wm cheng

WOW! That looks perfect! I love that tiny falcon. Makes me want to look at my 1/72 FMMF now... oh, well, someday... What does the rear engines look like? I hate the curved plate with the squares cutouts in it, there must be a better looking engine detail.

I don't ever use the straight gloss, it's always semi-gloss or I use the straight gloss to tone up the semi-gloss or mix it with the flat/matte - but I would imagine the straight gloss to be "soft" and prone to fingerprints the same as everything else including Future. I think it has something to do with the fact that to get the glossy surface, you have to have an ultra-smooth (microscopically so) surface, and your finger oils contribute to making the surface bumpy and thus seeing the imprint even more so. I haven't had the need since I don't model cars (yet, although Tamiya has a Aston Martin DBS which might be my first foray if I ever get the time!) so I never need that really glossy sheen - it makes the models "toylike" IMHO.

Don't use Windex as a thinner (its too powerful) it should only be used as a solvent for Tamiya Acrylics. Nope, the ModelMaster stuff has its own thinner (used to thin for airbrushing) and solvent (used to clean out the airbrush).

I paint with Tamiya Acrylic, but clear coat with ModelMaster Acryl - the ModelMaster has a different solvent base than the Tamiya (don't know what it is), but when I use Windex (deadly solvent for Tamiya Acrylics) to wipe off the undesired weathering post shading on top of the clear coat in Tamiya, the Tamiya weathering wipes off just fine leaving the ModelMaster Acryl clear-coat to protect the underlying Tamiya Acrylic basecoats.

Hey MickyG, There's not really enough raised surfaces/details to really catch dry-brushing techniques on planes. It works best on armor and robot and such. I'd do a "reverse" post-shading with a lighter colour with the airbrush. First I'd seal in the paint finish you have with something different from the post-shading colour so that if you don't like what you did, just take some solvent and wipe if off, the shading comes off easily since its sprayed lightly and different in solvent base from your clear-coat underneath (I always wipe off unsuccessful weathering tries and only keep the stuff I like). However I did dry brush the fast packs, but Hasegawa packs have more corners/edges and raised details to them. Good luck!

Weathering on a dark surface is a tough one! Much easier to weather on light surfaces. I've tried those Tamiya kits too and it does need some getting used to. It's essentially makeup powder or oil pastels that have been ground up to powder form. As such, it has a bit of an oily texture to the powders and does not work well on glossy or even semi-glossy finishes. It works best on matte/flat finishes. I used them on my Atmospheric Booster and Launcher - you can take a look at that as it was a darker grey, but was all matte finish. It wears remarkably well, I thought I had to clear coat it afterwards, but it didn't come off the flat surfaces, however some of the semi-gloss surfaces did eventually come off on my fingers, but I don't handle my models too much. You can always clear-coat them to protect it afterwards. I find that lightening the edges of the panel lines work best with dark coloured planes. Almost a reverse Post-shading technique. Look at some of the dark grey naval aircraft for reference (tactical grey scheme I think its called) especially late era Tomcats, they are very dirty and patchy (way too far weathered but it may give you ideas on what to do in a much more subtle way). Good luck!

Bravo! It looks fantastic. See, all that hard work did pay off... and given a few months later, you might even be able to look at it without seeing all the flaws first (not to say that there are any glaring flaws, but from following your thread - I guess you're a bit like me, I tend to see all the flaws of my work first when I look at my own models - just trying to say that given time and a little forgetfulness, it will dull the pain of the build a little ;-) Great job! Are you planning on a little light weathering?

Slightly more info and slightly re-edited trailer (nothing new though...) http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/06/28/movie-trailer-space-battleship-yamato/

Hey MickyG, I find often that if I just rub my thumb/fingers over the flat black paint, it smoothes out the flat paint just enough with some of the oils from your fingers to give a nice semi-gloss sheen to the flat black pieces to look more convincing. The more you rub it, the shinier it gets. I find it makes for really convincing rubber tires for landing gears. This is just my shortcut - however, the semi-gloss clear coat is the proper way to do it, plus it has the added benefit of protecting the flat paint (flat/matte paint is easily scratched).

