In re: Bandai 1/72 scale VF-25 model
Hey all, I'm seeing lots of suggestions about WHAT swag you can buy from this series, but I'm not reading a lot of reviews, so I'm going to add one here...
OK all you models builders out there, listen up! This model kit ROCKS! If any model I've ever built is worth the money, (and I've built quite a few over the years) its THIS one! I think all told including shipping it cost me around $70. Mine is the Alto Special and I'm only about 1/5th of the way into it, but its amazing. This kit is as described, all "snap fit". So far there are no parts that really need anything more than just snapping them together like an elaborate 3-D puzzle. Whomever designs the assembly and moulding for Bandai deserves a raise in salary. The way things fit is flawless. The finish and color of the parts is beautiful. The quality of the moulding is astounding and the instructions so detailed and easy to follow that it doesn't matter that I can't read kanji. (Although my hiragana and katakana reading ability is coming in handy in pinch...)
All I'm using as tools so far is a decent pair of sprue clippers to get the parts off the trees, an x-acto knife to shave the sprue ends off and a flat needle file to smooth things out where I can't shave it properly. The moulding has NO flash at all...amazing! Every piece fits perfectly with NO modifications... I've never built a kit that didn't require SOME modifications... And so far the decals fit perfectly without having to seam them.
All in all a GREAT kit that is both easy to build, yet challenging enough that its like putting together a really complicated puzzle. The results are looking really wonderful and its been a lot of fun working on it so far. If you are even thinking about getting one of these kits, I'd say go for it. Based on this experience, I'm already planning on getting an Ozma VF-25SS as well. As I get further into the kit, I might post pictures...
Happy building!
Mughi~
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