1/72 Imai VF-1S Kitbash (Project Completed)

[pengbuzz]

Well, a while back, I obtained the Bandai VF-1s kit, and built it...

Worst. Mistake. Ever.

The thing was a royal pain to assemble, parts broke or didn't stay on (and I've had more than 30 years experience building models!), and ultimately, I gave up on the blasted piece of garbage. And I thought that would be the end of my aspirations for a VF-1S transformable kit in 1/72...

Until recently.

I finally got my hands on a 1/72 Imai VF-1S. As I was building it, I remembered all the things I didn't like about the kit and decided to do the brave thing: use what I know of the Yamato/ Arcadia VF-1's (used to own the 1/48th VF-1S a few years back):

Here you can still see the old backpack hinge system, but I used styrene card to accurize the ailerons. I also took the opportunity to do some panel line work on the dorsal surfaces:

(yeah, still in progress here)

Also reworked the intakes on the legs a bit; gotta see about redoing the plates on the intake covers (or maybe scratching up new ones that pull out):

I also saw some blank areas on the "backpack" that could use some detail:

I then saw the huge "block" of styrene that composed the upper chest and shoulder region on Battroid mode; I felt the need to do some cutting and detailing:

(Yes, the thrusters are in the wrong way, but I'm redoing all the detailing).

But the more I thought about it, the less I liked the exposed hinges on the tail. To that end, I decided to rework them and eliminate the issue:

A better view:

At this point, I admit to getting carried away: I looked at the top vents on the chestplate, and decided to rework those as well:

Then the ultimate insanity hit me...

TWO cockpits?! TWO? This is 2016, I think it's time for ONE:

As we speak, I'm working on a swing-bar mechanism like Yamato has on theirs, and working out details like a flip-joint for the head, ad possibly their version of how the chestplate moves down into position.

All of that said: suggestions are welcome on this build, as I still need to dress the work up once it's solidly set in place. I always wanted to rework one of these, but never had the courage until now.

Stay tuned...

Edited February 23, 2017 by pengbuzz

[vincemoto7]

Wow, this old IMAI kit brings back some memories. Kinda a fitting since it's Mothers's Day and it was my mom that would yell at me because I was spending too much time playing with this kit instead of doing my homework.

How are you going to attach the legs with the one cockpit? I'm looking forward to seeing your solution.

Looking pretty good so far, good luck with the rest of the build... or should I say "re-engineering".

[pengbuzz]

Thanks!

As for the legs: I plan on a swing-bar that will have clips that snap into the blisters on the nose section. It's a little hard to describe now, but I already have the swing-joint implanted in the main body. In the next day or two, i should have the setup built up enough to demonstrate what I mean.

[pengbuzz]

Okay, some more updates folks:

I got the swing-bar mechanism designed and test-fitted for the legs. This is it with the arms folded over it in fighter mode:

Arms removed, slide mechanism for the arms clears the bar itself:

And this is with the slide mechanism for the arms moved out of the way; the bar (plastic for the tests but will be replaced with metal for full operations) sits in a channel below the arm transform. I colored the end red so it's visible amongst the grey plastic parts:

And here is the arm swung down to Battroid position for the legs:

As you can see, the cross-bar for the legs isn't installed yet. I want to make sure that when the hinge is installed it remains stable; I had to cut considerable amounts of plastic away to make room for this, and the installation will require reinforcement and new support structures for the backpack hinge and the ventral panel of the fuselage.

Yeah; I really don't want parts coming out at the worst possible moments! lol

After the leg joints are established, then the lock mechanisms for the legs in fighter mode, Battroid mode and the head flip mechanism. Also need to address the chestplate issue.

Stay tuned...

[MechTech]

I'm glad to see one of the old kits getting some love! Good ideas. - MT

[pengbuzz]

Thanks MechTech. It's good to finally work out some issues I remember with this one. Right now I'm just waiting on some money for a two-part epoxy like adhesive by Devcon called "plastic welder". That should help with a lot of the issues and help reinforce some of the weaker areas that might not stand up to transformation stresses.

Also, I'm thinking about improving the poseability on the head; that might take some thought as well, I'll look at Yamato/ Arcadia's VF-1's and see how they solved it.

