By John Lester - images & text © 2008

Scale: 1/72

Parts: 6 per set

Instructions: 1 small generic sheet

Decals: Waterslide

Molding Quality: 9 - no issues

Detail: 9 - very nicely done for the scale

Accuracy: Not rated

MSRP: $10.00 USD (~$11.92 CAN/ € 7.54 EUR) available from Studio Starforge

Overall Rating: 9 - a worthy addition to your Valkyrie kits

Studio Starforge have released male and female UN SPACY pilots/officers in 1/72 scale. While intended to fit the various Hasegawa Valkyries, the may be used in many other 1/72 craft.

What You Get

Each set consists of six resin figures, 2 standing and four seated, packed snuggly in styrofoam. All are based on the TV series style, which are a bit different to the Movie-style helmet and flight suit.

The Females set includes

• Two seated figures with the classic Valkyrie pilot 'fighter' helmet, just without the visor.
• Two seated figures with the 'Civilian-style' helmet that we see in a few episodes. Lisa Hayes and Minmei wore one whenever they sat backseat in a Valkyrie, or on a shuttle, etc.
• One standing pilot with civilian-style helmet, and
• One standing officer in regular uniform (skirt/blouse)

The Males set includes -

• Two seated figures with the classic Valkyrie pilot 'fighter' helmet, just without the visor.
• Two seated figures with the classic Valkyrie pilot 'fighter' helmet, with the visor.
• One standing figure with helmet and visor, and
• One standing figure with his helmet tucked under one arm

Each set also includes a sheet of waterslide decals (Mars Base markings for the females and Alaska Base for the males). In addition to the base logos, each set has a couple rows of kill markings.

General instructions, which double as a wrapper for the styrofoam packing, round out each set. These include general tips for working with resin and decals, plus tips on fitting the pilots into cockpits. There is no painting guide.

Casting on the figures is excellent, with no pits or bubbles an only a small amount of flash. Detail is sharp and clean - right down to the facial features on those figures without lowered visors. Size-wise, they are comparable to the Hasegawa USAF pilots/ground crew set, if a bit skinnier (probably appropriate for anime teenagers....) - and slightly beefier than the pilots that come with the Hasegawa VF-1 series kits.

The decals are crisply printed with good color density and registration.

Fit & Finish

Just about the only quibble I have with either set is that the seated poses are pretty static: eyes front, hands on knees. I would prefer separate arms and heads so I could pose them. However, I also understand that would make casting more difficult - and given the problems I had with the Hasegawa VF-1 pilots, it's probably a very good thing there are no teeny-tiny arms and heads to lose to the carpet monster.

Conclusions

Overall, I like both sets. They provide some variety for the front office of the Hasegawa Valkyries, as well as other 1/72 Macross subjects (looks like they'll fit Moscato's Commanchero as well). As a pretty much drop-fit, they should present no problems (other than detail painting!) to modeler's of all skill levels.

Highly recommended!