Yamato 1/3000 SDF-1 modification and paint up...

[wm cheng]

I've gotta thank Manji from these forums here once again. He provided me his un-used photo-etched extras from his Yamato kit - and actually gave me the boost I needed to start this project. Thanks so much, I really owe you one!

So now I finally get to the little 1/3000 scale valkyries. They look so good on the PE part, but are such a B^&$h to work with. I think I'm just getting old and my eyesight isn't what it used to be, but damn they're small!

Unfortunately after I cut out the launch arms, I promptly lost 2 of them - I've searched for 3hrs on my hands and knees and only found 2 of the four that were there. I guess 2 will have to do (unless some other kind soul would like to send me theirs ;-). Note to all DO NOT CUT THEM OUT until you are ready to work with them, they are small and WILL BE LOST! Another note, Tamiya acrylics suck adhering to metal photo-etched parts! They scrap off even just looking at them wrong. I've painted and re-painted these tiny Valks white about 4 times due to various bits scraping off, or the airbrush spray was just too heavy to obscure the tiny etched line details on them. In the end, I suggest doing a black oil wash on them first to fill into the etched lines (very shallow), then a very light coat of white over it but still allowing the black lines to show through, afterwards, handling it with kid glooves till you clear coat protect it. The launch arms are really tough to bend correctly, especially the tiny folds on either side of the long part of the arm, there just isn't much material to grab onto. The trickiest thing is to bend it into a U-shape - the first bend into an L-shape is easy, but when you go to the other side to do the U, you tend to flatten out the first bend. It took a lot of practice and trail and error - plus headaches because my eyes don't seem to focus down to something this small anymore. I've got to find one of those large magnifying glass on a gooseneck stand that will ship to Canada (checked out some cool ones at Amazon.com, but they don't ship to Canada - argh).

Note to self: paint after you bend them!

These are the fast packs - note they even have ones for the port side and different ones for the starboard side (strike cannons!)

So while I'm letting the painted and re-painted photo-etched parts to dry, I've decided to decal and lightly weather/panel line my recent HLJ sale acquires; the VF-11 & VF-1D (the old VT-1 in the back was just for decal placement)

Here's to how the PE valkyries look after you oil wash them - quite a lot of detail for something so small! I just wished they were already in white photo-etched as a lot of this detail gets obscured when you paint them white - argh! Maybe that's why I haven't seen anyone who has used these PE Valkyries on their kit yet - hmm....

That's it for now until they dry and I try to assemble the valks with their fast packs.

(I do love the macro capabilities of my 11yr old Nikon Collpix 990! - nothing else I have can get so close and clear to these tiny parts)

Edited September 30, 2012 by wm cheng

[derex3592]

I've said it before, I'll say it again,,,YOU my friend are a mad man doing those PE Valks! Can't wait to see the result!

[Big]

Magnificent work Cheng!

It is always a delight to follow your working process.

What decals did you use for the 1/60s?

[MechTech]

Awesome work as always! Those micro valks are great. They're almost small enough to inject through a needle into someone's bloodstream to "fly" aroudn in. Hey, that could be a movie! Anyhow, great lookin' progress!!! - MT

[erikos0311]

Hey there Mr.Cheng, 1st of all , I'd like to thank and congratulate you on yet another very inspiring work of art. I really Dig your style! I had a quick question regarding the kind of wash or oils you use to panel line and weather the actual Yamato Toys. My first Yamato was the 1/60 weathered version of the vf-1s roy focker (love the look), and now Im looking into customizing a yamato vf-1a. I did a wash and oil panel lining on a hasegawa vf-1s following your instructions and it turned out wonders. I guess my question is , Is it safe to take the same approach, materials to a plastic yamato toy as to a model kit? air brush, gloss and flat coats and all? I have been looking all over for a post i read in the past from you regarding panel lining and all I remember is that there are somethings to watch out for when doing so, so as to not ruin the plastic and make it turn weird colors.... once again, Im a big fan of your work and looking forward to learning from your post..

