ChristopherB

The Bandai HCM cannot be considered a model in the meaning recognized my most people. Let's not get into a debate here, but just because it says "Model" on the box, doesn't mean it's a true model. It's listed on MW under the toy section, and the valkyrie comes completely assembled and painted. Being fair though, AlphaHX, doesn't specify in his initial post precisely what he's looking for, so I can see why the HCM was mentioned, but in all honesty, the HCM is not an actual model kit.

I would have to say the IHP 1/72 Hasegawa Conversion Kit. The kits are rare, but you can find one if you look long and hard enough. It is essentially a perfect transformation valkyrie. A little bit skinny in battroid mode, but overall much better than the 1/72 Bandai, which incorporates "anime accurate" part swapping. If you're looking to do it right, scratch build your own or go with the IHP. If you're looking for quick, cheap and easy, go for the Bandai.

Puppet sex, now that's a scary thought.

akt_m, Great job! It's no big deal, but proper grammar is important: "Modeling Skills Helpful If Under (10) Years of Age" So, just change the current "O" to an "I". In addition, I sucked in art class, so by no means do I claim to be an expert, but I do believe your shadowing perspective is off. I'm refering to the shadow under the VB-6. I tried visualizing the light source in a perspective that could create that particular shadow, and was not able to due to discrepancies. For example, the arm shadow shows up on one side but not the other, and one foot has a shadow going to one side and back, while the large cannon have a shadow directly below, but the other arm has nothing below it. I hope that makes sense without me being too in-depth, and please remember it's just meant to be constructive criticism. Sincerely, Christopher

Sweet, I'm in! launch vehicle...(cough, cough).... Great job John! Rob, thank you for not giving up on the project.

Sorry, I'm out of town on business, so my response time is degraded. I'll update the list right away, and thank you for your interest!

Hello, You said the key word, "1/72" scale. Since that's what I'm focusing on, please count me in for (1) of each. The Ghost, and the YF-19 weapon set and fold booster. I'm not sure why he's casting the Yamato VF-11B pilot though. Perhaps I'm missing something obvious, but I'm not sure why anyone would need a copy of the Yamato pilot figure, except perhaps for people that own the original non-fastpack Yamato VF-11. There is no Hasegawa kit to use it with, and anyone that owns the Club M version already has a pilot. Sincerely, Christopher

Same here, count me in for (2) if you go for it.

John, Thank you very, very much for taking on this project! Everything looks wonderful, and I'm amazed at how quickly you've been able to go from nothing to what you've shown, and without sacrificing any quality whatsoever. I can only dream that you will focus your talents at some point upon the launch vehicle. They'll go together like strawberries and cream. I really hope I win the Grand Prize. To own something built personally by you would be awesome. Sincerely, Christopher

Great idea! Count me in as well. Where there is a will, there is a way. Recast it, and they will come. Mounted or on display, I will still pay.

Rob, Everything looks great. I received your PM, and appreciate it. Best wishes, and God speed. Sincerely, Christopher

Hello, I've gotten a few PM's from people inquiring about status, and to preclude further questions, I personally have no new news to report. It's been about (4) months since the last update from Valkyrie, so I would expect that we'll hear something soon hopefully. It would be cool if Ken could get his recast completed prior to Yamato's toy, especially considering the head start we have. Sincerely, Christopher

Hello, I've gotten a few PM's from people inquiring about status, and to preclude further questions, I personally have no new news to report. It's been about (4) months since the last update from Valkyrie, so I would expect that we'll hear something soon hopefully. It would be cool if Ken could get his recast completed prior to Yamato's toy, especially considering the head start we have. Sincerely, Christopher

Great suggestions, wm cheng! I'm definitely in as well.

Yeah, at those prices, I can forget doubles. Especially the Monster, wow!

I've heard good things about the kits as well. I've only owned the Strike and Super Ostrich and they were both very nice. I wish I had never sold them, and now I'll have to obtain them again. I completely agree with Jesse. I've never owned the YF-21 or VF-11, but I know that the YF-19 is very nice.

I'm definitely in to them, and would love to work on collecting whatever is available. I'm working on completing the Hasegawa list right now. The normal items are fairly easy, but the rare kits cost a good bit more. I think that I'll work on the Destroids next, but I honestly have no idea what is available, what is really rare, and then of course the holy grail of them. My only problem is that I would need (1) to build, and (1) to collect.

Wow, that is quite a list you have! I've got some catching up to do.

