SteveTheFish

Hey, I just checked again and I take it back. I just saw a lack of a figure and didn't read it. However, it says specifically TV版ミリアフィギュア in the advertising graphic. D'oh! Additionally, in the product description it says: ミリア・ファリーナのフィギュア原型は太郎もちこみ 氏が担当。/ The Millia Farina figure prototype was created by Taro Mochikomi. In the graphic the Japanese says that it only features the upper half of Millia's body is included, but the kit we already got is like that anyway. I actually bought mine in July when a seller on Rakuten had it on a killer sale, with free shipping. I only paid something like 3800 yen with free shipping. I couldn't refuse! So scratch out my theory that there may be some licensing clause which prevents them from doing non-DYRL stuff. So if that's the case, why did they recreate a great cockpit for the Glaug but no Kamjin figure? Has anyone made an STL file Kamjin for 3D printing?

No, I guess what they are going for is for when Hikaru and Misa were exploring Earth. Here is the product listing: http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/product/65896/ So Super parts = Minmay, bare-bones Valk = Misa. It says that it includes the Minmay figure so you can use it with the Super Ostrich. Here is a quick paste of the description in English, ran through Goolag Translate: The kit is composed of parts that allow you to choose between the Gerwalk Fighter and the Gerwalk. The prototypes for the three new plastic figures were created by Taro Mochikomi. Ichijo Hikaru (in ship's uniform) and Hayase Misa (in undersuit) can be placed in the cockpit. As a bonus part, it comes with Lynn Minmay (rear seat seat, wearing a simple space suit, with or without helmet), which can be used with the separately sold VT-1 Super Ostrich. The included display stand allows you to display it in a hovering position. A new plastic attachment for the Gerwalk Fighter is included. The package illustration is by Morishita Naochika.

I'm guessing that the reasons why we aren't seeing figures of Kamjin for the Glaug or TOS Millia for this new Q-Rau is the result of the truce established between Big West and hissy-fit Harmony Gold. DYRL was proven in court to not belong to Harmony Gold's fraudulent claims to international licensing, so figures from the movie are fair game. I'm just guessing. I know the guy who helped broker the deal to between the two companies to help make Macross available internationally. The smoking gun is that he was following one court case and HG was passing off DYRL Valk designs as belonging to their TOS license, and that's how we finally claimed victory over HG. I should ask him if my hunch is correct.

Haven't you heard? Round 2 has announced plans to re-release the old MPC Black Hole kits. Intention was announced to modify the Cygnus's length to make it more appropriate. I've heard that two kits are necessary to elongate the middle segment to make it more appropriate. Perhaps that's what they have in mind? I managed to get the old V.I.N.CENT kit here in Japan on YAJ for about 8,000 yen several years ago. Now they will re-release the old kit.

Oh yes! You did a good job. That's what I will need to do.

I am surprised. The bottoms of the feet segments of the old Imai Glaug kit are hollow. I was looking for pieces that would fit on the bottoms, but there are no such pieces. I'm compelled to cut some Tamiya Pla-Plate to make my own bottoms of those pieces. I've built other Imai Macross models and they all had proper bottoms, complete with molded detail. This is weird.

I'm on vacation at the in-laws' place, and in our room here I have a modeling workbench set up. I took the old Imai Glaug kit with me to work on, repopped by Bandai for the 25th Macross anniversary. I paid only 1,020 yen for this back in the day. I think maybe I bought this around 2013 or so. I've filed down those red sensors and will replace them with Wave's H-Eyes 3.5mm lenses. Since I need so many of them however, I've decided to just create molds of one with Oyumaru and cast them with clear UV resin. No sense buying 3 more of those H-Eyes sets just to get 2 pieces from each!

@pengbuzz Check this out. Good things I made friends with a 3D printing madman who doesn't mind printing lots of crap for me. I'm gonna get him a model kit to send him in exchange someday. I'm heading to America next week, so I've arranged to have him send this stuff to my dad's place while I stay there. Here is the bridge to the 537 K'Tinga. Too bad I couldn't have gotten to you earlier. This looks fantastic. It also has improved engines, so I can slice the molded ones off and place the improved ones onto the kit instead. It comes with clear inserts too. The only thing I'll have to do is try to make the bulb part look decent somehow, plus scratchbuild the disruptors on the underside of the wings. And I also had him print this Rei from Evangelion. She looks great!

