Hasegawa 1/72 VF-25F/S Messiah , previewed by Scott Van Aken

The VF-25 Messiah is one of the newest-generation variable fighters used by the New United Nations Spacy in 2059. The VF-25 was independently developed by Shinsei Industries, Macross Frontier Arsenal Original Development and the LAI Corporation from the YF-24 Evolution prototype as the potential successor to the VF-171 Nightmare Plus, the current main variable fighter. Different from previous variable fighter designs, the VF-25 has an additional cockpit system called the Ex-Gear which allows pilots to withstand high G-forces. It also allows wired or wireless remote control for the VF-25.

THE KIT

Apparently this is a new tooling of this aircraft for the 40th Anniversary of the Macross franchise. The kit can be built as either a standard VF-25F fighter or the VF-25S squadron commander's aircraft. There are some small differences between the two and those are clearly noted in the instructions.

The kit provides a pilot figure if you want to have something to fill out the cockpit, otherwise it is basically a tub with a seat and instrument panel. The canopy, when you get to that stage, can be posed open or closed. The fuselage is split horizontally in order to trap the wing sweep mechanism. The wings simply plug in place. This is nice as you can paint them completely prior to installation.

The vectored nozzles are also able to be posed in different positions. They also simply plug in place so again, you can paint them prior to installation, which saves on masking. For weapons there are the rear facing 'guns' behind the cockpit which are a bit different between the F and S version. The large gun goes beneath the fuselage and there are batteries of missiles that go under the wings. The holes for these are pre-drilled, so if you don't want them, you'll have to use your filler.

Instructions are well done and everything is in Japanese, including the color chart. That might pose an issue for some, though the construction drawings are well done and one can look up the colors on the net as they are standard Gunze issue. The VF-25F is overall white while the VF-25S is IJN grey over FS 36495, which is a very light grey. While there is some detail painting that needs to be done, which includes the black fins, all the other markings/stripes are provided on the decal sheet. The red markings are for the VF-25F while the yellow ones are for the VF-25S. The large decal sheet is nicely printed and if previous builds are a judge, the decals will be commendably thin.

If you are a fan of the Macross world and like building their craft, then this is a kit you should consider adding to your collection.

KIT #:	65724
PRICE:	$27.95
DECALS:	Two Options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	From the Macross Frontier series