Wearing a Valkyrie

I couldn't help myself... It's a little tacky but it's rare and limited outside of Japan. And on top of which, I'm a long time Macross/Robotech fan. This Valkyrie-themed jacket caught my attention right away. It was just a matter of finding a means to acquire an item intended only for the Japanese market exclusively (because well, I'm pretty certain Harmony Gold would have something to say about their international rights for the Robotech brand).And I couldn't help wearing it. I had to at least once. During the course of the day I gradually discovered the little features all over the jacket.The most distinguishing feature is the VF-1 regalia. Everyone keeps calling it a "flight jacket" but it isn't a cosplay piece (everyone knows the pilot's uniform on Macross was a plain white and red jumpsuit). From the shoulders down the sleeves, the jacket resembles the paint scheme on Hikaur Ichijio's Valkyrie fighter. Details include embroidered UN-Spacy logos, appropriate craft numbers, and of course carrier name. A real embroided name patch for Skull-leader with Ichijio's name is on the chest. For that authentic military touch, the patch is held by velcro.

The groovy feature is the music-player storage system. The forearms have zippered compartments for a portable device. The left sleeve has a velcro shaft to hold down an ear-phone wire. The velcro clasps continue right up to the colar. I'm sure Minmay would have approved.And it has the requisite "Engrish" not to be missed!

There are a some compartments of questionable practicality. The side pockets are button-closed (the left pocket has the official-licensed product seal inside of it). There is a pocket just inside the left breast. Lastly there's also a large compartment inside the back. For the life of me, I can't figure out what that's for. It seems to follow the entire length and I can't imagine the jacket being particularly comfortable if I were to put something in there. However, there is yet another little hole behind that pocket coming out to one of the velcro clasps on the back. I have no clue what this is for either.My jacket is sized "Large." The lengths fit me perfect (I rarely find anything where the sleeves actually stop of my wrists). But I don't know if I have a bulky frame or what, but it's very close-fitting. Am I disappointed? Not really, I plan to treat this as a collector's item more than an actual jacket. And in that respect, how far does it reach up the geek-o-meter? Very high.

Imperial Guard Valkyrie 4

The Valkyrie build was delayed for a variety of reasons, but here's the final follow up.
First I wanted to turn the kit over and present possibly the ONLY image of the underside of the model anywhere. It's not clear from the instruction sheet nor from the photos. But the hatches don't have anything holding them in place until you finally put the wings and tail fins in place. Once everything's together, the hatches sort of get sandwiched in the grooves naturally. You'll wonder how it wasn't so obvious before you test-fit everything.Another trick I had to ask for help with is the canopy over the cockpit. Firstly, do the easy thing: base coat the "window frame" bits first. Just remember to leave the underside unpainted because that's where your glue will make contact! While you're at it, carefully tape off the windows leaving only the horizontal cross-bars that are molded into the clear plastic. These "bumps" will form part of the frames on the finished model so you'll need to paint that too.Here's a shot of the finished canopy resting on top of the cockpit assembly. Don't glue it in place yet!
Why not, you may ask? I painted the interior first for a reason. The finished canopy will serve as a conveniently cockpit-shaped template. How? Here's an easy trick for basecoating: wrap the finished canopy in plastic-food-wrap then sit it on top of the cockpit you want to protect. Plastic wrap is easy to hold together and easier to remove when you're done spraying!And finally... the photos you've been waiting for. This is after a coat of black, then a dusting coat of generic olive-drab green. A touch of randomness is done by holding up a sheet of card-stock with holes in it. And a final touch: sky-gray on the bottom... look it up, there's a reason for this paint scheme on military aircraft. Finally weathering is done with a combination of more chaos black, tin bitz, and boltgun metal from Citadel Colour paints.