[MacrossJunkie]

Hey there Mr.Cheng, 1st of all , I'd like to thank and congratulate you on yet another very inspiring work of art. I really Dig your style! I had a quick question regarding the kind of wash or oils you use to panel line and weather the actual Yamato Toys. My first Yamato was the 1/60 weathered version of the vf-1s roy focker (love the look), and now Im looking into customizing a yamato vf-1a. I did a wash and oil panel lining on a hasegawa vf-1s following your instructions and it turned out wonders. I guess my question is , Is it safe to take the same approach, materials to a plastic yamato toy as to a model kit? air brush, gloss and flat coats and all? I have been looking all over for a post i read in the past from you regarding panel lining and all I remember is that there are somethings to watch out for when doing so, so as to not ruin the plastic and make it turn weird colors.... once again, Im a big fan of your work and looking forward to learning from your post..

Here's my 2 cents.

Pretty much anything you can do on a model like the Hasegawas, you can do on a Yamato or Bandai toy. The toy materials tend to be more durable as well. The downside is you'll need to figure out how to disassemble enough of the toy for painting or just find a way to work around that.

As far as panel lining goes, I believe wm cheng uses an oil wash. I say it really comes down to personal preference. I've tried a bunch of methods for panel lining and never really settled on a single method, instead using a mix of different methods based on the situation. My general view of some of these methods:

Fine-tip Gundam Marker:

Easy and fast to do. Least desirable result due to heaviness and thickness of lines compared to other methods, especially on light colored surfaces. Can stain painted areas or plastics making screw ups potentially hard to fix.

Pencil:

Easiest and fastest to do and simple to fix mistakes. Too shiny if not flat coated. Looks better on grayish or darker colors. Terrible looking on white.

Pro Modellers weathering wash:

Possibly one of the most difficult to apply and time consuming. Rubs off too easily while in the process of applying it. Decent look, but can be a bit splotchy. Works better when the panel lines are deep and fine and you add something to break the surface tension of the liquid like dish soap. Non-toxic and no harmful fumes which is nice. Easy to fix mistakes with soap and water.

Enamel paint + thinner:

Very low surface tension which makes for good capillary action meaning potentially less work for you. Harmful fumes from the thinner and need good ventilation. Easy to pick a color to panel line with to fit the subject. Should wipe off cleanly with thinner. Can be a bit sticky when it dries on surfaces if not cleaned off. Looks very good.

Artist oil paint + mineral spirits or turpenoid:

Seems very similar to the enamel paint option in application and results. Doesn't have the stickiness of the enamel option. Fumes can be harmful as well, even if odorless. Easier to wipe off than enamel which is a bit bad in this case since I've been able to completely and accidentally rub it off with just fingers while holding it trying to apply to other areas, forcing me to clear coat as I complete sections.

Personally, I do either enamel or oil wash option for the majority and sometimes small areas are judiciously done with pencil or gundam marker when the situation calls for it.

[CoreyD]

I read about using what's called a chalk wash (pastel chalk dust + water + drop of dishwashing liquid). Have you ever tried that method on any of the yamato valks?

[wm cheng]

Happy New Year guys!

Exactly what MacrossJunkie said (he's my new hero! - I hope to emulate him with my toys someday). The only note I have to add to what he said is you have to be careful of your base colours (especially in modelling) that whatever you use as a solvent for your wash doesn't react to the underlying paint colours (there are parts of Yamato/Bandai toys that are painted or tampo printed that you don't want to react with) but for the most part, the molded in colour bare plastic is fine. I actually tend to use pencil for some of my Yamato 1/60 V2 Valks since the panel lines are so fine and shallow, I find nothing really lies within the shallow groove other than an ruler drawn pencil line. If you're careful and use a harder lead like an H2 and line it very lightly to get a light grey out of it (I also use a smudge stick from an art store to smudge the pencil a bit either side to create a "post shading" effect or stain/streaking) you can get fantastic results even on white Valkyries, especially after you've clear-coated them to prevent the pencil from rubbing off.

