RT junkie

Thanks for the support SDF. This is a pretty simple mod, given a modeling Noob like me did it. First thing is to cut out the material between the exhaust veins. I used a dremmel to get in there. After painting that piece the base color, I took my airbrush with some really dilute black paint, and did a couple light layers by blowing the paint between the veins so it flowed in the same direction as the exhaust gases would have gone. I did this with the exhaust installed in each half of the hull so I'd get the same pattern on all sides. It ended up making a pretty genuine looking exhaust stain. For the lighting, I just used a super bright white LED potted with hot glue pointing towards the nose of the ship. Then a reflector I made out of aluminum foil to disperse the light, and redirect it towards the back. For a lens, I ended up finding that some plastic disposeable cups I had seemed to be about the right level of transparency to make an effective diffuser. It is also the perfect thickness to slip in between the hull halves and the front of the exhaust nozzle piece. The inside of the diffuser is stained with a blue glass stain that you can pick up at Walmart in the crafts section for around $2. I'm not a big fan of batteries, and I built this to be a nightlight for my son, so I put in a small 3VDC 100mA power supply, which you can pick up at www.allelectronics.com for about $1 or $2. Also where I bought the power supply socket and switch for it. Once I move, I'm hoping to really get creative with some lighting effects in a 1/100 Macross Factory kit. I picked up some electroluminuescent strips, and some small tube lights, as well as a bunch of fiber..... but given how expensive the kit was, I'll probably have to practice on a few more sacrificial kits .

I hope just to have a workbench soon, or even a dedicated corner of the floor in some room.... anyway, trying to develop some skills by practicing on some simple/ cheaper / relatively easy to find kits. My first attempt at a Zentraedi flagship. Trying to learn to use an airbrush here, and trying acrylics for the first time as well. It's the unmodified cheap Spacepoo model, but I tried to spice it up with simulated fold engines coming to life. Although I don't remeber ever seeing the engines glow in the series , but figured they must at some point to justify having such big exhaust ducts. Also, I can't seem to get closeups that aren't blurred, even with the macro turned on.

Done... VF-1JR (John Rambo) 372392[/snapback] That's awesome

1. Married with two young deductions ages 3 and 6. 2. Have become a completist... actually just completed my collection yesterday! Will buy 2 of each whether I like it or not. I think it's some form of obsessive compulsive disorder, but not to the extent of going after each release of the same toy. 3. 3 side jobs to support the habit. 1. Run an Ebay store for the local Suzuki motorcycle dealership. 2. Contract Mechanical Engineer work. 3. Repair cars for everybody I know. Now that my collection is complete, and once I've got the new releases (0S, LVII and stealth) behind me, I hope to give up jobs 1 and 3. Maybe even job 2 so I can see my family, and actually get to play with / admire my collection. I just need Yamato to space out the releases a little more .

I could see the use of the valks as foot soldiers in rugged mountainous terrain. Given the destroids are so heavy, and have no luxury like jump jets to my knowledge, they'd be sitting ducks against battlepods that can jump / fly or Noujadeul Ger. Also, the valk wouldn't require a transport, as the destroid would to reach a battlefield in a short timeframe. To me the valks seem more like an offensive strike weapon, whereas the destroids are more of a defensive oriented piece of hardware. Also, in looking at jungle camo, it must be a zentraedi scale jungle, because I can't imgaine you could hide a valk in battloid mode in any earth jungle based solely on its height. Maybe gerwalk, but unless they are fighting zentraidi foot soldiers with nothing but their own eyes, I wouldn't think a mere camo paint job will buy them much. It'll do nothing to blind them to radar, or hide their IR signature...... if it's gotta be this camo color choice, I'd at least like to have seen it in the digital camo style. Bayonet would be great, or even a Rambo knife strapped to the engine nacelle.

I've got the bootleg version, and unless the BanDai version is a hell of a lot better....... VF-19

Space, or lack of is my biggest roadblock. I used to have room, but my 6 and 3 year old have pretty much taken over now. I need to keep everything packed up in totes... my paints, blades, clips, wires, soldering iron, everything that they might see and find interesting has to be kept out of sight... out of mind. Everytime I want to do some work, it's a big ordeal to drag the totes out of my bedroom, get all setup, do what work I can before bed (gotta be up at 5am) then pack everything back up and stow it away. Luckily that's about to change, as our new house is supposed to be set next week..... if the contractors don't throw any more delays at us. When we move, the basement is all mine, and the wife and kids can have the main floor and upstairs all to themselves. Aside from my all my 80's childhood toys, I've been collecting more Macross toys and models with a vengeance since 2001 when I opened my Evilbay account! They've all just been shoved in totes in the crawlspace of this hovel I've been renting forever as they came in. I counted 22 of the 18 gallon totes, plus 3 30 gallon ones, and a bunch of bigger kits that won't fit in them.... like 5 of the Revell 1/100 factories. I CAN'T WAIT TO UNPACK THEM!!!! It's gonna be like Christmas on steroids for me. And then I'll probably have to sell a bunch of them to make my housepayments

That damn VF-1S bookend set is the only piece left to complete my sorry-ass Toynami line. But over $600 with shipping............. screw that Guess I"ll just have to keep expanding my Yamato line... probably more bang for the buck anyway

No kidding! I'm in the "late to the 1/48" party, and am trying to catch up, but need to get the 1A Hiki and Max, as well as the Max and Miriya Super 1J. The prices are getting so high on the 1As, that it really stings to see reissue#6 of Roy, when the price on those 1As shows the demand is still quite strong for them. What was there, 2 releases of the 1A Hiki?..... I need a Low viz too, but that will probably require me to open up a home equity line of credit at this point

I'll second that. I never understood that about the 1/160 Monster kit either. Why 1/160? Is it a popular scale in Japan?

