WIP: Hasegawa 1/48 VF-1S Valkyrie Fighter

[JNordgren42]

Happy New Year everyone! I had bothe NYE and New Year's Day off and I got some solid modeling time in on my first build of the year: the excellent Hasegawa version of my all time favorite anime mecha, the VF'1S Valkyrie in 1/48 Scale. I normally build smaller models nowadays, but I thought this subject deserved a little more grand scale than my usual 1/72. I added both the Hasegawa and Jasmodel photoetch sets, and where there is overlap, I'm choosing what I feel is the better part. I also am adding some other details from my parts box to flesh out the few bits that need it which aren't covered by the PE. Finally, I'm planning on doing a "What If" paint scheme and will be doing a low-vis F-14 inspired paint scheme with VF-84 Jolly Rodgers livery. I already have a 1/48 F-14 data stencil decal sheet for the project and ordered a 1/72 F-14 sheet from DXM which includes the low viz Jolly Rogers markings (the 1/72 skull & bones and vagabond stripes fit much better on the smaller Valkyrie tails and nose than 1/48). I've got all the initial subassemblies ready to shoot the first coat of primer and I can't wait to get some paint on it.

Subassemblies ready for primer.

Test fit of the cockpit and nose.

Lower leg test fit.

PE and spare greeblie details for the engine.

I did a little up-detailing on the gun pod. I filed off the sensor pod and replaced it with athe chin pod from an F-14 out of the spare parts stash. I also drilled out the barrels and replaced them with small diameter steel tubing.

Other random PE details.

View of the afterburner detailing.

I can't wait to get some paint on this!

 

[modelerdave]

That is really good work with the photo etch. It can be hard to manage the smaller parts that require a lot of bending, but everything you did came out perfectly.

 

[JNordgren42]

That is really good work with the photo etch. It can be hard to manage the smaller parts that require a lot of bending, but everything you did came out perfectly.

Thanks, PE can definitely be a challenge. There are a couple of imperfections, but I'm happy with how it came out. I use razor blades on a hard flat surface for bending which helps to keep things crisp. Thankfully there isn't a lot of bending required on the PE for this kit.

 

[JNordgren42]

I've been getting some paint on the parts with interior bits (cockpit, nose, lower legs, head) so I can glue them together and move on to the main painting. There's nothing particularly exciting about that so no pics yet (although the cockpit is coming along nicely). I did however succumb to my OCD/ADHD brain and spend a good chunk of the day kitbashing mechanicals for the sensor eye from spare bits from the parts box (mostly left over photo etch parts from some Metal Earth models). It will be essentially impossible to see, but it was a fun diversion while waiting for paint on other parts to dry.

 

[JNordgren42]

I was able to pick my decals up from the post office today. For some unfathomable reason, the vendor sent them Signature Required, and I wasn't home when they tried to deliver them on Wednesday. Other than the little hiccup with the signature, I'm super pleased with the quality of the sheets. Between the 1/48 stencils and the 1/72 livery sheet,I should have more than enough to get the job done.

I'm also about ready to button up the nose. I got the few decals that go in there on and sprayed a coat of Mr. Color GX gloss clear seal everything up for final weathering. After that, I'll put on a coat of matt clear and then I can glue it together.

I also took a trip to my LHS today to pick up the MRP paints that I ordered for the project. They did a recent expansion and their space looks great, it's nice to see a brick and mortar shop doing well.

The cockpit is almost done.

The combination of the Jasmodel photo etch instrument panel and kit screen decal looks really sharp.

DXM F-14 Tomcat Collection 4 in 1/72 scale. I'm really happy that the low viz skull and bones are exactly the same size as the white ones in the kit sheet. Hasegawa must have transferred the art directly from one of their 1/72 Tomcat assets.

1/48 Tomcat Data Stencil sheet.

I'll be doing an amalgam of these two schemes with a little of the standard F-14 TPS thrown in. I'm also thinking of using the lighter set of Vagabond Stripes on the gun pod. I've seen a VF-103 F-14 with dark fuel tanks and a light stripe and I really like the look of it. The gun pod is normally a dark grey and hangs below the engine nacelles in a similar manner, so I think it will work really well.

 

[edge10]

Love Macross, love the F-14.

We will watch your career with great interest.

