http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/206526-yamato-macross-1-48-jetfire-custom.html Here's an old custom of mine.
To avoid any confusion for people looking for Valks to make Jetfire out of, there are two different armor options for them; the super armor, and the strike armor. For G1 style Jetfire, you want the super armor. I saw a few posts in this thread saying Jetfire had the strike armor. He doesn't. The strike armor has a large cannon that swings down over the bot mode's shoulder. Not trying to be pedantic, just worried it might cause some confusion.
Was the VF-1S Hikaru 1/48th not available with super/strike armor? I can't seem to find a version that has it.
Yamato valks get super and strike parts armor combined. That means they have both the big arse cannon AND the missile launchers that are the normal fronts to the thrusters. I think thats why people are saying the get the strike parts set, because yamato only has one set that combines them both. and yes he does not come combined in the 1/48 version, but you can pick up a super and strike parts set for 50 or 60 bucks sometimes.
Blame the Japanese translations then. Most times both super and strike are used somewhat interchangably.
That is a beautiful custom unmc2001, but I was wondering how did you remove that spot of "battle damage" from prime's grill with out damaging the chrome?
G1 MIB seems to be running around $300, give or take. And that's on the low end. The Macross 1/48th with the fast pack and shipping is looking to be around a little over $200.
I used a little rubbing alcohal and a Q-tip. I was not sure it would not damage the chrome but it didn't. I did that back in 2004 so even 5 years later it looks great. After that I slapped a set of chrome plated pewter long stacks on him as well, I wis I could find a pair of metal stacks for my Magnus. I am in the minority but I like the battle damage Prime much more but I didn't like the battle damage on the chrome.
I paid about $250 total for mine but I did purchase a 1/48 VF-1J Miria in order to get the red fast packs, I was able to sell the Miria jet so I ended up paying $100 for the red fastpacks and $150 for the VF-1S. I found a paint that matched it perfect. My custom 1/48 Jetfire had very little painting needed and it didn't take much time at all.
Kind of curious as to why you want a stand-in? Do you only collect boxed toys? If you can handle loose, complete Jetfires are available in the $100 range right now. Most of the toys everyone is talking about here will cost you at least that much.
Thanks to the complete and total awesomeness of this thread and pics (I am looking at you unmc2001!) I purchased my first Valkyrie. The 1/48 VF-1S Hikaru Ichijo Valkyrie from BBTS. I cant wait to customize him into Jetfire. Some great advice in this thread all ... thanks again!
I too was looking for jetfire replacements a while back. Bandai releases their 1/55 scale models all the time. Jetfire is based off of the VF-1S fighter. So if you want, just get a reissue of this model, that will have your die-cast and look almost exactly like the original and then you can customize it. I personally went the route of buying the Yamato 1/60 VF-1models. These are expensive but by far the best transforming toy I have ever had. EVER!! The Yamato 1/60 perfect transformation VF-1S, A, and J is what I got in the Rick Hunter or Icharu Hichijaru or whatever his name is, is the red/black color closest to jetfire. They are just AMAZING. Perfect detail, perfect paining, perfect weight and super solid! Good luck
It's not so much that I care about the toy being boxed or not. But I know that G1 Jetfire is a 24-year-old mold that is prone to yellowing and brittle accessories. I'd rather have the peace of mind of knowing that my "stand-in" is mint from the get-go. Price isn't an issue, per se. I'm willing to spend in the $200 range, it's just that MISB Jetfire is more than any of the Macross Valkyries, it would seem.
Well, I finally settled on getting the 1/55th Super VF-1S reissue from Bandai. It comes with the fast-pack as well. I was torn between this and the 1/48th version, but ultimately decided I wanted the more accurate one from an original toy standpoint (plus it has a ton of diecast and is pretty fun to transform). The only thing that irks me about this one is the yellow color scheme, as the red color scheme reissue had a different head scuplt. Oh well, I'll live.
Alternatively, if you really want to go cheap (approx $20) but can paint, a few years ago there were knock off 'robot fighters' around in a grey and green colour - this is what I turned out (and I'll admit, I'm terrible at painting!) - it's got die cast and everything, no armour though...
The plastic tray for the bandai reissue VF-1S fits into the original jetfire box. I just tried it out recently. eBay.com.sg: Transformers G1 Jetfire repro box custom macross vf-1s (item 370233321470 end time Jul 29, 2009 11:34:17 SGT)
Thanks, I was wondering that myself. I'll have to look into finding a nice G1 box for it. Just not that custom... not for the price of the loose toy itself anyway, hahah.
Zombie thread, but I thought I'd mention that I condensed all of the information here into a convenient post on my blog as a sort of Jetfire guide. Cheers.
