1/55's revisited

[Anasazi37]

11 hours ago, sqidd said:

Let's talk ordinance? Who's loaded out a Chunky and how?

I held a Arcadia 1/60 Reaction Missile(s) to one and it looked pretty good (aside from them being bright white). I've seen mention of re-purposing Hasagawa (sp) ordinance in the past. Seems like a less expensive way to get ordinance???? Especially if it needs to be painted to match a grey Chunky.

I've seen someone on the board put ordinance on a VF-4 HMR by gluing little "donuts" to the under side of the wings. 

What's the consensus here?

Current "easy" option is to repurpose the 1/72 Hasegawa armaments. They look decent on a 1/55, albeit a little small if you look closely. Still, I stockpiled a bunch of Hasegawa weapons sets a long time ago just for this task. It's possible to use a hobby drill on the wings to make holes that are *just* the right size to support friction-mounting the armaments. I did the math and mapped out where to place the holes if you want to go that route. I think I have a picture of that I can post if you're interested. Gluing on some small rubber circles with holes drilled into them is another option.

[sqidd]

9 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

Current "easy" option is to repurpose the 1/72 Hasegawa armaments. They look decent on a 1/55, albeit a little small if you look closely. Still, I stockpiled a bunch of Hasegawa weapons sets a long time ago just for this task. It's possible to use a hobby drill on the wings to make holes that are *just* the right size to support friction-mounting the armaments. I did the math and mapped out where to place the holes if you want to go that route. I think I have a picture of that I can post if you're interested. Gluing on some small rubber circles with holes drilled into them is another option.

I like the drill/friction idea. The backup to me screwing that up would be gluing "donuts" on. Do you have a pic of the Hasegawa armaments? Specifically the "pin"? And where would I score some? I don't think I was searching for the right thing earlier today. All I came up with is complete Valks.

The 1/60 stuff looked pretty good though and a cartoony way. Wasn't someone making knock off armament kits for the Yamato/Arcadia 1/60's?

Edited October 13, 2020 by sqidd

[DewPoint]

If you want to go the vintage clip-on route UN_MARINE had a project he started back in February.  I'm not sure how far he got with it.

On 2/28/2020 at 12:02 AM, UN_MARINE said:

Currently in development:

...no luck with Strike packs yet.

 

 

[Anasazi37]

3 hours ago, sqidd said:

I like the drill/friction idea. The backup to me screwing that up would be gluing "donuts" on. Do you have a pic of the Hasegawa armaments? Specifically the "pin"? And where would I score some? I don't think I was searching for the right thing earlier today. All I came up with is complete Valks.

The 1/60 stuff looked pretty good though and a cartoony way. Wasn't someone making knock off armament kits for the Yamato/Arcadia 1/60's?

You're looking for the 1/72 VF-1 Valkyrie Weapon Set. Hasegawa seems to regularly reissue it, so you can generally get it for under $10. It's ¥800 at HLJ right now:

https://www.hlj.com/1-72-scale-vf-1-valkyrie-weapon-set-hsg6

They do make a 1/48 version, too, but I think those would look comically large on a 1/55.

Here's the hole placement on a Hasegawa wing:

Here's my best guesstimate mapping of those holes onto an old beatup Jetfire wing I used for customization practice a few too many times:

And here are pictures of the hobby drill I used and the armaments attached (top and bottom views)

I still have the wing around here somewhere, so I can take a picture of the actual holes if necessary, but the key was to start with a small one and then widen it with the next bit size until the peg on the pylon could be pushed in. I taped the map I made onto the wing and drilled through it. Happy to provide that map, too. Like the wing, it must be around here somewhere....

[UN_MARINE]

8 hours ago, DewPoint said:

If you want to go the vintage clip-on route UN_MARINE had a project he started back in February.  I'm not sure how far he got with it.

The restoration project has the weapons so far.

They're free to download here:

1/55 GU-11 STL files

1/55 AMM-1 STL files

I'm also planning on making "retro" UUM-7 pods, but I'm still not decided on the overall look (something between Yamato v1 + Yamato 1/48, or Imai).

