SteveTheFish Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 Last night I started working on this old kit. The decals have aged poorly and they maybe unusable. My plan is to use my sheet of Autobot decals and build it as Jetfire from Transformers. I don't forsee spending a ton of time on this, hoping that it might be a quick build. I'll post pics later as I go along. I never noticed this until last night, but while the box art looks nice, the artist made a big mistake. Look at the central thruster pod. It's facing the wrong direction! That's supposed to be an intake, but the thruster nozzles are pointed forwards instead of being in back. Oops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengbuzz Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 (edited) On 9/5/2023 at 9:45 PM, SteveTheFish said: Last night I started working on this old kit. The decals have aged poorly and they maybe unusable. My plan is to use my sheet of Autobot decals and build it as Jetfire from Transformers. I don't forsee spending a ton of time on this, hoping that it might be a quick build. I'll post pics later as I go along. I never noticed this until last night, but while the box art looks nice, the artist made a big mistake. Look at the central thruster pod. It's facing the wrong direction! That's supposed to be an intake, but the thruster nozzles are pointed forwards instead of being in back. Oops! are you talking about the ones on the "backpack" between the boosters? Edited September 7, 2023 by pengbuzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big s Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 On 9/5/2023 at 6:45 PM, SteveTheFish said: Last night I started working on this old kit. The decals have aged poorly and they maybe unusable. My plan is to use my sheet of Autobot decals and build it as Jetfire from Transformers. I don't forsee spending a ton of time on this, hoping that it might be a quick build. I'll post pics later as I go along. I never noticed this until last night, but while the box art looks nice, the artist made a big mistake. Look at the central thruster pod. It's facing the wrong direction! That's supposed to be an intake, but the thruster nozzles are pointed forwards instead of being in back. Oops! Looks like the whole backpack is backwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengbuzz Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 2 hours ago, Big s said: Looks like the whole backpack is backwards Maybe the artist worked from a misassembled kit? That would explain much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big s Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 1 hour ago, pengbuzz said: Maybe the artist worked from a misassembled kit? That would explain much. Maybe. I’m pretty surprised honestly. I’ve seen mistakes like this on the model build pictures on the boxes, but not in the actual art Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derex3592 Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 Guys, guys, guys, It's the REVERSE THRUSTERS optioned out Super Parts!!! COME ON MAN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvmacross Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 On 9/5/2023 at 8:45 PM, SteveTheFish said: I never noticed this until last night, but while the box art looks nice, the artist made a big mistake. Look at the central thruster pod. It's facing the wrong direction! That's supposed to be an intake, but the thruster nozzles are pointed forwards instead of being in back. Oops! Nice observation... The illustration was commissioned by Arii to Artmic who then had one of their staff illustrators, T. Suzuki, handle several of the Macross boxart...unlike the boxart created by Takani...most of the boxart done by Suzuki was based off of the lineart...Suzuki would take the lineart then add his colors and "details"....based on the info provided by the recent Macross Boxart book...the finished art was often created several months prior to the product release or even the series premier.... I am guessing that the original lineart just has an empty black space and Suzuki decided to add some "detail"...lol The same "error" is duplicated on other boxart illustrations... Even Imai has some... Even Takani joined the party! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronocidal Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 (edited) Funny thought, but are there any detail drawings of what that panel of the backpack is supposed to look like? The toys usually have it as some kind of intake vent, but I don't know what the source on that detail is. I don't even know if I've seen art that doesn't just show that area as a black void. Edited September 7, 2023 by Chronocidal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvmacross Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 Can't recall off the top of my head....if there is such a drawing I'd imagine it would be in the Macross Perfect Memory book or any of the SDFM era resource books....or probably in one of the newer Kawamori lineart books...will take a look when I get a chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 I'm pretty sure the Takatoku 1/55s introduced the 3 nozzles, but could be wrong. In the original imai gerwalk mode that area is literally nothing...just solid flat plastic, so I was happy to see the artists add some details to that area, even if not cannon. So I blame Takatoku If I recall (almost positively incorrectly) until DYRL official art appeared it was always just a black hole. In some DYRL pics is where I think is where I first saw the vertical slats or the narrow horizontal slot. I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvmacross Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 4 hours ago, Shawn said: I'm pretty sure the Takatoku 1/55s introduced the 3 nozzles, but could be wrong. In the original imai gerwalk mode that area is literally nothing...just solid flat plastic, so I was happy to see the artists add some details to that area, even if not cannon. So I blame Takatoku If I recall (almost positively incorrectly) until DYRL official art appeared it was always just a black hole. In some DYRL pics is where I think is where I first saw the vertical slats or the narrow horizontal slot. I think. I pulled out the BIG GUNS of the available Macross art and reference books.... ...in terms of lineart from the SDFM/DYRL era...I could not find any "lineart" that details that specific area/part of the VF-1.... However, there were a number of "illustrations" that do have some interpretation of what that part looks like.... ...I do not think the illustrators working on the boxart would have been privy to these art pieces, they probably only had access to the lineart that is printed in several of the books above... Oddly enough, the only illustration I could find that had a clear view of that part of the VF-1 was found in the recently published Macross Variable Fighter Designers Note...it is used on the cover ...as it appears within the book... ...this specific drawing does not seem to appear in any of the DYRL books released during the premier of the film in 1984....with that said, it is unlikely that even if the illustration existed at the time, it would not have existed during the time that Takani and Suzuki were working on their ARII and IMAI boxart illustrations... So maybe that part of the VF-1 was not much of a concern for Kawamori at the time? At this point, I will go with your theory about Takatoku's design influencing how that part of the VF-1 was illustrated by the artists at ARII and IMAI...perhaps there was a lineart for the 1/55 Takatoku VF-1 being passed around at the time.... I forgot to check the Macross Boxart Book...I thought it had some illustrations specific to Takatoku...perhaps the smoking gun is there?... