mickyg

I did not know that bit of trivia. Thanks for broadening my horizons! Still though, long o sound? Am I in the minority here?

Really? Why? I'm going to have to check that out now...

Mack Rohss? What the? I have always thought it was Mack Ross as in rhyming with with the "oss" in across. Also, where on earth was that ever in the Robotech cartoon? Did I miss that one?

Decals = waterslide in my book. I realise it's not that way for everyone. Stickers are something with an adhesive (sticky) backing that you peel off and apply. Stickers are thick, don't conform to complex surfaces, have extremely visible boundaries, and in my opinion, require a huge amount of work to make look anywhere near as good as even an average waterslide decal would. Of course the tradeoff is that it's harder to apply a decal properly as they're fragile and the application process requires far more steps (cut out, dip in water, apply a solution to make sure you have time to place it, seal it afterward, etc...). For those of you who remember, we got actual waterslide decals with some of the Yamato releases, as I recall. Didn't we also get them in the 30th anniversary "Tuxedo Valk" as well? Or am I confusing it with the Hasegawa model kit? Either way, my voice on this is very quiet because I haven't bought an Arcadia anything - they're too far outside my price range. If I had, you can bet I'd be complaining loudly about this sort of thing! The last Yamato/Arcadia toy I purchased was an assembly VF-1A kit. I KNOW those things had water slide decals. But anyway, that's my last encounter with any remotely Arcadia and it totally doesn't count because it was Yamato and well before Arcadia came on the scene. At any rate, I completely understand why people would like an actual, high quality water slide offering included with these toys that are easily costing twice as much as the old Yamato offerings were. And again, if I recall correctly, they were included in some releases.

Still looks great! For anyone wanting to dress up the cockpit, the Hasegawa 1/72 scale kit instrument decal actually fits OK. Here's an example: I just made a copy on a laser copier and cut it out. It's temporarily in place but could easily be attached with white glue.

Hmmm... Needs more Chris Pratt I think.

Saaaaweeeet! Very nicely done. And from one "office displayer" to another, as well.

Hikaru has a new ride. Surprising how well the figures work between toys, even though Isamu is clearly smaller in scale

Yeah, I have to admit, even if some of it is non-sensical, and in some cases, downright silly, from a few feet away it looks awesome to see that there's "stuff" there. And I'm an aircraft nut!

It's usually a visual indicator that the gun is "safed" and not electrically connected to a power source. Very good thing when an aircraft is on the ground and maintenance is being performed.

They can be found on the real thing like this too (F/A-18 as an example):

A fair assessment, Sildani. And at the end of the day, if it's working for them, then more power to them. They are producing a product that we want and were buying it. And you cannot say the product isn't improving with each new release, even if there are still "what on earth where they thinking" moments with each new release. I would love to know what the numbers are in terms of "x produced, vs x that could sell" actually is. We may think it's staggering, but in actuality, maybe they make 10,000 in a production run, in a perfect world, they sell out, and 200 fans didn't get one. If that were the case, those are pretty good numbers. And the "loss" if you want to call it that, of that 200 that didn't get one, well that's just business. Straying way off topic obviously. I wonder how many if the VF-19ADV were produced? I wonder if that number is published anywhere? Any shareholders?

I'm definitely nit-picking ArchieNov - without hesitation. But to put it in context, I stated a few pages ago that this is now my favourite Valk in the collection. So perhaps I should stress that again. I'd have had no issues at all if the image on the box or the promo pics on the sites I visited showed the thing the way I have it. Even the gaps are no real issue, now that I've got the toy in-hand. It's just a surprise to see it depicted in a way that is simply not possible with the real toy. Yes, I know other toy companies do it as well. Doesn't make it any more right. And as far as I know, most boxes have text that says something along the lines of "Pictures show a preproduction sample and the contents my not match..." I have to admit, I always thought this meant paint applications. But in this day of rapid prototyping, I suppose that could cover all manner of design changes. Unless companies start putting production sample art on boxes and promo shots on the sites you purchase from, I guess this is going to be the norm. And furthermore, if they did, it would likely push the production release times out a lot longer. TL-DR: I love this toy - just wish they'd been more honest with the box art and promo pics.

Welcome to the forums Grigolosi! And what a way to introduce yourself! I take it you've got a fair bit of experience with the real thing? I'm working on getting into the RAAF here in Australia - hoping to get in as an Avionics tech. I love all the "real world" stuff that we talk about here, in reference to otherwise very "otherworldly" stuff that all the Macross tech is. There's a fair bit of talent in the members here. Glad we've scored another one!

