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Once I wiped the excess black oil wash off (I had to retouch here and there sometimes since I might wipe too much off) and got it to the point where I liked it, I sprayed a flat clear coat to seal in the wash and blend in the finish of the decals to the finish of the surrounding paint. Also weathering with the dry brush technique always works best on a flat/matte finish.

Oil wash time! As many of you already know, I use artist oil paints thinned down with low-odour varsol (mineral spirits). I like this combination since it allows a long time to work with the wash. I usually leave it to dry for a few hours before coming back to wipe it off with some paper towels. I decided to do a straight black wash rather heavily so that whatever remained, it looked like heavy machine grease.

One of my favourite stages... the decalling! Again I dipped into my spare decal box as well as some very cool Wave Option decal sets that were specifically made for Macross a while back (unfortunately I don't believe they are sold anymore). The good thing about modelling for a long time is that you end up eventually amassing quite a collection of un-used decals. Whats also is good is that I used to rummage through the clearance bins at the local hobby shops for decals that they are trying to get rid off - mostly obscure aircraft, but what I look for is data stenciling which can be applied anywhere on anything. I mostly added white or grey low viz stenciling in areas that I find appropriate. If you look at a lot of aircraft photos, you get an idea of where stencils go, mostly to warn people of dangerous ports or areas or locate commonly used hatches and access ports. I just try to think of where people might want to label stuff on the launch rail to creatively get a pleasing placement of the decals with a few small hits of colour to bring some life to an otherwise dark and drab piece of military hardware. I tried to keep the pallet simple and in keeping with the VF-1S and booster by sticking to only reds and yellows as to my spot colours. I used a lot of MicroSET on the model first, then laid the decals on top of the bubble of MicroSET. I then press down with a damp paper towel to press any air bubbles out. If I see any details that need to show through or any excess carrier film then I dab on some MicroSOL on top to let it soften and set properly. Just make sure you don't fool around with the decals once the MicroSOL is on. You can use as much MicroSET as you need (it doesn't seem to harm the decals, but it will make it very soft and easy to fold) - but MicroSOL is the powerful stuff, once you dab that on, don't touch it until its dry! I am especially careful with these decals since as I mentioned earlier, its a dark undersurface with a flat finish on top (thats two strikes already!) so one has to be extra careful to not get any bubbles or silvering of carrier film. It was so hard to resist not putting a UN Spay Kite symbol on the launch rails - but I thought we had enough of that symbol on the booster and valkyrie.

Yay! - my wife took our daughter to daycare and I got a whole day to finish up... I last left off assembling and gluing the main structure together and I primed it a medium/dark grey to see if there were any flaws. Of course there were some, but I had to weigh whether anyone but me would see/notice them versus the time I have left to finish this sucker off. It would be nice to have enough free time to work on these things so that I don't ever have to make these decisions - but unfortunately unless I win a lottery or retire, that's just going to be my dream! I rooted through my leftover parts to look for some suitable "gak" to dress up the machinery underneath the Boosters, I wanted it to look more complicated with hoses and actuators and such that look like its connected umblical to the Booster before launch. Its just a black shaded area in the lineart, so I'm free to make up something that looks cool out of what I have available. Landing gear stuff is always good (especially if you've built a few Valks with the gears up). I've used the main gears from the Bandai Yukikaze EX kit as well as some unidentified Gundam joint pieces on top of the great pieces that the Captain has provided with the kit. I decided to paint the launch rail in several shades of dark to medium grey so that it would blend into a carrier scene or look in place next to my ARMD Launch Arm. I airbrushed the smaller bits in Alcad Steel to get a darker contrasting metallic sheen to them. The idea is that the black oil wash will end up picking out the recessed areas and a light grey/silver dry brushing will hit all the highlights creating further depth from the shades of grey and metallic steel. Finally the bright silver will be painted to the hydraulic actuators (the actual part of the cylinders that move in and out) for contrast. The photos below also show a gloss clear coat applied (I used ModelMaster Acryl) so that the decals will lay down nicely without silvering or bubbles. This is an essential step since the final model is relatively dark and the final finish will be a military flat - both are typically bad news for the silvering of decals and their carrier film. So good surface prep is important.

