mickyg

Just in from HLJ a few days ago. I've now got all the Hasegawa Mac+ Valks to build. Some day. When I'm old. And retired... The Bandai VF-19 Advance is everything I hoped it would be and a lot more though. Very happy I managed to snag a preorder months ago.

Got mine to gerwalk yesterday and battroid today. It was a lot more fun than I was anticipating, actually. Glad it went that way and not the reverse. The cockpit/fuselage fold up puzzle is incredibly well engineered and I found it to be very sturdy, once everything was tabbed and pegged in properly. The chest guns are a mystery to me. Why do they extend, only to retract again? And the flaps on them were constantly trying to fold back up on me. I also got a bit worried about the various surfaces that fold up inside the body. They look like they could get some wear and tear. The legs are very cool, but like some others, that hip swing bar on one side was crazy tight, so I did the "loosen screw" trick and I think it sort of helped. Overall, this is a very well done effort by Bandai. I didn't think I'd like it much but it's easily my favourite valk!

I've noticed lately that I haven't finished a single kit in 5 years! Unless you count a 1/144 RAF Tornado I mostly finished to give to my 6 year old son. Love living vicariously through all your projects, guys. Keep posting!

Dude, where do you work? I'll have to drop by and admire up close.

Definitely want to see this, especially from a fellow Melbournian!

That's pretty good and I'd be happy with that. My issue is still being able to see the tabs at the pointy end of the front of those parts. I can't see yours because the canards are in the way but I'd say it's a lot better than mine.

Just a couple of observations about the gappy nature of how this thing seems to arrive, straight from the box. Some pics as well. Note the foot sitting outside the bottom of the leg, on one side: And some of the gaps: The wing would not click in all the way because the missile door was not clicked all the way in. I figured this out a bit after I took this pic, so that wing is now as flush as the other one to the body/leg. Is this normal? Note the crooked arms: OK, so the post on the wing root was not pushed in all the way on one side, and it was a royal pain to get it fully pushed down. It didn't really seem to make much difference though. Then I noticed the guns underneath. Here's how they look, right out of the box: And a better look with the cover partially flipped up (Be careful not to try to bend it all the way out, as it will foul on the sharp tip against the inside of the fuselage): Seem a bit out of place? I thought so. Here they are a bit more straightened out: I'm still struggling with gaps around the upper intakes though - anyone got any tips here?

Mine just arrived! Like plenty of others, gappy, mistransformed mess out of the box. This will take some effort to close up. But initial impressions: she's huge and feels very nice to hold!

Maybe not, but you have enough that I think you should go for it!

I love how that great big giant fin sticks out, right between the head lasers, making it impossible for the "turret" to swivel. And the hatch things that are shown open, are they speed brakes?

Wow! Xigfid, have you considered putting a link to your Shapeways offerings into your signature? I think it would be super helpful for people to know where to find your stuff. I don't think there are any rules stating you can't market yourself in your sig file. Just a thought...

With 50mp on that camera, 20x30 is positively tiny! You could almost go life size! Hmmm...

I spent my early childhood (from age 3-5) in Redwood City! Such a small, small world. San Mateo was where I discovered robo...Macross though! Hoping like crazy that my VF-19Advance arrives today from HLJ.

The kite is canon for the TV series. Though the irony is that no supers were on Hikaru's 1J in the show. His 1S did, though, and his 1A got it in the movies. Love the markings on your 1J, by the way. Are those stickers?

Wow, does it ever! This guide will get used a ton, for both this, and many other sci-fi builds, I'm sure. Thanks so much for taking all the time to meticulously describe all the steps you took to turn out such a masterpiece! Awesome work!

Be careful with lacquer clear sprays, though. They can be a lot "hotter" than other paints. I've had some terrible results with stuff that was meant for car repair paint touch ups. Always good to test first. But still, much easier to get these at a hardware store or car parts place, than to order online. Don't mean to scare you, just offering some of my own experience. By the way, my experience was painting over tamiya and gunze acrylics. These are supposedly lacquer based pigment, but in a water soluble solvent. Strange things because they can be mixed with water, alcohol, or lacquer for thinning. And now we're waaaaay off topic! Sorry

Chaff offers some verybsound advice. I've had some great luck applying to semi gloss or even flat colors but it was definitely an exception to the rule. You're far better off applying both washes and decals to a gloss coat. Plus, the gloss seals the finish. So if you make any mistakes, you're not starting over completely, since your base coat is protected.

Received shipping notification earlier today from HLJ. Finally!

It's been awhile since I placed an order for an item with HLJ, but is it normal for an item in private warehouse to take this long to ship? Tomorrow will be 3 days, not counting the partial day after I paid for it. I guess I need to be patient. I'd be less picky if it wasn't EMS. Knowing it's fast shipping makes it harder to wait for. Back on topic, loving the comparison photos, all! Especially those between the super packs. So much to tweak to make them look right on the 19.

Spill Tochiro! Spill!!!

I get the inner head detail thing being a bit obvious, but aren't the bars in the wings essential for them being able to fold in for Battroid anyway? I don't own a single '19 toy of any sort so I may be completely wrong in that assumption.

Hey Spanner - from the Starter Kit page: Kit includes one YetiStand XL Arm, one DX Banking Adapter, one DX Standing Adapter, and a DX Base Pivot. So it's actually the longer arm included with the kit. The 3.5" extra arm is the shorter arm and 2 are included in the regular stand package.

If daddy throws his toy across the room due to anger over broken shoulders, and toy accidentally hits child, does that count?

It has "THE" best Gerwalk mode in my opinion.

I saw only 8 left in the cart when I was trying to figure out how many I could order before the shipping cost went up. Is that built into the checkout process correctly yet?