I just wanted to contribute my 2 cents worth impressions of this toy if anyone is considering diving into the Bandai 1/60 DX line. I was so thoroughly impressed with the Yamato V.2 1/60 VE-1 and VT-1s previously (I believe they are the best "toys" in my collection), that I assumed all the toy companies took a step up to the plate to improve all their toys. Sadly, the Bandai DX still looks very much like a "toy" especially compared to the Yamato V.2 1/60 line. Luckily, I purchased the VF-25 Tornado when HLJ recently just had their sale and free shipping. Cons; -very toy-like (ie; shiny plastic, big screws, hinges) -bad proportions (not sleek at all like the design) -landing gears are a joke (just stubs with round shopping cart castors at the end) -doesn't like tightly, flimsy/floppy and hard to align properly -included stand attaches in a very non-elegant (arms are awkward and ugly) -gunpod attachment is a joke -transformation mechanism under the cockpit in the forward fuselage ruins the lines/design of the aircraft Pros; -all markings tampo printed onto the toy (no additional stickers to apply) -only game in town for the VF-25 (other than models or tiny gashpon) -Tornado atmospheric fast pack additions hide most of the bad proportions of the VF-25 toy itself -included stand Well, I was forced to buy this because I no longer have time for models (plus the Bandai models left such a bad taste in my mouth after building the Alto that I am loathed to finish the rest of my squadron!). It's my first and last Bandai 1/60 DX toy (I guess Yamato has spoiled me). Although if there were a sale on the VF-25S Armoured, I might re-consider as I find most of the armour and fast packs to hide a lot of what I don't like about the lines of the VF-25 toy itself. I might clear coat the fast packs in a flat clear finish and lightly weather them with some panel lining to see if it improves the situation a bit. For now, there's no choice, the only games in town for the VF-25 are the model (insane about of effort to do it properly) or this toy. ARGH!

I feel your pain MickyG! If it makes you feel any better, you didn't get a dud - they're all like this! I went though all of your emotions when I built mine (and I have some bit of experience in my belt). It's just a very fragile design - Bandai Models is a robot company with little or no experience in transforming models, they excel in creating poseable display humanoid type robot models (their toy division is a completely separate entity). Everything I had feared when I first heard about Bandai doing these VF-25 models came true and then some!! Unfortunately, they are the only game in town at the moment. Actually building the last (and my first) VF-25 left such a bad taste in my mouth that it put me off modeling altogether (and actually I no longer have any time too!). I actually started to buy more toys and just dressing them up a little bit with light weathering and panel lines because I can't be bothered with so much effort. I'm convinced that Bandai engineered the kit to be built without painting (they go through great lengths to mold all the proper colours in their Gunplay kits) so they never consider paint scraping during transformation, in fact, they heavily rely on the friction of pieces binding to hold the kit together in various modes. Just look at all the masking, disassembly and re-assembly to paint just a few pieces. I ended up hand brushing clear coat over the pieces that I find would need to wear the most (shoulder/chest plates) - especially the decal edges in those areas - brush puts on so much more paint that it would take 10-12 coats of airbrush to achieve the same protection. It's a love hate relationship, I love the design! I hate the kit! (the toys just don't do the design justice) Don't dispair, it looks fantastic finally getting to put it all together!

Wow! What can I say that hasn't been said before?! It is truly awesome and inspiring. I am so glad that the good people here at MW are actually building this masterpiece and doing it great justice. I was pining away for this kit, but when I saw the price tag, I just couldn't even entertain the thought - I also thought that everyone who could afford it would just squirrel it away for investment and keep in packaged up. I am so glad that you all built it and did such a wonderful job at it and shared it with all of us! I am truly envious. Did you mention Cdn prices? Are you in Toronto? If so, I'd love to meet up and admire it in person.

GO SEE IT! Support a fellow MacrossWorlder!! Plus its Canadian... haha... I designed the Incubator that Dren was "born" from (did you see the Macross Vernier Thrusters? - I always try to hide that in everything I design). This was a case of a smart small Canadian script, that was purchased by a big U.S. company (Joel Silver) and promoted by someone who didn't understand the point of the movie. Actually the marketing was over $35million when it only cost less than $30million to make the film!

A friend of mine just forwarded this to my attention and I thought I'd share... http://cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/p/106973/1058147.aspx It looks pretty great. Enjoy.

