Macross Fighter Collection #4

I've wanted to pick up a couple of these since I first saw them. I missed out on the first 3 series and now I've finally managed to snag a couple. Really... I saw a guy just come and pick up the whole box one time. Didn't leave any for anyone else to buy! I'm glad I got a couple but I got 3 stealth radome type of fighters and was a bit disappointed in that. So I just took off the extra bits and made them into normal fighters, so this is my squadron now. I don't think I'll buy anymore. They're nice little things to have around but they don't fasten to the base securely at all and will fall off the stand easily. Nice to look at but not really that fun to play with. Still though... I'm glad I have a couple now finally!

Well I'm off to meet ASM and Gaigun for some fun in Osaka! Have a great weekend!

Lucifier - All operations complete

A couple pics for now before the full WIP and gallery go up.  He's now standing amongst the other finished models.  Glad to have this done!  Now to write about it!

 

Easily one of the most challenging projects I've ever done.

Enter the Demon: Preview

Been out of the game for a bit because of this accursed stomach flu.  Still battling it on the 4th day.  As much as I was hoping for a quick end it's looking like this virus is more resilient than I initially thought and I'm going to have to dig a bit deeper and allot more time to destroy it.

I will not make another VF-27 WIP post until I'm completely done the photo shoot and have made the review post on hobbylink.tv so don't hold your breath just yet.

As crappy as I may feel physically, it does feel really good to be back at the photo shoot stage for a properly finished model again.

HLJ VF-27 - WIP 8 - Rifle

First and only appearance of under-gates. ALL gates should be like this as far as I'm concerned.

Not that many parts.  More complicated than regular rifles but definitely manageable.

I like how they put in the nozzle of the energy emitter.  You'll never see it later but its the little things you know.  I also like how the scope can pop up.  The handle can fold back ever so slightly.  Kinda wonder why they even bothered to add that.

Open

Closed

I've long since painted and detailed this but pics of the parts I painted will be covered in a separate post.

HLJ VF-27 - WIP 7 - Wings

This is final step of the construction of the vehicle.  There are still some extras left to do but this is basically the end of the assembly process.

The parts in question.

This is worth noting.  I almost ruined the project here. I'm still not exactly sure how I got myself out of this.  I put the rod in first to test the fit and it got jammed a bit too far in.  I couldn't put in the wing piece because the rod was in the way.  It would not budge and as you can see here the connecting joint is thin and fragile.  It could break easily with a bit of forcing and that's exactly what I was doing.  I managed to push it out somehow... but try to avoid making this same mistake if you can.  Because once that rod is in... it's REALLY tough to get it out again.  You can kind of see my sweat on this piece from the amount of effort I was putting into it.

The details... the details that no will will ever see.  It's almost a shame.

Wing frame attached.  The main wing parts attach to this frame relatively simply.

More vents on the underside of the wing.  I've since painted this in Gunmetal.  The only way you can paint this is before you assemble it, so save yourself the time and just do it before you put it together (If you're inclined to do so.).

Thruster exhaust.  Couldn't let this go either.  I painted it in flat black.

And with that VF-27 assembly is finished but now the fun stuff starts.  Detailing, panel lining, top coat and probably the most time consuming part of this kit... DECALS.

HLJ VF-27 - WIP 6 - Midbody

Back to work and it's time to get you folks caught up. I've nearly finished this but my blog doesn't represent that. Just too much good Gundam stuff to talk about recently! Moving on!

Here are the parts in question.

From VF-27

Little details on the intake vent.  If you use the supplied stickers these will be covered up.

From VF-27

More details on the front side of the intake vent.  I ended up painting this in Gunmetal.

From VF-27

All assembled it looks like this.

From VF-27

And here's how much it can move.  Pretty crazy eh?

From VF-27

Once you add these little pieces to it you can connect the legs.

From VF-27

Bird man!  I know some people have mixed feelings about this but I've always liked the Gerwalk mode for the Macross fighters.  That was one of the coolest options to me.  The tripod legs provides a significant amount of stability.

From VF-27

HLJ VF-27 - WIP 2 - Main fuselage / Head

Brought to you courtesy of HLJ.

Here are the parts that will be added to core fuselage.

The cockpit and pilots have a lot of little details that would look lovely with a bit of paint.

One thing that you should try to take note of is how well the parts line up after snapping them together.  They should be relatively seamless, as shown here.

Some parts don't move.  After snapping the nose cone together you could easily glue/putty/sand this part to remove the seam lines and it wouldn't effect the mech at all.  Of course you would have to paint it and if you paint one part you're going to be painting many just for the sake of consistency.

You're given the option of two types of canopy.  Solid and clear.  The solid one is used in the anime.  Below are the comparisons.  The molding is exactly the same. Material is different.

Which one do you think looks better?

Parts of the head. Relatively simple.

Assembled.

