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Bandai/Imai VF-1J Valkyrie build

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  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Thursday, July 1, 2021 11:41 AM

It was a no box kit, that I paid more for shipping, all parts still sealed with decals and Revell instruction booklet. Even had the rubber/vinyl tires and metal landing gear.

I was surprised I won it; I only bid a token amount and was surprised I was high bidder at $7.50. I was actually looking for a 1/72 scale F-14 Tomcat when I stumbled upon the auction less than 10 minutes before it ended.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Thursday, July 1, 2021 6:33 AM

Rob Gronovius
I picked up another copy of Axoid on eBay for a measly $7.50 plus shipping ($9).

Nice score, even with the shipping. Building it permanently in aircraft mode is a great idea. After a few transformations, they tend to get a biy floppy.

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Thursday, July 1, 2021 1:36 AM

Phil_H

Hi Rob,

I have scanned a set of these instructions and emailed to the address on your user profile. If this address is no longer used, PM me an alternate address.

Phil, I picked up another copy of Axoid on eBay for a measly $7.50 plus shipping ($9). I can't wait to get started on the kit using your scanned original instructions. I'm certain that I will build it in aircraft mode as opposed to trying to make it transformable or into robot form.

Thanks again!

  • Member since
    March 2004
  • From: Kincheloe Michigan
Posted by Mikeym_us on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 7:40 PM
Yeah I have a few of the Hasegawa Macross Valkyrie kits myself including the VF-1S Battroid.

On the workbench: Dragon 1/350 scale Ticonderoga class USS BunkerHill 1/720 scale Italeri USS Harry S. Truman 1/72 scale Encore Yak-6

The 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron the only Squadron to get an Air to Air kill and an Air to Ground kill in the same week with only a F-15   http://photobucket.com/albums/v332/Mikeym_us/

  • Member since
    August 2019
  • From: Brisbane Australia
Posted by Josh_the_painter on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 2:45 PM

Mustang8376

 

 
Gamera

Oh wow, that's cool!!! Nice work!!

And BTW if you dip your canopies in Future they won't fog from superglue. Just clip them off the sprue, clean then up, wash them off really well, and then dip in a small container of Future and set aside upright on a paper towel to let the excess Future drain off. You can then pour the Future back into the bottle to keep from wasting the extra. 

 

 

 

 

The messed up thing is, I did dip them in Future.  I am going with I did something wrong since it was such a long time from when I did put the canopy in future and when I finally installed it.  

 

Nice build! All my canopys I glue with PVA, dries clear, holds very well and no fogging. Actually anywhere I find myself needing to be super precise like around PE vents for example Inuse PVA also as can be brush applied where you want it and it gives working time which is hard with super glue.

Cheers,

Josh

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 12:14 PM

Phil_H

 

 
Rob Gronovius
I would love to have the original Japanese instructions for the red Axoid kit I have.

 

Hi Rob,

I have scanned a set of these instructions and emailed to the address on your user profile. If this address is no longer used, PM me an alternate address.

 

Phil, thanks for the scan!

  • Member since
    April 2010
  • From: Atlanta, GA
Posted by Mustang8376 on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 11:53 AM

Gamera

Oh wow, that's cool!!! Nice work!!

And BTW if you dip your canopies in Future they won't fog from superglue. Just clip them off the sprue, clean then up, wash them off really well, and then dip in a small container of Future and set aside upright on a paper towel to let the excess Future drain off. You can then pour the Future back into the bottle to keep from wasting the extra. 

 

 

The messed up thing is, I did dip them in Future.  I am going with I did something wrong since it was such a long time from when I did put the canopy in future and when I finally installed it.  

Current build: 1/48 Monogram A-1H & AMT Jedi Starfighter.

 


Completed:  1/48 Monogram/Revell P-61B, 1/32 Hasegawa F6F-5, 1/48 Hasegawa F-16C, 1/48 Revell Mig-21PFM, 1/48 Revell/Monogram AH-64A, Revell/Monogram 1/48 F-14D, AMT 1/420 USS Defiant, AMT 1/650(?) USS Enterprise, 1/72 Bandai VF-1J, AMT 1/537 USS Reliant, Academy 1/35 M1-A1 Abrams, Academy 1/48 F-86F30, Linbergh's USS Gato 

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 11:17 AM

keavdog

That's cool. Like a transforming little Tomcat.   

That's exactly what I thought when I first saw a VF-1!  When a friend who normally builds 1/72 scale aircrat built the Hase kit, he displayed it next to an F-16, which looked bigger.  The Valks from "Macross Zero" are noticeably larger and closer to F-15 / Su-27 size.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, February 9, 2021 10:13 AM

Oh wow, that's cool!!! Nice work!!

And BTW if you dip your canopies in Future they won't fog from superglue. Just clip them off the sprue, clean then up, wash them off really well, and then dip in a small container of Future and set aside upright on a paper towel to let the excess Future drain off. You can then pour the Future back into the bottle to keep from wasting the extra. 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Monday, February 8, 2021 4:23 AM

That's cool. Like a transforming little Tomcat.  

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Monday, February 8, 2021 12:39 AM

Rob Gronovius
I would love to have the original Japanese instructions for the red Axoid kit I have.

Hi Rob,

I have scanned a set of these instructions and emailed to the address on your user profile. If this address is no longer used, PM me an alternate address.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Sydney, Australia
Posted by Phil_H on Monday, February 8, 2021 12:00 AM

Real G
The whole transforming gimmick rarely works well in model kits.

