VF-1A Grunt

I have a grand vision for eventually modeling a 1/72 city scene from the SDFM Episodes 1-2 battle, with a Tomahawk (possibly damaged) calling in two CF VF-1As to target a Regult that he's spotted down the street. The Battroids would be building or two behind the Tomahawk, who is watching the Regult at the next intersection. Aside from this needing to be a larger scene (maybe 5-6 feet long), modeling all the structures would be a challenge. I think nearly all the 1/72 buildings that are commercially made are World War II era, so it would mean scratchbuilding. To get the look of the modern city as depicted in SDFM (which is now in the past for us, ironically) would mean a lot of concrete slab structures, which could be done with sheet styrene covered with flat concrete-color paint. A parking garage could be a good-sized example. The big challenge is that I would want to model at least one or two structures "rubbled" as if they had been hit by explosives or the enemy bombardment of the city. I'd love to have one of the Battroids crouched behind a huge pile of rubble and peering over the top. That would involve pouring and then smashing a lot of plaster into believable-looking chunks of concrete, with protruding rebar, etc. Maybe some cars smashed underneath too. This could actually probably serve as a large display case for mecha that I could periodically switch out or rearrange. With the amount of work involved, it would need up being my one and only diorama anyway!

I really like the fighter mode of VF-4 too bad, my funds is getting relegated somewhere else and cant buy the toy, I still wonder why Hasegawa decided to skip VF-4.

I would love to see a Hasegawa VF-4 model. I'll be honest, I don't really care for some of the later VFs, but the VF-4 is a really sleek-looking fighter. I have a feeling the VF-4's brief appearance in Flashback is the reason for its lack of popularity among model manufacturers. Were the other modes even animated anywhere, or only the fighter?

I'm really, REALLY, late to this discussion, but since it was bumped back up...

If the VF-1 Master File can be considered "official," it contains the following diagram showing how the dimensions and shape of the kite are determined. Sorry for the poor quality cellphone photo - I don't have access to a scanner and wanted to share the image. This subject seems to come up periodically, so maybe it will be useful. Hopefully the tattoo turned out ok!

In the original "Macross", ground robots are represented by numerous "Destroids", large bipedal with an extensive arsenal of mechanisms, but limited running performance ... Actually they puzzled me at first view - why, have are excellent variation`s fighters, they did not create ground equipment of this type, the same tanks, for example?

I should note that the use of technology transformation would give the land a robotic technique many advantages, such as changing the height profile, the ability to use a wheeled platform for rapid movements on relatively flat terrain, the mode of transport for maximum compactness, combat flexibility and versatility humanoid form and more...

Personally, I look at this from a practical, economic standpoint. Transforming mecha like the Valkyries would be expensive to manufacturer and complicated to operate, requiring longer and more extensive training (just like a fighter aircraft vs. a tank). Destroids are mobile ground combat vehicles, but they're not as complex and would be easier to train an operator to handle. The Valkyries and their crews are the elite of the U.N. Spacy who perform long range, critical missions, while the Destroids are the foot soldiers who can seize or hold ground, provide security and close-in defense, etc. While you could use Valkyries to secure the perimeter of a base, it would be a waste of those assets when a cheaper Destroids can provide the same security and free up the Valkyries to perform more complex missions. If you compare it to today's military vehicles, yes, you could use a tank to guard the perimeter of a base, but why tie up an expensive asset like that when a Humvee or MRAP with a machinegun can do the same job?

Funny you mentioned the VF-1D Low Vis - I just got a second Hasegawa VF-1D from an Amazon seller in California for a good price ($20 + shipping), but the decal sheet has brown smudges all over it like it got wet or dirty. I received a VF-1A Low Vis Kit the same day, and fortunately most of these kits have a second set of decals (two variations), so the VF-1D may end up as a low vis! Are you thinking something along the lines of the ones in the first VF-1 Master File?

