recon

Too nervous? Come on im sure they will be much tougher than the regular decals if not as tough as stickers but take a little trouble and time to apply.

Hi Wmcheng, Of course its not the thickness of the paints but its the width of the panel lines in a range of 1mm to 2mm, usually i mixed the paint/thinner in a 1:4 ratio with psi set in the range of about 10 to 15 PSI. It set in this range due to the dilute nature of the paint/thinner mixture. The paints i used are Gunze Sanyo Acryllic lacquer based paints, which offer a finer spray pattern so far i havent see any splattering effect but enables the airbrush to be as close to the model as possible. In addition, this kind of pre-shading method sort of resembles that of the gundam , as i did gundam models before, not sure wether it works well with valks or planes. Im not too sure about Tamiya paints maybe due to its nature requires different PSI settings and paint thinner mixture. Considering that i live in a hot and humid climate, maybe this setting differs from others living in a colder or wet climate. The models that i did pre-shading on so far are G kits Anime figurines. So far i havent attempted any on my hasegawas as i dun wish to ruin them adding to that i dun really have a stable hand or the availablity of model master acryllics clear coats in the local stores here. Thanks for asking, its always a pleasure to exchange information pertaining to modelling here. Cheers

Hey toonz, I would be ordering some of these 1/48 waterslide decals from DEvin. You interested in some? Cheers

Hiya Wmcheng, Beautiful and Awesome work!!. I was thinking of doing the same when i get my decals from Devin. The clear coat not only protects the decal but also the plastic mold especially for us folks living in hot and humid countries where white turns yellowish in time. Just a question for ya, issit possible to just do decal and panel lining without having to spray a clear coat over them when its finished as im not so sure a lacquer based acryllic clear coat would ruin the paint job of the valk itself? (Rephrased question) If i really do must spray a clear coat, do i have to mask any sections, especially the canopy area? And whats the thinner/paint ratio you used for clear coating your 1/48, issit different from the regular mixture you used to clear coat your models? For devin: Will the waterslide decals after application stand to up handling without peeling off like regular stickers? Devin please put me up for a couple of these at the end of the year when you ready for the next batch of production, not forgetting the 1/72 Blueroses custom decals i requested. Thanks for your help and assistance. Cheers

Hi Grayson, I not so sure about the psi level that Wmcheng uses when panel shading but for me the psi level is set to 10 to 15 (Sorry remembered settings wrongly), this enables airbrush to approach the model surface relatvely near thus producing a 1 to 2mm thickness when sprayed on. Tamiya clear smoke isnt a bad choice for panel shading, but its more for creating a see though effect. Usually i would go for a more subtle approach as i i would take my base coat white darken it with one or two drops of black and thinned down to produce a very light grey for panel shading. Cheers

I vote for this too A Blueroses VF-1S would be my number one choice followed by a Minmey Guard as mentioned by Graham. Hey Graham issit possible you propose to Yamato a special edition 1/48 VF-1S for the upcoming annivesary. Thanks Cheers

Hi Wmcheng, Did you hand paint the cockpit area or using the mask then spray method? Your guld figurine looks awesome, i was thinking of doing a white base coat first then mask the hands followed by a orange coat, what do you think? As for the entire YF21, you may want to try the post shading method, base coat the valk with a lighter shade of blue, then panel spray it with a darker shade of blue. The difference in semi gloss and flat effect that you used on the bandai kits would be great on this kit i suppose as it brings out the highlights especially on large areas. In regards to the canopy, i think it would be great to paint the interior of it black or german grey as it would block out any light seeping through that the decal fails to cover and also provides a solid feel about it. Cheers

Awesome work again Wmcheng! Boy i wish i have that amount of time to do models instead of working on them every evening after work. Sometimes im too exhausted to do anything after working, so usually i leave it till the weekend where i can work throughout the night. Cant wait to see the finish product. Cheers

Sorry to say this, Ugly little fellows except for the regult. Cheers

Shucks, from the looks of it, in order to mount the 1/48 Valk with Fps, the gunpod has to be removed in order for the entire piece to sit snuggly into the crane assembly itself. Adding to that, im wondering wether the arm piece would be able to withstand the huge weight of the 1/48 with Fps. This sort of motivates me to get the acryllic stands instead of these. Cheaper and affordable. Btw Graham, i just found out that these acryllic stands that sithlord sells are also readily available in Hong Kong, its being sold at a model shop in Wanchai. Cheers

Nice pictures UNSpacy, but its looks kinda in a precarious position. I wouldnt want my 1/48s to be that high up in the air for the fear of falling down. Maybe i would just consider getting the regular ones for my 1/48s. Cheers

Hiya Graham, Im with you on this matter. Haste makes waste. I rather they take their time to produce toys that process the strength durability in the parts and joints but also at the same time has the beauty and finish to match it. Just continue to give us macross toys but hopefully without any QC problems. I would love Yamato to continue churning out toys even when i grow old, it would be nice to see my next generation take over my toys and continue the journey towards endless spending on macross goodies. Cheers

