VF-1A Grunt

I’m a little surprised to see this multi-scheme kit, since they appeared to be putting out a series of specific paint scheme kits that are now superseded by this one. But I guess that’s what Hasegawa did when they released their combined VF-1A/J/S kit (although that was several years into their product line). Regardless, I ordered three from HLJ for the standard brown scheme and the Alaska Base too. I’m also interested to see the weapon set. I’ve always thought the Hasegawa 1/72 missile boxes were too big and didn’t look right, so I’m curious how these will compare.

I’m disappointed about that. I thought they were going to use the face of the pilot who gets hit and climbs out of her cockpit before dying.

They were still available in almost every good model store when I visited Tokyo in June 2024 - Yodobashi (both Akihabara and Shinjuku), Volks, Mandarake in Nagano, checking my photos from the trip. ¥6730 at Yodobashi. The Phalanx was plentiful too. I’d look around online (especially Mandarake) to seen what they may cost now and what shipping would be. Certainly cheaper than eBay.

Very cool. I bought the Queadol-Magdomilla years ago, probably about 40 years, and I found an unopened Quiltra-Queleual in Tokyo last summer. Neat models. I may have to spring for a few more - that’s a great price for them here in the States.

It looks like it’s regionally restricted too. It says “Japan Only” in the product info. When I’m not logged in, I can see the Kakizaki Battroid product listing, but as soon as I log in (with my U.S.-based account), it doesn’t show up in the product search (nor does the Max Battroid). I can’t add either of them to place a preorder. PLAMAX PX13 1/72 VF-1A Battroid Valkyrie Hayao Kakizaki Unit I may have to create another account and have it sent to family in Tokyo.

Hobby Search shows the original list prices and images of the parts and instructions for both kits. The super parts are an additional sprue, and the parts are added on top of the base kit. You can even see that the instructions for the super version show what non-super parts are not used, such as the vertical tail fins. The super kit has all the parts needed to build the non-super version. VF-11B Thunderbolt - List Price 3,080 Yen VF-11B Super Thunderbolt `Macross PLUS` - List Price 3,740 Yen It might be worth shopping around some more to see if you can find the standard kit cheaper, since it should be, but it could be an issue of availability.

Sorry, I don’t know much about the YF/VF-19 series. Are there any differences in the VF models themselves (i.e. different parts), versus the YF, or it is just squadron paint schemes on the same YF model?

Broken record here: I still keep hoping Hasegawa will release a 1/48 VF-1D fighter some day…

I can’t say that’s the most inspiring or exciting artwork I’ve seen lately… Looking forward to a couple of these kits though.

I saw quite a few Wave Destroid Tomahawk and Phalanx kits from their most recent release when I was in Tokyo last month, but the VF-4 kits were noticeably absent. I’d been hoping to pick one up while I was there, as I don’t have the newer version with the extra missiles. I see that the kit is listed as discontinued on the HLJ site, but I think they said that about the Destroids after their first release too. Hopefully they’ll run the VF-4 again in the next year or two, maybe with the gun pod.

I saw official Wave fighter and Battroid samples on display at Yodobashi in Akihabara two weeks ago. They looked really good, just like the example photos above. They had the Hikaru VF-1A Super Battroid kits for ¥4950. I assume they had just been released, because I don’t think I saw them at any other stores. They look really good, a huge step up from the old transformable kits. I’ve never really been interested in 1/100 but would certainly get a bunch of these if I wanted to model in that scale.

I checked Yodobashi-Shinjuku on Wednesday and Nakano Mandrake yesterday hoping to see the VF-1J fighter on the shelves, but no luck. They may still be processing shipments. Left Japan today, so I’ll have to order it online.

I believe Hikaru’s TV VF-1J fighter was announced before the Max / Kakizaki Vermillion Platoon VF-1A fighter, but the VF-1J has since been pushed back to July. The Vermillion fighter is apparently still due in June, but my understanding is they usually release at the end of the month, and I’m leaving a couple days prior. But I’m definitely going to check a few stores the day before I leave!

I’m spending a couple weeks in Tokyo, and I made the rounds of the shops in Akihabara yesterday. The VF-1J Battroid seems to be sold out everywhere. The only one I saw was a sample in the display case in Yodobashi. Bummer! I was hoping to pick one up. I’ll check some other places over the next few days. I may end up buying a Max / Kakizaki movie fighter, since I don’t have any of the Plamax VF-1s yet. I was hoping to get their TV version while I was here, but I think I’m going to just miss the release.

Those decals sets unfortunately only have one set of the standard markings, so the only extra decals are the ones that have the specific colors for the two pilot options. You might be able to get a set of generic markings from eBay or another source. The other option could be to use one of the Hasegawa sets that had both full color and low visibility markings, although they might need to be trimmed to fit the Plamax model in some locations.