Arii 1/170

[BushyFromoz]

okay okay, they are small they are poorly proportioned, but if your from australia and love macross and to a less extent the R word you would know that the cost of quality macross kits here is just downright disgusting, so when a whole bunch of these things rocked up on e-bay for nothing i bought them

Any info or suggestions would be good, including improvements as well as where to find some more gerwalk and HEWAT type models

cheers

[cowie165]

Hi mate. I know your southern hemisphere pain.

I've found 1/100 has almost no following, so I wouldn't hold my breath for many recommendations on 1/170 kits. Seems the 1/72 gear is just too damn attractive these days

As an aside, buying Macross gear from the US isn't too bad. You can have two kits shipped for around US$15 or just buy new 1/72 from HLJ for even cheaper. There are also guys around that can help you out with Yahoo Japan, but I'd save that for rare stuff you just HAVE to have.

And welcome to MW!

Mark

[MechTech]

PM "Ranger565." He deals in the "classics" and should be able to hook you up. I got a 1/200 Monster from him for $70.00 US! Yeah, you might have to deal with shipping charges, but I would say it'll be worth it. Ask for a quote. I also highly reccomend casting copies of those parts you want. If you don't know how, you WANT to learn! If you live out in the middle of nowhere like I have before, it's hard to get stuff period. - MT

[honneamise]

Hi BushyFromoz and welcome to the boards! Did you know that in the 80s ARII and IMAI both had 1/170 kits? IMAI did the VF1-A Cannon Fodder and Focker S Fighter and Gerwalk versions plus the VF-1J and VF-1D Battroids and GPB(Armored) Versions - ARII made it the other way round: VF-1J and -D Fighters and -A and -S Battroids and GPBs so none of them were doubles. I´m not sure if ARII has reissued ALL of them, but since IMAI went out of business, ARII should own all the molds now.

Unfortunately, they did not joint-develop the molds (should have been easy with basically just some changing of head parts) so the ARII ones ended up toy-like and disproportioned while the IMAIs were not bad at all. The IMAI Fighters and Gerwalks are very well made and even have most of the appropriate panel lines, the only drawback being a solid cockpit. The GPBs and Battroids feature slightly stiff looking hands, but otherwise they can be considered real scale models.

If you try to stick to the IMAI-made kits you should actually come up with a pretty decent line-up of Valks. Revell had two-packs of these little kits. You can tell from the box photo if it there are ARIIs or IMAIs inside - maybe they pop up at eBay from time to time. And there are even those little factory kits but afaik they only came with the ARII Valks. BTW, the ARII GPBs and Battroids aren´t THAT bad, it´s more that their fighters and Gerwalks suck big time.

[honneamise]

Or, if you´re looking for a wider variety of types such as FAST pack equipped Valks, Destroids and Zentradi mecha, you could try to get the Nichimo 1/200 kits.

While even smaller, they are all reasonably accurate and you get two per pack. They are usually quite expensive when on eBay etc., but they are re-issued every few years so you should check companies like hlj.com for announcements. Once they are regularly available, they are quite cheap. The only issue I have with them is that they come with stickers and no decals.

Or, as cowie165 pointed out, there are lots of 1/100 on the market and they are not as expensive as the 1/72 kits. Some of them suck, but there are many good ones. You can get every kit with IMAI (or Bandai) on it, ARII has decent transformable Valks, Fighters and Gerwalks(except for their too big hands) - just avoid their Battroids, they are far too bulky. ARIIs Destroids are so-so, the IMAI Tomahawk is far better.

Actually, I think that , unless you want every type in Fighter mode, 1/100 is still a good scale to collect Macross stuff even if there is a 1/72 hype now.

[BushyFromoz]

the decision to buy 1/170 was not really one of them in that scale - i basically did it because i got 5 of them for 20 bucks, and the factories for another 30, and figured for the hell if it im gonna do some study into "Zen and the art of painting, cutting and positioning little things"

The size also means i can take them to work, we get some long breaks between responses, but i am deffinately looking into launching some 1/72 in the near future

Ahhh re-living my childhood...OUTSTANDING!

