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1/72 ENIGMA MONSTER Mk II [MSLZ22 Salzo]


vf1x

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Hey guys, I thought I'd share my first attempt at building a resin kit with you. I'm a casual modeler with only basic kit building skills so tackling a resin kit was a new experience for me. I have to say I learned a lot by making plenty of mistakes but it was a good experience nonetheless.

The kit is a Mike Salzo Destroid Monster in 1/72-scale that I got from Gabe Q a week or so after the last MWcon back in October. This kit is absolutely huge! I love the size of it. Complete, it weighs a whopping 15 pounds! A few days before Christmas, I finally worked up the courage to start working on it. It's been about 6 weeks since and I'm glad to say that I'm finally done.

I was bored of the basic green Destroid Monster that we always see, so I decided to make this kit a bit more unique. I went with one of my favorite Valkyrie color schemes, (which I'm sure most of you have seen before) the Enigma Strike Valkyrie VF-1J that was featured in a 2001 issue of Model Grafix magazine, and applied an inspired version of the scheme to this Monster. I also took some cues from a WWII German BF109 paint scheme too. I added details such as aluminum metal inserts, extra decals, and steel antennas to the kit to help enhance it as well.

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Aluminum inserts added to the arm missile launchers.

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The main cannons are just PVC pipes, so I reamed them to give them a bit of a beveled tip.

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I added three antennas to the kit. The front two are shown in original sketches of the Destroid Monster, so they belong there. The one on the rear I added just because I wanted to.

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Each of the antennas are mounted on small blocks of wood that I painted to match. The rear hatch colors and pattern are inspired by emergency vehicles / construction equipment.

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The 1/72-scale is giant! Here it is with a 1/55 Valkyrie and a Toynami Super Posable figure.

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Thanks for looking!

Edited by vf1x
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That Monster rocks! I have this kit so I know that it needs huge efforts to get a result like you obtain. Congratulations, and thank you for the wonderful pictures.

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Very cool man. To the best of my knowledge there has only been one other of these kits built. I have that dpends more time off the bench than on it, and will be a while in the finishing.

It looks great man and you should be very proud to have such a beautifully bult Monster that is very rare to boot.

Regards,

Brett T

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Really amazing work, looking at the V1 monster is kind of like looking at my high school pic sometimes as it was my first full scratchbuild, but you made it look really nice. Kind of gives me a kick in the pants to get back to the V2!

Really great looking!

mike

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Thanks guys, that's really quite a nice response! The only other 1/72 Macross items I have are the old HCM's. I wanted to dig them out for the pictures, but I can't find them at the moment! The work really is basic, most of the paint that I used is spray and some paint pens and I didn't do much putty work on it. I did screw up a few times on it and had to repaint sections of it over and over again. Haha

Nicely done. What grays did you use?

The main body is Mr. Color #11 Light Gull Grey, the highlight camo grey is #31 Dark Grey, and what looks like black highlights is actually #40 German Grey.

This is fantastic!! Absolutely love it, that is in no way just basic skill!! great idea on the enigma scheme!!

Also liking the elintseeker there.

Are the first pics CG?

No CG, just pics on a black background.

Really amazing work, looking at the V1 monster is kind of like looking at my high school pic sometimes as it was my first full scratchbuild, but you made it look really nice. Kind of gives me a kick in the pants to get back to the V2!

Really great looking!

mike

Thanks for the kind words Mike, I didn't realize this was your first scratchbuild. I had a good time building it. I hope this helps gets you back on the V2!

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I READ these were photos of the model, but they DO LOOK CG! I'm not the only one to think that! Great change of color and nice design!

The Monster can look great in a bunch of designs. A couple of us from Cali chated last year about a 1/200 monster they had at Pony Toy Go Round (80's in L.A.) with a parrot "beak" looking front and eyes with bright colors. I wish I had those photos!

Awesome - clean build! I wouldn't call it "basic" on the skills scale, especially with the metal mods and paint. Fellow MW'ers, don't play cards with vf-1x, he's a "sandbagger!" :D We'll also give you props for getting in shape while lifting AND building it! - MT

Edited by MechTech
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Sweet paint design and great job on the build! It's awesome to see these kits completed.

Your added details may have been relatively simple additions, but they give the kit a wonderful step up in the detail department. They add a good bit of interest and add to the impression of a finely finished piece.

If you consider your skills "basic" then you owe it to yourself (and us) to get working on some more kits and develop into another "master" Macross model builder!

Thanks for sharing with us. It's an inspirational build!

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  • 4 months later...

This is really one of the coolest Monsters ever built and shown on MW! i love that grey WWII design!

I was looking for one of that mike salzo resin kits from time to time, but have not found one yet. Well these pictures really motivate me to search again...

Amazing work!!!

regards from germany

markus

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