mechaninac

The most popular, I think, would have to be Roy's VF-1S; after all, it has the most screen time. The best, design wise, IMHO, would have to be the VF-2SS from Macross II. Honorable mentions should be given to VF-11, YF-19, and the fanboy favorite...VF-4.

Since everyone else has covered all or most of the SDF Macross and DYRL items that we'd all like to see made in 1/60 scale, I'd like to suggest something that would really be "pie in the sky" stuff: How about Macross II mecha...ALL OF THEM. I'd love to see the VF-2SS and VF-2J (even the SNN Valkyrie would be cool), as well as the Destroids and enemy units. I know this is a NON-VALK wish-list, but M2 had some great designs that deserve some attention. Breetai's Flagship? ...in 1/60 scale? ...Perchance, do you own an entire city block?

Actually, the photo above makes the Forces of Valor Tornado look half decent. You really have to see the Tornado and F-14 in person to fully appreciate how awful they are. But I agree their Apache, Blackhawk and some of their tanks look pretty good. Graham As I've stated before, I never saw their fighters in person. But here is my question to anyone who has: Painting, panel lining and markings asside, how acceptable, or not, is the sculpt on the F-14? Would it make a decent candidate for repainting/customization given a reasonable price, say around $20.00, after all, it features an opening cockpit, working landing gears, movable wings, and removable ordenance? (forget the Tornado, it's execution looks very poor indeed from the picture).

Forces of Valor toys recently started selling here in HK, so I've had a chance to examine them and I think if anything, David is being too charitable about the quality of their products. IMO, the panel lines on their 1/72 scale F-14 and Tornado suck bigtime. Basically a half blind retarded drunken chimpanzee with parkinsons disease could do a better job of panel lining. The panel lines on the Forces of Valor toys are ultra thick and way too dark. Most of them are not even straight, they wobble all over the place and there are lots of overruns, where the panel liner slipped and didn't clean up. The only Forces of Valor products that look half decent IMO are the 1/48 Apache and Blackhawk. PS, anybody wanting a good Tornado should buy the Corgi Aviation Archive version. Graham (still waiting for a 1/72 Corgi Eurofighter Typhoon) I never saw the Forces of Valor F-14 or Tornado in person. My only experience with this line of diecast toys is their Blackhawk, and while the panel lines are a bit thick, they're not bad in 1/48 scale since the helicopter is painted in what appears to be the correct color/tone, so everything blends okay, and I couldn't find any faults with the design, fit, features, or accuracy given the price of the toy (Please note that I am not a military aircraft connoisseur, so I wouldn't pick up on minutia...all I know is that it actually looks pretty good). The Apache is another matter since the color chosen is way too light, which causes the paneling to be that much more noticeable. I will readily admit that on a 1/72 scale airplane, judging from the pictures I've seen, their panel lines are way beyond thick...they're downright brutish. As for the Armor series...I've examined them in person at a local Franklin Mint store and was thoroughly unimpressed with every single one of their fighter craft models; I did find their helicopters quite nice, specially the UH-1 Huey, and the AH-64 with the rotor-mounted sensor dome was good too, and accurately painted (dark olive drab). My biggest turn-off is that their stuff is so damn expensive and featureless (I know they're display pieces and not toys, but still...). Also, I once almost bought one of those Tomcats sold at Wal-Mart stores, but balked at how cheap they look, even at about $18.00. However, I may yet give them another look just in case the example I saw was just a particularly bad one. Just my two cents worth of ranting incoherence.

A little off topic, but there is another manufacturer of highly detailed diecast military vehicles that has some pretty awesome looking stuff out there under the name "Forces of Valor". I bought their 1:48 UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter and it is absolutely beautiful, and at about +/- $35.00 it's a real bargain. They also offer a 1:48 AH-64A Apache...gotta get this one next. And if you don't mind a smaller scale (1/72), perfect for display with M+, they also offer aircraft toys:

How about plumbing tape? The stuff is very thin so layering for best results will not be a problem, it is self-sticking so it won't work itself loose, and it is slippery against other surfaces so it shouldn't cause any binding.

