February 24, 2010 in
Hobby. .
Coming this month from Hasegawa (@ 3,990 yen no less) is the 1/48 VF-1J/A Valkyriefrom Macross!
Now I’ve seen the sprue shots. It seems like besides the removable panels on the rear fuselage, it’s almost as if Hasegawa simply scaled up their original 1/72 kit to do this. So detail-wise, it’s not a whole lot more than its smaller cousin.
It also comes with 2 canopies and for the life of me, I don’t know why. One is more bulging on the sides than the other and that’s it.
But my oh my look at the boxart on the right! Just for that, I’d probably buy this thing! Besides, the VF-1 has always been a classic design for a mecha. So more than likely then, I’ll get this.
And with Hasegawa’s standard practice, there’ll be tons of reboxes for this thing. I’m most looking forward to the Super and Strike variants. Now that would be a big and impressive kit.
February 23, 2010 in
Hobby. .
Bandai has released prototype pics of their latest Soul of Chogokin toy. This time it’s Ninja Senshi Tobikage (Wikipedia entry). Now I don’t know anything about this series. In fact, I’ve never watched it. However, I know about the toys and this was one of those ‘always-wanted-one-but-couldn’t-afford-it’ things.
That small ninja-looking mecha is supposed to be able to merge with the lion mecha. There were also mecha in the shape of a red phoenix and blue dragon. I really hope the other two will be released too. No news on release date and price and but it sure looks very nice (unlike Baikanfu). More pics to come I’m sure!
Spent a night to do the cockpit. The instruments have raised details which are quite nice. For the Tornado, all I did was to to first brush on a layer of grey. Then I washed some dark grey onto the crevices which really popout the details. For the screens, I decided to give them a dark grey color as they are supposed to be off. Then it’s a very light drybrush of white over the whole panel to highlight the raised details.
Next up are the ejection seats. These are really detailed for their size. They actually come with molded on safety belts. The same thing was basically done as above: overall grey with olive drab for the cushions and tan green for the safety belts. Then it’s a wash of dark grey and light drybrush of white for the raised details.
The fuselage halves are then put together. The nose required 10 grams of weight. I tend to over weigh it just in case so mine is easily 200 grams. The whiole thing is buttoned up really tight. So much so I’m sure with the canopy closed (which is the intended way I’m finishing this), most of the details won’t be able to be seen. So this is probably the last time I can see the inside of the cockpit.
Cockpit done! First up, an overall coat of Vallejo US Grey. Then Black Grey for the stripe on the bang seat and an overall wash of the same color to add depth.
The same was done on the control panels but they ended up still looking quite bare. Besides, it’s supposed to be inflight so naturally the instruments will be lit. So I added tge decals which really ‘pop’ the cockpit. The decals are thicker than usual and required a lot of Gunze Mark Softer to settle down. I’m glad I’m not going to touch this anymore.
Next up, the pilot. Straight assembly and trimming of the seamlines around the pilot before a coat of US Grey as a basecoat. Prussian Blue next for the flight suit.
For the yellow bits, I first added white. I kept the chest rig in grey to add some ‘contrast’. Then it’s yellow for the helmet and uniform. The visor itself is Tamiya Clear Green.
I then touched up parts that had paint overruns and to add some depth, I added a wash of black grey but it’s not very obvious. At its scale, I think it wasn’t necessary. Heh. Then it’s a final fit into the cockpit for the results. Not too shabby.
Next, sealing up the cockpit and masking the canopy.
Kit Info
Manufacturer: Revell of Germany
Scale: 1/72
Media: Injection Plastic
Clearly biting off more than I can chew, I took this out from the closet and decided to give it a go. It’s actually my first ever Revell of Germany kit. I’ve heard that their quality can be hit or miss. This being a newer release though, it’s supposed to be on par with Tamiya/Hasegawa. We’ll see.
2 things immediately jumped out at me when I opened the box. 1) the box is really flimsy, it’s a miracle nothing got crushed in there and 2) what is up with the instruction sheets? 10 pages with 4 dedicated to health and saefty warnings. Geez. Compared to the usual Tamiya/Hasegawa instruction sheets, it’s also not as clear.
Like any aircraft kit, there’s logical and standard steps to building this up so instead of simply doing a straight up build report, I’ll focus more on the problems I faced and how I solved them (if at all).
For the last few projects, I decided not to follow verbatim the steps in the instructions. Instead, I jump around doing up the most simple subassemblies. This time, one of the first that I tackle is the refueling probe on the starboard side. The instructions called for 3 holes to be drilled out to use as a guide. I also decided to use part of the intake as a guide, seeing as how the probe can get in the way if placed wrongly.
Lo and behold, I was right. If I had placed the probe according to the holes, I wouldn’t have been able to attach the intake. However, the correct placement results in a nasty gap on the underside.
So I took out my clamps and clamped the parts down while I run Tamiya Thin Cement onto the joint. Problem fixed although it will require some cleanup.
Kit Info
Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Scale: 1/72
Media: Injection Plastic
My second project for Plamo’s WOOB 05 is this kit. Rules say OOB. This kit will have OOB construction and markings. Will be an empty stores entry since Hasegawa almost always never includes weapons. Think I’ll just add the weapons when WOOB 05 is over.
The cockpit control panels are decals, which turn out pretty nicely I think. Sure they are all flat but at this scale, it’s hardly an issue.
The instructions call for the nose, front and rear fuselage to be assembled separately before joining them together. I decided to do it differently by assembling each component according to sides. I figured this will reduce misalignments that might occur if I followed the instructions.
I think the end result is better than my previous F-4 build.
February 3, 2010 in
Hobby. .
Kotobukiya is not letting up with their Zoids HMM (Highend Master Model) series. Damn you Kotobukiya!
1/72 Gun Sniper Naomi Flugel Spec with Wild Weasel Unit
March release, 4,410 Yen (inclusive of tax)
Includes a painted Naomi Flugel figure
1/72 EPZ-003 Great Saber
May release, 7,140 Yen (inclusive of tax)
