Bandai 1/48 Scale Macross Frontier Model Kit Thread

[cobywan]

Again the Hardgraph line of Bandai kits shows they have the know how to do Hardcore model kits that need glue and putty. I'm hoping the new kit is a static model that can go to town with detail with no regard to structural integrity of the item. I say this because I want to see Cheng go to town on it.

[SVF-Gerwalk]

I totally agree with the Captain, Hasegawa makes true model kits for true modellers. You cannot complete a Hasegawa kit without a tube of putty, model cement glue and paint to get a halfway decent finish.

BanDai, on the other hand, though also a very respective model kit producer, makes kit more of a toy nature. Their pre colour molding, no glue snap fit finish and hidden sprue points make them well loved by less skilled modellers and enjoyed by toy buyers.

Lol really ?

Hasegawa makes kits only for top modelers, but Bandai make kits to a wide audience, amateurs, toy builders and "true" modelers, becouse the fact that the kit is coming with pre coloured parts, no glue and hidden sprue points, not prevents you to use paint, glue and others things.

When Hasegawa makes a true model kit of Valkyrie, that mean fully transformation and not an empty shell, is when I´ll run to buy lots of them, while, Bandai is the only option.

[cobywan]

Lol really ?

Hasegawa makes kits only for top modelers, but Bandai make kits to a wide audience, amateurs, toy builders and "true" modelers, becouse the fact that the kit is coming with pre coloured parts, no glue and hidden sprue points, not prevents you to use paint, glue and others things.

When Hasegawa makes a true model kit of Valkyrie, that mean fully transformation and not an empty shell, is when I´ll run to buy lots of them, while, Bandai is the only option.

The definition of a model is basically "Something that represnts something else." That includes drawings and mathematical furmulae. (Spelling?)

[Excillon]

If you look at the defination of model, it's basically a display. And since both can be "displayed" rather well, then I would say that they are both indeed models, different TYPES of models, but both models. That's the only point I've been trying to stress here, although I have enjoyed the debating. See, I look at it simply like this: Both are chunks of plastic made from smaller chunks of plastic, and I've seen some incredible Hasegawa/Fine molds/Resin/even older kits like Imai built up to inspiring and awesome proportions. Builders like Wm Cheng, Captain America, Rockhound, and PetarB are a continuing inspiration for me personally to keep building. When I started Hasegawa, my first build was a VF-1J Super Battroid Hikaru. I trashed that kit 3 times stripping paint before I got a satisfying paint job. Now, about 12 kits later, I'm working on a VF-0A Reactive armor Battroid (the 0S kit with an extra 0A head I had). I can also say the same of Bandai kits. I've seen some incredible builds of them as well, painted, modified, all the same things you see done on Hasegawa kits. I even started using some "real" model techniques on my HGUC kits I occasionally build. The point is as I stated before, it's not the kit, or even type of kit, it's the builder entirely. Some may just slam build gundams, others may do more to them. You can't really judge the kit, you have to judge the build. I mean, the old 1/48 Legioss kits suck, but I've seen some people do great things to them.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Oi, vei! So, now you're going to bash me for taking less than a few hours to build a MG?

I didn't mention I wasn't working straight through those 4 days. I have a goddamned life you know! And don't you dare insult my cousin. I'M the one who took 4 days. HE can get one in a few hours. I have only been Gunpla'ing since last March, pardon me if I'm not a pro yet. I only own 4 kits; the MG I built was one of my cousin's (Logan's pretty cool. He let me build an old MG of his).

Now, I can knock down a HG in about 2 hours at most. If I work straight through it, I can probably get a MG down in about 6.

A PG is one of those you shouldn't rush. So many small parts. If I tried to rush, I'd lose half of them. Further, my desk is a small one, which inhibits my ability to model quickly.

Now, back on track!

Display Modellers, be happy. You don't HAVE to transform it. If you want it PERFECT, wait for the damned Hase!

Poseable Modellers, be happy. IT'S GOING TO BE VARIABLE; THAT'S WHERE THE MONEY IS. Besides, has Bandai done anything remotely this scale that DOESN'T Roboticize?

[505thAirborne]

Are there any pictures due to come out ( Say in a magazine..) so we can see what this 1/48 actually looks like painted, detailed, etc?

Edited May 29, 2009 by 505thAirborne

[SchizophrenicMC]

Are there any pictures due to come out ( Say in a magazine..) so we can see what this 1/48 actually looks like painted, detailed, etc?

It just got announced. There's NOTHING yet.

[Jinnai]

It just got announced. There's NOTHING yet.

Actually, it was just on display. There's no official release announcement regarding this prototype whatsoever.

