MacrossJunkie

I got around to flat coating my YF-29 so that it looks consistent with the other two. I wish the super pack release for the VF-171EX wasn't so far off. It just doesn't look right without the anti-vajra weaponry. Alto's VFs again, but in battroid mode this time.

Nice. Thanks for the comparison pics. Such a difference it makes when the hips aren't so close to the bottom of the chest that it looks like it has no torso. I'm trying to decide if I should keep my version 1. If I do, I think I'll leave as it currently is in fighter mode and have the renewal displayed in battroid. The version 1 looks passable in fighter mode with the armor packs on, but that's about it.

Ignoring the colors used, it looks pretty good. I'm going to have to attempt to repaint the stripes, head lasers and the ankle collars. The chosen colors are just plain hideous and wrong.

Yeah, the first version had the landing gears built into the leg armor as well.

Ah, I didn't think it was even a concern in battroid mode. It's not something I worry about, even on the version 1.

But unlike the version 1, the renewals have the backplate support piece built in (which also has the clip to hold the gunpod between the legs in GERWALK mode) which should help.

I had a bottom fed Paasche VL before the Talon which I lost during my move. The included metal cup was easily spilled as well due to the tilted angle and no included cap. The Talon fortunately came with one, although I never really used it. I just put in as much as a pipette will extract with one squeeze, whether it's paint or Future. It's enough for about 20-30 seconds of continuous spraying at 15psi. I drop in more as needed and I would have to be flinging the airbrush around to be able to spill that small amount. The pipettes really helps me cut down on mess and paint waste. This is what I have and it was well worth it: Pipette 100 pack. Anyway, this is all way off topic, so time to put it back on the rails. How about Gamlin's VFs together?

I can't say I like the shade of yellow and red they used there. I wish it was closer to the colors depicted in the macross chronicle mechanic sheet where the red was a deeper red and the yellow is closer to a brass color. I might have to attempt to repaint mine when I get it unless they fix the colors before it goes to production.

I must have really lucked out on mine because the pins have never once fallen out during transformation. They are actually hard to pull out of mine. I bent a fingernail trying to pop one out, it was that tight. The parts that I keep accidentally knocking off are those stupid chest guns. I've knocked off one of the front landing gear bay doors once or twice and I've accidentally pulled a shoulder off once during transformation. Those pins however will not budge without effort.

I have to agree with all the above as well. It's not really something that can be played with like an action figure. Also the transformation can be tricky in some parts, particularly for a young child. Heck, I still have to struggle to get the legs detached/attached to/from fighter mode at times or get the panel that covers the T-bar connectors positioned just right when putting it into battroid mode.

Contrary to normal modeling methods, I just weather right on the bare plastic/paint itself. Otherwise, the weathering pigments don't come off very well when applied on top of Future. Only after I feel it's complete do I apply the layers of clear coat. I don't thin it out at all. Out of the bottle, it's already very airbrush friendly. You should be able to dump it in and spray, just as you say. I squeeze some into a cup and mix with some flat base as needed for the level of flatness. Then I use an eye dropper to put some into my airbrush's gravity fed cup just to make less of a mess. I've had no problems using it with my airbrush as it cleans right out. Future also comes right off with some rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. I'm not sure how your airbrush is designed. However if it follows typical designs I've seen, the trigger shouldn't be getting sticky at all unless you hold it so close to the spraying surface with the trigger wide open that it somehow back spatters all over the brush and your hands. What part of the airbrush internals were getting sticky? Everything behind the wall that the needle passes through should not be getting any future in it at all. After I'm done, the only thing I need to clean off is the crown and the inside of the cup. For the internal section, I just flush out any remaining Future by putting tap water in the airbrush cup and spraying until the water is gone. Use the alcohol to be doubly sure if you want. I pull out the needle afterwards and wipe it, then put it back in and pack the airbrush away. My current airbrush is a Badger Renegade Velocity (really awesome airbrush, btw!), but I've also used it with a Paasche Talon with no problems before it stopped working properly due to unrelated issues.

