About the Reissued VF-0S

[Chronocidal]

The noses don't droop on my VF-0A/S, I'm guessing that no 2 VF-0A/S reissues from this year are the same, as everyone seems to have different situations with theirs. I will try that step you suggested about pushing the leg forward to free the calve locking tabs.

Actually, it's not so much pushing the legs forward as it is pushing the knee joint down.. you almost need to lift the foot, to force the knee to bend. You kind of want to find a way to push the upper hip joint open one notch, which will pull the knee down, pulling the leg away from the tab. Be really careful though, if these are all as different as you're thinking, your leg holes might be aligned differently, and require a different trick.

It's weird, and my 0A doesn't have this issue at all, I can just pop the legs down with a fingernail and no fancy twist. Looking into the slots those tabs go into, it almost looks like the internal parts that they latch onto might be misaligned, but I don't know of a way to get in there without destroying the leg.

[Muzaffar]

Now, one thing I did notice right away was that the nose still droops, much more so than my 0A. In fact, the slot in the side of the fuselage was actually visible almost fully below the grey extensions from the front of the intake. There's also a noticeable gap between the back top of the cockpit shield and the chestplate.

While this doesn't bother me terribly, I decided to investigate it a bit. In the end I wound up performing surgery on the entire nose section, which fortunately was not glued together.

The culprit in the nose droop is the big metal plate that the nose slides on. Quite simply, it's warped. The center portion on mine is bent down so that it falls between the intake plates. If it was truly straight, it would be parallel, making the nose slide alongside those plates. So, I'm going to see about bending that plate upwards a little.

------------------------------------

Okay, it's done, and it works perfectly. I just bent that plate level with the force of my fingers, and now the nose holds nice and level without even having the intakes attached, and the heatshield gap is just about non-existent.

My guess is that plate has a tendency to warp during the cooling process, since it is cast metal.

I think I lucked out, and they didn't glue most of my nose section together. All that was holding it was two screws (one inside the door for the hip bar, the other inside the landing gear well), and a small piece of adhesive tape under the cockpit, which was rather gooey, and pulled loose easily.

So, if your VF-0 nose droops, my guess is that that is part of the problem. It's not the only cause I'm sure, because adding bulk to the intake tabs with superglue on my VF-0A had roughly the same effect, but it's intake plates were already in line with the nose, so the plate may be less bent there.

Now, all that's left is to add a little glue to those tabs near the feet that go into the backpack, and she's good to go.

Honestly.. I wish they hadn't become obsessed with plugging screw holes up with covers on the Mac0 releases. It makes them so hard to work on. I'd love to take apart the legs and fiddle with them too, but I can't even open them up.

This is the same problem I have with mine. Could you post some pics of the fixed intake and chest piece and/or post a "fix it yourself" guide with pics? Meanwhile, I am gonna go cancel my 0S order which is still waiting payment. No point in having 2 0S's with the same issues. Oh, and excellent review by the way.

[GU-11]

Yep, considering I keep mine all in fighter mode anyway...

Actually, I use the feet quite a bit more than the gear though. I tend to open the feet one notch less than full, angle them slightly down, and pose the valks standing on the engines in fighter mode. Saves a ton of shelf space that way.

That's a cool idea! I never thought to display them that way, although I remember the seeing SV-51's being housed like that in the animation (yeah, that scene where Nora grabs the balls of some maintenance guy ).

[Chronocidal]

Yep, the SV-51's stands will set up that pose nicely, but I don't think the feet are quite in the right position to do it.

I think that everything besides my YF-21/VF-22s will stand on the engines though, and they're all pretty sturdy that way, even on carpet. Anything with fast packs needs a little rebalancing, but it's just a matter of finding the right angle to position the feet at.

Edited July 1, 2010 by Chronocidal

[Graham]

Yeah I tried it this morning and they click when I move then up or down and when I open em up. Also here are some pics of what I was talking about.

From your pics, it looks like it may be more a case of it not being transformed all the way than being a lemon.

The intakes should click into place under the chest in fighter mode. Looks like you haven't done that yet.

