1/48 VF1 Recast

[jadefalconguard]

I finally got down and uploaded some pictures I took during construction. Upfront I apologize for the bad quality of these pics, but my camera is broke . So I'll be taking new ones with my reflex but that takes time to develop

Anyway, some info :

G System recast of the VF1 Strike/Super valkyrie

Number of pieces : very much

First impressions :

Pro's

- very nice kit, wel done panel lines and crisp details. Some warpage, but nothing to really worry about. Fit seems good ( Yeah right, that is untill you start building the thing)

- nicelly done photo etched parts and clearly organized

- "Wow" factor upon opening the box : very high: how did they get all those pieces in there

Con's

- Some pieces are recast in 1 so you keep searching for them (eg feetthrusters, fast pack thrusters,....)

- Very bare gunpod, will need some extensive 'gizmollogy'

- basic decal sheet , up comes the spare box

All in all : I'll give it an 8/10

You can see some pics here :

http://www.macrossworld.com/macross/models...48_ultimate.htm

[jadefalconguard]

First order of business : the seat !

After searching for about half an hour for a piece that's casted directly on the seat I decided to add a seatbelt from my spare box. I opted for the harnass from a Mig29 update set as this looked quite right according to a drawning I have.

On the right seat there is a PE part that reminds my of an ejection handle. It was not quit convincing so I took one from an updateset for an F14 and glued that in place.

The pics below give you an idea how it looks.

Edited January 31, 2005 by jadefalconguard

[HWR MKII]

This is making me want to order another one. scary thing is i can afford it too. some guys collect the 1/48 toys so i collect the models.

[jadefalconguard]

After the cockpit got some time to dry I decided to work on the cockpit area.

It looked quite bare to me so I decided to add some things behind the cockpit area. That's where 'creatice gizzmology' comes around the corner (I read this term somewhere, it's not mine ).

I didn't want it to look crowded, just an area with alot of 'stuff' around so I added some cables, extra stills to the side and some bits of plastic

[jadefalconguard]

This is making me want to order another one. scary thing is i can afford it too. some guys collect the 1/48 toys so i collect the models.

Model builders are optimistic people : they expect to live forever to build all those models .

I try to control myself and order 1 at a turn

[jadefalconguard]

Finally painting time

I used Tamiya Buff for primer and preshaded with black. After that I gently airbrushed 'Air Command Grey' from testor over this to get the finished color. To accentuate the details I washed with with Vallerejo paints thinned with water and a drybush with the same Grey for highlights.

The seat received a flat green canvas drybrushed with light brown to get a worn look and a slightly darker brown for the harnass. Alas these pictures don't do the work justice but it's gives a generall idea

[jadefalconguard]

The seat ( now this is a crapy picture)

Edited January 31, 2005 by jadefalconguard

[HWR MKII]

Nah im just saving models up for my golden years. i already have one 1/48 UD strike built. now thaat i know whats difficult on it i want to do another and really expand on it.

Does anyone else think we should just start a 1/48 recast mega thread?

Did you have trouble with the small photoetch pieces in the "intakes" on the upper fuselage?

[jadefalconguard]

Finally the big moment. I was able to start and mate the cockpitarea with the main fuselage/body. After looking up some linedrawnings and looking at almost every footage I have from Macross (to great dispair of my wife) I found a major flaw in this kit. The cockpit is to round in regard with the body .

I decided to clamp the forward part of the cockpit shut and 'pull' the ending to fit the fuselage. This leaves me with a gap from +/- 1mm to fill with sheet styrene. I'll prob. get problems to join the canopy but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. You van see the gap in the previous post

Did anyone else make this kit ? I would appreciate any feedback I can get and to see how other people solved this problem.

Anyway, this is the drawing I had from the seat assembly. I can't remember where I copied it as it was meant to serve as a guideline for me. Don't want to infringe on copyrights or anything

[jadefalconguard]

Nah im just saving models up for my golden years. i already have one 1/48 UD strike built. now thaat i know whats difficult on it i want to do another and really expand on it.

Does anyone else think we should just start a 1/48 recast mega thread?

Did you have trouble with the small photoetch pieces in the "intakes" on the upper fuselage?

I'm still deciding what I'm gonna do with these. I plan to make a 'little' diorama with the VF1 that's being readied for action. So it could be I leave them open to hook up some hoses. If not I'll prob. use sheet styrene and putty to get a nice fit.

This is the general idea I'm planning on

Edited January 31, 2005 by jadefalconguard

[HWR MKII]

Your best choice on the canopy is to display it open. the frame rails will be warped and why hide that wonderful cockpit. i had the same problem with the step on my kit but its hidden pretty well once the strike packs are installed so i dodnt do anything to it. Another thing to look out for is the canopy glass. trim and test fit it carefully before you glue it and remember its not bad to cut it too large you can always make it smaller but if its too small your SOL.

