AchtungMacross

Just asking if anyone's heard from Christopher in a while. I did some commission work for him last year, and have some ongoing projects with him currently. I understand he was in Iraq and then in the Phillippines for a while, just want to make sure he's allright . I haven't heard from him since last October.

Hey Grayson, never tried the Alclad II Lacquers, I usually go with Metalizers for aluminum finishes. Any better durability on the Alclad's than the 'lizers? As for the complex hex pattern camos, I photoshopped some pics of the similarly camouflaged valks in the custom gallery and sized them to 1/72. After printing out shots of just the wings and the fuselage I traced the edges of the various colors on to clear frisket film and cut them out making a mask. For the individual hex's I glued tiny pieces cut from a razor blade to a hex key to make a punch.I would have just used the method with the hole puncher, but I couldn't find one I could modify.

Later next month a Blue or Brown Roses Digital Camouflage Strike( haven't decided yet) with all the usual trimmings will go up on this thread. Thanks for your comments, guys! I'll keep on building em!

It wouldn't be too difficult to make the signatures with an inkjet printer and clear decal paper, since they're in black an ordinary printer can do it. If you wanted to truly customize it, like adding your own name, that would be the way to go. It should'nt be too difficult to sign a bunch of names on a piece of paper and scan it into a photo program. Presto, decal.

Thanks for the links, guys. That hole puncher idea looks great.

A great way to use super glue if you can't sand in an hour is to mix it with talc, or baby powder with talc. Just use a toothpick to mix a few drops of Zap a Gap CA with an equal amount of talc, it creates a composite that is stronger than plain super glue, yet is easier to sand off, even after days.

Hello everyone! I am going to shortly buildsome of Hasegawa's 1/72 Strike valkyries in a digital camoflage scheme. I was wondering if any of the Macross pro modelers would give me some tips on how to pull this off. The problem is the little hexagonal shapes used for the masking.Any tips on mass producing those in 1/72? And what would I use for the masks? Thanks for your replies!

Another great way to do panel lines is to mix some water, Gunze acrylic, and a few drops of dishwashing soap until the desired color density and then apply it over a coat of future. It's talked about in Finescale Modeler magazine all the time. They call it a "sludge wash". It works great! All you need to clean it up is a moist rag or a Q-tip after it dries. The key is to let the wash dry completely before removing it.

Hey Hurricane29, Of course the pros of having an airbrush are: Unlimited custom colors, just mix paints Not much mess, just look at the spray site after painting witha spray can Freehand camoflage The cons are the learning curve and cleaning it. Some airbrushes are easy to clean,like Testor's Aztek. Just unscrew the paint tip on it and wash it out. whatever you do, an airbrush will improve your skills.

Christopher B's got it it right. I'm just a newbie.Heck,just a few weeks ago I'd never even heard of Macross. Thanks for the compliments.Thank Hasegawa for the thorough instruction sheet! I tried to match the valk's camo scheme and weathering to a modern F-14, and go figure, it looks perfect.

It's set on max resolution in macro mode,with no flash. I never use the timer.It helps that I shot outside in the sun.

Forget the seam on the back of the reactor bomb, I took care of it after the picture session. I did reduce the last two pics by 50%, they're still massive.

Hey guys, you bet.I'll reduce the pics size in the future. I'm using a Fuji finePix 2650 @ MP DC with macro mode on and no tripod.I guess I have steady hands! The "seam" I keep hearing about is barely noticeable in the flesh. I mean, you'd need a magnifiying glass just to make it out. Too bad Hasegawa molded the nozzle in two sections,it's a devil to mask or paint around.

front view

Top view

Hi,JYLC. Thanks for the info.I now know what the arms are. It's a tricky seam to get at. Yes, I use an airbrush. For a lot of these Macross models, you could get away with using a cheap single action airbrush. You don't really need fine paint control with all the primary colors and masking. Some run around $30 or so. I just finished a Strike valk flown by Roy, here's some pics.

I have great success with Parafilm M. It's hard to find, but it's great for sharp paint lines and masking canopies. And it won't ever leave an adhesive behind. Even after weeks of sticking!

Hey guys, good eye. The seam just above the nozzle in the last pic has been fixed. Good thing it wasn't finished yet! What exactly are the arms? Excuse me, but I am kind of new to Macross. The first valk has styrene stock hatches on top, the second is pe. I'm putting the finishing touches on a pe detailed, weapon set Strike valk as I speak. Anybody wanna see some pics when I'm done?

Yes, I did brush paint the nozzles on the fast packs. Now that I think about it , they would look better airbrushed. Never again !! The rest was airbrushed. I think I'll snap the nozzles off and airbrush them just for the heck of it. Something like this is cool.

Top view.

Here's a right side view.

Here's some uncompressed pics of the model. Enjoy!

Thanks for the welcome. I'll take some more pics later on today or tomorrow and upload them . Pretty nice considering the Ichijo model is my second Strike valk, right?

Hey, my first reply. And it's about my built valk model! Yes, I am the builder of the model being discussed here. Thanks for the constructive criticism. It's nice to know what others think of my stuff. All the pics were taken with a 2MP dc, the white paint really messes with the contrast. I only wish the site I host my pics on didn't compress my pics so much!!