WIP: miriya's first 1/55 custom ...

[miriya]

So thanks to TheLoneWolf, I got my son his very first Macross Valkyrie, a 1/55 Hikaru VF-1J. He loves it and played with it a ton. However once he saw my collection and my milia valks he said that he wanted his to be red. Well I can not afford a 1/55 milia at this time so I told him I would paint his red. He also wanted a pilot and thanks to Chowser he is getting one.

I am posting progress pics here.

I was lazy and stupid and did not sand it first. I did clean the parts with soap water but still I did get some chipping at first fit test. Jung advised that I sand the friction parts first but I had already painted them and I am too lazy to start over. I used Krylon Fusion rattle can. At this point I am thinking of putting a few coats of Future or of Tamiya Clear Coat and hope that one of those will help prevent further chipping.

Here are the first pics. .. .

[miriya]

Next is making the custom cockpit to fit the 1/60 amputee pilot...

Hollowed out a cockpit piece with a saw and a file. (used a mask after inhaling a bit too much plastic powder)...

[miriya]

Also had to peel off a bit of minmei's back and bottom to fit the canopy. . .

[miriya]

She fits well and I think I will leave the cockpit in this color without any further painting. If I had a clear canopy I would paint it and maybe put some details but... well not sure yet...

[miriya]

By the way. Tips are welcome...

[Skull-1]

I love the red but you gotta' strip the decals and underlying markings before you paint it.

I wanted to do an "Enemy Ace" Valkyrie, painted blood red like the comic character with German markings. Yours is already remarkably close to that!

Also, for a tip... You should:

1) Sand the heck out of everything.

2) Base coat in white (so you can get the white markings to show up--trying to paint white over the red will be really hard.)

[miriya]

I love the red but you gotta' strip the decals and underlying markings before you paint it.

I wanted to do an "Enemy Ace" Valkyrie, painted blood red like the comic character with German markings. Yours is already remarkably close to that!

Also, for a tip... You should:

1) Sand the heck out of everything.

2) Base coat in white (so you can get the white markings to show up--trying to paint white over the red will be really hard.)

Thanks. You are right. When I do my next 1/55 custom I will definitly sand the hell out of everything first, especially the parts that rub like Jung recommended.

For this one I am not going to paint the white stripes because my son wanted it all red with no white.

I actually like the way that the decals or tampo printing whatever are still coming through and the panel lines too. It gives it a certain quality that is cool for this.

My next custom will be turning a jetfire into a zentraedi themed/colored valk that I am calling Kamjin-Hijack. It will be the kind of purpleish zentraedi colors and I will apply the decals from my regult on to is. For that for sure, sanding everything first, then primer coat, then masking and applying paint variations one color at a time. Also I will be experimenting with the takatoys cockpit and puttying it up with the lower half of the short jetfire nosecone. That will be a challenge for sure.

So Skull-1, do you think that the clear coat or the future will help keep this thing from chipping to all hell?

Another thing I was wondering was if I did have to start all over after my son plays with it for a week and it is chipping all over the place, of stripping it down, sanding it to hell and painting it with a heavy enamel automotive engine paint. Is that stupid or just crazy?

[ghostryder]

Another thing I was wondering was if I did have to start all over after my son plays with it for a week and it is chipping all over the place, of stripping it down, sanding it to hell and painting it with a heavy enamel automotive engine paint. Is that stupid or just crazy?

You can get yourself another 1/55 (cheapest used one you can find, maybe a CF) and try the automotive paint after sanding the hell out of it.... or just bite the bullet and get him a old 1/60 v.1 or genuine Millia 1/55 reissue. I mean, the kid only lives once, right? Look what toy depravation did to our generation

[miriya]

You can get yourself another 1/55 (cheapest used one you can find, maybe a CF) and try the automotive paint after sanding the hell out of it.... or just bite the bullet and get him a old 1/60 v.1 or genuine Millia 1/55 reissue. I mean, the kid only lives once, right? Look what toy depravation did to our generation

Damn! you are right. One of the main reasons I am on this forum every freaking day is that my parents did not buy me the SDF-1 when I was watching Robotech as a kid, nor the Takatoku VF-1S Super. Over the years it got so pent up that obession ran wild and my sould was robbed by Yamato Toys. Now I am a living dead toy zombie who eats HLJ boxes for breakfast and sleeps in a pile of packing peanuts and ebay receipts.

