Bandai 1/72 Scale Transformable Macross Δ Kits

[KOG Water Dragon]

2 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Thick with a large border, on kits where they run to the edges of curved parts. Plus the Valkyries call for hundreds of them.

Eh, I don't mind the borders. I'm used to trimming then on regular aircraft kits and race car kits (those have a lot of decals too).

[kajnrig]

1 hour ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

I wonder if they will release any more DeCulture variations?

I remember Noel and I both hoping this happens. I really want the other members of Walkure - ie the better ones - to get Deculture valks with the movie release. And a special VF-31C with Mirage decals, while we're at it.

1 hour ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

Haven't dealt with Bandai decals in a while. Are they thick and hard to conform to curves and details?

Besides what @Sanity is Optional said, my personal biggest gripe with them is that Bandai prints the panel lining onto them. So you'll have red striping broken up by ugly black lines that may or may not match the panel wash you want to use.

The printed panel lines at least make it easy to cut up one decal into smaller, more manageable sections, but I'd gladly trade that convenience in for unbroken color.

[mickyg]

The printed panels lines, yes definitely. But also the quality of the printing isn't great. Lots of dots to make up shades and it's in weird colours you wouldn't expect. Like gray!

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, Bandai's decals for everything Macross-related have been pretty rotten for as long as everyone remembers.  Screen-printed, thick, they don't like to fit the complex curved surfaces they're meant for, and they don't behave well with standard decal setting liquids.  The printed panel lines are just one more layer on the pile of decal travesties.

The only VF-25 kit I ever put markings on was 100% hand-painted, because I refused to deal with them, and I've basically resigned myself to never using any markings.  The DXs will cover my interest in having the valks in the show schemes, while I'm fairly certain every Bandai kit I have is going to wind up in a custom scheme.

[Lord_Of_Tetris]

 

Just now, Chronocidal said:

Yeah, Bandai's decals for everything Macross-related have been pretty rotten for as long as everyone remembers.  Screen-printed, thick, they don't like to fit the complex curved surfaces they're meant for, and they don't behave well with standard decal setting liquids.  The printed panel lines are just one more layer on the pile of decal travesties.

The only VF-25 kit I ever put markings on was 100% hand-painted, because I refused to deal with them, and I've basically resigned myself to never using any markings.  The DXs will cover my interest in having the valks in the show schemes, while I'm fairly certain every Bandai kit I have is going to wind up in a custom scheme.

Let's also mention that the decals are LOW-RESOLUTION!

Like an older comic book, from the Jack Kirby era!

Okay, fine, not THAT bad, but you can clearly see that the labels are low resolution. 

[KOG Water Dragon]

Sounds like it's best to paint as much as possible and use decals only when absolutely necessary. That's too bad.

[Sanity is Optional]

Yup, especially with pinstripes and the like that cover 4-5 different parts and are a pain to get the decals all aligned on to start. I don't necessarily hate their decals that are intended for details and markings, but the ones that are for stripes and solid colors don't even match the plastic!

[Lord_Of_Tetris]

6 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Yup, especially with pinstripes and the like that cover 4-5 different parts and are a pain to get the decals all aligned on to start. I don't necessarily hate their decals that are intended for details and markings, but the ones that are for stripes and solid colors don't even match the plastic!

Not only does it not match the plastic, it's too translucent! Unless you're putting the decal onto a white surface, the color of the plastic will show through the Decal!

[KOG Water Dragon]

Stickers/decals meant to replace painting in a block of color are almost always a Very Bad Idea.

But it's a shame about the quality nonetheless... masking and painting the pin-striping will be a bit of a chore.

[electric indigo]

The glorious Super-C

http://www.taghobby.com/archives/235733

Edited November 6, 2017 by electric indigo

[modelglue]

Striking colour combination.

Come on E!

[mickyg]

...and the A too!

[modelglue]

11 hours ago, mickyg said:

...and the A too!

Yes! YEESSSSSS! 

[Convectuoso]

19 hours ago, electric indigo said:

The glorious Super-C

http://www.taghobby.com/archives/235733

Such beauty! 

