Vifam7

You have a point. But to be honest we really don't know the reality of the situation. Who knows maybe it's just one lazy ass manager on the floor they can't fire. Maybe that factory was the only one available at the time. [shrug] All I can do is keep supporting the line despite the issues and hope that improvements continue to be made. Because at the base level, I really like the idea for this line (all the VFs at 1/100 scale). There's some hope since Bandai seems to be listening as they've made a minor adjustment or two from Alto to Ozma.

I think it all comes down to the China factory that they outsource to. For this VF100s line, they must be using the same China factory that made the GFF line. QC on the GFF line was all over the place and this VF100s line is exhibiting some similar issues. A different factory must be making their superb SoC toys. I believe all their plastic models are made directly in Japan so thus their quality is high.

Since the landing gears are the swap type, lengthening the landing gears shouldn't be too difficult a mod if one wants to display with gears down. Personally, with all those parts on, I think it'll look too weird sitting on it's landing gears. This is definitely something I'll get a stand for.

Aoi Mokei has a review on the VF-25G. http://d.hatena.ne.jp/type97/20090531 Looks like there is enough ground clearance for the sniper rifle.

Maybe the photographer didn't attach it correctly? Otherwise, perhaps the barrel of the sniper rifle is just too long to firmly attach at the arm location? Center of gravity issue I think. The only way to fix this would probably be to attach it at a different location or provide a secondary attachment device. But then it wouldn't be anime accurate. Since I lock mines into fighter mode, I could probably just glue it so the nose of the gun won't sag down. Actually I don't think it'll affect the ground clearance when the lower legs are put into correct position. At least not when I do my mod of locking it into fighter mode. Rather than bringing the legs up, it's more like bringing the trailing wing glove a bit lower. The gun attachment section isn't affected by this so ground clearance shouldn't be a problem I think. I'll know soon enough when HLJ ships my order.

The "eyeball" sensor needs paint I think. Easy to fix though.

You're right. Crap. I hate PVC. Since it's Banpresto's "prize toys" (the kind you get from UFO catcher games and gashapon machines), it's more than likely to be PVC.

Too bad it doesn't come with landing gears option. No matter. Must have. It says approximate length is 13cm. What scale would that be? Too lazy to do the math... Edit: Ah, near 1:144

nugundamII, MSIA and EMSIA are about 1:160-1:170 scale. They are not in any exact scale. A tad smaller than the GFF line. MSIAs are the earlier Gundam figures made by Bandai. IIRC, a good number of them were released here in the states. The MSIA catalogue is vast and plentiful. Prices are on the inexpensive side. Articulation is generally excellent. EMSIAs are slightly updated versions of the MSIAs. Issues that plagued the MSIA version were generally improved upon in the EMSIA version. Personally, I don't like the MSIA/EMSIA line because the figures are not in an exact scale size. And because they are mainly made of PVC plastic, things like wings are thick and often come warped. The Robot Damashii line is the successor to the EMSIA/MSIA line. The main change being - no more PVC plastic. Most reviews I've read of the Robot Damashiis have been highly positive. But all the Robot Damshii figures are so far only 00 Gundam related. The GFF line is generally scaled to 1:144 but not exactly. The catalogue is decent with a good number of esoteric ones. The detail is fantastic on the GFFs and every pack gives you a ton of option parts that allow you to switch between 2 or more similar but different models (for ex. RX-78 <-> RGM-79). On the minus side, poseability is less than the MSIA/EMSIA line. Those same option parts that allow you to switch between models are also the reason why things continually pop off/fall off. EXTREMELY ANNOYING. Oh yeah, and those awful gumby hands that's a pain to insert a gun onto and won't hold securely. Once again the crappy PVC plastic used - though to be fair, things are a bit sharper and nicer on the GFF line. GFFs are fine as static display models, but terrible for any kind of posing activity IMO. Personally I also think they are overpriced. Now the GFFN (Gundam Fix Figuration Next Gen.) line looks to be more promising. They are advertised as scaled down GFF Metal Composites. 1:144 scale. Less use of PVC plastic and more use of ABS. Also even some incorporation of metal! Reports say the ZII is fantastic with no more falling parts and not a bit of floppiness. A nice review here. The only downside is that they just started this line and only the ZII is out right now. The Aile Strike is next. The one other Gundam action figure line to consider is the HCM Pro line. These figures are in 1:200 scale. Relatively inexpensive and poseability is fantastic. But they are small and as a result they aren't as detailed as the GFFs (though nice enough for me). Some of them have questionable non-canon markings and I think some of the early ones were rather floppy. On the other hand, they're mainly made of ABS plastic, so gone is the crummy gummy PVC plastic. While the catalogue is big, it seems Bandai is now less enthusiastic with this line. There has been suspicion by fans that Bandai will soon phase this line out. Sad because personally, I like HCM Pros. If anything, they make good company with Yamato's 1:200 VF Collections.

That's the prototype for the Hasegawa 1:48 YF-19 model.

It's a flight testing probe. Prototypes generally have these probes for data collecting. It looks like a mashup between a whole host of fighters... the Lavi, Flanker, Typhoon, etc. It's like a kitbash! The earlier J-10A looks a little better.