I've used a pastel/chalk dust wash before too, especially for staining/streaking - I think I outlined the method on my VF-0S build. The newer Tamiya weathering sets are based on this principle (but even easier as its already made into a "makeup" like paste with applicators) and I think MacrossJunkie here is the resident expert in applying those to toys, you have gotta see his Bandai VF-25G - its especially hard to get a dark coloured Valkyrie to look good and he's one of the only ones I've seen pull it off!

Meanwhile, I got a whole bunch of display cases for my workroom over the Holidays, so I'm into day 2 (14hrs so far...) of cleaning (extreme dusting!) my whole collection (and of course repairing the breakage that occurs when you dust! - argh!!) - then assembling the new shelving (now with protective glass) and re-organizing it all. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up when I finish towards the end of the week and properly finish off my SDF-1. All I got left is to attach the tiny PE Valkyries to the launch arms and take some decent pictures of this baby! Then the next thing would be to customize my VF-4G to FB2012 scheme and weather my VF-25G (to MJs standards) - hopefully by the weekend.

[MacrossJunkie]

Hehe, you probably don't want to emulate too closely. I usually feel like I'm experimenting every time I start a new project. Then I sort of end up "Maxwell Smart"-ing my way to completion with any perceived success feeling like a happy accident, or at least that how it seems to me Though I guess I learn things in the process which I then try to apply to the next project, but still...

Yeah, the Tamiya weathering kits are pretty versatile. I discovered a while ago that when you do weathering over the panel lines with the brush end of the applicator, the powder actually fills into the panel lines too as you brush over it. On my 25G, for example, I used a fine tip black gundam marker to panel line solely the blue areas. It didn't look too good like that by itself, but I didn't care because once I started using the "snow" powder from the "B" kit, it started filling into the panel lines and lightened the heavy blackness of the lines in addition to adding a bit of fade to the edges of the panel line grooves. At the same time, that can be a double edged sword as there may be times you don't want it to fill into the panel lines which may cause extra work having to redo the panel lining afterwards. In those cases, it is probably better to save the panel lining as a later step.

On another note, how do you attach the leg/booster sections of the PE valks (or the valk to the launch arm and launch arm to the ARMDs for that matter)? I haven't the slightest notion how it's supposed to be done and the diagram in the assembly manual doesn't help in the slightest...

Edited January 10, 2013 by MacrossJunkie

[Kicker773]

Keep up the good work man.....trying to absorb ideas on here...

[erikos0311]

Thanks a bunch, macrossjunkie,coreyd,and cheng. I have also realized that advice and tips can only get you so far, until its up to you (the modeler) to figure how much or less of the technique should be applied. I have learned a bunch of my own little tricks and short cuts by mistake and by trying new things along the way. I think once a person has the basics down, it's all downhill from there. I think I love models as much as I do the yamato toys, just want to be more precautious with my toys since they are far more expensive and have less room for errors.....that being said, macrossjunkie, I think your custom toy collection is by far my favorite... And thanks again for the advice..!

[wm cheng]

Yay! I'm too chicken to start right in on the VF-4 modification to FB2012 colours - so I thought I'll warm myself up by finishing off the SDF-1 finally after all these years ;-)

Just to back up a bit, I tried to paint those tiny photoetched 1/3000 Valkyries and it turned out to be a disaster. I tried 3 times, and each time it got worst. When I sprayed them white, I lost all the etched detail so the wash wouldn't sit inside the lines anymore because the white paint was in them (so shallow) and I tried to paint the red, yellow and blue squadron colours with the finest brush I had, but it was just too small for my old eyes. I ended up each time bathing them in Windex to strip the paint off and start over. So in the end, I left the top bare metal (luckily its silver and not brass) and did a dark black wash to pick out the PE details and painted the flat underside white.

Yes, those PE backpacks are a b#$@h to glue together, they fit perpendicular to the valkyrie and there's a left and right pack, one has the beam canons! It took me about 3hrs to get the four Valkyries assembled and I ended up with one crappy tester, one ok passable, and two decent planes. Luckily I had lost 2 of my launch arms, so I can only use the 2 good planes that turned out anyways.

