wm cheng

Woohoo!!!  I'm finally finished the 1/72 Hasegawa F-18F Superhornet.  Didn't really have the time to setup a proper photo session, but got these on my cell phone.  Thank you so much @NZEOD for sending me a replacement canopy after I cracked mine all the way from New Zealand!  I'm pretty happy with it especially after a few years off from modeling.  Its given me enough confidence to finally start on one of my 1/72 F-14 Tomcats in my huge stash.  So much more work matching paints, researching on these real birds than Macross planes!

6 hours ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

I keep contemplating getting the VF-19 Advance in addition to my YF-19, but really thinking I shouldn't since the YF-19 has everything I need.  The VF-19 had like two sec of screen time anyway.  Is there a compelling reason to grab the VF other than to just have the SMS version?

That's exactly what I thought so I skipped on the YF-19 on the initial offering.  I do like my Bandai VF-19 DX over my Arcadia YF-19 in every way, but I spent so much time and effort in weathering and designing and printing decals for that bare naked expensive Arcadia toy that I can't just sell it now (it came first, so I had no choice, if I were to do it all over again, I'd skip on the Arcadia).  But when they announced the Bandai YF-21, I realized that I can't really put that next to my Bandai VF-19 (markings wrong and wrong booster) and the lack of Tampo on the Arcadia and bulbous sculpt just doesn't match the angular sharp presentation of the Bandai YF-21.  So I cracked and ordered the Bandai YF-19 and its so much better than the VF-19.  I think its slightly better articulated (at lease easier to pose for me), they added a hing/joint, love the green fold booster (way more than those Frontier boosters), love the arm folding cannon/missile pack, all the extra missiles.  Again, if I knew that there was going to be a YF-19, I wouldn't have gotten the VF-19.  I just can't decide to display it in plane mode with the fold booster or battroid with the arm canon/missile pack?  (the only solution is to get yet another one ) - that's how much I ended up liking the Bandai YF-19 when I didn't even have any interest in the initial pre-order.

THANK YOU, thank you!!! @NZEOD  I just got your canopy for my cracked F-18F - it arrived safely.  Holy smokes talk about packaging... I felt like opening a russian doll all the way from New Zealand.  It must of come over the ocean by ship during this pandemic.

What an amazing forum here, I've received so much help for the last 17yrs (or maybe longer - when was the overhaul), thank you so much.  I'll post as soon as I get it painted up and on my F-18F.

Hey @peter if it makes you feel any better, I chickened out on drilling out the space underneath my pilots masks.  I'm too far along, with the pilots glued into the seats and in the fuselage, I'm worried I'll make a mess of it and have to repaint so much of the pilot too.  Oh well. 

Your decals are making that POS Enterprise model kit look way better than it should - you should be proud!

@electric indigoDamn you!!!  It didn't even occur to me, now I can't see it without that mod.  Argh, all painted too, lets hope I don't make a mess of it.  I just want to get to the painting, weathering and decals - all this is stuff I hate to do to get me to that stage of modeling which I love.

Thanks @MechTech I don't think its good enough to show with the canopy open, the seats are kit seats (you really need resin seats & tub for canopy open) and the pilots are just the ones that Hasegawa comes with on their ground crew set (I think they are actually Air Force not Navy pilots too - although I don't know how different their suits were) - I'd prefer resin sculpted pilots for open canopies.  The worst part those is the RIO's console coaming is too narrow for an open cockpit.  I've never been to an IPMS show (I don't know if they have those in Canada) but I would probably nerdgasm out at one of these :P

Oh @peter make sure you are very careful when masking to lighten the grey on the strongbacks as you have some decals on the secondary hull now and don't want that to be pulled up.  I'd even suggest using posted it notes or use the Tamiya masking tape but put it on your jeans first to take the initial tackiness off.  I wouldn't even do the strongback details in a different colour, I'd go with the base white and let the decals darken the colour - which version are you doing (silvery grey for TMP, blue for WoK or green for the subsequent movies?)

Ok here we go again!!!  Just got the new GWH 1/72 F-14A with one my favourite schemes the VF-1 Wolfpack!  Its a pretty amazingly detailed kit, but its not for beginners, there are lots of missing instruction steps and things don't exactly lock together, so you have to constantly go a few steps ahead and dry fit before you glue everything down.  Once everything is aligned it should fit well, the key is getting everything aligned and massaged before gluing which is often 4-5 steps ahead of where you are.  Well I wanted to make it easier on myself by not going nuts on the cockpit, the kit supplied seats are really well done, except for the seat cushions and no belts so I thought I'd use two pilots from my Hasegawa ground crew set (not as good as resin ones, I have those on order for my other Tomcats eventually) and decide to do this with the canopy closed.  I just used kit instrument decals, but there were such good raised details in the cockpit, luckily I managed to get the decals snuggle down to the switches really well, they even included molding and decals for all the fuses including the sidewalls!  My big ass quarter makes a comeback!

Just amazing in styrene, but as you can see, once its in the fuselage with the pilots in, very little can be seen.  I don't think there's enough detail in this tub to support an open canopy (gotta save my resin cockpits, seats and photoetched for the Hasegawas or FineMolds)

Amazing that they included so much detail, but missed out on the overhead ejection seat handles.  Had to make that out of wire - I hate scratchbuilding in 1/72 scale, my eyes are not what they used to be.

Oops forgot the shoulder belt harness I made of tape and haven't attached those from the pilot to the seat yet.  This should keep me busy while I wait to finish up my F-18 from before.