The hinged panels around the head do come off sometimes, regardless of version.

Graham

[Muzaffar]

From your pics, it looks like it may be more a case of it not being transformed all the way than being a lemon.

The intakes should click into place under the chest in fighter mode. Looks like you haven't done that yet.

The hinged panels around the head do come off sometimes, regardless of version.

Graham

The intakes don't click. Everytime I push up the intake the nose droops and the gap appears on the top shield and when I push the nose up the intake gap appears. It's like a tug-of-war with this thing. I always display my valks in plane mode and this intake gap is really making me hate this thing.

[GU-11]

Yep, the SV-51's stands will set up that pose nicely, but I don't think the feet are quite in the right position to do it.

I think that everything besides my YF-21/VF-22s will stand on the engines though, and they're all pretty sturdy that way, even on carpet. Anything with fast packs needs a little rebalancing, but it's just a matter of finding the right angle to position the feet at.

If I ever get around to buying the SV-51's (expensive mother-effer's, those), they'd definitely be displayed that way.

Actually, I've seen an old review on Collection DX of the VF-22S Gamlin being stood up on its engines, featuring a "hidden fourth mode".

Witness the mighty Pengoid mode!

Ouch! That can't be good for the thruster pedals....

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

The intakes don't click. Everytime I push up the intake the nose droops and the gap appears on the top shield and when I push the nose up the intake gap appears. It's like a tug-of-war with this thing. I always display my valks in plane mode and this intake gap is really making me hate this thing.

The hip bars click into the place on the gray parts aft of the head and in front of the shoulders.

[Tking22]

Okay I don't know if I'm missing something but I just put my old VF-0S into gerwalk. I find that the knees don't bend as far as my VF-1 1/48's, so I can't pull off the slightly hunched standard pose, am I missing something or are they all like this?

[EXO]

I think mine are like that also.

[Chronocidal]

I'm guessing you haven't extended the knee joints all the way. The VF-0 was made before they started putting the type of sliding joints in the knee that we see in the V.2 VF-1, VF-11, etc.

It's actually got a double rotation joint in the knee. The regular knee joint only rotates the legs downward about 60 degrees. After that though, that grey piece will actually pull downward out of the thigh, giving you a total of about 90 degrees of knee bend forward. The pics will probably explain it better.

Here's what I'm guessing the legs currently look like, which is as far as the first knee joint will bend.

Here's what it looks like when you pull the extension out of the thigh.

The big bonus to this extra extension is that it frees up the thigh swivel from the knee cover. Without the extra extension, you can't turn really turn the lower legs outwards because the kneecap catches on the grey piece.

I'm working on taking some pictures that show the metal plate I bent to fix the nose droop, I just have to clear my desk off so I have room to take it apart again.

[GU-11]

When I first transformed my VF-0S, I thought you had to pull the legs out like the V2 1/60 VF-1 Valks. Damn near broke the legs on mine until I figured something wasn't right and checked online. The instructions weren't much help visually. Maybe the extra steps were written in Japanese somewhere.

[Tking22]

I'm guessing you haven't extended the knee joints all the way. The VF-0 was made before they started putting the type of sliding joints in the knee that we see in the V.2 VF-1, VF-11, etc.

It's actually got a double rotation joint in the knee. The regular knee joint only rotates the legs downward about 60 degrees. After that though, that grey piece will actually pull downward out of the thigh, giving you a total of about 90 degrees of knee bend forward. The pics will probably explain it better.

Here's what I'm guessing the legs currently look like, which is as far as the first knee joint will bend.

Here's what it looks like when you pull the extension out of the thigh.

The big bonus to this extra extension is that it frees up the thigh swivel from the knee cover. Without the extra extension, you can't turn really turn the lower legs outwards because the kneecap catches on the grey piece.

I'm working on taking some pictures that show the metal plate I bent to fix the nose droop, I just have to clear my desk off so I have room to take it apart again.

And I thank you sir, it now sits nice and proper.

