Myersjessee

Glad to hear it survived the trip...down. Yamato 1/60's are surpisingly surable...IMO....Ive dropped one two...and all the pieces nicely pop free to absorb the shock.

love my old GBP...want my new one!

This is wonderful news...my 1/60 collection is nearly complete!!! Thanks Yamato!

Been away for a week and just catching up...just wanted to say...WOW!!!!!!

air brush is the way to gol...takes some practive but worth it.

I used model masters as well...and didn't thin at all at first...a little thinning was worthwhile (I figured out later... )

I was using a lot of Ambroid Pro Weld....but its the Methylene Chloride stuff....not so good for you...works well on models though.,..

I think I feel like gripping about it every day I see this thread...still Rob said he said in Oct...and its still early...when we hit the end of Oct Ill fire off an email and we will go through the whole shebang again...

thanks for the pictures Tom...that helped!

I would still buy some sets....

going to need those...

what a gorgeous plan...nice work on the desktops!

Thanks EVERYONE!!! LTSO - VF2SS - NO DOUBT!!! Batou...they are doable...but easier if you go really slow....(not hard for me...Im a slow worker) Patience...and time....and dont put it together before you decal it. I wish I had looked at the fit first, it would have been a lot easier...things like the stupid little buldges by the side of the intakes (leg releases on 1/60's) would have been so much easier to decal seperatly...or just mask and paint it. Pfunk...LOL...I have thought about it. WMCheng - I use testors, CA, and some waterey stuff by Ambroid...Ill get the name...not super strong...but bonds in seconds and drys with almost no residue...doesn't fill gaps though....(and I just ordered my Mr Filler to cover that! ) Ill add the name to the glues page...it works fairly well...

Gorgeous WMCheng!!! I will try your advice on masking next time around...thanks. Question....in your use of Microsol and Microset.....heres what I was doing...(which sounds different then what you do) I brush a layer of Microset on the model where the decal will go, and then quickly and carefully lay it where it needs to go...once it is lined up I let it dry for a few minutes (5 or 10) so it starts to set in a spot...then I brush on a few coats of Microsol...letting each one set for a while before I brush on the next. I dont use Microset at all after the inital coat, and it occurred to me I wasnt really getting the point of the Microset. Care to elaborate on what Im doing wrong (or missong out on, could do differently, etc?) Sorry for all the questions (I know you covered this once...guess I misunderstood) and thanks in advance.

Thanks very much WM! The decals were a bear (check my review...I gripe more about them! ) Its not really my second model....I built a ton of WW2 stuff between the ages of 6 and 13....but nothing really serious. Thats why your step by steps were so critical...I knew the basics...but I needed to see what extra materials I needed. I walked into a modeling store when i got started...I was asking about airbrushing....the owner asked me: "What kind of glue do you use?" I said: "I dont know....Testors..." He laughed in my face and said airbrushing was too much for me...not to try washes, detailing or anything...just build it and maybe when i got better I could try things.....can you believe that? I'm 32 years old and I got some old fool who doesnt want to sell me stuff and treats me like a 6 year old....well...my point...reading your step by steps gave me the tricks and supplies I needed....I went...bought what I needed....experimented on some cheap old kits I had...and Im off and running....I think my next one will be even better...as I learned a lot from my mistakes....but a serious big thanks to you...the difference from masking, spray painting, and building...but not understanding putty's, panel etching and washes, decal sols, and all your other tips....well thats the difference in my model. Kudos to you...and Kudos to all at Macross world who have shared their ideas, tips, and knowledge with me. WMcheng, 007VF1, MSLZ22, Valkyrie, Kidkorrupt, Jung, Kam Monkey nugget (lighting master! )...and Im sure many others who I am forgetting..thanks...and please keep it up...I want to see more stuff.

Nice work Kam!!! Sweet! All..take a look at the paint bottle it's on...these are tiny...and the fit and detail in the paint job is ever so more impressive when you realize how tiny!

Did Takatoys do the original cockpit/nose and canopy? I thought that was someone else (Erik?) Are they one and the same?

its gotta be Angel Birds....heck...some of you collector nuts would buy 6 so you could have the whole set!!!

What are all the fixes? (curious)

spending all my money?!?! You trying to make me feel bad?!?...damn...talk about hitting a guy when he is down!!!

Vitja...I was thinking the same thing!!! Grayson, thanks...I may...after looking at the pictures there are a couple things I noticed I want to fix....(one is I forgot to scrape the liquid mask off the wingtip lights, which is why they look so dull...another is clean up a couple edges on the decals...amazing how close up pictures make clear what I dont see looking at the model! ) Thanks Gunner and Malich! Kam - Ill check...its a light brown and grey...I believe the grey was the color suggested for the seat metal, and the brown is a sandstone...dont remember if I used their color scheme or made that choice. Thanks Rob....always happy to help...glad you like it...I wish I had more to teach..but I have so much to learn....trying to decide what to do next...think I have a resin kit or two I want to get to! (waiting on a buddy in Japan to supply one of them! (but no rush...I can be patient! ) Gerwalker...yep - I used to do a lot of WW2 fighters and always did that with the wheel wells...I know the Angel birds isn't like that, and looking at modern day jets (thunder birds) their wheel wells appear to be white...but the whole thing is so darn white I wanted to add some more color and liked the look....glad I didn't get wrecked for going off on my own!

THANKS MIKE!!! :) !!!! As for the decals...I came close to losing it...check my review (read...decal rant) here: Review

Thanks Isamu! no doubt it is way to dirty for a show plan...absolutley correct...forgot to mention that point....as my first model in a long time I wanted to try a lot of the weathering ideas I had seen. Making a clean smooth valkyrie would have been correct...but not as fun for me and what I wanted to get out of it...so I decided to make this one dirtier. Perhaps my explanation is it is right after a marathon set of shows in a very dirty location! But..yes...to dirty to be accurate...but fun for what I wanted to try. I think if I could do it again I would have started with a VF1J or 1S...but I pulled this one out...and decided I would use a little artistic license here and there....wheel wells shouldn't be olive drab either...but I liked the contrast...reminded me of my old favorite WW2 warbirds. couple other problems with the colors where I took some license. too.

and the underbelly

Brighter...from the front