roboferret

Ditto ditto ditto. Gladly lay down the cash for a few sets. I always take a break from the forums at the worst time.

I recently got back from a 10 day trip in Japan. I had the pleasure of cruising around Tokyo for several days and frequenting the model and manga shops. Macross seems to be doing very well there. There was alot of advertisement and press for Macross Frontier, including an awesome display I saw with nearly every soundtrack CD from the original Macross all through Plus, 7, DYRL, and Frontier. You also couldn't walk into a store without hearing Cheryl singing. That or the Caramel dansen song. It never ended. It was everywhere. That being said, I saw relatively few Macross toys for sale. As people have said before, I saw tons more Gundam. Of course I did see "some" 1/48s floating around, but not nearly as many as I would have thought. Probably a good thing too. It would have been fun to try and pack a few 1/48s for the 14 hour flight.

Beautiful job. It certainly isn't easy to get a valk dressed up and have it look so good. I tried getting a 1:6th scale army trench coat on my 1:48 valk and ran into a serious problem with those broad shoulders. Again, fantastic work.

Heh, I appreciate you guys trying to help. Sorry for the vague description. Finally got the suckers apart. I think it is that I always handle my models way to softly. The GBP armor I have I actually got on e-bay, and it was custom painted, so I have been EXTRA careful with absolutely everything on it. Just didn't want to snap something off in the process. Really makes you think twice about something when you drop 100+ dollars on it. The more I work with the yamatos the more I learn that certain things just require a firm confident tug. Except the leg joint in my 1/5000 SDF. That thing went above and beyond the definition of stiff. I had to get HULK SMASH angry before I was able to dislodge it. But I digress. Thanks again for the help. Once I get back from my trip I'll have to throw up some pictures of this bad boy.

EDIT: Scratch the Strike Armor Question I have a random question that probably has a very simple answer. GBP armor: Regarding the armor that surrounds the forearm - Is there any good way to separate the two halves aside from brute strength pulling them apart? (Yeah, of all places THIS is what's giving me trouble) Thank you very much in advance!

Good to see other people enjoying this beautiful model. Quick question though. I am always scared to death about transforming stuff for the first time, and I am having an issue with step 9. That movement with the leg just confuses me. Any help? EDIT You know what. Holy crap is all I can say. Bout 5:30 into this video is what I'm talking about. These legs are a PAIN to detach. I seriously feel like I'm going to snap something off. I'm curious the best way to go about it. Pull outward from the top? From the bottom? Straight out from all sides?

Well, I thought I would throw this out in case this was still an active way to get replacement parts. I'm looking to snag a BCL-1. Its a tiny little gray intake cover. Always manage to need the weirdest pieces. =D I suppose I could ask for just an entire replacement BC1 if that is easier. In any case, it is for a 1/48 Hikaru VF-1S

Another style of panel lining worth mentioning is chalk washes. I really like the easy cleanup and the idiot-proof application method. It is also a great way to add general weathering while doing panel lines at the same time. http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/tnt1...shes/tnt026.htm http://www.world-war-2-airplane-model.com/washes.html

Good golly miss molly. I am blown away. Just. Wow. That panel wash looks absolutely amazing. I'm going to have to research into that a bit more, and see if it is something I can do myself. And pretty much all of my questions regarding clearcoating have been answered and then some. Much appreciated! Looks like I've got some work ahead of me. =D

I was curious what everyones thoughts were on the best way to get that oh so sought after "painted on" look from stickers/decals. I recently purchased a VF-1S 1/48 and was a bit disappointed with the included stickers. There seem to be two varieties. There are those, like the Macross symbol, where the edge of the adhesive is the edge of the colored portion of the sticker. Those are fine for me. However there are others, like the white lettering UN SPACY where you get alot of shiny translucent sticker stuff around the perimeter of the sticker and between the lettering. I dunno why, but that shiny sticker-ness that you get around the edge just irks the hell outta me. And you REALLY tend to see it on dark backgrounds. Kinda like the picture below. I've seen similar effects on the dark parts of the VF-1S, like the gunpod, black leg stripes, and fast packs. So I was curious. Whats the best way to avoid this? Are water slide decals less prone to the shiny phenomena? Does treating the area with a matte or gloss finish help? Do you have to clearcoat the entire valk? Much appreciated, I am quite new when it comes to this kind of stuff. =D

Out of curiosity, what is the clear plastic mount you are using in the picture?

Thank you very much for the link to the movie! A nice full service video to answer all my transformation questions. Also good to see I'm not the only one that has trouble getting those pesky hands out sometimes.

Hi! I just recently purchased my first Valk and decided to go for broke and get the 1/48 VF-1S along with the super/strike armor and a display stand, all from Yamato. I had a few quick questions for people that have used the Yamato display stand. It seems to have a wide range of articulation, and I was just wondering if there is any concern about strain on the model at certain steep angles of display. Also, I was curious about the best way to remove the valk completely from the display stand. Since the anchoring point on the 1/48 is right behind the head I want to make sure I don't break something just trying to disconnect it from the darn stand. Do you just pull straight down on the display/pull straight up on the valk? Or would you suggest rocking it side to side trying to get one side loose. I'd just hate to try and remove it and end up ripping the head off or snapping some important internal component. Thanks in advance! -- Side note: Any tips on steps 16-18 in the fighter to gerwalk instructions? It seems simple: Push button, lift up hatch. But I still seem to have trouble. Is it a combination of holding the rear peg down while prying the front of the hatch up?