I've heard it said somewhere that ALPS printers are the best since they print all colors, including white. However, I don't think they're manufactured anymore, though I'm sure you could still find a used one on ebay or other auctions sites. Laser printers may be an alternative, albeit a pricey one. Anyone more knowledgeable in this field please correct me if I'm just shoveling BS.

I noticed that on my 1J also, after reading your post; though on mine the "defect" is not nicking into the visor. I think the problem is due to the fact that that is where Yamato decided to put the sprue to part gate...dumb choice. You'd think they'd pick an area that could be easily concealed…nothing spoils the look of a well designed product more than a poorly chosen gate or push pins locations. If you’re lucky enough to have a protruding pimple you can easily sand it down and buff the edge to make the thing disappear.

Hoo Hoo! My brand new VF-1J w/FP just arrived, and in time for Christmas no less. This thing is awesome to look at. The head sculpt is near perfect, the pilot is much better than the DYRL ones, and the extra hands should be a must on every Valk. (attention recasters: get cracking, I need a few more sets or these apendages; BTW, they should be cast in a similar soft material to Yamato's, and in color...asking a lot, I know ) Truth be told, however, even as impressive as the 1J is, I still think that the Low Vis wins top honors for sheer beauty and realism IMO.

Ditto. I'd be up to buying about 4 of the TV style pilots and a couple of DYRL cockpit stuffers...original or recasts. Is anyone doing recasts of any of them at the moment?

Is that a model or a Franklin Mint Armour series diecast? Looks beautiful.

The only modifications I've made to my 2 (3rd one on the way...1J FP) 1/48s are to buff down (I wouldn't realy call it sanding) the mold seam lines on the bottom surfaces of the two jet intakes with a flexfile buffing pad, drill the head laser cannons of my 1As, knock off those nasty little tabs on the front landing gear doors on my Max, and, of course, panel line the Max 1A with a grey Gundam fine point felt tip pen. I still have to apply Takatoys' stickers to these beuties. Anything else is just too scary to try on a toy that costs over $120.00 big ones.

Yes! I was leaning towards skipping the 1/60 GBP if it only came bundled with a VF-1J. Now that is looks like Yamato will be releasing the armor separalely as well, I'll definately get at least one for my 1J.

I know what you mean. I got screwed out of $15.00 once, but this particular seller is legit; same guy from whom I purchased my low vis, and that arrived fast, pristine, and relatively cheap. The lesson is: review the seller'd feedback, and if you've delt with a particular one in the past with no problems, then, chances are, you shouldn't have any issues in the future. Besides, I don't think there are many, if any, used FV-1J FP out there.

One can only hope. And for $80.00 MSRP, each, it'd better be.

Superb!

No kidding? I never noticed it. Which one was it, the Orgroid?

Those are my sentiments exactly. The VF-11 just begs for the Hasegawa treatment, and a mass produced injection molded kit would be a few orders of magnitude cheaper than a resisn one. Come on Hasegawa...hop to it!

$182.00 shipped on ebay for a 1J FP. Damn these things are pricey!...but I had to have it. I can't wait for it to arrive...Myyy Precioussss.

I guess it's time for a small update on what I've been up to. Bellow is the current status of my Ishforn model. On a related note, I'm begining to wonder if I should keep posting my Orguss stuff (I plan on doing all mecha for which I can get decent references. I'm leaving the Emaan stuff for last...too many curves) on this thread or if I should start a new Orguss CG thread on the "Fan Works" section. What do you guys think?

It's an original sculpt based off Imai's 1/48 Legioss kit, but in a smaller 1/55 scale to go with their VF-1s MPC (Major Piece of Crap) toys. From all the pictures I've seen, it looks pretty good, and seems to have several improvements over the plastic model. However, since QC is Toynami's Achiles's heel, the final product may not be anywhere near as sturdy as the old Gakken 1/35 scale toy. And the MSRP is just absurd.

