SteveTheFish

Oh wow. I didn't know that there was an HG Sirbine. A couple of years ago I built the Max Factory Sirbine kit, which was a plastic recreation of their bestselling Sirbine sofubi kit from the garage kit days. It's a non-poseable figure kit and has a sculpture of a nude woman on the shield that's rather exquisite. It's quite an incredible kit.

NICE! Looks like you used Tamiya's NATO Black. So it seems that it has recessed panel lines, am I correct? I've built two Blackbirds in 72nd scale so far: the Italeri and Hasegawa ones. For both kits, I had to cut those red stripe decals into segments. It's the only way to do it. @pengbuzz You have my prayer. My dear cousin was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer last week. She's younger than me, in her mid-40s. You need to cut out ALL sugars from her diet. No carbs, so that means no potatoes, no bread, nothing sweet, no booze, nothing. Cancer feeds off of sugar. Starve the cancer.

Something like a FAG/Mospeda kitbash? https://jp.pinterest.com/pin/336221928450528161/

I think probably at 1:72nd scale, painting the eyes would make it look weird and bug-eyed. Probably the best thing would just to use a wash on the face, like Tamiya's brown/pink accent color. Even at 1:35th scale, armor modelers doing figures don't really paint the eyes, do they? I'd have to look up some examples.

I found info on this sofubi kit on the Macross World legacy site here. It's at the top of the list: https://www.macrossworld.com/macross/models/hobbybase/hobby_base.htm I have another Valkyrie sofubi kit that's not on that list. It's a VF-1S in Battroid mode. I noticed that the legacy site does not list any figure models, such as the Arii sofubi kits or that clunky ABS(?) kit of Misa DYRL by Tsukuda. Sofubi kits aren't as popular as resin kits because they're a bit different to build. Many people don't have patience for them, but I'm rather fascinated by them.

Well, when I worked for Aoshima, the Macross license was open, meaning if you pay for it then it gives you the ability to do anything Macross-related, including Macross II, Flashback, and other minor stuff. That was in 2015 when that open license was revealed, and I was at the All-Japan show working for Aoshima's booth when that was announced. In recent years, I've just wondered if the villains at Harmony Gold may try to do something about that and perhaps companies might be selective regarding their projects.

For what it's worth, I saw Kaneda-san at the All-Japan Model Hobby Show and once again implored him to produce either a Misa or Minmay riding on a VF-1 VFG kit. He said he's not keen on that since there's so much TOS Macross stuff being made already by other companies, but personally I think the real reason is that he'd rather do that weird furry stuff instead. I don't get it. I'd think a TOS VFG kit would be a top-seller, but he does what he wants to do.

Apparently the previous artist (whom I like a lot better) has been replaced by Mercy Rabbit, who has an unbridled passion for the color purple, inexplicably. I do not know what's up with that, nor have I ever heard of Mercy Rabbit before seeing this artwork at the trade show. "Hey, this Valkyrie is orange and beige, but somehow I'm gonna make it look purple and if you don't like it then you're a kaka-poopoo head so shut up." Yeah, I like the other artist better. YW. Bandai allowed photos, but not videos. A Kotobukiya rep requested that I not video either, at least not where their FAG stuff was. I guess their girl kits are such a hot item that they don't want people lingering around in their booth making videos. However, Kino Kousaka was allowed to do so. Then again, they make models based on 3D scans of her and she's a celebrity in the Japanese modeling community. I didn't see her at the show and she was probably finished recording before I even arrived. Her channel has plenty of good coverage of the event, if you don't mind her using the word "kawaii" to describe pretty much EVERYTHING. Don't get me wrong; I like her and her videos, but it gets annoying how Japanese women over-use the word "cute" to describe everything. I'm glad my wife is not like that, but my daughter falls into that trap a little. It seems like everyone is getting into the FAG phenomenon these days. (Hey, that's Kotobukiya's acronym, not mine!) Of course it started with their Frame Arms Girls, then their Megami Device series, Bandai has their 30 Minutes Sisters (their Gun Gal didn't seem to be successful), Aoshima has the VFG series or whatever it's called, Doyusha is importing some Chinese competition for such kits, and now even Hasegawa is joining that scene. There are modeling magazines dedicated to such kits now. On the days open to the general public, Bandai's booth gets swamped with people and that must be why they had such a huge, relatively empty tradeshow booth. They just want people to take pictures and move on, instead of recording themselves talking about the kits. To bring this back on topic though, I'm just glad that Hasegawa are not strict about media.

