Arcadia 1/60 VF-4A ‘Flashback 2012’ Premium Finish & Regular Release

[Lolicon]

3 hours ago, tekering said:

It's got pedigree, though.  SDF-018 has appeared on most toy and model representations of the VF-4, 'cause it was there on the very first: the Musashiya garage kit...

...and rumor has it Kawamori himself did the box art. 

Oh I know. This exact same conversation, with the same pics and article links, already took place when the HMR version came out.

It makes about as much sense to me as UNT SPACY on older gunpla models. 

[Anasazi37]

14 hours ago, tekering said:

Ah, but will you see fit to include markings Arcadia left off the PF, like that mysterious "SDF-018" on the vertical stabs? 

Even the Wave kit included those... 

I can add those markings. Maybe both SDF-018 and SDF-01B?

[Lolicon]

Here's a Club M VF-4 kit that just sold on Mandarake. Decal sheet includes markings for... SDF-II? 

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1159578458&ref=list&keyword=マクロス

[tekering]

Scale models of fictional aircraft (from decades-old hand-drawn animation) provide such a wealth of creative opportunities for unseen markings and nomenclature... and yet, we fans try increasingly hard to reproduce each other's work down to the minutest detail.

I'm surprised so much gets canonized after the fact, based on "that's what the garage kit used" or "Tenjin's art included it" or "Kawamori once drew it that way." 

 

[derex3592]

Where's my SDF-2 decal choice???!!! It existed RIGHT??!! 

[David Hingtgen]

Sure it wasn't SDF-Z?  

[Mommar]

Do FromJapan always drag their feet actually shippinf.

[F360]

 

49 minutes ago, Mommar said:

Do FromJapan always drag their feet actually shippinf.

sometimes,   they are deciding which oversize , bigger shipping box to use 

below is just a example .  not a Arcadia box but similar in size.

 

Smaller box on cardboard, then shrink-wrapped to keep in place, then place in bigger shipping box. then sents out higher shipping invoice . lol 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by F360

[jenius]

29 minutes ago, Mommar said:

Do FromJapan always drag their feet actually shippinf.

Mine has shipped

[Mommar]

15 minutes ago, jenius said:

Mine has shipped

When?  I paid for DHL on Sunday and I’ve heard nothing since.

[jenius]

52 minutes ago, jenius said:

Mine has shipped

13 hours ago.

[Lolicon]

5 hours ago, Mommar said:

When?  I paid for DHL on Sunday and I’ve heard nothing since.

I'm in the same boat as you. I hate paying for an express shipping method only for the company to sit on it longer than it would take to make the trip halfway across the globe.

[Saburo]

On 2/22/2021 at 4:29 AM, tekering said:

Incoming VF-4 pic spam!  Take cover! 

Very nice shots @tekering, I am regretting getting the plain version. 

[DarkArchon3000]

On 2/22/2021 at 4:51 AM, Anasazi37 said:

That's crazy-expensive for a toy this size. HLJ charged me $40 for FedEx when they shipped the regular version exactly one month ago. I'm assuming the boxes for both products are nearly identical. I wonder if part of the higher price is proxies taking the Arcadia shipping box and putting that in a still larger box. If anyone here is getting their PF through HLJ, I'd be curious to know what the FedEx/DHL cost is, for comparison.

Okay, looks like I need to make that set of decals for the regular finish....

Anasazi, please put me down for two sets of VF-4 decals.  Thank you! 

[orindlt]

HLJ just charged me, so my PF is ready to ship.

[analogkid]

Hey guys it looks like HLJ opened up the pre order for the premium finish so get your order in if you missed it! Glad I listened to you all and dropped  Nippon Yassan  

[Pedro2k6]

Today I got my VF-4 (regular edition) from NY.

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Pedro2k6

[Mommar]

On 2/23/2021 at 10:17 PM, Lolicon said:

I'm in the same boat as you. I hate paying for an express shipping method only for the company to sit on it longer than it would take to make the trip halfway across the globe.

They did finally ship it.  But DHL seems to be frakking up on the regular now.

[Lolicon]

15 hours ago, Mommar said:

They did finally ship it.  But DHL seems to be frakking up on the regular now.

Mine shipped Wednesday. I guess it took a couple of days to find a bigger box for 2x units? Hopefully it'll be here tomorrow.

Shipping cost was nuts and I'm hesitant to order the YF-19 PF through them if pretty much all the savings evaporate due to high shipping. I'll wait and see how much it costs through other retailers.

[Saburo]

VF-4A in Gerwalk Mode or I nickname it Goosewalk mode. 

[no3Ljm]

Lovely!

 

[Lolicon]

Quick comparison between the regular and premium editions

[ErikElvis]

I really need to see this in hand. Can’t decide if I like the PF or not. 