I do use clear coats, I just avoid the modelling and automotive clear coats. The modelling ones like from Testors and Tamiya don't seem to have much durability. They also remain sticky feeling even years after having been applied regardless of if it's a humid summer or a dry winter. I always feel like I need to wash my hands after handling something that was sprayed with them. The gloss ones are the stickiest feeling, the dull coat versions feel less tacky, but are still tacky none the less. I hear they also have a tendency to yellow. Fortunately, I haven't experienced that yet, myself. But then I haven't had any noticeable yellowing on any of my whitish valks either. The automotive ones can react with the plastic and slightly melt it or the paint. I use Future acrylic floor polish for all my clear coats. It's non-toxic, dries super fast, easy to clean, relatively durable when dry, resistant to yellowing, doesn't leave a sticky feeling, can be brushed on or sprayed easily from an airbrush, and super glossy when used by itself. It also mixes well with tamiya flat base when you want a semi-gloss or flat finish.

Wow, I used to think that the 1/72 version was amazing, but the renewal one seems to have better proportions and overall look. I still like the color of the model's armor a bit better. It's not so dark. I thought so too. It seemed like the model version of the 27 had a torso that looked too elongated and strange. After the renewal 25s came out though, the 27 could use a refresh.

Thanks. Glad you guys like them. The process of trimming and placing the stickers, panel lining and other stuff is a large portion of the fun for me that I look forward to when I get a new valk. I don't think I could ever just leave a valk in factory condition, not to mention it would look out of place in my display cabinets now. Panel lining and stickers, if available, are the bare minimum I would do. Weathering and such are considered when the toy's plastic and transformation allows for it since I wouldn't want to have to redo it every time it's transformed, or if the toy just looks cruddy to begin with, like the version 1 VF-25s, then I don't bother. For those wanting to weather theirs, but are too afraid, I say just go for it. For panel lines, use stuff that's easily cleaned off like promodeller's wash or thinned enamel paint. I avoid the gundam pens when possible because they tend to stain, especially on painted areas and they look too thick, heavy, and artificial, at least on light colored valks. They have their place still for certain situations. For weathering, start off with the tamiya weathering kits. The powders are easily wiped off with water if you screw up. Then just practice 'til you get results you feel are acceptable. It's only when I started experimenting with clear coats that I had some "oh crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" moments that I had to try and salvage the situation I put myself in due to noobish mistakes. I now avoid modelling clear coats and especially automotive ones. I only started doing the weathering when I began collecting the v2 1/60 VF-1's and destroids and I don't even have that many to have worked/practiced on. I took a lot of shortcuts too. Despite all that, I don't have one that I felt was truly bad and beyond correction. So I think if a noob like me can do it, anyone with some time and patience should be able to achieve similar results, if not better. Ack! Nooooo... I'm far from that. I rarely even work with models. There are many others on this board faaaaaar more deserving of being called that than I am. I consider myself a novice that just experiments with stuff like this to see what works or doesn't. I'm slowly improving as I go, but definitely am not an expert. I do welcome constructive criticisms and suggestions on how to improve so I can do better the next time. It's a clear Mighty Block stand that Yamato made, but seems to be out of production for a while now. I had two, but smashed one out of frustration because, honestly, they suck. I glued my remaining one in place just so it could hold stuff.

I'm under the impression that Yamato takes the pre-orders for the web exclusives and produces that amount instead of deciding to produce X units first and then seeing how many pre-orders they get.

After seeing the recent pics of the 19P, I decided to drop my pre-order for the F which I was going to just keep in fighter after cannabilizing a part that had broken on my 19S (which is now in fighter mode and stays together quite well in that mode despite the broken hip peg). Given a choice between getting another short winged 19 or something more unique like the 19P, I figured the P was a better option. I hope some pics of the battroid mode surface soon. I want to see how well they sculpted the head unit.

