Boroboy

It really is beautiful - thanks for sharing this! Having just started my build, I have a whole new appreciation of what you put into this. Simply amazing.

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Very smooth transaction buying some Destroids from haneto. Great communication, fast shipping - I'd definitely buy from again!

I'm about halfway through the build on the kit, and it seems to me like it really was designed for the customizer in mind. Pretty much all the parts are molded in the main colors so you could theoretically complete it with just the decals, but it would be kind of bland looking compared to what it could look like properly weathered and with the photoetched parts. The resin pieces also need some minor shaping to fit and definitely need painting. If you enjoy modeling, it's worth it as it does go together pretty easily. If you're solely looking to save money, don't forget to factor in what your time is worth. I probably could have done a bare bones build over a long weekend, but with the extra painting, gap and seam filling, and a fiber optic refit, I'll likely have several dozen hours into it before I'm done. Then again, I enjoy building these sorts of things so I'd likely be working on something similar anyways.

As far as problems with the kit, mine was missing a few screws but I was able to make do with others that were lying around and close enough. I was also fortunate enough to have a wife who lived in Japan for a few years to help me out with the errata page and some other instructions, but overall it's pretty straightforward if you've built a few kits before. Take a look at the stickies in the customizing section to get an idea of what some really talented members have done with the pre-assembled ones if you're willing/able to put the time into it. I'm nowhere near their level, but seeing their work inspired me to take a stab at the kit since it's far easier to customize something if it's already in pieces. I believe they also list the Tamiya paints they used; I'm just using what I've got on hand that's close enough to blend in and look like panel variation. It's definitely been a fun build so far and I think a great bargain at $157. Good luck whichever you choose - it's a very impressive piece. If only the 1/2000 was even remotely in my price range...

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Many thanks again to Nghia - looks like Duracoat ftw. The sprues have cured for about three weeks now, and the blasted surface still hasn't scratched with over 10 minutes of part to part sliding. Very slight glossiness, but hasn't broken through to bare plastic. The sanded sprue is holding up equally well, but takes more time to prep than if you have a sandblaster/Air Etch available. The tumbled sprue is starting to flake after a minute or so, but I used a much finer media there than I probably should have. Finally, the untreated sprue showed the most flaking, but it still held up better than the model paints or the cured AutoAir. Great find, Nghia! Of course, now I've got to come up with a new paint scheme since Yamato announced the Cavalier - that was going to be my first one! Maybe if I lighten the blue that I got and start on a Max 1J, they'll rerelease M&M (missed them first time around!)...

It looks like Duracoat is promising - I sprayed some sprues last night, and even though it's not a full 24 hours, it's doing better with plastic on plastic rubbing than fully cured automotive paint did. Also tried some dyeing, but the results were uneven. The soft ABS (like the hands and pilot figure) took the dye fairly quickly and evenly, but the harder sprues (I'm assuming it's POM) didn't take it nearly as well, and high points/thinner parts came out darker. Since the Duracoat takes a few weeks to fully cure, I'll do some real scratch tests in a few weeks, but so far it's done better than anything else I've tried. On the downside, I'm likely going to spend north of $150 on paint to finish up the four kits that I want to do!

As for a 1ACF, I'd get the paint chips before I bought. From their paper catalog and my monitor, the Rhodesian Tan actually looks like it might be closer than the other two. I'm doing all non-canon schemes except one, so I've got some leeway with the colors.

One more thing - use a spray booth and respirator. This stuff is nasty! The wife made me move from my basement spray booth out to the glass studio because she could still smell it upstairs even with the ventilation system on. I'll try to finish up one kit this weekend and post pictures, as well as the torture tests in a couple weeks.

Just got the confirmation that the paint should arrive Wednesday. I'll update next week with how it goes.

Found this thread while looking for the best paints for the Yamato unfinished valk kits. I've used Duracoat on some polymer stocks in the past and it is as good as advertised if you prep the surface properly (i.e., degrease and lightly blast it). Glossiness depends on how much hardener you add, but you can matte it down with a light coat of clear. The colors do mix like regular paints, so you can get the exact color you're looking for so long as you've got the right things to mix. I know they're at the SHOT show this week, but I placed an order that will hopefully ship next week. Hadn't even thought of using it but after testing various auto grade and modelling paints on sprues with unsatisfactory results (I play with my toys, so scratching is definitely an issue...), I'll try it out and post back once I've painted one. Thanks for the tip - totally forgot about this stuff!

Vince