Wow! Absolutely amazing and flawless work Kurt. A big congratulations is in order. It really is a feast for the eyes! Keep up the amazing work.

So the Mr. Mark Softer works on the Bandai stuff? The Microscale stuff works on everything I've ever used before EXCEPT these Bandai decals - it definitely works on the Hasegawa stuff. I guess I'll have to try to track down some of this Mr. Mark Softer stuff for the next VF-25 build. Only one down and 3 more to go! ARGH!!

Funny, I found that the MicroSOL had absolutely no effect on these Bandai decals (I hate them!)

Great work so far! I'm glad you're still sticking to it (I'm so slow now that its pretty much at a standstill until I can find some time!). A tip for getting the decals to conform is that I usually get a wet paper towel and fold it a few times so there's some thickness to it and I press it over the decal down onto the fuselage so the "cushiness" of the towel and finger presses/stretches the decal into the panel lines. Once that's in there, I often dab some MicroSOL on it to let it conform even more (although it didn't work with this type of decal that Bandai is using - it works for everything else though). Lastly, when its mostly dry, I slice it with a ultra sharp exacto knife so that it separates on either side of the panel line (gives a nice painted on effect) and dab it again with MicroSOL. Keep going!

WOW! Fantastic work... I can't believe you did that in a week (I must be the world's slowest builder! ;-) (if I ever get back into modelling!) That looks so good, thanks for sharing. I might have to break down and break out of my 1/72 scale world...

Anybody know anything about this? WORKS―the ART of HIDETAKA TENJIN (DENGEKI HOBBY BOOKS) http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/404868521X/ref=...283952_pe_ar_d2

Great work! Ah! Finally a launch vehicle, I've been dying to see one of these beauties built up. Keep it up. ;-)

Did you guys see this; http://culttvman.com/main/?p=4803 I wish they would re-do the original Galactica (the Monogram is just too simple and the Timeslip too expensive!) Anyone know of the Moebius Viper in a store in Toronto (without all the shipping and duties)?

I'd be interested in the flaps, slats AND spoilers. You should looking into how a real-world fowler flap works for reference, I made some mistakes making my 1/72 up (ah, I was young and naive ;-) But I'd be interested in the spoilers too (like the resin kit) and probably pockets in the wing for the spoilers and slats (you'd probably want to cast the wing with the spoiler pockets too since the slats would need recesses for the extension rails too)

Hey Newca! Suggestions I'd love to see in your 1/72 VF-1 offering... -punched through vernier thrusters (so all we have to do is drill out the plastic and glue one of these on to get the cross-bar) -spoilers for the wings, maybe include slats and fowler flaps assembly

Thanks for all the Kudos guys! I go away for March Break for a week and all this happens... ;-) I actually don't even have a kit yet?! I'm resisting a little (although its really hard though...) I'm a 1/72 scale guy - it already takes me long enough to finish something in 1/72 scale, and I can justify a lot of shortcuts and lack of detail to the small scale I'm building in. "ah, its good enough for 72nd scale!" I keep saying to myself. If I go 1/48 (assuming I have the space to display them... which I don't), I'd be there obsessing over every nut on the strips that secure the hydraulic lines to the landing gears - not healthy for my mental health. Plus now with the family, I have so little time to build. I'm sure I'll break down eventually, probably when they release a DYRL VF-1S and when the VF-1S with the packs are released (maybe when both Hasegawa and Newca releases their PE kits). I've always wanted to detail one up like the 1/48 resin with all the flaps/spoilers/slats (definitely spoilers please!) and exposed fuselage panels - but I've always been critical of the overall shape of the resin kit, now it looks like its my chance if the Captn' decides to do some detail parts (please!). Although, my next 1/72 VF-1 will hopefully incorporate some of the refinements in the 1/48 offering, specifically I love how they corrected the rear leg/engine alignment (the original 72 scale had a wierd downward drop to the rear that I didn't realize till I was finish building it) plus the tailfin boat plane sits lower and more flush with the leg/engine pieces which I'd like to replicate in the 1/72 scale versions (I still have a few of those kits sittin' in boxes in my basement!). I might also try drilling out the vernier thrusters and placing a cross-bar over them - maybe Jasmine/Newca could include the vernier with cross-bar in their next PE-offering?