1/48 Hasegawa VF-1S "What If?" US Navy VF-84 Jolly Rogers Low Viz

[JNordgren42]

Hi All! I'm new to the forum, I've been into Macross and Robotech since I was a kid in the 80's. I started building models again during the pandemic and I started my first Macross project at the beginning of the year. I'm building a custom 1/48 Hasegawa VF-1S in a "What If?" US Navy Jolly Rogers low viz paint scheme. I added elements from both the Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE sets, as well as some custom details from my parts box, most notably the chin sensor from a 1/72 Academy F-14A to replace the stock gun pod sensor. I also added custom hydraulic line details to the landing gear and gear bays with wire strands, as well as sanding down the edges of the landing gear doors to get a better scale appearance. I used  a combination of 1/72 F-14 decals for the squadron markings since they fit the small size of the Valkyrie better, 1/48 F-14 data stencils for most of the other markings, and a few select stock kit decals. I tried a multi-layer acrylic ink patina technique for the primary painting and weathering, which is supplemented by a grimy enamel wash, and oil paint weathering. I'm almost to the finish line, I just have a bunch of small details, and the oil weathering to complete before final assembly.

Current state of the build. Legs, wings, head, and landing gear are not glued in yet.

Custom sensor mechanics for the head built out of spare PE parts. It will be complete impossible to see once assembled. 😅

 

Cockpit. I haven't decided if I will use the kit pilot, an aftermarket pilot (I'm leaning towards using a resin F-35 pilot since the helmet looks pretty futuristic but still grounded in reality), or leaving it empty. I'll add PE belts if I leave it empty.

 

I went my own way with the exhaust nozzles, I used the F-22 nozzles as inspiration and added both Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE to the interior along with some custom scribing on the exterior for more detail and to break up the shapes.

The wheels got some sanding and scribing to add tread ridges.

 

Sanding and cleanup on the landing gear door edges to make them look more in scale. The left one has been done and the right one is still stock.

More cleanup on the main gear doors. Left one is stock and the right one has been modified. The curves were a pain to do, but worth it.

Finished gun pod. This was my first go at oil weathering and I think it came out great. I also had an extra set of the Jolly Rogers Vagabond stripes on the decal sheet so I added them to the gun for some interest. I've seen one Tomcat where they did the stripes on the fuel tanks and like the look. You can also see the sensor from the F-14 instead of the stock sensor bump.

I sanded off the hydraulic lines on the landing gear struts and added them back in with wire. I also hollowed out the pivot braces for a more realistic look.

I added some hydraulic lines to the wheel wells. I didn't go too crazy since it's extremely fiddly and time consuming, but another little detail that's worth it IMO.

Painted nose and main gear struts:

Painted main gear doors with red caution edging:

 

Close up of the nose gear with the wheels on. It's really starting to look great at this point.

Leg light/sensor packs filled with clear UV resin. I still need to paint them with transparent red and blue.

Aux head sensor filled with resin and tinted red.

Resin lens for the gun pod.

I'm using the DYRL canopy so I had to scrape, sand, and polish the seam down. I also used the Jasmodel interior PE canopy frames.

[Thom]

Fantastic progress! I did something similar (paint/decals) with a 1/72 VF-25.

and P.S. welcome to the board!!

Edited 3 hours ago by Thom

[Big s]

4 hours ago, JNordgren42 said:

Hi All! I'm new to the forum, I've been into Macross and Robotech since I was a kid in the 80's. I started building models again during the pandemic and I started my first Macross project at the beginning of the year. I'm building a custom 1/48 Hasegawa VF-1S in a "What If?" US Navy Jolly Rogers low viz paint scheme. I added elements from both the Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE sets, as well as some custom details from my parts box, most notably the chin sensor from a 1/72 Academy F-14A to replace the stock gun pod sensor. I also added custom hydraulic line details to the landing gear and gear bays with wire strands, as well as sanding down the edges of the landing gear doors to get a better scale appearance. I used  a combination of 1/72 F-14 decals for the squadron markings since they fit the small size of the Valkyrie better, 1/48 F-14 data stencils for most of the other markings, and a few select stock kit decals. I tried a multi-layer acrylic ink patina technique for the primary painting and weathering, which is supplemented by a grimy enamel wash, and oil paint weathering. I'm almost to the finish line, I just have a bunch of small details, and the oil weathering to complete before final assembly.

Current state of the build. Legs, wings, head, and landing gear are not glued in yet.

Custom sensor mechanics for the head built out of spare PE parts. It will be complete impossible to see once assembled. 😅

 

Cockpit. I haven't decided if I will use the kit pilot, an aftermarket pilot (I'm leaning towards using a resin F-35 pilot since the helmet looks pretty futuristic but still grounded in reality), or leaving it empty. I'll add PE belts if I leave it empty.