In addition, the Imai/Revell/Bandai transforming 1/72 Valkyries have stubby  wings in order to have it transformable without the wingtips dragging on the ground if the wingspan stayed consistent with the "fighter mode" wingspan. 

I have three or four of the Revell boxings unopened with intact shrink-wrap 

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Sunday, February 7, 2021 11:07 PM

The whole transforming gimmick rarely works well in model kits.  Joints get loose, paint scrapes, and parts break.  Even Bandai's 21st century remake of the VF-1 suffered from the exact same problems.  That's why I prefer Hasegawa's approach of kitting fixed mode Macross Valkyries.  It's not as fun, but you get peace of mind.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    July 2011
  • From: Armpit of NY
Posted by MJames70 on Sunday, February 7, 2021 10:33 PM

The Vexar/VF-1S is closest to prototype colors, missing mostly the red/white roundels in the box art version. Axoid/VF-1J is close; the prototype from the show used by a particular character was red with white trim. The Orbot/VF-1D is far off in that camo job; it would have been a tan and orange trainer scheme in the show. The heads are different in the three kits to their specific prototype, and the VF-1D is a two seater. The rest of the plastic is identical in all three kits. 

Beware the triple changers, though. They are very fragile. I had a Vexar painted up as a Macross/Robotech VF-1S back in the 80s, with the pilot painted up as Hikaru Ichijo/Rick Hunter. The kit was so fragile I did not bother with even attempting the transformations. I permanently glued it into fighter mode, and it was still weak. 

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Sunday, February 7, 2021 9:54 PM

Rob, the kit decals are identical to the original.  Their locations were changed around at random on the Revell instructions.

I had bought a number of Dougram kits in the series and just used Japanese instuctions for colors and decal placement.

That being said, IIRC the Vexar (VF-1S Roy Fokker Special) instructions were close to the original.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Sunday, February 7, 2021 6:50 PM

Nice job, it reminds me of the Revell Robotech kits I built in the 1980s. The one I had back in the day was a desert camouflaged one called "Orbot". I bought the red "Axoid" on eBay within the last ten years. It was the closest to the Orbot I could find at a decent price.

I would love to have the original Japanese instructions for the red Axoid kit I have. Do you know if the three Revell Robotech kits were the same plastic kits inside and just different markings?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotech_Defenders

  • Member since
    April 2011
  • From: Silver Spring, MD
Posted by badlanguage on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 9:01 PM
Oh, I bet! I've never built a Bandai Valkyrie in fighter mode but I've built the Battroid before. Definitely some filling to be done, but that was an 80's era kit. I've built the Hasegawa Valkyrie in fighter mode and it's an awesome kit. The only thing I don't like is that if you want much more than the gun pod for armament you gotta get the weapons kit, sold separately of course - but then you can put pretty much any armament you want on it.
  • Member since
    April 2010
  • From: Atlanta, GA
Posted by Mustang8376 on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 10:55 AM

badlanguage

Very nice! I'm inspired to go into my stash and start working on one of my Hasegawa Valkyries! Is that a 1/72 scale Valkyrie?

 

Yes it is, not from Hasegawa though.  I compared this one to the Hasegawa version in my stash and it looks like Hasegawa's will be a easier build.

Current build: 1/48 Monogram A-1H & AMT Jedi Starfighter.

 


Completed:  1/48 Monogram/Revell P-61B, 1/32 Hasegawa F6F-5, 1/48 Hasegawa F-16C, 1/48 Revell Mig-21PFM, 1/48 Revell/Monogram AH-64A, Revell/Monogram 1/48 F-14D, AMT 1/420 USS Defiant, AMT 1/650(?) USS Enterprise, 1/72 Bandai VF-1J, AMT 1/537 USS Reliant, Academy 1/35 M1-A1 Abrams, Academy 1/48 F-86F30, Linbergh's USS Gato 

  • Member since
    April 2011
  • From: Silver Spring, MD
Posted by badlanguage on Tuesday, February 2, 2021 9:54 AM

Very nice! I'm inspired to go into my stash and start working on one of my Hasegawa Valkyries! Is that a 1/72 scale Valkyrie?

  • Member since
    April 2010
  • From: Atlanta, GA
Bandai/Imai VF-1J Valkyrie build
Posted by Mustang8376 on Monday, February 1, 2021 11:30 AM

Had this one on the bench that I've been working on with a break off for a couple of years.  An enjoyable build as I wanted to see if I could do a Mod-Eagle style paint scheme with a metallic sheen.  All paints were Vallejo.  Even with the issues with the seams and the paint coming off the canopy when removing the paint and do nto get me started on the superglue fogging up the inside of the canopy.  

 20210201_074453 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074459 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074459 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074517 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074524 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074539 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074543 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074546 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074614 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

 20210201_074616 by Darren Keller, on Flickr

The rest of the inbuild pictures can be found here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmSNMZ1U

 

Current build: 1/48 Monogram A-1H & AMT Jedi Starfighter.

 


Completed:  1/48 Monogram/Revell P-61B, 1/32 Hasegawa F6F-5, 1/48 Hasegawa F-16C, 1/48 Revell Mig-21PFM, 1/48 Revell/Monogram AH-64A, Revell/Monogram 1/48 F-14D, AMT 1/420 USS Defiant, AMT 1/650(?) USS Enterprise, 1/72 Bandai VF-1J, AMT 1/537 USS Reliant, Academy 1/35 M1-A1 Abrams, Academy 1/48 F-86F30, Linbergh's USS Gato 

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