Okay, the miniseries is growing on me a bit. I guess I'm a purist with an open mind. The second episode was a little better than the first, but still way too slow in the first half. Now some observations: 1. I still miss the old show's "Chariot of the Gods" motif. It gave depth to the human cultures of the colonies and created an instant link to the lost 13th tribe. 2. As mentioned before, I too would have liked them to have kept the originals time and spatial measuring conventions. It was very original. 3. The president's character was much better on the second episode. I'm actually beginning to like her. The decision to abandon the slower ships to their fate was a tough one. My previous comment that she should have been spaced on an earlier post may have been premature. 4. I liked the "chick Boomer is a Cylon without knowing it" twist at the end. I must admit I didn't see that one coming. Now let's see what they do with it. Will the Cylons just flip the proverbial switch and she becomes evil like Talia Winters in B5; or will the unknowing sleeper agent be so enamored of humanity that she will become conflicted about where her loyalties lie. 5. I liked the use, reuse, minor updates of many of the civilian ships. It was a very welcomed tip of the hat to the original show. 6. I still think the new Baltar is lame. 7. WTF...Cylon femme fatale turns into Harvey the neuro-clone...no, wait, that was different show... 8. Still think Stabuck with boobs is just awfully lame. I don't mind a female butch character per se, but she should not be called Starbuck (name or call sign).

If I were to grade the show so far I'd have to give it a C+. The first hour was really bad, with few exceptions. The second half was much better. The Good: 1. The father-son rift. Apollo was a flat character in the original; this made him more interesting 2. The Cylon back-story. The "we should not play G*d" and "our own creations will come back to bite us in the a$$" angles are very standard sci-fi fodder; but they makes a bit more sense than an extinct reptilian race having created the Cylons in man's image. 3. The space flight physics. Enough said. 4. The Cylon raider IS a Cylon. I'm sure this was inspired by SW:TPM; which begs the question: if the Droid Fighters were Droids, shouldn't the Trade Federation tanks have been droids too, instead of piloted by droids? 5. The MK IIs were cool and, I'm not sure, I think I saw a MK I way in the back in the museum. 6. Missiles and Bullets. While the turbo-lasers were cool in the original series, it makes a lot more sense to shoot guided missiles at long range than to duke it out WWII style. 7. The Nuclear bombardment of Caprica, and the other colonies. The Bad: 1. That little tub Boomer was flying. 2. The Galactica itself was fugly as sin. 3. The Cylon femme fatale. Despite what the writers may say or think, the idea of human-like Cylons is not new. There was an episode of Galactica 1980 where two android Cylons and one Centurion crashed on Earth in an experimental craft during, conveniently, mardi-gras. It was lousy then...it's lousy now. 4. The Raptor was just plain ugly. It's good that the MK II will be the hero fighter of the show. 5. Retro tech. I understood where they were going with the notion of non-networked computers, manual valves, wired comms, et al. One Cylon compromised system won't compromise the whole works. But from a technological standpoint it make absolutely no sense that older systems would be less vulnerable to jamming and hacking then modern ones; whatever happened to redundant systems, emergency standbys, firewalls, etc.? 6. I thought the thunderclap effect of B5 PPG was hard to get used to. Those side arms were crap. The Ugly: 1. The new president of the 12 colonies. Give me a break. Anyone with a modicum of common sense would have overruled her decision to continue rescue operations in the face of impending attack. I agree with a previous statement: dump her out the nearest airlock; 43 down...bring on number 44. 2. Boomer is a girl! WTF! Granted that she was pretty hot and all (a lot easier on the eyes than the original Boomer). But if they had to have that character, why not just call her something else...like Hoshi Sato. 3. Baltar. They turned a cool, albeit two dimensional, villain into a boring self-pitying worm. 4. Starbuck. Every time he, she, IT was on screen I just felt like groaning. That was, by far, the worst case on PC rework since the computer airbrushing of guns into walkie-talkies in ET. Starbuck was one of, if not the, best characters of the original series; now Starbuck is just a cigar chomping butch.

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1/60 destroids by Yamato...that would be sweet.