Graham

Currently watching and enjoying: Gnosia. Nyaight of the Living Cat. Tojima Wants to be a Kamen Rider. Given up on One Punch Man, season 3 after 2 episodes.

Forums all the way. Never used Discord or Redit or Twitter. Been using Facebook for many years, mainly to keep in touch with family and old school friends, but these days the there's just much spam, ads, AI stuff and posts from people or groups I've never interactated with and have no interest in interacting with. Started using IG fairly recently, mainly just to post pics of my dog.😅

I've got one on pre-order, but not hugely excited about this release, as I already have the standalone HMR VF-0S and the VF-0A with Ghost Booster, which I find very frustrating to handle, especally in battrod mode, as the Ghoost Booster and missiles get knocked off / fall off at the slightest touch.

Got my 2 last night. So far have unboxed one, opened the front and rear landing gear, attached the speaker pod launcher and put Basara in the cockpit. Front landing gear seems more tight and less prone to collaspe or fold compared to the YF-19. Have not transformed it from Fighter mode yet. I'll keep this one in fighter mode and when I unbox the second one at the weekend, that will get transformed to battroid mode. It's really solid in fighter mode and in my opinion looks great, apart from the speakerpod issue, which I personally don't really consider that much of an issue. I just wish Bandai had made the sensor on the front bottom of the launcher collapsible, so that the launcher could be stowed a tad closer to the plane's belly. I really like all the small tampo printed warning markings, which is something we never got on any other version of the VF-19Kai. Seems Bandai finally learned their lesson and made the tampo markings small and understated unlike the YF-19 and YF-21, which in my opinion had way too many large, gaudy and unnecessary tampo printed markings. I really hope the next release is a VF-19S or VF-19F.

I'm picking up mine tonight.

Me too.

Yeah, the old Bandai 1/65 toys are still my favorite versions of the VF-17D & VF-17S and in fact one of my all-time favorite Macross toys. A few relatively simple improvements to the 1/65 would make them so much better. I'd like to see the 1/65 VF-17 redesigned with the following changes: Improved hand sculpt, perhaps with different swapable fixed pose hands. Improved gunpod sculpt. Modify the knee joints so that the knees bend both forward and back (a modification that many owners do themselves anyway). Improved front and rear landing gears and landing gear doors, to make them more lineart accurate. Add ratcheted ball joints to the hips to allow the toy to do an A stance. Perhaps add an opening canopy and pilot figure.

The could have just recolored the Speaker Pod from the HMR VF-19 Kai if they had wanted to include it with the VF-19P Personally, I'm happy they instead gave us a GU-15 gunpod with the HMR VF-19P. Which also means the next VF-19 HMR variation to be released will likely be a VF-19S or VF-19F.

As the Zolan Galactic Whale Patrol Unit are shown using less-lethal, shock rounds from their VF-5000G's gunpods, I always asumed the white Speaker Pod Launcher shown in the VF-19P lineart was also a less-lethal projectile launcher.

This is not a VF-17S. It is a VF-171 doing a piss poor cosplay as a VF-17S. Legs are completely the wrong shape, details, thickness and panel lines. backplate is completely wrong shape, details and panel lines. Shoulder details are wrong (lacking twin micro missile ports). External gun pod mounting is incorrect. Overall too skinny/gangly, especially in battroid and Gerwalk modes. Headsculpt has issues (incorrect extended cowl on the top back of the head). Crotch piece angle incorrect in battroid mode.

Correct, it comes with two sets of sholders with fins in both positions.

Back in the day with Yamato it was a different story. At least as told to me by Yamato, they had to send Kawamori new toy sculpts and test shots for his approval and feedback and if revisions were requested by him, they then had to send him the revised test shot after the changes had been made for his final approval. Often he would request several changes be made before release of the toy. I'm guessing that for whatever reason, it's a different story with Bandai and he has no creative input.

I mean the VF-19P uses traditional style micro missile ports in the lower legs to launch it's micro missiles, rather than the opening bay door that the VF-19Kai/F/S use. So technically it's correct for the leg doors not to open on the VF-19P HMR. I was actually quite impressed that Bandai got this detail correct on the VF-19P HMR.

I wonder if a lot of Japanese Macross fans are complaining about the DX VF-17S design?

Yet to actually take the Moshow out of the box and play with it.😅 But, so far I'd say the Sentinel.