Graham

Yes it is. And what's more, it's also shown on the Yamato Toy TV Video. Graham

PANIC OVER..........PART 2 Just to prove it wasn't a fluke and the the official Yamato heatshield locking method does indeed work (see my "Panic Over" Post on page 25 of this thread), I transformed my second 1/60 VF-11B from Fighter to battroid mode and used the same recommended procedure, i.e. 1) Take out escape pod and remove foam (which is only used for shipping). 2) Put back escape pod. 3) Push down escape pod. 4) Pull up lower heatshield, until you hear the click and it locks in its detent. 5) Pull down upper heatshield. 6) Finished. Complete success. I've attached a photo of both my 1/60 VF-11B's in battroid mode, with heatshields locked. The locking is solid, i.e. they can't be shaken loose, you actually have to push the lower heatshield back down, so it unlocks from it's detent. Also attached are some quick photos of the VF-11B in both battroid and fighter mode without FAST Packs, as requested. (the slight gap between the upper and lower heatshields on the non-FP VF-11B in the pics is entirely my fault for not pushing down the upper heatshield all the way and not noticing when I took the pics). Graham

What about the gunpod page in 21, any new info?

yes.

Read my 'Panic Over' post a page or two ago. There is no problem. The heatshield works fine. It was my user error.

Will try to take some tonight, but won't be home for another 7 hours.

May I ask why?

Confirmed by email from Yamato. The foam is just for shipping, please take it out for play.

A couple more pics, with both my new babies. Very happy now. Just gotta remember, next time RTFM! Graham

PANIC OVER :D :D :D :D :D Just got home. Nearly 11pm here, but eager to try to figure out the heatshield issue. First of all I took out the escape pod to give me better access to the lower heatshield and so I could get a better view of the mechanism inside the nose. Then I pulled the lower heatshield up to maximum extension as per Yamato's advice. Met some resistance, but it still hadn't locked, so I pulled a bit harder and then heard a clear audible 'click' and voila! the lower heatshield is locked now in position. Next, I pushed the lower heatshield back down to unlock it, inserted the escape pod back into the nose and then tried to pull the lower heatshield back up to the locked position. Now here's where it gets a bit tricky, as the lower heatshield is small, kinda slippery and with the escape pod in place, it's difficult to get much purchase. There is a small lip on the top edge of the lower heatshield and you can use your finger nail on this lip, combined with grasping the sides of the lower heatshield to pull it up. It's a bit fiddly and may take a few attempts, but once you pull it up and hear that audible 'click', it is firmly locked. And the best part..........this was done without the foam inserted. That's right, no foam at all!!!. I am very happy now. :) :) Two photos of locked heatshield attached. Basically, what this means is that the heatshield is not actually supposed to lock where the two halves meet. Both upper and lower have thier own independant lock. Graham

Don't panic, but you are going to die. and Two Scottish people feeling a bit run down. and pandemic obviously not what you thought it was. :D :D :D Graham

I'm in Hong Kong, not Japan. I paid HK$1,169 for my second one, which is about US$150.84. Graham

Still haven't confirmed it does actually work yet and I won't be getting home for another 7 hours yet to test it either. Graham

Absolutely beautiful. Graham

To be honest, I haven't paid too much attention to the shoulder joints, so can't say yet. Graham

Just sent another email to Yamato to confirm the exact situation about the two pieces of foam in the nosecone. I'd assumed they were just to protect the escape pod and help keep it in position during transit, which is why I removed them from my VF-11B. Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but the VF-11B box is fairly compact by Yamato standards. It's about the same size as a non-FP 1/60 VF-1 box. Graham

Just got paid and went on a lunchtime spending spree and picked up a second Yamato VF-11B. Gotta have two, one to display in fighter mode, the second in battoid mode. Even if my lower heatshield doesn't lock, there's still the blue-tack solution. Graham

Just picked up a reissue VF-25F Alto DX. Won't have time to open it until Saturday though. Will report than any changes I find then. Graham

Not sure what you mean by separating the legs. Graham

OK, I can understand shipment of live pigs being banned and even shipment of pork products, even though it's a bit of a knee jerk reaction, but other goods, what the heck for? Let's say a postal worker in Japan infected with swine flu sneezes on your toy package from HLJ, the virus would be long dead before it reaches another country. Graham

So Alex, are you saying there are three peices of foam in total? I removed two first of all, didn't notice a third. Graham

I have to say it really is a beautiful toy. Some really clever engineering going on there as well, with the transformation. Graham

OK, just received an email back from Yamato and they said: - Will try when I get home tonight. I't going to be tricky to pull it up more though, as it's a slippery little focker. Graham

Shoulders on mine all still fine (touch wood), even the one I let my 5 year old son play with. Graham

Yup, that's about it. The tab on the upper heatshield is too short/small and there's no tension to keep it locked into the indentation on the underside of the lower heatshield. On the positive side, the arm and leg joints are nice and tight. Notice the arms stay rock steady and don't flop around at all, even when I'm turning the toy upside down. Graham