[m0n5t3r]

@Chronocidal - thanks for posting those pics. i honestly didn't know it worked that way since my 0A and 0S have been in fighter and battroid, respectively, ever since i got them. i also finally took them out of the cab to transform and clean them (not dusty but there's some sporadic yellow dirt, w/c i thought was discoloration... good thing it can be easily cleaned off w/ a damp cloth).

[Chronocidal]

Ok, here's a series of pictures showing what I did to fix my nose droop. Unfortunately I don't have shots from before I changed it, but it's pretty easy to understand what I changed.

The first step is taking apart the nose, and hoping Yamato didn't glue it shut. There are three screws you'll need to get to. The first is a small screw that holds down the door that covers the hip bar mount, which removes that door and lets you get to the second screw, which actually attaches to the upper half of the nose. The third screw is inside the landing gear well.

After you take out those screws, the nose should come apart with a little bit of pulling. Mine had some adhesive tape near the front that you can see, but it wasn't hard to pull loose. The nose is pretty sturdy, so as long as you're careful I don't think this will damage anything. Note, the insert that holds the main gear doors is just held in by pressure, so it, and the doors, will fall out when you pull the nose apart. Be careful to keep track of the pieces.

As a side note, if your front gear is difficult to pull down, this is the perfect opportunity to fix this. The front gear is held into the nose by the screw you see here, and loosening it a little will lessen the tension on the gear. I don't recall how much I turned the screw, but I was able to make the gear easier to extend, while still holding decently in the down position.

What you're left with now is the following.

It's easier to remove the upper nose with the plane partially transformed, since it moves the chest plate away from the nose, but I was able to get the nose out without taking it out of fighter mode. You really just need to pop the large peg out of the slot in the metal plate, but it's easier to do once the nose is slid back from the front a little.

What I did was pull the cockpit shield out from under the lip at the back of the nose, and raise the chest just enough to slip the nose back under it a little. The nose peg popped out of the metal plate without much trouble after that.

Now, you've got this:

When I first took this thing apart, the large center plate with the track cut out of the center was quite bent. It was bent down far enough that it reached down between the two plates ahead of the intakes.

What I did was just gently bend it back up with my fingertips, pressing against the center plate with my thumbs while pulling on the intake plates with my other fingers. Make sure to press evenly on both sides at once so the plate doesn't warp sideways.

After a little gentle pressure, the plate should be aligned to look like this:

The center metal plate should be parallel to the outer plates, so everything slides in a straight line when moving to battroid mode.

Now just a word of caution if you do this... I'm not sure how strong the metal used in that plate is. Die-cast is obviously stronger than plastic, but it's also rather brittle in terms of metal. Don't force the plate to bend, and be very gentle. I probably held my thumbs against the plate pressing it upwards for a good few minutes before it was level. It doesn't take a lot of force, but it does take patience. I really don't want to hear that anyone snapped that plate, and ruined their VF-0.

That being said, it really helps the nose stay in place well, and after I did it, I could detach the legs entirely and the nose still stayed pretty level, with almost no gap behind the cockpit shield.

Good luck!

Edited July 5, 2010 by Chronocidal

[Muzaffar]

Chronocidal - I did your droopy nose fix method on my 0A first and it worked perfectly! It took me like 10 minutes and yeah you have to press carefully on the bar with your thumbs and hold it for a while. Next up is my OS and hopefully the fix will go as smoothly as this one. Thank you so much for the guide and may you live long and prosper.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

When I first transformed my VF-0S, I thought you had to pull the legs out like the V2 1/60 VF-1 Valks. Damn near broke the legs on mine until I figured something wasn't right and checked online. The instructions weren't much help visually. Maybe the extra steps were written in Japanese somewhere.

lol dude, that's classic.

btw my Shin 0A Ghost and reissue Roy 0s are still nice and tight, goin strong!

Edited August 15, 2010 by ruskiiVFaussie

[GU-11]

lol dude, that's classic.

btw my Shin 0A Ghost and reissue Roy 0s are still nice and tight, goin strong!

What can I say? You live and learn.

