regult

From right to left (a la traditional Kanji): Megumi Nakajima, Macross God S.Kawamori, ...and who's that girl on the left??? Sheryl's acting voice? that is not May'n for sure (Sheryl's singing voice).

I must admit, if it wasn't for "raw-bow-tek" I'd have never known there was "makurosu"...but upon stumbling on this discussion, I thought HG was "Universal Century" as in Gunpla! (sorry Harmony Gold) At this point I should probably watch Mospeada and Southern Cross as they were originally conceived.

Hmm, when transforming or posing, you inevitably touch it and the foil sticker nudges! I realized the glue they used is a bit "soft", so I am not sure how blow drying would work.

Thanks, and thanks David for reiterating the question that's been haunting me, because at this stage, I either have to get a whole set of decals to redecorate the model, learn how to paint all the details or the easiest: use the stickers and probably clear coat it for a "permanent" solution. Of course, I may actually proceed to get a second kit so I have at least 2 and can display in 2 modes at the same time, Ozma would be a bit of a waste of money because I don't recall seeing his valk that clean...I will stick with the princess.

This was so funny...I am still laughing as I type!

Strange that Shin Dansetsu Kai 7.0 keeps mentioning the Y brand when Señor mcpaz didn't really do so. (yes, he did say YF-19, but I don't see much Y brand praising really). As I said, and repeat, I honestly wished the DX toy and the plastic model, both from BANDAI, would look just a bit more similar...that the issues I mentioned on the DX (which are examples of what bothers me overall aka "fugly") would be magically erased when I stumble upon it in a shop somewhere, or when MWers tell me "Hey, the samples shown were crap, the DX is AWESOME!!" Then I would gladly go to the nearest wall and bang my head on it three times and curse myself for not having pre-ordered it. There are some weeks to go, let's see (I doubt, though...sad) *edit: almost forgot about Starscream! Yes, the movie CG was cool, but the toys?? I think that's what we were talking about, unless there is a "full transformation" version out there that is "CG-accurate"???

Maybe, just maybe, the crotch problem will be magically solved upon release, the landing gear will be less "supermarket trolley-looking", maybe the radome will not droop, maybe the legs won't look like it needs to get new longer trousers... and I will bang my head on the wall for not pre-ordering this chunky. I HONESTLY hope I have a chance to bang my head against the wall! Well, I waited 25 years for a 99% satisfactory VF-1 Roy Focker from Yamato (and still fear the shoulders will crack every time I transform it), maybe another 25 years from now we'll see an more or less accurate, reasonably durable and affordable VF-25?

Apparently we're all quite understanding *edit "condescending" of the market in Japan, of Bandai...and some like myself are venting personal desires. Many hard-core airplane model builders may feel the pain when looking at the completed snap-fit Alto, the gaps are inevitable, and making it non-transformable is a waste of all it's internal mechanics. Not holding my breath for a Hasegawa Fighter-only VF-25, but sure would like to see it, and being a diecast aircraft collector, I'd love to have it pre-painted from the factory and with 90% metal content, but that is impossible... I would love to buy more of the merchandise, but only the solid archive crappy gashapon arrives here, I'd love to have 3 Alto kits if I could (I can afford that, versus a fugly 1/60 DX worth 3 times the kit). Transformation is a feature, but I prefer to see at all 3 modes at the same time instead of only 1 at the time, and risking breakage with every transformation. As somebody else said "a model is not a toy". Personally I don't understand why so many are crazy about armored and super packs, I like the clean looks of the VF-25, and also seriously question the ability of a super-packed Alto to stand on it's own feet or even on the shiny SMS stand. Ozma barely lost his armor throughout 25 episodes, so I guess he should always come with the whole deal, but hmm...then why bother taking it away like what we're going to get in November? (milking the mold). I honestly also doubt the announced packs should be detachable...more rubbing and scratching?!? I will just keep dreaming about a perfect transformation PG...maybe some day, maybe in 2059?

