Wicked Ace

Another option is the Crayola twistable colored pencils. Comes out chalky but subtle -- no drawn-in anime look. Once you get the consistency you desire, you can spray a top coat on, however my project in the picture is not top coated (still a work in progress).

This thread is very interesting in that the replies indicate for the most part that people are not sick of the VF-1 and will continue to purchase them.

Member myk brought up the "official" part. Of course, just because there were, according to the Compendium, only an estimated 4 VF-0S units made does not mean Yamato doesn't have quite a few other models to produce. I agree with you about milking the molds and giving us more choices as opposed to less. I'd prefer if the new choices did not have breaking biceps though.

This is the part that had me most concerned. I'm pretty sure the halves that hold the strut in place are not likely to crumble, but for those who do not wish to take apart the leg (not to mention save a couple of minutes), it's a risk. Your input is appreciated, as I'm sure some people are nervous about breaking the small plastic peg. BTW, you mentioned breaking the peg and a hesitation to use glue in case you want/need to take the leg apart again, so I will add that if you use a small dab of Testor's brand model glue (the cheap dime-store stuff), the leg most likely can still be pryed apart -- I've done this with models in the past.

Yamato has to choose wisely on official variants, as only an estimated 4 VF-0S units were made. http://macross.anime.net/mecha/united_nati.../vf0/index.html

Very nice! Although, for the time period, maybe Pilot Max Jenius, Sr. would have been appropriate.

Here's a debate waiting to happen. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, the 1/60 scale VF-1S head is in a way most true to the anime.

The only problem I could see with modding the landing gear strut without taking apart the leg assembly is the somewhat fragile nature of the strut pivot sandwich. I've attached a pic of member Hayao Kakizaki's fix (using a drill bit). Apparently, the pivot piece has withstood drilling and your hobby knife use, but I am inclined to think that you and Hayao got lucky. As you know, the pivot piece plastic cuts away pretty easily with the hobby knife, which shows how potentially fraile the piece is. True, correct sized screwdrivers aside , taking apart the leg involves risk of breaking the peg mentioned before; however, tightening the screws up firmly on reassembly remedies the gap -- worst case scenario, you use a dab of model glue at the peg. The potential downside to modding the landing gear strut without taking apart the leg is breaking the strut pivot piece, which would be a real nightmare that would involve a lot more than a dab of model glue. Check out the line (or gap) between the halves that sandwich the strut -- I think the sandwich pieces could crumble with use of a drill or long hobby knife (i.e. using a lot of leverage on the part).

If by "catering" you mean giving us crooked skulls, breaking biceps, and crooked gunpods, then I'm right there with ya.

It's likely that I've missed something in your posts, but are you making a Max -1S? If so, the Tamiya color I used for mine is totally off the blue used by Yamato. You can see the contrast on page two of the how-to thread I posted a link to. edit: to keep this thread on topic, check out my b team collection, and note my wm cheng knock-off coat hanger model stand skills.

You may find this thead helpful. Tape and Tamiya

I hope Yamato's attention is directed to this thread. Perhaps Graham could let the Yamato people know we have pictures to back up our claims. Of course, Lord Kung Fu won't be helping out .

Whoa!

What decals (stickers) are you using? edit: took out quoted pic as to prevent any member from having a stroke.

I faced the same predicament -- sorry if I got the last on from Lost and Found Toys. Now I can patiently wait for BBTS to get the shipment.

One vote for the "green VF-1 of that fat guy" before this thread is closed.

LMAO! This should have been one of the poll choices.

I'm waiting on one from BBTS. When I ordered it, I had no idea it would be my second -19.

Ah, got to borrow a camera for more pics.

What would be satisfying is if you'd post up a series of close-up pictures of your Max colored custom VF-0.

I saw this fix but thought someone, perhaps Hayao Kakizaki himself, would do it cleaner (not that the gunpod grip is all that visible anyway). edit: Hopefully it happens in this thread, as it's easier to find than to comb through umpteen pages of that thread.

My suggestion for your dilemma is to check out the merchants' listed prices of the items you're interested in, and then go to the For Sale and Trade forum and buy the item(s) that you can get for the best deal.

Since no one else has jumped in on the crooked gunpod fix, I'll address it in an extremely technical manner, not to be attempted by anyone lacking extensive modeling experience (runway or otherwise). Step one: find a pair of scissors, being careful not to run with them, cut a small strip of electrical tape, and wrap it around the gunpod grip. Step two: there is no step two. Seriously, there's a "better" way, so I'll leave it to another member to post detailed pics of a proper fix. Enjoy. If anyone needs pictures of steps one and two mentioned above, then post up, "I'm a doofus," and I'll take a picture of a YF-19 gunpod with some electrical tape wrapped around it.

I've seen more than one post about the crooked gunpod being a deal-breaker for people. Please do not deprive yourself of this awesome toy for something that's a non-issue. My gunpod is straight -- fixed simply by wrapping a very thin piece of electrical tape around the grip (there are more technical ways of doing this). Sure, an expensive toy like this should be perfect, but for those that want a -19 -- if you can find a better one out there, then you buy it.

I know who he's been partying with.