Hey, I actually worked on my model for 2 stints of 1 hour each this last week - didn't get much done, just dusted it off, some clear-coat in preparation for decals and some base metalizing airbrush on the smaller greebles/gak that I am going to spruce up the structure with - I hope to get some update done to my thread sometime next week! I highly recommend the launch rail, it does provide an excellent "stand" for the booster! Unfortunately I am still at a loss for the vehicle, but the stand is good enough for the time being. Whats this about you making Macross pilot figures? I'd love one of Minmay in 1/72 scale with her long hair holding her helmet in the back seat of the VT-1 (its one of the main reasons I've held off building that kit!)

Thanks for the vote of confidence! it nice to be remembered.... ahhh, its been so long since I built (my daughter takes up all my free time). Bandai definitely can make some quality models, but I'm not a huge fan of their multi-coloured parts - you've got to primer them grey and re-paint to the right colour anyways. If you paint directly on top of the coloured part, then whatever you've filled the seams with will show up as a different shade of that colour. Plus the coloured parts are never the right shade anyways. However, I don't think Bandai will give these small 1/72 scale models the Perfect Grade treatment - it might just be a EX treatment (I can hope!) but if they do well (sell well) they might consider doing a 1/48 in a Perfect Grade which would be more consistent with their sizing. I just hope I don't have to wait years or they don't rush out a version 1.0 of a kit that we all gobble up just to re-release a version 1.5 a few months later with the flaws corrected and better decals like they did with the Yukikaze EX models (which I got burned with!). Personally I love the revits on the Hasegawa kits! The more detail the better! Bring it ON!

Lookin' real good!! Nice colour scheme too. I see no one is crazy enough to drill out the forward slot intakes eh? Don't blame ya, I thought about it long and hard, then decided against it. Are you planning on weathering it? It was a tough question for me, since its supposed to be disposable.

Fantastic Job EXO!! I'm not even a fan of this design - but its so well executed and beautifully photographed too - that I can't help but admire it. I'm glad someone took it seriously. keep up the great works!

Nice options PetarB! They are all consistent in the Macross Universe and quite original. I'd personally like option 2 - I think the different greys and blue-grey can be made to look more realistic and military than some of the other brighter colours - but the other options are good too. My deciding factor was what I was going to place my model beside - I wanted my Booster to look "in place" with the other Valks with their fast packs - you might want to look at what you want to place this model besides when you're done. Option 3 is most like what could be a real "canon" scheme from the TV episode though. Can't wait to see what you choose.

Thanks to this thread, I finally ordered Vol 1 and Vol 2 through HLJ - and they arrived! Luckily I got a complete set from the box of ten of each series... Vol 1 VF-1A Cannon Fodder (x2) VF-1A Showbirds (x2) VF-1A Max Green (secret) VF-1J Hikaru VF-1J Mirya VF-1S Strike Hikaru VF-1S Strike (Fokker) (x2) Vol 2 VT-1 VF-1A (x2) VF-1J Max (x2) VF-1S Mimay (x2) VF-1A Super (Hikaru) VF-1A Kakizaki (secret) VF-1S Super (Fokker) I just wanted to add that I can't believe how amazing these little gems are! I may be crazy, but I think I'm going to take a few of them apart and re-build them as little models, filling and sanding the seams and decaling them up properly (like that guy in HK did a few pages ago). I scanned in the 1/72 scale Hasegawa decals and reduced them 50% to get 1/144 and printed them from a colour laser to clear decal film - we'll see how many "no steps" I get to before I loose my eyesight! I may offer up some of my doubles up after I've tried modifying and taking apart some of these beauties. In the meantime I can offer up my sheet of reduced decal graphics for anyone else who wants to try what I'm doing (just PM me - its a 7Mb e-mail - unless someone wants to host it)

Fantastic! I love my PS3 specifically for BR player and home media center to stream video files from my desktop computer upstairs. So what's new with the recent v2.17 firmware update? Is it true that there's a new 3D interface that will be replacing the XMB?