[DYRL VF-1S]

Hey guys, I'm super excited to share with you a project that I consulted on:

Labels & Stickers for Labels for 1983-84 VF-1S BATTROID VALKYRIE - Toyhax
Labels & Stickers for 1984 STRIKE VALKYRIE ARMOR - Toyhax

These are repro labels for the 1/55 Strike VF-1S (the pics shown on their site are actually my Valk). For those who aren't familiar, ToyHax is an amazingly high quality repro label company. They're really well known in the Transformers collecting world; particularly, in refurbing G1 toys. They used a designer friend of mine to create them (he has designed for Adult Swim, Coca-Cola, to name a couple and happens to also enjoy Macross - though not on the board here) and I consulted on the project, tested prototypes etc.

If this goes well, they'll produce more for the 1/55 line and possibly the old school TV SDF-1, Regult, etc.

* Disclaimer: This isn't a sales push, and I don't receive any money for purchases, etc. I simply had an idea, presented it, and consulted on it. I'm just excited to share with fellow collectors who have long been looking for quality replacement decals.

Edited October 15, 2020 by DYRL VF-1S

[Kamui 777]

7 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Hey guys, I'm super excited to share with you a project that I consulted on:

Labels & Stickers for Labels for 1983-84 VF-1S BATTROID VALKYRIE - Toyhax
Labels & Stickers for 1984 STRIKE VALKYRIE ARMOR - Toyhax

These are repro labels for the 1/55 Strike VF-1S (the pics shown on their site are actually my Valk). For those who aren't familiar, ToyHax is an amazingly high quality repro label company. They're really well known in the Transformers collecting world; particularly, in refurbing G1 toys. They used a designer friend of mine to create them (he has designed for Adult Swim, Coca-Cola, to name a couple and happens to also enjoy Macross - though not on the board here) and I consulted on the project, tested prototypes etc.

If this goes well, they'll produce more for the 1/55 line and possibly the old school TV SDF-1, Regult, etc.

* Disclaimer: This isn't a sales push, and I don't receive any money for purchases, etc. I simply had an idea, presented it, and consulted on it. I'm just excited to share with fellow collectors who have long been looking for quality replacement decals.

Thanks!  In another thread I happened to have bought a 1/55 Strike recently.

My knowledge is limited, but do you know why the whole Strike sheets weren't done?  The Strike that I bought had missing stickers and wanted to replace all of them.

 

For example, it doesn't look like the set includes the black strip with UN Spacey on the out legs

[DYRL VF-1S]

15 minutes ago, Kamui 777 said:

Thanks!  In another thread I happened to have bought a 1/55 Strike recently.

My knowledge is limited, but do you know why the whole Strike sheets weren't done?  The Strike that I bought had missing stickers and wanted to replace all of them.

 

For example, it doesn't look like the set includes the black strip with UN Spacey on the out legs

Hey buddy! I responded to you in the TFW2005 thread (we both use different SNs here but seem to have the same avatars )

The 1/55 releases all had pre-applied decals such as the one you are referring to. ToyHax opted to not release those in this first issue because it's assumed that you have them applied already. That being said, I did advise them to offer the pre-applied labels at some point because a lot of collectors enjoy refurbing and will need them. Or in your case, received it without the pre-applied sticker.

[Kamui 777]

2 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

Hey buddy! I responded to you in the TFW2005 thread (we both use different SNs here but seem to have the same avatars )

The 1/55 releases all had pre-applied decals such as the one you are referring to. ToyHax opted to not release those in this first issue because it's assumed that you have them applied already. That being said, I did advise them to offer the pre-applied labels at some point because a lot of collectors enjoy refurbing and will need them. Or in your case, received it without the pre-applied sticker.

Got it!

I ordered them as soon as they were available and I can wait for when they (hopefully) release the pre applied ones.

[DYRL VF-1S]

9 minutes ago, Kamui 777 said:

Got it!

I ordered them as soon as they were available and I can wait for when they (hopefully) release the pre applied ones.

