armentage

Cool, if you're REALLY crazy, you'll want to pick up one of those 1/48th scale resin kits!

The fragile transforming 1/72nds I'm thinking of are the old Revell ROBOTECH CHANGERS kits, which I was building when I was 8 years old... Maybe I was just too destructive

So I did the Krylon over Future, and I'm sad to say that the result was not what I had hoped for. The paint didn't krinkle or smear, but there are weird, barely visible sploches that look like puddles of oil floating on water. I don't have a good digital camera at the moment so I can't take a picture. I think from now on I'm going to stick to Tamiya/Testors products

FYI, that is fighter mode only. What's the special coating?

Holy crap, I am in love!

If you only tell the story YOU want to be told, audiences are going to stop listening. When we stop listening, there will be no more royalty checks. When you stop getting your checks, you either: 1) Have enough money to keep on wasting it 2) Take a step back and remember that we're drooling fanboys who want to drool 3) Are past your prime and have run out of magic, so hurry up and retire already Either way, Zero had some fantastic aerial combat scenes - easily the best ever, so I'll let that Kadoun ridiculous nonsense pass (this time)

They make non-variable kits because it's impossible to make a good variable that looks great in all 3 forms. Also, most variable kits tend to be fragile and difficult to build. Transforming them ends up damaging the paint, and the kits usually aren't very posable. Models aren't toys, and its difficult to make one that can be played with. Hasegawa makes great non-variables, that are easy to build and made of nice materials. BANDAI makes variables based on a very old design from the defunct company ARII. I built the REVELL version of these kits back in the 80s when I was a little kid, and remember that the parts always broke and would wear out quickly. They are available though, if you really want to build a variable. The Macross II VF-2SS kit is actually pretty well made and transforms well. It's more like a Gundam than a Valkyrie.

Those of us with improbably fat fingers aren't so lucky ;(

It's actually REALLY HARD to apply those stickers! They're tiny and there's often no reference lines to align them with. I've been working on my Lancer on and off with the decals - I find if I do too many at once I get frustrated and sloppy

So where do I pick up some of these fancy custom hands for my 1/48? The original Yamato ones simply suck. Thanks~

Hmm... I almost like the MPC Alpha more due to it's ridiculous weight. I'm almost not thrilled by some of the smaller pieces on the Yamato that seem to fall of (like the small hook/fin that goes behind the backpack) Such a BIG Valkyrie though...

OMG MY ROY JUST ARRIVED~~ Wish me luck everyone! Damn it, I can't open it here because... I'm working on the trading floor of a major NYC investment bank, and I will get eaten alive by the traders if they see it I'll have to wait till I get home... 5 hours UGH!!

Omg, I just wet my pants.

So crooked skulls -- any other flaws/design problems with the 3rd reissue Roys? I guess there are 2 "revs" of the valk, the original, and the 2nd one with the nose-cone grooves & flaps. There just happen to be 2 production runs of the Rev 2 Roys. Is that accurate?

Okay so I pulled the trigger on a 1/48th VF-1S, but I have not received it yet. ANYWAY, new question: Does the 3rd Edition VF-1S incorporate the improvements made to the VF-1A DYRL Max? I've been reading that the original VF-1S 1/48th had some issues with the way nose-cone was held in place, and some of the smaller parts were too fragile. These issues are proported to have been fixed on the DYRL Max 1/48th. Do the re-issues of the VF-1S incorporate those improvements? While I'm asking, do the Max/Milia VF-1Js with booster packs have these changes?

Must..... burn out.... eyes

Just picked up my very first ridiculously expensive toy, an MPC Lancer Alpha. The thing is pretty damn beautiful, but I'm not totally in love with it. It's stiff as hell, which is usually a good thing, except in this case I can barely transform it. Getting the legs tucked in the right way in fighter mode took me 20 minutes of careful squeezing... I really don't like the way the cockpit just rests on the back. My big old Gakken had a nice pocket for the canopy to hide in, and gravity kept it firmly in place. On the MPC, it sort of just sitting there totally unsecured... hate it! ... My 1/48th Yamato's in the mail... I hope to be blown away! (Given that they cost more than twice as much, I expect to be!)

Thanks for all yoru replies guys. I did some more poking around the MW.com Toys section, and found the videos and pictures showing how the different models trasnform (Most are down under the Yamato VF-1J links) Anyway, I decided to pass on the 1/60ths for now, though I might still pick up one of the more elaborate 1/60s (E-Lint or GBP!) Looks like you really need to sink a small fortune into a 1/48th collection

Heheh I think they got the idea for that commercial from me! I'm gonna sue.

Why do the legs detach? Is there some sort of assembly that goes around the nose-cone that acts as the hips in battroid form?

I was reading the newbie FAQ and it mentioned that the Yamato 1/48ths are "perfect" variable, where as the 1/60ths are not (some parts detach) Anyone care to discuss the differences in detail? Is it minor things like hands/head/etc, or do the legs come off at the hip and re-attach? Or worse yet, does the nose-cone come off completely?

So Krylon for a Variable that has been sitting for several days would be a good idea? For the extra-strength of it's non-acrylic composition?

I was once using a hoppy knife while balancing a piece of a model on my leg.... Plastic snaps! POW! 1 INCH LONG RAZOR SHARP BLADE PLUNDGES VERTICALLY INTO MY THIGH. I stared for a second at the handle of the black testor's hobby knife, rising straightup out of my jean-clad thigh. At it's base was a spreading pool of red. I pulled the knife out, and THROUGH the material of my jeans, blood guysers! A good 2-3". So at this point I pass out. When I come too, I'm on the ground, and my face is killing me, because I landed on the metal feet of my desk chair. I manage to get to my feet and take off my jeans. That's when blood shoots out of my leg again, a good FOOT into the air. Luckily, I hadn't ruptured a major artery. A friend of mine was coming to visit me when all this happened. He found me sitting in a pool of blood with no pants on, and wondered if I had finally killed my cat.

Where did you get those great display stands? I hate building gear-down and those seem to be exactly what I'm looking for!

So I'm still putting together my VF2-SS Bandai (Practice kit before I try my hand with my precious Hasegawa's). I've pained it with a mix of Tamiya & Polly-S paints, and airbrushed it with a coat of future. I'm going give it an oil wash (as soon as I pick up some oil paint/thinner), and then plan to seal it using Krylon Matte Finish (#1311) Any one have any info/opinons on how the Krylon will interact with the Future or the wash? For the VF2-SS's fast-pack, I made a big mistake - I used black Polly-S acrylic thinned to 1:10 with Polly-S airbrush thinner to do a wash. The results were pretty good, except the thinner seems to have actuall washed away some of my blue undercoat, right through the Future coat. I've managed to salvage things by carefully brushing on some new paint, but I'm pretty upset that it happened at all. I'm hoping to aviod a repeat with the Krylon...