 

I went my own way with the exhaust nozzles, I used the F-22 nozzles as inspiration and added both Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE to the interior along with some custom scribing on the exterior for more detail and to break up the shapes.

The wheels got some sanding and scribing to add tread ridges.

 

Sanding and cleanup on the landing gear door edges to make them look more in scale. The left one has been done and the right one is still stock.

More cleanup on the main gear doors. Left one is stock and the right one has been modified. The curves were a pain to do, but worth it.

Finished gun pod. This was my first go at oil weathering and I think it came out great. I also had an extra set of the Jolly Rogers Vagabond stripes on the decal sheet so I added them to the gun for some interest. I've seen one Tomcat where they did the stripes on the fuel tanks and like the look. You can also see the sensor from the F-14 instead of the stock sensor bump.

I sanded off the hydraulic lines on the landing gear struts and added them back in with wire. I also hollowed out the pivot braces for a more realistic look.

I added some hydraulic lines to the wheel wells. I didn't go too crazy since it's extremely fiddly and time consuming, but another little detail that's worth it IMO.

Painted nose and main gear struts:

Painted main gear doors with red caution edging:

 

Close up of the nose gear with the wheels on. It's really starting to look great at this point.

Leg light/sensor packs filled with clear UV resin. I still need to paint them with transparent red and blue.

Aux head sensor filled with resin and tinted red.

Resin lens for the gun pod.

I'm using the DYRL canopy so I had to scrape, sand, and polish the seam down. I also used the Jasmodel interior PE canopy frames.

This is looking really great, keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing 

[pengbuzz]

4 hours ago, JNordgren42 said:

Hi All! I'm new to the forum, I've been into Macross and Robotech since I was a kid in the 80's. I started building models again during the pandemic and I started my first Macross project at the beginning of the year. I'm building a custom 1/48 Hasegawa VF-1S in a "What If?" US Navy Jolly Rogers low viz paint scheme. I added elements from both the Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE sets, as well as some custom details from my parts box, most notably the chin sensor from a 1/72 Academy F-14A to replace the stock gun pod sensor. I also added custom hydraulic line details to the landing gear and gear bays with wire strands, as well as sanding down the edges of the landing gear doors to get a better scale appearance. I used  a combination of 1/72 F-14 decals for the squadron markings since they fit the small size of the Valkyrie better, 1/48 F-14 data stencils for most of the other markings, and a few select stock kit decals. I tried a multi-layer acrylic ink patina technique for the primary painting and weathering, which is supplemented by a grimy enamel wash, and oil paint weathering. I'm almost to the finish line, I just have a bunch of small details, and the oil weathering to complete before final assembly.

Current state of the build. Legs, wings, head, and landing gear are not glued in yet.

Custom sensor mechanics for the head built out of spare PE parts. It will be complete impossible to see once assembled. 😅

 

Cockpit. I haven't decided if I will use the kit pilot, an aftermarket pilot (I'm leaning towards using a resin F-35 pilot since the helmet looks pretty futuristic but still grounded in reality), or leaving it empty. I'll add PE belts if I leave it empty.

 

I went my own way with the exhaust nozzles, I used the F-22 nozzles as inspiration and added both Hasegawa and Jasmodel PE to the interior along with some custom scribing on the exterior for more detail and to break up the shapes.

The wheels got some sanding and scribing to add tread ridges.

 

Sanding and cleanup on the landing gear door edges to make them look more in scale. The left one has been done and the right one is still stock.

More cleanup on the main gear doors. Left one is stock and the right one has been modified. The curves were a pain to do, but worth it.

Finished gun pod. This was my first go at oil weathering and I think it came out great. I also had an extra set of the Jolly Rogers Vagabond stripes on the decal sheet so I added them to the gun for some interest. I've seen one Tomcat where they did the stripes on the fuel tanks and like the look. You can also see the sensor from the F-14 instead of the stock sensor bump.

I sanded off the hydraulic lines on the landing gear struts and added them back in with wire. I also hollowed out the pivot braces for a more realistic look.

I added some hydraulic lines to the wheel wells. I didn't go too crazy since it's extremely fiddly and time consuming, but another little detail that's worth it IMO.

Painted nose and main gear struts:

Painted main gear doors with red caution edging:

 

Close up of the nose gear with the wheels on. It's really starting to look great at this point.

Leg light/sensor packs filled with clear UV resin. I still need to paint them with transparent red and blue.

Aux head sensor filled with resin and tinted red.

Resin lens for the gun pod.

I'm using the DYRL canopy so I had to scrape, sand, and polish the seam down. I also used the Jasmodel interior PE canopy frames.

Heckuva first post!!! Very nice!! 

And a hearty welcome to MacrossWorld Forums!