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 June 19 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!

[JNordgren42]

Thanks for the welcome everyone!

I put some time in on the kit pilot figure and decided that the sculpt sucks (the arms, especially the left one, are very weirdly proportioned). So I bit the bullet and ordered a 3D printed F-35A pilot from Reskit (I've used their aftermarket weapons before and I'm very impressed with the quality of their products). The body is printed integral to the seat, but I think it should be fairly easy to trim the seat off and any loss of detail will be on the back, so it should be fine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it fits in the cockpit without too much difficulty.

[Bolt]

Beautiful work ! Looking forward to seeing it come together. 

[woodsider]

Looks awesome! How did you scribe those wheels? 😰

[Gabe Q]

EPIC! We're not worthy! 

This is the best build I've ever seen of a valk. I especially like the optics detail in the head part. Please post more!

[JNordgren42]

22 hours ago, woodsider said:

Looks awesome! How did you scribe those wheels? 😰

Thanks! And yep, I chucked them on to my rotary too and put the grooves in. A small detail,but worth the time. 

Edited June 21 by JNordgren42

[JNordgren42]

4 hours ago, Gabe Q said:

EPIC! We're not worthy! 

This is the best build I've ever seen of a valk. I especially like the optics detail in the head part. Please post more!

Thanks! It's been a really fun build and I'm enjoying it so far and really pushing myself with new techniques. I had a fair amount to time today to start detail painting in the wheel wells and started the oil paint weathering in earnest. I'm experimenting with adding some exhaust streaking from the RCS thrusters and I'm really liking how it's working. I'll definitely keep posting updates. 

 

Before:

 

After:

[Goodman Models]

Awesome work! It’s looking very realistic! And welcome to the board!

[woodsider]

On 6/21/2025 at 4:30 PM, JNordgren42 said:

Thanks! And yep, I chucked them on to my rotary too and put the grooves in. A small detail,but worth the time. 

Very impressive! 👏

[JNordgren42]

I did some more work with the oils yesterday. I got some white down on the upper fuselage for some subtle sun bleaching and panel variation. I also finished up the detailing in the wheel wells. I'm really enjoying working with the oils, but it's definitely a slow, methodical process. And even with leaching the oils out by dispensing the paint on to cardboard, the drying time is long (but that's also one of the advantages of oils). I think it's definitely worth it and my patience is being rewarded.

 

[Thom]

I don't have that patience!Great looking job and well worth it.

[JNordgren42]

On 6/20/2025 at 8:09 PM, woodsider said:

Looks awesome! How did you scribe those wheels? 😰

I put them on my rotary tool to construct a makeshift lathe (shades of Guy Fleegman there 😁) and sanded the seams nice and smooth. Then I used a scribing chisel to cut the grooves, a little more light sanding to debur, and viola!

[JNordgren42]

My Reskit F-35 pilot arrived today and I got straight to work cleaning him up and doing an extraction surgery to remove him from the ejection seat. There were some butt puckering moments sawing and cutting on the brittle resin, but I managed to separate him from the seat without any issues. I had to do a lot of sanding, some more butt puckering time under hot water to squeeze his legs closer together, and an emergency footectomy to get him to fit, but the task was (mostly) accomplished. The kit cockpit and pilot are fairly under scale and the F-35 figure is a good deal larger, so the canopy will not quite fit closed without a large amount of additional modification, but I planned to have an open canopy anyway, so no problem. I'll finish cleanup and I'm probably going to cut his pinky off and sculpt it back on closed to change his hand gesture from "hang ten" to "thumbs up"... Then it's time to throw some primer on him so I can start painting. 

All snug for a rest fit. He's a little large compared to the scale of the cockpit,but it's not too bad. 

The canopy doesn't quite fit closed. No problem since I planned to build it open anyway. 

The seat does almost look comically small from the side. I may cut the head rest off and scratch build a new one. 

 

After sanding and a footectomy...

 

 

Next to the kit figure. He's much more chonky.

[JNordgren42]

I got the pilot all cleaned up and put together, seams filled, base coat down, and the first round of detail painting done on the body.

I also got the head base coated with yellow for the shell as a nod to the old school Jolly Rogers livery. The visor was based on gloss black, then had a very light directional mist of Alclad chrome from the front, and finally topped with clear blue. I really like the effect it produces. 

Finally, I finished the detailing on the accessory parts, including the clear blue and clear red on the front main gear doors. 

At this point, I just need to finish the pilot and the oil weathering and I'll be ready for final assembly. 

 

I used a lot of subtle variations of greys and greens for the detail painting, I think it adds a lot of life and should really look great once I get some washes and dry brushing done for some more contrast and to highlight things. 

 

 

 

 

A new truck I very recently learned for painting yellow is to undercoat with a light pink. It really helps to make the difficult color pop without having  to put down too many coats. This is with just a single relatively light coat after laying down the pink. 

 

Accessory parts all laid out and waiting for assembly. 

 

I really like how the combination of the PE insert, the clear UV resin, and clear top color came together to make the doors pop. 

 

[JNordgren42]

One last update for the weekend. I finished the first round of detail painting on the head. I'll clear coat it the figure tomorrow and start on adding some depth. 

[Big s]

33 minutes ago, JNordgren42 said:

One last update for the weekend. I finished the first round of detail painting on the head. I'll clear coat it the figure tomorrow and start on adding some depth. 

Nice helmet