Vifam7
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Completed my 1/72 Bandai VF-1S Hikaru kit. This kit has been controversial from the beginning and now that I’ve finished this kit, I figured I’d give my own viewpoint. I’ll try to be fair and balanced. J I built this kit without painting much. The parts I painted were - - the tailfins - the foot thrusters - the gunpod - some minor details here and there - the black stripes on the arms, legs, and wings I had to paint the black stripes because the Bandai decals were terrible and generally a pain to work with. Those areas are also heavily touched during construction. Decals can be easily scratched even with a clear coat on top. Paint is a bit tougher (esp the lacquer & enamels I use). Painting them was also much easier. A couple of mods were made. The main one being the wheels for the landing gear. The wheels included with the kit were way too small for my liking. I thought about using the wheels from the Hasegawa kit but those are small too. I’ve always felt that Valks should have big meaty tires. So anyway, I cut off the wheel attachment point, drilled a hole, inserted a brass rod, and attached F/A-18 Hornet wheels from an aftermarket resin set. This does however mean that the landing gears no longer goes into the bays. But that’s okay since I don’t plan on swooshing this around like a toy or transforming it to any other mode. Another mod was to the gunpod attachment. Since the model is staying in fighter mode, I cut the ugly gunpod holding strap and simply glued the gunpod to the attachment point. The final mod was an attempt to fix the inward slant of the lower legs. Fellow MW member, Budokhan, seemed to have come up with a easy fix and I tried it out. It’s not perfect, but it’s a heck of lot better than it was originally. In general, the buildup of this kit isn’t that hard. Most of the parts come together decently. There is however, one section that I had trouble with Despite following the instructions, I simply could not figure out a way to firmly attach the shoulder rotation point to the socket. After numerous tries, I gave up and gutted the whole shoulder linkage section. Which is just as well as I had no intention of ever taking it out of fighter mode anyways. There’s probably a better way to put that shoulder section together but I really don’t care about transforming so I’m not going to bother. In all honesty, it’s not a bad kit to build into fighter mode. Since I glued many of the moving parts, it’s all nice and tight. Another thing that is nice when it’s all put together is the heft of the model (at least in fighter mode). The quality of plastic Bandai uses and all the mechanisms for transforming gives this model some weight. It’s not important but it feels nice. As for the general “look” I find it to be just fine (at least in fighter mode). It’s not my favorite fighter mode model (that belongs to the Wave 1/100) but it’s looks well enough like a VF-1. If I had to complain, I think the tailfins are a bit on the small side. I guess this is the compromise for battroid mode. In the future, I might replace them with Hasegawa fins or something. That all said, I’m pretty happy with the end result. The mods I made help. Actually, I’m pretty chuffed with the Hornet wheels. I took the pics with a phone camera so some things are not correctly in focus.
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Yes, that 1/100 scale VF-19 kit at Amazon is what I was mentioning in my previous post. HLJ gets them in stock from time to time. http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN953441/Sci http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN958222/Sci
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Hopefully not. The Hi-Metal has one of the best and easiest transformations. No need to mess with it.
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You can't build a Hasegawa kit like a Gundam model. Hasegawa kits require you to know how to use glue, putty, paint, and water slide decals. They are not for the novice builder and they are definitely not meant for repeated posing. If you want to step up to learning how to build using glue and paints, I'd recommend getting one of the old 1980's Imai/Bandai kits. Various kits are available in 1/72 scale and 1/100 scale. Most of them are relatively simple to build and cheap to acquire. Give it a try. Completing one of these can be huge confidence builder. Posability is limited though. If you just want to snap the kits together, apply stickers, and call it a day, you could try the 1/100 scale Macross 7 kits. IIRC only the VF-19kai and VF-19S is available. However, these are pretty close to HG Gundam kits. Pre-colored, stickers, snapfit, and decent posability. If you must have a VF-1, consider the Wave 1/100 scale kits. These are mostly snapfit like Gundam models. However, some parts are going to require glue. Though it's not recommended, I think you can get away with not painting. You do have to know how to use water slide decals and it is absolutely required to spray a clear coat to protect the decals. Though I have yet to build the battroid kit, posability should be pretty decent.
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The Wave kit's fighter sculpt is excellent as well. Pretty easy to build as it's mostly snapfit. Much much easier to build than the 1/72 Hasegawa or Bandai kit. No. You build to one mode only. However, IIRC you need to buy both the fighter kit and battroid kit if you want to build into gerwalk mode.