Hey, since I live in Japan, contact me if you need replacement parts on model kits. This goes for anyone on here. Thom and Chas may remember that I helped plenty of people on the Starship Modeler forum to get replacement parts. Bandai parts are the easiest because my LHS is a Bandai Pro Shop affiliate. I just give the shop owner the parts request order and he can request them. For Bandai models, you order on a part-by-part basis, whereas with other companies you'll need to order the entire sprue, plus pay for the postal money order fees and all that crap. If you or anyone needs replacement parts or decals, I'd just need a scan of the parts request form from the instruction booklet (unless it's a kit I own myself). EDIT: So this is a kit that will soon be in my possession: a 1:72 scale VF-4 sofubi kit! Wow! I know that there's been resin kits of this, but I'd never seen a sofubi kit. I found this on Mercari and since I had a 500 yen coupon, I snagged this kit for only 2800 yen! It shall soon be in my hands. All shall love me and despair!

Here's my video of the event. Attending the hobby show is increasingly becoming a social event for me, and as such I spent more time standing around talking and less time documenting the event. Plus I was having many problems with my lousy video camera. https://odysee.com/@stevethefishdotnet:2/2025-All-Japan-Model-Hobby-Show-全日本模型ホビーショー:e

I'm compiling a video of the footage I took at the event. Bandai only allows photos but NO videos, and now Kotobukiya has that same policy. Volks didn't want videos either, even though their booth was just a table. I really don't get it. Plus the event has become such a social event for me that I'm constantly running into people I know and talking for quite a while. There's a lot of photos and video I wanted to take, but didn't have a chance.

My pics of the Max Factory booth. I attended the All-Japan show yesterday. Look at the bottom of the pic above. Tiny 72nd scale Minmay by the Valk's foot! There were also Moderoid Mospeada kits on display.

So I went to the All-Japan show yesterday and had a great time with Adrian from Big West and Egan from Anime News Network. We went out for Mexican food afterwards and talked for a couple of hours until I had to get back to Shinjuku and take the long, 3 hour journey back home (I was too cheap to take the shinkansen). Rest assured, the new Q-Rau has a TOS Millia figure! So I asked the Hasegawa rep why we didn't get a Kamjin with the Glaug kit. He basically said that the scale is off, and it would not have looked right. I think they are given the dimensions and they make their model accordingly. This kinda reminds me of the dilemma with the Snowspeeders from Empire Strikes Back. I wonder if the actors were sitting Indian-style in the life-size props because there is just NO leg room afforded. This 1:12 resin figure of Minmay looks like the version of her from the Macross The First manga. That's the dress she has in the first volume, with her China dress opened in front to show cleavage. I'm sure I'll get this kit when it comes out. Valkyries look so cool with just the legs extended. I love that look. The figures of Hikaru, Minmay, and Misa are gonna be plastic. I was expecting resin.

Thanks. I also have a Bluestreak model made from an old Arii Nissan Fairlady Z model kit. It's painted and ready to go. All I have to do is solder the wires together and create a switch and I'll be done with it. Here's an older WIP pic of it, before I put more pieces together.

Speaking of Transformers, since I have a set of Autobot emblem decals, I made this Bumblebee from a 1:24 scale VW Beetle from Aoshima.

Do you plan to list this for sale on Cults3D? This is pretty fantastic.