Absolutely. But I do question the ethics in the box art images though.

I'm sure it'll sound like I'm complaining, but actually I'm just curious - what on earth is going on with the pics on the box/instructions, regarding the fastpack parts on the legs? The boxart clearly shows the back of the wing sitting below the top edge of the fastpack part on the leg. Ignoring the absence of the top tab (which someone has suggested is a photoshop job) I don't see how it's even physically possible to align the legs in this way! Getting to the instructions again, notice how the fighter, with all packs on, doesn't even attempt to latch the shoulder super parts into the legs. Funny stuff! Did the printed media production team just give up? Interestingly enough, the boxart seems to at least get this part right.

I love this toy but I'm scratching my head about the hard points on the wings. I've tried a few of the weapons from my VF-171 (the AMRAAM looking ones, and a reaction antiship missile) and they just don't quite fit right. It's like the tabs on either side of the peg on the weapon, are just not quite the right shape. That, and the chord of the wing is quite narrow as you get closer to the edge. Has anyone else had any luck mounting weapons to this yet?

Very good to know! Now, just need to find some of that... Glass oxide I can do but amorphous Silicone dioxide could be tricky.

Isn't that just cyanoacrylate (super glue) and baking soda in two containers?

I agree - it does show a bit less thinking outside the box. Except for the VF-171. When you consider that was included in the Frontier offering, it's a little easier to stomach. For the record, I really like all the YF-24 derivatives. But I'm in agreement with Brand-X, it certainly makes me less enthusiastic about plonking down my hard earned cash on what are essentially recolors and augments of the same design. I know I'm clearly in the minority though. Coming from someone who has ONE VF-1 on display (A Hickie VF-1J, Yamato V2 original).

Alto pilots his VF-25F from outside, using his EXGEAR. I think that's pretty slave mode-ish. I don't know if it would be possible to slave into another VF from inside the cockpit when the pilot's suit is already connected, though.

Why? They did exactly this with the VF-19 Advance? You can argue quality or engineering approaches, but at the end of the day, Bandai delivered a product that had way more detail (panel lines/tampo) and gimmicks (boosters, transformation gimmicks like the leg panels) at a much lower price. Exactly what JVMacross said. Yes, he still may be crazy. But honestly why don't you think this isn't at least a possibility?

Got mine back to Fighter this morning. Wasn't nearly as painful as I expected. The arms were something I was very concerned about but I found they really only fit one way and bending the joints so the forearms fit side by side, wasn't so bad after I moved things around and checked them a few times. What I did discover to be really frustrating though, was one leg fouling on something when attempting to fold it up into/around the arm parts. It just didn't want to move into a position where I could engage the tab into the torso part. I had to pull it apart, click the Gerwalk joint and finesse it a few times before it finally just miraculously snapped into position. She is a beaut now and those upper intake parts are sitting much better than they did when I got it out of the box. The trick is to apply pressure from each side of the lower intakes/hips and sort of gently wiggle them at the same time. I think they'll loosen up a bit over time and I suspect it's the hip joint and that hinge mechanism to angle the legs that's really at fault here. One more item: the boosters. I mentioned it before, in reference to Veef's armor video, and now want to reiterate, after Actar's (thanks to both of you guys, by the way!). There are 3 points of connection between the boosters and wings: One round peg on the top inner surface of the booster, engaging a round hole in the upper wing root One tab in the bottom inner surface of the booster, engaging a slot in the bottom of the wing root On round peg in the bottom, rear part of the booster, engaging the inner hardpoint of the wing Given the fact that the wing can move a bit, it's very possible (likely?) that that hardpoint attachment will not engage properly and having only the other two points holding on via the wing root will likely not be enough. Play around with the wing position until you get that third point engaged and you should find a much more stable booster, as a result. Hope that helps a bit.

Great review! Something I noticed when messing with mine yesterday is that the boosters actually attach via 3 points. You mentioned the two obvious ones, where they click into the wing root, but there's a third on the bottom, that pegs into the inner hard point on the wing. If you line up all 3, its a lot more secure. Also, well done for not completely losing it with all those fiddly parts.

Really nice review, Veef. I think this might be the first time I've watched any of your stuff and I have to say I'm sorry I've waited so long. Very well presented, very thorough, and most importantly, very helpful for anyone looking to purchase one of these, as well as people who want to know what the heck to do with it if they've already taken the plunge! We're really spoiled for choice when it comes to guys taking the time to review and present new toys to the community!