Bandai has a nasty habit of revealing display pieces, the internet works itself into a frenzy wanting to know about it, and they end up never releasing.

[electric indigo]

I doubt that the 1/48 VF-25 will disappear like the MG "The O", especially since Bandai staff talked about it in a Magazine before the Shizuoka show.

[505thAirborne]

It just got announced. There's NOTHING yet.

Thanks dude!!

[SchizophrenicMC]

Thanks dude!!

Don't get me wrong, I WISH there was SOMETHING, but there ISN'T.

Now, we play the waiting game.

[505thAirborne]

Don't get me wrong, I WISH there was SOMETHING, but there ISN'T.

Now, we play the waiting game.

No worries, I guess I'm like most and want to see what details this 1/48 has on it!!

[SchizophrenicMC]

No worries, I guess I'm like most and want to see what details this 1/48 has on it!!

I LOVE large-scale models.

Moar detail and better joints. OH, PLEASE, MAKE IT A PG!

[505thAirborne]

Would be nice. I like 1/72 kits as they you can display more on a shelf, but thats about it. All of my US Navy & Airforce Fighters are all 1/48, the amount of detail provided is just bananas full of fun.

In the early-late 90's or so I had over 40 some Gundam and a handful of the Mac II kits, loved them. I hope this new 1/48 is a PG & gets me back into building them!!

[eyesonme78]

Any new updates??

[Graham]

Unfortunately, no new news or pics in the new August issues of Hobby Japan Magazine and Dengeki Hobby Magazine, that were released on 25th June.

Hopefully, we'll get some news in the next issues, out on 25th July.

Graham

[Zinjo]

Lol really ?

Hasegawa makes kits only for top modelers, but Bandai make kits to a wide audience, amateurs, toy builders and "true" modelers, becouse the fact that the kit is coming with pre coloured parts, no glue and hidden sprue points, not prevents you to use paint, glue and others things.

When Hasegawa makes a true model kit of Valkyrie, that mean fully transformation and not an empty shell, is when I´ll run to buy lots of them, while, Bandai is the only option.

Respectfully, if you want a transforming Valk, buy the toy...

It will hold up much longer than a transforming kit.

Kits by their very nature are meant to be displayed.

However, Bandai makes outstanding entry level kits.

I've never seen the need to have a transforming static kit in the age of transforming toys with a quality never before seen, but that's just me...

[SchizophrenicMC]

Unfortunately, no new news or pics in the new August issues of Hobby Japan Magazine and Dengeki Hobby Magazine, that were released on 25th June.

Hopefully, we'll get some news in the next issues, out on 25th July.

Graham

25th July? Please! Please! That'd be a GREAT birthday present!

EDIT: Just to clarify, I meant news would be a great present. Don't want anyone thinking I'm dumb enough to misinterpret that. (It's happened before)

Edited July 1, 2009 by SchizophrenicMC

[SVF-Gerwalk]

Respectfully, if you want a transforming Valk, buy the toy...

It will hold up much longer than a transforming kit.

Kits by their very nature are meant to be displayed.

However, Bandai makes outstanding entry level kits.

I've never seen the need to have a transforming static kit in the age of transforming toys with a quality never before seen, but that's just me...

Is not just you, there to many old school builders that consider Bandai kits for kids or entry levels, with that demonic transformation, but as soon you consider the kit only for entry levels soon you are excluding your self to do a properly build trapped on old methods.

You can do excelent models with Bandai kits, all depend of the effort that you put in, and is a true challenge make the kits with transformation, a plus that you can face or not and only experts can sucess.

I dont want a toy, and hell I don´t want a model of plane mode, I want a Valkirie kit, that is not other thing that a variable fighter.

[Zinjo]

Is not just you, there to many old school builders that consider Bandai kits for kids or entry levels, with that demonic transformation, but as soon you consider the kit only for entry levels soon you are excluding your self to do a properly build trapped on old methods.

You can do excelent models with Bandai kits, all depend of the effort that you put in, and is a true challenge make the kits with transformation, a plus that you can face or not and only experts can sucess.

I dont want a toy, and hell I don´t want a model of plane mode, I want a Valkirie kit, that is not other thing that a variable fighter.

With Bandai it typically depends on the "level" of kit purchased. "Perfect Grade" kits are about as advanced as you can get with mass produced Mecha models. Unfortunately you only see those in the Gundam lines, not any other.

If you want a variable fighter kit, that's fine. I would rather have the toys to pose and transform and the static kits to build.

The amount of cost to produce a transforming model kit is always added to the final cost. This is why you can get a Hasegawa Valk for nearly half the cost of a Bandai transforming variable fighter.