[jadefalconguard]

Thx for the heads up. I was wondering how to get that thing to fit. How does this vac formed canopy react to 'superglue' ? I'm thinking of using white glue but I'm afraid it won't be strong enough

BTW do you have any pictures online from your VF1? I'm interested to see one finished

Edited January 31, 2005 by jadefalconguard

[HWR MKII]

To get it to conform to a warped canopy youll need superglue also you will need to sand it flush and polish it after. The canopy is a real pain especially the smaller rear piece. i was able to "blend" mine using the green ZAP CA glue fortunately. The vac formed canopy is also not very clear no matter how much you polish it.

There a few pics of mine in the latest version of your collection thread in the model kits section and a distant shot of it in my 19 recast thread.

Edited January 31, 2005 by HWR MKII

[jadefalconguard]

Small update,

didn't get much work done today, so I tested the leg parts. On first sight I thought one of the leg halves was to small. At second sight I found out 1 was to long .

So it looks I'll be cutting one part up. Luckilly it's only to long so it will be quit easy to solve.

I'm glad I'm building the Strike version so the Fast Pack will hide the seam. So I won't have to take to much time to rescribe and fill

One thing I got done was polishing the feet thrusters. I used again Testor Metallizer and started polishing. You can see the result below.

[HWR MKII]

(bump) Update we need more pics . i hope you have not had to much trouble fitting the "foot" pieces onto the outer leg skins. Its a tricky part to assemble.

[AlphaHX]

Finally the big moment. I was able to start and mate the cockpitarea with the main fuselage/body. After looking up some linedrawnings and looking at almost every footage I have from Macross (to great dispair of my wife) I found a major flaw in this kit. The cockpit is to round in regard with the body .

I decided to clamp the forward part of the cockpit shut and 'pull' the ending to fit the fuselage. This leaves me with a gap from +/- 1mm to fill with sheet styrene. I'll prob. get problems to join the canopy but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. You van see the gap in the previous post

Did anyone else make this kit ? I would appreciate any feedback I can get and to see how other people solved this problem.

Anyway, this is the drawing I had from the seat assembly. I can't remember where I copied it as it was meant to serve as a guideline for me. Don't want to infringe on copyrights or anything

whoa, thats cool. do you have a bigger copy of that?

[jadefalconguard]

I'm working on the legs right now. As soon as they are finished I post some pics. Also from the gunpod. Had it updated a bit

Hang on for more.

Alpha HX here you go, hope this is better

EDIT : noppe, doesn't work

Edited February 6, 2005 by jadefalconguard

[AlphaHX]

I'm working on the legs right now. As soon as they are finished I post some pics. Also from the gunpod. Had it updated a bit

Hang on for more.

Alpha HX here you go, hope this is better

EDIT : noppe, doesn't work

Ooo... cant wait.

[Neova]

Finally the big moment. I was able to start and mate the cockpitarea with the main fuselage/body. After looking up some linedrawnings and looking at almost every footage I have from Macross (to great dispair of my wife) I found a major flaw in this kit. The cockpit is to round in regard with the body .

I decided to clamp the forward part of the cockpit shut and 'pull' the ending to fit the fuselage. This leaves me with a gap from +/- 1mm to fill with sheet styrene. I'll prob. get problems to join the canopy but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. You van see the gap in the previous post

Do you have clearer shot of this? I have the G-Systems kit. I agree with you. Beautiful casting, nice photoetch, crap decal sheet (Devin, more PMs coming).

If I can fix this in my kit, I can have G-Systems fix it in their next cast. If anyone needs a kit, let me know.

[HWR MKII]

can you get us the kits for less than the current 279 dollar price tag? especially if it would be our 3rd kit? i am such a valkaholic. some guys have their toy 1/48s i have my model ones.

sean

[jadefalconguard]

@ Neova, I'll take with with the reflex camera, but it'll take some time to develop. Also, when you would correct this, remember also the part that is used to let the canopy work. This also needs adjusting. If interested I can measure it up for you and take pics along the way.

LMK

Oh and if you can get those kits, I'm interested I plee guilty to wanting a second and maybe third one, depending on price

[Neova]

It would be great if I can get a detailed writeup to fix the flaw and show it to GS.

Please PM me to discuss new kit purchases and will need a minimum of 15 orders to get this project going due to having new molds made. At least 10% off or better.

[jadefalconguard]

Hey Guys, first of thanks for the interest. Nice to know other people also look at this.

Now, for some treat : the gunpod. As stated earlier I found it a bit 'empty' ans spars for such a big piece. So it took out some old P.E. parts, a Hasegawa gunpod and started transfering the places were something could go and aprox. te place of the panel lines.

Each place were there was going to be a PE part I carefully cleared the resin and enterd a PE part.