In my opinion, the Super Defender conversion would fix the biggest issue that I have with the Bandai model, which is the overly "fat" twin gun barrels. However, I think the Wave model is a must for the standard Defended (X), so I'm not sure how the two different brands would look side by side. I have both but haven't build and compared them yet. You might be able to find some .020" stainless steel tubing to use for the 35mm gun barrels. Should be a cool project!

One follow-up question for you: how does your Spartan compared to the Wave Destroids in terms of size? I'm curious as to whether the two manufacturers got the scale approximately the same so they look "correct" when viewed together.

I just finished reading through an old discussion about Yamato's 1/60 Destroids and the frustration about them not producing the Spartan in that line (or the Phalanx, for that matter). I hadn't thought about the fact that the Tomahawk, Defender, and Phalanx all share the same lower half, which saves on model tooling. That makes me think that it's unlikely Wave will produce the Spartan, for the same reason that Yamato didn't (all new tooling needed for a model of questionable popularity). I think I better consider following your lead if I want to have a Spartan in my collection.

Welcome to the board!

The Macross Compendium remains the number one source of translated information about the Macross franchise that one can find on the internet. I recommend bookmarking that place and reading up.http://macross.anime.net/wiki/Main_Page

Thanks for the welcome and for the link - I think I discovered that site a few years ago but had since forgotten about it. I have a lot of reading to do, but the small amount I've looked through so far has been very helpful in answering a few questions.

And of course, I gotta plug my own site, particularly if you like the mecha and military fiction of Macross. See my signature for the link (and I'm on Facebook as well)

I saw your signature and visited your site on my second or third day on the forum. I don't want to sound like I'm not interested in the storyline also, because I definitely am, but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through many pages of your mecha descriptions and background info. I hadn't cracked open Macross Perfect Memory and the other handful of books that I have in years, so it was great to see all the line art on your site. Thanks a lot for putting it all together for us!

Chaff, this is really a fantastic build and tutorial, thanks for sharing it! I've collected a fair number of the 1/72 kits and plan to start building then soon, but I'm on the verge of ordering a 1/48 VF-1A/J and etched parts after reading your thread. The detail on this model really seems to stand out in 1/48. I hadn't see the Hasegawa saw set for panel lines before either and plan to order one soon. I just received an order of those tiny rare earth magnets in the mail too. I was curious if the same technique could be made to work on the 1/72 weapons racks. I'd like to even try building a few racks to carry JDAMs. I'm considering some sort of dual seater VF-1 like an F-15E...

Thanks again for posting this!

I think I have an Imai Tomahawk, Defender, and Spartan stashed somewhere - maybe at my parents' house from when I moved out years ago. I considered selling them (once I find them), but I may end up building them for practice before I work on the Wave kits. The Spartan is probably the best-looking, in my opinion. The guns (arms) on both the Tomahawk and Defender are really chunky looking, among other things, which is why I never built them. The kits were pretty disappointing when compared to the artwork on the boxes.

recently build that Tomahawk my self...

Your Tomahawk model is fantastic and will be an inspiration for my future project! As much as I love Valkyries, the Tomahawk is arguably my favorite mecha (possibly because I'm a tanker in real life). I actually just bought a second kit from HLJ to add to the collection (along with a Phalanx) - possible as a backup if I make a mess of the first one, but also cause I want to have more than one of my favorite.

I really need to watch the real SDFM. I've only seen a few episodes in Japanese and then watched the poor Robotech adaptation in its entirety. Is there a good place to buy the complete set without paying $150+ like some of the offers on Amazon?

I just recently rediscovered Macross while visiting Japan with my family. I used to visit family in Tokyo during the summers when I was a kid, but I hadn't been back in 20 years. Here's what rekindled my interest while I was wandering through the awesome hobby shops in Akihabara - purchased at Yellow Submarine:

Since I returned from the trip, I've added a few more things from Amazon!

