Bandai 1/144 VF-11Kai MAXL

[Skull Leader]

These little 1/144 Bandai kits are fun to build. They require very little effort to assemble and offer about the same level of posability as some Gundam HGUC kits. Like the rest of the Macross7 kit lineup, the VF-11MAXL kit is actually 2 kits in one. It contains parts to build one battroid mode and one fighter mode. Both kits are snap-together, using polyjoints to preserve posability with the arms, legs, and head (in the battroid). I believe it was Tect that put out several custom kits, providing parts for Gerwalk mode, or soundbooster kits for all the 1/144 lineup, but here I only have the basic kit.

Assembly:

This kit came together pretty fast. It's a snap-together job, but obviously you may want to glue at least some pieces (the antennae around the head of the battroid and the thruster nozzles of the fighter come to mind) for stability. The kit is far from complex and a competent 7yr old could assemble this I think. The Battroid has the option of having the chest speakers (okay, OKAY... they're boobs...) being built open or closed.. it's a matter of selecting which one you want to use. My only regret about the fighter mode is that you have to build it with the landing gears down unless you wanna do some cutting/customizing. There IS a pilot for the cockpit though!

Score: 8/10 for it's straightforwardness.... it loses points for not being a challenge though.

Painting:

Most of the kit comes casted in the correct colors... although to be accurate to the show, some pieces have to be painted. The chestpiece (both of them) came casted in pink, when the majority of it is supposed to be white. It comes with decals to deal with this, but it's a poor alternative at best (the decals were shiny!?). Again.. true modellers will want to paint the whole thing, but a weekend builder could paint select areas and be done with it, and it will be fine (which is what I did).

Score: 8/10 Very little of this kit is hard to access, so painting is pretty easy. With only select portions of the kit "Needing" to be painted, it gets points for the quick fix.

Posability:

The Battroid has a surprising amount of posability to it. Ball joint wrists, hips and ankles always make for better action poses, and this kit provides. The head rests on a ball joint also, but the antennae limit forward movement a little. The fighter, of course, is little more than a static model, but what do you expect?

Score: 9/10 It offers a wide degree of movement possibilities for a 1/144 kit. Older models in this scale might offer less. The lack of open hands limits gun poses, but that's to be expected.

Overall:

These kits are a good way to thoroughly kill an evening or two. Given the size, I'm very happy with what the Bandai 1/144 VF-11Kai MAXL kit offers. Detail is kept to a minimum, but I feel with a stylized valkyrie such as this, that might not be such a bad thing. On the downside, the kits are NOT proportioned to one another. While the fighter mode looks pretty good, I think the arms on the battroid might be a little large. I'll leave that for others to draw their conclusions on though.

Score (Overall) 8.5/10 An excellent kit for the average price, since you essentially get two kits in one. It loses points for questionable proportions and a forced grounded pose for the fighter, but those can be overlooked (especially since it's the only VF-11MAXL kit there is commonly available!)

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