Bu using a sharp X-acto blad and a screwdriver (!?) (the ones used for PC assembling) I cleared the panel lines. Though not clear on the picture ..... again (hm, instead of buildign this thing I should get myself a new camera )

edit : noppe you can't see the panel lines, you'll have to trust me on that one, they are there)

Edited February 8, 2005 by jadefalconguard

[jadefalconguard]

Oh BTW I first filled al the existing panel lines and vent holes that weren't correct. That explains the amount of putty on there

Now the legs. Man that one part gave me some headaches. The piece was to large so I had to cut it up. Took out a big piece and already started the recarving of the rounded part to get the Fastpack to conform and snugg tightly on there.

Some one bring me a dust mask *cough cough cough *

After that got cured I cleared out the place for the PE part and filled the difference in hight (noppe forgot to straighten the legpieces before gluing so had to pull out some tricks) with styrene pieces and gap filling glue. Works like a charm.....always

[jadefalconguard]

Just for laughs, here's the pic of the other leg. Don't mind the seam to much, the Fastpack will cover it up almost completely.

Ssst don't tell but I'm NOT going to fill it up....just get it smooth for a snugg fit of the FP

[jadefalconguard]

Tara tara : one of the milestones in the VF1 just happened tonight ! I taped up the legs and the arm pieces and let her fly

Sat there in my living room and went "roaar" and "vroooom" with a taped up piece of resin......Glad my kids and wife were at bed or they would ask me if I took the right pill this evening

And now : the 'piece de resistance' a nice view of the VF1S up till now

[jadefalconguard]

It would be great if I can get a detailed writeup to fix the flaw and show it to GS.

Please PM me to discuss new kit purchases and will need a minimum of 15 orders to get this project going due to having new molds made. At least 10% off or better.

Write up in progress, as soon as I got my 40 pics I 'll get it developped and send you a "report" as detailled as possible. Anything specific you'll need ?

[Neova]

I can't think of anything right now but before and after the fix pictures would definatelyhelp. I'm pretty sure the current molds are shot since it has pulled 2-3 runs already. We can fix the masters and get better molds made.

Everyone who wants on on MW will get "hooked up" if the project is a go.

[jadefalconguard]

Hi Guys, small update. After my wife looked at the result up to now there was 1 remark. Get that nosecone on that thing. That got me thinking..... and I did it.

So now I have a VF1 with nosecone.

Guess I'll need a second kit to make one 'open' VF1. Post some more pics along the way.

[HWR MKII]

Any ideas yet on the color scheme you are going to use? im still thinking of a DYRL? Max S for mine maybe the DYRL? Hikaru A. im going to strip and redo my old one once i get the new one completed to refinish it .

sean

[jadefalconguard]

Now that's a good questions Sean Noppe I'm still trying to find something I like. Want it to be sort or less conform Macross, but not white I really don't like it. Might try low viz or something. Depends on the decals I can find.

SOmeone a tip ?

[jadefalconguard]

A small update.....

Have been tingeling with the fowler flaps on the VF 1. Nicely made, with metal 'guide' bars to the lower flap. However, the indents that are made for these guides don't really fit + they are waaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy to long.

I started by cutting the metal guides to the correct lenght. Testfitting them gave me a general impression on the exact location so I cleared part of the flap. Take care NOT to cut to deep esp. on impression the closest to the end of the wing or you'll cut through. After that a dot of glue secures the fowler flap system. Then generally add putty (I mixed it with CA glue to get a hardened substance).

After that carefull sanding and presto

Concerning the collour : it'll be a low vizz Valkyrie. I'm not sure with markings, but it may be 'non existing' or maybe an Enigma. We'll see

I try to post some pics later on this week.

[HWR MKII]

Hey Jade.

I finally recieved my second yes everybody second UD strike. i checked the legs out and i dont have the problem you had some slight warping yes but no length issues and nothing some hot water and rubberbands cant fix. I also discovered to my amazement that my first one was an actual club M origional . I have to say that although being the same exact kit that the Gsystem kit is far superior in quality.(ducks thrown manfei) the resin has a rougher less greasy texture. The model shows nowhere near the same amount of shrinkage,the UUM pods on my other appeared sucked in on the sides. My canopy rails arent warped at all and the overall casting seems sharper than the other. The decal sheet includes markings that were not in the other kit it has the acft ID color stripes for the characters. The only drawback i can see so far is the sheet isnt as extensive as the other one i had and has no stenciling or other markings like the little skull squadron markings behind the canopy.

Ill be using the leftover parts from this kit on my other valk to rebuild it in a more exposed mechanical way. AAAHHH superglue debonder the resin modellers friend. Anyway back to your build my friend.

sean

Edited February 18, 2005 by HWR MKII

[bhop]

That kit looks really nice overall. I hope you're going to make it a flight display though, IMO the landing gear is way overscale and too tall and make it look goofy when it's 'parked'.

[jadefalconguard]

Hey Sean, great you've got the second one. Glad to hear you don't have the troubles I've had. I'm working on a complete 'how to' guide on the VF 1 . Will get it online very soon.

@ bhop : Already have the fowler flaps down and the seat geared up. But you're right about the gear. I'm going to look in to that while I await my decals.