Stay tuned folks...

[pengbuzz]

Had a bit of a set-back tonight: the chest-plate snapped in half lengthwise down the center bulge while I was working on it.

(That's what I get for over-customizing I guess)

Seeing if I can repair it, but it's not looking good. I'll try to get pics when it's dry.Worse case scenario: I'll have to find a new chestplate (don't have one to replace this).

Stay tuned...

Edited May 15, 2016 by pengbuzz

[vincemoto7]

Had a bit of a set-back tonight: the chest-plate snapped in half lengthwise down the center bulge while I was working on it.

(That's what I get for over-customizing I guess)

Seeing if I can repair it, but it's not looking good. I'll try to get pics when it's dry.Worse case scenario: I'll have to find a new chestplate (don't have one to replace this).

Stay tuned...

Something tells me that it won't be a problem for you to fix. If it doesn't come out perfect you can always disguise it as battle damage. Who likes shiny-clean-right off the factory floor Valkyries anyway?!?!

[pengbuzz]

Thanks for the vote of confidence vince, but it really crimps the transform (the whole point of it! lol ). The break is clean through and it's in 2 pieces that I'm trying to rejoin into 1. Gonna have to see if plastic welder can fix it.

Plan b: see if anyone here has a spare in their parts box. Stay tuned folks (or tuna'ed, as Hikaru can attest when he and minmay were trapped together).

[pengbuzz]

Well, I managed to save the chestplate, but I had to backtrack on a few details I wanted for the Vf-1S.

In any event, I was not very happy with the upper thigh/ intake on the fighter, so I went ahead and did some "splicing":

I ended up grafting the thigh from my crappy Bandai VF-1 onto the rest of the leg for the Imai VF-1. It scales pretty closely with the line art in fighter mode. I cannot vouch for how well the gerwalk form for the legs squares with how it appears in the line art/ anime, but it looks a LOT better than the Imai original. I just have to fill in and prep the extra space and get that down to acceptable levels between the knee cover and the upper thigh. I might do poseable kneecap armor like on the Yamato version.

As to the swing bar for the legs: I'm seriously thinking of just making the legs "plug-ins" like on the Bandai and the Yamato v.1 valks. Trying to sort the swing bar and all of that past the head in fighter mode and getting it to come around the nose in Battroid mode is getting wearisome. Plus, gluing the bar in place and just covering it with the "reactor shield" (as I like to call it) would do a world of good in stabilizing it.

Last: working on a "gun transplant" for the head lasers: I like how they pose on the Bandai version, but i have mine "fire linked" on the Imai (turn one side and they both turn). Just the lasers aren't all that good looking on the Imai, and one kinda popped off on me.

Stay tuned folks: looks like it's gonna be a "Macross Summer" for me...

[pengbuzz]

Okay, decided to take a couple of more pics:

So far, what I have in Battroid mode.Thighs look a little slim, but maybe it's just the size of the shoulders doing that.

Speaking of arms:

Took the elbow joints from the Bandai and incorporated them into the Imai. The hole fits the peg inside the forearm joint, and just a modification to implant the shaved-down shoulder joint into the Imai housing.

Stay tuned...

Edited May 23, 2016 by pengbuzz

[captain america]

That's a brave undertaking for that kit, but I like what I'm seeing thus far. To be fair, if you think the variable Imai Valkyries were bad, stay away from the Mospeada ride-armors: I can say with confidence that they blow superior!

One thing I liked about that Imai Valk was the way the arms were nicely proportioned, unlike more modern designs that have hideously spindly arms that seem like more of an afterthought than anything.

[pengbuzz]

That's a brave undertaking for that kit, but I like what I'm seeing thus far. To be fair, if you think the variable Imai Valkyries were bad, stay away from the Mospeada ride-armors: I can say with confidence that they blow superior!

One thing I liked about that Imai Valk was the way the arms were nicely proportioned, unlike more modern designs that have hideously spindly arms that seem like more of an afterthought than anything.

