MacrossJunkie

Sweet! My initial impression is that I like it. The inherent transformation differences between the VF-25 and 27 allows the 27 to be more faithful to the lineart than the 25 did. I didn't realize until now how far down the tail end hangs in battroid mode though. Actually, now that I mention it, the legs do seem a bit short. The color looks pretty accurate I think. I wish they had one displayed in fighter mode as well. I'm curious if it has the low hanging leg problems that the 25 DX has (pretty hopeful it doesn't) and if the gun can be properly mounted with landing gear down unlike the 25G toy (that part I highly doubt). Heh, those pics make the 1/100 VF-19 look the same size as the VF-27.

I remember from looking at it in the Macross DesignWorks book that the VF-4 battroid didn't really stand out much or was kind of below average in looks. However, seeing the drawing cleaned up and colored at the M3 site, it doesn't look that bad at all.

I see... actually, no I don't. I don't see the slightest resemblance, not even a pointed hood. Possibly a very weird looking destroid maybe, but no klansman. And this is coming from a guy who sees a koala face on the Defender. Edit: Heck, it probably resembles Alpha Trion's face more than it does a hooded person.

First of all, what's a clan-bot? I don't get the reference. Clan as in battletech context or something else?

I hope Bandai is just about done milking the VF-25 mold. I'm quite ready to see a DX VF-171 or -27 made.

Did you check to see if HLJ actually did charge you the EMS rate for SAL shipping? If so, you should contact them and at least try to get a refund for the difference. 3 weeks... SAL must stand for Slow And Lethargic.

Those are the Yamato stands used on the top right for the VF-1s and the 19.

That actually looks really good. Where did that come from? If you were to say that it's a prototype from Yamato for an upcoming Spartan toy, I think a bunch of people would be fooled.

Not to worry. A few coats of nail polish should rectify the loosing!

If I were to decide to put a Macross item on my mantle and make a stand for it, I probably wouldn't go with a valk. I'd stick a big ole cap ship on the mantle like the upcoming Quarter or 1/2000 scale SDF-1 Macross.

I've lived in my current house for about a year and haven't had to dust yet. I can swipe my fingers across the shelves in my display cabinets and not really pick up any dust. It helps that the house has almost entirely hardwood floors or tiles with the only carpeting being in the basement, so there's very little dust being generated. I sweep the floors with a swiffer between every few days to once a week and that's about as much as I need to do to manage dust. I'm glad you like it I think the weathering really makes a difference in my displays. I am slowly working on weathering more of my valks when I get in the mood for it. I didn't seal any of the valks with a clearcoat yet, but I may just leave them as is since I rarely do anything to them so I shouldn't need to worry about rubbing off the weathering. I may need to though if I get around to weathering the other parts to cover the battroid mode as well, but that's low on my to do list.

I don't believe anyone ever was arguing whether the VF-2SS was a valid entry. I was only stating that I dislike the VF-2SS design because it's ugly to me. The R-type like cockpit in combination with the widely spaced star trek-like nacelles just don't do it for me. Also a preference for a certain mode doesn't define what a valkyrie is, but it more often than not does define whether we would purchase a toy of it As I said, I find a lot of the appeal of the VF designs is that they have some connection to the real world in their designs which is fairly unique in animes that have fighters or mecha or both (that I can recall currently). However, it's inevitable or at least somewhat expected going forward as Shoji takes Macross further along the timeline that the valkyrie designs may take fewer and fewer inspirations from modern aircraft, and I'm fine with that as long as the designs still look good.

I think the VF-2SS is just one of those things that people either love or hate with very few who have an opinion that lies somewhere in between. I for one wouldn't buy it as the fighter mode just seems rather unattractive to me with the intakes and legs sticking out to the sides as well as forward as much as they do. Also, a lot of the appeal of the valkyries to me is the inspiration taken from real world fighter designs which lend a "realistic" feel to the designs, imo. The 2SS is more like just taking the VF-1 and trying to make it look futuristic by rounding it out more and then adding Star Trek nacelles to the valkyrie.

Added weathering to the Mac Plus valks in fighter mode using the same kits. Can't seem to get the subtle touches like paint fade to show up in the pics I took. Oh well. Did some on my VF-22S also.

I second the suggestion for sticker/decal sheets and the 1/60 scale ground crews + support vehicles.

Wait, what? Are you talking about the GBP that was released years ago for the original (v1) 1/60's? If so, it would not fit. The sculpts are far more different than you think with different proportions and the V2 is taller than the V1 as well. If that's not what you mean, then nevermind.

I assume you're asking me? Just do a search for Tamiya weathering master to find a store selling those. I used kits C and D. Mine were probably bad though. I ended up having to use my fingers because it was too dry and hardened for the brush to pick up anything and the foam applicators ripped quickly I masked off all the clear plastic pieces and sprayed a few layers of gloss clearcoat first over the destroids to make the stickers more even with the rest of the surface and to protect them, then I applied the panel lines with thinned out smoke colored tamiya acrylic paint and added the weathering using the kits. I finished with 3 or 4 layers of a matte finish. It was the first time I went through that much trouble to do weathering, but I liked the end results.

Those are great pics Vic. I love the poses. How high can you raise the arms when the shoulder armor is not plugged in?

Are they around the same scale or is the megahouse bigger?

Or could we have a separate poll for each of the VFs listed? Have choices along the lines of "Would buy/On the fence/Wouldn't buy" or "Strongly Interested/Slightly Interested/Neutral/Slightly Disinterested/Strongly Disinterested" Being able to pick only one is misleading as it doesn't give any indication as to what other ones besides their top choice that people would buy. If we have polls for each one, it would be easy to tally up and see which ones have the most potential for sales.

I finally got around to doing weathering on the couple destroids I have. My first time using the tamiya weathering kits. I think there was something wrong with the kits I got as the stuff in both kits were dry as chalk and very hard and I understood they were supposed to be slightly damp and more like cosmetics consistency. Anyway, I tried to make the best of it.

Yes, I know what its design inspiration is from. Just saying the design of the VF-17 doesn't seem to fit together as well as other valks do. With the shoulders overlapping over the chest area and from that point back, the dorsal side doesn't seem to flow very well, unlike the F-117 or the VF-171.

Where did you get those cabinets? They look pretty good and are wider than a detolf which is nice.

Wow, all those pics are making it really hard to resist getting one. Why couldn't they have made it really crappy?

Voted for the VF-0D. I love the fighter mode a lot with its delta wings and it's a 2 seater. But I would be equally happy with a VF-4. The VF-4 would be great because we lack that generational step between the VF-1 and VF-11 in toy form. Wouldn't mind a mass production 19, though not the kai. I wouldn't vote for the 17 because I think the fighter mode looks a little cobbled together and ill fitting, which the VF-171 completely fixes and looks really awesome. I used to love the VF-2SS back in the early 90's, but I guess my tastes have changed. I used to take a high preference of battroid mode over fighter, but as I've gotten older, I've gotten to appreciate the fighter modes of valkyries more to the point that the design of the fighter takes precedence over the battroid modes. The fighter mode of the VF-2SS looks terrible to me now, though the battroid still looks pretty good, but it mostly just looks like a modified VF-1 mixed with some VF-0 elements which to me is nothing that particularly special after we've been flooded with so many VF-1 toys.