Jump to content

All Activity

This stream auto-updates

  1. Past hour
  2. JNordgren42 started following 1/48 Hasegawa VF-1S "What If?" US Navy VF-84 Jolly Rogers Low Viz
  3. JNordgren42
    Hi All! I'm new to the forum, I've been into Macross and Robotech since I was a kid in the 80's. I started building models again during the pandemic and I started my first Macross project at the beginning of the year. I'm building a custom 1/48 Hasegawa VF-1S in a "What If?" US Navy Jolly Rogers low viz paint scheme. I added elements from both the Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE sets, as well as some custom details from my parts box, most notably the chin sensor from a 1/72 Academy F-14A to replace the stock gun pod sensor. I also added custom hydraulic line details to the landing gear and gear bays with wire strands, as well as sanding down the edges of the landing gear doors to get a better scale appearance. I used a combination of 1/72 F-14 decals for the squadron markings since they fit the small size of the Valkyrie better, 1/48 F-14 data stencils for most of the other markings, and a few select stock kit decals. I tried a multi-layer acrylic ink patina technique for the primary painting and weathering, which is supplemented by a grimy enamel wash, and oil paint weathering. I'm almost to the finish line, I just have a bunch of small details, and the oil weathering to complete before final assembly. Current state of the build. Legs, wings, head, and landing gear are not glued in yet. Custom sensor mechanics for the head built out of spare PE parts. It will be complete impossible to see once assembled. 😅 Cockpit. I haven't decided if I will use the kit pilot, an aftermarket pilot (I'm leaning towards using a resin F-35 pilot since the helmet looks pretty futuristic but still grounded in reality), or leaving it empty. I'll add PE belts if I leave it empty. I went my own way with the exhaust nozzles, I used the F-22 nozzles as inspiration and added both Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE to the interior along with some custom scribing on the exterior for more detail and to break up the shapes. The wheels got some sanding and scribing to add tread ridges. Sanding and cleanup on the landing gear door edges to make them look more in scale. The left one has been done and the right one is still stock. More cleanup on the main gear doors. Left one is stock and the right one has been modified. The curves were a pain to do, but worth it. Finished gun pod. This was my first go at oil weathering and I think it came out great. I also had an extra set of the Jolly Rogers Vagabond stripes on the decal sheet so I added them to the gun for some interest. I've seen one Tomcat where they did the stripes on the fuel tanks and like the look. You can also see the sensor from the F-14 instead of the stock sensor bump. I sanded off the hydraulic lines on the landing gear struts and added them back in with wire. I also hollowed out the pivot braces for a more realistic look. I added some hydraulic lines to the wheel wells. I didn't go too crazy since it's extremely fiddly and time consuming, but another little detail that's worth it IMO. Painted nose and main gear struts: Painted main gear doors with red caution edging: Close up of the nose gear with the wheels on. It's really starting to look great at this point. Leg light/sensor packs filled with clear UV resin. I still need to paint them with transparent red and blue. Aux head sensor filled with resin and tinted red. Resin lens for the gun pod. I'm using the DYRL canopy so I had to scrape, sand, and polish the seam down. I also used the Jasmodel interior PE canopy frames.
  4. Papa Rat
    Hahahaha
  5. Today
  6. pengbuzz
    Understood; I feel the same way about my work, I just don't like it being judged by folks whose criteria is so esoteric that it was formed back when you had to make your own models out of stones and sticks!
  7. pengbuzz
    Fair enough. I have yet to see Rebuild (and am not interested really); I just know that from what I saw of this one, it was just plain disappointing.
  8. Papa Rat
    I’d still like to have the experience of the model show at least once since I’m so curious about it. At the end of the day building is for me since it’s fun, personal and challenging. It’s not to be better than someone else. I like the idea of sharing the work I do/have done with others who are interested. 😊
  9. F-ZeroOne
    I mean, considering who hes named after... 😅
  10. pengbuzz
    This is one reason why I don't enter contests or shows: too many "judges" I feel are so stodgy or set in their ways that their criteria for decisions is way off, They'd utterly hate how much masking tape I use on my stuff.
  11. TangledThorns
    So in other words... exactly what we expected!!
