recon

Hiya Wmcheng, Always love the subtle approach. Have a question to ask ya, did you pre coat your 1/48 VF-1S with a semi gloss or flat clear coat before panel washing or you just applied it just like that? You intend to do a light clear aftercoat after the application of decals to sealed them in and protect the valk surface as well? Hope to see pictures of your finished work soon Cheers

Sorry about the misunderstanding, i was talking about the low vis. Of course the VF-1S Hikaru and VF-1J wun be a limited item Cheers

Hi! Thanks! Hope it'll turn out ok! I found the side panels sooooooo bare, so i cut up little strips of tamiya pla-plate and just glued them on! Hope to see your kit too k? Cheers! What are pla plate? Any pictures for reference as i seldom see or heard of stuff like this? Cheers

Looks awesome for your first try!! Keep up the good work. By the way what do you use for the extra details on the side panels of your cockpit, are they photo etched parts from a military aircraft or hand painted details? cant wait to see the finish product. Im also finishing up on my first valk a 1/72 Hasegawa VF-1S Hikaru Valk. Sorry no pictures to post as i aint got no digicam Cheers

Hey eming, Hold out for the 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru and VF-1J and most importantly get the Fps. Im sure even though they are limited, you will be able to find them sometime later at a much cheaper price especially in Hong Kong. Im waiting for my Fps from Rapid Culture too, damn whats taking them so long. Btw congrats to you on your upcoming marriage, i will be getting hitched too sometime end of next year. My fiancee is from Hong Kong, which is quite a coincidence as i go there often to visit my fiancee and my in laws as well as shop for toys especially macross ones. Cheers

Hiya Graham, Thanks for the fast response. Shucks My display cabinet goes up to 25cm, guess i wouldnt be still be able to display them in battroid mode, with the Super Fps as well as with the Strike Fps. Well at least i have the minimum measurements required when i renovate my flat and install a glass/chrome display cabinet with white flood lights above. Sorry but i demand the best when it comes to my toys. Thanks for the info. Cheers

Hi graham, Would it possible to give us a rough approximation of the total height of the 1/48 in battroid with Fps on. I just starting to worry if they would fit in present display cabinet as it seems quite tall. Well if they cant, then it would be mint in box till next year i have my own flat with built in glass cabinets to house my ever growing collection of toys especially Macross. Where are my 1/48 Fps, damn wish i was in Hong Kong now. Cheers

Give me a double bacon cheese burger anytime, shucks forgot HongKong doesnt have any burger king around. I do love the tim sum and especially the small eats like fish balls, bubble tea and cold desserts, not to mentioned my favourite sushi!!. Hey graham, what do you have usually for your meals especially most of them in Hong Kong are chinese delicacies from different parts of china. Boy i do hope i can make it as i will be heading to Hong Kong only on the last week of Jannuary. Cheers

Ermm, I doubt Graham would do that, and even if he does. I would stay quite far away from the pack but close enough to keep track of you guys. I think the people in Hong Kong would think of us as crazy macross fans. But if it was in japan, i guess sights like these are common. Cheers

Hi ya Rob, Its a pity for someone with such talent and skills to die so young. His work is truly amazing considering none of the panels were done using decals or airbrush but by hand. A great pity too that we couldnt see more of his works especially Macross or Gundam, im sure they were stunning too. We should enjoy and do what we are like while we are still around cos we never know one day we might be gone from this world. May God bless him. Cheers

Man, Graham, pictures of the valks always look these good, Good photography there. It goes to show that abit of natural light always enhanced the looks of the valks, but not to much sunlight though as it will hurt your valks. Cheers

Hi, You can say that again UNSpacy, the 1/48 Fps has a beautiful bluish/greenish tone about, when placed on the valks, it enhances the overall appearance and looks. I once was doubtful about getting them but now am convinced, i would be increasing purchases to 3 instead of 2 1/48 Fps. Thanks Graham for the pictures, when will be your review of the 1/48 Fps? Im sure this is a busy week for ya, 1/60 VE-1 Elintseeker, VT-1 Ostrich and the 1/48 Fps. Boy cant wait for those Fps to arrive, not to mentioned the upcoming release of the 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru. Cheers

HAH! You wouldn't say that if you saw the head from one of my Roy VF-1's. It looks awful...I killed the poor thing! Somone really needs to start a thread with some good tips on the best ways of applying putty. I am afraid I have a tendency to "overapply" it in places.... Hi trueblueeyes, Sorry i dun have a camera to show ya the pictures. Usually i would mixed tamiya putty with a bit of tamiya thinner or gunze sanyo thinner to cover crevaces, gaps or seams. The bigger the gap or seam, the less diluted the putty/mixture would be. In most extreme cases, epoxy putty is recommended. After sanding the putty upon drying, i would coat the seam or gap again with Mr. Surfacer to even or coverup any scratch marks or uneven surfaces. Lastly i would sand it off to a smooth surface with tamiya grade 1200, 1500 sand paper. In your case, if the gap was dramatic and obvious, i would have taken the S head apart, sand the joints flat and sand it smooth, followed by a super glue application. this method will joinh plastics together flawlessly as well act as a putty between the joints. All you have to do is file the excess super glue off upon drying, then apply abit of putty and Mr Surfacer and you are done. Then off to respraying to conceal the putty/surfacer seam. If you do not wish to respray, super glue/filling/sanding should do the trick. hope this helps Cheers

