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Maybe I am just complaining out of envy. My unit doesn't have it!

Hell I don't need no support charts to get Yammies. The decision can't be through a rational process to get a dozen of the essentially same toy only different in head unit and colors and still feel happy about it. P.S. I like my girl thin.

It doesn't seem to me it's owing to qc-failed products. In fact, the DX line has been of substandards qc. This morning from TD there are reports on "dirty faces" (2 cases), hair in the chest, another head paint chip. Stiff shoulder is a given it seems. Face it: the DX production is simply lousy. These problems are okay to tolerate on a Revy, but not on a DX personally. I expect Yamato VF-11B level of excellency - not that Yamato can do it right everytime either, but that is what a high-end toy should accomplish (18000yen is high-end, right?). I believe no shops will replace for such problems (they only do for missing parts) - that from the current information, those problems are so common that you simply can't replace all of them. "Good" units may not even exist!

At your service:

Yes... "Known problem in the entire DX line" doesn't mean it is not a problem. The QC problems are more than "occasional" too... Some problems are minor on itself, but when multiple minor problems occur on the same unit, I won't just turn a blind eye. I agree it's not a bad toy, but on the other hand it's not something I would recommend to friends.

The Phalanx is called Spartan in Robotech? Why changing that...?

Just my personal feelings: It's not a bad toy. But the manufacturing process/ QC is not up to standard for toys at this price point. I don't think it is very posable in Armored mode too. (especially with the stiff shoulders) It looks really massive and impressive with the armors up (I always think this is the right size for big toys - another example is Yamato 1/48). Looking at it from certain angles in B mode, I really admire how it looks. Although in some angles it just looks too cumbersome. It looks very good from all angles in fighter mode. My bottomline is: if you like the DX, you'll probably love it. If you never accept the chunkiness of DX, this one is just more chunky.

Ah, right, when I mentioned the price-value ratio, I was referring to the new VF-1. The M+ ones are dirt cheap (but I am not a big fan of M+ regrettably). Cheaper than revys.

Exactly what I assumed for the model kit. And then when it's not done, I told myself 1/72 is a bit too small for that punch-thru thing. (and so I didn't even imagine it would be done in VF100) But it's not there in 1/60 DX? That's plain lazy and lack of effort to me...

I don't like the design of the revy for the same reason. GNU looks okay, but have an insane price-value ratio. They look better but not worth that much to me. Still, I would pick up a 1S because I am a sucker.

Very nice and crispy pics!! BTW, I don't like it that they don't paint the inside of the missile boxes. The missiles should be white in the body with a red head. I couldn't do it myself in the model kit so I wished the DX would do it. Obviously not.

Thanks! It was just difficult for me to angle it right with the armors part falling part (I was trying to fit the super armor before I played with the armor parts). It was designed that way I see now (and feel stupid too), but I prefer the old design (plain peg). It's too difficult to handle (for me) with no apparent advantges. And the way it is molded is ugly.

I am not sure about the latest price. But 2 or 3 days ago HK$1200~$1250 is the norm.

It was late last night when I posted the pics.. So I didn't type anything... Here I whine! I'll skip the old complaints on oily surface and fingerprints. (the Yammies are so clean by comparison that you can eat it) (I am just told that the oil may be there so the plastic bag won't stick to the toy. Still, it doesn't feel good.) The quality control is bad. It's not deflective, it's not broken, it's not done wrong, it's done in a chessy way. Out of the box, the black stripe on the wing has already 2 scratches. The red spot on the head has a paint chip. Here and there you see the nubs (or is it call bumps?) that I remember someone asked whether it is needed to cut the parts from a sprue tree. There are the pegs on the "wing plates" that are used to lock with the legs in fighter mode. Maybe it's just my unit; but the pegs are molded so bad they are not simple cylinders. The peg heads are so big that they cannot fit into the armor parts. I checked that those pegs are fine for my other DXs. I don't think it's a new design to "lock better" because there'sn't a need to, and the way it looks (deformed), and the fact that there's no way to fit in the leg armors (super parts or armored parts). I had to file them down to make it work. Maybe it is a new design to make it lock better; but it still locks well after filing, and frankly I really can't force the peg through that holes. The shoulders. These are the TIGHTEST shoulders I've seen. The reason that there isn't a Gerwalk mode in my pics, is that I cannot turn the arms to transform. At the end after I transformed it to Battroid mode, I dislodged the arms and loosened it by brute force. The screw opening to loosen the shoulder seems to be covered and I didn't want to risk scatching the surface by peeling it open. There is no reaction missile included. Damned for another Tamashii exclusive. Please note that in a couple of pictures, I borrowed the Yamato 1/60 missiles for photo shooting. That's basically my current complaints. And now there's something not really a complaint, just a limitation: it's not easy to play with the toy once it has all the armored parts. It's more of a display piece once the armors are up. Worse yet, for my own unit the shoulders are so tight that I can't really pose it easily. I hope I am a special case. P.S. I've a friend whose unit has a stiff left arm. On the pros; I think the armor parts are implemented well. The parts attach better than the super parts. The fighter mode looks awesome. The battroid mode looks fine. The articulation is acceptable for an armored valk, although I won't say you can pose it really well with the legs. The shoulders (if you don't suffer from the tight ones as I do) and elbows are very good. I believe you cannot transform with the neck extention thing, but I have not tried hard worrying that it would chip the paint further. The extra armor on the back plate is using the same 4 holes as the super part counterpart. Therefore I believe the version 1 VF-25F can use the upcoming Armor parts too. (I won't be responsible for any financial loss if it turns out it can't!) One notice to people who cares about the neck and the head alot: please notice that I always do NOT transform it properly so as to make the head hold higher. I don't know how to put it in words, cuz it's a lot of trial and errors. I don't seem to be able to do the same to my RVF-25 yet for instance. The idea is to push the neck piece higher... I don't kow if I recommend it or not. If you are a DX fans, this unit should please you. If you are a newcomer to the Macross toys, you probably want to try something easier to handle first.

OT: I'll split that out when I post my pictures later tonight... In short, the QC. The overall design is fine (I actually like how they put on the armor, that's something the model kit simply skips), but the QC pissed me off. Don't worry if you like the previous DX toys. The 25S is only better.

Hmm... If I understand correctly from the instruction booklet, no. As a side note, transformation is not "perfect" anyways. There are parts you need to remove (leg armors in particular) for some steps. And sometimes for easy handling you may want to remove the big backpack boosters first too. I don't blame Bandai for this (I do hate them for the QC) because the transformation is already reasonably clean. Just that the little neck extension shouldn't be holding you back.

You have to remove it to "wear the leggings", then you put it back. Just like (normally) you have to removes your shoes to wear pants~

Annoyed by the Armored VF-25S, I now kneel and pray that Yamato can release the MF series in 1/60 scale. Someday.

Thanks Graham! I have picked up mine too last night, but I didn't have time to finish transforming it to battroid mode before I was ordered to bed. It's a huge bird in the fighter mode... And looks nice to me. I gave up the Gerwalk mode because it pains me to see how the backplate connecting part has to support such a big weight with the armor backpacks. I hate the QC, and never more so. I'll whine again when I post the pics.

I don't know. I think the chance that Bandai is going to make a version 2 DX, is smaller than that they release the license so Yamato can make them.

Yikes. I thought you have updates on it and came in! P.S. It's supposed to be released in late August. At least 10 more days to go!

Are you sure it's a 1/48 Weathered 1J, not the 1/60 one? Just that as a Macross x Yamato geek, I think I would have seen it. But I am not 100% sure because you are one of the better-informed people in the Macross toys world.