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Macross Miniatures


EastwindS2k

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Update on the first post:

* Add VF31S & Armor

* Add VF19S

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The VF19, Yamato’s last effort before its demise. The VF19 improved significantly from the earlier YF19, but it also has new issues. For one, the panel lines are terribly shallow so I re-scribed all of them.

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Re-scribe a fighter is tiring process. I carefully aligned the tapes to ensure the results are satisfactory. The progress was slow because my eyes were sore after brief work. Sigh, I’m feeling old.

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I airbrushed the canopy to better match the line art. The color is Gaia 047 clear purple. Beware it won’t solute in acrylic solvent despite it’s an acrylic based paint. A good thing is I had an old bottle of Gaia solvent at the time.

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It’s time for the decals. Unbelievably, Yamato forgot to include an application guide in the user’s manual, what a bummer! It was frustrating because I couldn’t find a guide anywhere. Fortunately, a Macross forum member came to the rescue with his YF19 master file book, thank you Mommar!!

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The last step is coating. Kawamori probably saw the Blue Angels when he designed the Emerald Force VF19. I want to honor that color scheme and I used semi gloss instead of matte or full gloss. 

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I tried the Gunze Premium Acrylic semi gloss for the first time but it was disappointing. The effect was inconsistent and looked too glossy to me. Later, I switched back to the lacquer based Tamiya TS-79.

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This is it and I hope you like it just as I do. Thank you for viewing, and I’m working on the 1/60 SF3A Lancer II next.

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Edited by EastwindS2k
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Update on the first post:

* Add VE1 Elint Seeker

* Add SF3A Lancer II

* Add SF3A Super Lancer II 

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If I were a pilot in the Macross universe, I’ll probably fly the SF3A because it’s non transformable and designed for hit-and-run missions, that suits a simple and timid person like me. It’s too bad that SF3A only appeared briefly in episode 1 of Macross.

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This 1/60 kit doesn’t have many pieces, but resin needs to be processed before assembly so it has a long build time. A resin piece may need to be clipped, trimmed, cooked,  patched, and repeatedly sanded.

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I decided to make a super Lancer after seeing this cool drawing (kudos to the artist). It reminds me of the Stark Jegan captain in Gundam UC. After test fitting with my toys, I purchased a set of fast pack and began modifying the parts.

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I made an antenna extension with epoxy putty because the stock piece is too short with the fast pack. The thickness is slightly increased to compensate for the additional length.

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Mounting boosters on the Lancer is a challenge due to their weight. I heated the dorsal piece and then carved out 2 cavities for connecting joints.

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The Home Depot white paint works surprisingly well. It’s inexpensive and has good coverage (but dries slowly). Just spray carefully because the nozzle was made for larger objects.

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I trimmed the adapter and then glued it with 2 arm armors. Later, the armors will be mounted on the SF3A’s ventral section like the drawing. I also added extra weapons to make it more “cool”. Now this little fighter can fly gloriously like Roy!

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The included decals were not enough for this project so I used a few extras. 

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This is it. Have fun and be safe to you all :)

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Edited by EastwindS2k
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  • 3 weeks later...

Update on first post

* Add VF041H Yellow Belmont

* Add F104G

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The F104 Starfighter is special to me. I grew up during the Cold War in Taiwan and the ROCAF (Republic of China Airforce) and many other free world countries deployed a large number of F104s at that time. The F104 remained in service with ROCAF until 1998, and finally retired from the Italian Air Force in 2004. The F104 has poor reliability, but it also has distinctive look and sound so I always want to build a model of it. In the world of Macross, it’s conceivable that many F104s were still active during the Unification Wars.

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I bought this 1/48 Hasegawa kit a while back. It’s not difficult to build. The quality is fine but doesn't include parts like pilot, weapons, and pylons. I bought those separately and they cost more than the base kit. Additionally, I bought new decals because the original was useless due to aging, ugh.