Granted Hasegawa has been selling kits in North America for decade now, while Bandai America has only really been actively marketing kits in North America for the past 15 years or so and that has mainly been of their flagship line, MS Gundam. Hasegawa understands our market and they produce a high quality kit for the most economical price by selling fighter and battroid kits as separate units ( I don't think any kit manufacturer has made a GERWALK kit since the 80's!). This reduces the costs of the kits to the consumer and thus, they sell more.

I owned a few Bandai transforming kits in my time and both the VF-1 and the VF-2SS kits were awful. They transformed, but the parts never fit right and they looked odd in all modes. The VF-25 is a substantial improvement, but allowances had to be made to accomodate the transformation they devised for it. Thus, the kit still doesn't look line art perfect.

Now if you want a transforming Valk because the DX toys are so expensive (because they are), I can respect that and don't begrudge you for doing it. However, we must keep in mind that with a high quality toy like the DX, the Japanese market will pay more for that quality, unlike North Americans. Now a transforming VF-25 kit is an economical substitute to the DX toy, but certain allowances still have to be made for sake of transforming a 1/72 scale kit.

Hasegawa doesn't have this issue since no allowances to the look of the kits need to be made and therefore they look line art perfect (well as close as possible anyway) as either fighters or battroids. This type of quality coupled with affordable kit prices is how Hasegawa has been making money on the Macross franchise for the past 25 years. Bandai has been doing the same with the Gundam kits, however when faced with any transforming mecha, it appears they feel compelled to make it transform as well (this has always been their way.... )

Maybe we'll get lucky and the 1/48 scale VF-25 will be a "Perfect Grade" kit with a perfect transformation. I'd be willing to buy that for sure.

Edited July 1, 2009 by Zinjo

[anime52k8]

Respectfully, if you want a transforming Valk, buy the toy...

but the Toys bandai is offering now are sh*t. I would rather buy a toy than something I have to build myself but I'm not going to buy something that's all chunky and clunky.

If bandai had a toy that was larg scale, PT, and was as good looking and acurate as possible while still being strong enough to survive light handling (i.e. like Yamato's recent efforts) that would be great, but since they don't make that, this latest kit turning out to be a variable PG model is the next best thing.

Maybe we'll get lucky and the 1/48 scale VF-25 will be a "Perfect Grade" kit with a perfect transformation. I'd be willing to buy that for sure.

now this sounds more like it.

[Cent]

but the Toys bandai is offering now are sh*t.

Man. Sounds like you'd be castrated in the DX thread right about now.

[Graham]

This type of quality coupled with affordable kit prices is how Hasegawa has been making money on the Macross franchise for the past 25 years.

Just to clarify, Hasegawa have only been making Macross kits since the year 2000, not for 25 years.

Graham

[SchizophrenicMC]

I'd like to point some things out about this post:

With Bandai it typically depends on the "level" of kit purchased. "Perfect Grade" kits are about as advanced as you can get with mass produced Mecha models. Unfortunately you only see those in the Gundam lines, not any other.

If I'm not mistaken, and it's been pointed out to me, as well, the Eva Unit 01 was the first PG.

If you want a variable fighter kit, that's fine. I would rather have the toys to pose and transform and the static kits to build.

Well, it's not a static kit. And, much as I like a nice, crisp Revell or the like, the novelty wears off, and you find out you have lead poisoning from using cheap paint, and... Well, in my experience, it's not necessarily worth the blood, sweat, and tears all the time.

The amount of cost to produce a transforming model kit is always added to the final cost. This is why you can get a Hasegawa Valk for nearly half the cost of a Bandai transforming variable fighter.

But the cost of production is quickly recouped, because as much as it costs to develop, actual production is not that much more expensive than a Hase at the same scale. A bit more plastic, yeah, but the molds last just as long. And, since there are still non-static Bandai models in production, it can't be losing them money, now can it?

Granted Hasegawa has been selling kits in North America for decade now, while Bandai America has only really been actively marketing kits in North America for the past 15 years or so and that has mainly been of their flagship line, MS Gundam.

A decade is more than 15 years? When was this?

Also, you can't blame a company for selling what sells best for them. Or for not having rights to sell Macross goods in America.

Hasegawa understands our market and they produce a high quality kit for the most economical price by selling fighter and battroid kits as separate units ( I don't think any kit manufacturer has made a GERWALK kit since the 80's!). This reduces the costs of the kits to the consumer and thus, they sell more.

And yet I see WAY more Revell sales than Hase sales at all the local hobby shops. I mean, obviously, there are no valk kits, but for the IRL planes...

I owned a few Bandai transforming kits in my time and both the VF-1 and the VF-2SS kits were awful. They transformed, but the parts never fit right and they looked odd in all modes. The VF-25 is a substantial improvement, but allowances had to be made to accomodate the transformation they devised for it. Thus, the kit still doesn't look line art perfect.

