1/72 Hasegawa VE-11D Thunderseeker WIP

[chaff.g]

Hi folks, in this thread I'll detail the process of my next Macross build.


I'll be building what I'm calling a VE-11D -- a simple kitbash of two of Hasegawa's 1/72 Macross kits, the 1/72 VF-11D Thunder Focus and VE-11 Thunderseeker. My plan is to finish it in the original VE-1 Elintseeker color scheme.


Test-fitting the pieces.


The VF-11D kit comes with parts for the GCU-M3 payload. I think this is meant to be some sort of camera. I thought it was reminiscent of the original VE-1's equipment, so it should look good on the underside of the airframe. I was surprised to find that these parts are molded in resin; the detail is nice.


This aircraft will be a two-seater, just like the original VE-1. I really like the shape of the VF-11D's cockpit.

[slide]

I've been planning a similar VE-11!

I Can't wait to see how she turns out! looks like a beauty so far.

[chaff.g]

Beginning work on the cockpit. The parts were stuck together with CA glue and Tamiya Extra Thin Cement.

The cockpit parts were primed with Tamiya Surface Primer Grey and White.

The interior of the cockpit was airbrushed with Mr Color 13 while the pilots got a coat of Mr Color 311.

The pilots were hand brushed with Citadel paints and a small yellow dot of Testors yellow. The Gundam marker was used to draw a thin line of dark blue between the faceplate and helmet.

The yellow details were achieved by applying Testors Yellow enamel and then cleaning up mistakes with a cotton swap dampened with Zippo lighter fluid. Because the white base coat is a lacquer, it does not interact with the fluid, unlike the enamel. Sometimes this is called a "reverse wash".

Edited September 5, 2016 by chaff.g

[Mintox]

Looking good there mate. Cant wait to see this finished.

[edstuff]

Oooh. I'll be watching this

[chaff.g]

The seat cushions were given a coat of Citadel Mechrite Red.

Cockpit parts ready for assembly.

The cockpit parts were given a wash of Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color Black.

The nose's seam was welded with plastic cement.

The cockpit was attached with Testors Clear Parts Cement.

The join between the canopy and fuselage was masked with masking tape and Tamiya Masking Tape for Curves.

Finally the canopy was covered with bits of regular masking tape.

Sealed and ready for finishing.

[MechTech]

This is coming along great! - MT

[derex3592]

whoa! How did I miss this build???!! Looks great so far!

[Zinjo]

Amazing work.

The VF-11D is one of my favorite valks!

[chaff.g]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

This time I began installing magnets into optional parts to make them removable.

I'll use rare earth magnets to attach optional parts like the super packs and camera pod. These cylindrical magnets are 1mm in diameter. I'll use them to attach missile pods.

There are hardpoints molded into the underside of the wings. I'll drill two 1mm diameter holes for each hardpoint.

The pylons attaching to the missile pods will also receive two of these magnets.

The magnets fit perfectly. Even though they are small, they are strong enough to hold the missile pods in place.

I'll use 3mm diameter disk magnets to fasten the super parts. I'll drill a hole through the slot on the dark grey piece on the body of the aircraft. One magnet will go into this hole while a corresponding magnet will replace the tab on the super part.

I used two sets of magnets per part. The yellow putty on the super part is a polyester putty I used to raise the magnet off the wall of the part into place to meet its mate on the aircraft.

I made a similar modification to the panel which closes the gap in the leg when the super part is not attached. I only needed one magnet for these. Everything fits perfectly!

[NZEOD]

On my VF1s the 3x5mm magnets are strong enough to hold the super pods on THROUGH the plastic without having to drill a hole right though. The ones I use to hold the models upside down in the display cases actually have the magnets hidden BEHIND the landing gear doors and still hold enough attraction to hold a finished model to the wall upside down even while I'm hammering in renovations on the opposite wall.

[Bolt]

Lovely project.

Realty looking forward to this..

[chaff.g]

Just a small update on some minor details.

Here are the third party JasmineModel photo-etched parts for the 1/72 VF-11.

It turns out most of these are cockpit details. Since the canopy will be sealed with the pilots inside, I'll only use a couple of these parts in the build.

