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AKD001

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Hey y'all. This is AKD001 from the g.com and hobbyfan boards. wm cheng referred me to this place to satiate my new found infatuation with Macross kits. I've been building G and FSS pla/resin for a decade, but never got into the Macross scene until I watched M:Plus and M:Zero (what's out so far) a couple weeks ago and then broke down and bought a Hasegawa YF-19. It's a sweet kit, and now I'm looking for more.

What are y'all's recommendations as far as Valk kits go? I hear there are some, more "toy" than model, which transform, but that's not really my deal. I'm busy at it is adding joints to my YF-19 so it can go between fighter and gerwalk mode. Stand alone, well sized and well detailed fighters are what I'm after. I hear there are alot of Hasegawa kits coming out that are good. Which one's are best? Also, are there any reputable resin kits that are worth looking at? I've seen those 1/48s... pricy suckers.

If y'all could fill me in on what kits are best and worth the price, that would be great. Links to finished models are always choice. (I've seen wm cheng's stuff; his Mave is what caught my attention back to "fixed wing" kits). Anything you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Z

P.S. Are there any scratchbuilders out there? I keep hearing that fully transformable kits have terrible proportions. Has anyone modded a YF-19 or Super Valk into a respectable looking 3-mode model to remedy this problem? Also, I need better reference pics of the YF-19, for proportion questions I'm facing. Preferably in all three modes.

Edited by AKD001
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You may want to check out this part of the site for some answers. It gives you a great idea on what to expect from most Macross kits.

http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/models/models.htm

Without getting into the resin models, Theres a few original Valkyries in plastic that are fairly common.

Imai's or Bandai's 1/72 Valkyries offer a pretty decent varaible model. With some work these can be made to look very good. It's biggest flaw is its noses shape. But makes the transformation into all 3 forms pretty decnt looking. About 1500 yen on HLJ.

Hasagawa's 1/72 Valkyrie fighter is a very nice looking fighter, but when it gets converted into a variable kit it looks anorexic in Gerwalk or Battroid. It has nice fine panel lines. About 2000 yen on HLJ.

Hasagawas 1/72 Battroid is Ok but still seems too skinny overall with stubby wings. It also has nice fine panel lines. About 2500 yen on HLJ.

You mention the Valkyries on Macross Plus Valkyries

Bandai made a few Macross 7 kits that could be converted, but it would be a lot of work for a small pricey kit.

There are a few fully transformable resin ones though. Again pretty pricey though.

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I believe there're some scratch builders around here. for my part I am sort of a customizer, kitbasher.

The Hasegawa YF-19 has been customized to be transformable you'll need at least 2 kits to do this...and a lot, lots of modifications...

this is from the Model graphix June 2002 magazine

hasegawa VF-19

VF-19 trasnformation

Overall, all of the Hasegawa Macross models are the best and more accurate to this day; but as with any injection kit it takes some work to make it look great.

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P.S. Are there any scratchbuilders out there? I keep hearing that fully transformable kits have terrible proportions. Has anyone modded a YF-19 or Super Valk into a respectable looking 3-mode model to remedy this problem? Also, I need better reference pics of the YF-19, for proportion questions I'm facing. Preferably in all three modes.

The proportion problem stems from the fact that the original anime mecha didn't suffer from real world limitations when transforming, parts not only change position they also change size and shape. While its easy for animators to cheat like this it is impossible for modelers, if you get the proportions right for the battroid mode the fighter mode looks crap and vice versa, the only solution is to make the parts somewhere between the two extremes which unfortunately means they don't look quite right in either mode. I suppose a sufficiently dedicated CG modeller could use vertex level animation to produce a CG model that reshaped itself as it transformed but for plastic models I guess you just have to decide which mode you prefer and bias the proportions toward that mode.

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Probably the best variable model I have ever seen is the Studio Half Eye Vf-19 "perfect transformation" kit. A friend of mine bit the bullet on its price and bought one ($250 CND), which he never regretted. He said it was a extremely difficult kit but the results he got out of it were a step short of amazing. The worst mode for distortion was fighter, the air intakes which were the hips in battroird seemed a bit big there, but it more than made up for it in battroid and gerwalk.

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Welcome to these parts AKD001 - always great to see a convert around here!! :D

As far as styrene kits go, nothing comes close to the Hasegawa Macross offerings. I think they are all really good. In fact, when I use to just model aircraft - after trying all the various kits out there, I almost exclusively only build Hasegawa or Tamiya. They are just so much surperior to anything else out there (IMHO). It really was a dream come true to have my favourite aircraft company do Macross. I can whole heartedly recommend all their Macross kits as well as their photo-etched details for these kits and the weapons & pilot sets. Check out HLJ for their complete line. Since the old boards are down currently, I can post a few pictures of the ones I have built in the past. (sorry to those who have seen them before :rolleyes: )

All are 1/72 scale, I'll start with this resin re-cast from Hobbyfan of the VF-2SS from MacrossII - unfortunately Hasegawa hasn't made this into a kit yet.

post-3-1066106620_thumb.jpg

Edited by wm cheng
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Oh, Fanboy, my panel lines are done with thinned down artist oil paints (thinned with low odour varsol / mineral spirits) dabbed into the engraved details and the capillary action draws the ink-like colour into the panels. I let dry a few hours and wripe the excess off with a clean rag or paper towel.