@pengbuzz I already typed this yesterday, but I must have clicked away from the tab before sending it and lost it. Great story, and I have to chime in with praise for your wife. Actually, my wife is the reason why I got back into this hobby about 26 years ago. She came home from work with an AMT Star Wars AT-AT plastic model from the hobby store on the corner where her bus stop is. She asked me, "You know how to build models, right? You've built them before. Build a doggy horse for me!" (That's what she always called Imperial Walkers and they were her favorite part of Star Wars. She even has a Kenner AT-AT toy.) So I built it with only minimal painting, just leaving the gray plastic as-is and wiped some enamel on it for a bit of weathering. Since then, I've grown modeling experience from there. I'm glad she bought that for me, because I then remembered how enjoyable the hobby is. It's good to have a wife who's supportive of your hobbies. So is that Cat's Eye a resin kit?

Plamoholic once again knocks another old Imai Valkyrie kit out of the park. He uses Kotobukiya's minus molds and Wave's H-Eyes along with implementing ball joints to make this kit look great.

ALPS printers... It's been many years since I last attended Wonder Festival, which was just weekend (the one in Chiba, not Wonder Fest in Kentucky (although I did get to go there once about 9 years ago)), but there was one dealer who was selling ALPS printers. I have no idea if they even make ink for those printers anymore. I've only encountered one, when I worked at Aoshima. I think you have to tell it to print white and then the colors on top of the white. I don't know what software is used or if that is just a button you can press on it. They had a laptop running Windows XP just to use that printer, since they are only 32-bit compatible. With the way 3D printing is becoming so popular, it's hard to believe that there isn't such a printer these days for people to make their own decals affordably. I wouldn't mind getting one. As it is, I've only really just done decals for lighter-colored models and such.

Tonight I finished laying down decals for my 1:2500 scale Enterprise E model kit. Next I'll have to apply a satin clear coat and color in the windows with an alcohol pen.

Hey, yo yo yo. If you have a 3D printer or have access to one through a friend or whatever, CHECK THIS OUT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTf9VV-JAv8 This guy designed replacement parts for the top command deck as well as the engines. I bought the STL files from him about a year and a half ago but I have yet to get these printed for me. Unfortunately, he never got around to making a replacement for the bulb below the bridge section, nor did he create the disruptor cannons on the underside of the forward parts of the wings. But his price is pretty reasonable and your kit will look a lot better than out of the box, so I highly recommend it.

You've got a really bad texturing problem. I guess you are using a Tamiya primer rattle can. You need to sit it in a bowl of warm water to help the flow. Shake the can for a solid minute before spraying. Give it a shot and let us know if the results improve.

Finally took photos of my completed mini Nadia figure. This is said to be 1:15 scale, and it comes in all one piece, making painting a bit difficult. What made it more difficult is when some paint lifted off. I've since become more aggressive with cleaning resin parts. As always, pictures are in the photoset for this build on my Tumblr feed: https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/789663998048108544/kaiyodo-secret-of-blue-water-115-nadia-mini-resin

My hypothetical Millia Armored Valk kit is finally complete. This is the old legacy Imai kit in 1:100 scale, modified with aftermarket hands from Kotobukiya and polycap joints from Wave. More pictures are in the photoset for this build on my Tumblr feed: https://stevethefishdotnet.tumblr.com/post/789657424092184576/imai-1100-armored-valkyrie-vf-1j-plastic-model

Oh wow! A Star Wars Enterprise!

Neat build of an old Imai Valk Battroid with heavy modification with polycaps and such.