[kkx]

My vote is for the regular. With @Lolicon's subtle paneling it looks great. The PF version have line that are too dark/sharp for my taste.

The few missing marking (not so many of them it seems) can be remedy quite easily when @Anasazi37 release his decal sheet for this.

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

Quick comparison between the regular and premium editions

Nope, I don't see no difference. 

 

 

 

 

But kidding aside, I like your panel lines better.   

 

[David Hingtgen]

I think a sheet of black and red dry-transfers of generic aircraft stencil markings could get you about 90% of the way from 'regular' to 'premium' markings in a few mins...

 

[Anasazi37]

2 hours ago, kkx said:

My vote is for the regular. With @Lolicon's subtle paneling it looks great. The PF version have line that are too dark/sharp for my taste.

The few missing marking (not so many of them it seems) can be remedy quite easily when @Anasazi37 release his decal sheet for this.

Will try to spend some time on the set this weekend

[no3Ljm]

33 minutes ago, Anasazi37 said:

Will try to spend some time on the set this weekend

Looking forward to it too. 

 

[Slave IV]

7 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Quick comparison between the regular and premium editions

Is there anything besides the panel lining added to the regular? Both look good to me and I was almost considering a PF too but that might have just convinced me I totally don’t need it. 

[jenius]

There are a lot of no-step and little red warnings only on the PF.

[Mommar]

I rather like the panel lining.  It shows up much better in person than most of the photos but it’s also not ridiculously heavy/dark.  I could stand for it being marginally more subtle but I like it.  The only down side is I actually enjoy applying decals which I won’t have the option for with the PF.

[Lolicon]

9 hours ago, kkx said:

My vote is for the regular. With @Lolicon's subtle paneling it looks great. The PF version have line that are too dark/sharp for my taste.

The few missing marking (not so many of them it seems) can be remedy quite easily when @Anasazi37 release his decal sheet for this.

 

8 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Nope, I don't see no difference. 

 

But kidding aside, I like your panel lines better.   

 

Haha thanks. But it's not a fair comparison to compare my slow, careful handiwork to some factory employees who have to mass produce them. And the color of the lines are actually dark grey and not black, and it's not as stark in person as it appears in photos. Certainly much darker than mine, which was made with pencil lead and concrete wash (which is a much lighter grey).

Arcadia probably used something like this for the panels:

https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/enamel-detail/panel-line-accent-color-6/dark-gray/

 

7 hours ago, David Hingtgen said:

I think a sheet of black and red dry-transfers of generic aircraft stencil markings could get you about 90% of the way from 'regular' to 'premium' markings in a few mins...

Yes, many of the markings are NO STEP and DANGER and other such generic aircraft markings.

 

7 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

Will try to spend some time on the set this weekend

Ohhh I'm looking forward to seeing them! 

 

2 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Is there anything besides the panel lining added to the regular? Both look good to me and I was almost considering a PF too but that might have just convinced me I totally don’t need it. 

As mentioned above, there's a lot of various warning markings all over the craft that make it more like a real world aircraft. It does say MEGAROAD-01 on the lower stabilizers and there's the reaction generator markings as well. See @tekering's earlier photos to see all the various markings.

 

1 hour ago, Mommar said:

I rather like the panel lining.  It shows up much better in person than most of the photos but it’s also not ridiculously heavy/dark.  I could stand for it being marginally more subtle but I like it.  The only down side is I actually enjoy applying decals which I won’t have the option for with the PF.

Yes, it looks pretty good in hand, especially if you don't have a carefully hand-lined unit to compare it to. 

[Slave IV]

@Lolicon @tekering

haha, I see how my post was misunderstood. I was asking about the regular version in the comparison photo. Was anything other than panel lining added to that regular release one in the picture? Or, did you add any decals to the regular version in the comparison photo?

[Lolicon]

5 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

@Lolicon @tekering

haha, I see how my post was misunderstood. I was asking about the regular version in the comparison photo. Was anything other than panel lining added to that regular release one in the picture? Or, did you add any decals to the regular version in the comparison photo?

Nah, I didn't add anything other than the panel lines on the regular edition. Perhaps this would be a more fair comparison:

[Slave IV]

9 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Nah, I didn't add anything other than the panel lines on the regular edition. Perhaps this would be a more fair comparison:

Ok thanks! If anything, you may have inspired me to try panel lining some of my Valks with a mechanical pencil. I probably still won’t but if so, any special lead type/size recommendations? I’m definitely convinced I don’t need the PF VF-4A so there would have to be a pretty incredible deal for me to get it. 
Then I just gotta see how tempting the PF YF-19 is. Probably pass on that too although I kinda like the idea of it displayed with the DX.