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The Hi-Metal VF-1s without super-packs generally sold for around 4,000 to 5,000yen. I purchased my VF-1J at Amiami for just under 4,000yen back then. The Strike VF-1S came out later at around 7,000yen IIRC. Keep in mind that they came out when the yen-to-dollar exchange rate was terrible.
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To me, Mazda became more interesting when the partnership with Ford ended. Pretty much that's when they introduced Skyactiv and the KODO design language. These days only Subaru and Mazda interest me. Not only are their cars more interesting, my experience at their dealerships have been better than that at Toyota, Honda, or Nissan. My '01 Mitsubishi Mirage DE coupe was a decent car. It was reliable and comfortable but underpowered. The problem with Mitsubishi is that they have no presence. It's like they're not even trying to sell their cars. I almost purchased a Lancer Sportback back in 2009 but instead purchased a Impreza Outback Sport. Test drove an Outlander Sport last year. I liked it over the RAV4 and Rogue but it was nowhere near as good as the CX5, Forester, or XV Crosstrek.
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I'm more interested about what Japan might be developing as the F-3. http://aviationweek.com/defense/japan-prepares-designs-its-next-fighter
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I'd like to see an adjustment made the shape of the forward fuselage so that the cockpit and canopy sizing can come closer to actual 1/100 scale.
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From my experience, Bandai decals in general don't have very good adhesive properies. So yes, they can fall off or crumble off especially if one does not clear coat it. And certain clear coats, like Gunze's Top Coat, don't do much to help it stick. The best way to deal with Bandai decals is to apply decal softening solution (like Microsol or Mark Setter) on the decal. The softener will melt the decal onto the surface. Then when the decal is dry, spray a clear coat.
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STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2
Vifam7 replied to Black Valkyrie's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Holy crap, that's a lot of decals. Glad that Bandai provided water slide decals despite their utter crappiness. -
Is that an all new nose sculpt? Looks a bit different from the 1/72 fighter.
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How about 1:12 scale? Bandai afterall did at one time release a RX-78 and Zaku in 1/12 scale. I believe the cost was around USD$2000. At 1:12 scale, we could insert our favorite Figma or SH Figuarts figure into the cockpit.
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Amazon Japan. All Yamato 2199 Blu-rays are 30% off currently. Get it while the Japanese yen is weak!
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I'm tired of the BS 1/60 scale. There's enough of it from Yamato/Arcadia. We also got a decent one from Yamato in 1/48 scale. It's time we got one in 1/72 scale. If I can't display a VF-1 next to a F-14 or F-16 in the same scale, I don't want it.
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The SVX is my number one favorite Japanese car from yesteryear. Not because of its performance, but because of its looks. I'd love to own one, but it just isn't practical to do so.
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They're going to show past toys from the original series at the event. Including some rare ones so they say. They're not calling the 1/55 a DX Chogokin. They're saying that the 1/55 is a progenitor or forefather to the DX Chogokin.
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Love the rims. Doesn't have the fender mirrors though.
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I'd have to agree with you. I too liked the 280ZX and don't like the first gen 300ZX. I particularly like the JDM cars with fender mounted rear view mirrors. I don't know how effective they are, but they're cool looking in my eyes.
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Whatever happened to those 1/48 Frontier kits or toys?
Vifam7 replied to Hikaru1234567890's topic in Toys
If only they had simply upscaled their own 1/100 Hi-Metal toy, they would've gotten the look and strength right. -
You realize that what you're saying is highly illogical.
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Not sure if the F-35A actually shares that same wings as the F-35B. I would also guess that the F-35C weighs more than the F-35A due to extra strengthening needed for carrier use - thus requiring more lift from the larger wings.
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The big question is: how much?
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I would never take Jeremy Clarkson's opinions seriously. He flip-flops all the time. These 2 videos seem more fair - Listen to the sound of that Countach! If I could find one and afford one, I'd get a LP400 Countach though.
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Even before VW takeover and the Gallardo, Lamborghini did always try selling lower cost alternatives to the flagship supercar Countach. Models like the Silhouette, Urraco, and Jalpa. Even Ferrari makes mass-produced V-8 cars next to their exclusive supercars like the Enzo and LaFerrari.