Here's the 1/72 Hasegawa VF-1A

post-3-1066106929_thumb.jpg

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Then of course there's the 1/72 scale Hasegawa VF-1A Super. Fully decked out with the Hasegawa weapons set and some vernier nozzle modificaitons to the fast packs.

post-3-1066107227_thumb.jpg

Edited by wm cheng
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I'd like to start building those 1/72 Macross models, but they cost too much, especially if you don't have a job and are 16 years old! I still have my Macross Zero MiG-29 sitting on my shelf. I'm going to start building it once I get all the neccessary paints and some new paint brushes. Say, wm cheng, do you recommend that I paint the parts and then cement them together? Better yet, do you know if there's a "Modeling for Dummies" book out there? :p

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And my latest Macross offering... 1/72 scale Hasegawa YF-21 - a very easy build - just not as well engineered as the rest with a few minor decal fit problems - but still an excellent kit overall and highly recommended.

post-3-1066107822_thumb.jpg

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Oh yeah! My first wack at Macross model was building the Bandai 1/144 Macross 7 VF-11C Thunderbolt. It looks okay up close, looks way better from a distance. I gave it a Hikaru DYRL?/TV paint scheme and painted the FAST Packs a nice glossy black and the fighter in Fighter and Battroid modes are mostly in a glossy white except for the heat shield and some of the flaps and tips of the wings. Very nice, I plan on buying four more so I can make Skull Squadron! And I need a good finishing coat too so the paint doesn't chip off since the 1/144s are super poseable! Too bad I don't have pictures to share with you guys. :(

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Hey fanboy, you should check out some of my previous threads in the "How to build..." section - they should give you a starting point. Its too bad that the old boards are currently off line, since they do contains some of my previous step-by-steps. Yes, I always assemble / glue the kit together first (into sub assemblies that facilitate painting) because you always have to putty/fill seams or construction joints, and sand them smooth first so you don't see the seams between the parts. Then you paint over top of that.

Of the Hasegawa Macross offerings, the only two kits I do not recommend are the Macross Zero F-14 and Mig 29. Since all the others are original new toolings, the molds are crisp and up to the traditional Hasegawa standards. However, the Macross Zero Mig 29 was a re-release of their original 80's tooling (with Macross decals) which actually was rushed out the door when the Mig 29 first appeared and contains many speculative details and inconsistencies (pls David correct me if I'm wrong). The F-14 was not even an Hasegawa tooling, I think it was a re-packaged Italieri kit (with Macross decals) - complete with raised panel lines YUCK! I woud suggest a real Hasegawa tooled F-14 (#00364 is a good one, but you can tell when the box side states 191 pcs!!) and get your own Macross decals - this Hasegawa is an excellent F-14A with tons of details (some say its a bit over-engineered) but stay away from the Macross Zero Mig 29 and F-14. Although you might want to find a F-14D to be truer to the Macross Zero plane.

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I'd like to start building those 1/72 Macross models, but they cost too much, especially if you don't have a job and are 16 years old! I still have my Macross Zero MiG-29 sitting on my shelf. I'm going to start building it once I get all the neccessary paints and some new paint brushes. Say, wm cheng, do you recommend that I paint the parts and then cement them together? Better yet, do you know if there's a "Modeling for Dummies" book out there? :p

Oh man, of all the Hase Macross Models you could have bought why'd you get that one? Cheap and Macross don't usually go together, it's gonna be hard for you to get them since they are mostly available online and you need a credit card.

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Man, this sucks! No job, no income other than asking my parents for money! AHH! They give me money when I ask, but I don't like to ask them! :angry:

Look at it this way, in 20 years time you will have a job, you will have money... and you will be wishing you were 16 again. Life is a bitch, you will never have everything you want, you just have to make the best of what you've got.

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Well there's always a job and don't forget xmas and your birthday too? Doing chores without being asked + sad puppy dog eyes always got me stuff too :lol:

These Hasegawa Macross models are gonna be around for a long time so don't worry about missing them.

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I don't like the chores and puppy eyes approach, I just do chores so I don't get reprimanded by my mom the facist. :angry: And birthdays are another thing, and Christmas too, I'm better off getting cash for X-Mas and my birthday rather than clothes that I'm not going to wear, especially if it's that preppy-looking crap. <_<

I'm more worried about me being around 20 years from now. So many things are bound to happen, and I want to be Marine Corps fighter pilot. :unsure:

Edited by Macross_Fanboy
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