Chad Dunham

Thanks! I've got translations for some more of the kits too. I'll try to get them posted tonight.

If you're in the USA, you should be able to get it anywhere there's a decent selection of cleaning products (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.).

I've noticed a few questions lately about color matches for valkyrie kits. A long time ago, I translated several of the old-school instruction sheets with paint mixtures, so I thought I'd pass them along to anyone who wants to match those colors. All refer to Gunze Sangyo paint colors, and all are "real type" (as opposed to "anime type") color schemes. * Valkyrie VF-1S: ** Bare White: H1 White 95% + H16 Yellow-Green 1% + H40 Flat Base 4% ** Soft Black: H2 Black 81% + H1 White 15% + H40 Flat Base 40% ** Soft Yellow: H34 Cream Yellow 70% + H4 Yellow 20% + H7 Brown 6% + H2 Black 2% + H40 Flat Base 2% * Valkyrie VF-1J: ** Bare White (as above) ** Metal Black: H18 Steel 45% + H2 Black 45% + H40 Flat Base 10% ** Bare Red: H3 Red 96% + H2 Black 1 or 2 drops (per bottle of mixed paint?) + H40 Flat Base 40% * Valkyrie VF-1D: ** Light Sail: H85 Sail Color 88% + H52 Olive Drab 10% + H4 Yellow 2% ** Vermillion: H23 Shine Red 96% + H2 Black 2% + H40 Flat Base 2% ** Metal Black (as above) * Valkyrie VF-1A: ** Soft Stone: H44 Flesh 97% + H2 Black 2% + H4 Yellow 1% ** Light Sepia: H17 Cocoa Brown 45% + H58 Interior Green 50% + H1 White 3% + H40 Flat Base 2% ** Bare White (as above)

Hi, I can help with a few of your questions. "H3" refers to Gunze Sangyo red paint. Personally, I think plain Testors enamel red is a pretty good match. Are you using acrylic or enamel paint? If you really want to get picky, the "official" color mixes for those old kits go something like this (all refer to Gunze Sangyo paint): "Bare White"=95% H1 Gloss White + 1% H16 Yellow-Green + 4% H40 Flat Base "Bare Red"=96% H3 Gloss Red + 1 or 2 drops of H2 Gloss Black + 4% H40 Flat Base "Metal Black"=45% H18 Steel + 45% H2 Gloss Black + 10% H40 Flat Base Hasegawa says to use FS36622 Camouflage Gray for the white areas, BS638 Dark Sea Gray for the inlets and Steel for the feet, and Shine Red for the red. All are available in Tamiya or Gunze Sangyo paint. As for the water-slide decals, all you really have to do is submerge the decal in hot water for several seconds, let it rest for a few seconds, then use a brush to put it on the kit. If you pre-wet the kit with water or special decal setting solution, you can manipulate the decals a little more before they settle down into place. Be sure you put a sealer onto your kit before you apply decals if you are using flat paint. Otherwise, the decals will "silver" and won't set properly. A lot of people airbrush Future floor wax over the paint for this. Good luck! Chad