Bandai HG 1/100 VF-19 Kai

[Chronocidal]

15 hours ago, MKT said:

The Soundbooster positioning change does make it look better from the top.
 

Maybe I'm forgetting things, but isn't this basically where the booster mounted on the Yamato too?

[MKT]

13 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

Maybe I'm forgetting things, but isn't this basically where the booster mounted on the Yamato too?

Ah that is true.. I haven't handled my 1/60 Sound Booster, so I just assumed it was further forward.

Pic from Anymoon:

[PvtPrivate]

Been mulling over this for a while, which do you think would be better, Gloss or Matte finish?

[Big s]

2 hours ago, PvtPrivate said:

Been mulling over this for a while, which do you think would be better, Gloss or Matte finish?

Gloss for this one. It just feels like a civilian with a red jet would definitely go high gloss rather than flat. The guy’s also a rock star, so the more flashy the better 

[pengbuzz]

5 hours ago, Big s said:

Gloss for this one. It just feels like a civilian with a red jet would definitely go high gloss rather than flat. The guy’s also a rock star, so the more flashy the better 

The way the fighter is show in M7, it seems like gloss rather than flat:

[Big s]

1 hour ago, pengbuzz said:

The way the fighter is show in M7, it seems like gloss rather than flat:

Although, it might be cool to do the reds and yellows in gloss and the dark gray parts flat as a contrast 

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, Big s said:

Although, it might be cool to do the reds and yellows in gloss and the dark gray parts flat as a contrast 

I think that would work quite well!

[Chronocidal]

Finally got to dig into a copy of this kit, and Bandai is well on their way to producing the VF-19F/S/P, it includes the normal gunpod, as well as a couple of trees copied directly from the YF-19 version.  Some will probably wind up as P-Bandai exclusives like the VF-22s, but boy, if we get a P model I will struggle not to go bananas with custom schemes.  I have wanted a white 19F with black stripes from the Master File ever since that book came out.

I might try and get a spare tree of the feet so I can get usable heels for the YF-19, since these actually fold properly.   Could maybe scratchbuild, print, or recast them as well, but the molding precision on these kits is so high, that would be pretty difficult.

Edited August 22 by Chronocidal

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Finally got to dig into a copy of this kit, and Bandai is well on their way to producing the VF-19F/S/P, it includes the normal gunpod, as well as a couple of trees copied directly from the YF-19 version.  Some will probably wind up as P-Bandai exclusives like the VF-22s, but boy, if we get a P model I will struggle not to go bananas with custom schemes.  I have wanted a white 19F with black stripes from the Master File ever since that book came out.

I might try and get a spare tree of the feet so I can get usable heels for the YF-19, since these actually fold properly.   Could maybe scratchbuild, print, or recast them as well, but the molding precision on these kits is so high, that would be pretty difficult.

At least if the other variants are web exclusive, they’ll include the dang decals 

[Chronocidal]

Eh.. I'm not going to complain about the decals too much, I'll paint most of the details on these anyhow.

What does tick me off a bit is how much better this one is than the YF-19.  Like seriously, it is so bad by comparison, the VF-19 mold is better in just about every way.  Fixes the dumb thick seam on the nosecone by making it a single piece, fixes the stupid gray hip block by covering it entirely with the fighter forward fuselage, fixes the borked-up feet by making them actually fold shut, and even adds an ankle extension in the process.

It just makes me want them to redo the YF-19 from scratch and bring it up to snuff, it just looks bad by comparison.  I think they tried to do a little too much with the YF-19 mold, making some of the details on the fuselage molded in color, and the shape suffered for it.  The gullet is definitely bigger on the Fire Valk, but it's still a streamlined shape, and it's a much better alternative to the naked hip block on the YF-19.

But yeah, looking at the parts breakdown, this kit is clearly prepped for a quick turn-around to produce the other VF-19 variants.  Already includes the gunpod, shoulders are prepped for the VF-19P shoulder fins, and the sprue groupings are such that they can just swap a couple in and out for the other heads and wing shapes.

Hopefully the Emerald Force versions will be a little cheaper due to the lack of the sound booster, because I'm going to want to buy a small fleet of these.

Though this just makes me realize.. do we even have any regular fighter mode VF-19 kits?  I wish Hasegawa would tackle some of these at some point.

Edited August 22 by Chronocidal

[sh9000]

Nice custom VF-19P.

[Cheese3]

I grew up in west Texas in the 90s,aka pre internet and it’s truly bizarre to see new macross  7 kits at a chain model store like hobby town. The times have changed! Oh, they still have the Big West sticker! That never changes! Don’t you forget it Bandai!

Edited November 5 by Cheese3
I wanted to add a jab at Bandai.

[Big s]

4 hours ago, Cheese3 said:

I grew up in west Texas in the 90s,aka pre internet and it’s truly bizarre to see new macross  7 kits at a chain model store like hobby town. The times have changed! Oh, they still have the Big West sticker! That never changes! Don’t you forget it Bandai!

I hear they’re also at hobby lobby, which is one of those places I never thought I’d see Macross kits at. Although I usually avoid that place as much as possible 

[Phil]

Finished building and painting my VF-19.  It's going to stay in Gerwalk mode as it's my favorite - I did not even build the parts for the other modes.  Also added some pictures next to the Wave VF-1 kits for size comparisons