VF-1A Grunt

If anyone's interested, my dad translated the Russian labels in the attached image (he studied Russian in school). The meanings were probably obvious, but it's still kind of interesting. The one question it raises for me is how the plastic sheath around the bulb is made. Probably a few ways to do it - I'm just curious how this particular modeler did it.

Ok, just watched Episode 1 again with subtitles. That's fairly shocking how much content they modified / left out in the dubbed version. Thanks for the tip! Just also received Volume 2 in the mail from an Amazon dealer - $2.41 + $3.99 shipping, brand new and sealed - not bad!

I will eventually! I'm still just getting used to Hikaru and Misa again, which I grew up with during visits to Japan as a kid before I was corrupted by Rick and Lisa!

Rekindling my interesting in Macross during my first visit to Japan in 21 years may actually motivate me to start learning Japanese again, something my mother unfortunately wasn't able to get me to stick with.

I completely forgot about the armored VF-0! I honestly haven't paid much attention to Zero models. I think that shoots a hole in my theory. That makes it seems quite possible that they'll do the GBP armor. I think they've taken a little break from SDFM / DYRL so they can produce the models from newer series, but hopefully the -1D Gerwalk is a sign that they're still going to produce more VF-1 models. I agree about the TV VF-1A head too, although I'm ok with using the movie version since it does look good. But it would definitely look more appropriate if modeling the Max, Kakizaki, or other TV schemes.

Gubaba, I'm way behind but just finished reading your SDFM and DYRL posts. I really enjoyed the detailed analysis of each episode. I recently bought a copy of volume 1 of SDFM and have volume 2 on the way. I've only watched episodes 1-3 so far - my first time seeing the real versions (dubbed in English) as opposed to Robotech. Some of the animation (Star Pro) is really bad, plus the crazy mistakes like the Daedelus and Prometheus (multiple copies) in the space fleet in Episode 3, but it's still fun to watch again. I don't know if I'll get around to the other series - I've only watched a couple episodes of Frontier - but I've really enjoyed your blog. Thanks for sharing it with us!

+ 1 on this. Really hoping for the 1D Battroid & the GPB armour. That would prettymuch finish Hasegawa's VF-1 line.

I would love to see a quality 1/72 armored Valkyrie, but I'd be surprised if Hasegawa produced one. That seems like too extreme a departure from their normal line, unless they could make it as an add on accessory for the standard Battroid (which might be challenging). Since the fighter mode models fit into their aircraft theme, the other modes were a bit of a departure but still used some of the fighter design. The armor would seem like kind of a stretch beyond that (almost like if they started making Destroids). Hopefully I'm wrong. Maybe Wave is a candidate for the armored Valkyrie (not sure what the licensing agreements are for 1/72 vs. 1/100 models).

In the meantime, I'd like to see them go back and offer more VF-1 schemes, like the Cavaliers, Alaska Base, and even an actual mass-production brown VF-1A, since they didn't really include that scheme in the fighter mode instructions. Not sure how popular the Angel Birds model was when they first produced it, but they could also offer the VF-1D fighter in that scheme (the instructions say that #6 is a reserve VF-1D, which fits with how the Thunderbirds have a two-seater F-16 on the team).

That's some fantastic modeling! Are those custom decals?

Ah, yes - I always forget that the Hasegawa fighters don't just have a complete Battroid head underneath (probably because I haven't built one yet since rediscovering Macross). I'm sure that would have resulted in the head sticking out too far like on transformable models. The D model really only had half a head, in fact, to make room for the two-seater cockpit. Anyway, they should be able to produce a new sprue with the chest and back, torso, and head, similar to what they did with the fighter kit.

I'm sure this has been said before, but I hope Hasegawa follows up with a VF-1D Battroid soon. Looking at the current Battroid kit, I think they just need one new parts sprue for the chest and back plates, plus the torso (nose) section.

I went out to Piper Hobbies in Chantilly two weekends ago. It's a nice general hobby shop, but they unfortunately don't seem to have any sci-fi models and don't carry Mr. Color paints. They do have Tamiya and some Alclad, plus Vallejo and other U.S./European paint brands. They told me that Mr. Color paints are getting difficult to order in the U.S., so they don't carry them.

I received a paint order with HobbyWave - added the info in the original post.

Thanks for that info! I didn't realize they also offered acrylic paints. I just came across a whole box of their paints that must be 30 years old from my trips to Japan as a teenager. I'm guessing I may be able to salvage the dried up lacquer paints but not the acrylics.

Not sure if he'll be posable or not, but the option is still there, and if so, being that his uniform has most of him covered up, it may be limited in what I do for that.

In lieu of making him posable, it would be interesting to at least offer two arm variations. You could have one normal standing position (arms by his sides or maybe hands on his hips) and one "command position" where he's guesturing with his right hand and making a fist with the other. Or something like that...

Aradiel, those numbers in the black boxes all refer to Mr. Hobby / Mr. Color brand paints (the "H" with white boxes are their old number system, I believe). There are several places online that have the Mr. Hobby color charts. Here's one example:

https://januaryjulian.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/mr-hobby-mr-color-charts/

The first link on that page is the bottle colors that you should reference. You could either buy the actual paints to match the model instructions or try to match another brand to the color chart. Hope that helps!