That seems to be a cultural difference when it comes to modeling. While modeling is held in a much high regard here in Japan than in America (where people just think it's something that kids do), IPMS is not so popular. Modeling events in Japan, or at least the ones I've been to, are not about a contest but rather just coming together and enjoying the hobby. The biggest event is the Shizuoka Hobby Show. One convention hall is used as a tradeshow with companies' booths while the other convention hall is a private exhibition hall. Individuals as well as modeling clubs have their models on display. Dorobou Hige has his table as does Wild River, there's the Studio Ghibli Modelers group, a group for Yamato/Starblazers modelers, the lovely Tomoe Ogoshi 054 has her group of women modelers, etc. There is no contest; it's rather a celebration of the hobby. And the level of imagination on display there will blow you away. A Gundam taking a crap on a toilet reading a magazine, Hatsune Miku in a Power Loader from Aliens battling an actual crab, a psychedelic-colored Messerschmitt, an Easter basket of eggplanes painted like Easter eggs, a Hello Kitty Starship Enterprise... It's unreal. Way more fun than dealing with stuffy judges with their heads up their ass or grown-ass men throwing temper tantrums because they didn't get first place. Anyhow, sorry for going off-topic. I haven't been been to the Shizuoka Hobby Show since 2016, and even then I had to work at the event and couldn't really enjoy the sights. I was stuck babysitting a Lamborghini for two days straight and my feet were killing me.

That's how I remember them to be, so it's why I asked. I went to the IPMS national convention in Phoenix, AZ in 2010 and the showroom was row after row of models built exactly as they are supposed to be built. Not so much inspiration or originality. The SF section was just along one table and that was it. The IPMS club I attended once was mostly just grumpy old geezers who couldn't appreciate anything SF. I'm glad to hear that it's changed, but the contest judging remains obstinate from what I hear. My friend in Canada built a Bandai A-Wing to look just like the Ralph McQuarrie concept art. It looked beautiful with the blue and white scheme, and displayed it for the IPMS event there in Calgary or wherever it was. He was demerited because it "wasn't weathered enough." Well, tell that to Ralph McQuarrie. I'm sure that the judges know Star Wars, but beyond that they probably didn't even know what they were looking at. Anyhow, my Rei and Asuka are done. I have them both placed on a wooden plaque. I'm thinking that I might paint the plaque and print out an Evangelion or Nerv logo decal (although I honestly don't really care for the show). Yesterday it was 34 degrees C (I think that would be 91F) and last night I saw that Asuka was leaning forward. Drat! It's because of the way their feet are made, in segments. If they were just one piece, I could fill them with plaster better. As it is, sofubi tends to bend when warm. I removed the 2mm copper rod and I will replace it with a much longer one to give her leg more support. Also, the two girls have those life support backpacks or whatever they are. On Rei, I put some superglue in the wrong place and it turned out messy. It's that semigloss black section on her back. I wetsanded most of it off and now it doesn't look so bad. I'm not sure if I should risk trying to remove more or not.

I've seen several mentions of IPMS. I attended one meeting in the Chandler, AZ area in 2011, the year before I moved back to Japan. I found that the atmosphere there was not very friendly towards sci-fi modeling, as if it wasn't respected as a legitimate form of modeling. Do you guys get flack for being Macross modelers? I've heard that it's pretty hit-and-miss, depending on who's running the local chapter. Some are welcoming of SF modeling while others treat such subjects with disdain.

Almost done with my Rei and Asuka sofubi figure set. I still need to attach Rei's left arm. She also has a bit of a fit issue with her legs unfortunately. I have a gap to fill. I'm pleased with the gloss/flat red and gloss/flat white idea I had for their plugsuits. It looks nice.

That's what I thought. I actually did try to use a brown wash after the flat coat and it was messy. I had to rub it off rather well to remove what happened. I don't know any other way to do something like that. As you can see her standing next to the bottle of Tamiya cement, she's real tiny, like not even 6 inches tall. I painted her eyes and gold jewelry using optivisors and I added the glints of light in her eyes with a toothpick at the end. I can't really notice any such flaws on model kits until I get up real close to take photos. Then I notice the specks of dust, imperfections on paint lines, etc. Just wash the crap out of the resin with degreasing detergent. Soak the parts for days. Scrub with a toothbrush and pumice powder if there aren't delicate parts that can break (like strands of hair and such). Lately I've begun giving the parts a temporary soak in lacquer thinner too as I am sick of paint lifting off. It happened a few times with this Nadia figure I've finished. Like everything seems to be going well and then I lift up masking and it yanks the primer and paint off, down to the bare resin. Ever seen what happens to Thunder at the end of Big Trouble in Little China? I feel like that when it happens.

Thanks for the tip, but do you think a wash would be effective over a flat coat like this?

I have finally finished that mini Nadia resin figure. It's real tiny, so the closer I get to it, the more the flaws become obvious. I'm also working on a sofubi of Priss from Bubblegum Crisis.