Thanks! Yeah, I don't like the spindly arms on the other one, so I'm staying with these. The kit is almost at the point where it stays together on its' own; I might reduce the shoulders' width slightly, but I'm a bit indecided on that as of yet.

More to come as I build; stay tuned...

As for the Mospeada Ride Armors; I think I would sooner take a 1/6 figure and build the bike from scratch myself.

[pengbuzz]

Okay, time for another death-defying, high-risk, high-calorie ("GET ON WITH IT!!!") update:

Well, the Vf-1S can now stand in Battroid mode; the link-up system for locking the front to the back isn't in place yet, so the shoulders are kinda droopy at this moment. That should be fixed soon; that said, the canopy shield stays in place, the lock mechanisms for the legs/ retainers for the chestplate are glued in place (pics next time around for these) and the detent for the head in Battroid mode are set:

As to the legs: I removed a chunk of the nose "side-blisters" to install some square-channel plastic I had to scratch up. The leg pegs will go into these channels, and should lock into place (as soon as I use plastic-welder to re-form the blisters and tighten the fit of the channels up:

I'll also scratch-up some covers for the holes in there; the landing gear missed the assembly inside, so no worries about that.

More to come ...stay tuned....

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: right now, working on replacing the nose landing gear doors. The thin wisps of plastic holding the old ones gave out on one side, and rather than trying to repair them. I'm putting in a different hinge method that will be more stable over time.

Also: working on reshaping the legs (looked at the animation art and determined the lower leg was a bit too "blocky". Also, the ventral strakes on the legs (fins) were located too far back on the leg (should be closer to the landing gear doors), so I took the liberty of replacing them and relocating them.

Yeah, by the time I'm done, this will probably have 1% each of the Bandai and Imai kits and 99 percent pengbuzz-produced parts. But at least it'll be unique! I'll see about pics this evening; right now, pretty tired so I'm going to go lie down for a bit.

Stay tuned...

[pengbuzz]

Okay everyone: as promised, pics:

I grafted in the landing gear doors from the Bandai into the Imai nose section; this should make it a lot easier on pulling out the landing gear and not have to worry about snapping the doors someday.

Of Course, it still needs some fitting and trimming, but we're getting there. The nose wheels clear the doors, so it's just a matter of alignment and final fit here.

On now to the legs:

Yeah, those strakes need a slight bit of trimming, but they still look better than the old ones. But most of the work done was on the sides and back of the leg/nacelles:

I'm going to be restoring the panel lines and detail work here, but I wanted to streamline these a little more.

Yeah, a lot of it looks like absolute hell right now; by the time I get finished with mods and get to sanding and painting, it should look a LOT better. Trust me on this everyone.

Stay tuned...

[pengbuzz]

Okay, a little bit more work here:

Got the doors permanently installed and trimmed. Just need to shim them a little and get them to match up.:

Starting to look like a valkyrie...

Just need to get some cosmetic work done after the last of the mods. Next step: retainer peg for Battroid mode, and thinking of covers for the chest (open areas between chest and back). I may also do something about those hideous joints on the ailerons; we'll have to see.

Stay tuned folks...

[pengbuzz]

A little humor for everyone:

"SAY 'WHAT?' AGAIN, MOTHER--!"

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

I got the locking mechanism done to keep the Battroid from flopping apart in the torso. That said, the longer I looked at the tail fin assembly and those huge, awful hinges, it bothered me increasingly.

Finally, I could take no more:

Using a pair of flat-closing hinges from the Bandai version, I cut away the offending joints and plastic-welded these in.

Another view:

When I attach the ailerons to these, I'll trim the stubs here down a little, then remove a corresponding piece in the fins. Once plastic-welded in and sanded smooth, the join should be pretty much seamless, and the fins should be able to fold flat. Being a little further apart should also help with proportions, as well as the fins continually hitting each on during transform.

Here they are in the closed position:

This should keep them as flat to the "amidships" of the backpack as possible, and avoid further problems.

(Wondering how much of the original model will be left at this rate!)

This also gives me the opportunity to get in there before i glue anything in, and scribe the rest of the tail/ backpack panel lines in there and "snazz it up" a little more".

Stay tuned everyone...

Edited May 31, 2016 by pengbuzz

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: Okay, the tails are in. And....