Thanks for sharing your battroid with us, and I'm sorry to hear about it's accident.

I appreciate that, it's nice to feel welcome. I'm not sure what motivated you, but I finally decided it was time to chose a scale and stick with it. I think it's cool to be able to display all of your stuff, and be able to compare different sizes between items due to the fact that they are all scaled the same. Not only that, but there is so much available in 1/72, that you can spend a lot of money, and stay busy for a long time collecting all of the different models and toys. Of course that doesn't mean completely ignoring special items that the IHP 1/100 VB-6 recast, or the Yamato version. Do I get a membership card or something like that? Just PM me the details about our secret handshake and meeting location and I'll be there. By the way, I know you have a ton of 1/72 stuff , and I would love to see the list sometime.

Jesse, Thank you very much for your post. You mentioned something I hadn't really considered, and what you said makes a lot of sense. I think we tend to lose perspective sometimes and get really anal about certain details, but all that serves to do is take the fun out of the hobby. I've decided, the DYRL four will have matching missiles, unrealistic or not. Sincerely, Christopher

KingNor, I spoke to "AchtungMacross" about the same thing you inquired about. It's true that he built the first couple of Hasegawa Macross Valkyries without knowing they could transform. If you think about it though, it isn't that weird, because a VF-1S Strike looks similar to a F-14 with extra armor/weapons on it. When I showed him a picture of a custom 1/48 Yamato, he commented that the builder didn't fill in the seams. Which means I had to explain that the Yamato is a toy not a model, and should be able to change modes. Now he's seen DYRL and checked out quite a few links I provided, plus he's now an official member of MW. Just like any "newbie" there is still a lot to learn. Sincerely, Christopher

Cool, I've decided to focus primarily on 1/72 scale, so this is great news.

Hello, Here's my quandry and perhaps your's as well: I'm not sure if there is an official "anime accurate/cannon" answer to this question, or if it just boils down to personal preference, but please post what you think. Question: Should the color used on the tip of the RMS nuclear missiles correspond to the DYRL color that applies to each specific pilot? For example: Roy: yellow trim equals yellow RMS missile tips Hikaru: red trim equals red RMS missile tips Max: blue trim equals blue RMS missile tips Hayao: green trim equals green RMS missile tips On one hand, can you picture crew members taking the time to specially paint a set of missiles for each pilot? These missiles are not meant to be pretty and compliment the valkyries color scheme. I'm mean were not talking color coordination ala "Queer Eye for the Straight DYRL Pilot" here. Or, "I'm sorry Roy, you used all of your missiles kicking ass so we're all out, would you mind using some of Hayao's since he's dead?" I've seen Hasegawa kit builders make the RMS tip colors match, and I've seen the missle tips red and yellow in official places, so which is it? While it may not be practical in real life it does kinda look cool. Official screen grabs and/or drawings welcome. Let the discussion begin... Sincerely, Christopher

Stamen0083, Thank you, I now see what you are referring to. In all honesty though, that seam doesn't bother me, because it is minimal, and wouldn't be easy to eliminate. It's one thing to fill and sand a seam on a flat or slightly curved surface, but we are talking about the joint between what is essentially two circles. After putting putty although around, you would then have to try and sand it down flush, which would have the potential of sanding off some of the curve, unless you could devise a way to sand 360 degrees at one time. Please don't take this personally, because we are friends, and I'm saying this to flippant. Just some constructive criticism. I'm not saying that you only post negative comments, and I'm not saying your comments may not be welcome, but I would respect your comments picking out flaws in other people's work a lot more, if you yourself had posted pictures of one of your completed Macross kits. No, you don't have to show pictures of your own kits to comment. That's not what I'm getting at, because I have never posted pictures of my model kits, but I have built plenty of them. I don't know if you even build Hasegawa Macross kits, because my search revealed that you posted a thread seeking someone to build a kit for your friend. I presume that you did not want to build it yourself for some reason. No one said you had to lie or sugarcoat stuff, because being honest is important. I'm just saying, that comments like this: "Man, zooming in close really shows off all the flaws in a model." seems a little rude. Giving advice like this: "That seam needs some attention in your next model." would be better received if you are equally as willing to post your models and subject yourself to potential criticism. It would also show that perhaps you are familiar with the subject being discussed, as opposed to someone that is enamored with commenting on what you perceive to be flaws. Sincerely, Christopher PS: Just to be fair, you are impressed with the type of camera he owns.