Thanks. I wasn't able to go last year, but I went the year before and I hung out and had pizza with a guy I know who is responsible for brokering the deal between Big West and the villainous Harmony Gold after catching HG lying in a court trial. (They were using Valkyrie designs from DYRL and claiming that they were from TOS and since the info on the case was available online, he caught their subterfuge!) He now works for Big West and we're now finally getting Macross internationally. I swear, if HG spent more effort on making anime fans happy than going after people with their stupid lawsuits, maybe we'd begin to respect them.

I'm planning to attend the All-Japan Model Hobby Show on the 17th. I'll take pictures and video of the event and share pics here of the new stuff. I hope to get closeup pictures of their VT-01 figures of Hikaru, Minmay, and Misa.

That looks nice! Thanks for sharing! I have some Mr. Color Crystal paints too, but I've yet to use them. I have a model from the Ikaruga shmup video game and while it is essentially white, my idea is to section parts of it off and do variations with those different pearlescent paints. Alright, so I've posted a couple of photosets of recently completed models. Hasegawa 1:72 Armored Valkyrie Tsukuda 1:6 Evangelion sofubi figure set of Rei and Asuka

Crap. I meant to say George Miller, not Frank Miller. I always get those two mixed up. 😄

It's not just Hasegawa, but rather an industry standard. I worked at Aoshima for about 8 months, 9 years ago. I was introduced to a lot of that sort of strategy. Look at their Knight Rider KITT models or their Back to the Future Delorean models. They've issued many variants of these two cars alone. Season 1, 2, 3, and 4 for KITT, then the same molds released as a pre-painted KARR, some with the LED front scanners. The Delorean had models of all three versions (actually, there were four versions since the 3rd movie had both the white-rimmed '50s tires version and the train track version). Some with figures, some with photoetch. And they've re-released an all-new tooling of the Delorean, and made it so that a stand-alone, non-time machine Delorean kit could be released (making many happy). Bandai does the same thing, as does pretty much every other model company. My Academy F-14A Tomcat "Pukin' Dogs" kit has variant parts to make the B and the D, it seems. Just re-release the same kit with decals for a different livery and there you go. It's why you get unused, leftover parts on the runners with the kits you build. The mold toolings are the costliest investment, so if you can release different kits using little or no new toolings, you can maximize your profit. At Aoshima, we were hoping to do an all-new tooling for the Mad Max Interceptor, and if we could've gotten the license then I'm sure it would've been retooled to make both the black Interceptor and regular yellow/blue pursuit cars, plus the modified version from the 2nd movie. Who knows? Maybe even a stand-alone Ford Falcon model car. Alas, I was given a definite "NO" from the movie studio. Frank Miller refuses to allow his works being licensed. He probably saw too many Jar Jar Binks pajamas and the whole nightmare of Star Wars licensing and refused to go down that route.

Nichmo re-released their 1:200 scale Macross kits about 25 years ago, but this time gave them stupid, monochrome stickers rather than decals as they did before. I read the Japanese instructions and it's like they're telling you that they're doing you a favor because you get to now color those stickers as you wish. Very glossy stickers too. Ridiculous. They came with two in a package. I bought two Destroid sets off of YAJ only to discover that they came with those absurd, unusable stickers. They are to-scale with the Imai Monster that Bandai repops every once in a while. I'm very curious whatever happened to the toolings for those now that Nichmo is no more.

This guy re-created the starfighter featured on the cover of Asteroids Deluxe for the Atari 7800!

Thanks! The old 1:100 Imai Armored Valk is the first vintage kit I augmented with ball joints. I've learned how to do this through Japanese modeling magazines as well as Japanese YouTube modelers. My legacy Q-Rau kit is almost done... I just need to paint the pilot's eyes and I'll be done. That has ball joints for the hips, reinforced with brass tube for durability.

Two Armored Valks done this year (at last!).