[Muzaffar]

Ok, I fixed the droopy nose on my OS and I have to say it was more difficult than the 0A. The nose on the 0S was much tighter and had glue on one of the the screw point. Also the metal bar was much more harder and took longer to bend into place. But in the end it all worked out.

[GU-11]

Ok, I fixed the droopy nose on my OS and I have to say it was more difficult than the 0A. The nose on the 0S was much tighter and had glue on one of the the screw point. Also the metal bar was much more harder and took longer to bend into place. But in the end it all worked out.

Glad to hear everything got fixed!

[shuji]

i also already received 0S re-issue...but the 0S abit dispointed to me..the arrow below the cockpit not straight n got abit gap at the wing joining what a poor QC by yamato..erm i also questioning my 0S new n reissue or just restock from the older one..

but all the details that i read in this thread was same as my 0S...

[ae_productions]

i also already received 0S re-issue...but the 0S abit dispointed to me..the arrow below the cockpit not straight n got abit gap at the wing joining what a poor QC by yamato..erm i also questioning my 0S new n reissue or just restock from the older one..

but all the details that i read in this thread was same as my 0S...

I've owned a few of the VF-0S. None of them are perfect, and did require a bit of repair to make it right. It is a beautiful toy, and if you know about the shoulder issue in advance, and take a preemptive strike against it, you can prevent it from breaking. And then fix the droopy nose in fighter mode. Then you have a fantastic toy! Too bad a 200 dollar plus toy (after scalpers mark ups and shipping) requires you to do all this. Cause it is a beauty.

[shuji]

I've owned a few of the VF-0S. None of them are perfect, and did require a bit of repair to make it right. It is a beautiful toy, and if you know about the shoulder issue in advance, and take a preemptive strike against it, you can prevent it from breaking. And then fix the droopy nose in fighter mode. Then you have a fantastic toy! Too bad a 200 dollar plus toy (after scalpers mark ups and shipping) requires you to do all this. Cause it is a beauty.

ya bro you're correct..0S for me beautiful valk also OA..but some of the problem at our 0s will effect our mood on it hehehe..bro can u give a link in youtube or etc DIY to fix it..I'm not good in diy n reading when transform to practical..

[Muzaffar]

We shouldn't have to do any operations or touch-ups on a toy that costs $150 +. Yamato needs to get it's QC act together or get out and let some other company do the job.

[bouncing boy77]

We shouldn't have to do any operations or touch-ups on a toy that costs $150 +. Yamato needs to get it's QC act together or get out and let some other company do the job.

amen to that! qc should really be top-notch when it comes to high-end toys, imo.

[GU-11]

We shouldn't have to do any operations or touch-ups on a toy that costs $150 +. Yamato needs to get it's QC act together or get out and let some other company do the job.

I totally agree! Alas, at this point in the game, Yamato probably expects us to deal with any QC problems by ourselves.

They know they're the best show in town, and we buyers have proven to be all too willing to take the risk of potential QC issues, and fix them with replacement parts they send us (that is, IF you're buying from an established online shop and can get them to ask Yamato for parts).

To be fair, though, such delicately designed figs will be more susceptible to QC issues than others. Chalk it up to the low-wage Chinese factory workers they hired. But with greater skill come larger paychecks, and if they manufactured them in Japan, the price of Yamato figs would shoot through the roof.

[Muzaffar]

I totally agree! Alas, at this point in the game, Yamato probably expects us to deal with any QC problems by ourselves.

They know they're the best show in town, and we buyers have proven to be all too willing to take the risk of potential QC issues, and fix them with replacement parts they send us (that is, IF you're buying from an established online shop and can get them to ask Yamato for parts).

To be fair, though, such delicately designed figs will be more susceptible to QC issues than others. Chalk it up to the low-wage Chinese factory workers they hired. But with greater skill come larger paychecks, and if they manufactured them in Japan, the price of Yamato figs would shoot through the roof.

I think the prices are already through the roof and if they continue to suck on the QC than the prices need to come down. Seriously, if anybody here wins the lottery please start you own company and do something about this. Yeah wishful thinking I know.

