VF-1 Nose Modification in VF Modeling Manual

[VF-1A Grunt]

I just got a copy of the Master Files VF Modeling Manual (which is fantastic!) and was looking over the in progress modeling article about the Hikaru TV VF-1J. Not being able to read Japanese, I was wondering what the reasoning is behind the step where the author appears to be shortening the nose of the Hasegawa fighter kit. Is this to make it look more like the animation with the slightly blunted nose? I noticed that, by comparison, the low visibility VF-1 shown earlier in the book does appear to have a pretty pointed nose, which I'd never really noticed before. I think it's more realistic, but maybe doesn't quite capture the look of the animation. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Thanks!

[ce25254]

Yes, it's to make it look more like the TV show. The top of page 88 says approximately:

Because this kit is the movie version of the VF-1, its nose is long compared to the TV version. In order to correct this, you need to cut the tip and adjust the shape. It's technical work, but you should try it because you can make a big impression just by adjusting the length of the nose.

[VF-1A Grunt]

Thanks a lot for the translation. He did some great modeling on that VF-1J, and I think the nose modification does a good job of capturing the look of the animation. However, I think the Hasegawa nose still looks very good when compared to the SDFM line art, such as the top one in this collage:

http://www.macross2.net/m3/sdfmacross/vf-1a-valkyrie/vf-1a-fullyarmed-fightermultipleviews.gif

...and the bottom one here:

http://www.macross2.net/m3/sdfmacross/vf-1a-valkyrie/vf-1-fighter-machinery.gif

Obviously there's a lot of variation in the TV animation quality, but I think the line art is a good reference for the "official" nose design. At least that reasoning will prevent me from trying to make this modification to all my models!