@peter those decals are really pulling it together man!  You might want to lighten up that grey before you put the "stongback" decals on it, it might be too dark especially considering how good it all looks aready!

Beautiful!!!  What plane do these bombs belong to?

Yes I love Tamiya acrylics too mostly for the easy in clean up - I use windex and it eats through that stuff great!  However they don't come in all the Military Greys now a days.  I've added Mr. Color lacquers to the mix mostly because I need to get the right kind of grey.  I haven't used the Mr. Color Aqueous line yet, but I think they behave like Tamiya Acrylics but have the right colours?  However upon using the Mr. Color lacquers I find that I can sand and feather them like a primer where the Acrylics do not sand well.

Hey @peter its looking great in the photos and I think the faint panel lines will add interest and texture to your aztec decals.  If you're buying spray paint, why not get the Tamiya Pearlescent White TS-45.  It should give that sheen underneath your aztec decals (is what I want to do if I ever get around to building my 1/1000 E)

I admire your tenacity!  Since you've already invested so much sanding, don't give up on it, its looking like it could turn out great.

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Get TrekWorks on YouTube to custom build you a 1:350. His name is Boyd and he does amazing work. I have no idea how much he charges, but the 1:350 build he put on YT was the most amazing paint job I've ever seen on an Enterprise! 

Yes I saw his stuff on YouTube, amazing!  It would be at least $5K-$8K I would guess (maybe more).  I've got to replace my crumbling deck at my house...

32 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

I didn't know any other type of model glue even existed from 1980-2010. When I got back into the hobby and the MW forums, I learned so much! Tamiya liquid cement? WTH is that?!

SAME HERE!!!

11 hours ago, peter said:

Ohhhhh.....I couldn't find the price on those QMX ones.....scared to ask.

I think they were $11K-$14K usd when they first were offered.  I they were pretty limited run.

Oh man that Enterprise brings back so many memories and the horror.  I was so much more simple then, I had the one with the rainbow stickers and the grain of wheat lightbulbs back then, didn't paint it or anything just slapped it together and zoomed it around the room.  I think it survived a month or so, then the bulbs burnt out one by one and it just started to fall apart in my hands.  They were great memories and its still my favourite design of all spaceships.  If only I could afford one of those QMX minatures, I just love the flashing nav lights and the strobe lights, but now I want it all - its the only time I ever thought seriously about committing that kind of cash to my favorite design, but then I had my daughter and that knocked some sense into me.  However if I won a lottery, that QMX Enterprise would be the first thing on my list!  I love watching you attempt yours, please keep posting!

19 hours ago, peter said:

This I want to see.  Please post pics

@peter this shelf is all that I have left (survived all the moves).  There's a Yamato 1/60 (version1) in the lower left corner that's just a toy, but everything else was done in highschool in the mid 80's.  You can see my old SDF-1 in the back behind those 1/200 destroids - I think the stand broke over the years.

Thanks, mine was a 1000x bigger

That looks fantastic @peter!!!  Congrats on a great build and thanks for posting here, Iove seeing everyone's work when I don't have time to build (makes me feel connected a bit).  It's not amateur - give yourself some credit.  It looks really great.  Keep going!

That's amazing @peter you still have your kids stuff!!!  I just turned 51 and boy do I feel old (I actually have a few crappy models from my childhood too!)

@peter Nice base and collection of VF-1!

@Dobber Man! You've been busy, those X-Wings look fantastic.  Yep, running out of room too.  That penciling on the Enterprise looks awesome!!! I bet it shines/gleams metallically just like the real thing!  Do you have the lighting kit for it?  I do like the design, hated the Discovery Design, but I do like this version of the Enterprise.

@Grayson72  What do you mean the electronics weren't working?  I've got this kit too, buts its in the basement awaiting my retirement - do the electronics just go sitting in a box for too long?  Now you have me worried.  I'd love to see your progress.

1 minute ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Based on every single DX release in the time I've been collecting (since before Delta), the scalper prices will go down as we get closer to release.

So don't panic and buy at a markup people, just chill and worst case you can buy on release day or shortly thereafter for at worst what scalpers are asking now.

Thanks for that bit of sanity!  I've been away for a week and a half at a cottage with my family (believe me I wasn't happy about it - my wife definitely doesn't understand!) so I'm way late to the party and after reading back 10pgs or so, I think I will have to be content with waiting till November in hopes of getting one (instead of paying 35K Y at NY) - I've never gotten one at release date before so this will be a new experience for me.  Any tips for that?

I hope HLJ or someone else will carry this new book that will allow us in Canada to buy it!

OMG   Thanks for posting!

I love its just not the points of lights, but the spills of lights in the trench too (just like the movie) - I want to try to replicate that but don't know how.

How much was MSRP for this toy?

Damn it!  I'll be away at a cottage without cell service let alone internet next week - ARGH!!!  How hard is it to get one of these at release day with the markup?  Where would that be?  How much should I budget more than the 19,800Y MSRP to get one at release date?

There isn't anyone in Toronto that wants to order an extra one for me is there?   (I'd even give them a tour of my models/toy if they wanted to come by?!)

Hey didn't know where to post this - but I've been working on this for the last year (so its kind of on my workbench) but I'm so proud of it. 

The first peak teaser...

I'm the Supervising Art Director and put together the Toronto Art Department team with my Production Designer Rory Cheyne designing these new worlds.  I got to help design a lot of the spaceships and convince them to build model miniatures to shoot instead of CGI spaceships.  As with all the films I work on I always sneak as much Macross into the sets and spaceships as I can :P!