Thanks for your help!

[BushyFromoz]

I have located some of the HEWAT type models, and i have a question for yall

Do they only come with the strike cannon assembly, or do they have optional parts for having the dual missile packs?

There seems to be some inconsistancies between some of the box art and the instructions - info would be good

Thanks

[honneamise]

Are you referring to the variable 1/100 ARII/Bandai models?

The first release of those was without Fast packs (what they called HEWAT), then they added additional parts for the Super Valk (two launchers, no gun - as seen in the TV series), then added an additional sprue with the DYRL one launcher/one gun version plus more underwing stores. They made the DYRL launchers bigger so you actually get three launch/booster units, two smaller ones ad a bigger one.

If the Strike version is on the box you can be sure to get the Super version as well. Some of the later Bandai reissues show the Super Version on the box but still have the Strike parts added. The only thing you CANNOT build is a standard Valk because the outer legs and also the arms have the FAST pack attachments molded on.

As I said, that applies to the 1/100 variable types. Don´t know about the HEWAT Battroid/Gerwalk/Fighter kits.

[jardann]

I think the 1/170 scale versions only have the strike packs. But, as Honneamise said, the 1/100 scale kits that have the strike cannon should also have the parts to build a super valk with just the normal fast packs. That should go for either the variable or single mode kits.

If you can provide a pic or a link to a pic of what you have found, I'm sure someone could tell you exactly what you'll be getting.

[MechTech]

As somebody who owns a lot of 1/100th stuff, the 1/100 variables with strike cannon on the box come with the strike cannon packs (which are larger and molded in a green color) and slightly smaller standard booster packs. They also come with the box DYRL missile packs and heavy missiles. The kit of course comes with the standard missiles. Honneamise is right. Not bad for the average prices they go for. - MT

[cowie165]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Combat-Robots_W0QQi...1QQcmdZViewItem

Bushy here's some local 1/170

Cheeeeeeap

[Mechleader]

If anyone is looking for some of these. PM me I have some I'll get rid of.

[honneamise]

Haha that´s funny. I´m collecting macross kits since 1983 now and I still didn´t know that there were 1/170 Strike versions at all - that´s why I thought BushyFromoz referred to the 1/100s. Has anyone ever built such a thing?

[honneamise]

Or I could have a look at the models section I´m sure I had seen them before but seem to have lost my memory... too bad when you´re getting old. BTW they don´t look bad.

[MechTech]

Don't tell Bushy I did this, but...

[attachmentid=38218] I combined these parts (HEWAT) 17 years ago or so with the 1/200 basic body!? It was just a TEST, but with new underwing armament, it will rock! The fast pack components (legs not on) are the light green of course. (Ignore the dust). I remembered this years later and bought several from "The Galactic Trade Commision" for more Nichimo upgrades! You can guess on which ship they will be stationed - MT

[Berttt]

Very cool dude. So that is a HEWAT kit fast pack set on a nichimo 1/200 VF?

Nice man, very nice.

[BushyFromoz]

Thanks for the help guys! i am almost in a position to start my little 1/170 diorama, which works well cause i can take the little mechs to work and fill in some of those 12 hr night shifts

Now i need to figure out a layout.......

Edited November 17, 2006 by BushyFromoz

[MechTech]

I really love the fast pack portion of the 1/170 kits, they're perfect for 1/200, but are stretched on the 1/170 bodies.

Hey Bushy, you might want to get some "N" gauge figures to go with your kits. Find a good train shop/hobby store. The ones in the factory sets are actually 1/100 (TOO big). The vehicles are too big, but perfect for 1/100 stuff. - MT

[BushyFromoz]

i know what you mean, i think i can tweak the perception of scale by changing the stance of the figures, seeing as they will all be in battriod mode and make them look a bit more realistic in terms of scale