megatron-uk

My first completed ship out of the set is the Nupetiet-Vergnitzs. This needed a minor amount of filling and sanding, though limited to just the front edge of the main hull section (yes, it's a bit flat faced compared to the series, isn't it!). But other than that it goes together fairly easily (there isn't a lot in the way of parts, and fortunately not nearly as many tiny little antenna/radio protrusions as the smaller ships). Surface detail is nice, and pretty good for such an old kit. Despite the front section being different, I think it stands up reasonably well considering the age. It was simple to paint, though quite refreshing compared to having to paint and detail loads of sub-sections as on modern kits. Paints/colours used: Badger Ultimate Airbrush Primer (dark grey) Vallejo Model Air Panzer Dark Grey (pre-shading) Vallejo Mecha Colour Dark Green (main green hull section + used unthinned straight from bottle for random panels) Vallejo Mecha Colour Medum Grey + MIG French Blue (grey hull section, about a 70:30 mix) Vallejo Model Air Red RLM23 (red highlights) AK Interactive Silver Grey (grey external tanks) MIG Medium Gunship Gray (panel highlights) AK Interactive Winter Streaking Grime AK Interactive Rust Streaks Tamiya weathering master set 'B' (smoke/rust pastels) Small amount of surface filler and sanding - though this kit benefits from having that recessed profile around the circumference to hide the two hull sections: A little bit of pre-shading, mostly of benefit to the lower hull: Main parts assembled and painted: Initial panel lines to recessed areas: Adding on the waterslide decals. I am absolutely amazed that not one of the decals ripped or refused to release from the backing paper. They went on really well after a slightly longer than usual soak: And the final finish with enamel washes and pastel weathering applied:

I've had a full set of the 1/20000 Zentradi ships in a backlog of unbuilt kits since at least the year 2000, possibly even earlier. I finally dug them out and opened the shrinkwrap around a month ago. I've realised that these are from the 15th anniversary re-release, and so (most) of them also came with the unpainted character figures: ... but that's another topic in itself. I have two of the Quiltra-Queleual, two of the Queadol-Magdomilla, one Thuverl-Salan and one Nupetiet-Vergnitzs. I'd guess that around the time of the original release of these kits in the 80's I'd have been playing with old-style Airfix kits... complete with horrid pack-in Humbrol enamels and paintbrushes you could paint your house with! Things have changed over the years, and these days I'm having fun with modern Macross releases from Bandai and Hasegawa, or 3D printed miniature figures and snap-fit, no-glue kits. We really are spoiled these days! Going back to these kits was like taking a step back into the past - while the molding is mostly decent (and detailed - especially on the Thuverl-Salan and Nupetiet-Vergnitzs), it brought back memories of filling and sanding seam lines, swearing when parts didn't line up quite right, and generally shouting out loud; "Why put the join there?" Still, all good fun!

Ah, thanks... I actually just went looking through the boxes of the kits and found the same mini-catalogue linked above. Not every box had one of those fold-out catalogues, though the two Quiltra-Queleual kits had them. So it looks like I would need Max, Misa and Miria to complete the set!

I have seen those examples of the pre painted figures, but it seems to be the same set of 6 figures each time (Roy, 2x Minmay, Misa, Hikaru, Max, Miria). No pictures of any other characters - at least Quamzin is in my set which leads me to believe there should/could be more.

Hi, I had a full set (all 4 models) of the old 1/20000 Arii ship kits (including doubles of two of them) sitting in my backlog of models for a good 25 years or more. I finally pulled them out, opened the shrink wrap and have been assembling them over the last month or so (another post about those - the quality and fit leaves a lot to be desired; the progress in kit design in the intervening years has spoiled me!). What I didn't realise is that these must have come from either a limited run or a special release as they all contain a random, sealed (a stapled opaque black bag) bonus figure (approx 4" high). They're a mix of characters; I found these: Quamzin Roy Fokker, standing, formal dress suit Hikaru Ichijyo, standing, formal dress suit Minmay, swimsuit Minmay, dress I have 6 kits, but one was without shrink-wrap and did not include the random figure. I haven't been able to find a list of figures included in this run of the Zentradi ships. Does anyone know which figures were produced?