Actar

...that has a new design and transformation scheme that doesn't copy the VF-25, VF-27 and VF-29. Something as different as the 19 and 21 was in Plus.

Out of curiosity, why are landing gear white on aircraft?

No. It's photoshopped.

Lol, only now did I realize that I mixed up Gamlin with Guld... Well, I still mix up Tuesday with Thursday and June for July, so yeah. Gimmie more Valks in that sweet Blue and Yellow.

If you're referring to page 22 of the instruction manual, that picture is very deceptive as it's mostly an illustration. By collapsing the inner shoulder flap all the way, it has enough space to "click" into the inner leg armor, fit into the right spot by itself and secure everything in place.

I have made a video detailing how I install the fast pack (evidently called the Advance Pack) with everything I have discovered when playing with the toy: what to look out for and how to get everything aligned. Please do let me know if it helps!

Absolutely brilliant review as always. I've pretty much seen all your macross stuff. (^.^) However... I really don't want to be the bearer of bad news/wet blanket/party pooper, but your leg(s) are in the wrong position, causing the wing to warp and the shoulder to not line up properly. It's pretty much the same issue that Roanstalker was experiencing.

This is definitely a very interesting take on design philosophy. However, I am of a different opinion. In most cases, I would argue that the lack of proper, clear, understandable instructions is the main cause of transformation agony, not complex design or lack of points of right on the toy itself. Many times, the user is unaware of how to go about doing something and is unaware of the points of right to begin with due to not being made privy by the instructions (and the language barrier doesn't help). For instance, there is a correct way in which the YF-21's legs transform, but without clear instructions, the user has no way of knowing that there is an extra click to the knee to enable that black screw to be hidden. With my Rubik's Cube analogy, you can solve it because there are good instructions to guide you though the process. But without those instructions, there is only frustration to be had with the toy. That's where experimentation and the finding of alternate ways of solving come in. I argue that there are indeed points of right on the VF-19 to ensure that you can get a very clean-looking Valkyrie (lining up is in and of itself a point of right), but the instructions just aren't explicit enough, so you'll have to discover those for yourselves.

As I said, that's my personal opinion and approach. If you don't agree, please feel free to point out why you believe I'm wrong or offer an alternative to challenge mine. I just feel that some toys get unfairly bashed - you see this a lot in reviews where the reviewer gets upset with a toy or paints it in bad light for their own mishandling of it.

You have to pull them upwards first before swinging them out, allowing them enough room to do so... I approach transforming toys the same way I approach puzzles. I don't blame the Rubik's Cube if I'm not able to solve it. (^.^') Once you understand the mechanics of the toy, transforming it will be a breeze.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dF4pix00Yk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_4fpwjaGI4 Those pieces are also specific to the left and right legs, as they have cut-outs to allow for the arms to fit.

Nah, we need something in Gamlin colors. I'd pay big bucks for anything related to him.

Yes. The photo is edited to hide the fact that the top of the wing doesn't tab into the FAST pack.

I can instantly see the problem. Your legs are in the wrong position and are too far down, causing the shoulder to not fit into place. This can be seen by how the wing is being bent to fit into the leg and how the tail fin is falling below the wing. This is the correct position: See how the bottom of the wing isn't warped? Also take note of the tail fin position. The solution is to: - Click the knee joint down one notch. - Make sure that the leg is pegged into the correct hole in the torso (bottom one). - Make sure that the leg is collapsed in all the way.

As I mentioned above, the armor pieces are specific to the left and right. Did you check to see if they are on the right shoulders?

The fact that it's painted grey as opposed to being molded in grey makes me suspect somewhere in the legs...

So... After transforming it for the hundredth time, a little plastic tab fell off it. The thing is, I have absolutely no idea where it's from or what it does because the toy functions 100% perfectly. Does anyone have any clue as to what this is?

Does this only happen with the fast packs on? Could it be the tiny leg armor pieces? Those are side specific too and have grooves that fit the arms. Perhaps some pictures would help illustrate the issue better.

I don't know if I'm the last person to notice this but BE WARNED!!! The 4 small bits for the shoulder armor are SPECIFIC to the left and right shoulders. For the small triangle pieces, there is a small R and L molded into the underside and the make sure the curvature of the rectangular piece lines up with the shoulder armor (it's not symmetrical)! This is imperative to get them lining up perfectly in fighter mode!

Yes to Sound Force. Yes to updated YF-21.

I don't think there are enough kick-ass Gerwalk poses with the FAST pack~ I'm going to be very honest. For this toy in particular, I wasn't all too careful with it. I pose it roughly, I transform it over and over and actually play around with it. It has held up spectacularly with regard to the paint. I suspect it's because of the matte finish. If anything, the only areas that I've had any scratches and markings are the beige metal bar on the back and the wings when putting on the FAST pack boosters.

Then again, fully lowering the feet is necessary as it locks the inner thigh panel in place. I guess you can push it back up, but you have to be careful when handling it.

While I do know of the adage, "the customer is always right", I wonder if that's actually true and if customers feel a sense of entitlement and abuse the system. Of course, it varies from case to case, but I really wonder if AmiAmi's lack of follow-up service is actually bad customer service or if we're just getting used to the super customer service of HLJ (which I feel sets a very high standard). For example, I've never heard of price-matching before for an online store, so that's a completely new one for me. It's always been a matter of "our store sells it at X price", buy it or not, especially with the fluctuating demand and supply of hobby items and Walmart's a pretty different beast entirely. I wonder if it's bad form to ask a store to lower their prices. Heck, my local anime shop sells the rarer stuff for much higher prices than their MSRP and no one bats an eyelid. They just turn elsewhere. It's a free market after all. Are stores obligated to provide follow-up service? I know that HLJ does offer returns, spare parts and replacements, but is that something that every store provides? As a collector and customer of all of these stores and having experienced the customer service of all of them, I have to admit HLJ's impeccable. But I think it's unfair to demand the same thing from different stores that have different policies and rules. I've been a loyal customer of AmiAmi for years (like 5-6 years) and have been purchasing from them regularly every month. I'll admit that their customer service is non-existent and buy from there mostly because of their consistent lower prices. Even if I encounter a problem, I personally am okay and prepared to deal with things myself. Either fixing it myself, selling it and getting another or just make do with it if it's not that bad. It's true that the lack of cancellations is pretty shitty, but it's also true that I placed the pre-order. But that should be more of a critique of this culture of pre-ordering than anything else. But of course, that's just my philosophy and approach to things and yours may be different. (^.^)

For those who have problems installing the leg fast pack in fighter mode, here's a video of how I do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dF4pix00Yk A little bit more tricky to transform it into fighter with them. According to the instructions, the rear leg panel is out in battroid mode (page 20 bottom right) and slid in when in fighter mode (page 22 top left). Because of this, I do not think that it is meant to be transformed with the fast packs attached because of the notch on the rear leg panel preventing it from sliding back when the fast pack is attached. If you ignore page 20 and leave the leg panel slid in in battroid mode however, there is enough clearance to do it relatively easily: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_4fpwjaGI4 Also, the two leg fast pack pieces are different, so be careful that you put the correct ones on the correct leg. The sides are molded differently to align with the sides of the forearms. Lastly, the inner shoulder fin/armor thing is on a double hinge and remember to retract it all the way.