Bandai 1/72 Scale Transformable Macross Δ Kits

[David Hingtgen]

No speaker(hologram?) pod?

[seti88]

Unfortunately the fast pack kit doesn't come with any Hologram pod... a separate release perhaps?

Or does bandai even know how to implement it..since i dont have the 31 kit, does the gun pod seem to be able to be replaced with another pod mechanism-wise?

Or is the hologram pod separate, i recall a discussion whether the gun pod is still attached when the hologram pod is deployed, but i cant remember the conclusion if there was any...

[gearsofwars99]

glad to see we got a new set of thighs and some leg parts on the super parts only, because my regular siegfried's male connector on the thighs are broken... :'(

[IXTL]

1/72 Super VF-31J review and gallery by Dengeki Hobby

http://hobby.dengeki.com/reviews/264468/

1/72 Draken III with Lildraken drones from Hobby Japan magazine

Edited September 22, 2016 by IXTL

[seti88]

Draken poster looks cool as ice(since its in windemare)

I thk that it may be the boxart too....

Edit: Oops thats a tenjin boxart! Looks like its a hase draken III and not a bandai one..

Edited September 23, 2016 by seti88

[IXTL]

VF-31C

https://mobile.twitter.com/digitamin/status/779112205715247104

[seti88]

VF-31C

https://mobile.twitter.com/digitamin/status/779112205715247104

That vf31C is colors certainly add some vibrancy!

[cwmodels]

Thank god it is not a P-Bandai release. Now where is Chuck's VF-31E???

[IXTL]

http://hobby.dengeki.com/event/264670/

[IXTL]

https://www.facebook.com/loopaza/photos/pcb.1219146044813575/1219145914813588/?type=3&theater

[IXTL]

https://twitter.com/hobbylink/status/779128724453064704

[Duymon]

Ok so I've been transforming mine and I really really hate the VF-31 gerwalk leg joint for the A-stance. The deal killer is the ankles don't have enough twist to make the unit look like it's actually standing in A-stance so it looks awkward.

I would have much preferred the same style of joint as the DX VF25's and even the upcoming DX VF-31 where the thighs are more static and the swivel is at the knee. It just looks so much better. I guess maybe it was impossible due to durability concerns?

Edited September 23, 2016 by Duymon

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, they just don't seem to like trying to add anything to that blocky hinge assembly in the knee.

And actually, judging by the photos, I'm pretty sure the DX VF-31 has both pivot points, so you get some nice leg twisty posability in both battroid and gerwalk.

My biggest gripe with that gerwalk joint though is that unless you glue the entire thing together, frequent use of that joint will probably just leave the hip assembly falling to pieces.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Chronocidal

[IXTL]

https://twitter.com/seibundohobby/status/779334497259053056

[IXTL]

https://twitter.com/narukami_x/status/779536907055210496

[IXTL]

http://ameblo.jp/digitamin/image-12203066399-13756179652.html

Continued

[IXTL]

https://twitter.com/zellbine/status/779643751488643072

Edited September 24, 2016 by IXTL

[IXTL]

https://twitter.com/setuna115/status/779875998049325056

https://twitter.com/shiu_you/status/779859380950839297

[IXTL]

Edited September 25, 2016 by IXTL

[seti88]

Just for kicks, is anyone gonna try swapping back decals around on the 31's?

Ie messers reaper making it into hayate's 31, instead of the knight-ish reaper, or arad's skull decal into chuck's 31..

Or....any delta platoon back decals into the SV's! Granted the SV's dont have a flat back as larger as the 31....

Edited September 26, 2016 by seti88

[Hikuro]

Just for kicks, is anyone gonna try swapping back decals around on the 31's?

Ie messers reaper making it into hayate's 31, instead of the knight-ish reaper, or arad's skull decal into chuck's 31..

Or....any delta platoon back decals into the SV's! Granted the SV's dont have a flat back as larger as the 31....

Well for starters the knight reaper that showed up in the final episode isn't even on the sticker sheet for hayate so that's a no go.

But all the markings can be altered between planes without hassle as you'll have a separate set of stickers for color balance on the planes body.

I completely goofed that on arads vf-31s and never noticed it.

It's one of those things where it should be labeled on the instructions during assembly not hidden away on the back when you're all done. IMO the only stickers that should be left on the back pages are the markings, not the paint striping stickers.

[seti88]

cool to hear that, its gonna be quite fun to see customised 31s! Well m looking forward to see if anyone does that. I dont have much time to model but i would be tempted to try and customise one too inbetween my schedule.