 

[JNordgren42]

I've been slogging through getting all the subassemblies ready for paint. It's tedious, but I'm trying to be extremely meticulous with my construction and prep. I ended up cutting off nearly all the locator pins before gluing. They're pretty close but force some very small misalignments that were unacceptable for the level of finish I'm aiming for. I think it's worth the effort and I'm really happy with how it's progressing.

Filling has been relatively minimal (it's good enough that I'm mostly using Gunze Mr. Surfacer 500 brushed on instead of Tamiya or Perfect Plastic Putty). I've had to re-establish a few panel lines, but all of the surface detail is staying nice and crisp.

I also wasn't happy with my first go at painting the exterior of the exhaust nozzles. I went with Mr. Color Burnt Iron with clear blue and yellow heat staining and it looked too cartoonist (yes I realize the irony, but I'm going for a very realistic look on this one). I also thought the exhausts could use some detail to bring them up to par with all of the photo etch, so I scribed some panel lines to break up the surface. I've mixed some custom metallics and I'm going to try to get a similar look to the muted colors of the F-22 exhaust petals. For the interior of the exhausts, I'm going for an off white ceramic look that's also inspired by the F-22.

My first attempt at the exhaust nozzles. I wasn't happy with the result.

I sanded back the burnt iron and scribed some structural looking details.

The fuselage is almost ready for the final primer coat. I'm really happy with how all of the joins and fit came out.

The first wing is almost ready to start painting in earnest. I'm not going to preshade this model; instead, I'm going to attempt an acrylic Ink patina technique I ran across by Luftraum/72. His results are spectacular, hopefully it works out here. I bought the necessary inks and brushes and I'm excited to try it.

Patina Tutorial

Head ready to start painting.

Most of the other parts are in various stages of primer, finesse sanding. The big exception is the lower legs. Because of the way the kit is engineered, I need to finish the exhausts and install them before I can address all of the seams. There are several other areas that are a challenge in this regard, but the legs are the worst.

 

[JNordgren42]

I'm making good progress and I'm getting very close to finishing up primer, which is the base that the acrylic patina will start on. I'm going to try it out on the upper arms first since they will be the least visible and are also the easiest parts to strip back down if I mess up.

The fuselage is about ready, I just need to profile the second set of antennae on the nose. For some reason, Hasegawa molded them as ugly, thick flat slabs (the dorsal antennae behind the cockpit are nicely profiled with a diamond cross section, so it's not like they were unaware). I also decided to glue the tail section on, it's structurally pretty weak and I wanted to give it a nice clean gluing surface (and it also let me get the fit perfect). As in most of the rest of the model, the locator pins were just enough off introducing a gap, so off they came.

Left set of antennae, I've sanded them to a nice diamond section.

Right antennae before sanding. They're just unsightly flat slabs.

I also made good progress on the exhausts and I'm much happier with where they're headed. The panel lines and colors are definitely not standard, but I think it gives them some interest and it's something different. I still have one more color to spray, and more saturated copperish color on the rear section of the ventral (split) halves) then it will be clear coat and weathering. And then I can install them and button up the lower legs.

Ventral half. This will get a slightly more saturated copper color on the section that wraps around the pivots.

Dorsal half. This is ready for clear and weathering.

Hopefully my next update with have some progress on the patina technique.

 

[JNordgren42]

I still haven't started the patina, but almost all the parts are fully based out. I have a couple of very minor scratches to deal with here and there, but they'll only need small touch ups. I also got all the colors down on the exhausts and a semi-gloss clear sprayed on them. I can do the main weathering tomorrow and then get them permanently installed in the legs. Then I'll be able to get the last few seams taken care of and get the primer/base coat on. I still haven't decided if I want the exhausts open or closed (or somewhere in the middle). Finally, I did an all up test fit using some Blu Tack to hold the legs and arms together. I'm really happy with the general fit and it should glue up nicely once I get to that stage.

Close up of the dangerous bits.

Close up of the exhausts. I'm leaning more towards the open position, but I haven't made a final decision yet.

Basic colors done on the exhausts, I really love how they are looking at this stage.

