First custom, 1/48 Yamato Valkyrie VF-1

[MacrossA]

Hello,

I am new here and this is my first post, so please be kind.

I am in the process of customizing my first Valkyrie (a VF-1a to a VF-1S) and I have a few basic questions on trouble spots I have noticed while tinkering.

Disassembly?

While taking it apart seems relatively easy, I can't find the screws to undo the lower legs from the knees. I know there's got to be a way but I don't want to break it. Is there a panel or something I can pop off to expose the screw? Also, I want to tighten the left knew which seems a but loose and I am positive I can tighten it once it is taken apart.

Paint stripping?

I read in an earlier post that brake fluid works so I dropped my extra blast cover in a bottle and soaked it.. almost 36 hours later and some toothbrushing has cleaned up most of it, but the clear plastic is now foggy. Is that residue, or chemical reaction to the fluid? Also, I have access to a plastic sand blaster from an aerospace company i used to work at. Wil that destroy the plastic or just dull it and clean it a bit?

Repaint?

For the most part I have decided to use Fusion, but they are limited and dont have the colors to match the intakes. Any suggestion on what paint to use there?

Decals?

I want to do a fairly quality job and don't really like the default yamato stickers much, are there any decals I can get that will look better?

Extra parts?

I have seen a custom with solid hands that hold weapons better and was looking into getting them.

Extras?

This one is just a crazy notion, but has anyone put any working lights in a Valkyrie, maybe an LCD in th head? Think that will look okay?

I'm new hear and may have missed a few threads, but I wil appreciate any and all help I can get. I will be posting pics soon.

OH yeah, before I forget:

I have a Low Viz Urban Body Armor Parts that I want to sell or trade out even for Strike Armor and possibly a stand. The Body Armor Parts has no box, but has the instructions for the decals and an unused label sheet.

Anyone interested, please hit me up.

Thanks!

MacrossA

Edited February 2, 2008 by MacrossA

[winterdyne]

The lower leg screws are hidden behind verniers at the top, and behind the 'grid like' piece at the bottom, both on the inside. Be careful prising these out, it's easy to scratch the surrounding area.

Sounds like the plastic may have reacted to the brake fluid. You'll probably have to repaint it on both sides.

Decals - not sure who's printing these at the moment. I'm looking into getting started up, but it's expensive to buy the kit.

Extra parts - should have come with your valk and armour. Unless you mean the small folding hands, which can be tightened up with nail varnish.

[MacrossA]

The hands I saw were solid, didn't collapse, and the guns held tight in their grip.

Also, will regular blue painters masking tape be appropriate for prepping the Valk?

Edited February 5, 2008 by MacrossA

[winterdyne]

For masking, go with tamiya tape. It's very good at not lifting the painted surface you put it on, and it allows very little creep under it if applied properly. Regular DIY masking tape is ok for larger areas / attaching paper masks, but don't apply it directly to your work. Pay the extra for the proper tools and materials, it's worth it.

[miriya]

The hands I saw were solid, didn't collapse, and the guns held tight in their grip.

Also, will regular blue painters masking tape be appropriate for prepping the Valk?

Sounds like you are talking about the TV "Cartoon" hands as opposed to the DYRL "Chicken" hands. The DYRL releases dont come with the TV hands. The TV releases are the VF-1J (Hikaru, Max, Milia) and I think the cannon fodder and stealth.

[MacrossA]

Here are the before pics. Note that the Blasy shield is missing as it's been sitting in brake fluid for almost 2 weeks.

Good news: it removes the paint and doesn't seem to harm the plastic.

Bad news: It takes about two weeks to finish.

Anyway, I have since learned to take apart the Valk and don't know if I'll post the until I start painting.

Anyone know where I can find the proper high grade sand paper for this project?

Thanks!

I will take any suggestions and advice anyone has to offer here.

Edited February 12, 2008 by MacrossA

[jenius]

DND made some TV-1A valks out of Hikaru 1Js. He made a thread about stripping the paint and how easy his method was. You should definitely search for it. You'll probably find it by just looking for threads created by Do Not Disturb.

[winterdyne]

Car shops are good for sandpaper. My local one (in addition to primer etc) sell 320, 400, 600 and 1200 grit paper to me quite regularly.

[MacrossA]

DnD has a lot of posts. I did find one where he stripped the paint with Brasso and steel wool. I think I'll give that a shot.

However, I think I will still do a quick sand blast over the whole outer shell of the Valkerie and make it all even. I just hope the blast won't eat up the plastic. It looks like my only Gundam Model might go on it's last mission.

