DONE +++ 1:100 VF-1J ‘Valkyrie’, 'ER 403', U.N. Spacy SVA-144, Okinawa, late 2009

[Dizzyfugu]

The kit and its assembly:
Once again, a vintage 1:100 VF-1 model, no idea how many I have built of these - probably more than 30... But I still find inspriration for canonical, fictional and even converted/fictional variants. This project was spontaneously inspired by a photograph of a car that I had recently come upon while browsing the WWW: an individualized McLaren, taken somewhere in the Persian Gulf region. I just had a front view, though, but it showed that the car had been re-painted or foil-wrapped in two teal colors, with thin yellow contrast lines between these tones. Sounds horrible, but actually worked for me, also because of the color contrasts.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The kit was built OOB, with the landing gear down and with an open canopy. As a standard upgrade I added some typical small blade antennae on the nose and on the spine. As an extra I provided this VF-1 with radar warning antenna fairlings at the top of the fins, too. The four underwing hardpoints were retained, but the armament was changed from twelve original AMM-1 missiles to four cluster bomb units on the outer pair of pylons (these are actually 1:100 scale, from a toylike Revell A-10 snap-fit kit) and two fictional GBUs on the inner stations - modified (poor) Kh-23/AS-7 "Kerry" ASMs in 1:72 from a Kangam/Revell Yak-38 kit. Furthermore, the VF-1's standard GU-11 gun pod was retained,  modified to hold a scratched wire display for in-flight pictures.


Painting and markings:
Quite challenging, and to ease things I used an Arii VF-1J kit already molded in pale green plastic. The cockpit became canonical medium grey with brown seat cushions, air intakes and some other areas were painted in a dark grey tone. The two teal tones were a bit challenging, though, and the scheme itself evolved gradually, because I adapted the inspiring car's front section with a darker shade in front of the windscreen and along the lower front bumper, and extrapolated it further back on the VF-1.

The light tone would be the primary color, with darker accents and thin yellow stripes/lines differentiating them. This led early to dark "shank flanks" and an extended spine, as well as dark folded arms and a dark head unit underneath. However, wings, fins and dorsal area were challenging, and I actually made some design tests with computer aid to eventually come up with "breast chevrons", and extended spine and simple dark slats and flaps on the wings - instead of dark teal wings with a single lighter stripe, what I had initially favored. But it would not have worked and disrupted the overall elegant look.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The dark teal turquoise is ModelMaster's "Soviet Cockpit Teal", while the light tone is Humbrol 65 (RLM 65, Lichtblau), later panel-shaded with ModelColor's acrylic 70.832 "Patina Verdin", a markedly lighter and more greenish tone, which was applied with a glazing technique. Together it works quite well. The yellow lines were all created with 0.5mm decal stripes from TL Modellbau - a tedious job, because the stripes had partly to be carefully bent into shape, but much easier than trying to do this stunt with paint. And the result is a rather subtle yet decorative livery, almost a low-viz livery, thanks to the subdued teal tones and the thin yellow lines which differ only a little in brightness from their surroundings.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The decals came mostly from the OOB sheet, just the "kite" roundels and the yellow "U.N. Spacy" tags on legs and gun pod were procured from a VF-1A sheet. The "EB" code comes from an Academy OV-10 Bronco while the yellow 244th Hikotai emblem on the outer fins' surface came from a Printscale aftermarket sheet. After the decals had been completed the model was sealed with a coat of not-100%-matt acrylic varnish. Position and other lights were painted with translucent acrylic paint on chrome silver vases, and the model was finally completed.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Scenic shots coming soo ...hopefully.

[Dizzyfugu]

Photo session and first picture review for further editing completed. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Photo editing MAKES progress... 

[buzzbomb]

These Macross builds seem to always look pretty nice. 

[Dizzyfugu]

The VF-1 is a beautiful design, and you can do so much with it. 

[su27rules]

    

[Dizzyfugu]

Finally...    But lots of pics.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The VF-1 was developed by Stonewell/Bellcom/Shinnakasu for the U.N. Spacy by using alien Overtechnology obtained from the SDF-1 Macross alien spaceship. Its production was preceded by an aerodynamic proving version of its airframe, the VF-X. Unlike all later VF vehicles, the VF-X was strictly a jet aircraft, built to demonstrate that a jet fighter with the features necessary to convert to Battroid mode was aerodynamically feasible. After the VF-X's testing was finished, an advanced concept atmospheric-only prototype, the VF-0 Phoenix, was flight-tested from 2005 to 2007 and briefly served as an active-duty fighter from 2007 to the VF-1's rollout in late 2008, while the bugs were being worked out of the fully functional VF-1 prototype (the VF-X-1).