 

[JNordgren42]

I made some nice progress over the last couple of days. I got the first shot at the patina technique under my belt, and I'm generally happy with how it turned out. I definitely need more practice with it, the theory and general procedure are fairly simple. But as with so many things in this hobby, the devil is in the details. I also got the primary weathering done on the exhausts, got them glued in, and got the last small cover plates glued in and a first pass at seam filling done. All of the smaller subassemblies have primer sprayed, and I'm working on a last few minor areas on the fuselage before I put a final coat of primer on it.

Final result of the patina. I still plan on doing some more weathering with an enamel wash and I'm going to try my hand at oil paint weathering as well. I also need to do detail painting on the joints and decals and a final matte coat.

Test fit of the weathered exhausts.

Inside weathering and PE joint cover applied.

Looking down at the business end.

The exhausts are protected with masking tape and I've got the first coat of primer on the leg. There's a few imperfections I have to deal with but it's looking really good at this stage.

Here's a quick run down of the patina stages:

1. White acrylic ink is applied over the primered surface of the model after it has been lightly wetted with Tamiya X-20A thinner. It's then manipulated with a deerfoot stippler brush to give a nice random blotchy look. I think I need to adjust this stage to get a more blotchy and random look with more contrast.

2. A light coat of the base color (in this case Light Gull Grey) is airbrushed over the white ink. I think I went a little too heavy on the base coat here, next time I'll make it a little lighter. In combination with adjusting step 1, I should hopefully get a better result.

3. (Not shown) A coat of semi gloss clear is applied over the base color to protect it.

4. Dark grey acrylic ink (2 parts carbon black to 1 part titanium white) is applied on the part in the same manner as step 1. I think my ink was a bit too dark this time. I also need to make it a bit more blotchy.

5. Once the ink is dry, it's knocked back with a cotton swab lightly wetted with IPA or diluted X-20A. I think my thinner was a bit too strong on this stage and it ended up being much too streaky.

6. Apply another light coat of the base color. I think I went a bit to heavy again here. If you're happy with the result at this stage, you can call it done and move on to you're next painting and detailing steps, if not you can add more layers of ink as desired and repeat steps 4-6.

I wasn't happy with the result, it was too streaky for my liking, so I did another grey layer. I used a slightly lighter grey mix and got a much better stippling pattern. I did introduce some issues by partially eroding the color layer below in some areas when I was doing the stippling. It ended up with a slightly rough surface, but I was able to mostly smooth it out by doing a very light wet sanding with a 7000 grit sponge.

A final light coat of the base color and I'm ready to move on.

 

[JNordgren42]

Today's progress. I'm still chasing down the last stubborn seam and scribing issues on the fuselage and legs, but everything else is done with the primer base coat. I did the detail painting on the shoulders and added an additional layer of weathering with a grimy enamel wash and did some black panel liner on the joints. I also based the gun pod with Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black and did the first layer of patina on it. The base color will be NATO Black, which I'll also be using for the vertical stabilizers and a few other detail areas, so the gun pod will be a test of the technique on a darker color.

Black Mr Surfacer base and the first layer of acrylic ink applied to the gun pod.

The shoulders are ready for a gloss coat and decals.

Another test fit. I'm still chasing a few stubborn seams and pits on the fuselage and legs.

 

[JNordgren42]

The primer/base coat is done on all of the major assemblies, so I can start the ink weathering in earnest. I also finished the shoulders with decals and semi-matte clear coat. I made and oopsie when I was spraying the NATO black on the gun pod and spilled some paint on it. I had to sand the affected area back, repaint the black base coat, and redo the first layer of ink. The good news is I used a much lighter grey mix on the ink and I'm much happier with the contrast. I also decided to do the raised panel on the head in black as well and got the base and first layer of ink done on that.

Decals and final clear coat done on the shoulders. These are done until final assembly, when I'll decide on any additional weathering.

I redid the base coat and first ink layer on the gun pod because I'm a clumsy idiot.

Black base and first ink layer on the raised head panel.

I'm finally done with primer on the fuselage and legs. I can start on the ink weathering now!

 

[JNordgren42]

I had a pretty productive evening with no oopsies this time. I sprayed the NATO black over the ink on the head and gun pod and had time to also spray the clear over that to prep for the next ink layer. I also got the first white ink layer on all of the rest of the underside parts and I'll be able to spray the base colors over those tomorrow. Things are starting to move along nicely now.