Hiya Rob, Shucks Yamato is starting to put a clamp on what can be ordered or what can't be ordered. Backpack hinge but no cover, that reminds to be extra gentle especially in regards to the hinge area of the backpack during transformation. Anyways thanks to ya rob for making the effort and providing a service. Graham if you are reading this, could you ask Yamato to make an exception in regards to the backpack hinge and cover assembly replacements as those parts are the most fragile of them all, not forgetting the canopy and heat shield which are also prone to scratched and mishandling. Thanks Cheers

Thanks Sebastian for the info, A picture says a dozen words. I havent yet got to transforming my 1/48 or yet got my Fps so im quite new in regards to this matter. Mine would be in MisB till i moved to my new house and have a new display cabinet in build to the wall. Thanks to you and Noel who show me how to secure the hatch in place for the boosters attachment. Cheers

Heh, That's a great moto.....and so true. Can I use it for my signature? Ya know, it gets me that people are complaining about the lack of a GPB together with the VF-1J. I bet if Yamato had announced they were releasing the GBP together with the VF-1J then we would have people complaining that it is too expensive. Whatever you do, you just can't win! It's a case of 'damned if you do, damned if you don't'. Oh well, like they say 'you can't please all the people all of the time' (or ever). Sometimes I wish people would be at least just a little bit grateful. Graham Yes i in with Graham on this matter, Yamato didnt force us to buy but rather they have provided us something that we havent had for years, a perfect and beautiful valk for us, be it the 1/48 1/72 or 1/60 scale unlike bandai and the rest who couldnt care less about macross. Their prices and time release maybe unfortunate for some, but given the benefit of doubt is that Yamato maybe has a need to move onto bigger projects like the M0 series and so on in the line up. Thats probably why they are rushing out the releases so closely. Come to think of it, in 5 or 10 years time, would we still have the luxury of seeing a new macross product by Yamato every now and then, i doubt so. So why dun we just enjoy it while Macross products are in their peak instead of whining. With demand there is supply, im sure given due time, Yamato would consider a GPB in the making, so till then lets all be patient given Yamato is a young and growing organisation. Cheers

Anyone has links to the pictures? especially closeups on those 1/48s in the background, would like to check up on the VF-1S Hikaru. Cheers

You can say that again Wmcheng, but im glad Yamato are re-issuing those babes. If you wish, when im in Hong Kong next january, i can purchased one for ya. Of course there the price is relatively cheaper, but provided the hungry MWers are going to Hong Kong too dun devour it before i do. Cheers

What he said. Im going to get 2 sets of the 1/48 VF-1S Roy reissue cos i miss out on those intially, but then again i may get either the 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru or VF-1J. I was thinking of the former as i feel there is a high possibility that VF-1J Max and Millia would be release later. Why? to fully utilize the sculpt they created for VF-1J, maximising profits. Cheers

There would be a 2nd reissue of the 1/48 VF-1A Hikaru and VF-1S Roy as informed by yamato. So for those who missed out, this will be your 2nd chance to get one, with all the modifications and improvements that the low vis and max VF-1A has. Cheers

Want to hear something funny? Well, I was also complaining about the colors of the FP's as being a little more on the green side. However, if you look at the FP's under a different lighting condition, it actually comes up blue. Try it. About the 1/48 1S, if you're referring to the Hikaru 1S, Graham already stated that it will have the modifications found on the Max and Bucky Lee 1/48s. Hi, Sorry for the misunderstanding, i was refering to the 1/48 VF-1S Roy, it has said that yamato would be reissusing those babes. Im getting one as i missed the intial release, hopefully these reissues would come with all the modifications and improvements that the 1A Max and Low vis has. Not also forgetting the 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru, will be getting one too. This year is a good year for us macross fans but a bad year for our wallets. Cheers

Did a review here at the models section. Hasegawa 1/72 VF-0S?

Hi GunnerX, Great job so far! Just a curious question, i noticed that you have glued the front fuselage and the main body together, im wondering especially in the later part of the process, wouldnt it be difficult to decal the red stripes at the side of the fuselage. This is because part of the main body will be covering the fuselage section. Correct me if im wrong unless you have another alternative scheme or method in mind. Cheers

Hi graham, Just another question, any idea when the 2nd release of the 1/48 VF-1S Roy will be out? Heard that it will be scheduled for an October release too. Need your confirmation on this matter. Thanks Cheers

Hiya Wmcheng, I have being meaning to ask ya, how did you paint the double barrel gun port and rear exhaust port? Did you disassembled them or just mask and airbrush? shucks yamato could have at least paint the front double barrel gun port in metallic black instead of leaving it in the original mold color. Cheers

Hi Wmcheng, I agree, that the 1/48 Fps should have being molded with a blueish/charcoal grey instead of the normal dark green. But i guess yamato what color is more accurate to that of the Dyrl or TV series. If you observed closely, 1/48 Fps retained the same color as the molds of the Fps on the 1/60 Super and Strike variants. As for the 1/48 VF-1S, i have already preordered that 2nd release, do hope that the existing problems will be eliminated by then, especially the seams along the fuselage and the s head, not forgetting the the crooked skull emblem. Lastly wish that it would be molded in a white/grey tone than the regular beige/white tone Cheers