Kit Review

Straight build + decals/seals

1. Battroid mode

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. (1/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. (2/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. (3/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. (4/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. (5/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. (6/6)

Upper body front and back

Chest area

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Head. The eyes were painted with clear

Head.
The eyes were painted with clear green.
Without it, they look pretty plain..;

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Internal decals visible at the waist an

Internal decals visible at the waist and crotch area.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Decals inside the arms and shield (1/3)

Decals inside the arms and shield

Decals on the back and wings

Internal decals around the knees

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Internal decals on the front and back o

Internal decals on the front and back of the shins.

Together with the normal version.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - It's a pretty unique and fresh limited

It's a pretty unique and fresh limited edition.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Action pose. (1/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Action pose. (2/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Action pose. (3/6)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Action pose. (4/6)

Action pose.

2. Gerwalk mode

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Since the outer armor is clear, you can

Since the outer armor is clear, you can see right through to the internal joint mechanisms moving around.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Together with the normal version in GER

Together with the normal version in GERWALK mode.

3. Fighter mode

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Fighter mode (1/4)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Fighter mode (2/4)

Fighter mode

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - You can see the Raider-shaped decal ins

You can see the Raider-shaped decal inside the front section.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Decals inside the nose section.. (1/4)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Decals inside the nose section.. (2/4)

Decals inside the nose section..

Internal decals on the upper fuselage

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Since the decals are applied to the lar

Since the decals are applied to the large internal frame, they're very easy to see through.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Wing section. Silver decals are applied

Wing section.
Silver decals are applied across the entire underside of the wings.

Engine-related parts.

Overall rear view from above.

Underside

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - You could attach the gunpod, but leavin

You could attach the gunpod, but leaving it off gives you a better view of the internal frame.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Internal decals visible from under the

Internal decals visible from under the nose section.

Decals around the knees

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - The underside is set up so you can get

The underside is set up so you can get a good look at the decals inside the arms.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Decal applied to the underside of the w

Decal applied to the underside of the wing.
Being the only decal exposed on the exterior, I sprayed semi-gloss topcoat to protect the decal surface during transformation, but..

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Maybe it's because the friction surface

Maybe it's because the friction surface is so sharp, but even with topcoat applied, if you're not careful it ends up like this T_T

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Displayed on the Macross-dedicated acti

Displayed on the Macross-dedicated action base

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - I think the Mechanical Clear version lo

I think the Mechanical Clear version looks best in Fighter mode.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Together with the normal version in Fig

Together with the normal version in Fighter mode.

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Comparison of the nose and tail section

Comparison of the nose and tail sections.
Totally different feel, right?

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Battroid mode straight build. It looks

Battroid mode straight build.
It looks pretty bare without the decals..

GERWALK mode straight build

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. - Fighter mode straight build. Without th

Fighter mode straight build.
Without the decals, the wings are barely visible..;;

This kit is the Alto Custom Mechanical Clear version produced by Shoji Kawamori, the father of Macross, released as a pro shop limited edition. All the outer armor uses clear parts, the internal frame is done in metallic molding, and then gold decals are applied on top of the frame.

The silver of the internal frame is quite clean and gives off a sufficiently mechanical feel on its own, but it really comes together properly once you apply the included waterslide decals. The kit shown above has waterslide decals on the internal frame side, while the Alto Custom markings on the regular exterior panels use seals.

The quality of the waterslide decals for the internal frame is excellent — they're tough and don't tear easily, and the adhesion feels really strong too. Even beginners should be able to apply them without much trouble, and the big advantage is that since most of the decals go on the frame inside the armor panels, you don't have to worry about them peeling off.

However, the large waterslide decal on the underside of the wing is exposed on the exterior, and since the wing itself is movable, it requires quite a bit of care. Applying it is easy enough thanks to the good decal quality, but waterslide decals are inherently fragile on the surface, so it's a bit nerve-wracking. In my case, I covered the decal surface with semi-gloss topcoat a couple of times to protect it. I figured matte topcoat would kill the transparency and gloss would be too shiny, so I went with semi-gloss — and it matched the existing clear parts' transparency really well.

But as you can see in the photos above, even after applying enough topcoat to make it sturdy to the touch, part of the waterslide decal on the wing underside still peeled off. T_T The clearance around the wing section is tight and it's an area that gets scraped pretty hard when there's friction, so I guess it can't be helped.. Topcoat is a must, and you'll need to be really careful when opening and closing the wings.

Anyway, the combination of clear armor and frame decals is a huge success — you can safely admire both the internal frame and the gorgeous decals through the clear panels. The waterslide decal quality is easy enough for beginners to handle, and the low-maintenance aspect is another plus. As long as you're careful with the wing section, you should be fine. This is a great kit that really stands out as a limited edition. :-)

1/72 VF-25F Messiah Valkyrie Alto Custom Shoji Kawamori Produce Clear Version. | 2009.1

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.