But yeah, I may test it on my POS 1/55 KO. If Bandai reissues Milia in this run then it will be half what it would be on ebay at this moment. Plus it is fun. My son was so impressed when I took the thing apart and then again when he saw all the bits painted. Got to love the awe in a 3 & 1/2 year olds eyes!

[mojacko]

love the wip....thats the problem i had when i customized my chunk...i was too frickin lazy to sand the hell out of it.....and when i was finished painting & putting top coats....i immediately transform it.....thats why paint sratches was all over.....darn!!! lesson to be learned....!!!

[misterryno]

So thanks to TheLoneWolf, I got my son his very first Macross Valkyrie, a 1/55 Hikaru VF-1J. He loves it and played with it a ton. However once he saw my collection and my milia valks he said that he wanted his to be red. Well I can not afford a 1/55 milia at this time so I told him I would paint his red. He also wanted a pilot and thanks to Chowser he is getting one.

I am posting progress pics here.

I was lazy and stupid and did not sand it first. I did clean the parts with soap water but still I did get some chipping at first fit test. Jung advised that I sand the friction parts first but I had already painted them and I am too lazy to start over. I used Krylon Fusion rattle can. At this point I am thinking of putting a few coats of Future or of Tamiya Clear Coat and hope that one of those will help prevent further chipping.

Here are the first pics. .. .

Hey my man....there's a first for EVERYTHING! I think you are doing a WONDERFUL job and it will turn out great! You can only learn from here brother.

[miriya]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

[Valkyrie addict]

wow, looks very good, very clean! hehehe, who cares if you didn't primed or removed the previews paint, you can use this now as markers to repaint each one the proper color now

your kid is very lucky!!! SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHH!!!!!!! BRMMM....PRUTUTUTUTUTUT KABOOM!!! SWWOOOOOOOOSHHH!!!

[ron5864]

Your son is really lucky to have a 1/55 valk.

I think I got wood blocks to play with at that age.

[misterryno]

I think I got wood blocks to play with at that age.

Tell me about it.....I can't even say I remember having toys at that age.....just kidding....I just don't know what they were.

[miriya]

He is a lucky guy. He can almost transform it by himslef.

he asks me, "dada can you transform him in gerkwalk mode?"

and then he makes up his own modes, "wow, dada, look at this mode!"

When we got the amputee pilots in the mail I showed them to him and asked if he know their names and he said,

"That one is Karu Chijo" and I was blown away! Of course he heard me trying to properly pronounce Hikaru Ichijo previously when I told him who piloted his VF-1J. Then I told him that the othe one was lynn minmei and he liked her better because she had an orange flightsuit.

He also knows that my 1/55 valk is called cannon fodder and he calls it that. "Dada, is cannon fodder a good guy?" and of course he knows what boobie ducks are.

I offered to show him episode one of SDFM the other day but he said that he wanted to wait until he was a big boy.

By the time he is 6 years old he will probably be a new edwards test pilot!

[ghostryder]

"That one is Karu Chijo"

that's too cute

[TheLoneWolf]

What a great use for the old v1 1/60 pilots! They look like they're in scale too!

I like how the tampo markings are just peering through the red paint, it's a pretty cool effect. Keep us updated on your progress.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Looking pretty cool!!! You got some good vision there! I might have to try the same thing if they bring out the VT-1 chunky, of course the 1D will be good for it.

Edited August 7, 2008 by ruskiiVFaussie

[mojacko]

indeed....this hobby brings out the kid in us!!! and the father in us too......

Edited August 7, 2008 by mojacko

[miriya]

Two coats of Future, dipped. . .

[miriya]

I have started putting it back together. I will post the pics when it is finished.

