Jasonc

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Well, this is my second custom 1/55 valk ever. I used the Bandai reissue VF-1J, and used a resin head, seat, and thruster set bought from Mslz. The decals are of course Anasazi's beautiful custom decals, and are just beautiful. For paint, I needed a darker orange than the Tamiya orange, so I went with Testor's orange, and also used Testors Light sand. For the coating of the toy, I used Model Master Lusterless Flat, for a more realistic look. If you wanna ask about the metal hinges, I didn't do them because it is a toy afterall, and I wanted to keep the feel and balance the look between a realistic fighter and a toy. Hope you enjoy. Comments always welcome.

As you can see, mine has white spots on the folds, but with a green or black marker, these can go away. I tried this and it works, but once I was finished, I was so happy, I never finished the marker touch ups. I used a roller pin for that. It's extremely challenging, but will do the job.

One more:

Another

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That's cool. I hope all that helps. The 110# cardstock is the best. It's probably the hardest paper that will come out of a printer. But I will submit pics of it tonight.

Thanks for the compliment. I wanted to use a dark orange, and Tamiya paints (what I usually use) wasn't dark enough, so I used the Testor's spray orange. It has a slightly darker coat, and is nice and thick. I also used Testor's spray paint #1960 I think, it's a light sand for the off white. It does transform, and I'll submit more pics when I clear my memory stick in my camera tonight. The paint doesn't chip, that's for two reasons. 1 is I sanded down real good all the joints and parts where friction is a problem. On the hip joint that connects to the nose, I sanded down the pegs to where they are just slightly touching when swinging, but if I pull the legs away from the nose while positioning them, they won't touch. 2 is I used Model Master Dull Coat. About two or three light coats will not only provide protection for the decals and paint, it will leave a more realistic look other than that glossy "here I am, shoot me" coat. As for decals, Anasazi here on MW creates literally the best decals I've ever used. All thanks goes to him for those. I bought the set from MSLZ, but I believe they are a recast of Mike or Robs, or his own. I wish I could remember. I'll really have to contact him, as I want to provide credit where it's due. HAHA, see above for the paint. Like I said more pics tonight, of it transformed and such, but now I'm onto the "Red Baron" custom. You know, I'll just post this up in another thread.

The "white" or off white doesn't look that dark in reality, but let me know what you guys think. I left the metal hinges as is cause I still want to keep the feel of a toy. I'll be taking more pics when my camera recharges for the customs section if you think it's good enough. Be gentle, this is only my second custom ever.

Last one for now...

And another

Alright, here are the first pics of the all soooo close finished product. Just the antanna, and I'm done.

I put this together already. Here's my advice on building this: 1) Use 110# card stock paper. this makes for a solid paper monster that you can actually play with if you wish. 2)If you can, print it from a Color Laserjet, not a cheap color printer. Trust me, it's better. 3)If you have photoshop or a similar program, create a page of just the green color and print that on the backside of the printed pages. No white will show in exposed areas. 4)Don't use scissors to cut it. Use a good exacto knife and a ruler. And also, fold with the ruler. 5)Use elmers white glue. Not too many options there, but that stuff just works. 6)Have lots of patience. This thing takes forever to put together right. But when it's done, it looks awesome and it's big. I have friends that still look at it at amazement cause it's all paper. Any questions?

Please add me to this list for 1. Thanks.

That sounds like it'd work as well, but if the PS2 goes down, your warranty is void, isn't it? That chip looks great, but the flip top is what I got. No problems there either. Just matters on your preference. Thanks MilSpec for the link. I have a friend that was looking into mods for his PS2. I'll give him that option as well as the fliptop.

I modded my PS2 by buying the fliptop system. I didn't want to do the chip swap cause that's the risky way. The flip top will allow you to easily put your PS2 back to stock if you need it repaired. It uses boot disk, so that is a hassle, but so minor, it's not a problem. I have problems though, playing my PSone imports on it, but in that case, I have an original PSone with the serial port in the back that has a game genie box plugged for the copies and imports. You may be able to find one of those for about $50 on ebay. But for the PS2 imports and such, I'd suggest the fliptop for modding. It's good too, if you play online with the ps2 and the game uses the DNAS scan data on your box. People with chip swaps can't play many online PS2 games because it detects the modded chip. WHEW!!! Hope that helps.

Tubes, what can tubes be used for... I know! You could store fishing poles in them, or lunch, or fill them up with hot liquid, soup, like a thermos. Cause in the heat of battle, Valks get thirsty, dehydrated, and used as a bottle of water or Gatorade, replenishes vital fluids that water just can't. Is it in you?

As I don't have kids, I've never wondered much about the now. However, here are two scenarios. 1) Myself... I was 10 when Robotech first aired on tv, and was hooked on the mecha, the realism, and the "violence". Sorry if that bothers some, but hey, kids are just like that. Ever since that day, I became a RT fan. As I got older, I began to see the roots of RT, and as a conclusion, I'm also a huge Macross fan. Yes, I'm a fan of both. To me, Robotech would be nothing without Macross, and most of us wouldn't know or be fans of Macross without Robotech. For me, they go hand in hand. 2)My sister. As she is 15 now, she used to watch the SDF Macross and Macross Plus with me at my house when she was like 10. As well as dare I say it M7. She couldn't keep up with the fast subtitles, but loved the cartoons, all of them. Honestly, Mylene and Minmay are her favorite characters. She got used to the Japanese subtitles, and with that, became a huge fan of Macross. About a year and a half ago, she was watching an episode of RT in which I popped in for some work I was doing, and she wanted to know what happened before and after the episode. Over the next few weeks, we watched all the RT episodes and I educated her on how it came to be that RT was created out of 3 different series. Now she's a fan of that as well. My only suggestion, as I don't have kids, but deal with them all the time (mom runs a day care) is to put it out there, and let your kids grab onto it. Kids love cartoons, and they'll like it regardless unless crammed down them. As far as Macross or RT., Robotech was what I had, and it helped me appreciate Macross like I do. I wouldn't "ban" Robotech at all. It's easier to understand for kids, and not a bad story. They could watch that earlier in years, rather than wait till they can read a little on subtitles to understand. Also, there's the "violence" factor. Robotech had a lot taken out because of violence. That may be a consideration for those fathers. Would be for me. I'd start my child the way I started.

That's a good question... Macross for PS2 was a very good game, but like Battlecry, had limits as well. Macross M3 for Dreamcast was really bad, but had somewhat of an interesting story. And flying all the M7 fighters, and others was interesting. Macross Digital Missions was a horrible playing game, but had a nice little story. Macross VFX-2 was actually a pretty cool game. I just bought an old PSone, and modded that for the older games. But if you wanna know my opinion on one of the best games, Macross DYRL for Sega Saturn or PSone is one of my favorites. Just a fun side scrolling game that captures the movie quite well.

Dude, thanks for the help. I was up last night till 1a.m. trying to piece together the nose and all the other parts. It's coming better than I thought. I'll definitely post up pics very soon. Again, thanks for your help.

Kanata, sent you a pm. Thanks man

I love the second one even more. And I thought the first was God's own creation! O.K., how much and put me down for one, please. I need this kit

Yeah, you could add me as well. I'd definitely be in on this. Maybe I can extend and remodel my house for the monster.

Ya know, Hikaru, I got your ex girlfriend right here! I'm in love with a resin kit. LOL!