These next photos show how I'm attaching the PE launch arms, I just folded the base and that friction pressure is what's grabbing onto those molded vertical ribs within the black opening - its just friction fit, I thought I might just put a dab of "white" glue to hold them in place, if I were to handle the toy a bit more (for now I'm just leaving them).

And with a tiny dab of thick crazy glue, they held. You have to play with the "claws" a little bit (pry them open with some 000 tweezers) depending on how vertical you got your fast packs glued onto the Valkyries. Luckily I had to only choose the 2 best ones that turned out of the 4 that I made. Then a little "twisting & turning" once its mounted to get them aligned and true the way I wanted them to appear on the ARMD openings.

So here are some better shots of the ARMD with the attached launcharms and Valkyries finally attached to the rest of the SDF-1!

(I need to dust this baby a bit when you're taking macro photos so close, every piece of dust shows up!)

Edited January 11, 2013 by wm cheng

[wm cheng]

So lastly, I took some quick pictures of my baby. I couldn't go outside to get proper lighting (its fricken cold in Canada in the winter!) so I probably won't get decent shots till the Summer. This will have to do under proper shots are done. This is just on my workbench with whatever black foam core I could find lying around the basement so you get the idea!

[MacrossJunkie]

Wow, good job. Man, that looks like a really severe pain in the butt to do. With my luck, I'll probably end up breaking the claws or something. I'm not sure how you managed to glue those tiny things together so the legs and boosters are perpendicular to the main body. There doesn't seem to be much surface area to work with for gluing.

So lastly, I took some quick pictures of my baby. I couldn't go outside to get proper lighting (its fricken cold in Canada in the winter!) so I probably won't get decent shots till the Summer. This will have to do under proper shots are done. This is just on my workbench with whatever black foam core I could find lying around the basement so you get the idea!

Beautiful! I didn't think the pencil lines would make much of a difference, but those shots changed my mind. It adds a nice subtle yet noticeable difference. I may have to try that with mine too. I only did the feet like that on mine so far because they just looked so plain otherwise.

[wm cheng]

I purposely made the conscious decision that this was a painted toy and not a model, so I left a lot of the delicate "needle-like" antennas all over this ship off - I'm not sure if I made the right decision now, but I had intended to transform it once it a while (otherwise I would have puttied and sanded every seam). Some of it is my laziness and just wanted to cut down the scope of the work involved, but basically every one of my "real-world" fighter models that had delicate pilot tubes and lightning rods (F-16) have broken off over time despite my careful handling. Oh well. The photos do get progressively better as I shoot it - like everything, I get rusty when I haven't done it in a while.

Well, overall I am very happy with how it turned out and admire the ones on these boards that have gone through the extra effort of lighting them - BRAVO! That's just beyond me at the moment. Maybe in 10yrs or so when I'm no longer the center of my daughter's universe I might return to modelling like I once did, but for now, toy collecting has taken over and will have to do for now. Yamato has really outdone themselves with this stellar offering and I wholeheartedly recommend this toy to anyone still sitting on the fence about it - its truly remarkable. This and the new VF-4G Lightning has to be my all-time-favorite offerings from Yamato.

[wm cheng]

...There doesn't seem to be much surface area to work with for gluing...

Yes, but the trick is the underside, the "leg/intake/engine" portion of the fast pack sits flat against the underside of the horizontal portion of the Valkyries, concentrate the glue to the underside and build it upside down, the top will take care of itself if the bottoms are aligned properly. Also the thicker crazy glue will help, and do one fast pack at a time - the rest is just patience and where your personal frustration point ends up being

[MacrossJunkie]

I purposely made the conscious decision that this was a painted toy and not a model, so I left a lot of the delicate "needle-like" antennas all over this ship off - I'm not sure if I made the right decision now, but I had intended to transform it once it a while (otherwise I would have puttied and sanded every seam). Some of it is my laziness and just wanted to cut down the scope of the work involved, but basically every one of my "real-world" fighter models that had delicate pilot tubes and lightning rods (F-16) have broken off over time despite my careful handling.

