peter Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 I mentioned in another thread that I'd been on a model building hiatus for 17 yrs. I was never any good at building models to begin with, but what really put me off building models was the Hasegawa VF-1S Strike Valkyrie. In another thread, I posted that I eventually got back around to it a week or so ago and finally finished it. I also built a few more Hasegawa 1/72s right after. Then I took a step back and built an old Bandai 1/72 Super Fighter, but soon found that was also a pain to build, just a different kind of pain than the Hasegawa kits. Those older Bandai kits are a nightmare compared to their modern offerings. This 1/100 kit was no exception. Glue, sand, putty, mask and repeat. The leg halves are molded in two different colors so you can't even cheat by just sanding and clear coating Bandai's off-white/gray body color. Anyway, onto the build. I bought this thing in HK for dirt cheap ($28HKD) more than 20 years ago and it basically sat in my pile( along with two others) ever since. I liked the sculpt, the proportions, but I didn't like the TV balloon hands on what was supposed to be a DYRL Strike. So I figured I'll build it with swapped hands. Then I thought maybe I could gut it and wrap the skin around a modern Bandai Gundam skeleton. Those Gundam kits practically build themselves, and are super poseable. When I started to look closer, I realized I was in over my head and there was no way I could accomplish what I wanted, based on my lack of skill in fabrication. So I decided screw it, I'll just swap out the hands. I know, I have no idea what I'm doing. The legs on this thing we're a pain....I was in masking hell. I use rattle cans, so a lot less control so I had to do a lot of masking. In that respect, a modern Hasegawa for the win because they provide a decal for almost everything.Speaking of decals, this kit did not come with the arm stripe as a decal. I ended up cutting up a leg stripe decal from another kit: I was just too lazy to measure, mask and paint. I ended up using my Hasegawa Strike/Super kit as a paint and decal guide. The decals that came with the Bandai's are pretty dated, and possibly the wrong scale. Just look at the Hasegawa fin decal compared to the ones that came with the kit. More masking. Anyway, almost done, more to follow. Quote
ChristopherB Posted July 9, 2020 Posted July 9, 2020 Looking good, I'm happy you're building again. It's nice seeing your progress and pictures. I'm excited to see how it turns out, glad the hands were changed. Quote
peter Posted July 9, 2020 Author Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, ChristopherB said: Looking good, I'm happy you're building again. It's nice seeing your progress and pictures. I'm excited to see how it turns out, glad the hands were changed. Thanks I've been sitting on a mountain of models for decades and I hadn't actually completed a Macross kit for maybe 30 years. I started one 17 years ago and was so put off my it, I stopped building models altogether. Kind of nice to get back into it. Go easy on me, my eyes aren't very good so at this scale, I'm pretty sloppy and miss a lot of things. I forgot to mod the arm armor to more resemble DYRL. Well, I have two more of these kits so I can try next time. Kamjin's POV just before he hulk-smashes Roy. Roy showing up inside an Zentran ship, uninvited and unwelcome. Edited July 9, 2020 by peter Edited to add comment on arm armor Quote
peter Posted July 9, 2020 Author Posted July 9, 2020 I just realized, I still have to paint the hands....was just test fitting them last night. When deciding on hands, the GFrame hands were a bit small. These ones were actually about the same size as the balloon hands that came with then kit. Quote
peter Posted July 9, 2020 Author Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) Dug out the last 1/100 scale Macross kit I built, probably 30 yrs ago. Sculpt is quite different, thought it was Bandai but maybe it was Arii? Next to the last Strike Battroid I built probably 35 years ago. Dug out a few other 1/100 scale kits I built as a kid. Edited July 9, 2020 by peter Quote
MechTech Posted July 10, 2020 Posted July 10, 2020 The VF-1S looks nice-n-clean Peter! I love the colors on that too. It just has a great look to it. - MT Quote
pengbuzz Posted July 10, 2020 Posted July 10, 2020 (edited) On 7/9/2020 at 2:58 PM, peter said: Dug out the last 1/100 scale Macross kit I built, probably 30 yrs ago. Sculpt is quite different, thought it was Bandai but maybe it was Arii? Next to the last Strike Battroid I built probably 35 years ago. Dug out a few other 1/100 scale kits I built as a kid. You did an awesome job on the VF-1S super! Yeah, the other one is an Arii; i recognize the overly-fat nosecone! lol I also have eye issues, and found head magnifiers that amplify things even further; maybe that can help you out if you need it. Edited July 10, 2020 by pengbuzz Quote
Shawn Posted July 11, 2020 Posted July 11, 2020 That Bandai kit originated with a Imai 1/100 Super, and the Strike variant was released in 1984 for the movie. Imai did some really fantastic work (aside from their hook-nose gerwalks ha)!!| Their 1/100 Battroid was miles ahead of its Arii brother, and the only time they shared a large scale. It is a very odd release. And this is another fantastic Gray build vs white...these are really are growing on me! Quote
peter Posted July 11, 2020 Author Posted July 11, 2020 Thanks guys, I have two more of these kits so I might build one up in Hikaru colors. Interesting history on these kits. Yeah, I don't know what's the deal is with my obsession with gray Valkyries. Looks like I was doing the same thing as a kid too: Not sure what paint I used for my older Vakyries, maybe Testor's brush on paint. Quote
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