Valkyrie Driver

I think I'll stick to 1/60 Yamatos. Interesting toy, looks outstanding compared to the Toynami, but, I hate extra parts. I have spent most of my free time building models and fixing cars, extra parts make me feel like I forgot something...

I have a VF25F, I think it's a first edition, it had no FAST packs or armor or anything. I gotta say, I wasn't very impressed. The landing gear was kinda chintsy, and the transformation was unwieldy. It looked better in the show. It's bulky even through it's really skeletal looking, it's weird. Also I dislike the amount of kibble on the back, it makes it look like a transformer, and not a clean battroid as I have come to expect from Macross. Still though it does have a cool looking fighter mode, which is where it stays most of the time.

how much part swapping do you have to do? I know my toynami's have a crap ton of parts, though not as much as the vf100's vf25f that I have (I learned to hate partformers on that one, little turd-burglar broke at the hip on me, and I cant fix it.) Also, I'm interested to know, how close to a perfect transformation is it? I-I gotsta know! also gotta say, very clean looking fighter mode, nice and proportional just like my Yamato ver2

Protect armor would be sweet, as long as it's under $80 I'll be getting it... this hobby is way too expensive...

I'm sorry if what I'm going to say has been said, but I didn't feel like dozing off whilst reading 5 pgs of text. I am a Macross fan, no denying that, However, I got my introduction to mecha through MechWarrior 2. Needless to say I came to view mecha as war machines and was given to a vision of Americanized mechs. I learned that FASA had taken from Robotech, which had in turn taken from Macross. I've not seen Robotech, nor do I think I really want to now that I've seen Macross. Gundam brought me to the world of anime at some point between my first intro to mecha, and first seeing Macross. I have seen all the Macross series in multiple, except for frontier. Ok, put on the flame retardant skivvies because here we go... I liked Macross Zero, the battles were intense and the story writing was good. The bird man thing was kinda hokey and unbelievable from the human perspective, however, having taken world history, cultural anthropology, and philosophy, I have been aware of Extraterrestrial Intervention theories for a while, not implausible, (also in-universe they are proven true.) I have the VF-0A toy, and holds a prominent place on my shelf. I genuinely cared about the characters, and we got to see the genesis for the variable fighter program. All in all, good prequel. I recommend it. SDF Macross. Oh where do I begin. The love triangle, the war story, the VF-1! Classic. When I saw SDF:M the only thing I had to compare it to was Gundam. Specifically 08th MS Team. I loved that Gundam show, SDF:M was much better. The Main theme I got from Macross in its entirety is that culture is our strength, our collective Identity drives us to overcome adversity. That is most prominently shown in SDF:M. Again the character writing was good, I cared about them. The love triangles within a love triangle (or the triforce of love as I call it) was a neat departure from the ordinary ho hum Hollywood melodrama. Hikaru loved Minmay and Kaifun loved Minmay, but Misa loved Hikaru and Kaifun, but Hikaru also loved Misa, that was complicated and illustrated a complexity in human relationships I had never perceived before ( I have since). The battles were well done for such early anime, and the mecha was really sweet, It combined two of my favorite things: Aircraft and Mecha. It did borrow from some earlier science fiction, but it was done at the conceptual level for the setting, which is tasteful and acceptable. I loved it so much I got the dvds. Also I have Four VF-1 Toys, 2 toynami 1/100s, a Ver 2 Yamato 1/60 Skull One with fast packs, and the original Yamato VF-1A TRU 10th anniversary, all occupy places of honor on my shelves. DYRL, Retelling of the tv series, with some minor plot inconsistencies, but survivable. Liked it. Macross Plus. First Macross I had seen in entirety, I enjoyed the setting and story. Basic Macross Building blocks, Giant transforming robot mechs, love triangle, epic battles. The Contract competition was a nice change of pace for me. The YF-19 and YF-21 stole the show, but my favorite was the simple, and humble, VF-11B. I was unable to obtain an 11 bravo, instead I have an 11 charlie on my desk at my right hand if you will. Not much else to say other than, how is it that the USAF is trying to do exactly what the X9 was supposed to do in M+, when Kawamori-san already proved that unmanned fighters will be vastly inferior to manned fighters (more on that some other time)? If Y'all will bear with me a bit longer... Macross 7. Decent sequel. Max was my favorite character from SDF:M. I related to him the most (no homo). I was upset that he was promoted out of his job, but we still got to see him do some ass kicking before the end of the series. That said, the dogfights and action sequences were good. The awkwardness of Gamlin Kizaki was good for quite a few laughs, though the romance between a pilot, (24 yrs old based on rank of LTjg at the beginning), and a 15yr old girl, was odd to my western sensibilities. Love triangles abound, not surprising given the length of the show. The Mecha were the coolest I had seen. I have a VF-11C as previously mentioned, and will buy a VF-17S when/if Yamato releases one. The Song energy thing was hinky, as was the rampant pacifism. As a student of war, I can't imagine any other way to defeat an enemy other than to crush his ability and will to fight. If they had integrated the song energy in a different way that didn't involve the "Super Sentai Sound Force" many fans may have related better. None the less, still enjoyed it, and it was a good way to kill a couple of days off being sick. Finally Macross Frontier. I did not particularly enjoy the gundam seed syndrome the show suffered from. The adolescent ace pilots and the Vajra. Fighting space bugs with a variable fighter was not what I had hoped for when I saw the first episode. Alto was too emo and angsty, and the only reason I continued to watch was because I liked see Ozma Lee and Klan Klan kicking ass, and to see Alto get his ass handed to him. I waited in vain, because it never really happened. The Mecha were ok, they had a disturbing amount of kibble and and odd bulk to the skeletal looking fighter. I have the 1/72 Bandai VF-25F ( at least I think it's 1/72, if it is, it's as big as my vf0, so that's a big friggin ship), and I find the way it transforms to be weird and ungainly. I leave it in fighter mode most of the time because of the wierdness of the design. Frontier too suffers from the Super Sentai syndrome. Also, I HATE PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTORS. I do not identify with them, and despise the concept. The fact that the heroes are all mercs rubs me the wrong way. Final Tally: MZero-Good SDF:M-Good DYRL?-meh M+-Good M7-Fun MF-get surgery before you watch it, you'll need the pain meds

