ArchieNov

Man, this VF-0A is really prone to paint scratches even when just accidentally rubbing your fingernail against it. I made a tiny scratch on the forearm when I was pinching it together in fighter mode. I can't tell which part is painted and which is the base plastic. Is the base plastic the gray part (like the area around the cockpit?)

Thanks for the pic!

Oh I see. So I guess mine wasn't just a bum copy. That kinda makes me feel a little better (I won't feel like getting a 2nd one in hopes of getting a better aligned laser), but annoyed at the same time (I hate it when things are out of alignment without an obvious way to fix it). I just noticed that I also accidentally scratched the underside of my wing when I folded it in for battroid. And to think I was being extra extra careful to try and create some distance between the metal bar and the wing when I folded it in. I guess they just didn't realize that there's not enough clearance on it without risk of scratching the paint off. On the bright side, it's not that big a scratch and it's on the underside of the wing. One question though. Unlike the VF-1, there are no ratchets on the wing. What is the normal angle for them? I've tried spreading them out but it looks odd. Same with folding them in. I wish it had the ratchets... Edit: I saw a top view of the 0A online, so that answered my question. But now I have another one. Is it possible to fold the vertical stabilizers in WITHOUT detaching one of them? I've tried pulling it out little by little but it doesn't seem to have enough of a comfortable clearance until you pull it off... Uh oh... I think that was ChaoticYeti's same issue before his leg got broken...

Yeah, but since he wasn't using any in the show, I wouldn't be placing any armaments on it even if it does have the hardpoints. That's why I wouldn't have cared if it had the hardpoints or not. I can't seem to recall the 25s being loaded with reaction warheads under their wings (I know they were shot by Ozma through his Armored VF-25S, which the toy has also). It's been a few years since I watched the series so my memory is not that clear about it anymore.

I don't think the VF-25 was ever shown carrying underwing armaments, so I don't see the need for hardpoints.

Ah then if that's the case, doesn't sound so bad.

I don't like the sound of that. Wouldn't that mean we would have to do all the assembly, painting, tampo/detailing ourselves? Plus there's different types of plastics used along with other materials like rubber.

I just got mine earlier and while it's nice and all, I feel kinda bummed with it because the head laser isn't pointing perfectly straight. The laser barrel itself is not bent so I think the culprit is either the alignment of the base pivot, or how the laser was connected to it. Not sure how to remedy this at the moment. I also got the same issue with the backpack not able to sit flush in fighter. I got everything tabbed in properly as far as I can tell, and didn't have this issue on my 0D. I do really like what they did with the fold out chest tabs. That addressed the gappiness issue I had with the 0D's chest when viewed from above.

Okay now I'm confused. Does the Ghost Booster fit or not? I've never had the original so I don't know where the fins are supposed to slot.

You can start with the Anniversario 1J (unless you already have one) hehe.

After learning more about Arcadia's situation, I'd actually just want them to change the factory they are currently using. Their current one has too high of a failure rate (over 50% ends up as unusable scrap), which significantly impacts the cost to produce a unit, which Arcadia has the end consumer absorb. It's not a good business model to tolerate this kind of performance from their factory, regardless of reason. I'm willing to wait for them to fix that first before having them release more valkyries in the future.

My biggest question is why Arcadia allows their subcontracting factory to have such a high failure rate, and then make the end consumers absorb the cost. I'm even more surprised that Mr. K didn't even know about it until he asked. While I understand that it's not easy for Arcadia to change factories, they should not be so complacent with such low quality output from the factory. Clear quality expectations should have been set with them at the beginning and if the factory fails to meet them, there should be consequences for them (e.g. Penalties, discounted rates, etc.). These should help lessen/eliminate the need for having the end consumer absorb the cost for poor factory performance.

I do not see it as politeness. You can be polite without sounding so insecure, especially knowing that you're the project/product developer and publishing this article in a blog for the public to read. Even the way he starts off, he already refers to himself as a "struggling" product developer. Then he talks about working long hours and that he's sorry for doing so because it drives up the cost of his salary which in turn makes the product more expensive (I honestly don't think he should even bother apologizing for this because I don't think one man's salary increase due to overtime is enough to drive the cost of the product up significantly). Besides, he already said he's doing it to ensure quality. I'm a manager myself so I feel like I know what he's going through. But if I am to talk about my personal challenges or that of my company to even just my employees (not the public, which is a more difficult audience), I can't make myself sound so defeated or insecure, because that may also affect the morale of my staff, making them lose confidence as well. Anyway, that's just my take on it. I just wish he didn't sound so apologetic. Yes, I understand the reasons behind the costs, but it's a necessary evil in order to maintain the kind of quality product they want.

Thanks for the translation. I'm a little surprised at Mr. K's personality. He appears to be somewhat insecure or not very confident. I expected him to acknowledge his company's challenges, but not be so apologetic that it seems like he's a victim.

Ah okay, gotcha!

Hey if anyone wants to paint one up for me in a way that perfectly matches the original piece, I'm willing to shoulder the costs (and maybe even get one for them too as a bonus).

Sorry to see that. It seems the leg issue is more prominent now compared to the 0D. I have never tried extending the hip joints on my 0Ds, and never will on any of the 0 series.

Yeah I've thought about that, but I'm not sure Shapeways would ship such a small piece by itself to the Philippines at a reasonable price. Also, I won't be able to paint it since I lack the skills/equipment/color matching ability.

Hey Sildani, I'm a little surprised to see the wings droop that much in gerwalk mode. I've never had that issue on my Brera's (both old and new versions).

It's not that the pods can't be removed from the chest. It's that the body of the 0A is too slim for the Ghost to peg in.

Whoa thanks for the review! Now I'm glad I wasn't able to get the old Ghost Booster. I can finally stop searching for one.

Hmm, I see they left the holes on top for the Super pack attachment. I wonder if they'll release one. Personally, I hope not because I plan to leave this displayed bare. But if they release a super pack, my completionist syndrome will make me get it, then probably display it with the super packs because otherwise it'll feel like I wasted my money if I don't use it. But what I do hope they release instead is the fold booster as I don't have one. Bundle it up with 3 of Brera's Ghosts and I'll be golden.

So looking at eriku's pics, it pretty much confirms that the new triangle doesn't completely cover the back of the knee in fighter, and is not a transformation issue. I wonder if there was a reason they didn't make the triangle bigger. Yamato/Arcadia usually has very tight tolerances on their valks leaving very few gaps in fighter, so I find this unusual.

Yeah hopefully that is the case. At first I thought he just didn't collapse the legs in when transforming back to fighter. But then again, I'm not sure it's possible to have the backpack lock into the legs in fighter mode if the legs aren't fully collapsed. I guess I'll find out once someone here gets their copy. Mine hasn't shipped yet unfortunately.

I'm a little surprised by this... I thought the additional triangle molding was supposed to completely cover up the back of the knee joint in fight mode. But as you can see in the picture, the triangle is much smaller than the gap. Was it just not transformed correctly? I was never really bothered by that knee gap showing in fighter on the 0D, but having something like this only partially cover the gap kinda annoys me because it's not doing what it was meant to do properly. Also, that added triangle mold looks strange sticking out in gerwalk/battroid mode.