Oops!  Likes like my knife slipped! haha no I did this intentionally of course.  This is the only mod I'm going to be doing to the kit.  I didn't think that the 'horns' were necessary for a super aerodynamic fighter (extra drag) so I cut them off.  I also want the head to resemble my VF-25G a bit more so I cut them off.  I'm going to do a bit of shaping later but I decided to just do a basic 'chop' right away to get a feel for how it'd look.  I kept the horns just in case I change my mind.

HLJ VF-27 - WIP 1 - Core fuselage

First day of summer vacation which means it's the first day of work for me.  Work on Gundam! haha yeah I'm just exchanging one job for another now.  Granted I don't get paid for this but I can at least sleep in.  And it's fun.  So let's get started!

I say 'core' in the title because some extra parts will be added after but this is just the basic transformation mechanism at work.

Before I start this project I must clean my work area!

From VF-27 Basic tools, 2 types of a nippers and 2 cutting knives, multi-vitamins and Omega-3 capsules, homemade sports drink, watch, speakers to connect to I-Touch, and miscellaneous tools/markers/pens in the blue drawers. VF-25G oversees all! I had a couple Real Touch Markers laying around from when I bought SD Justice and Aegis a life time ago (bought before I started this blog so no link unfortunately). So I decided to use that for working on the nubs. This is basically what it looks like before and after.  As you can see it's not perfect but it's certainly better than leaving the nubs as is.  Generally what I like to do is shave the nubs down with the knife, then run my fingernail over it to smooth it down a bit.  Then I use the marker and blend it in with my nail again.  I know... it's a bit... organic but it works. Here are the parts that I'll be assembling first. There are quite a few small pieces so it's very important to cut the nubs down properly in order to leave the transformation mechanism unimpeded. Very small parts.  Repainting these kits would be a true feat.  The nubs are a bit glaring but they're on parts that probably won't be seen.  You have to decide for yourself just how detailed you want to be.  Also because the pieces are so small its very easy to lose them.  Please be extra careful concerning that.  One lost piece could have disastrous implications, as in the entire transformation mechanism may not work without it. The next couple shots will just show how much movement and articulation you can get from the assembled parts in this section.  Everything moves it seems.  It's quite a bit different from building a Gundam in that sense.  Gundams generally move like people and have joints in the same places that we do.  Macross kits are like that as well but x10.  Every other part can move somehow.  That said, it is a relatively stable build and can be played with without much concern of breakage.  This kit is a masterpiece of engineering and everything fits together perfectly.  If there's one piece of advice that I can give you about assembling this kit it is this; If it doesn't seem to fit right you made a mistake.  The engineers didn't.  Everything should fit together and move perfectly.  So for god sakes don't force anything to happen that the engineers didn't intend to happen.  You may ruin one of the many transformation mechanisms in the kit.  The parts are small and can break with a bit of force, please be careful of that.  Check and double check the manual if you have to but if you're going to force something into place make sure that's what the manual is telling you to do.

VF-25G - Assembly Complete

It certainly took some time to make this but it wasn't so bad all around. This is my first time making a transforming Macross fighter and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the process. Lot's of little parts but the metal bars that come with it really add to the stability of the machine.

There are lots of little armour parts to give the plane a smooth look in vehicle mode and I was pleasantly surprised with how similar the transforming process is to the original Valkyries. More complicated for sure but just similar enough to make it seem like an upgraded version of an older machine. Which it is.

No embedded landing gear. Those require extra parts and they're so big that's there's no way they couldn't realistically be housed inside of the legs. The parts that spread on the sniper rifle get loose easily. The way the shield attaches to the back of the plane could use a bit more effort. It can be quite loose.

But this is without question a beautiful model. The lines, the transformations, the sheer engineering of it... I'm very impressed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it right now but that will be a project for a later date. As is my way, I build first and then paint much later down the road.

When I do paint it, I don't think that I'll be deviating from this colour scheme much. Metallic blue and I'll use SOME of the decals that the kit came with. A bit of silver here and there. Nothing crazy... I just want it to look more like itself if that makes any sense.

It'd be easier to see all the details on any of the other VF-25's because of their lighter colour schemes but I choose the blue because I thought it looked best. That and I liked the shape of the head more than any of the other Messiahs.

For now I'm just going to admire this simple form of the model while I work on other projects. I'm keeping my eyes open for the optional Super Pack in the meantime. Too bad they never made an optional Armour pack. Someday maybe.

The Bird-Man Cometh

Veiled reference for the Macross Zero fans. I've definitely enjoyed building my first Macross transformable model. It's no Gundam, that's for sure. I think I have an idea of what people have gone through building the transformable Victory Gundam after doing this. Lot's of small pieces to accommodate the transforming mechanisms.

Truly an engineering masterpiece. I have found new respect for Macross Frontier mecha design.

Not done yet obviously but just wanted to show you all what I've been doing with my time recently.

VF-27, SV-52, ADF-01 and fuschia is not a real mans colour

Sorry this is going to be pretty dense. Take your time with this one.