Sweet! And I'm glad you shared.

If anyone else finds themselves in the same boat, please share because I can aggregate feedback and share with them directly. At some point, I'll probably start a new thread to poll ask what the next decal release should be. For example, the DYRL 1A or the TV Hikaru 1S (and Supers) as these are almost identical to the Strike 1S stickers with only minor changes of color or different decal - like literally four or five differences. Or SDF-1 because these are pretty sought after.

But I digress, because this won't be the place to get into those details. Assuming there is positive feedback and success on this, I'll post its own thread in the near future.

Edited October 15, 2020 by DYRL VF-1S

[Slave IV]

Great work @DYRL VF-1S!

I may have need for a GBP decal set someday if they do that...

[DYRL VF-1S]

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

Great work @DYRL VF-1S!

I may have need for a GBP decal set someday if they do that...

Thanks man and no doubt! Me too for that matter lol

[Slave IV]

Just now, DYRL VF-1S said:

Thanks man and no doubt! Me too for that matter lol

Sweet! If you are on it, I'm in good hands.

[Slave IV]

Another grail attained!

[sqidd]

4 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Another grail attained!

Chunky!!!!!!

[DYRL VF-1S]

5 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Another grail attained!

Nice!!!! Love seeing you back on track with 1/55!

[DYRL VF-1S]

[Slave IV]

If it ain't chunky, it ain't funky!

[Anasazi37]

2 hours ago, Slave IV said:

If it ain't chunky, it ain't funky!

Word.

[big F]

You gotta fight for the right to Chunky...

[nightmareB4macross]

Keep adding more rarities to the length of the 1/55 history.

Still working on this...

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by nightmareB4macross

[jenius]

I have updated my 1/55 post thanks to the feedback in this thread. I think it's much clearer now what came with which releases, including heat shields.

[nightmareB4macross]

43 minutes ago, jenius said:

I have updated my 1/55 post thanks to the feedback in this thread. I think it's much clearer now what came with which releases, including heat shields.

That’s awesome. Glad it was helpful.  But I’m digging deeper into where and what came after the demise of Takatoku/Matsushiro and how the molds were used to produce some very interesting official/unofficial TT VF-1Js.

The boxed VF-1J in the bottom center of the picture has a TT brand on it but it also has stickers where all the tampo should be. Plus the stickers that came with it are very odd. The finish is very close to being a Takatoku, but the swirl patterns and final fit clearly tell a different story.

Forgot to mention:

On your 1/55 review you forgot to mention that Bandai actually sold TT VF-1S Strike Valkyries that had a Bandai sticker over the TT Diamond.

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by nightmareB4macross
TT.

[nightmareB4macross]

Takatoku on left.

Takatoku unofficial/official on right.

Even the texture on the box is very unique to the unofficial/official version.

[DYRL VF-1S]

I love this thread. That is all.

[Slave IV]

1 hour ago, jenius said:

I have updated my 1/55 post thanks to the feedback in this thread. I think it's much clearer now what came with which releases, including heat shields.

Awesome, thanks!

6 minutes ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

I love this thread. That is all.

Haha, yep!

[jenius]

2 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

That’s awesome. Glad it was helpful.  But I’m digging deeper into where and what came after the demise of Takatoku/Matsushiro and how the molds were used to produce some very interesting official/unofficial TT VF-1Js.

The boxed VF-1J in the bottom center of the picture has a TT brand on it but it also has stickers where all the tampo should be. Plus the stickers that came with it are very odd. The finish is very close to being a Takatoku, but the swirl patterns and final fit clearly tell a different story.

Forgot to mention:

On your 1/55 review you forgot to mention that Bandai actually sold TT VF-1S Strike Valkyries that had a Bandai sticker over the TT Diamond.

 

I feel like I'm getting into 1/55s a little too late in the game to go chasing down the Matsuhiro and Takatoku gray market toys, and way too late in the game to explore all the true KOs which continue popping up to this day, so I have great appreciation for folks like you with your collections and expertise. If you ever post a website that explores the gray market, hopefully I can link on over since it will always be a weakness on anymoon.

