 grit first, then go to 800, then 1200, then 2000, then use polishing compound, then future it, viola!" approach. Not terribly difficult, just a bit time consuming. And as I mentioned, there's still some hints of sanding marks at the back of the canopy. Though it's probably something only I'll notice. Still, the OCD will likely get the better of me and I'll do the dunk in windex to remove the future (at least I think that works...) and polish it more before the final coat.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Sorry this is so slow going!

[mojacko]

im paying close attention to all the details you mention since i bought a similar VF1S kit last Dec...just opened and smelled the darn valk never had the time to remove it from its spruce anyway will visit this thread more often....cheers

[Jasonc]

What is that buffing compound called? I've heard of it, but have never used it, and being that my canopy is scratched up due to work on the kit, I'm definitely gonna need it. I don't know if this has been asked either or mentioned (probably has), what type of paint scheme are you gonna go with?

[nightmareB4macross]

What is that buffing compound called? I've heard of it, but have never used it, and being that my canopy is scratched up due to work on the kit, I'm definitely gonna need it. I don't know if this has been asked either or mentioned (probably has), what type of paint scheme are you gonna go with?

Tamiya version is called a Polishing Compound.

[mickyg]

Yes, I've got the Tamiya stuff and it's called "rubbing polishing compound" on the tube/box it comes in. They've got 3 grades, coarse, fine, and "finishing" as I recall. I've only got the last 2.

The paint scheme is going to be the NSAWC (Or Top Gun) F-14A aggressor scheme. I linked to some pics on the 2nd page, I think. It's a great scheme for an F-14 so I thought it'd look pretty good on a VF-1. It's basically a hard edged, Su-27 type camo scheme. Blame Dobber, he started it with his SV-51!

Edited February 10, 2011 by mickyg

[Dobber]

Chris

[mickyg]

Update time!

I've been off work for a week and have had 2 partial days to start working on this project again. Not a whole lot to report or show but it's something after a really long time of nothing.

Basically I've been working on masking. I'm not sure my method is the most logical or efficient but for some reason, I decided I didn't want to paint the top in all one colour and then overlay with the darker shades of the camo. I'll probably regret it later but I figured the panel lines aren't terribly deep and 3 layers (maybe 2) of paint would fill them in a bit too much. I don't know because now I'm thinking the extra paint layers would likely be more durable. We'll see I guess.

For now, here's my process: First, I'm loosely applying masking tape to all the major sections, tracing out the edges and major components, then applying each section to a piece of label paper, so I can easily remove the masking tape later. Second, I trace the camo lines on the masking tape. Since the camo is straight edged, this is easily done with a pen and ruler. Third, I decide what colour I want to do first and cut that section of the masking out with a knife and ruler. Finally, I apply this to the part.

Where this might all fall down is when I go to start putting other colours on. I'll have to apply the remaining masking exactly over the previously painted part, which could be both tricky and frustrating. As I said before, we'll see.

[mojacko]

good for you your doin progress...i havent touch my kit since i bought last december!!!

[anime52k8]

Update time!

I'm just going to be completely honest, your plan sounds insane and possibly the product of excessive drinking. good luck.

[mickyg]

Thanks! There was no drinking involved. at least not this time. There might be during though.

My plan today is to finish masking the legs for the top camo pattern today, then maybe get a coat of grey on. Maybe.

Then I should know how foolhardy this really will be! I think the usual method is to lay down a base coat of the lightest colour, then mask the next darkest and continue till you get the last and darkest colour down. In hindsight, it probably would have been no more difficult than what I'm attempting now.

Edited May 13, 2011 by mickyg

[mickyg]

Got everything masked and ready to paint the first camo colour. But didn't actually get to paint. Probably just as well - it's cold and wet today and probably not ideal for airbrushing.

I promised patterns at one point in this build and unfortunately, laziness and busy crept in. I'll attempt to get something put up before this is finished. So sometime in the next 5 years.

Edited May 13, 2011 by mickyg

[mojacko]

think its best to paint it during hot n humid. take your time. BTW did you assemble the kit first and paint it or paint it right away staight out of the box? coz i was afraid that it might loosen up the joints or something if you build the kit and dismantle it and build it again?

[mickyg]

I haven't screwed anything together yet. Just loosely assembled to get an idea of what covers what and where the camo lines begin/end.

Hot/humid is 6 months awayfor me. Can't quite wait that long!