  12. VF25-F
    Macross F Final - some theathers in Hong Kong, Korea amd Taiwan can catch the concert. Maybe there's internet viewing soon, https://liveviewing.jp/overseas/macrossf-final2025-eng/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLA-2VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETE3YXN4ak1DOEhaT1pZcFlVAR64JJ_C5UNL_c_ax0ILhuQi3lb2QvD-bphschYrUxxJdu-nt4pLJ0o1Y9uyOQ_aem_ICbYPGCXpF7YTUjPrjh_Tg
  13. Thom
    According to the press release, the film has been described by those who have not yet read the script as "A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film".
  14. Big s
    Yeah, I’m worried that it might act like it knows everything and all the great shortcuts, but we end up lost and it gets dark and we don’t see that cliff and then we get listed as K.I.A., and then the worst part is that everyone blames me when we all know it was Kia’s fault
  15. Test_Pilot_2
    This experience and many others like it are why I'm debating parting with my EV6 GT and moving to either a Cadillac Lyriq or Optiq... Lyriq already has a V and the Optiq V is around the corner. If you haven't checked those out they're worth a look. Edit* which reminds me, the local Cadillac dealer reached out to me about a special going through end of June, I think. Timing doesn't work for me, but it's there.
  16. TangledThorns
    KIA = Know It All? lol
  17. Big s
    Not saying Kia makes a bad car or anything, just that I’ve stayed away from them due to the KIA acronym due to unfounded superstition
  18. TangledThorns
    Sucks about your wife's Kia. I was looking at a Kia Seltos but holding off as my current dadmobile (2013 Nissan Juke) with 103K miles is still working fine. BMW and Audi EVs are popular in my area but nowhere near as popular as Tesla still. Rivian R1S perhaps? Agree that BMW's EVs are ugly too, lol. Check out Reddit for more personal reviews on cars.
  19. shazam
    Getting back to the Barbie Doll reference, the Barbie She-Ra figure that was priced at $55 US sold out in 10 minutes and now scalpers are selling the figure for more than double the price. Crazy.🤑
  20. Black Valkyrie
    I am glad you liked it, regarding to this subject I don`t thing I`ll be getting the up coming VF-19 Prime cuz how it looks under the fighter alt mode.
  21. Big s
    If you’re talking about I do think it would be hilarious if we were all thinking this was connecting the G quuuuuux universe to the og one, but instead it was just a gateway to the build divers or something equally as silly.
  22. Seto Kaiba
    In fairness, I'd still call Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX substantially more watchable than any of the Rebuild of Evangelion movies. GQuuuuuuX's main problem is that it has a potentially interesting premise that it just fails to deliver on. The series never takes the time to explore and do proper worldbuilding in its Alternate UC setting, several potentially interesting plot threads are teased and never explored or touched on in only the most cursory way, and the main characters aren't engaged in the main story in a meaningful capacity. These problems are all eminently fixable with a capable writer. The Big Reveal at the end of the most recent episode should be a Big Deal if properly foreshadowed... but it wasn't, so it just feels like an Arse Pull. At times, it's hard to believe the series was in development for over five years when the result is this messy and unpolished. Rebuild's main problem, by contrast, is its own pretentiousness. It's tries so hard to pretend that the original was doing something deep and complex and artsy not just parodying the many cliches of 90's mecha anime. They spent the better part of the last episode dumping dustbins worth of exposition on us. There's not much more they can usefully exposit on at this point without distracting from resolving the main plot.
  23. sh9000
    No I posted the preorder dates earlier and Shuma-Gorath (Gargantos) was today. Juggernaut goes up on 6/26 and most likely will be the same price.
  24. sh9000
    Spider-Man '94.
  25. sh9000
    https://www.usagundamstore.com/products/macross-7-dx-chogokin-vf-19-kai-excalibur-basara-nekki-special-action-figure
  26. Mommar
    I thought this was going up tomorrow. Juggy going to be $70 too?