So from what u expereinced, the stripes should be applied during the build phase itself?

[Petrov27]

Do you all think there is any chance Bandai will do a VF-31A kit in this line?

[Chronocidal]

Hope so, because I think that's what it'll take to get me buying more of this kit. Just wasn't all that impressed with the construction or overall shape of the plane (though the shape might be accurate, in which case it means I just don't like the design all that much. )

[Lolicon]

So at long last I finished slapping my VF-31J kit together. Been really busy as of late, so I only could work on it a little bit at a time whenever I had a bit of free time. So what could've probably be done in a few days took me well over a month.

Overall it felt a little easier to build than the old VF-25 kits, and the parts seem to fit better. I still damaged some stuff through carelessness, like snapping that damned head laser lol

And some size comparisons. With the 1/72 VF-25F:

With the 1/72 VF-27:

With the DX VF-25F:

And with the 1/100 YF-29

[derex3592]

that looks GREAT!! Hope mine turns out half that good! Did you paint everything?

[wm cheng]

It turned out beautiful!!! I admire your patience. Did you paint or use the decals or stickers?

[Petrov27]

that looks dang sharp - kudos on the completion!

[Lolicon]

No way, I don't have the skill to paint all that! lol

Didn't do anything special, really. Cut carefully and sand everything down (god I hate sanding!). It was mainly just snapped together out of the box. Stickers for the huge colored areas, decals for all the insignias and small markings. Wash + mechanical pencil for the panels. A few areas were painted because it's not quite possible to mold or decal every single thing in the right color. And a semi-gloss clear coat to give the whole thing an even finish thoughout.

The upper stabilizers needed to be glued into the main fuselage, because that snap-together joint simply will not hold together.

I don't plan putting nearly as much effort into Keith's 262. But no more stickers! I had a way harder time dealing with the stickers than I would've had with any decals. Decals are sooooo much easier once you're used to them!

I'll transform it to battroid as soon as I figure out what color I'm supposed to paint the inside of that opening sensor thingy in the weapons container...

Edited September 29, 2016 by Lolicon

[derex3592]

WOW! Hard to believe that' basically an out of box build with very little paint! Very nice! Maybe I won't bother painting mine after all!!

[Chronocidal]

Hm, I wonder if I did something wrong on the assembly of my kit. It all fits together nicely, but the nose looks popped up in the air a lot more.

Maybe it's just that the markings create an optical illusion to disguise it a bit? My kit's still completely plain plastic, so I wonder if that's the trick to it. The fuselage just looks bent upwards in the profile view on mine.

[Wiz13688]

Amazing paint job on the pilots. Can we get a close up?

[arbit]

No way, I don't have the skill to paint all that! lol

Didn't do anything special, really. Cut carefully and sand everything down (god I hate sanding!). It was mainly just snapped together out of the box. Stickers for the huge colored areas, decals for all the insignias and small markings. Wash + mechanical pencil for the panels. A few areas were painted because it's not quite possible to mold or decal every single thing in the right color. And a semi-gloss clear coat to give the whole thing an even finish thoughout.

The upper stabilizers needed to be glued into the main fuselage, because that snap-together joint simply will not hold together.

I don't plan putting nearly as much effort into Keith's 262. But no more stickers! I had a way harder time dealing with the stickers than I would've had with any decals. Decals are sooooo much easier once you're used to them!

I'll transform it to battroid as soon as I figure out what color I'm supposed to paint the inside of that opening sensor thingy in the weapons container...

Looks fantastic. I'm sold.

Which brand clear coat did you use, and what were your steps: Spray piece by piece or after finishing the whole thing?

I always get coat on the joints and they never fit well together again.

[Lolicon]

Amazing paint job on the pilots. Can we get a close up?

Here ya go. Mine are okay, but a few others on here have done much better. But at least it kinda sorta resembles Hayate and Freyja.

[Lolicon]

Looks fantastic. I'm sold.

Which brand clear coat did you use, and what were your steps: Spray piece by piece or after finishing the whole thing?

I always get coat on the joints and they never fit well together again.

Mr Topcoat. I usually use lacquer but since I used stickers for the big stuff, I didn't need the extra protection. I just wanted a uniform finish throughout.

I applied the topcoat on entire sections at a time. Like the entire front fuselage, body, wings, arms, legs, hands, etc.

Like this would be coated all at one time: