Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

It did happen but ended with the Rekka no Ryu rerelease from Armor Plus

Not a fan of those graphic design poster/race car decos on anniversary valks. Would prefer to see an SDF homage like the DX VF-31C in Hikaru's VF-1J Vermillion colors. Hell I am surprised Bandai repainted the YF-29 with a Focker deco when they could've made a more fitting homage using the VF-25S.

Anyone here is the Advanced Super Hornet CFT's add more drag to the Super Bug than the CFT's on the Strike Eagle? Also I've been perusing F-16.net and the Viper guys on there seem to not think highly of the Beagle in DACM.

I'm hoping Bandai lets TREX design a DX VF-25 3.0. I've got cracked hinges on my Renewals and I was never rough with any of them. IIRC DX 1 was made by the internal Tamashii team. For the Renewals, the lead designer of the 1/72 VF-25 plamo kit oversaw the design. Meanwhile TREX designed the DX VF-31 and it's a big step in the right direction. Damn spring pins and cracked hinges!

I think the next new mold will be an all new YF-21. Mr. K said he wanted another go at it years back on the Arcadia dev blog and reiterated as much with that Forbes interview not long ago.

Makes sense to make the J Kai an exclusive. Symbolic due to the knight symbol/coming of age but not really combat relevant. I'll stick to my regular J.

Didn't see a thread on this and it's been a long time since I posted here(lots of changes here too). Ace Combat 7 got delayed and I believe it's coming next year. I worry it's just going to be a short campaign technology demonstrator(which is how Assault Horizon came off). The last best games in the series IMHO were the PSP games and possibly the 3DS one(remake of AC2 with squadron fights and 3D). 6 had a short campaign with long missions. With 7 the counterattack maneuvers(Cobra-esque) have been brought back sans rails. Not sure if all planes are able to perform it but the recent trailer showed the Super Bug, Flanker and Raptor able to do so. Hopefully the campaign will be long and substantial(like Ace Combat 5) and not just a PS4VR tech demonstrator to show clouds.

Does Rod's squadron have YF-29B's too or just him? Does he turn good? I like how it looks like 171 Nightmare colors. Pretty cool that Bandai is making this.

Looks sleeker than the Arcadia one but previous experience with DX Valks leads me to believe this one will be a lot looser within a year.

Pretty excited for the return of VF HI METAL. I hope less parts swapping is introduced as well as an integrated heat shield. Landing gear isn't something I care for much on a product of this size. I felt like the original VFHM VF-1 line was designed in mind for diecast model aircraft collectors. There's a ton of optional parts. For something this small with the turbine fans too far forward anyways, I felt like swappable intakes weren't necessary, just keep the covered ones. The trigger for the gunpod being separate was weird too. The tiny hands were there and seemed like they were there just cause. On something this small I would prefer just to leave bigger hands on and out. Not retracted. Here's to hoping for an integrated heat shield and to minimal parts swapping yet no swapping necessary for transformation. A dedicated stand that can store all parts and Qrau TV style would be awesome too.

Shown weeks ago

I think a lot of what Bandai tried to accomplish could be executed much better, in a larger scale. At 1/72 the VF-1 is rather small. At 1/100 it's even smaller(though that is a popular scale for Gunpla given the MG line). From what I can see, if this were made in 1/48 scale with some screws utilized and more pins, and improved engineering, it could be a stellar kit. As is Bandai crammed a lot into what becomes a small model. With that said, some of you who bought this kit and have complained to no end(not all of you, I understand a lot of the criticisms, I don't have this kit and I can already tell it's not perfect) are better off sticking with the toys. In fact some of you who have complained and compared this to the toys seem content with the toys. So if that's the case, why even try to improve this model if you've repeatedly posted your disdain for it while at the same time, posting how much better the Yamato V2 1/60 toys are? Save yourself the grief and stick with the toys. For guys that want a 1/72 realistic traditional model, the Hasegawa is the best pick. For those who want a fairly accurate transformable toy, the Yamato V2 1/60 VF-1 is the best pick. For those who want a modern transformable Macross VF-1 plamo Gunpla style, get this kit. Just know that due to its transformation it's not going to be as stable as most Gunpla and even transformable Gunpla. It's a lot of moving parts and transformation mechanism at a small scale. The fact that Bandai Hobby was even able to accomplish this feat is impressive, but that does not at all mean it's a perfect execution. Something that ambitious ought to be in a larger scale in my opinion.

Interesting where they on the regular 171 or the 171EX? Also did Milia and Gamlin fly them in the game? I think the D color scheme would be more appropriate but I would settle for VF-17S colors.

