1:100 VF-1A 'Valkyrie', 'AB 003' of SVF-51 staff flight, 2010 (Macross)

Dizzyfugu · April 21, 2021, 02:30:59 AM

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (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 full-up VF-1 prototype (VF-X-1).

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. Introduced in 2008, the VF-1 would be out of frontline service just five years later, though.

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The VF-1 proved to be an extremely capable 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.

The basic VF-1 was deployed in four minor variants (designated A, D, J, and S) and its success was increased by continued development of various enhancements including the GBP-1S "Armored" Valkyrie, FAST Pack "Super" Valkyrie and the additional RÖ-X2 heavy cannon pack weapon system for the VF-1S for additional firepower.
The FAST Pack system was designed to enhance the VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter, and the initial V1.0 came in the form of conformal pallets that could be attached to the fighter's leg flanks for additional fuel – primarily for Long Range Interdiction tasks in atmospheric environment. Later FAST Packs were designed for space operations.

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After the end of Space War I, 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 continued production after the war proved the lasting worth of the design.
The versatile aircraft also underwent constant upgrade programs. For instance, about a third of all VF-1 Valkyries were upgraded with Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems from 2016 onwards, placed in a streamlined fairing on the upper side of the nose, just in front of the cockpit. This system allowed for long-range search and track modes, freeing the pilot from the need to give away his position with active radar emissions, and it could also be used for target illumination and guiding precision weapons.
Many Valkyries also received improved radar warning systems, with receivers, depending on the systems, mounted on the wingtips, on the fins and/or on the LERXs. Improved ECR measures were also mounted on some machines, typically in conformal fairings on the flanks of the legs/engine pods.

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 even into the first year of the New Era 0001 in 2013. 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 a total production of 5,459 VF-1 variable fighters with several variants (VF-1A = 5,093, VF-1D = 85, VF-1J = 49, VF-1S = 30, VF-1G = 12, VE-1 = 122, VT-1 = 68).

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

However, the fighter was frequently updated, leading to several "re-built" variants, and remained active in many second line units and continued to show its worthiness 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!

This VF-1A was assigned to SVF-51 "Yellow Jackets", and based onboard the UES Constellation platform in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO). The Constellation was tasked during the First Space War with the close defense of Moon Base Apollo, but also undertook atmospheric missions.
This particular fighter sported the squadron's typical striped high visibility markings over a standard gloss light gray base on wings and legs, but unlike normal machines of this unit, with deep yellow and black markings, was, together with two sister ships, assigned to the unit's staff flight. Each of these VF-1's carried the unit markings and additional flight leader decoration on the noses in non-regular colors: turquoise on "001", violet on "002" and pink on "003" – giving them one of the most distinctive and attractive paint schemes during the Space War.

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

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

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 in overboost (225.63 kN x 2)
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:
1x internal Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon, firing 6,000 pulses per minute
1x Howard GU-11 55 mm three-barrel Gatling gun pod with 200 RPG, fired at 1,200 rds/min
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-spaceship 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 and other guided and unguided ordnance

The kit and its assembly:
It has been a while that I tackled one of these vintage ARII kits, and this time the build became a relief project from Corona cabin fever and a major conversion project. This garish Valkyrie is fictional but was heavily based on a profile drawing published in the Macross source book "Variable Fighter Master File VF-1 Valkyrie" of SVF-51 (originally with deep yellow accents)

The kit is a VF-1J, but the head unit was replaced with an "A" variant from the spares box. It was basically built OOB, with the landing gear down. The only mods are some standard blade antennae, an IRST fairing under the nose and the fins' tops were slightly modified, too. The pylons were modified to take the new ordnance – optically guided glide bombs à la AGM-62 "Walleye", scratched from obscure AAMs from a Kangnam MiG-29 and painted in the style of early USAF GBUs.

The gun pod was also modified to accept a scratched wire display in its tail and holds the Valkyrie in flight. The pilot figure was just a guest for the in-flight photo sessions, later the canopy was glued to a mount in open position.

Painting and markings:
I had wanted to apply this spectacular scheme onto a model for a while, but could not get myself to use yellow, because I already have a similar VF-1 in USN high-viz livery and with yellow and black decorations. I considered other tones, and eventually settled for pink – as an unusual choice, but there are canonical VF-1s with such an exotic tone in their liveries.

The rest was straightforwardly adapted from the profile, even though the creation of the trim lines without masking was a challenge. I used various stripes of generic decal material in black and white to create shapes and demarcation lines, filling up larger areas with paint. The overall basic tone is Humbrol 40 (glossy FS 36440), plus Humbrol 200 (Pink), 22 (Gloss Black) and Revell 301 (Semi-matt White) for the flaps' upper surfaces and the landing gear. The cockpit became medium grey with a black seat and brown cushions. The ventral gun pod became aluminum.

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

After basic painting, the model received an overall washing with thinned black ink to emphasize the engraved panel lines. A little post-shading was done, too, for a more graphic look, and then the decals (including most trim lines, e. g. in black on the wings and the nose, in white on the fins) were applied. The following basic markings came from various 1:100 VF-1 sheets, the tail code letters came from an RAF SEAC Spitfire from WWII. The modex codes consist of single digit decals (2mm size, TL Modellbau).
Finally, after some detail painting and highlights with clear paint had been added, the VF-1 was sealed with a semi-gloss acrylic varnish.

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Macross +++ 1:100 Stonewell/Bellcom VF-1A (Block 7 MLU) "Valkyrie"; aircraft "AB 003" of the U.N. Spacy SVF-51 "Yellowjackets" staff flight, personal mount of Lt. Com. Alanía Cortez; ARMD-06 UES "Constellation", LEO, early 2010 (ARII kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A small and quick interim project, realized in just a few days – most time passed while waiting for the gloss Humbrol enamels to cure properly... There are certainly better VF-1 models than the vintage ARII kits, but I just love them because they are small, simple and easy to modify. Staying close to the benchmark profile was quite a challenge but worked out fine, even though I had hoped that the pink would stand out a little more. But the plan to change the unit's ID color for a staff flight aircraft turned out well, even though some compromises had to be made.

zenrat · April 21, 2021, 04:33:38 AM

Pink & Grey do go well together don't they.
Good job Dizz.

Dizzyfugu · April 21, 2021, 05:21:32 AM

Thank you!

NARSES2 · April 21, 2021, 06:15:01 AM

Quote from: zenrat on April 21, 2021, 04:33:38 AM
Pink & Grey do go well together don't they.
Good job Dizz.

Certainly work on this one

royabulgaf · April 21, 2021, 06:57:46 PM

I really like the hangar shots, the way you seamlessly blend the display platform with the actual hangar floor.

Dizzyfugu · April 21, 2021, 11:18:50 PM

Thank oyu. The charm of perspective.

Pellson · April 22, 2021, 12:10:15 AM

Beautiful job, Dizzy. I haven't much insight in the macross universe at all, but having seen some different kits, the thought of using them as whif material has crossed my mind.

I like your style - as usual

1:100 VF-1A 'Valkyrie', 'AB 003' of SVF-51 staff flight, 2010 (Macross)

Dizzyfugu

zenrat

Dizzyfugu

NARSES2

royabulgaf

Dizzyfugu

Pellson