Speaking of Strike Valkyrie, I do mention the Takatoku release only briefly and I could use some fact-checking if anyone wants to help. Here's what it says:
"There are two variants of the Strike VF-1S to hunt down. The early variant was produced while the molds still had the Takatoku manufacturer marks so Bandai covered them with a “BANDAI” sticker. The later versions show Bandai as manufacturer. Curiously, the VT-1 and VE-1 also received the Bandai sticker treatment though the mold had already been updated to show Bandai as the manufacturer… this may have been done to present a consistent look and make it less obvious the Strike Valkyrie was hiding a secret."

Here's my questions for the 1/55 experts here:
1) Is there a version of the VF-1A Hikaru toy that has the Takatoku logo? Does it have the Bandai sticker? I don't have one of those (yet) so the post is light on content about it.
2) I owned a used VT-1 some time ago that had the Bandai stickers on it above the Bandai manufacturer mark... but that doesn't mean someone didn't put them there from some other toy. I've owned two essentially new VE-1 toys and neither had the Bandai stickers on them and my current VT-1 doesn't have the Bandai sticker either. Should I delete that sentence about Bandai putting their manufacturer sticker on there because it was just a one-off oddball thing on a toy that may have been tampered with? Were there maybe two runs of the VT-1, one with Bandai stickers on them one without? 

Since both my VE-1 toys seemed new and didn't have the sticker, I should probably at least update that sentence to specifically reference the VT-1 as possibly having a Bandai sticker.

[nightmareB4macross]

52 minutes ago, jenius said:

I feel like I'm getting into 1/55s a little too late in the game to go chasing down the Matsuhiro and Takatoku gray market toys, and way too late in the game to explore all the true KOs which continue popping up to this day, so I have great appreciation for folks like you with your collections and expertise. If you ever post a website that explores the gray market, hopefully I can link on over since it will always be a weakness on anymoon.

Speaking of Strike Valkyrie, I do mention the Takatoku release only briefly and I could use some fact-checking if anyone wants to help. Here's what it says:
"There are two variants of the Strike VF-1S to hunt down. The early variant was produced while the molds still had the Takatoku manufacturer marks so Bandai covered them with a “BANDAI” sticker. The later versions show Bandai as manufacturer. Curiously, the VT-1 and VE-1 also received the Bandai sticker treatment though the mold had already been updated to show Bandai as the manufacturer… this may have been done to present a consistent look and make it less obvious the Strike Valkyrie was hiding a secret."

Here's my questions for the 1/55 experts here:
1) Is there a version of the VF-1A Hikaru toy that has the Takatoku logo? Does it have the Bandai sticker? I don't have one of those (yet) so the post is light on content about it.
2) I owned a used VT-1 some time ago that had the Bandai stickers on it above the Bandai manufacturer mark... but that doesn't mean someone didn't put them there from some other toy. I've owned two essentially new VE-1 toys and neither had the Bandai stickers on them and my current VT-1 doesn't have the Bandai sticker either. Should I delete that sentence about Bandai putting their manufacturer sticker on there because it was just a one-off oddball thing on a toy that may have been tampered with? Were there maybe two runs of the VT-1, one with Bandai stickers on them one without? 

Since both my VE-1 toys seemed new and didn't have the sticker, I should probably at least update that sentence to specifically reference the VT-1 as possibly having a Bandai sticker.

I do one day hope to compile an extensive chronology and genealogy of the VF-1J. I continue to find some really interesting tidbits about the mold. If you’re interested I can always share pics as I am doing here with most of what has been collected thus far. The information is a bit de shoveled but for the most part it exists here. 
 

As far as VE-1, VT-1, and VF-1A Hi-Metals I have multiples so I can check to be sure that there are or are not any TT stamps underneath.

[nightmareB4macross]

Spotting a TT Strike Valkyrie is pretty easy. Just press on the sticker and a TT Diamond will appear. I’ll pull up the sticker later to show the branding as this photo was the only one I had on my phone.