I am still quite a noob in this hobby but learned a lot with this, , , not to get into this hobby! Just kidding. But it is difficult and frustrating as well as fun and exciting. Now that I have done my first 1/55 custom and my first resin kit Link I am starting to get the hang of it and and what not to do. Hopefully when I get around to my SD YF-19 and SD YF-21 kits I will have better skills from all of these beginnings.

Also I have to thank all the great people here on the forums for giving so much great advice. You know who you are (especially if I keep sending you PMs asking for help).

More later.....

[renkenjutsu]

Looking good and shiny there

[big F]

Welcome to the slippery and shiny slope of 1/55 moddin.

There are tones of Jetfires poping up on eBay all the time usualy very cheap. I bought up loads a couple of years agao and now have made up several with all my spares and still have enough for a few more. I'd use these first to save waisting good Valks. Nothing like a Yellowed Jetfire with a nice new coat of paint.

Also the $5 cheap boots are good for kid customs as they are light and car paint adheres well to them. As far as spares and FP set etc go you can get them here from SilverDragon, just Pm him.

[miriya]

Thanks big F

[miriya]

Thanks.

[Valkyrie addict]

uhhhhh....shiiiiiiiiny...hehe, looks great Miriya

[miriya]

Thanks.

I have started to put it together and it does look cool. I will post the completed one as soon as I can. But it is starting to chip and scratch. It will be fun to take before and after pics from before I give it to my son and after he plays with it for a month.

[big F]

Thanks.

I have started to put it together and it does look cool. I will post the completed one as soon as I can. But it is starting to chip and scratch. It will be fun to take before and after pics from before I give it to my son and after he plays with it for a month.

I chipped my Miria just putting it back together

[miriya]

I chipped my Miria just putting it back together

I just found that putting it back together I am chipping the hell out of it! The first parts I was doing well but the arm parts with the springs in the shoulder? Ahhhhh!

[misterryno]

I just found that putting it back together I am chipping the hell out of it! The first parts I was doing well but the arm parts with the springs in the shoulder? Ahhhhh!

I know what you mean. I had some of the same chipping with the Stealth I made. It pissed me off to all hell .

[miriya]

I know what you mean. I had some of the same chipping with the Stealth I made. It pissed me off to all hell .

In doing this project I am constantly wondering what kind of paint the toy companies use that sticks so well after years of use? Is is some industrial poo that only toy manufacturers can get?

[Valkyrie addict]

yeah, I hate chipping too, no matter how many clear coats you use, something always chips, what I hate the most is the chipping that happens when you're masking and when you take the mask off a big chunk comes with it no matter how careful you are...maybe Graham could give us some insight as to what paint Yamato uses on their toys...

Edited August 13, 2008 by Valkyrie addict

[Skull-1]

Chipping is a *FACT* of life.

What you have to do is as I did..........

I find a bottle paint that is a close match to my spray can base coat and use that with a brush for touch ups. I have a file on the computer for each Valk that shows what colors I used.

Places where they rub even with lots of sanding are best hit with a quick dab of flat paint that closely mimicks what you used to spray it with.

Eventually you won't have to touch it up any more. The movement will wear it down to the point that paint stops flaking.

Just take good notes.

Sanding is your friend though. Truly.

[big F]

Chipping is a *FACT* of life.

What you have to do is as I did..........

I find a bottle paint that is a close match to my spray can base coat and use that with a brush for touch ups. I have a file on the computer for each Valk that shows what colors I used.

Places where they rub even with lots of sanding are best hit with a quick dab of flat paint that closely mimicks what you used to spray it with.

Eventually you won't have to touch it up any more. The movement will wear it down to the point that paint stops flaking.

Just take good notes.

Sanding is your friend though. Truly.

To add to what Skull says

You can with some types of rattle can decant the paint and add the right type of thinners too it and stor it like mormal modell paint, that way you can get the exact match. You may have to experiment with thiners etc as not all manufacturers are forth comming with the relevant info on the can or web etc. But if you get it right its a great option.