Anasazi37

Here's my second custom, a 1/55 Super VF-1A CF. I was able to control the weathering on this one a bit better and even managed to produce a neat "stressed" paint job--completely by accident, I must admit. This was the first custom I made with the Hasegawa-style decals I designed. Back in the day, I made these on my inkjet printer.... The squadron comes from the old Macross Hobby Handbook. I changed the color from blue to green and gave this valk a number designation. This was a gift for my best friend. Jetfire body, Chris Barretta custom head and heatshield, Kotobukiya nozzles.

Here is the first custom I ever made. I was going for the "Focker's Last Fight" theme with this Super VF-1S. Jetfire body, Chris Barretta custom head and heatshield, Jung decals. I was REALLY inexperienced when I made this. Note reversed stripes on chestplate. Definitely not my best work, but a good start. Working on this inspired me to start making decals. The friend who received this as a graduation gift dubbed it "The Dirty Bird."

This custom is a perfect example of why I continue to make decal sets. It's simply gorgeous and a true inspiration for all customizers....

Just finished up the pilot. Pardon the glare, but it was hard to get a good close-up shot with the lighting in my workshop. I painted the white suit the same blue as the valk and kept the orginal yellow parts. It looks really good in the cockpit. Thanks for the idea, Toonz!

(evil laugh) Heh heh heh....

Before I forget, I want to say thank you to everyone who's commented so far on this custom. I put a lot of work into it and I'm elated at the overwhelmingly positive response it has received. I'll try to get it shipped to wherever MW Con 4 is going to be held this year, along with my Angel Birds custom and perhaps one other I am working on right now.

I hadn't thought of that! Interesting idea to have the pilot suit match the rest of the color scheme. I'll dig out one of my detail brushes and give it a try over the next few days. I'll be sure to post pics when it's done.

And my favorite mode of all for this custom, armored fighter! I think I'll display it in this mode. It looks really formidable when it's armed to the teeth....

As promised, more pics! Battroid mode, no armor: Battroid mode, with armor: I'll get pics of armored Fighter mode uploaded later today. Gerwalk is not easy to pull off with 1/60 customs, so I don't think I'm going to try that one--it puts too much strain on the paint job....

It's the new type of gunpod. I didn't fully collapse the handle for fighter mode. Need to do some touch up work on it first.

This project has been on my workbench for about a year now. To make room for some other projects I have in the queue, I finished this one. This is by far my favorite color scheme and it pained me to have the valk sitting incomplete for so long.... All of you have been keeping me super busy with decal orders! I took a VF-1S Strike and put it through the normal routine of disassembly, cleaning, paint stripping, sanding, priming, painting, detailing, and clearcoating. I made the decals for it, of course. The dark color of this valk made it especially difficult to pull off without a ton of paint scraping that might expose the white plastic underneath during transformations. I used my Dremel way more than usual to make this custom work. Talk about a headache.... Here are the Hasegawa 1/72 kits from Model Graphix that this custom is based on: And here are fighter mode pics of my custom (without armor). I elected to use a satin finish so it appears a bit darker in color than the original. The Tamiya Sea Blue I used is a perfect match. I'll be uploading battroid as well as armored pics tomorrow once I do a little touch-up work on the cannon. Enjoy!

Sounds great to me! I've made tons of decal and sticker sets for people, yet rarely do I get to see them in action on customs. It's like they disappear into a void.... Having an official customs thread might encourage people to post pics of their work. I'll be sure to post pics. I have four customs in the works right now....

Nice work as always, Shan! It's great that the 1/55s are getting love from customizers again. That reminds me, I need to finish up my 1/55 Hikaru 1J GBP custom I started about a year ago.... Hope your finger is on the mend.

Yes, but I am not taking orders right now. They should be available again in about a month.

I make them in 1/72, 1/60, 1/55, and 1/48. You can see pics of them at this site: http://www.netwiz.net/~dwhite/decals/decal...al_samples.html And here's a pic of the Hasegawa model they are based on:

Yeah, I'm *still* looking for a perfect paint match for the purple/blue in the decals. I'll let everyone know when I find one....

Nice job, Shan! I do believe that yours is the first completed chunky monkey Minmay Guard custom. It looks great. Can't wait to see the 1/55 LV custom....

Damn. Nice work, Kurt. Your attention to detail is awesome--not many people use every decal on the sheets I make. I can't wait to see how you do the FAST Packs. It makes me want to get back to my own custom projects instead of making decal sets for everyone else.

I know that Jesse has one in the works. I made a set of basic 1/48 Angel Birds markings for him about a month ago....

Ah, you beat me to it, ChrisB! Jung, as Chris points out, there are three variants of the Blue Roses valk: "002" - VF-1S, dark blue with yellow trim "004" - VF-1J, grey/blue camo "006" - VF-1J, desert camo I've designed sets for all three in 1/48 scale. As per our conversation over PM, when you decide which version you want to do, let me know and I'll get the set printed as soon as possible. Chris, please let me know if you still want me to make the three BR customs for you (and Enigma?), as we discussed. I need to set aside the proper amount of time and I have a few custom projects from Min lined up already starting in January.... Graham: The Blue Roses badging is inconsistent across various features in Model Graphix. In some the rose is red, in others it is blue, but the name of the squadron is always Blue Roses. In all the sets I have designed, I made the choice to consistently color the rose blue and give the stem a realistic color (green) rather than that awful bright red seen in the original version. "Blue Roses" is not a squadron seen in any Macross TV episode or DYRL. It is the recent product of Japanese modelers and is purely fictional. Hobby magazines like Model Graphix are filled with customs like these, though. Many of them are very imaginative, like the Minmay Guard, but are certainly not "canon."

Just finished up my 1/72 Minmay Guard decal set. Took a little longer than I thought it would....

I'm finishing up the 1/72 Hasegawa battroid set today, most likely. And yes, those pictures are too small to print. Nice job on those models, baseballny. Painting the tread patterns must have been a real challenge.

Dude, check your PM. I sent you a message over a week ago saying that the 1/55 set was done and ready for purchase. Pictures of the set can be seen here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...igma%20set&st=0 And purchase details are here: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...t=ST&f=9&t=3574

The hardest one for me to find was the IMAI VF-1J Hikaru. For some bizarre reason, when Bandai bought the IMAI molds they never bothered to make this kit again. I won't even tell you how much I paid for it--it's not a pretty figure for a model. I guess you could snag a Max or Millia 1J and turn it into a Hikaru 1J, but you would need the right markings. Wait a second, I think that's how I got started with making custom decals! I remember being frustrated at one point with the rarity of the IMAI Hikaru 1J and decided to buy a Millia 1J and make the markings myself. Funny how things turn out, eh?

Thanks! I drag my pics out from time to time when I see threads that appropriate I hear you on that one. My first Macross model kit was a VF-1A Cannon Fodder 1/72 Variable. It still sits proudly amongst my customs and other models. I have all of the others, too. The VF-1D is 75% done and has been for about two years. Someday I will finish that one and build the other four. These are good kits, despite the limited posability, part interchange, and paint chipping issues mentioned above. I think I got into these (and customizing) because I couldn't afford the 1/55 toys at the time.