Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom (1/2)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom (2/2)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom (1/4)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom (2/4)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom (3/4)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom (4/4)

Upper body close-up

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Michael Custom's distinctive head. (1/3)

Michael Custom's distinctive head.

Back and arm/shield parts.

Leg section

The Sniper's signature weapon — the sniper rifle.

The 8-barrel open gimmick is fully reproduced as well.

Leftover parts..

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - In the show, Michel often hides behind asteroids and snipes like this. Tha

In the show, Michel often hides behind asteroids and snipes like this.
Thankfully the neck joint is pretty flexible, so the pose works out.

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Action poses on the Macross-exclusive action base. (1/6)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Action poses on the Macross-exclusive action base. (2/6)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Action poses on the Macross-exclusive action base. (3/6)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Action poses on the Macross-exclusive action base. (4/6)

Action poses on the Macross-exclusive action base.

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Michael Custom in GERWALK mode. (1/4)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Michael Custom in GERWALK mode. (2/4)

Michael Custom in GERWALK mode.

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - GERWALK mode on the action base. (1/5)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - GERWALK mode on the action base. (2/5)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - GERWALK mode on the action base. (3/5)

GERWALK mode on the action base.

Fighter mode

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom

The Michael Custom's head tucked away.

Underside

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Since the Michael Custom uses a different rifle from the other Valkyries,

Since the Michael Custom uses a different rifle from the other Valkyries,
the rifle mounting part in the center is also a slightly different shape from the other kits.

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - On the Michael Custom, the area around the front landing gear is handled w

On the Michael Custom, the area around the front landing gear is handled with blue stickers..
The mismatch is a bit annoying;; Would've been nicer if they'd done proper color separation..

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Fighter mode on the action base. (1/6)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Fighter mode on the action base. (2/6)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Fighter mode on the action base. (3/6)

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - Fighter mode on the action base. (4/6)

Fighter mode on the action base.

Finally!
All four Macross Frontier Valkyries are together.

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom - All different colors.. (1/3)

All different colors..

And it's not just the colors — the head designs are all different too.

Now the four in GERWALK mode.

Somehow feels like four mosquitoes gathered together..;;

The four in Fighter mode.

Wings folded, all lined up..

Either way, having all four together is really satisfying and looks great~

Battroid mode straight build photos.

GERWALK mode straight build photos.

Fighter mode straight build photos.

The VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom has finally arrived — the last of the four Macross Frontier Valkyries. Maybe it felt like Michel had less screen time in the show.. it ended up being released last, but either way, the collection is now complete.

Structurally it's essentially the same as Alto's unit, as you'd expect, with changes to the molded color, another new head design, and the Michael Custom's signature weapon — the sniper rifle — included. The blue molded color is on the darker side, giving it a rich, deep tone, so the molded color is pretty decent overall. That said, because the base color is so dark, there's an inherent issue where even light-colored stickers end up looking a bit muddy.

Since they're rolling out color variants from a single base kit, the color separation is a bit lacking in places — the area around the lower body's landing gear is wrapped in blue stickers, which looks a bit out of place. It's fortunately not a very visible area, but it would've been much better with proper parts separation, so it's a bit of a shame.

Given its character, the Michael Custom drops the standard rifle in favor of its signature sniper rifle, and the gimmick of the front barrel opening up — just like in the show — is nicely reproduced. And since the rifle changed, the rifle mounting part for Fighter mode has been updated accordingly.

Overall it retains all the strengths of the VF-25 Valkyrie with its impressive transformation gimmick, and the real significance here is completing the full Macross Frontier lineup of four. And yeah... there's definitely a thrill in finally getting that group shot with all four colors together. ^^;

1/72 VF-25G Messiah Valkyrie Michael Custom | 2009.3 | ¥4,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.