ShowaPop! Macross 1/72 VF-4 Lightning III Limited Resin Kit
©2011 Leonardo Flores
Step Back VF-19! Hold Tight VF-11's! Take Notice VF-2's!
Hobby World depot has reissued their 1/72 Resin VF-4 Lightning III model kit from Flashback 2012. Based off the ultra rare Musasiya kit, HWD correct many of the flaws and updated the kit. 65 finely molded resin, a vacu-form clear canopy and decals are included.
And why not the VF-4? Less than 5 glorious seconds on the screen at the tale end of Flashback 2012, it has to be one of Kawamori's most beautiful fighter designs ever. Other than a few resin and soft vinyl kits, the VF-4 has been sadly and criminally neglected in kit or toy form for far to long.
Unfortunately this will be on the back burner until next year as I have so many projects on the bench right now. Look for a CDX review sometime next year.
Posted 12 September, 2011 - 16:05 by Showapop |
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Comments
14 comments postedWasn't there a pre-assembled toy of this way-back-when that was fully transformable?
I consider the VF-4 less as a direct successor to the VF-1 and more of a cousin; developed by a different company shortly after Space War I but not as flexible combat-wise as the VF-1 was.
It'd be awesome to get a 1/60 transformable toy from Yamato of this.
There's been a few transformable resin kits of the VF-4. One from Studio Half-Eye, one from Experten, and another mysterious one I have little information about.
Also don't forget the VF-4 has appeared in several Macross video games like Macross M3, Macross Triangle Frontier, and Macross Digital Mission VF-X. It was actually a selling point for VF-X as this was the first time it appeared with a canonical transformation. It got to be front and center on all the ads and posters for VF-X.
There's also a weird variant from the game Macross Eternal Love Song that is a part of the alternate universe along with Macross II.
Yeah, I knew it was an official design even if it wasn't considered canon because it only appeared in video games (strange as that sounds). I don't really care- so long as it's officially-licensed and -approved like any other physically-built Valkyrie model and toy, I'd go for this one.
Maybe this means we'll get a new one of those?
In my heart the VF-4 will always be the original legit followup to the VF-1 as it was the first non-VF-1 fighter piloted by a main cast character that flew something besides a VF-1. That's the way I saw it since I first saw Flashback when it was originally released. In 1992 there was only too choices: VF-1 or VF-4. Couldn't care less about canon or not.
There has been other releases of VF-4 but they have always been expensive and hard to find resin kits,. I actually hate resin kits, this kit is the only exception because it is so difficult to find any representation of the VF-4 at a reasonable price. And the kit looked well made.
The article about the VF-4 in the Model Graphix pictured goes into detail about the transforming resin kit.
It's a great little kit and worth picking up. I would love to see the VF-4 in toy form!
LF
There was a vinyl VF-4 kit by Hobby Base Retppu. See here
Yeah the VF-4 is totally the VF-1 successor. It's what you unlock after playing as the VF-1 :3
As far as a toy goes, Lord Graham at Macrossworld was suspiciously asking for pictures of transforming VF-4 kits. He did ask for some rare lineart of the VF-17 at one point too. Not trying to start rumors but next year is the actual 2012 and the 30th anniversary for Macross.
Sorry, I don't know who Lord Graham is. Is he connected to a pro manufacturer?
Lord Graham watches over us.
So does Big Brother. Spare me the philosophy and get to the point.
Kant.
*ahem*
I'm a Freud you'll have to find the answer on your own.
Godel deleted God? No, God deleted Godel.
...that Yamato surprises us in 2012.