Hi Drifand, How does a TV Hikaru VF-1S look liked? I forgotten how it looks like as its being a long time since i watched the Dyrl or TV series since young. Some changes i would love to see over the former release, deeper tone of red on the heat shield and stripes as the first release red looks abit pinkish red, seam along the S head minimised, same quality as that of Max 1A and Low Vis and the same light grey/white base mold as the Max 1A. Hope that Yamato do takes into consideration of these suggestions. I would die a happy collector, err touch wood, woudnt want to die too early as i want to collect and buy more macross toys Cheers

Hi, You can say that again, you see all the scales of the valks in 3 different modes and thats not the only toys in his collection mind ya. cheers

Hiya, woah well lookie what we have here, expensive collection you have there weltall. I just imagine how humongous trueblueeyes and sithlord collection will be if they post theirs here, they practically got duplicates of every scale not to mention in some instances triplets. Jaws drop. Also not forgetting Chan's collection huge mansion of toys. Cheers

Hiya LePoseur, Thanks for the Great Pictures, boy i cant wait to get my hands on those 1/48 Fps, they look so beautiful and mean. On the bad side, the UN Spacy printed on the Fps looks kinda of small, wish it was bigger. Another matter noted too is the Strike cannons, the tip should be metallic black not the same color as the base color of the packs. Well i could do a repaint on those babies anyway. Mine would be remaining in their boxes, sorry to say, i have no shelf space high enough to display them at the moment, presently my display cabinet can only display 1/72 Hasegawa models and 1/60, 1/72 Yamato series. LePoseur could you do a zoom in on those missiles and UNSpacy wordings on the Fps, not forgetting the nuclear missles too. Thanks Heard that the Fps would be arriving next week in the local stores, cant wait for them. Now waiting for Graham to do a comprehensive review on those Fps, boy he will be busy these week as he has to do 3 reviews, 1/60 VE-1 Elintseeker, VT-1 Super Ostrich and the 1/48 Fps. Cheers

Hey Noel, are you really going to get that DYRL helmet? Gosh its going to cost a leg and a hand, its a whole months pay worth. Back to the topic, my priciest purchase would be the 1/48 series VF-1A Max, preordered 2 sets of VF-1S Hikaru, preordered 2 sets of 1/48 Fps,, preordered 1 1/48 set of VF-1J. But the most expensive items that i purchased which aren't toys, are my compressor and airbrush. Cheers.

Hi, and me too sebastian, but it depends on my schedule and when is the gathering going to be held at. I for one would love to meet the rest. Cheers

Did you order online? Or reserved at a local store? I've been looking for those CM's figures all over Singapore. And it seems that none of the store owners down there ever heard of such figures........ All they show me were the Sharpeners. Still waiting for mine, too!! Cheers

Hey toonz, Congrats on your purchase, may pop down to rapid culture to have a look see today. Unfortunately, i wun be getting these babes as my funds are tied for 2 sets of 1/48 Fps, 2 sets of 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru, 1 set of 1/48 VF-1J. May consider getting them if they are still available in the market when i make a trip to hong kong again in Jannuary 2004. I may kick myself in the ass for missing out on these releases but then again have to make some sacrifices as im saving up for my wedding. Cheers

No, beacuse my place is a typical tiny HK apartment and my one spare bedroom is full up of cartons of Macross toys, so even though it has a double bed you can't actually see the bed anymore because of all the boxes. Graham Hi Graham, I can understand your feelings, i visited my fiancee flat in HungHom, even though its considered a middle class accomodation, but its relatively small in the size of the rooms, kitchen and living room. I can consider myself lucky and fortunate to be living in singapore whose housing flat and apartments are relatively more affordable as well as bigger and spacious. Graham have you ever consider migrating, if given the chance and opportunity? Cheers

Yes, I simply adore that scheme, its looks sexy and mean!!! It would be the next thing closest to my heart besides the VF-1S Strike Hikaru. Cheers

Nods Nods, me too Say Shawn, since Graham has so many valks in his collection, would he noticed any missing pieces if some of us manage to make away with a couple without him finding out. I for sure am interested in his 1/48s Just j/king! Would love to meet up with the rest of ya guys B) Cheers

You know you can´t resist the urge to buy both You must not resist You must not resist You must not resist You must not resist You must not resist Hahaha, trying very hard to resist them. Im doing up my Hasegawa VE-1T and VT-1 SuperO, so thats some form of consolation. But i will probably kick myself in the ass for not getting these yamato versions much later in the future. Anyways i only love these two valks becos of their unique appearance and looks in the fighter mode. Maybe i will get them when i pop by Hong Kong next year in Jannuary. For now its the upcoming 2 1/48 Fps and 2 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru and 1 1/48 VF-1J. Thats what im saving for. Cheers