They just need a little cosmetic "sprucing up"; aside from that, they're set a little more apart now, and look better.

As for function:

They lay down pretty flat now, and the ailerons aren't flopping around like they were. Not to mention, the joint is smaller and they just look a LOT better. The tails also don't bump into one another during transform: the now miss each other and move quite smoothly.

I also too the opportunity to address one more (albeit minor) issue:

The extension at the end of the pack in fighter mode was also bugging me. Checking the blueprints and whatnot of the VF-1S, it was too small and too short. So while I was there, I removed the old one, took the "points" off of it, filed a bit of the ends off of them for gluing and glued them to a new piece of plastic. Then, the whole thing was plastic-welded into place; it looks good and smooths the tail/ backpack out.

This project is really coming along now, and the valkyrie is staring to look the way it should; just working at this point on cosmetic issues and final fit and whatnot. Most of the transform issues have been worked out, and it's no longer a floppy overall mess.

Stay tuned...

[pengbuzz]

Small update (without pics): Removed the chestplate to reinforce it after it looked like the original break may give way. Also, the leg/nacelle attachment points in fighter mode are too close together. Right now, reworking that and making some adjustments. I opened up the chest intake vents a bit as they looked a little too small; I may remove them and install the ones from the Bandai version; we'll see...

Another thing I'm looking at right now: I was reading the review of the Hasegawa VF-1 fighter model on CollectionDX, and came across this comment:

"The cockpit details are my other favorite details of this kit. Unlike older Valkyrie kits where the small pilot figure sits in a sea of cockpit, the Hasegawa cockpit is snug and tight like a real military aircraft."

- http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/2001/hasegawa_valkyrie_vf1ajs_model_kit_172

Re-examining the cockpit on mine, I can see why he said that. Comparing the pilot to other 1/72 scale figs I have, Roy is tiny!!! I'm seriously considering finding a different 1/72 pilot figure (I don't have the Bandai one anymore) and converting that into Roy. I don't want the pilot lost in the cockpit; I may sand the sides down a bit and redo the nose somewhat.

I'm also seeing if perhaps I can alleviate the "stepped look" of where the chestplate meets the cockpit/nose section. It's supposed to look smooth and it isn't here (I know that gets on people's nerves).

On another note: over 550 views on MW here for this topic! Thanks to everyone who's reading this!

Stay tuned...

[captain america]

Small update (without pics): Removed the chestplate to reinforce it after it looked like the original break may give way. Also, the leg/nacelle attachment points in fighter mode are too close together. Right now, reworking that and making some adjustments. I opened up the chest intake vents a bit as they looked a little too small; I may remove them and install the ones from the Bandai version; we'll see...

Another thing I'm looking at right now: I was reading the review of the Hasegawa VF-1 fighter model on CollectionDX, and came across this comment:

- http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/2001/hasegawa_valkyrie_vf1ajs_model_kit_172

Re-examining the cockpit on mine, I can see why he said that. Comparing the pilot to other 1/72 scale figs I have, Roy is tiny!!! I'm seriously considering finding a different 1/72 pilot figure (I don't have the Bandai one anymore) and converting that into Roy. I don't want the pilot lost in the cockpit; I may sand the sides down a bit and redo the nose somewhat.

I'm also seeing if perhaps I can alleviate the "stepped look" of where the chestplate meets the cockpit/nose section. It's supposed to look smooth and it isn't here (I know that gets on people's nerves).

On another note: over 550 views on MW here for this topic! Thanks to everyone who's reading this!

Stay tuned...

For what it's worth, pilot figs for virtually all Japanese mecha kits are undersized. You can try finding another pilot figure, though it may not fit in the cockpit. I have a bit of experience with this.

[pengbuzz]

For what it's worth, pilot figs for virtually all Japanese mecha kits are undersized. You can try finding another pilot figure, though it may not fit in the cockpit. I have a bit of experience with this.

You've got a point. I just think this fig is a bit small; kinda like "Mini-Roy" or something.