Yay! a build up finally... I can live my life vicariously through you. Your VF-4 is one of the best builds I've seen, and what a great scheme! Can't wait to follow along your Booster! I hope to get to finishing up my Launch Rail sometime soon... Thanks for posting! Good Luck!

I take it that the first book is pretty rare and hard to get (and probably really expensive)? Is the second book part of the BluRay release any good? How big? How many pages? Any scans? How much and where do I order? If I were to only get one, would the BR-DVD book be okay or will I pine for more? hehe... Oops, just read your discription back on pg 22 - wow! $200 - that's a lot for a set of BR-DVDs... too rich for my blood for such a small sized book.

Sorry, been on a crazy shifted work week and we're leaving for the sunny Caribbean tomorrow for March Break! but will get back next week and its first on my priorities! Its all assembled and painted/primed dark grey. No additional details, decals or painting yet - but its 80%.

What art book?! not the "Fairy Air Force At War" that came with a little DVD is it? Is there another art book out?

You can take them back to those places without a receipt?

I love 1/72 scale! I can't wait for these suckers... if they're anything like the Bandai EX line for the Yukikaze, then I'd be satisfied (I only wished they were larger, with landing gears more in scale, they were too chunky for the size). However, they aren't cheap - in fact they were quite pricey for little 1/100 models and they were limited release too. Also with the first SuperSlyph, they made a version 1.5 which corrected some mistakes of the first kit and added much needed decals too - so it punished the early adopters too (me included - oh well...)

They look great! I'm glad that people are taking the time to eliminate the seams and touching them up. I'm also happy that they went with waterslide decals instead of stickers - a little harder to put on, but looks so much better. Definitely worth the effort. Through all the great work on this thread here, its convinced me to order up a set of my own - thanks! Wonderful little gems! I think they can look pretty wonderful with minimal effort. I'd like to see if I can miniaturize my Hasegawa decal set to 1/144 and print them with our colour laser - they mostly go on white surfaces anyways. I might be crazy enough to decal all the "NO STEP" stenciling onto one of these little birds!

Thanks, but what if its the only demo I've been interested in downloading? Its the only one I've got - can't I default the PS3 startup to something else other than demos?

I've downloaded the Gran Turismo HD demo - is there anyway to get it to not go onto the GT HD demo screen and music everytime I turn on the PS3?

Can anyone help me as to where I can get a full set of Vol 1 & Vol 2? preferably or the random boxes of 10 as long as they are the same price or cheaper than the full sets. (other than HLJ) If I get a case of 10 each, are my chances pretty good at getting a complete set out of that?

So where are you guys buying these from and how much are you paying for them? Any place in Toronto?

OK, I'll jump on this as well, but I'm looking for a complete set of both series (not the whole random box thing) and I'd rather hear first from the members of this great board than go to ebay as an alternative. Or, can anyone suggest a reputable online store to purchase a complete set from at reasonable prices? I'm in the Toronto, Canada area - anyone with extras in the area - I might even treat them to a private viewing of my model collection... ;-)

Thanks for sharing! Very nice collection. A question, what are those plexiglas covered display cases? I've been looking for something to cover my Valks for a long time, but never found anything that would fit aircrafft, most of the cases I've seen are for model cars and are shaped like rectangular shoeboxes.

Here! here! with the writers strike, there's no TV (of any kind other than crappy reality shows) anymore! It at least encouraging to see any type of effort put into any new show, especially a science fiction show (they cost more to produce and draws a much narrower slice of the demographics - its such a hard sell to get any sci-fi made!).