I have all my paints and I didn't find Tamiya tape, I found Pactra tape, hopefully it works well. I think I will start painting it before the head arrives and get some real work on this puppy done!

I think that it is the TV hands that I saw. Is it available only through Yamato or is there somewhere else I can get them?

Edited February 14, 2008 by MacrossA

[Wicked Ace]

DnD has a lot of posts. I did find one where he stripped the paint with Brasso and steel wool. I think I'll give that a shot.

However, I think I will still do a quick sand blast over the whole outer shell of the Valkerie and make it all even. I just hope the blast won't eat up the plastic. It looks like my only Gundam Model might go on it's last mission.

I have all my paints and I didn't find Tamiya tape, I found Pactra tape, hopefully it works well. I think I will start painting it before the head arrives and get some real work on this puppy done!

I think that it is the TV hands that I saw. Is it available only through Yamato or is there somewhere else I can get them?

Chameleon paint remover is what do not disturb likes better than Brasso. I hope you are kidding about the sandblaster.

Paint stripping advice thread

[MacrossA]

Actually, I wasn't. I used to work for an aerospace company that manufactured plastic parts and they had a sandblaster designed for plastic. I have used it before for other projects, but oddly enough never a toy. However, I am not too attached to my Gundam and was going to throw that in the fray. If it doesn't make it out in one piece maybe i'll customize it under 'sever battle damage'

Googling Chameleon paint remover now....

Chameleon paint remover is what do not disturb likes better than Brasso. I hope you are kidding about the sandblaster.

Paint stripping advice thread

[MacrossA]

BAD NEWS: Turns out, Brake Fluid actually DOES eat plastic. Blast Shield No MORE!!

I was going to take a picture but it was just too tragic.

Good News: I ordered a 2nd Blast shield with the 1S head, so I took the risk on the Brake Fluid.

Also, one of the wheels on the rear landing gear fell off, I put it back in and it just falls off again. Anyone know how to repair that?

Edited February 14, 2008 by MacrossA

[ZedzDead]

to remove paint apps, i use OOPS, fast and easy. zedz

[miriya]

to remove paint apps, i use OOPS, fast and easy. zedz

Will that work on Vinyl and PVC too?

[ZedzDead]

Will that work on Vinyl and PVC too?

i used it on every type of plastic. yes it works. and i refuse to soak anything in any type of solvent, ever. just a little elbow grease and OOPS does the trick. find it at most retailers. ask for it by name in your local supermarket. i approve this msg. zedz

[MacrossA]

It was a lesson learned. Good thing it didn't cost me much, but now I have Brasso! And 1250 grit sandpaper...

Anyone know how to fix Landing gear when the wheels fall off?

[winterdyne]

A photo of the damage would be good. Has the peg/axle fallen out or is it just loose?

[MacrossA]

Nothing looks broken, the wheel just falls off.

Also, having trouble removing the amber lenses on the shoulders of the Valkyrie, any tips?

[winterdyne]

Nothing looks broken, the wheel just falls off.

Also, having trouble removing the amber lenses on the shoulders of the Valkyrie, any tips?

I didn't remove those - just masked them, on my hikky 1j they were glued in good. :-) Same for the wing lights and visor/eyepiece and the red light on the gunpod.

The rear wheels look to be attached by a flared tubular axle. This is basically a thin tube glued into the gear leg, passed through the wheel and then flared with a punch. Sounds very much like you either need to re-punch the axle (to flare it out so the wheel doesn't fall off). If the axle doesn't protude enough through the wheel, you'll need to make a new one - many options you could go for. Personally I'd probably look for a very small, flat headed brass rivet, drill into the gear leg and epoxy it in.

Note that when punching a tubular axle, you need to use a round punch and knock as in line as you can to the centreline of the axle, or it'll flare to one side and look wrong (and be impossible to correct).

[MacrossA]

Using a punch was my first thought as well. Hopefully, I won't have any trouble.

Masking will be a pain on all the lenses.

With painting the chestplate, should I remove the airbrake and paint it separately or mask it place?

[winterdyne]

I took it off and put it back on several times - off to paint under it, on to preshade the top surface of the valk etc etc. It goes on and comes off easy.

[MacrossA]

Finally!

I got my parts (VF-1S head, hands and a new blast shield). I waited for the parts to come in so I can do the project in one shot undisturbed, I stripped most of the old paint and prepped it all for painting and decided on a design scheme. However, I don't know how to take apart the VF-1S Head... Any tips out there?