NATO black and semi gloss clear on the gun pod and head.

White ink layer on the legs and remaining arm parts.

 

[JNordgren42]

Things are really starting to move now!

I finished up the main paint on the gun pod and got the decals on it. I saw a VF-103 Tomcat that had the Jolly Rogers Vagabond Stripes on the under-nacelle fuel tanks and decided to give the gun pod a similar treatment since it's a similar shape (and since my decal set came with two sets of the stripes). I really love how it came out.

I also got several steps done on the legs and forearms, I sprayed the first layer of greys over the white ink, sprayed cleared over that, and got the dark grey ink applied and pulled back with makeup removal pads dampened with IPA. I found the pads give a far more even and controllable result than cotton swabs, the swabs have too narrow of a contact area and make very stark streaks that are difficult to make natural looking.

Underside of the thigh/intake with color applied over the white ink. Light Ghost Grey on the bottom and interior side and dark ghost grey on the top and exterior side.

Dark grey ink applied.

Ink toned back with the swab.

Paint applied to the lower legs. These are three tone with light ghost grey on the bottom and inner side, dark ghost grey on the exterior side, and medium grey on top. It's a little splotchy on purpose since it will have the dark ink and another color coat on top.

Ink applied.

Ink rubbed back.

I accidentally got far too aggressive with one of the arm parts and removed almost all the ink. I'm just going to roll with it and assume that assembly was replaced with a newer one at the repair depot after suffering damage. The arm parts are two tone with light ghost grey ventral surfaces and dark ghost grey dorsal surfaces.

More dirty arm vs. clean arm that I removed too much ink from.

Finally, I got most of the white ink done on the wings and most of the fuselage. I ran out of safe places to hold it, so I'll finish the bottom when it is fully dry.

Wings.

Fuselage.

 

[modelerdave]

Love it! Those decals look fantastic.

 

[JNordgren42]

Love it! Those decals look fantastic.

Thanks! I'm really happy with how they came out. This is the first time I've used decals from DXM and they're top quality. They're very thin, but hold together, lay down well, and conform to panel lines with no problems. I'll definitely use them in the future.

 

[JNordgren42]

It's really starting to mesh together. The forearms and intakes are done with the primary TPS colors and I just need to get the medium gray done on the lower legs. I also sprayed the light and dark ghost grey on the wings and fuselage, those just need the medium grey and I can start on the dark ink layer. A test fit is looking really good!

I used Blu Tack masking to get nice smooth transitions between the colors.

I also got some black panel liner down on the gun to start picking out details.

 

[JNordgren42]

I had a good building week. I finished the main paint, decals, and weathering on all the underside assemblies except for the head. I'm also making excellent progress on the fuselage and wings. I just have the medium gray on the upper surfaces and the NATO black for the vertical stabilizers and the raised panel on the head. I still plan on doing some oil weathering and some corrosion control on some of the panels, but I'll probably wait till it's assembled for that so is can make it more cohesive.

Another test fit.

Completed arm.

Engine nacelle/leg. I still have some accessory parts to add and I need to paint and detail the landing gear well.

Close up of the decals and weathering. The grey markings ended up being a little too close to the dark ghost grey, but there's not a lot I can do about it at this point.

Gun pod.

The main colors are done on the underside. I just need to do the medium grey on the top surfaces and NATO black on the vertical stabilizers.

Close up of the underside.

Top of the fuselage. You can see the difference between the raw ink that has been knocked back and the fuselage hump that has had color applied over it.

I just need to do the NATO black on the armor panel on top of the head.

 

[JNordgren42]

I'm done with the main colors and ink weathering and I'm extremely happy with how it's coming together. I'll put a coat of gloss on tomorrow and start decals and the grime wash. Then it's time for my first foray into oil weathering. I've also started priming the small bits and working on finessing the shape and detail on the landing gear doors.

 

[modelerdave]

I love oil weathering. It's my favorite technique by a wide margin. Just remember that a tiny bit goes a looooong way. I've used a toothpick to add a speck of oil that can be blended into a pretty large area. The good news is you can always remove any extra, but it's easier to start with too little than too much.

Here's a 3D printed Sandtrooper I just finished. All weathering was with oils and some dry-brushing.