Let's see...... pay taxes , or buy one of these sets . I guess the taxes will always be there, but not these, and since I already have the Regult Pod for it........ I'll just position these soldiers near the door to take care of those pesky tax collectors.... I'm in for 1 set.

Okay, after saving every week religiously for 12 years... I'm less than 2 months away from the completion of construction on my first home. Mortgage is still going to be higher than I really wanted. Taxes are pretty high up here too, especially in relation to the payscale.... House Taxes Groceries - kids eat a ton! Airplane (my baby) R/C planes (up to 9 now, and one helicopter which I'll probably never get enough nut to fly) 2 Kids

Thanks for starting this thread Cdn. I've been eyeing those 1/65 scale cheapos myself and was hoping to find some reviews on here. Never seen Macross 7, but need something "new" to add to the collection. Buying VF-1 after VF-1 is starting to feel a little repetetive.... maybe I'm getting some wierd mecha version of the 7 year itch???? The VF-0 is months away.... need a fix now!!!

Man I want to be like you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta' get into real estate someday. Or owning a franchise.... I'm still a lowly corporate jet pilot... 361432[/snapback] Man I want to be like you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta' get my license to fly someday. I'm a lowly CaD designer... 361444[/snapback] LOL! 361532[/snapback] Let's see... went to college to be a "lowly" corporate pilot. Got my commercial/ instrument ticket, then went on to get my airframe and powerplant mechanic license so I could fly 'em and fix 'em.... and am now Sr. Mechanical Engineer for a company that works with the DoD, and JPL ???? Pay could be better, but then again nothing pays in Vermont, and the property taxes suck!!! At least I finally got my own plane this year. It's about as close to my dreams as I guess I'm going to get. It needs a paint job, so I'm thinking Low Viz

That was sweet. I was so looking forward to that b!tch eating some lead. What's up with Starbuck's speech at the burial detail though? That ought to create some friction with the "old man".

Looks like I'd better earmark some of my tax return for you . Sounds like it's getting pretty close.

Man, it's funny to see I'm in the same boat as a lot of you guys. I've wasted, er, I mean invested, a lot of money on plastic and resin kits (well over 200 total, from Nichimo's 1/200 scale kits, to 3 of the 1/100 factories, and every 1/72 scale kit I could find). I've got about 15 Hase's at the moment.... all sitting in their boxes . I'm definitely a 2 (or 3 - 4 depending on the price) kit guy... one to build sooner, and one to build better later, when I finally develop some skills. I've got everything stuffed in totes that are hidden in the attic... so the wife doesn't see them all at once and freak out. But, we're moving in a month... and hopefully it doesn't hit the fan when I pull everything down to load up. I always get these moments of diorama inspiration, and get a load of kits, optical fiber, LED's and landscaping material, only to have it get packed up in a tote a month later from lack of time (stupid job always interfering). Hopefully with a bigger house, I can dedicate a room (shrine) to model building, and keep the kids OUT!!!

I rarely see these go for more than $10-$20... wonder if this seller did his research... or maybe he just likes to pay listing fees. VF-1S

I've grown quite fond of the Testors model cement for plastic kits. Not the tube stuff, but the stuff in a bottle that you apply with a brush, and has the viscosity of water. There's probably lots of other brands of the same chemical out there, but it's what my local hobby shop carries. While it does disolve plastic, that is what makes it so good. You can brush a little between the parts, then squeeze them together with enough pressure to just form the slightest bead. Once it cures, you remove the bead, and it has led to a lot less time spent filling and sanding down the seams. Also, because it melts the plastic at the joint together, the result is very strong. I'm sure there's a lot more experienced modelers out there that have much better advise than me. You might want to peruse the how to build models section of the forum..... there's probably a thread that is just what you're looking for.

Totally uncool stamen. Didn't your mother ever tell you if you don't have anything nice to say that you should keep your mouth shut, or in this case your fingers off the keyboard? Try using some "constructive criticism". What if someone else is thinking about posting their work, but are a little unsure of themselves... and then read your comments? I like to view everyones work here. Obviously there are going to be some members that have developed more skill than others.. but we all started off somewhere. I think you can find some nugget in everyones work to help you expand your own level of creativity and resourcefulness. Broadshore, don't pay any attention to that dillweed. I, and I'm sure a lot of the other more "mature" members of this community would like to see your future endeavors, so keep 'em coming!

I'm with you. While I do love the VF's, I'm really getting VF'd out. Macross II had a lot of cool Destroids that I'd like to get my hands on. Bring on the BIG GUNS!

That looks beautiful. I can't wait to get mine!

We've got Nightmare Before Macross committed to casting some of these pilots for us, and at very reasonable rates. If you need some pilots for your older Yammies, stop by the wanted section and see the terms and contact info for getting them. The link is posted above by Hiriyu.

If you've got any room for another order...... please put me down for one. I promised myself I wouldn't sign up for anything else until I shelled out the dough for that big Monster..... but then again, I am a junkie. Just can't beat the habit, especially when that eye candy is sooooo tempting.

That was my bad in the variable call..... sorry about that Bertt. I looked quick at the top pic you linked to and saw the strike cannons which I have in my bandai 1/100 variable kits then jumped to conclusions. I looked more closely, and at all the pics this morning, and saw it was obviously non-variable.. Doh! Sorry for the confusion.