Yeah, but: 1) Yamato does not and will not (within the foreseeable future) make ANY Macross F stuff 2) the alternative to the model is the BANDAI DX chunky, costs 3 times the model and looks 3 times (or more) inferior 3) the Bandai model transforms, with all the inherent problems that brings...maybe they should make a non transformable model of each mode for display?

Thanks Graham for the feedback, I really suck at applying stickers, they never settle in the right place in one go, and adjusting only makes it worse...you're right about the red stickers in the recessed areas, they're too small and easily peel off. I used a decal for the chest plate, and even that came off! now it's neatly painted with red enamel and looks even better: David, I'd not even bother applying decals, since you're good with paint...by the way, that looks amazing compared to anything you will ever achieve with a decal or the sticker. Eventually I may turn to the brush and apply some flat red enamel over there, same with the engine intake triangular detail. Still not sure what to do with that part, don't want to change the whole thing coz the red stripes are staying well, only the black outlines and red triangles are messed up as I showed in previous pictures. Do any of you experienced modellers ever use stickers and then clear coat on top? Saw a build in a model shop here in Hong Kong and the wings had yellowed SMS and SMS007 logos, guess it was the sticker reacting to the clear coat? I am not sure what a hybrid sticker/decal should be dealt with.

I also didn't want to apply ANY decals for the verniers, and did a good job painting the recesses black, at least passes my QC (would not pass if it was made at a factory though!). Had the same hesitation about the one "trapped" in the livery, and passed. IT actually is painted underneath the decal, but with softener/setter, it's still acceptable. Mind you: the decal is actually smaller (just a tad) than the actual molded vernier, you may want to be very very careful to cut a bit more than it's printed in the decal if you want no red/black stripes getting into the vernier.

I am relatively new and unsophisticated with my snap-fit models. I completed my VF-25F a while ago, and didn't know how badly I'd do if I didn't apply any top coat over the decals, which, even with the help of Mr. Decal Setter, have achieved a rather "weathered" look with only a pair of transformations.. some have been destroyed beyond repair. I was wondering what course of action to take: 1) buy myself a new kit, when it becomes available, apply the decals carefully, clear coat with spray-can on the decaled parts, then assemble 2) disassemble the parts, change the broken decals with the stickers, and then clear coat and reassemble. It is really a pain in the butt to apply stickers, that's why I chose to go decals. wolfx, I know you went on a date, and that you already replaced some decals with stickers: now can you show us how did the sticker conform to the air intakes? Also, a question to more experienced model builders: how do stickers behave under a clear coat (spray-can...cannot afford to buy and master a dual-action airbrush really).

Kawamori-san autographed Ozma??????????

From the pictures available, I see that the "bare" Ozuma (it's official, that's the spelling on the box!) is due November, as we already know; the red Vajra team leader is apparently under development because it has a sign saying "sale unconfirmed" and supposedly shown in Dengeki Hobby since Oct 25th (that's my guess from the Kanji). Alto with armor has that big red banner saying in Kanji "product under development", no dates given. There are no dates on Michel's and Luca's valks either, at least in the Japanese site linked above. Transparent Alto shown in that other page is "product under evaluation"...so they could actually release it. I see Ozma's "S" head comes with pre-tinted green "eyes", unlike the clear piece we got in the Alto "F" kit! Wonder if that lavender-tinted cockpit canopy is "out of the box" or aftermarket...(my guess is the latter)

Well, that brings me to the question: Why did they wait for the end of the TV series to start selling their model kits? OK, technically it was overlapping with the grand finale, but they could have come up with some gashapon sets as early as April/May when it started broadcasting? I am not really familiar with how Japan's anime industry and sponsorship/merchandise/spin-off worked in recent years, so maybe the above is just common practice? if so, pardon my complete ignorance. Back to the kits, I don't recall seeing any contemporary Bandai kit that is not snap-fit and colored plastic...a classic airplane kit a la Hasegawa from Gunpla-minded Bandai who has a monopoly on Frontier?? First, Yamato was out of the toy sector, I am not sure how this would affect Hasegawa et. al. in the model kits business.

