Imai 1/72 VF-1J Macross Sper Valkyrie Conversion Type

[ernestf]

Hello all, I went back parents' home recently and found some boxes which I bought in the 80s. 

There are two of them in the picture.

The box of the Macross rings the bell - think I bought in the early 80s when it was released. Then it was sleeping in the store room for the last few decades.

Looking at the manual, I think I want to build it !

Frankly, the molding is not bad at all considering it was designed and produced almost 40 years ago. The water slide decals, however, shows lots of cracking and doubt if it is still useable. 

Another thing I found out is that the landing gears are nicely molded, however, there is NO gearing wells at all. 

Hey, it is a space type aircraft, what landing gear am I talking about ????!?? 

When it is parked inside the space mothership, it should float with some gear to fix it in position. I can save the work of modifying the gear wells - yeah, I want a simple project and not over complicate it. The plastic shows its age and turn a bit yellowish, it should be brittle and need to build carefully. 

 

The project has been delayed for almost 40 years, let not wait any more. 

A quick trail build :

[ernestf]

Build started. Glued the parts together, managed to sand the steps between them and filled the seams. 

Frankly, I am satisfied with the build as this kit was produced almost 40 years ago.

 

Sprayed some of the parts too, think Gaia 063 is pretty close to the original space armour from the boxart. The cockpit has some raised panels, which is nice, but the kit decals does not provide any instrument panel decal, I am thinking to "steal" some from other's jet fighter PE and also the seat belt is missing too. 

 

 

[ernestf]

Cut off the internal connecting slot for the two exhausts so I can paint them separately from the two "legs"

Plastic is a bit brittle, have to handle carefully (which I did crack one side already).

 

 

[Thom216]

Nice! Always cool seeing a VF-1 going together, esp a classic kit. I remember putting these together as a young-wee lad. Even have a carcass or two remaining...

 

If you are interested in more, Plamax has a new-tool 1/72 just out and there are, of course, the venerable Hasegawa kits as well.

And that's not even mentioning the Wave VF-4 and VF-171, the Hasegawa VF-25 thru 31 and the Drakkens...🤪

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Thom216

[Mike]

I think I had one or two of these kits in the early 80s too, and still have them somewhere. I also bought the 1:48 VF-1 Valkyrie from Hasegawa relatively recently, and really must build it someday. I watched Macross again too a few years back. A bit samey, but fun

[Thom216]

Always enjoyed the original series. The first 'cartoon' I watched as a kid where people died and there were true stakes. 

If you liked that one, check out Macross 7 (a bit on the goofy side), and Frontier and Delta. Personally, Frontier is my favorite. With Big West (who did Macross) finally settling with Harmony Gold (who redid Macross as Robotech) we should see the DVDs in the US, but they can be found on-line.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Thom216

[JamesP]

 

Love these IMAI Macross kits. I’m slowly building my way through them. 

[ernestf]

6 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Nice! Always cool seeing a VF-1 going together, esp a classic kit. I remember putting these together as a young-wee lad. Even have a carcass or two remaining...

 

If you are interested in more, Plamax has a new-tool 1/72 just out and there are, of course, the venerable Hasegawa kits as well.

And that's not even mentioning the Wave VF-4 and VF-171, the Hasegawa VF-25 thru 31 and the Drakkens...🤪

 

 

 

 

Thanks ! I just checked out the Plamax - seems very nice and much less seams to deal with. 

 

6 hours ago, Mike said:

I think I had one or two of these kits in the early 80s too, and still have them somewhere. I also bought the 1:48 VF-1 Valkyrie from Hasegawa relatively recently, and really must build it someday. I watched Macross again too a few years back. A bit samey, but fun

Frankly, my last impression of Macross was back to the 80s .... I hope Netflix has it one day. Hasegawa 1/48 seems promising too.

[ernestf]

6 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Always enjoyed the original series. The first 'cartoon' I watched as a kid where people died and there were true stakes. 

If you liked that one, check out Macross 7 (a bit on the goofy side), and Frontier and Delta. Personally, Frontier is my favorite. With Big West (who did Macross) finally settling with Harmony Gold (who redid Macross as Robotech) we should see the DVDs in the US, but they can be found on-line.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for recommendation, I haven't heard Macross 7, let me check it out !!

5 hours ago, JamesP said:

 

Love these IMAI Macross kits. I’m slowly building my way through them. 

I did not expect much before I started the build given the age of the kit. Turn out not too bad - certainly cannot compare to the Bandai gunpla fitting, but it is not something impossible for someone with a bit of modelling experience. 

[ernestf]

Completed most of the seams filling. The landing gears are not too bad, however there is NO landing gear bay. To me it is a show stopper, and I decided to build the kit without landing gear. 

Added some plastic cards to cover up various parts of the fuselage and the robot head. 

 

Applied UV putty to close the holes where the landing gears suppose to go.

 

It is ready for painting and cockpit details.

[ernestf]

Catching up the sunny weather in Singapore, and started primer, pre-shading and main color.

Time to deal with the cockpit

 

And the rest of color

 

[ernestf]

The kit does not come with decals for IP, hence I looked for after market IP and it also comes with the belt. 

[Mike]

Looking good The cover-up of the open bits is effective too

[ernestf]

42 minutes ago, Mike said:

Looking good The cover-up of the open bits is effective too

Thanks for comments. Older kit seems to have less consideration of the details (eg the open bits in many many places), and rather make sure the wings can swing  as it is more important in the 80s. 

Comparing old Hasegawa aircrafts kits in 70s and early 80s, which they have some raised panel lines, this Imai kit was certainly above average in mold quality. 

 

[ernestf]

Time for decals - it is really challenging this time, the decals sheet not just turning yellowish after 30+ years (close to 40 indeed), it takes few minutes to soak in water before the decals can be detached, and yet they are extremely brittle. I have damaged most of them, and only two were successfully mounted on position, which I was able to moved its pieces into a logo shape.

Success rate is very low, at least I tried.

Applied a wash with 502 black + white oil on the bottom of fuselage, wings and 'legs", also try using white (light grey) Mr Weathering liquid to highlight the shape of the space armour, seems the outcome is acceptable.

 

Applied another round of decals from my spare, with some additional light touch of Mr Weathering grey / black wash. Sealed everything with GX114 flat clear, installed the two exhausts on backpack. 

[Thom216]

Dude, that is looking so dang good! I love the paint scheme you chose for it.

Little late now, but I hear that setting yellowed decals in a sunlit window for a few days can get the yellow out.

[ernestf]

5 hours ago, Thom216 said:

Dude, that is looking so dang good! I love the paint scheme you chose for it.

Little late now, but I hear that setting yellowed decals in a sunlit window for a few days can get the yellow out.

Thanks 🙂

the original decals isn’t just yellowish but take 4-5 mins to soak in water before it can slide, and once slide it split into pieces. Only managed to save two logo on the backpack, rest of the decals were all damaged during the process. 

[ernestf]

Canopy masked and painted, please refer to the RTI

 

[JamesP]

IMAI decals were never great even new. 

[ernestf]

2 hours ago, JamesP said:

IMAI decals were never great even new. 

I see, never build one until now