[ae_productions]

I think the prices are already through the roof and if they continue to suck on the QC than the prices need to come down. Seriously, if anybody here wins the lottery please start you own company and do something about this. Yeah wishful thinking I know.

I agree too.

It is stupid that anything requires the consumer to repair it. Especially a 200 dollar toy.

I do a lot of research for most of my buys. It's sad we have to. But I let other consumers vent about their QC issues, so when I do take the plunge, I don't get ripped off. Needless to say, that tactic doesn't always work, either. See my own gripe below. And it is terrible that consumers have to do this. I don't make anywhere near the amount of money I use to, so when I do buy something, damn it, I go the extra mile to ensure it's a purchase I can live with.

My gripe is reiterating a point you brought up. The QC has gone down a lot over the years. I've had nothing but trouble with the new Yamato 1/60 VF-1's, for example, and nearly all my 1/48's are...well, they're not perfect. But far, far less QC issues than with the 1/60 VF-1's. It's not just Yamato. I've also noticed this with Takara's Masterpiece Transformers. After Magnus, it was all down hill. Thundercracker is the worst, and Grimlock was really, really bad. This is where the reasearch does not always pay off. Cause if you search the net, all you hear is the MP Grimlock is the new messiah of transformers. I've owned a few, and let me tell you, every one of them have been poo. Can I say poo here? Too damn late now.

I have not purchased the Ban Dai 1/60 Macross 25 toys, but I have heard some scary things. As much as I love the 25, I love my sanity more, so that is one Valk I just cannot bring myself to buy. Here's hoping BanDai re-issues it with all those absurd issues fixed.

It's hit and miss out there as a toy collector. We live in a world of 200+ dollar toys, whose QC is for poo. There I go cursing again. Do your research, but even then, it doesn't always save you.

Not everything is as perfect as the new Star Wars AT-AT. (But Valkyries are far more intricate...but they also are much smaller, have no electronics, and cost 2X's as much)...

Edited August 20, 2010 by ae_productions

[Muzaffar]

I agree too.

It is stupid that anything requires the consumer to repair it. Especially a 200 dollar toy.

I do a lot of research for most of my buys. It's sad we have to. But I let other consumers vent about their QC issues, so when I do take the plunge, I don't get ripped off. Needless to say, that tactic doesn't always work, either. See my own gripe below. And it is terrible that consumers have to do this. I don't make anywhere near the amount of money I use to, so when I do buy something, damn it, I go the extra mile to ensure it's a purchase I can live with.

My gripe is reiterating a point you brought up. The QC has gone down a lot over the years. I've had nothing but trouble with the new Yamato 1/60 VF-1's, for example, and nearly all my 1/48's are...well, they're not perfect. But far, far less QC issues than with the 1/60 VF-1's. It's not just Yamato. I've also noticed this with Takara's Masterpiece Transformers. After Magnus, it was all down hill. Thundercracker is the worst, and Grimlock was really, really bad. This is where the reasearch does not always pay off. Cause if you search the net, all you hear is the MP Grimlock is the new messiah of transformers. I've owned a few, and let me tell you, every one of them have been poo. Can I say poo here? Too damn late now.

I have not purchased the Ban Dai 1/60 Macross 25 toys, but I have heard some scary things. As much as I love the 25, I love my sanity more, so that is one Valk I just cannot bring myself to buy. Here's hoping BanDai re-issues it with all those absurd issues fixed.

It's hit and miss out there as a toy collector. We live in a world of 200+ dollar toys, whose QC is for poo. There I go cursing again. Do your research, but even then, it doesn't always save you.

Not everything is as perfect as the new Star Wars AT-AT. (But Valkyries are far more intricate...but they also are much smaller, have no electronics, and cost 2X's as much)...