(Now, THERE'S a pic I should do up sometime )

Meantime, I JUST found out why all my sodas keep disappearing whenever I have a modeling session... :| "

Edited June 4, 2016 by pengbuzz

[pengbuzz]

Okay, time for some recent pics everyone!

First up:

The shoulders were sticking out a little too much in fighter mode, but I didn't want to mess up the soldier mode either (although the shoulders kinda bugged me there too). The solution I found was to trim them down my a millimeter or two, change the angle on the outer slope slightly and glue in new plastic plates to cover where plastic had been taken out. It smooths the underside out a bit more and makes the shoulders stick out a bit less.

Next up:

I had to revert to the original system for retaining the legs to the body, but the plastic pegs holing the leg pegs to the chestplate kept snapping! First the originals let go, then every single replacement gave out. I finally solved it by making new pegs out of metal (coat hanger wire), bending them so they would go into the post that supported the leg, and angled up to their final position going into the chest.

Yeah, the pic doesn't show it very well, but I really wasn't in the mood to photograph the wire. And yes, the intakes are a little bit of a mess. I'll fix that when structural stuff is finished and buttoned up.

I also did some adjustments on the rear fuselage:

I got the legs to sit a little higher up in comparison to the back fuselage and backpack/ tail. It was bugging me how low the legs were and how high the tailpack was riding.

Overall, the kit is nearing the end of the "structural" stage; I don't think I can correct every single little thing on this (thought about lengthening the lower leg/ nacelle), nor do I want to keep trying to. Next up is the detail stage, where I start addressing the messy parts and file down some stufgf that was reworked.

Stay tuned...

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

Well, a little bit of a setback: the wing pivots were beginning to crack, so I decided to replace them. but as I tried to put new pegs in to the back to hold them, other stuff kept coming apart. Not to mention, the pegs just would not stay, no matter what I did; they kept letting go and popping out. So, rather than continue wrestling with the mess that it was becoming, I tore the back panel/ rear fuselage down to the basics:

The pivots from the Bandai 1/72 have been integrated into the original wings, and the pivot pegs will be glued to the rear plate. The holes made by my previous attempts will be filled in with plastic welder, while the backpack hinge joint will be revised as well as the Battroid retainer system (the peg that keeps it from becoming a floppy mess). I'm also toying with lengthening the pack plate slightly, which would also mean a corresponding lengthening of the lower leg/ engine nacelles.

But in the long run, this should last much longer than the original pegs would have (which would have been a few weeks at best.

Stay tuned everyone... either this will turn out to be an epic model, or an epic mess!

We'll see on that one as we go.

[pengbuzz]

Okay, the idea works out great, but I need something better than what I'm currently using for this project. I'm considering getting JB weld when I get some money, as a bad tube of plastic welder has caused me to go through half of it (air in the tube) with no results (had to remove work I did due to mis-cured welder.

Stay tuned folks.

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

Almost done rebuilding the back, after getting a fresh tube of plastic welder (JB weld's gonna have to wait for now). I'll have progress pics in a bit. Stay tuned...

[ARK 3]

love this pic don't you think it will do better on real gas's or Just the Fizz power,lol,

I 'd hate to what would happen on Root Beer,lol,

Edited June 28, 2016 by ARK 3

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: Sorry that progress has ground to a standstill; I'm sill waiting on JB weld for this project folks. Hope to have some progress in a week or so. Stay tuned.

[pengbuzz]

Okay folks; it's been a while (kidney stone, eye infection, had the kitchen sink thrown at me, etc...). Anyways, building the arm transform now. I tried JB Weld, but id just would not hold for me (cleaned the parts thoroughly/ degreased them, roughened them with sandpaper, made sure mix and temp were right and it didn't work.), so I went back to my old standby .Also, the upper shoulder/ lights section pretty much crumbled, so I totally rebuilt the shoulder area, and am reworking the transform for it. Once this is done, then it's just a matter of cleanup and assembly.

 

Stay tuned folks...