As a transformer, the Toynami is obviously functionally better for it is PT. However, the Toynami 1/100 is a chunky ugly looking pig (esp in fighter mode) compared to the Bandai VF100. It has more issues than the VF100 toy IMHO. A few more locking pegs and less partsforming would've helped the VF100s VF-25 toy. But it's the first in the line and a rather complex Valk at that, so I'll be patient and see how they improve as the line goes on. My Ozma is less floppy than my Alto so I have hope.

Hope this helps. Quick and rough translation. FROM LEFT SIDE 1st row Main body - blue colored part Main body - white colored part Main body - dark blue colored part 2nd row Main body line - blue colored part Frame - blue gray colored part Ankle - light gray colored part 3rd row Rifle - gray colored part Rifle - green colored part Rifle - pink colored part 4th row Rifle mouth, scope base - black colored part Rifle, cockpit - blue gray colored part Base of both wings - cream yellow colored part 5th row Head, neck, cockpit, knife base - gray colored part Knife blade part - light gray colored part Canopy, Mikhail’s visor - clear purple colored part 6th row Head, Mikahil’s helmet - light blue colored part Mikhail - white colored part Mikhail- gray colored part 7th row Mikhail - blue colored part Mikhail SMS mark, rifle scope - red colored part Mikhail SMS mark - yellow colored part

It should be available anyday now. MSRP is 5670yen. About 600yen more than the plain Alto vers. I would imagine it'll be available for a lot cheaper price in HK. Unknown as to whether the standard gunpod would be included in addition to the sniper rifle. I don't have that stand. I think the best alternative (and I think better product to use) is the standard Bandai action base stand used for Gunplas.

Wow, thanks eriku! That was fast!

CM's might be working on an Orguss toy as part of their Brave Gokin line. http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/iam-cybergundam/article?mid=25103 See the silhouette on the bottom right? Looks like a Orgroid right? Also, the text on top says "Toki no nagare, nori koe" (trans. overcome the flow of time). That's a line straight from the Orguss opening theme song. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned here yet.

Some of the issues on the 1/72 kit could probably be fixed on the larger 1/48 scale kit. With regards to non-transforming Valk kit vs. transforming Valk kit, I personally wouldn't mind a fighter mode only kit. But I think the truth is - the majority prefers a transforming kit. And since that's where the money will be, that's likely where Bandai goes. When it comes to transforming mecha, whether it's a Valkyrie or not, there seems to be very little support behind one-mode only models or toys. When Graham suggested a fighter mode only 1/100 GNU, the idea was quickly trashed by the majority even though there was a PT 1/60 line going on strong. Among Japanese fans, I've read comments like - "a Valkyrie that doesn't transform isn't a Valkyrie". Kinda like how some people feel about non-alcoholic beer. Or a beef bowl without the beef. On the other hand, I believe Hasegawa did pretty well with their Macross kits line (though probably not to the sales level of a gunpla). I think it wouldn't hurt for Bandai to also release a fighter mode only VF-25 kit in their EX line which is aimed at the experienced hard core modeller.

Now even the wings are swappable. That's right, if you want the speaker pods, that's a whole separate wing. I suppose that's a good thing as it means I won't have to fiddle around and potentially break the wing or attachment point while trying to put those speaker pods on (esp at this scale size).

I watched the new episode last night. A tad drop in animation quality I think (though it could just be the crap mp4 file I dl'd). I've always liked this series but there's just too much hype and fanboyism surrounding it. At least now, the whole broadcast order vs. chronological order debate can now be put to rest.

I wish I could read the bit on the left edge but it seems that the lasers will be swappable. In other words, you can swap the gummy PVC one for a sharper ABS one which would be included as an extra.

Made them concentrate on their "piloting skills" - right hand on the joystick! Turn on, tune in, jack off

The viewpoint from Japanese fans is rather similar - they too want a v2.0 YF-19. Not repaints.

I'd have to agree here. I saw the OAV version first and I was frankly underwhelmed at the time. I too felt that the pacing of the story was rather poor and certain plot points were disjointed. That all changed when I saw the movie edtion. The story was tighter, the pacing much better, and everything made more sense. When I read about the history, I understood why the movie worked better (for me). However, I do think it might be better to watch the OAVs before watching the movie version.

Just because it's a durable toy doesn't mean it should be cheaper. Heck, the 1/55 Takatoku was pretty darn expensive back in the day!

Gloss finish has usually been given to what makers (not just Bandai) consider as high quality toys. And often they tend to be toys made of metal. That said, since Yamato aims at being a display model than a "toy", a flat finish is generally favored by those who like a little bit more of realism in their model. While I favor a flat finish, the problem with Yamato's flat finish (IMHO) is that it's not fully flat and it relies too much on the plastic color instead of doing a full paint job. IMHO it looks a bit cheap. Plastic never looks good bare. Alter's Yukikaze, which is fully painted, blows away Yamato in terms of realism. However, Yamatos can look much better once panel lined and given a coat of clear flat. But I have no intention of ruining something that costs 3 figures with my crappy skills. On a side note, I think Bandai's VF100s Alto uses unpainted white plastic, while the Ozma is actually painted.