I read somewhere that the manual does specify that glue is needed in a few areas. The transformation videos all but suggest it due to how many parts fall off. I think this is an ambitious kit by Bandai Hobby with their emphasis being on an accurate replication of canonical transformation. I think wm_cheng and Noyhauser nailed it with their comments about this kit and who it caters to, I agree with both of them but didn't quote here since it'd make my post pretty long. To me, Bandai definitely succeeded in surpassing the old Imai variable kits. Those kits, though models, looked pretty toyetic to me and their age definitely shows. This kit proves that with the advances made today, a far better kit can be made with minimal parts swapping. Through the years I've wanted something like this. Before it was just a wish since Bandai obviously had Macross model licenses but didn't to anything more than reissue Imai/Arii kits and make their own 1/100 and 1/144 Macross 7 kits. Then Bandai Hobby made 1/72 Macross F kits. Once that happened I was wondering when they would finally make a new variable VF-1 kit. I'm not alone, in the Gunpla community there were also fans wondering when Bandai would ever make a new transforming VF-1 kit. Hopefully Bandai can make a 2.0 version later on. This kit has a lot of neat engineering going for it but execution leaves some better aspects to be desired. If I ever get it I will only stick the missles I decide to use and might glue them on I don't think I'd use all the missles from the Strike kit, the removable panels might loosen up over time and lead to even more parts falling off. I'm going into this knowing it's a model but even so the saying "less is more" definitely applies. Less removable parts would've been beneficial. Knowing how many removable parts this had before the kit was released, and seeing how many optional uses those parts had, I figured a lot of parts would fall off when handling. This is definitely a kit for Gunpla fans who want a transforming VF-1 kit and are aware not to treat it as an action figure. It's a model that can look more accurate than a toy(debatable) and can be posed every so often(but won't handle excessive handling like an action figure). You're never going to get anything more accurate when it comes to fighter and battroid than a Hasegawa nor anything more of a toy than a Yamato/Arcadia or Bandai/Takatoku VF-1, so for anyone to expect those 2 qualities from this kit you're only setting yourself up for disappointment. The appeal of this kit is that like with any other model, you make it your own. In addition of all mass released VF-1 models and even toys, this has the closest replication of the transformation Kawamori envisioned for the VF-1. It definitely has compromises to reach that goal.

I didn't know AGE and 2199 had subs, but for Macross Plus, Manga Entertainment already had subs for their movie version, so I'm guessing(and I may be wrong so if anyone knows for sure, feel free to correct me) that we got subs on the blu-ray movie release because they were just reused subs from the VHS/DVD releases. I have my doubts for the Macross F box set blu-rays to have subs BUT I will buy them if they include them.

I'd love to see this in Gamlin's VF-17D colors; black with blue trim.

Wondering how Bandai will handle the battroid heat shield.

Thanks for the info David. For the AMRAAMs and Sidewinders on Shin's Tomcat, what paints should I use for the stripes and caps? Also why are the Sidewinder tips/forward fins black?

Thanks David, I looked up the paints, giving me the corresponding numbers definitely helped, much appreciated! So I am guessing, the best thing to do is mainly go for a 2 tone scheme, like the ones sported by VF-2, VF-103 and VF-154 before they converted to the Super Bug?

Swoosh how did you make those awesome tailfins?

Thanks David. Looks like Shin's Tomcat is missing the middle grey on the fuselage seen here(below the cockpit): http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/f-14/f-14_profile02.shtml

Hey guys, I have been looking at screengrabs from Macross Zero, images of completed Hase F-14's from Macross Zero, and the instructions that came with the Hase Macross Zero Tomcat(scans). Can anyone tell me which paints are needed? Not so much the engine areas but the overall paint scheme. For example the corresponding Model Master, Tamiya paint numbers, et al. Also, sometimes it's hard for me to tell what paint scheme Shin's Tomcat even has. At 1st I thought it was the Tactical Paint Scheme, but in some shots it looks like it is just 2 tones of cool grey, dark for the canopy frame, and a lighter grey for the body(but still a cool grey). In some shots the overall body just looks light grey, especially for the completed kit. However in Hasegawa's shots, the sample looks like it has a cool grey. Also from the scans for the Hase kit that I have seen, the paint schemes shown are for VF-74 and VF-84, both of which had different applications compared to Shin's Tomcat. EDIT: Is it supposed to be the "Dark Ghost Scheme" that VF-103 had after being revived as the Jolly Rogers?

I want a 1/60 VF-11 with BIG ASS TAIL FINS as option parts.

What broke?

I think toy-wise Bandai excels at transforming mecha toys so long as they are not based on realistic designs. For example, the big ass Super Robots from the 70's-80's, Bandai made some SOC toys of those which can be seen as definitive toys. I agree that the Renewal Messiahs are far more accurate than the V1's, but as toys, Bandai still hasn't made them to the point where I can say "wow this is the definitive VF-25 toy". All I can say is "this is the best VF-25 toy BECAUSE it is the only one we can get(at the moment) that is better than the V1, perfect transformation, et al". I'm even convinced that TakaraTomy can do a better job quality-wise(not sculpt/accuracy-wise). Pretty sad too, as good as these look, they were not designed to last. My Ozma was posed standing for a few months, only to turn loose the minute I picked it up again. Made even worse once the Armored Parts came in. The Super parts don't weigh the Renewal Messiahs down as much but the Armored Parts...holy crap. Bandai nailed the sculpts but as toys I am left underwhelmed. Ball joints that are not too tight but won't get ragdoll loose over time and/or under the weight of armor would suffice for now but..it's like these Renewal Messiahs are destined to become loose. At least if we get Tornado armor, the extending "tailbone" ought to help. At this point my Ozma with Armored Parts disconnects at the crotch and falls back unless it is on its stand.