I would very much like to see a vf-17s, that would be sweet. Also Protect armor for the vf-11c. FYI Did not know the head laser on the vf-11c could point forward in battroid mode, all that is required is some sliding. That aside, VF-17 would be so cool. Nice way to round out my collection, The vf-19 just doesn't do it for me, nor does the vf-22s (too complicated looking, and big, really big, and real estate on my shelves is at a premium.)

still though with the vf-19, vf-17, and vf-11MAXL, those all had internal missile launchers, is it too much to ask for internal missile launchers? I'm thinking on ways to custom make some hardpoints that will detatch tho, nice custom project...

I agree the price was steep, but when you spend a month or so saving up for it, it offsets it a bit. I bought mine around the 1st of November and got mine for $220 delivered from HLJ. This was the most I'd paid for a valk, even my VF-1S w/ super parts was under $200 delivered. and like I said the only valk I want now is a VF-17D/S. as for the paint scheme, sure it's boring, don't like it, try doing a custom. when I get bored with it, I may try a USAF F-15C Low vis 94FS paint job, complete with nose art, or a USMC/USN VMA-214/VFA-31 paint job.

I love my VF-11C, I've transformed it about a half dozen times in the 2 weeks I've had it, and no issues. The gunpod seems a bit hinky the way it mounts, and won't stay centered. That's about the only thing that bugs me. This is my favorite valk so far, but I'd love to see yamato come out with a vf-17d/s, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. Also, anybody know why kawamori-san designed the thing without hardpoints or missiles?

never the less this is still my favorite valk

does anybody else have a hinky gunpod? is this a design oversight or am just "lucky"? forgive my horrible spelling, that's what happens when you just get off a mid.

I know the VF-0 is a carrier based bird and all, but I'd love to see an air force version of it, maybe in the colors of the 94th Fighter squadron. Done in the USAF Low vis scheme. I'd do it, but models don't move to well, and, I don't have much space to build models.

I anticipate the arrival of mine with bated breath. Does anyone know how long it usually takes HLJ to ship them? I've never used them before. I have wanted a VF11 since I first started collecting, a few years ago, and This will be a nice final addition to my collection, for a while....