[do not disturb]

Using a punch was my first thought as well. Hopefully, I won't have any trouble.

Masking will be a pain on all the lenses.

With painting the chestplate, should I remove the airbrake and paint it separately or mask it place?

mask it in place. you have to break it to remove it(or dissolve the glue thats holding that part down).

its just easier to mask it down and it guarantees the back/yellow lines will be straight.

[do not disturb]

However, I don't know how to take apart the VF-1S Head... Any tips out there?

there is no good way to do it. its pretty much glued together which means you gotta pry it open and hope you don't jack it up too much in the process. you can always fix it with putty, sanding, and painting but matching white paint is probably harder than matching any other paint color out there.

i'm not sure why exact you need to take the head apart at all considering all the S heads are pretty much the same outside of the little arrows on the side of the head and the tiny dot on the forehead.

if you want to paint it just paint it assembled, it'll save you a lot of time and hassle.

[MacrossA]

I wanted to remove the lense and either paint it or replace it with a different color also, I wanted to paint extra details along the neck and the side cannons and figured that taking it apart would be my best option. I am back to sanding and prepping all the other parts , but I was going to paint the entire Valkyrie, what I can efficiently not paint for contrast or just because it won't be seen I will discover as I go along... So I will pry the head open.... wish me luck.

[nightmareB4macross]

I wanted to remove the lense and either paint it or replace it with a different color also, I wanted to paint extra details along the neck and the side cannons and figured that taking it apart would be my best option. I am back to sanding and prepping all the other parts , but I was going to paint the entire Valkyrie, what I can efficiently not paint for contrast or just because it won't be seen I will discover as I go along... So I will pry the head open.... wish me luck.

The head split down the middle and then the lens will pop out. Keep your eye ono the eye. Next, remove the headlasers held in place with screws. The neck is self explanitory.

Use a very sharp exacto to split it open. Go slow and steady. Just be very careful and have bandages handy.

Good Luck.

[Hiriyu]

Have you fixed your landing gear problem yet? I think I still have an extra left/rear unit around if you need one.

[MacrossA]

Hey all!

I haven't logged on in a while havve been quite busy with a lot of different things but I did get a lot of work done on my Valkyrie.

I still do need to fix the landing gear and can use the spare (Thanks for offering Hiriyu PM me) , I will still use the punch and hopefully I won't hurt the piece further.

I did remove all the lenses including the wings (which actually snapped off, but they will be glued back after painting.)

I decided however to do a Jetfire. I have my Skull 1 and all the Macross Valkyries I'd want to make are available to buy. So, a Masterpiece Jetfire seemed ideal for me.

I did split the head, painted the neck and and then sanded down the seems from the glue. I did not screw the cannons back on the head instead I used a thread tape on it.

I used the classic paint scheme fromt he toy and am only deviating slightly due to the differences in the bodies between the old chunky Jetfire and the newer Yamato

I have been using Fusion and the onloy real problems I have incurred have been overspraying and some paint chipping and scratching here and there. For my first project I think it's coming up aces.

I also gave Jetfire a black interior (not photographed)

Here are some pics of the work in progress.

[cube]

hey, lookin good. the paint is a nice match

[MacrossA]

It's been a while... My Jetfire is almost done. I even got the armor now. I think i overpainted as transforming it scratches parts, especially the turrets on the head. Also, I did not screw the head turrets on and am looking for a way to make them feel snug.. lock tite or rubber cement?

Also, looking for Autobot symbols I will probably settle for reprolabels but really want Takara Re-issues.. I just cant find them in the clear.

New pics will follow soon....

[MacrossA]

Well, after such a long hiatus, I finished painting my Jetfire. However, I am now missing some parts, mainly I am missing a set of 1/48 hands and one of the lenses on the knees, aside from that, I think it looks pretty good.

[MacrossA]

All done. I custom made red lenses for is legs, applied an Autobot symbol and then shot him up with clear coat. Sadly, It will still be very vulnerable to scratching and scuffing, but he looks great! What do you all think? I put him up against the original toy and box art which I used as a model.

[Jasonc]

Seems like the project is coming along very nicely. Awesome work. As a paint remover, I use regular pinesol. Takes several hours, but I've never had a problem with it and the plastic. I'm sure if you soaked it for too long it may do something, but at just a couple hours a pop, there's no damage.

[miriya]

Great custom work! It turned out very nice!