And the Hases don't, and the IRL planes aren't schematic perfect. You can't compare a 1990s transforming kit to one now. You can't compare a 1990s transforming anything to one now. It's like saying the 1/55 is not as good as the v.2 1/60. Sure, yeah, but a lot of time has passed and a lot of stuff has changed.

Now if you want a transforming Valk because the DX toys are so expensive (because they are), I can respect that and don't begrudge you for doing it. However, we must keep in mind that with a high quality toy like the DX, the Japanese market will pay more for that quality, unlike North Americans. Now a transforming VF-25 kit is an economical substitute to the DX toy, but certain allowances still have to be made for sake of transforming a 1/72 scale kit.

This isn't about the 1/72 kit. And, so far, every 1/72 transforming valk has sucked, right? It's a bad scale, it seems, for them.

And the bigger a kit is, (1/48 vs 1/72) the better it's bound to look. Joints can be made comparatively smaller (See a 1/60 VF-11 and compare it to a 1/72 VF-11), more detail can be fit into the space allotted, and the more of a presence it'll have in a display. My friend has a 1/48 B-1B as the centerpiece of his models, and it stands out much more than all the 1/72 models he has.

Hasegawa doesn't have this issue since no allowances to the look of the kits need to be made and therefore they look line art perfect (well as close as possible anyway) as either fighters or battroids. This type of quality coupled with affordable kit prices is how Hasegawa has been making money on the Macross franchise for the past 25 years. Bandai has been doing the same with the Gundam kits, however when faced with any transforming mecha, it appears they feel compelled to make it transform as well (this has always been their way.... )

I know they haven't been in the business of Macross for 25 years. They're not lineart perfect. Affordable is not a term I'd necessarily consider, in this case, considering a 1/72 Hase 0D sells for $30 US (Roughly) and a VF-25 PT, in the same scale, sells for $45 US (Roughly). Given, the -25 isn't perfect, but I like a mecha kit I can actually... You know... Mecha-nerd with more than I like a static kit. I could get a Dassault Mirage kit and bash it with an F-14, and get a... Well, it's not really the best comparison, but you know what I mean!

Maybe we'll get lucky and the 1/48 scale VF-25 will be a "Perfect Grade" kit with a perfect transformation. I'd be willing to buy that for sure.

The only line I actually agree with.

Please! Make it a PTPG!

[badboy00z]

I personally want this to be as anime accurate as possible. It doesn't matter if it has a bunch of gimmicks/ frame as your traditional PG if the thing looks like the DX. I do have high hopes for this since it's a model and they did the 1/72 right.

[sev]

So, how tall would this thing be in Battroid mode? I hope it's a PG with no painting required.

[SchizophrenicMC]

So, how tall would this thing be in Battroid mode? I hope it's a PG with no painting required.

Like 15 inches tall.

[shiroikaze]

Like 15 inches tall.

I never really gave it that much thought but... damn, that's a monster.

[Kremmen]

Oh please, please, please let it be a fighter-only non-transforming non-toy. I'd buy it then.

Edited July 12, 2009 by Kremmen

[SchizophrenicMC]

I never really gave it that much thought but... damn, that's a monster.

Don't even get me started on the Monster.

(As a side note, in 1/48 scale, a Monster destroid would be 19 inches tall)

[HWR MKII]

Don't even get me started on the Monster.

(As a side note, in 1/48 scale, a Monster destroid would be 19 inches tall)

Oh it would be bigger than that. My 1/72 monster is already over a foot at its tallest main body point.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Oh it would be bigger than that. My 1/72 monster is already over a foot at its tallest main body point.

Well, according to the compendium, at its tallest point, the HWR-00 Mk II Monster is 22.46m in height. That point is the highest point of the middle gunbarrels.

22.46 * 100 to get the height in centimeters

2246 / 2.5 to get the rough height in inches

898.4 / 48 = 18.7166666667

Thus, in inches, a 1/48 Monster destroid is just under 19 inches tall.

In length, from back to gunbarrel, it's 41m tall, therefore a bit more than 31 inches long.

At 1/72, the Monster is 12.477777777778 inches tall.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

How tall/long would the VF-25 be in battroid/fighter modes in 1/48 scale?

[Clay Cliff]

How tall/long would the VF-25 be in battroid/fighter modes in 1/48 scale?

Just take the 1/72 measures and multiply them by 1.5

[lechuck]

VF-25

- Fighter: 18.72m => 1/48 = 39.0cm

- Battroid: 15.59m => 1/48 ~ 32.48cm