Cool, I feel a lot better, especially after my recent experience with bandai and the vf-25 (my VF100 just broke a hip), so thanks. Not been having good luck with toys lately, my yamato 1/60 VF-0 has a floppy right arm (bad shoulder), and oddly enough, the best toys I've had thus far have been toynami (gasp!).

Where do I get replacement parts? I need new arms for my Zero, may as well get spares you know?

I don't know about anybody else, but I'm a sucker for Transformers. I own both the Live action movies, and have seen almost every episode of the original TV series (took me 15 years to do it), and I've bought a bunch of the new toys. I don't have any of my original toys anymore, they got lost in the three moves in the past 10 years. If it has a robot mode, and transforms, I love it. It got me interested in Macross, and it has been huge for me ever since. Come one, Come All, old and young alike... let the discussion commence...

Wow. I'd actually say go bigger than 1/48, just to be safe, like Chronocidal said, you can always reduce the size later. I know we all like accuracy, but you can't go wrong by making it as big as needed. I didn't think about it earlier, but some sort of CAD program would be helpful to work out the mechanisms. Even just working with plastic you can prototype the mechanism. Very cool, the nose looks very good so keep at it.

I just bought the unarmored VF-25F from BBTS off of amazon. I know a little bit about this toy, y'all are starting to scare me. Did I waste my money or am I going to reasonably pleased? Most of my experience has been with Yamato 1/60s and toynami 1/100s so I have very little to go on with Bandai. Can anybody put my mind at ease? I like the VF-25, it's a sleek ship, I have a VF100 version of it, which looks good, but didn't satisfy the want. Help me out people.

Hoo AH! I am very interested in seeing what you come up with. From what I can gather you have some good sketches to start with. Speaking from experience you have a daunting task, but I hope you don't give up like I did. I'm afraid I never got past the planning stage in my build. If it were me, I'd work up some detailed drawings on each individual part, and figure out how to make them work together. I sure you've got that in the works, but what sort of materials are you going to use? I liked the VF-171 so, I want to see what you come up with. Keep us posted.

I just bought this today, I have a tendency to use Amazon.com to purchase my valks, but I've not had a problem ever. I've recently fallen for the VF-25 as one of my all time favorite valks, even though it looks like the anorexic progeny of a gene spliced VF-1, YF-19, and a gundam. The only valk that beats this one is my VF-0A. I saw a review, that said it was a good buy for fans of the VF-25, so I was sold. Are there any problems, other than stiff joints (possible breakage issues)? I know the VF-25 had been highly anticipated as a release, but, I've only recently become active on the forum, as I've not had enough disposable income to fund my habit. I have a VF100 series vf-25 and it was only enough to whet my appetite, so I guess I'm an addict...

I'm not thrilled, in fact I just got the big brother toy. Should be here within the next week. Still though, it looks good on my desk. My only complaint is the partsforming.

To me, zero is like any attractive woman, not without faults, but you still can't help but love her. Yes, I went there, I have similar relationships with cars, and airplanes, and guns. I'm in the military what do you expect.

Right now it sits in the box in my closet. Too much time for good play. However the modes all look great, so there's the trade off. I've been pretty happy with all my purchases thus far, though my favorite has to be my Zero.

The Mecha from Macross Frontier was pretty cool, I liked the lines of the VF-25 and wanted a version of it, So if it looks good, I guess I don't mind, but it would have been nice to have a genuine transformer. As I said though I have two VF-1's (A&S) that are similar (interchanging hands, bracketry for mounting the gun pod) so I'm used to copious quantities of kibble.

This may be sacrilegious to say, but, I don't really care if the color is a bit off, or it was supposed to be the shin type or just a cannon fodder (I assume that's what is meant by the CF) as I will put the the VF-1 wolfpack sqdn colors on it (some day). As long as the shoulder decides to hold together, I'm fine with the fact that it looks good, it's solid (minus my issues), and the modes are accurate to the depiction of the CG model from the anime. I actually find the low vis grey scheme to be real world accurate which is what the 0A's in Zero were trying to represent. I'm not an expert, nor do I claim to be, I'm simply happy to have a cool macross toy to add into my collection. I'd make the purchase again in a heartbeat.