[Chronocidal]

So, fun little discovery, I didn't realize it from the promotional images.. Roid's Elvis-valk, the white 262?  It's entirely pearlized.  The whole thing is so glitzy and overdone it's hilarious.  I can't wait to mix and match pieces between the various kits and come up with a unique design.

 

[seti88]

I think there are some folks who like the pearlised versions, since bandai keeps having pearlised versions of gunpla too..M not such a fan, but if its degree of 'pearling' fits then perhaps...

Will painting white over pearl provide a matt'ish look if you dont like pearl?

Else getting a HS, paint it white and use roid's stickers is a possibility, tho thats 2 kits.

[Sanity is Optional]

2 hours ago, seti88 said:

I think there are some folks who like the pearlised versions, since bandai keeps having pearlised versions of gunpla too..M not such a fan, but if its degree of 'pearling' fits then perhaps...

Will painting white over pearl provide a matt'ish look if you dont like pearl?

Else getting a HS, paint it white and use roid's stickers is a possibility, tho thats 2 kits.

Yeah, if you paint over with anything opaque it'll look normal.

[Horatio Positronic]

The stickers on these kits are the most fragile, difficult to apply and sensitive to finger grease stickers I have ever encountered. I gave up on the stickers on 3 different kits before getting the hang of it.

Now that I have gotten the hang of it, I just finished the Sv-262 Ba and I'm pretty happy with how it came out. Getting some of the stickers to conform to the curved shapes of the parts was a real chore.

There's almost exactly 100 stickers on this kit. It'd be many more if I'd done all of the little markings.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Horatio Positronic

[Sanity is Optional]

The stickers and decals on the Bandai kits are murder.

[mickyg]

Very nice result! Are those stickers or the water slide decals you've used?

[Chronocidal]

Turned out pretty well I think!  Yeah, they're just so huge, and have to go over so many complex curved surfaces, it's kind of a miracle to get them to lay down well.  

[Rock]

Any word if Bandai Pro-Shop will be doing a clear VF-31 like they did with the VF-25?

[wmkjr]

5 hours ago, Rock said:

Any word if Bandai Pro-Shop will be doing a clear VF-31 like they did with the VF-25?

 The only clear one I remember was for the VF-31J for ordering the blue ray set.

[mickyg]

Still hoping we see a missile pack for the supers too. And a 31E, and A...

[sh9000]

[kajnrig]

This is the... Hasegawa VF-31C box art? Or...?

[wmkjr]

Hasegawa

[KOG Water Dragon]

It shows an E. So Hasegawa acknowledges the E. Let's hope Hasegawa kits the E...

[modelglue]

5 hours ago, KOG Water Dragon said:

It shows an E. So Hasegawa acknowledges the E. Let's hope Hasegawa kits the E...

This feels like a logical expectation.

[raptormesh]

Missed out the first batch of Hase Kairos so only just pre-ordered one from Amiami. Hope bandai would do it as a transformable 1/72 as well. 

How are the kits nowadays compared to frontier where transforming is a bit of a pain and it falls a part pretty easily. 

[Sanity is Optional]

9 hours ago, raptormesh said:

Missed out the first batch of Hase Kairos so only just pre-ordered one from Amiami. Hope bandai would do it as a transformable 1/72 as well. 

How are the kits nowadays compared to frontier where transforming is a bit of a pain and it falls a part pretty easily. 

In order from least sturdy to most: VF-25, VF-27, VF-31. It's much better, pretty much everything tabs solidly into place. The stickers/decals are a nightmare, but that's normal for a transforming plastic model, especially with the pinstriping on the 31s.

[raptormesh]

2 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

In order from least sturdy to most: VF-25, VF-27, VF-31. It's much better, pretty much everything tabs solidly into place. The stickers/decals are a nightmare, but that's normal for a transforming plastic model, especially with the pinstriping on the 31s.

Thank you, glad they improved their tolerances and design. 

[seti88]

Masterpiece to be shared

 

[wmkjr]

Cool custom. More Beam spam.

 

Edited December 29, 2017 by wmkjr

[IXTL]