Actar

Hm... the knees on mine are becoming a little too loose for my liking. I'd really like to go in and do something to tighten them, but knowing Bandai, I'd suppose this would be too difficult/impossible a task?

Wasn't there a white and gold one? Wished we had gotten that one instead...

I glued mine in weeks ago. Your advice would have come in real handy... (^.^')

Actually, isn't that copy the one with the broken back piece? It does look to be missing a chunk from the back, making the gap appear larger.

I figured out a way to secure the backpack in Battroid mode without using the brace! There are these two pegs on the "shelf" that, in the proper configuration, are supposed to go into two holes on the back. In the proper configuration, these don't actually provide any structural support and are more to guide the backpack into the correct position. Now, instead of pegging them in, take the two pegs and rest them on the top of the back. You'll also need to pull the intakes as far up as they can go. This actually provides the entire backpack the support and structural integrity required to maintain its position in Battroid mode, even with some light handling and posing. Of course, you'll need to hold it down when moving the arms, and leaning the figure back might cause the thruster section to come unpegged. However, the only one real downside is that this configuration limits the head articulation as the intake section is slightly higher than it should be. I think it might be too high for some, but it looks okay to me.

So, they're supposed to be removable, but not that easily removable?

Has there been more than one report of the double shoulders? I don't think it's a widespread issue.

That part, I do believe, is made out it ABS. It has a higher heat tolerance than PVC and is much more solid. I used the high setting on my hairdryer (different depending on the model) and blasted it for about 5 minutes, checking incrementally (every minute?) to see if it's gotten too hot by touching it. I don't think there's any risk of it warping from overheating, to be honest, especially if you're careful.

Alrighty! Both bad news and good news. My second YF-21 from Amazon came today and the box was absolutely trashed. This was from an Amazon Marketplace seller, so I was expecting this, but still disappointing all the same (considering it was marked up). Regardless, as feared, the head laser did arrive bent. The good news? I was pretty much able to completely repair it with just a hairdryer by blasting it with heat until it was soft enough to reshape and slowly bend back. I've used a hairdryer to reheat and repair other figures before, and I'm glad to say that it worked on this head laser as well. Not only did I manage to get it straightened out, but the heat also made the stress mark disappear completely. So, if yours does come with a bent head laser, this is definitely something you can try (at your own risk)!

IMHO, Bandai's is definitely more complicated, but I enjoy transforming it more than the Yamato. Maybe it's because of the age, but my Yamato has gotten all loose and floppy, the paint on the die-cast parts has started peeling, and the plastic just feels more fragile. Definitely would like a V2, if that's even remotely possible...

I've had a ton of success in the past with a standard hairdryer. Definitely must be careful to prevent overheating.

There's actually an additional joint on the diecast plate that allows the shoulders to tilt up and down at the intake in a shrugging kind of motion. You can also pull out the wings slightly on the double joints so that they don't fold in as far.

The transforming gunpods can fit under the plane without the FAST packs, but the clearance when the landing gear is deployed is virtually zero. When the FAST packs are equipped, both the transforming and non-transforming gunpods can be equipped, but only the dummy one will be able to fit under the plane with the landing gear deployed.

Playing around with mine, and I think Bandai definitely missed a trick here. The remaining belly plates can actually fold out between the wings and are the perfect size to have clipped or pegged into the back, securing the backpack in place and hiding the gap...

To be fair, the backpack is deliberately pulled even further away in that configuration.