magicsp00n

I have to admit, I wasn't planning on getting the Toynami Beta, but after seeing the positive reviews I'm really re-thinking it. The only question is, which color to go with? (The answer for me is not "all of them!")

That armor looks really good on the V2! I can see retailers around the world fishing the armor parts out of their bargain bins...

Hey all, I'm working on my first 1/48 custom and am wondering if it's possible to get the intakes apart for easier painting. There's a screw on there that's easy enough to remove, but it looks like the halves are glued together. I guess I could spray the whole part as it is and then repaint the turbine fins there by hand, but it seems like there should be a better way... How do you pro customizers tackle these guys? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys, I've been working on a Yamato 1/48 TV Max 1A custom for a couple of months on and off. I'm using a 1st run Hikaru DYRL 1A, except for one piece. Early on, before I knew about the better products for stripping paint, I managed to screw up my original chest plate and airbrake trying to get the paint off. I got a replacement chestplate/airbrake from HLJ last week, which I assume has been manufactured much more recently. Here's the thing, though. I can't for the life of me get the paint off the new chestplate. When I throw the other original 1A parts into Chameleon for 20 minutes, the paint just jumps off, no problem. The new part, though, nothing. I've left it soaking overnight in DOT 3 brake fluid, nothing. The paint is bulletproof. Is Yamato using different paint now than they were for the original run? This is a big bummer, since I was really looking forward to finishing my custom. Has anybody else had similar experiences? And does anybody have a chestplate they can hook me up with?

Oh man. I love Pocari Sweat. They confiscated my big bottle of it at Airport Security when I was leaving Japan. I cried the whole way home. Oh, and that Beagle looks pretty good. Where's the shots with the bike?

Come on, I can't believe anybody's said it yet. A person's first valk should be a trainer, of course. VF-1D.

I've had a Badger 150 for over 15 years, always been happy with it. I also use the jars without any problem. It's best to have at least 5 or 6 jars handy so you don't have to worry about cleaning and mixing every time you want to change colors. Just plug the new jar in and go. I used to work with only one jar - what a pain.

Why is he fighting Sauron?

I have a friend who picked up a Ride Armor toy new in Hong Kong recently. He says it came in a box marked "Robotech", no instructions, and is "cheap and junky". He believes it's a pirated CMs 1/18. Anybody else hear of pirated or bootlegs out there?

Now for my broken parts... I need a 1/48 BC1 chestplate, preferably from a white one, like from a DYRL valk. Thought I'd try a custom and ended up screwing mine up pretty bad. Can anybody help me out with that?

I have a spare VF-0S right arm. Will PM you.

Here's the translation from a friend of mine, with his comments: --------------------------------------------------- Limited availability only with Macross Chronicle. Long-awaited item by fans. Click on the pictures below to download jpeg images. Yamato 1/48 scale VF-1A Max (makkusu) (TV version) Yamato 1/48 scale VF-1S Strike Valkyrie Brilliant Streak (must be part of the name) Weathering. This is the first time the Yamato VF-1A Max has been offered. This model, Ace Pilot Max first appeared in the 23rd episode of (some name of a Macross series that's a bunch of random kanji meaning things like Super and Sky and stuff). Unlike any Macross mecha sold before. Certainly this will become a collector's item among fans. The VF-1S Weathering blahblah model made history at the climax of (holy crap another long string of silly kanji for a movie, ending with something about "Do you remember love?") This time, given a realistic coating.

That does look better than the first two... not so plastic-y. Let's see those missile hatches open.

Dang, man. I just stripped the paint off my Hikaru 1A do to a Max repaint. The TV Max 1A is my favorite scheme out of the lot. What a drag that it'll be such a pain to get.

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but it looks like they added a swivel for the forearm, yeah? Or just rotated the fixed position of the gauntlet. On the Stick/Ley models, you gauntlet "topper" (the missiles, etc) is always on the same side of the arm as the elbow. Here, it's to the outside, which looks much better. I'm sort of too lazy to dig for photo reference right now, but you guys know what I'm saying.

Is this the first we've seen of the MH Blowsuperior's missile hatches open?

They include a moustache sticker?!

$89.99? That sure seems high. I picked up a 2002 VF-1S at a Mandarake in Japan last year for about $30...

You just need some pro photography now to show off all the details, that's all.

Here's a few shots of my original, not reissue.. It does require glue/putty/paint/etc. I did this one several years ago before I levelled up my modeling skills. I have another kit sitting in the closet that I'll take a crack at if I ever find the time. It is fiddly and tends to have bits that like to jump off it. It's also a really nice representation of the ride armor, and has some nice features and proportions that I wish the new CMs/Megahouse toys had. So have kind of a love/hate thing with mine. I think of putting mine up for sale every now and again.

That is a very dense display. Wow.

Has anybody done this yet? I'd like a tighter waist on mine. Can one just pop the torso off the hips without doing any damage?

Got my MH in the mail today from HLJ. I really wanted to like these guys, but I have to admit I'm sort of "meh" on them. They were smaller than I was expecting, so the CMs must be really small. I know that there's a whole lot of anime magic going on with these, so I don't mind shuffling bits around, but I really don't like yanking off the front forks. The visor is really floppy on both of mine as well. I think I would have been fine with it fixed closed, since we have the non-helmet head. I snapped a couple of quick photos with my (poorly constructed) IMAI kit for comparison: Notice on the IMAI model how the front forks attach to the gauntlets in armor mode. I think it's not a bad solution. The MH seems to stand up okay without the stand, as long as you pull the feet forward like the instructions show. I have him leaning a little further forward than he probably needs to in the photos. I also like how there's some articulation on the shoulder guards in armor mode. I'm a little confused by the stand. I understand the piece that plugs into the crotch for a flight pose... what's the other piece for?

So I notice that Volume 2 is also up for preorder, though with no photo. Anybody know what color it's going to be? I suppose the educated guess would be red, to match the volume 2 alpha...

I'm also gonna come down on the "don't mess with this one" side.