Introduced in 2008, the VF-1 would be produced en masse within a short period of time, a total of 5,459 airframes were delivered until 2013. The space-capable VF-1's combat debut was on February 7, 2009, during the Battle of South Ataria Island - the first battle of Space War I - and remained the mainstay fighter of the U.N. Spacy for the entire conflict. From the start the VF-1 proved to be an extremely capable and versatile craft, successfully combating a variety of Zentraedi mecha even in most sorties which saw UN Spacy forces significantly outnumbered. The versatility of the Valkyrie design enabled the variable fighter to act as both large-scale infantry and as air/space superiority fighter. The signature skills of U.N. Spacy ace pilot Maximilian Jenius exemplified the effectiveness of the variable systems as he near-constantly transformed the Valkyrie in battle to seize advantages of each mode as combat conditions changed from moment to moment.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The basic VF-1 was deployed in four sub-variants (designated A, D, J, and S) and its success was increased by continued development of various enhancements and upgrades. The VF-1 was a single-seater, but the VF-1D was a two-seater with a slightly extended cockpit section, originally developed as a trainer for conversion duties. It shared almost all systems of the single-seaters, though, was fully combat-capable, and only differed through an extended cockpit section that offered space for a second seat behind the standard pilot seat.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The VF-1 was operated by many operational U.N. Spacy units - initially by fighter/interceptor units, but when more and more aircraft became available or early production models were replaced by new and improved later machines, VF-1s were also operated by strike units like the "Manjisai". This unit was formed in early 2009 to defend the southern regions of the Japanese mainland from Zentraedi attacks. Its home base became Naha, and in honor of the Japanese air force unit that had been based in the Okinawa region during WWII to defend the country against american bomber raids, the unit adopted the "144" (which later became the more famous IJA 244th Hikotai) number and carried the old unit marking on the VF-1s' fins. SVA-144 machines were furthermore noteworthy for their experimental paint schemes, which were tested to replace the U.N. Spacy's standard livery of sand and white for the VF-1As. Several color combinations were tested, including pale blue and teal hues, and some flight commanders decorated their machines further with colorful trim and cheatlines to add an individual touch - a feature that was normally reserved to commanding officers.


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


After the end of Space War I, production on Earth was stopped but the VF-1 continued to be manufactured both in the Sol system and throughout the UNG space colonies. Although the VF-1 would be replaced in 2020 as the primary Variable Fighter of the U.N. Spacy by the more capable, but also much bigger, VF-4 Lightning III, a long service record and its persistent production after the war in many space sectors proved the lasting worth of the design.

The VF-1 was without doubt the most recognizable variable fighter of Space War I and was seen as a vibrant symbol of the U.N. Spacy. At the end of 2015 the final rollout of the VF-1 was celebrated at a special ceremony, commemorating this most famous of variable fighters. The VF-1 Valkryie was built from 2006 to 2013 with several major variants (VF-1A = 5,093, VF-1D = 85, VF-1J = 49, VF-1S = 30), sub-variants (VF-1G = 12, VE-1 = 122, VT-1 = 68) and upgrades of existing airframes (like the VF-1P).
Despite its relatively short and intense production run the fighter remained active in many second line units and continued to show its worthiness even years later, e. g. through Milia Jenius who would use her old VF-1 fighter in defense of the colonization fleet - 35 years after the type's service introduction!


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


General characteristics:
All-environment variable fighter and tactical combat Battroid,
used by U.N. Spacy, U.N. Navy, U.N. Space Air Force and U.N.S. Marine Corps

Accommodation:
Pilot in Marty & Beck Mk-7 zero/zero ejection seats

Dimensions:
Fighter Mode:
    Length 14.23 meters
    Wingspan 14.78 meters (at 20° minimum sweep)
    Height 3.84 meters

Battroid Mode:
    Height 12.68 meters
    Width 7.3 meters
    Length 4.0 meters
Empty weight: 13.25 metric tons
Standard T-O mass: 18.5 metric tons
MTOW: 37.0 metric tons

Power Plant:
2x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry/P&W/Roice FF-2001 thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, output 650 MW each, rated at 11,500 kg in standard or 225.63 kN in overboost
4x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters (1 x counter reverse vernier thruster nozzle mounted on the side of each leg nacelle/air intake, 1 x wing thruster roll control system on each wingtip)
18x P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles

Performance:
Battroid Mode: maximum walking speed 160 km/h
Fighter Mode: at 10,000 m Mach 2.71; at 30,000+ m Mach 3.87
g limit: in space +7
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 3.47; standard T-O 2.49; maximum T-O 1.24

Design Features:
3-mode variable transformation; variable geometry wing; vertical take-off and landing; control-configurable vehicle; single-axis thrust vectoring; three "magic hand" manipulators for maintenance use; retractable canopy shield for Battroid mode and atmospheric reentry; option of GBP-1S system, atmospheric-escape booster, or FAST Pack system

Transformation:
Standard time from Fighter to Battroid (automated): under 5 sec.
Min. time from Fighter to Battroid (manual): 0.9 sec.

Armament:
2x Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon, firing 6,000 ppm
1x Howard GU-11 55 mm three-barrel Gatling gun pod with 200 RPG, fired at 1,200 rpm
4x underwing hard points for a wide variety of ordnance, including...
    12x AMM-1 hybrid guided multipurpose missiles (3/point), or
    12x MK-82 LDGB conventional bombs (3/point), or
    6x RMS-1 large anti-ship reaction missiles (2/outboard point, 1/inboard point), or
    4x UUM-7 micro-missile pods (1/point) each carrying 15 x Bifors HMM-01 micro-missiles,
    or a combination of above load-outs


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1J 'Valkyrie', aircraft 'ER 403' (Bu. No. 2107152/1) of the U.N. Spacy SVA-144 'Manjisai' strike unit; Naha Air Base (Okinawa Island, Atlantic Ocean), late 2009 (What-if/Arii kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A pretty VF-1, and it looks (to me) better than expected, despite the strange color combination of teal and yellow. It appears to be quite effective, too, since the teal tones are rather subdued and only the kite roundels really stand out. It even looks elegant, even though the livery is totally fictional?!

[Old Wombat]

    

[Dizzyfugu]

As an addendum, here's the aforementioned inspiring pic from the teal McLaren car, apparently a Senna:

[su27rules]

    

[buzzbomb]

Great to see some different colours.

Nice work 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you (all). 

[zenrat]

 

Good work Dizz.  I love the scheme.

[McColm]

Wow impressive