That it doesn’t really have the same ring to it. But if you haven’t clicked off page to check yet to check out the latest Kardashian tweet or check your genitals with a hand mirror then then you are in for a treat. Because in this installment it’s all bout big fat guided rockets.
At the current rate it looks like this is going to be at least a 12 month build. That’s right one whole year to finish one measly kit. Maintaining the rage over such a long time is something I have struggled with for the last few years so I am trying something different this time.
When I was building the Australian spec VF-0B for Scale ACT ‘18 I found that once the main part of the build was done I had a really hard time with the last 10%. That last few bits and pieces like landing gear missiles, bombs and their pylons felt like I was building a whole other kit. Which it almost was when you consider the parts count for those items alone.
VF-0B circa 2018. Yes Sir Photography has always been a struggle.
Which brings me to my new build “inside out” build strategy.
Put simply I am working all of the stuff that is a real chore while keeping the Brass Ring* for the closing stages. It is the first time I have built this way and although it has been tough it seems to be working. So ith the FAST packs wrapped up in Part 3 it was time to get the big RMS-1 missiles and their pylons ready.
RMS-1
VF-1S armed with 6 RMS-1 as featured in SDF: Macross episode 27
According to the Macross Mecha Manual the RMS-1 is an anti ship reaction missile and is seen specifically in episode 27 of SDF: Macross. According to the Macross wiki reaction weapons are nuclear based but are more powerful and do not produce radioactive fallout which sounds like great night out if you happen across a fleet of giant alien invaders.
Parts for the the RMS-1 came from the 1/48 scale VF-1 weapons set as the base VF-1 kits don’t come with any wing ordnance (except for the Max/Miriya special with comes with RMS-1). This is Hasegawa’s plan to wring a few extra dollarydoos just like the 1/72 version.
At first I was annoyed because Hasegawa in their wisdom covered their RMS missiles in raised panel lines. Really? Raised panel lines for a kit released in 2013?
Raised panel lines in 2013? really Hasegawa I thought better of you
In theory this means cleaning up all the seams and re-scribing 6 cylindrical shapes which is not something I was looking forward to. I briefly considered cleaning up two and casting copies but I was worried about what the extra weight would do to the wings. But after having hissy fit over on the Scale Model Critique FaceBook group a contributor there pointed out that according to the line art there aren’t any panel lines anyway. Duly humbled I assembled the two cylinder halves together, sanded off the offending raised detail and added the tail. The nose cap would be painted separately and added later. To anyone else arming their kit with RMS I really do recommend this shortcut. Get
I wanted to go for a cleaner look that the rest of the build so primed with thinned Tamiya white surfacer followed by SMS PL02 Gloss White. I masked off the black stripes since I couldn’t get the decals to work properly and sprayed Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black. AK Interactive weathering pencil Smoke was diluted in a water/acrylic thinner solution and applied sparingly over the missiles to highlight some of the details. In the SDF Macross TV show these large under wing weapons feature a bright red nose cap and warning triangle vs the yellow cap and triangle as seen in the Macross: Do You Remember Love? movie. For my build I painted the caps Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red and stole the decals from the same Max/Miriya VF-1J kit that I stole the pilot and cockpit pieces from.
The pylons were equally simple build consisting of just two parts each. Since the them of the whole build is that this particular machine has had a hard life in service to U.N. Spacy I chose to weather the pylons far more than the weapons. The assembly was base coated in yellow, red or blue in order to get some tonal variation. Each was then weathered and panel lined. Since the air frame is mainly brown and grey the RMS-1 adapter plates were painted XF-62 Olive Drab before being glued to the missiles and added to the pylons ready for installation under the wings later.
Landing Gear
Sexy Legs
After the missiles it was time to prep the landing gear. Overall I think these are far too simple but avoided any super detailing for fear of delaying the build any longer than necessary. I think that they are a prime candidate for upgrades and will get to work on an upgrade set some time in the future.
But for now I cleaned up the the many mold part lines and painted the everything in white with more weather pencil smoke as a wash to bring out the details. The tyres were coated in XF-69 NATO Black (I never use straight XF-2 Flat black as it is too stark) and the oleo struts were coated in Molotow chrome pen.
It took a while but I am really glad that these little bits and pieces have been completed now. Over such a long build anything that can sap you mojo has to be addressed early if possible. And the best bit is that I can now get on with the part I have been looking forward to the most. That Cannon Fodder Brown fuselage and that one of a kind nose art :)
- BT