 

 

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

finally got the arm transform integrated into the back plate: I ended up taking a page out of Yamato/ Arcadia's notebook:

I implanted the rotators into the backplate (after notching the wings to make clearance for them) and placed poly-caps to retain the post for the arm retainers.Had to remove much of what I had originally installed, but the casings for them make for a much more stable platform to glue the top shoulderplates and searchlights to:

A better look:

 

With shoulder parts/ arm retainers in place (fighter mode):

 

In deployed position (Battroid Mode)

 

With arms attached (I began some parts priming...yay!):

 

Folded for Fighter Mode:

 

The whole idea was to provide a stable setup for transforming the arms, while at the same time, bringing them closer into the body of the Fighter so they didn't "dangle" below the head.

At this point, I'm reinforcing the chestplate and addressing issues with the leg retainers for Fighter mode/chest sliders: the plastic embattled and as a result, the "blades" on them crumbled. I'm scratching up a new pair that should be in tonight or tomorrow evening. After that: joining the front to the back (installing the rear shoulder folding hinge) and building a new joint box for the "backpack": that will be implanted and glued into place and should keep the "floppy syndrome" for the backpack completely out of the picture.

UPDATE 2 in just a moment folks...

 

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by pengbuzz

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE 2:

 

I also took a good look at why the legs seemed so out of scale with the rest of the valkyrie, when I noticed something:

 

It wasn't the length of the legs, but the "cutouts" for the feet!

 

 

 

With that in mind, I went ahead and closed the gap on the thruster/ foot openings, while leaving enough room for them to open in Battroid mode, as well as tilt back in Gerwalk mode;

 

I also extended the sides on the engine housing, as they were also a bit short when compared to the line drawings ?blueprints of the VF-1S' engine nacelles:

I think it looks a lot better now: and when compared to the line drawings, the lower leg seems a bit more in scale now...

Stay tuned...

Edited January 19, 2017 by pengbuzz

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

Another issue I noticed was with the door with the red and blue lights on them> Comparing it to the schematics for the VF-1, they should go all the way up to the knee rather than end below it with a "bar" between them and the knee joint.

So with that, I went to work...

An inner piece on either side of the leg will be glued in with a hole drilled for the new door to swing open and closed. Meantime, an internal racing piece will replace the "bar" above the door as to keep the leg from popping apart (otherwise, it's just the lower leg and back holding it together.

Hoping to head to paints soon, but I figure "I'm in this deep", may as well address this stuff before I "seal up" the parts and start color coats.

Tay Stuned...

Edited January 23, 2017 by pengbuzz

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE:

So far, upper doors are going okay, but super glue got into one of the lower ones. When I tried to free the door, it broke.

At this point, I decided one something I was previously on the fence about: redoing the main landing gear doors the proper way (two angled pieces instead of one "barn door". Just have to source the joints and do some more filing and plastic work....

...Maybe I should have saved up for a 1/60 V2 VF-1S? lol

Stay tuned...

[pengbuzz]

Well, my two idiot cats thought it would be a fun idea to have one of their "furry scurries" through the house, where they promptly barged into my work room and plowed into the table I set up for drying the parts. One cat stopped in time, but the other did not and crashed into the first one, sending both into my drying table.

(They were supposed to be corralled in the other room with the door closed. How they got out is still being determined...)

Casualty report: Chest plate is separated from the main body but can be reattached. Minor scuffs and whatnot on most of the valkyrie. One clip on the arm transform was broken but repairable and a head laser snapped off (superglue most likely will repair that one).

However, the implanted head-transform I designed and installed is shattered and is going to be the world's biggest pain in the ass to redo, given the location and setup (buried deep in the cockpit area, which is buried in the sub-armature of the chest and a major PITA to get a,t let alone modify). Not to mention the money spent on materials and whatnot for it, the frustration level is at a scale comparable to the SDF-1 preparing to fire the Main Cannon...

 

I nearly hurled this project against a wall with all my might. It took major amounts of self- control NOT to....

 

In any event, I don't have the money to replace parts on this or to keep buying adhesives for the bazillion issues (food and other things like bills are priority) that keep cropping up on this "self-inflicted wound of plastic" I did to myself. So, this is going back on the shelf until I either figure out how to salvage the transform (I don't want a "static" robot, which I just despise) or get sick of it and toss the damned thing in the trash.

 

Me and my bright ideas, right?

Edited January 24, 2017 by pengbuzz