About 10 years ago, when Hasegawa released all their awesome models, I fortunately picked up a few off eBay (before they were available through Amazon) before I was distracted by other things, so I already had a start to the collection, plus a few of the old Bandai transformable 1/72 kits:

This forum is a bad influence though - I already have another VF-1D, VF-1A, VF-1A Sonicbirds, and VF-1A Low Visibility coming from Amazon, plus about 6 items in the HLJ warehouse! My modeling skills are really rusty though, so I'm probably going to be slow starting off, but I wanted to get these kits while they were still available.

Incredible! When they finally get around to making the live-action Macross movie, they're going to need to rent your model for filming the battle scenes. Can't wait to see it completed!

That really looks fantastic, but I can tell it was a lot of work. Reminds me to keep hoping that Wave will add the Spartan to their other three awesome 1/72 Destroid kits. It really doesn't seem to get a lot of love.

Fantastic modeling! I think the weathering looks great. I wish I had rediscovered Macross in time to get one of those kits.

But the pod should really be a lot bigger...if a Valk can wear a Zent uniform and pass as a soldier at a distance, then how's a guy that big ever going to fit inside a pod?

Someone commented in another thread about the "anime magic" and the way the relative scale of various mecha seems to change throughout the series, especially the Regult. Note the scale in this line art, which I know everyone is familiar with, but I just came across it again recently:

http://macross2.net/m3/sizecharts/sizechart-1.gif

I personally think is off, compared to how they appear in the animation, but hey, it's "official."

I'm late to this discussion since I only joined recently but have thought about this topic a bit. I prefer the TV schemes in a lot of ways, but I agree that the movie schemes are more realistic from the standpoint of military uniformity. I think the TV schemes are more "classic mecha," being fully-repainted in the case of Max and Milia's aircraft, but the small patches of color on the movie Valkyries are more practical, while maintaining their squadron theme. I also agree with the earlier post about the Max and Hayao Kakizaki VF-1As' personalized paint schemes in the series being a little unrealistic, given that they were brand new pilots, but I understand the practical need to identify the characters during the battle scenes.

On a side note, I'm fascinated by all the squadron-specific paint schemes in the Master File books, having just bought my first two. I hope to recreate several of them using Hasegawa 1/72 fighters. I'm in the military in real life, so I've always liked the basic soldiers in the series, the "cannon fodder" brown VF-1As (hence my name and avatar). I plan to build several of those, but I'm curious about them in light of the squadron concepts presented in the Master Files. I guess the idea is that the VF-1As are mass-produced in the brown and white paint scheme and then repainted into specific schemes by the operational squadrons. However, the Master Files would seem to imply that there wouldn't be any brown VF-1As left on the SDF or the Prometheus (except for the squadrons that are variations on the brown scheme), which obviously isn't the case. I'm probably overthinking this...

Can anyone tell me the back story behind the Sonic Birds, anniversary, and the low visibility schemes that Hasegawa offered on their fighter model? Were those first created by Hasegawa and then included in the Master Files, or the other way around? I know the Angel Birds appeared in the TV series, but I don't recall any of the others. I would love to see decals produced for the other squadrons in the books. I know Hasegawa offered some extra decal sets, but from the photos I found online, it doesn't look like they correspond to other squadrons included in the Master Files.

Looks fantastic! There are definitely a lot of variations in the relative size of the mecha in the line art and animation, but I think your version does a better job of capturing how large the Regult should be compared to the VF-1. Although the interiors on previous models are really interesting, I'll gladly sacrifice that feature for a more affordable, true-to-scale model like this one. Please count me in for a couple.

Hi everyone,

I was fascinated by Macross as a kid, visiting family in Japan in the '80s but lost track of the series in high school and college. I briefly rediscovered it about 10 years ago when Hasegawa released all of their great models, but a trip to Japan with my own family a few months ago has really rekindled my interest. I'm a military officer, so the organization and equipment, Valkyrie squadrons, and all the other incredible technical background that creators produced for this series are really interesting to me. I have always dabbled in modeling and hope to create a small fleet of mecha in the coming years. I unfortunately never really learned Japanese as a kid and didn't fully grasp the story, so I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about the world of Macross. My experience has been limited to SDFM and DYRL, so I have a lot to catch up on!

Dave