Hehe, thanks. It was seriously a pain in the arse to do. Takes me probably 10 times longer to airbrush it due to all the extra steps involved and screwing up means a whole lot of work to get it cleaned up enough to try again. I often times had to redo a whole section due to having to blend stuff together, or at least that was the case with the VF-1S. I only went with one color with the VF-1A on the white areas which was easier. I'd recommend using the Tamiya weathering kits or powdered pigments to anyone attempting to do any post shading as it is by far easier to do and still gives good results, although there are some effects that are easier to do with an airbrush.

Hmmm, wonder if the site is currently down. I can't get to it. It just times out. Looking for pics to hold me over while I'm anxiously awaiting mine. The V1 just didn't cut it for me.

I'm not too worried about availability. I see no reason why sites like the ones CF18 listed wouldn't be able to do the web pre-orders as they have done with many in the past. Unless Yamato is forcing a set limit on the number they produce to some abnormally small number of units regardless of the number of pre-orders they get, I would think there should be enough for all that want one.

The "blur" around the panel lines is part of the weathering. It was one of my earliest attempts at post shading using pigmented powders. The idea of the post shading is to give recessed areas more depth by shading the areas much like how someone illustrating a 2D drawing would shade in areas, or simulate areas where soot, dirt, grime, etc gather along the areas of crevices and gaps causing those areas to look a darker shade than the base. I did a quick google search for an example where the areas around the panel lines are darker: Being one of my early attempts, the post shading on the chest area of my VT-1 is too heavy and solid, which I should have gone back and fixed but I was having trouble getting the panel lines to stay as the grooves for the panel lines were so shallow as to be nearly non-existant that touching it caused them to rub off. I had spent hours doing and redoing the chest already so I probably said screw it and went with what I had. I did a decent job on the wings but I should have gone even more subtle than that. Using an airbrush, I went with a more subtle approach with my Max VF-1A. Also done with an airbrush was my Roy VF-1S with slightly heavier weathering: An example of a subtle approach using pigmented powders is my VF-11C: A less subtle, heavier weathering and post shading was done for Max's VF-22S for Operation Stargazer where he folds in, proceeds to launch a million missiles and blows up an army of Varauta valks in his way, flies into a tunnel, dodges beams in said narrow tunnel, blows stuff up and flies through the explosion clouds... like a boss.

The fighter mode is small, but it seems to me that the battroid mode is still pretty large if going by its size compared to the stand. It's just like the VF-17. The 17's fighter mode is an even smaller shorter 15.63m in length, but manages to be one of the taller battroids amongst valkyries at 15.82m due entirely to the way it transforms. Edit: changed smaller to shorter. It's shorter, but in no way would I call it small. Its overall dimensions still make it seem pretty large.

Is that Battle 7 just behind the clamshell?

Yes, I did. I panel lined, weathered and applied a flat coat to it. I think I put up pics of it one or two years ago but never had it in battroid mode until now. Here's some old pics of it in fighter mode if you're curious. EDIT: Changed the links on all my pics on the past few pages so they go straight to the full size image instead of merely a full screen view in picasa which sucked, imo.

I believe that's a VF-19 ACTIVE Nothung from Macross the Ride. I would love for Yamato to make that thing too. The YF-19 was not white at all. It was a tan/biege color with black and red secondary colors. The VF-19P is a production model variant that appeared in Macross Dynamite 7 and is not the same model as the YF-19 seen in Macross Plus.

I would probably bet the opposite; that the tornado packs (if they make it at all) will come as a release by itself as a web exclusive for the F and possibly the G. While Bandai bundled the full armor pack for v1 Ozma and super packs for the v1 25G and RVF for retail, it seems like their current trend is to make all the add ons for the renewals as separate web exclusives. Heck, they didn't even include the MDE gun and missile launcher, nor the wings with hardpoints with the 171EX, which should have been standard with it, and opted to make it part of the web exclusive with the super pack.