Holy crap I forgot about the AT-AT has been released, must get 100 bucks somehow. Anyways, what you said is true. I own about 3 V2 1/60 Vf-1s and 2 of the 1/48s and I haven't experienced any grief from them...but than again, I never transform them. I don't know, I mean I want to but I can't do it. I feel that as long as I don't transform them they will stay perfect. This only relates to my new yamatos valks, my original V1's I have transformed to heck and back and they are still nice and sturdy.

As for the VF-25, I have gotten as far as bringing down the legs to attach the fast pack that came with the tornado gift set and that's about it. Even though it feels nice and sturdy I don't want to risk breaking it while transforming. The main reason being all those stories I have heard about em.

As for the Takara Masterpieces, I don't own any. But I do own the Hasbro Masterpieces in which Skywarp is the shitpiece (yes you can say poo here) of the bunch. I got Grimlock today and so far he is ok.

I think the only way to fix the QC issue is to have the assembly line worker replaced with robots. Just like cars, they can fine tune and cut and screw and snap everything just right. If that doesn't work than we can move the production to Japan. My G1's are a testament to Japanese toy quality and I am sure they can fix our problem. Yes the prices will go through the atmosphere but at least we will have a piece of mind that the item will be flawless.

If your all up for it, we can always try to boycott Yamato. Good idea yes? Well, while you guys think about it I am gonna go to Walmart and get me that At-At.

[ae_productions]

Holy crap I forgot about the AT-AT has been released, must get 100 bucks somehow. Anyways, what you said is true. I own about 3 V2 1/60 Vf-1s and 2 of the 1/48s and I haven't experienced any grief from them...but than again, I never transform them. I don't know, I mean I want to but I can't do it. I feel that as long as I don't transform them they will stay perfect. This only relates to my new yamatos valks, my original V1's I have transformed to heck and back and they are still nice and sturdy.

As for the VF-25, I have gotten as far as bringing down the legs to attach the fast pack that came with the tornado gift set and that's about it. Even though it feels nice and sturdy I don't want to risk breaking it while transforming. The main reason being all those stories I have heard about em.

As for the Takara Masterpieces, I don't own any. But I do own the Hasbro Masterpieces in which Skywarp is the shitpiece (yes you can say poo here) of the bunch. I got Grimlock today and so far he is ok.

I think the only way to fix the QC issue is to have the assembly line worker replaced with robots. Just like cars, they can fine tune and cut and screw and snap everything just right. If that doesn't work than we can move the production to Japan. My G1's are a testament to Japanese toy quality and I am sure they can fix our problem. Yes the prices will go through the atmosphere but at least we will have a piece of mind that the item will be flawless.

If your all up for it, we can always try to boycott Yamato. Good idea yes? Well, while you guys think about it I am gonna go to Walmart and get me that At-At.

Hey! Let me know what you think of that AT-AT!

When I put mine together, my wife smiled and said, "Where in the HELL is THAT going to go?" It's HUGE. My fearless min-pin is actually afraid of it! It's a cool toy.

I can't boycott Yamato. Macross (and Mospeada) is my drug man, and I am always needing a fix. They're one of the only two places who are dealin'.

[GU-11]

Holy crap I forgot about the AT-AT has been released, must get 100 bucks somehow. Anyways, what you said is true. I own about 3 V2 1/60 Vf-1s and 2 of the 1/48s and I haven't experienced any grief from them...but than again, I never transform them. I don't know, I mean I want to but I can't do it. I feel that as long as I don't transform them they will stay perfect. This only relates to my new yamatos valks, my original V1's I have transformed to heck and back and they are still nice and sturdy.

As for the VF-25, I have gotten as far as bringing down the legs to attach the fast pack that came with the tornado gift set and that's about it. Even though it feels nice and sturdy I don't want to risk breaking it while transforming. The main reason being all those stories I have heard about em.

As for the Takara Masterpieces, I don't own any. But I do own the Hasbro Masterpieces in which Skywarp is the shitpiece (yes you can say poo here) of the bunch. I got Grimlock today and so far he is ok.