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvmacross Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 The only lineart attributed to the Takatoku 1/55 VF-1 found in the Boxart book is this one.... Surely a drawing must exist showing the part in question locked up in BigWest's dungeon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 You really went down the rabbit hole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvmacross Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 4 minutes ago, Bolt said: You really went down the rabbit hole I should have taken the f'ing blue pill 40 years ago!.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvmacross Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 Not to derail the OP's post further...but one final question....when did the conversation finally occur between Big West, Kawamori and their licensees that made the VF-1 finally fall in line and start being designed with a "backpack" with vertical slats? From memory, I believe the Hi-Complete Model from the 80's still was depicted as a detail-less hole....the 1/55 re-issues all continued with the "original Takatoku design"....I wonder if that move to "vertical slats" began with the release of the Yamato VF-1 Version 1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big s Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 I’m curious if there’s an odd screen shot with any details in either side of the backpack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 I think the Takatoku toys were very common about the office and handled by the artists to get certain angles and whatnot. I think we've seen elements from the 1/55s used in a lot of art. This relates back to my SDF-1 Canon Theory too with Takani The Takatoku 1/55 was like the Engineer goo in Prometheus...it binds us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Found the Kawamori Expo book. In one of the earliest renditions of the VF-1 it still looked 'undefined' on the grid paper. By the time the movie came our we definitively had our vertical lines. Just wanted to post this pic...it is so awesome. 😛 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 And the answer lies in old treasures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengbuzz Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 On 9/5/2023 at 9:45 PM, SteveTheFish said: Last night I started working on this old kit. The decals have aged poorly and they maybe unusable. My plan is to use my sheet of Autobot decals and build it as Jetfire from Transformers. I don't forsee spending a ton of time on this, hoping that it might be a quick build. I'll post pics later as I go along. I never noticed this until last night, but while the box art looks nice, the artist made a big mistake. Look at the central thruster pod. It's facing the wrong direction! That's supposed to be an intake, but the thruster nozzles are pointed forwards instead of being in back. Oops! BTW: on this one, you may want to use the kit canopy to make a wooden buck and mold your own from soda bottle plastic; I've found at this scale, the kit canopies are waaaaaayyy too thick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmareB4macross Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 I recall seeing this similar type of set up for that particular detail. I just can’t remember where. Years ago I was going through as many details available to determine all the correct differences between TV and DYRL types. The vertical bar details seemed to be mostly on model kit art, but this one really stood out to me as it was from a line art drawing. Just can’ t place the location at moment. But then again I could have my wires crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveTheFish Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 19 hours ago, pengbuzz said: BTW: on this one, you may want to use the kit canopy to make a wooden buck and mold your own from soda bottle plastic; I've found at this scale, the kit canopies are waaaaaayyy too thick. Do you mean vacuform? I don't have the tools to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengbuzz Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 6 hours ago, SteveTheFish said: Do you mean vacuform? I don't have the tools to do that. No: you just heat the soda bottle plastic over an over burner until it's soft, then using oven mitts, pull it down over the wooden buck. Once cool, cut it to shape and glue using super glue or Aileen's tacky glue. The only "vacuforming" I've ever done is when the nozzle on my wife's vacuum got stuck onto my tummy (don't ask!) and it left a mark on me! O.o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big s Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 1 hour ago, pengbuzz said: The only "vacuforming" I've ever done is when the nozzle on my wife's vacuum got stuck onto my tummy (don't ask!) and it left a mark on me! O.o I don’t think we need the rest of that story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengbuzz Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 On 9/11/2023 at 9:26 AM, Big s said: I don’t think we need the rest of that story Hey, it's not what you think!!! I was eating potato chips and got crumbs on my shirt!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmareB4macross Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 On 9/10/2023 at 9:30 AM, nightmareB4macross said: I recall seeing this similar type of set up for that particular detail. I just can’t remember where. Years ago I was going through as many details available to determine all the correct differences between TV and DYRL types. The vertical bar details seemed to be mostly on model kit art, but this one really stood out to me as it was from a line art drawing. Just can’ t place the location at moment. But then again I could have my wires crossed. I’ve been looking for this detail FOREVER. Not exactly what I drew (no pun intended) from memory. Hahaha. I had to quote myself just to be sure my mind wasn’t going and making stuff up. 😜 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 On 9/11/2023 at 7:48 AM, pengbuzz said: No: you just heat the soda bottle plastic over an over burner until it's soft, then using oven mitts, pull it down over the wooden buck. Once cool, cut it to shape and glue using super glue or Aileen's tacky glue. The only "vacuforming" I've ever done is when the nozzle on my wife's vacuum got stuck onto my tummy (don't ask!) and it left a mark on me! O.o I think I saw this in Scary Movie... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pengbuzz Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 2 hours ago, Thom said: I think I saw this in Scary Movie... My tummy, Thom!! I know the scene you're referencing, and it wasn't anywhere near there!!! Good grief...I think I'm just going to go hide for a while behind the soda vending machine and have a cheeseburger or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 8 hours ago, pengbuzz said: My tummy, Thom!! I know the scene you're referencing, and it wasn't anywhere near there!!! Good grief...I think I'm just going to go hide for a while behind the soda vending machine and have a cheeseburger or something... Just funning with you, man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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