  27. mikeszekely
    Blue Booster was packed with his buddy, Wingtail. Prime, though, gets someone to fight instead (which I prefer). In this case, it's Hearts of Steel Starscream. Starscream is, again, roughly Deluxe-class when I would have preferred a Voyager. I'll note, though, that he's a tad shorter to the top of his head than Prime, which does create the sense that they're in scale with each other, if not other Generations figures. Starscream's accuracy is a bit harder to judge than Prime's, though, because concept art exists for two different versions. I went and looked at the comics to see which one was used and found that not only was he drawn very inconsistently, even from panel to panel in the same issue, he was often colored just as inconsistently. Indeed, in one of his first appearances he's actually colored more like Armada Starscream than G1. I'll say that Starscream most resembles a version of Guidi's concept art that appeared as an variant cover. That concept art used a lot more gold for some joints, so maybe Starscream needs more paint? Or maybe not, since almost none of the gold was used in the actual pages. Starscream sports lots of detail from the comics, including the Kawamori-esque hip wings, the fins sticking out of his feet, the hood over his head, at the scalloped "ears." All-in-all, I think he fares pretty favorably for a Deluxe. Starscream comes with a pair of gatling guns. The molding is pretty good, but I think it's a bit lost in that light gray plastic. Again, maybe accurate, but a little of the extra color from the concept art could have made them really pop. Starscream's head swivels, no tilt. Kind of hard to get at it, anyway. His shoulders swivel and move laterally just shy of 90 degrees. His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend a tiny bit over 90 degrees. No wrist articulation, and sadly (too common for Starscreams) no waist swivel. His hips can go about 75 or so degrees forward, backward, or laterally, which is below average but honestly adequate for most poses, I think. His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees. His feet can't tilt up, but they can tilt 90 degrees downward (mostly for transformation) and his ankles pivot a little under 45 degrees. Starscream's guns can mount on his forearms, as would be typical for his null rays. You don't even have to remove them to transform him. If you like, though, he can also hold them in his 5mm fists. Starscream's transformation is about folding things upward, but in waves. First, his chest and arms hinge up over his head so the top of his torso tabs into his back. Tuck the arms back under the wings on his back, and then you hinge up the part with the lower pair of wings. Once they're spread and connected to the upper wings, his waist hinges upward, too. From there it's just a matter of making him do a split, swiveling the thighs 180 degrees, bending his knees, and tabbing his legs into his lower wings. Starscream's alt mode is reasonably accurate, but missing some stuff. Like, the little winglets sticking out of his feet should actually be a continuous wing running through his feet. Other than that, the front's fine, but then we come to the back. His got a sort of gappy, unfinished look with visible fists where the design sketches called for lights and chimneys. The red part sticking out the back is accurate, even down the wheel under it, but here's the thing. The design notes that's supposed to be his robot crotch. Here it's a part hanging off his butt, while his actual crotch is folded up underneath. Now, I'm no expert, but it seems to me that they could have used his actual crotch for this part if they'd simply opted to swivel his waist 180 degrees and bend his legs the other way (which would have given him the benefit of a waist swivel). He at least rolls, of the aforementioned wheel in his butt and another pair under his legs, and all three wheels are actually accurate to the comics. His guns, again still mounted to his forearms, protrude from the front in a manner that is also comic accurate. I guess another way of putting it is that Starscream's alt mode is a weird and not particularly aerodynamic mish-mash of biplane and train, but that's the fault of the design and not the toy. So... the toy is pretty good! Maybe just as good as Prime, even, in the sense that you can see how it could have been stellar with a little more budget but is ultimately one of the very best Deluxe-class toys I've reviewed this year. So yeah, this set is definitely worth picking up. What's more, we know Hasbro is going to do at least one more two-pack from Hearts of Steel with Bumblebee and Megatron, and I'm kind of excited for that now. If we're lucky Hasbro can continue to milk Hearts of Steel the way they were doing Shattered Glass for awhile.
  28. woodsider
    @Papa Rat @Thom @MechTech Thanks guys! Yes the show was good to me. @SteveTheFish Yes IPMS has come a long way when it comes to Japanese SciFi/Gundam modeling, but in my experience there's still the old timers who couldn't care less. Besides SCGMC, IPMS is pretty much the only game in town in terms of exhibitions. I'd like to see one of those IPMS guys put that Monster together and then let's what they say!
  1. Load more activity
×
×
  • Create New...