[jenius]

27 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:

I do one day hope to compile an extensive chronology and genealogy of the VF-1J. I continue to find some really interesting tidbits about the mold. If you’re interested I can always share pics as I am doing here with most of what has been collected thus far. The information is a bit de shoveled but for the most part it exists here. 
 

As far as VE-1, VT-1, and VF-1A Hi-Metals I have multiples so I can check to be sure that there are or are not any TT stamps underneath.

I'm definitely interested! I feel like i'm still wrestling with the basics.

The VE-1 and VT-1 have the rounded nose of Jetfire so it seems REALLY unlikely to me they were ever stamped with anything other than BANDAI but I had that one VT-1 toy with the same stickers shown there on the Strike Valkyrie so I'm not sure if that was a thing on the VT-1 or just some sort of aberration. The VF-1A Hikaru toy debuted three months after the Strike Valkyrie and I've never owned one but I'd be curious to know if the fix had been made and if Bandai kept applying stickers fixed or not. 

If you have a chance to look at some point, I'd be very eager to hear your findings.

[nightmareB4macross]

11 hours ago, jenius said:

I'm definitely interested! I feel like i'm still wrestling with the basics.

The VE-1 and VT-1 have the rounded nose of Jetfire so it seems REALLY unlikely to me they were ever stamped with anything other than BANDAI but I had that one VT-1 toy with the same stickers shown there on the Strike Valkyrie so I'm not sure if that was a thing on the VT-1 or just some sort of aberration. The VF-1A Hikaru toy debuted three months after the Strike Valkyrie and I've never owned one but I'd be curious to know if the fix had been made and if Bandai kept applying stickers fixed or not. 

If you have a chance to look at some point, I'd be very eager to hear your findings.

More info regarding Bandai and the probabilities for the 1/55. Pics of prototype heads are inside 

There was also a thread about Harmony Gold/Toynami/(IIRC)ToyCom collaboration to rerelease, license, and market all new 1//55s with new head sculpts (Not MPC) in the US. But did not bold well and the project was scrapped. I’ll look for thread and pictures. For now this is all I have.

Edited December 27, 2020 by nightmareB4macross

[jvmacross]

13 hours ago, jenius said:

 

Here's my questions for the 1/55 experts here:
1) Is there a version of the VF-1A Hikaru toy that has the Takatoku logo? Does it have the Bandai sticker? I don't have one of those (yet) so the post is light on content about it.

Yes and Yes....basically just like the Strike VF-1S Hi-Metal...all 1st releases of the Bandai VF-1A Hi-Metal are, at minimum, using the Takatoku branded "parts"...unfortunately, there is no official info on when Bandai switched to using their Bandai-branded parts...I am guessing it happened upon the release of the VE-1 and VT-1, they probably then re-released another batch of the VF-1S and VF-1A with the Bandai-branded parts....

[DYRL VF-1S]

 @nightmareB4macross @jvmacross

You guys are amazing. Lol. Did any of you see the 1/55 VF-1D custom on YJ recently? I came so close to buying but someone beat me out before I could decide. I wondered if it was a Toynami/Bandai prototype.

Edited December 27, 2020 by DYRL VF-1S

[nightmareB4macross]

15 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

Yes and Yes....basically just like the Strike VF-1S Hi-Metal...all 1st releases of the Bandai VF-1A Hi-Metal are, at minimum, using the Takatoku branded "parts"...unfortunately, there is no official info on when Bandai switched to using their Bandai-branded parts...I am guessing it happened upon the release of the VE-1 and VT-1, they probably then re-released another batch of the VF-1S and VF-1A with the Bandai-branded parts....

It think it might be later when they had to retool degraded molds and apply safety features which killed the look of the 1990 VF-1S Super.

[nightmareB4macross]

1 minute ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

 @nightmareB4macross @jvmacross

You guys are amazing. Lol. Did any of you see the 1/55 VF-1D custom on YJ recently? I came so close to buying but someone beat me out before I could decide. I wondered if it was a Toynami/Bandai prototype.

Do you have a link? Or better yet pictures?