No words...

Sorry to hear about the canopy...I even cracked a cheap airplane model's clear part when cleaning the mispainted frames once, ditched the whole kit somewhere in the dark corner. Yeah, I know that we should have clear coated the model no matter what instead of leaving it "naked" with decals exposed (would it work with stickers+clear coat???), but can you properly clear coat this transformable kit with a can of model paint or is an airbrush an absolute must? I've had some hit and miss experiences with tamiya spray-cans!

Ok, this is purely a hypothetical question, and I have no idea what's the business strategy of this company, but since we got all these fighter only plastic models for previous macross incarnations (mostly hasegawa & co.), would it be possible for bandai to produce sth like that but with some of the gunpla philosophy? The current transformable kit is a feat of toy engineering, with amazing articulation and detail, but the transformation process is intrinsically a liability for a model (would not be for a well crafted toy!): decals and even paint will chip and fall, even the masterpieces shown in Hobby Japan November issue have already shown paint chipping issues (look closely), ABS joints still wear-down. For example, a poseable battroid model requires less of those multi-functional articulations that transformation demands, and simpler builds would also mean lower prices and sturdier bodies. A non transformable fighter with all decals (or stickers) or correctly colored plastic would be a bliss to build, decorate and display. I know, probably without the transformation feature, a valk would just not feel right, but the complexity of the shoulder/leg area in the VF-25 just makes it an impossible "perfect build (no gaps, no rubbing)"+transformation...at least not 1/72. Somebody suggested pre-painted kits a la Bandai Star Trek, I would love that, but since they realized that was not commercially sound, I am skeptical they go back to it. A PG-style treatment would also be nice, but still doubt the transformation feature would not mean seams, rubbing plastic and chipping decals/paint/stickers.

when you have time, would you please take a close up pic like mine in the previous post? gosh, it's a pity these decals were ruined, otherwise the model is so beautiful...even though it's mostly unpainted!

This is how my VF-25F has become after only around 5 or 6 transformations: mechanical parts are pretty much perfect, the shoulder has loosened a bit, which is actually good because it was too tight, but now a 1/3 of the decals are ruined...wonder how are those stickers doing, or I will have to really do what was suggested: build 1 model for each mode and never transform them (but finding 1 kit is already difficult, and the price range is a bit high for a kit) Pictures are self-explanatory: on the edges of the guns, I actually had to repaint them with flat black, same with some of the red, so in the picture it's not so obvious. And now the disturbing part, engine intakes (eyesore): Also, the red decals for the tailfins would not wrap around the contours properly, so I passed, I applied the SMS007 on the main gear doors upside down (and one of then later scratched, will have to replace with sticker).

Noted, thanks Graham for the clarification: 1 credit goes to Bandai.

speechless...I now HAVE to become a better modeler and invest in some hardware! What should I start with? Are airbrushes a MUST?

Interesting...the wingroot guns seem to be a lot larger than in the anime or the model kit?! they also painted the inside of the wing gloves darkish grey, although you can now clearly see it has 0% details. There is also a visible gap between the parts in the knee assembly. The misplaced legs when Super Packs or Armors are on is now obvious: you can barely see the thighs (and this particular photo was taken from a low angle pointing up)!

I really have nothing personal against Bandai (love their gunpla and their amazingly crafted kit of the VF-25), but if I wasn't a complete freak who saw hundreds of line art images and paused the anime for closer looks of the valks, I wouldn't even recognize this as Michel's...honest.

I loved Macross for decades, and only had a pair of Yamato toys a few years back but stopped because I have a diecast airplane collection going on at the same time... Thanks for telling me where my life is heading to by indulging myself with Macross toys...I remember when I thought 100 bucks for a toy was crazy, now I explain to my wife "they're not made of metal, but the man-hours and engineering that goes into them is well worth it" (then sth gets scratched or I am looking at another variant)...