Couple of things to say about this as I don't post about non Gundam related stuff that often. First I am a huge Macross fan. Second, I did NOT like Macross Frontier outside of the mecha designs. Third, I very much like the VF-27. Ngee Khiong did a very nice write up about this unit and it's (seemingly) technological predecessor the SV-51, which I actually like a bit more because it avoids a lot of the issues that I have with the VF-27's Gerwalk and Battroid modes. The SV-51 has problems of it's own but I'll outline all of these points later.

VF-27 first. Check it out.

Let's start with what I do like. Fighter mode. Love it. Looks great. Awesome. I think the wings are excessively angular (I prefer simpler lines. I'd cut the number of angles down by at least half) but over all I like it, especially the cock pit. As you can see there isn't a proper 'canopy'. It's enclosed, similar to the ADF-01 Falken type fighter from Ace Combat 5 and Zero (both great games for the record. Big Ace Combat fan here.)

Oh yeah. Falken.

Actually a bit more on the Falken because there are probably some correlations between the technology used in both fighters.

From the Ace Combat Wikia page.

It's most prominent feature other than forward-swept wings is what seems to be an armoured, glassless cockpit. This is actually a 360° celestial-spherical screen cockpit layout, giving the pilot an immense advantage in combat. Instead of a traditional glass canopy, the plane utilizes a prototype of the revolutionary Connection for Flight Interface (COFFIN) system, which is similar in effect to a one-way mirror or an extremely tinted window. The pilot can still see out, but no one can see in. This is achieved via a series of real-time hexagonal monitors and external cameras that transmit the visual data to the pilot. This also allows for the HUD and targets to also be displayed at all angles, where as a normal aircraft can only show targets and data on it's front HUD display. If a target were to leave that HUD on a normal plane, the pilot would only be able to see it's green targeting square. On the Falken however, the monitors and a powerful computer eliminate that problem.

And people ask me why I love mecha. Am I the only one here that thinks that's frickin' cool?!

Now as much as I love the VF-27, I do have a fair number of problems with it. 1. The head. Not really feeling those horn things. 2. The torso/stomach. It doesn't look very stable or strong. It looks way too exposed. Like a well place shot there would destroy the whole machine. Finally, I have major problems with the Gerwalk mode. Namely the unsightly gaps and jagged tail left behind when the legs fold down. Also look at the wings. How can such large wings (with a thruster attached to each one no less) be held aloft by such a small and flimsy hinge? Did I mention that the jagged tail at the end of the body really bugs me? It does. A lot.

Finally the colour. What is that? Fuschia? I can't abide that. This is a military vehicle! Granted my favourite MS is pink/fushia but... I can let it go because it is the God of Melee Combat. Even though I have the MG version of that MS, I am definitely planning a recolour job for it and no it won't be black and gold! haha

Now, this new Grace O'Connor use VF-27 solves a lot of my problems. New head (thank goodness) and a more subdued colour (making it easier to repaint should I be inclined to do so. Plus I don't hate the tan. More ARMY like). It doesn't solve any of the other design issues I have but... I think I can work around it.

Nice

Finally... I hesistate to try a recolour on a transformable model kit. The amount of chipping and breakage problems I've had on my Sinanju has been enough to deter me from attempting a similar task on this kit, should I decide to purchase it. I have Macross TOYS but I don't have a model. I PLAY with Macross things. I don't really spend time making them look nice. So... I'm more inclined to buy one of the transformable toys should they ever come out. At best... I'll do a decent lining/decal/top coat job on it and leave it at that. I'm seriously considering buying this. I might even get Michel's blue VF-25 while I'm at it because I'm hardcore like that and it's the only VF-25 version that I really like. No super pack or anything. Just the stock fighter.

Concerning the Sv-51, I don't have any of the problems that I mentioned with the VF-27. No jagged wing lines, no sharp tail section, no horns on the head. It seems more like a bird in the Gerwalk mode, I believe it's wings actually flap on occasion. This machine is a first generation transformable fighter prototype but in my opinion it remains one of the best. I do think it's odd that the design was scrapped until the emergence of the VF-27, 50 years later. The only problem I have with it is that it looks very structurally unstable. Like it could break apart at any moment. That said... I think it looks quite frightening sometimes. Like a real monster.

Digging the feet too.

With all this talk you might be asking... what will make this guy happy? Well not much really. There's only one real veritech fighter that I truly love and have almost no problems with and it's the VF-2 SS, a design so great that this site was created in worship of it.

Not so modern, but not so common either. What can I say. Sometimes I'm just a practical traditionalist when it comes to my mecha designs. The VF-1 is one of the top mecha designs EVER in ANYTHING in my opinion. It's hard to beat. The VF-2 improves upon it just enough for me.

Alright this post is getting on in length and I realize now that I could talk about this ad nauseam so let me stop here before I get into the the merits and demerits of the VF-11, YF-19 and YF-21 and the VF-22

Actually **** it. The VF-22 gets love from me so I'm going to showcase it a bit.

Look at those lines. Dayum playa...

Finally, the Falken gets one more last salute from me because it's that damn good.



This was my wallpaper for some time.

Question to the Macross fans. Best transformable fighter and why?