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I tested the color before airbrushing. I chose Mr. Hobby 73 mixed with white and leveling thinner. The ratio is 1:1:3 and I think it’s good enough to the real F104s. The rest are pictures while building the kit, prime, paint, decal, and wash etc.

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Here is the result. I like it and I hope the same for you, have fun :)  

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Edited by EastwindS2k
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That's a sweet looking aircraft! I can totally imagine a bunch of those getting wiped out by a couple of SV-51s. :) (No I'm not making fun of the aircraft; just imagining what would really happen if those two forces met in the Unification Wars.)

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11 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

That's a sweet looking aircraft! I can totally imagine a bunch of those getting wiped out by a couple of SV-51s. :) (No I'm not making fun of the aircraft; just imagining what would really happen if those two forces met in the Unification Wars.)

Haha no doubt ;) 

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Update on first post

* Add NUNS Special Forces EX‐Gear

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The NUNS Special Forces EX‐Gears appeared in the Macross Frontier movie. They were used against the cyborgs coup d'etat led by Grace O’connor. Besides the unexpected plot twist, I was intrigued by EX‐Gear’s military camouflage.

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This is the base toy that I have for a while. Judging by design, it’s the worst Bandai toy that I have handled. It has limited articulation, bad parts connection, greasy plastic surface, and loose joints.

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The first step is to degrease the surface with 91% isopropyl alcohol and then apply primer. Beware that alcohol will remove the existing paints, but that’s not a problem because this toy will be completely painted over.

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This camouflage is a pain because it has 4 different colors and that means a lot of masking. The colors I used are Mr. Hobby 97, 315, 35, and a custom blue from Tamiya acrylics.

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The decals are done, the last step is matte coating with Tamiya TS80.

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This is it, have fun!

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Edited by EastwindS2k
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Oh yes! The ex gears! I was a huge shirow fan and the folded wings at the back reminded me somewhat of the undeployed guges wings in appleseed.

My alto is sitting buried in the stash but this makes me wanna dig it out again.

Oh how i wish macross expanded more into ex gear variants....

Very nice paint job! :good: Arnold approves?! 

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1 hour ago, seti88 said:

Oh yes! The ex gears! I was a huge shirow fan and the folded wings at the back reminded me somewhat of the undeployed guges wings in appleseed.

My alto is sitting buried in the stash but this makes me wanna dig it out again.

Oh how i wish macross expanded more into ex gear variants....

Very nice paint job! :good: Arnold approves?! 

He said get to the choppa! lol

Edited by EastwindS2k
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Very nice Ex-Gear custom! :good:

I recently got the Ex-Gear too, and I liked it more than I thought I would. I just like the concept of it being transformable from cockpit control interface to an exo-skeleton. It can be a bit fiddly, and not much articulation once fully suited up, but I think even the new Mospeada ride armors are the same in that regard.. 

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Update on the first post

*Add YF29 30th Anniversary

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Panel line, masking and coating. 

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I bought those VF100 from HLJ when they were on sale last year. Oh my, they have so many loose parts and it’s worse than I imagined :( 

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When Valkyrie meets Quebley 

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Edited by EastwindS2k
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:shok: This is an amazing collection and FANTASTIC customization!!! And dare I say it, this was an incredibly educational thread, too! From the photographic composition to your kindness of sharing the details of your panel lining process, just overall wow! Thank you for sharing this on the forum!!!

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Update on the first post

* Add YF19 Prototype No.3 "Bird of Prey"

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The Yamato YF19s are simple and effective toys. They were pioneers at the time but do feel a bit dated today. To keep them fresh, I added some water-slide decals and panel lines. 

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The best part of this project was to make a custom Sharon Apple decal. Here are the steps if you want to create your own decals ;)

1. Find an image and make the background transparent. I used a freeware called Lunapic.

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2. Edit the image on Google Drawings

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3. Print a sample and test fitment

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4. When ready, print on a decal paper (recommend 600+ dpi)

5. Use bonding spray to protect your decal

6. Done! Cut it to the desirable shape and it's ready to use 

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This is it, stay safe folks!

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Edited by EastwindS2k
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