Here's a closeup of a panel to be applied to the underside of the feet thrusters.

You can see that it adds a little bit of detail and hides a seam. It'll be hard to notice in the finished build since this detail will be buried inside the thrusters.

I also took this opportunity to drill some holes into the vernier thrusters housed in the nose of the craft.

Next time I'll detail how I magnetized the GCU-M3 camera pod.

[chaff.g]

To modularize the GCU-M3 camera pod, I trimmed the tab coming out of the body of pod and built a pylon out of styrene. At the end, I attached a couple of small magnets with CA glue. This pylon will tab into a slot leading to a larger magnet glued into the arms of the aircraft.

A closeup of the pylon created for the camera pod.

The pylon will tab into the slot molded into the arms.

The connection is quite sturdy and holds the camera pod level without drooping.

Next time I'll wrap up with the magnets and show how I attached the aircraft to its display stand.

[slide]

nice!

interesting mod to the camera pod... do you plan on swapping in a gunpod? or just have it removable for sleekness?

[Zinjo]

Looking amazing!

Please post hires pics of this project when she if finished.

It is coming along beautifully

[chaff.g]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm not planning on building the gunpod right now, but it would be simple to integrate it in the future.

In this post I've concentrated on the attachment to a display stand.

Before sealing the fuselage, I painted the visible portion of the interior surface.

I also painted the head turret that emerges through the opening on the top of the aircraft.

The landing gear bay doors were sealed by filling the bays with putty and then glueing the doors over them. To ensure a smooth fit, I sanded down the doors and rescribed the panel lines.

Everything fits together well and looks good on the stand.

I glued some magnets inside each intake.

I also glued a third magnet toward the back of the part that would form the thigh in battroid mode.

The right leg sans FAST pack.

And with the FAST pack attached.

Everything fits together well and looks good on the stand.

The booster pack is also removable.

[mickyg]

Love the use of magnets here. Fine work so far - keep it up!

[arbit]

Magnets make everything more fun!

[edstuff]

I am loving this build progress

[CoreyD]

What sort of glue is best used to affix the magnets?

[edstuff]

Ive used jewellery glue with magnets before. Worked great

[chaff.g]

In this update, we finally get to some paint!

All parts received a coat of Tamiya grey primer.

Next, I preshaded black along panel lines.

Not a very neat job, but it will be blended in with the next layer of paint.

After applying the grey base coat, I masked some areas which will receive the accent colors.

The nose of the aircraft and the tip of the camera pod received a base coat of white paint before the upcoming color. The canard received a red stripe in homage to the chest of the original Elintseeker.

The stripe looks pretty sharp after removing the mask.

The nose, and tips of the camera pod and fast packs all received an accent color of Mr. Color C58 orange yellow.

Next I masked off some areas of the FAST packs to receive a coat of black.

The radome received a coat of Mr Color C337, which is a grayish blue. The black details were done with another mask.

I airbrushed the housings of the verniers with Alclad steel and the interiors of the verniers with Alclad copper. The rim was outlined with Citadel mithril silver.

[edstuff]

Oh man that looks pretty

[chaff.g]

Applying decals in this update.

Before applying the decals, I will apply a gloss coat to all surfaces. Because I don't want to alter the metallic luster of these vernier thrusters, I masked them with Mr. Masking Sol Neo.

The parts after applying a gloss coat of Mr. Color GX 100 Super Clear III. Some before and after photos follow.

[spanner]

impressive work!

[coronadlux]

Looking good.

[slide]

very nice!

did your gloss-coat eat your masking film? or does it become more transparent when it dries?

[chaff.g]

did your gloss-coat eat your masking film? or does it become more transparent when it dries?

Right - the mask I used shrinks and becomes transparent as it dries.

[maxoconnor]

Any update on this project? I was going to attempt this conversion as well and I had some questions on the specific paints you used. 

[Jasonc]

REVIVAL FROM THE DEAD!!!

I've been thinking about bringing my kit out to work on it, since it is a bit of an oddball kit, and aside from professional builds that don't have the customized touch that most of us do, it hasn't really been a popular build. That said, I hope this post brings out a finished image of this fantastic build. I know it's been awhile, but I hope this was completed, or at least has some progress.