Lolicon

Hobby Search has pics of the upcoming Sheryl and Ranka marking versions. Not sure what to make of the Ranka version. Decal softener doesn't work on Bandai's marking seals, does it? http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10146349 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10146350

Picked up a few new items when I was in Tokyo last month. Black/White Bunny Sheryl- For a game prize figure, it's quite nice... except the face! Gah! The sculpt and paint job all around are good, but the face... I haven't seen Sheryl with such a stoned, dead expression since the Emotion Style release. A shame really, because it's a great figure from the neck down. Ranka SQ Figure- I've been hoping that they'd release a figure of Ranka in her white dress and oversized boots, and Banpresto finally delivers! And it does not disappoint. I absolutely love this figure. Like B/W Bunny Sheryl, it's a great figure, made all the more impressive that it's also a relatively cheap game prize figure. But unlike B/W Sheryl, she has a good face sculpt, better than the first Ichiban Kuji figures IMO. She's the same size as Super Dimension Cinderella Ranka. If there has to be something to gripe about, it's that her hair is a lighter, more yellowish green than is normal for Ranka. But that's a minor quibble. Can't wait to get the last episode Sheryl to go with it. What can I say? I love girls with a penchant for big boots, be it Ranka or the real life Megumi. Ranka Valkyrie Shoujo- Smaller than the SQ figure, but I like it a lot. Definitely worth the 1100 yen. Also actually looks like Ranka, unlike Love Slinger Sheryl, whose face is... off. (Why does Banpresto have such a hard time with Sheryl's face?) I wish I could see some good Valkyrie Girl cosplayers in the real world! Also picked up a Maiko Ranka from Yahoo Auctions recently. Everyone's busy drooling over Oiran Sheryl, but no love for Maiko Ranka?

You're a goddamn genius! I'll do precisely that. Not interested in the canon schemes either.

So Bandai finally releases reasonably-priced, fighter mode-only Frontier kits... and they don't come with decals? I don't know what to say to that.

Thanks guys. You're too nice. I think I'm done with the 1/72 line though. Just a lot of hassle to build. The worst part is the sanding, IMO. I think before commencing any actual work on any kit, I must spend like two weeks' worth of evenings just sanding all the parts down. After this kit, I've sort of developed an affinity for these non-canon schemes. I think the Ranka & Sheryl versions of the YF-29 are next on my list.

Bandai clearly engineered the 1/72 kits for the "snap it together yourself toy" crowd, because for anyone who seriously wants to do a good job building and painting the kit, it's a royal pain in the rear. That being said, I think yours turned out pretty good, given the shortcomings of this kit. Dunno if you ever plan on building anymore VF-25s, but if you do, I'd recommend painting the sides of the interlocking parts where the stripes are, because just sticking the decals/stickers alone will leave lots of unsightly gaps. For my part, I will probably never build another 1/72 VF-25 kit. I think I'll look into the YF-29 fighter kits next... though they have their own problems. *coughstickerscough*

Hey all, Just thought I'd share the Deculture version of the VF-25F I recently completed. I started it when I had some free time over the holidays but couldn't finish till recently. Decals aside, the kit is identical to the regular VF-25 kit, so you all know what building one is like. Mine is painted and assembled straight out of the box. I lack the insane skills that many of you more awesome builders employ. But for a fun little project that I did when I had a bit of spare time here and there, I enjoyed building this kit... right up until the decaling and final assembly. Getting the often large deculture decals (which are mostly just carrier film) to lie flat over the 25's many irregular surfaces was troublesome, to say the least. In retrospect, I should've just sliced up the decals into smaller pieces and ditched most of the carrier film. Ironically, this is my most accurate VF-25 to date, even though it's for a non-canon paint scheme.

Yup, apparently she plays the piano too. And who knows, maybe having a niche status might be for the best. Being "mainstream" has its drawbacks too. I'm from the Gulf Coast region of the USA, and it's just as hot and humid as in Japan, except back home I make it a point to stay indoors as much as possible and, like everyone else in America, I drive everywhere, so my exposure to the H&H is minimal. Not so while walking and taking trains everywhere in Japan. My apologies though, as I should have been more specific about the crowding. It wasn't so much being packed shoulder to shoulder that I disliked as it was the effort to get a good view of May'n. Spent much of the nearly two hours standing on my toes with my head craned upwards to maintain a line of sight on her. By the end my feet and back were killing me. The crowding was actually a little better than taking the rush hour train.

Awww it sounds like I hit a nerve. Back on topic, I didn't like the tiny standing room-only venue. It said 500 people but that was way too many people for the place. We were quite literally packed shoulder to shoulder, everyone struggling to see over each other. I noticed the Side A/Side B thing but didn't really stop to take it in. Are the later concerts listed going to be at better venues? I'd hate to see May'n relegated to only tiny dives like the Palooza. I picked up a few souvenirs on the way out and was sufficiently gouged for them.