I think the only way to fix the QC issue is to have the assembly line worker replaced with robots. Just like cars, they can fine tune and cut and screw and snap everything just right. If that doesn't work than we can move the production to Japan. My G1's are a testament to Japanese toy quality and I am sure they can fix our problem. Yes the prices will go through the atmosphere but at least we will have a piece of mind that the item will be flawless.

If your all up for it, we can always try to boycott Yamato. Good idea yes? Well, while you guys think about it I am gonna go to Walmart and get me that At-At.

I own a Takara MP Starscream, G1 repaint. He's pretty cool, and aside from the fragile weathering job (actually rubbed off a bit of it from side of his cockpit when my fingers got sweaty ) it's pretty sturdy and feels immensely more durable than any VF I own. Yamato could really learn a thing or two from Takara when it comes to QC for transforming mecha. Then again, it's still a relatively young company with a lot of room to grow. Just hope they don't get complacent and expect us to put up with dodgy QC in the long run.

I'm all for replacing the factory gremlins workers with robots, although I'm not sure if Yamato currently has the funds to invest in such technology. Heck, I'm not even sure if the technology exists for robots to make such precision assembly.

As for boycotting,...I'll get back to you on that after I buy the TV Kakizaki and original color YF-19.

[GU-11]

Hey! Let me know what you think of that AT-AT!

When I put mine together, my wife smiled and said, "Where in the HELL is THAT going to go?" It's HUGE. My fearless min-pin is actually afraid of it! It's a cool toy.

I can't boycott Yamato. Macross (and Mospeada) is my drug man, and I am always needing a fix. They're one of the only two places who are dealin'.

Man, all this talk about two-foot tall AT-AT's are making me drool! I found a shop that sells it at 160 USD, but I'm not sure I can spare the cash right now, after having bought the SV-51 Nora (which I have to fix, dammit!), and the TV Kakizaki and YF-19 I plan on buying this year end.

[Muzaffar]

It's a negative on the AT-AT. The wife won't let me get it cause I got Nora last week. Oh well, easy come, easy go.

[Chronocidal]

Lol... all this talk of the AT-AT is making me want to look for videos of little dogs and cats (better yet, puppies and kittens) attacking it out of fear.

Only recent transformer I have is a MP Skywarp, and mine's been good so far, but I do tend to leave him in fighter mode most of the time.

I did wind up getting 3 Bandai MF Valks (Michael, Movie Alto, and Brera), and while I wouldn't necessarily say I regret getting them (especially the VF-27, since it's pretty darn awesome), the quality of the engineering behind the VF-25 toys makes me cringe. I mean, I look at the models, and imagine what could have been, and just get sad. I was tempted to grab an armored Ozma, but after hearing the stress problems those have, I decided to just grab the model instead at some point.

Anywho, back on topic somewhat...

To be very fair, despite how nasty some of the flaws have been in Yamato's valks, we need to remember this wouldn't be as big an issue if we lived in Japan. Let's face it, we're out of their market area, they can't cater to our needs, and I think a large majority of us wouldn't even worry about broken parts if we could just call Yamato's hotline, and have spare parts on our doorstep within the week.

As annoying as it is to have to replace broken parts, at least for me, the major hassle is in the distance/shipping/waiting, rather than the actual problems. Not to say Yamato can't improve their engineering so things don't happen as often, but if we could walk into our local store and exchange a broken valk for a new one off the shelves on the same day we bought it, I'd bet a lot of us wouldn't be nearly as concerned.

[Kanedas Bike]

To be very fair, despite how nasty some of the flaws have been in Yamato's valks, we need to remember this wouldn't be as big an issue if we lived in Japan. Let's face it, we're out of their market area, they can't cater to our needs, and I think a large majority of us wouldn't even worry about broken parts if we could just call Yamato's hotline, and have spare parts on our doorstep within the week.

As annoying as it is to have to replace broken parts, at least for me, the major hassle is in the distance/shipping/waiting, rather than the actual problems. Not to say Yamato can't improve their engineering so things don't happen as often, but if we could walk into our local store and exchange a broken valk for a new one off the shelves on the same day we bought it, I'd bet a lot of us wouldn't be nearly as concerned.

This.

-b.