If it makes you feel any better, I keep knocking off the needle like photo-etch parts on mine several times a day while working on mine despite super gluing them. I'm near the point where I say screw it and rip them off. got a few scratches from them as well. Almost poked my eye with one also. That would not have felt good.

As for the puttying, I gave up on that after the multiple times I've found there was a problem with a mechanism after I had already assembled and puttied painted and decaled/applied PE, only having to take them apart again and see if I could figure out a fix. I don't know why, but the toy version parts seems to be less flawed than the kit. I know I put it together correctly too, because sometimes the problem only occurs on one side like the left arm vs the right.

Yours looks amazing regardless and I can only hope that mine looks half as good as yours when I'm finished.

Edited January 11, 2013 by MacrossJunkie

[Froy]

Oh boy, oh boy.

I wanted to see this finished and damn, it is wonderful!

My favorite shot.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Froy

[nickster]

Wow! Another masterpiece! Your work is very inspiring... cheers!!!!!! =D

[coronadlux]

WOW!!! Great work. awesome detail.Those VF's and launch arms just seem a pain in the butt. I understand why few have even even attempted them.

Did you try a white wash? or greyish wash?

[EXO]

Oh boy, oh boy.

I wanted to see this finished and damn, it is wonderful!

My favorite shot.

With the right lenses, that would look like a movie shot.

[kyekye]

Finally Finished!!! Congratulations Mr. Wm Cheng!!!!

Those tiny Valkyries are awesome! (I bet that did some damages to your eyesight..)

I can't wait till Summer for more photos!!

[boinger]

I am putting together a Macross step by step guide into a pdf file to post on the forum and the Macrosshare blog.

***** Has anybody saved the full-sized pictures for post #81 and #88? ****

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=34450&page=3#entry955443

http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=34450&page=3#entry951512

If you have those pictures, then it would be really nice if you could zip them up and email

them over to me or wm cheng or >EXO<, thanks!

wm cheng only had a few of the full-sized pictures on this thread saved on his computer that he

could share with me. Otherwise, all other pictures posted in this thread appear to be full-sized

or can be replaced from the zipped file that wm cheng sent me.

>EXO< is looking into seeing if there is a problem with wm cheng's personal gallery settings.

[Zinjo]

So lastly, I took some quick pictures of my baby. I couldn't go outside to get proper lighting (its fricken cold in Canada in the winter!) so I probably won't get decent shots till the Summer. This will have to do under proper shots are done. This is just on my workbench with whatever black foam core I could find lying around the basement so you get the idea!

DSCN6523_resize.JPG DSCN6524_resize.JPG

Wow Sexy!!

Plan to post the full resolutions in zip format so we can grab the full size beauty shots?

Apparently zipping the images is the only way to post full resolution images now...

[gigawatt]

Congratulation Cheng!

U finally finished the master piece!

Amazing!

[Alvink489]

U a crazy, my super hero!

[Hikaru1234567890]

Thats really awesome!

[Kolz]

This is an eye opener!
Perhaps the best model I have ever seen!!

Thanks for sharing!

[Deadeye_281]

Wow, just...wow. You and Kye have some sick painting skills when it comes to the SDF-1. Awesome, makes me want a 1/3000 Macross that much more.

Edited May 8, 2013 by Deadeye_281

[Gakken85]

EPIC. And I don't use that word very often like most.

Only one thing could make this better... tiny LED's everywhere! haha

[vtx]

very awesome...love the details.

[Bolt]

Amazing..what an inspiration!

[cool8or]

damn! how I missed this thread? you have so much to teach us, William!!!

wonderful job! And I really love the tiny valks.

[electric indigo]

Any filthy rich members around here? We need to build a Macross Museum around this piece.

[chyll2]

read page 1 to page 5 and all details of it.