This was a long time coming and it’s time to finish it. I decided to go with the J head and the kit also includes the A head.
I added more details including:
- adding aft vent details using plastic card
- filling the hollow area on the tailfin section with epoxy putty
- scratchbuilding fans for the intakes using plastic card
- scratchbuilding a pair of RMS-1 missiles from plastic tubing and Kotobukiya MSG parts
- modifying a pair of AMM-1 missiles from the Hasegawa weapons set
The cockpit is bare so I busied it up with plastic card and rods.
I wasn’t too confident with the condition of the decals (which had been sitting around for quite a few years) so I decided to mask and spray the majority of the markings. I decided to go with a variation of the Hikaru Ichijyo’s VF-1J color scheme from the Macross the First manga.
Color scheme reference
The pilot was handpainted with decals for the helmet details and chevrons.
The decals came off the backings quite stiff and it took some coaxing, cutting and Mark Softer to get them to conform to the curved surfaces. Weathering was kept to a minimum of a simple panel wash.
I spent quite a bit of time repainting the color scheme due to overspray, errant decals and a slew of other minor disasters. The kit was then mounted on a rod inserted into a 3cm x 3cm wooden block.
Disasters galore but I like how it turned out with the color scheme being particularly striking to my eye.
