Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie (1/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie (2/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie (3/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie (4/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie (5/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie (6/6)

The massive Tornado armaments..

Additional structure on the back of the forearm

Structure on the legs

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - There's one oddly-shaped stand included.. it's used to support the stabilizer-lik

There's one oddly-shaped stand included..
It's used to support the stabilizer-like structure mounted on the back.
Thanks to it, the kit stands just fine without a display stand despite the heavy backpack load like the Armored Pack.
(Which is probably why no stand is included.)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - The atmospheric configuration with the space-use add-on pack removed. (1/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - The atmospheric configuration with the space-use add-on pack removed. (2/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - The atmospheric configuration with the space-use add-on pack removed. (3/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - The atmospheric configuration with the space-use add-on pack removed. (4/6)

The atmospheric configuration with the space-use add-on pack removed.

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Action poses. The articulation isn't great as expected, so dynamic poses are pret

Action pose.
The articulation isn't great as expected, so dynamic poses are pretty much out of the question.

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - GERWALK mode in atmospheric configuration (1/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - GERWALK mode in atmospheric configuration (2/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - GERWALK mode in atmospheric configuration (3/6)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - GERWALK mode in atmospheric configuration (4/6)

GERWALK mode in atmospheric configuration

The rear section of the large beam cannon has an opening gimmick.

The tail stabilizer can be extended by swapping parts.

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Some action poses. Since the thrusters at the wingtips rotate, it's set up for ve

An action pose of sorts.
Since the thrusters at the wingtips rotate,
it's set up for vertical takeoff just like a Harrier jet.

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Fighter mode (1/4)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Fighter mode (2/4)

Fighter mode

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Detail shots (1/4)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Underside view

Opening gimmick on the missile pod/tank mounted under the wings

Placed on the separately sold Macross-exclusive stand

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Views from various angles. It's pretty nice even as a straight build. (1/8)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Views from various angles. It's pretty nice even as a straight build. (2/8)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Views from various angles. It's pretty nice even as a straight build. (3/8)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Views from various angles. It's pretty nice even as a straight build. (4/8)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Views from various angles. It's pretty nice even as a straight build. (5/8)

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Views from various angles. It's pretty nice even as a straight build. (6/8)

Various angles.
It's pretty nice even as a straight build.

Removing the space-use parts lets you set it up in the atmospheric configuration.

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Atmospheric configuration Fighter mode (1/3)

Atmospheric configuration Fighter mode

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - The atmospheric configuration looks a bit sleeker since the tanks and additional

The atmospheric configuration looks a bit sleeker since the tanks and additional structures on the wings are gone.

Alongside the similarly-sized Armored Pack.

The backpack volume looks about the same..

Comparison with the Armored Pack Fighter mode.

Macross F VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie - Just looking at wing volume the Armored Pack looks a bit beefier, but overall the

Just looking at wing volume the Armored Pack looks a bit beefier,
but overall the Tornado Pack is actually a bit larger.

Either way, Fighter mode is where both of these guys really shine.

This kit is the VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie from the Macross Frontier theatrical film, and just like the Super Pack and Armored Pack, it's a kit that includes additional armaments for Alto's unit. Essentially it's a newly designed medium-weight armament pack, and it boasts a volume on par with the Armored Pack.

The Tornado armament pack can be configured in two main ways — by attaching or removing the large tanks and four additional structures that go on the wingtips, you can switch between the space-use configuration and the atmospheric configuration. The tanks have an opening gimmick for the missile pods, the beam cannon has an opening gimmick, and the rear stabilizer features a detachable extension gimmick as well.

The overall bulk of the Tornado Pack is a bit slimmer compared to the Armored Pack, but since the overall size is large, the kit's total volume ends up being about on the same level as the Armored Pack. The key difference from the Armored Pack is that thanks to the small tail support stand included for the Tornado, it can stand on its own just fine without a display stand. That's why this kit doesn't come with the Macross-exclusive action base that was included with the Armored Pack.

However, this kit has one critical issue.. and it's a bit of a frustrating one for casual builders..; With the Macross Frontier kits, high-quality seals were included alongside the waterslide decals, which meant you could finish the kit looking great with just panel lining and seals on a straight build. But for some reason, this kit only comes with waterslide decals.

Waterslide decals themselves take quite a bit of effort and know-how to apply, and on top of that, since this is a transforming kit, post-processing like topcoating is pretty much mandatory. Otherwise the decals will peel right off during transformation, and without a proper topcoat there's no way to protect them. The Valkyrie is honestly a pretty bare-looking kit without seals or decals, and with this setup seemingly aimed at painter-level builders, I think a lot of casual folks are going to be pretty frustrated.. In the end, I didn't feel like dealing with decals and topcoating, so I just ended up building it clean (-_-) as a straight build without even any panel lining.

Anyway, the kit itself is pretty decent, and it does bring back the excitement of the theatrical film.. but it's one I'd have to steer away from recommending to people who just want a quick, easy build with a simple finish. ^^;

1/72 VF-25F Tornado Messiah Valkyrie | 2010.10 | ¥7,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.