Which means you'd have to find a way to remove the tampo printing or completely repaint the gunpod.

Removing lettering is a common technique in the model railroad hobby. This video shows an example using Microscale's Microsol decal solution:

An alternate method is to use Scotch tape instead of the Q-tip to lift off the lettering after the Microsol has softened it.

Thanks for sharing those links - I had been thinking about asking the same question recently. I may go the route of following the animation and leaving the lettering off the gun completely. I'll have to build one that way and see how it looks.

Thanks a lot for the translation. He did some great modeling on that VF-1J, and I think the nose modification does a good job of capturing the look of the animation. However, I think the Hasegawa nose still looks very good when compared to the SDFM line art, such as the top one in this collage:

http://www.macross2.net/m3/sdfmacross/vf-1a-valkyrie/vf-1a-fullyarmed-fightermultipleviews.gif

...and the bottom one here:

http://www.macross2.net/m3/sdfmacross/vf-1a-valkyrie/vf-1-fighter-machinery.gif

Obviously there's a lot of variation in the TV animation quality, but I think the line art is a good reference for the "official" nose design. At least that reasoning will prevent me from trying to make this modification to all my models!

I just got a copy of the Master Files VF Modeling Manual (which is fantastic!) and was looking over the in progress modeling article about the Hikaru TV VF-1J. Not being able to read Japanese, I was wondering what the reasoning is behind the step where the author appears to be shortening the nose of the Hasegawa fighter kit. Is this to make it look more like the animation with the slightly blunted nose? I noticed that, by comparison, the low visibility VF-1 shown earlier in the book does appear to have a pretty pointed nose, which I'd never really noticed before. I think it's more realistic, but maybe doesn't quite capture the look of the animation. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Thanks!

Yes i saw HLJ don t sell them anymore, but i doubt hasegawa won t reissue them.

Thanks, I've been wondering how Hasegawa (and other manufacturers) handle these types of models. Do they produce a batch of them and then re-run them later if there's enough demand for them?

I'd pick Zero, it is a pretty good origin premise that introduces the idea of transforming fighter combat well.

If successful, it would make the SDFM story a lot leaner as there would be no need to go into too much detail about the arrival of the SDF-1.

I totally agree. I was thinking about it after listening to the podcast yesterday (great way to pass the time on a 2.5 hour flight!). It would be really difficult to tell the SDFM story in two hours to a U.S. audience that may not be familiar with the original TV series. It would basically have to end up like DYRL with a lot of narration in the beginning to explain the back story. Really interesting to hear about this treatment though as another small part of the history of this series.

I was looking for online photos of the Angel Birds demonstration team from SDFM and noticed this reference in the Macross Wiki summary of Episode 1:

http://macross.wikia.com/wiki/Boobytrap

It describes the Angel Birds as being led by Max Jenius and references this photo:

I have never thought that was intended to be Max - just another guy who happens to wear glass. It's always been my understanding that he was a new pilot when he was assigned to Hikaru's squadron, and certainly not experienced enough to be leading the demonstration team.

Is this info in the Wiki legitimate, i.e. is it backed up by any other Macross literature? Thanks!

The addition of Hikaru & Minmay figs might just make me buy the new kit... Although I'm not sure if they mean resin pilot figures or bigger ones to display alongside it.

Update from the HLJ product listing:

"This is the aircraft piloted by Hikaru Ichijo that saved Lynn Minmay. The cover art is by Hidetaka Tenjin; the kit includes plastic parts to connect the backpack to the Gerwalk, and resin figures of Hikaru and Minmay seated, plus a standing Minmay in her China dress! Decals are included for the Integrated Space Army unit VT-102."

No amount of training will have an IFV buttoned up and ready for instantaneous travel from down town Macross Island to High Orbit Pluto.

Very few, if any, armored vehicles are actually airtight (maybe the Fox and other NBC detection vehicles). The Abrams tank, for example, uses positive pressure inside the crew compartment to continuously force air out of all the cracks and crevices to prevent anything "bad" from getting inside. The NBC system pulls in outside air and purifies it to create that positive pressure. That wouldn't work so well in space! I'm guessing you know all of this, but I thought I'd mention it for the rest of the group.

Gatsu, it's certainly an interesting option if you already have 7 of the Bandai kits from before the Hasegawa models were released like I do. I just dug them out of my old closet and have been wondering what I should do with them. I think I may build one for practice, but this is an option I hadn't really considered.

I recently tried to order a few more of the Hasegawa VF-1A/J/S kits from HLJ, which were listed as "Backordered," and I just noticed a couple days ago that their status has changed to "Discontinued." I was hoping Hasegawa would keep them as a regular production model.

Jefuemon, thanks for the translation! That's exciting news. Here's hoping for a VF-4. I was hoping that Hasegawa would get around to adding it to their line, but I think Wave will do a great job too (just might be more expensive).

Now, if only Wave would produce that 1/72 Spartan...

Thanks for the link. I did a bit of searching but didn't find that one (I still haven't gotten the hang of the search engine here). Looks like a lot of work but still doable. Grayson did a great job - it looks much better than the original Arii kit. I found the finished model thread:

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=14522

I'll have to read through his WIP again to see if I want to tackle that project.