Nothing special, just a decent-res scan of the sticker sheet from the Yamato 1/60 Destroid Tomahawk toy. My plan is to eventually make a decal sheet for the toy using these graphics as a starting point.
Archive for the ‘Toy Customs’ Category
Yamato 1/60 Destroid Tomahawk Sticker Sheet Scan Leave a comment
Bandai HCM Walker Galliar Leave a comment
Combat Mecha Xabungle/Blue Gale Xabungle is one of the early pioneer ‘real robot’ mecha animes. I haven’t actually see the show yet, but there is finally a fansubber out there working through the series, so eventually I will watch it. I have always been enamored with the mecha designs, and the toys thereof, especially the Walker Galliar and the Iron Gear. The Iron Gear is a massive transforming land ship, bristling with battleship features like a bridge and gun turrets, and is a toy on my wish list.
The Walker Galliar is one of the mecha deisgns that has a number of toy releases so it must have been a more important machine than the other side-designs that only ever got model kits. The Galliar consists of an armored futuristic pickup truck and a hovercraft, and the two combine and transform to form a robot. The Galliar is pretty much always depicted with its big goofy bazooka, and often an assault rifle and other random weapon situation depending. The ‘real robot’ nature of Xabungle means that every mecha design in the series is built for utility and function over looks and style. Even the Galliar has small gun turrets mounted on it, just like an armored fighting vehicle.
Bandai’s High Complete Model series is one of the staple 80’s mecha toy design lines, bridging the gap between model kits and toys. HCM models often have die cast metal parts and accessories that come on sprues and must be assembled like model parts. The HCM toys from the original line in the 80s included real robots and super robots, from Gundam to Raydeen, and featured excellent detail and articulation for the time. The HCM line’s spiritual successor in the HCMPro line started back up a few years ago with Gundam figures and are excellent as well.
The HCM Walker Galliar is 1/144 scale and features die cast feet and hip bar. The rest of the toy is plastic, and features fantastic articulation for the time, and only a little less articulation than the modern Soul of Chogokin Walker Galliar, which is about the same size. The little mounted gun turrets come on a separate sprue and must be attached to the figure, and the yellow details in the ankle rounds are stickers. I wanted to add a little detail to the figure, taking cues from the Real Robot Revolution Walker Galliar plamo kit by Bandai, adding some rivets and panel lines on the legs. I didn’t want to have to repaint the whole figure, so I did not worry about part seams and sprue marks on the figure, but just wanted to add detail and weathering to make a pretty figure that could still be played with. Weathering was made from my new favorite mix of Mig pigments, Tamiya weathering pigments, and paint washes. The tough thing was the balance weathering for robot mode and vehicle mode, so there is some overlap in weathering that applies to one mode and not the other, but really that makes sense for a variable machine.
Popy Chogokin GA-05 Great Mazinger Scramble Dash Scratchbuild Leave a comment
Popy is a now-defunct Japanese toy company who basically single-handedly started the die cast robot craze in the 70’s. The initial Chogokin releases were around 5 inch tall action figures almost completely made from metal, with shooting fists and some accessories. GA-05 is Great Mazinger, the successor bot to Mazinger Z, one of the grandaddies of the piloted giant robot genre. One of the defining accessories of Great Mazinger is the Scramble Dash flight pack, which retracts into Great Maz (somehow :P) as opposed to the Jet Scrander on Mazinger Z, which was a separate dock-able module.
I received this Great Mazinger chogokin in a mixed lot of Transformers toys, so it is likely a Shogun Warriors release, from when Mattel imported a mix of Japanese super robot toys to the US. The paint on the figure is pretty beat up, but the figure is intact and still tight, so I decided to make it my first fixer-up project, along with a number of others that are currently in the mail. I purchased reproduction fists online, but was unable to find a Scramble Dash anywhere, so I decided to just make one. I collected a couple of pictures from auctions online, and made the basic shapes from plasticard, with Green Stuff putty work for the wing tips and engine bodies. After that, it was just a lot of Mr. Surfacer puttying and sanding… and in reality, I probably could have done more sanding and smoothing work. The engine nozzles are Kotobukiya option parts.
VOTOMS Scopedog Turbo Custom Max Factory Figure Leave a comment
Armored Trooper VOTOMS is just about my favorite ‘real robot’ anime ever. The plot has both down to earth grittiness and real world action, and an interesting blend of space opera elements. The main robot in the series is the mass produced ATM-09-ST Scopedog. The Scopedog is the epitome of the walking tank mecha ethos, and is used in some fashion by almost every armed force in the VOTOMS universe. The Scopedog in its basic form is a line-standard machine, and has the capacity to be upgraded with many different mission packs and specific equipment including a parachute, a space maneuverability pack, and extra weapons (LOTS of weapons).
The Scopedog Turbo Custom ATM-09-STTC is the main machine used in the movie The Last Red Shoulder. Without spoiling anything from this fantastic series, the Red Shoulders are an infamous special forces unit what a record of brutality and mercilessness. Main character Chirico Cuvie and his military companions have a score to settle with the Red Shoulders, and use the custom modified Turbo Custom units in their fight. The Turbo Custom is named for its extra maneuverability and upgraded booster package for ground combat. Most AT units in VOTOMS have some form of wheeled propulsion built into their feet, enabeling them to basically skate around in combat, and with its upgrades the Turbo Custom does it better. Each pilot in LRS also equips his machine with extra weapons, including shoulder mounted missile launchers and waste mounted armaments.
Max Factory makes a series of approximately 1/35 PVC highly articulated action figures for VOTOMS. These figures are typically overpriced and not the most durable figures in the world, and the sculpt is far from perfect (the head is faaar too big). I got the Turbo Custom on deep discount and decided to enhance the paint job on it, as in general the figure is still alot of fun. Minor details were painted in, included some hand painted markings, and then I went on to weathering, including chipping and dirt using acrylic paints. I did not go nuts on the figure as I still wanted it to be mostly play with-able after customizing it. Even tho the MF figures are made of PVC and sometimes need a little tweaking out of the box to tighten joints, I still recommend them above the CMS Corps figures, which are made of cheap plastic and nowhere near as durable.
Yamato 1/48 VF-1A Cannon Fodder Leave a comment
The VF-1A is the most basic model of the VF-1 Valkyrie from SDFM. The 1A is easily identified by its single head laser. The most common troops received these brown valks, nicknamed the Cannon Fodder by fans, as all they ever seemed to do was die!
This is the Yamato 1/48 VF-1A CF release, with custom decals and a weathered paint job. I did this after the GBP custom, so it’s a little better, but I think the battle damage came out too overdone.
Yamato 1/48 GBP Custom Leave a comment
The GBP is a heavy armor set for the VF-1 Valkyrie from the original SDF:Macross. It’s used by Hikaru in his VF-1J in the anime, and grants the pilot a massive boost in protection and firepower at the cost of variability, altho it can be quick-ejected if needed.
Yamato is the premier maker of modern Macross toys. The 1/48 scale VF-1 was a marvel of toy design, able to achieve perfect variability without the ugly swing bar of the venerable Bandai/Takatoku 1/55 VF-1. The 1/48 VF-1 has been superseded by the new 1/60 VF-1 ver2, to coincide with the common 1/60 scale of all new Yamato releases. The VF-1J was my first 1/48, specifically in anticipation of a GBP set. When the GBP finally did come out, I purchased custom water slide decals for it and the VF-1J and did my first real toy custom, complete with panel lines, weathering, and the decals. I’ve learned alot since this custom, but it still holds up okay since the toy is so awesome.
Prometheus Rising Studios 