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Figure-Rise Bust: Makina Nakajima by Bandai – Part 1 – Unboxing

Available from HobbyLink Japan

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Sonic Attack

Music has always been a part of the Macross saga, with its initial love triangle featured the character of Lynn Minmei, whose music became central to both the psychological warfare against the Zentraedi sent to recover the Supervision Army cruiser which had crashed on Earth, and part of their enculturation once the war itself had cooled (though portrayed differently in the original TV anime and the 1984 film).

Most of the subsequent series have included musical elements in their own way, reflecting the state of popular music in Japan at the time of writing, and whether one likes that or not, it helps give each of the series its own cultural footprint.

From the moody bishy boy bands of the early ’90s as reflected in Macross 7, the return of the idol stars of the mid 2000s contained in Macross Frontier, or the AKB48 influenced girl bands which helped craft the current Macross Delta outlook, music has driven the Macross narratives like no other anime.

Civil Warriors

Macross Delta is a direct sequel to the events of Macross Frontier, with the narrative beginning eight years after the close of the earlier series.

In the Brisingir Globular Star Cluster, where one of the branches of humanity has settled after the Great Expansion, planet after planet begins falling to a mysterious disease, known as the Var Syndrome. Causing its sufferers to enter into a berserk and zombie-like state, they attack anyone around them, further spreading the disease (though the condition can also manifest itself in victims seemingly without any apparent transmitting vector).

In a call back to ancient myth, a team of all girl idol singers, known as the Walküre are discovered to have the power to calm the victims, and with the assistance of the elite Valkyrie Squadron, Delta Flight, the Walküre attempt to bring the spreading plague under control.

However, at the same time, a rival group from the  Windermere Kingdom who may or may not actually be behind the Var Syndrome in the first place, assigns its own top fighter unit, the Aerial Knights Valkyrie Squadron, to counter the Walküres and use the spread of the plague as a lever in a war of conquest.

No more story… If you are here you have probably seen it, and if you have not, just watch it already! 😀

The Walküre Collection

Though we are only considering one of the kits in this build it is worth noting that all the five Walküre idols are represented in this bust collection – Freyja Wion, Mikumo GuynemerKaname Buccaneer, Makina Nakajima and Reina Prowler. Each figure is designed to be paired with a small model of the pilot’s signature VF-31 ‘Siegfried’ fighters (available here).

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This represents something of a crossover for Bandai’s different divisions, with both toy and model arms working on the materials and moldings for these kits. This is becoming more and more common of late as well, with the company well aware of how the boundaries between their once-independent divisions are blurring. These seemingly simple kits feature some heavy duty technical knowhow, and also serve as a test bed for new (or old, depending) technology which is increasingly being turned to for the sorts of complex mold shots that both detailed kits – like the High Resolution Barartos – but also high grade toys – like the the Metal Robot Spirits EXS Gundam Ka.

And so, entirely at random – I assure you – I selected the most representative bust for the review….

Nakajima Makino

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Note all the plastic going into one frame? There is no paint on those eyes at all, nor decals for that matter.

All mold shots, and we shall talk further of this in part two.

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Note that the face is also supplied Tampo printed with details? All part of what I like to call the Bandai ‘semi finished kit’ approach.

An unskilled modeller could assemble this it and leave it (as they can with HGs, MGs and even PGs if they wish) and still be left with a good model. However, a more skilled modeler still has enough wiggle room to really turn it up to 11 on even a simple kit like this.

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All fairly straight forward here, save for these hideous stickers.

I know that decals are more expensive to produce, but these ruddy things are uglier than they are worth on the model. However I see the sense in them. A neophyte can fix them with greater ease than a decal, and a skilled modeler will paint in the needed detail anyway.

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Simple? Minded!

I seem to be fated to get simple kits to review. Mind you, this is no bad thing, considering I can spend more time writing and less time building. Plus, for all that this kit went together in a few minutes, and was detailed in an hour or so, it is a well thought out set of molds and the engineering involved is outstanding.

Part Two, incoming.

Dr. Robodaz.

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