Written by 3:39 pm My Builds

Completed : Hasegawa 1/72 General Galaxy VF-22S Sturmvogel II


The Subject
The VF-22S Sturmvogel II is the mass production version of General Galaxy’s entry in Project Super Nova, the YF-21 ‘Omega One’. The YF-21’s brainwave control system was dropped and replaced with conventional controls. However, the active stealth and payload capabilites were retained. The VF-22S has been deployed by UN Spacy in limited numbers in the special operations force role.

Info from Macross Compendium

The Kit
This kit was my entry into Plamo’s WOOB 06: Do you remember Macross? groupbuild. I’m actually not eligible to win anything but what I joined to support the forum. As per WOOB rules, the kit was built OOB.

As an aside, the kit markings represent a variable fighter fielded by ‘SVF-124 Moon Shooters’, a squadron in the UN Spacy. It’s, as far as I know, a non-canon unit that Hasegawa has created to sell more kits. Lovely markings though.

Like all of Hasegawa’s Macross kits, this one allows me to build it in subassemblies. Due to the design of the mecha, there isn’t any major seamline that needs to be fixed which is nice. I did deviate from the instructions in some cases which I think worked better to reduce the need for seamline removal. I also decided to build the kit in a wheels up position as I find Macross kits look better this way. Hence, this becomes the first time I have finished a kit in an inflight configuration.

The colors used for this project:

  • Alclad II Jet Exhaust
  • Lifecolor UA008 Medium Gray
  • Model Master Acryl 4757 Neutral Gray
  • Tamiya X-23 Clear Blue
  • Tamiya X-25 Clear Green
  • Tamiya X-27 Clear Red
  • Vallejo Model Air 002 Yellow
  • Vallejo Model Air 047 US Gray
  • Vallejo Model Air 056 Black Gray
  • Vallejo Model Color 863 Gunmetal Gray
  • Vallejo Model Color 965 Prussian Blue

All in all, it was a pretty straightforward build although it won’t stand up to any competition-style scrutinizing. Some notes for posterity:

  • I need to find a more secure way of attaching the kit to the display stand
  • I ended up ruining the finishing on the exhaust because I tried both superglue and plastic cement to attach the petals to the housing. I ended up handpainting the parts where the original paint lifted. I should have tried using Gator Glue to attach the petals.
  • I originally wanted a clean finish with just straightforward panel lining but I ended up having to use the oil paint as a wash which toned down the finish. Luckily for me, it turned out well, albeit unintentionally. I still need to figure out how to do clean panel lining though.
  • This is the first time I used Future for anything else besides for dipping canopies. It’s very versatile, I think I’ll experiment it for other uses. Heh.
  • First time using Lifecolor and I like it although I prefer Vallejo’s squeeze bottle.
  • First time weathering a near black finish. It turned out OK but it’s always good to find out how to do it better.
  • First time not preshading a kit and it turned out quite well. Perhaps unless for special cases, I think I will stop preshading for 1/72 kits as my preshading can sometimes get quite heavy handed.
  • I need to be more careful with canopy masking.

End of the day though, it’s not too bad! I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

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Tags: , , , , , , Last modified: 13 August, 2020
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