Hey all, I happened to have the good fortune of being in Tokyo during May'n's summer tour and was able to snag tickets to see her in Kashiwa (because I sure as hell wasn't going to go to Nagano!). I was going to put up an extensive report on the concert, but my enjoyment of the evening was curtailed by being crammed into a small room with 500 smelly otaku, all struggling to see over each other in a standing room-only venue. This is not an insult; it's ridiculously hot and humid in Japan right now. One local I spoke with told me it's unusually hot this summer. So this is really just my impression of the concert and May'n's appeal. First off, I would like to address the moronic anime bloggers who have written idiotic things like "May'n is fugly" or "Stop pretending to be Sheryl Nome." I'd like to address the second remark first. I have never actually seen May'n in a pink wig, so I'm not sure why they think she's "pretending" to be Sheryl. Second, if there's anyone on the planet who has the right to pretend to be Sheryl, it's going to be May'n. Regarding remarks about May'n being fugly: HUH? Have these loser anime bloggers never actually interacted with a real woman before? May'n is a cutie and I think she's even more adorable in person. I won't say she's the hottest Jpop singer I've ever seen, but I think she looks great. I want her to have my babies. I think these bloggers need to look in a mirror if they want to know what fugly really means. Anyway, unlike Megumi, May'n seems to be going for a more mainstream appeal, and she only performed a few songs from Macross. I actually got there a little bit late so I missed a few songs from the start, but the Macross songs I caught were: Obelisk Diamond Crevasse (amazing piano rendition with May'n playing; the best part of the evening) Lion ENCORE 1: Universal Bunny ENCORE 2: Don't Be Late Which brings me to my next impression. If she really does want to be a big-time "main" star like she's stated during previous interviews, she really needs to appeal to more than just the creepy otaku crowd, which was all I saw in attendance. Note this is merely my impression from a single concert; I have no idea how popular May'n is in Japan and I haven't really followed her work after Macross. Will she become a popular, long-lived singer and not just a passing fad as Frontier becomes a thing of the past? I have no idea. I hope she does, because she as an amazingly good singer. There's nothing better than hearing her perform live. We weren't allowed to take pics, so I don't have any images to offer you guys. Sorry!

Is the movie still playing in theaters?

Great review. I had never seen this VF-25 "in action" until now. The VF100 is still as crappy today as it was in December 2009, so it's still a relevant review. I'll just keep my hopes up that Bandai will revisit it in their Hi-Metal line.

You can add blue food coloring to the purple ink + Future mix to get the shade you like since acrylic ink is often way too purple.

Detailed 1/72 fighter mode and battroid mode-only kits would be nice. And what happened to the 1/48 scale model?

Thank you so much for the in-depth review! I didn't hear about May'n and Megumi being at AX until only a few weeks ago, so I was quite perturbed that I wouldn't get to go. Luckily, I'll be in Japan in July/August and I had the fortune of getting tickets to see May'n; having never been to a concert in Japan I had no idea what to expect. So thanks again for the detailed write-up. I do envy the bastards who will get to meet them and get their autographs at AX.

I wouldn't mind a business suit Grace. But then again, not everyone shares my perversions.

Heheh yeah you can hide a bit of bluetac between the arms and inner leg and it won't be visible. Quite ghetto, but it works. I've never transformed my 27. I built two of them in different modes. I think the 27 is probably the most hideous of the model kits if assembled unpainted. Please paint it!

Hey mickyg, are you planning on any modifications to help keep the legs up? I can't help but think that the extra weight of the super parts are going to eventually make them sag.

Hehehehe welcome to the wonderful world of VF-25 modeling! Mr. Cheng pretty much said it all; I'm of the mind that Bandai intended these "models" to be toys that you have to put together yourself with minimal effort. And they're great for that purpose, but if you want it to look good, it's going to take a lot more effort, even more so than any gunpla kits (I've assembled a few Gundams in the past). Anyway, your 25G is looking fantastic! I (almost) can't wait to get into mine now! As for that leg gap, you should be able to push the lower leg upwards towards the thigh so it sits flush. You'll have to fiddle with it to get it to sit more or less upright and in place. Try not to wear the leg joints out though, because that joint friction is the only thing keeping the leg up! I stuck a bit of bluetac between the leg and arms to help keep it up... The VF-27 has tabs that lock the legs and wings into place, so once you've gotten it fully assembled everything is super tight and you can woosh it around all you like. Getting it assembled is another story; the parts fit is much tighter and I had a far harder time getting everything in place on the 27! I even snapped off the head antenna during assembly.

Two amazing SDF-1 Macross models in one week! *head explodes*

That is the greatest model I have ever seen. This ought to be featured in Hobby Japan or something. You know what? I would definitely pay $500 for something like this, if Yamato had mass produced it at that price (though I'm sure it wouldn't be quite as awesome!).

Super Dimension Cinderella Ranka finally arrived. Glad I passed on the subpar Banpresto release. Sorry for the large size; did a recent reformat and don't have any of my imaging software installed. Together with the Galactic Fairy! Now where's my final episode Sheryl, Bandai?!

I bought the Ranka Deculture VF-25F a few months back and if I recall correctly it does not come with the original decals (at work atm so I can't just take a look). The kit looks to be identical to the regular VF-25F, except the red "mohawk" part of the head is molded in green plastic. EDIT: Got home and checked the box. You only get the Deculture decals.

Whoa those painted on stripes look pretty pimp. I bet they were easier than trying to line up Bandai's messed up decals.

I know you're trying to spend as little as possible on extra supplies and materials, but since you're hand painting everything, I highly recommend getting a bottle of GSI's Mr. Retarder Mild. It slows down the drying of paint and makes hand painting and hiding brush strokes way easier. A bottle only costs something like 300 yen and will last awhile, depending of course on how much paint you're using. I use a 90/10 mix of paint to retarder when I have to brush paint something. I used to completely dread anything I had to brush by hand in the days before I started using it. Now I'm only slightly intimidated.