jenius

some pics are up on anymoon! I didn't have a ton of time tonight so I'll add more pics over the next couple days.

Have your cotton cloth handy... there's lots of mold release on mine... most I've ever seen on a toy. I imagine the dark blue just makes it more visible... but yeah, you can actually see it caked on, not just feel it. Obviously it wipes right off, I've never really understood why it bothers people so much.

man, I was going to post a different review tonight... Guess that'll have to wait while I play with this new hotness.

I used fedex and am near san francisco... Package got to my office at 9:30am... Crazy fast.

Wow... looks like I got some quick shipping. Estimated delivery date: 11/30. Neat!

The OP's questions wasn't "What's the difference?", it was "Do people still seek out and purchase 1/48 VF-1 toys?". There are other good things about the 1/48 toy besides the size as has already been pointed out in this thread. That said, the Stealth VF-1J (without super parts) wasn't a brisk mover back in the day. It eventually was sold at steep discounts because fans tended to shy away from Yamato's non-canon efforts (which is probably why Yamato now makes blank valks more frequently than non-canon schemes). So, it might be tough to sell a 1/48 VF-1J Stealth toy for the kind of scratch that would allow a straight trade for V2 VF-25. I say this being completely ignorant though of what 1/48 VF-1J Stealths are going for these days, they probably weren't produced in high quantities so they might be becoming more collectable.

Maybe Captain America could take this on to go along with that super fine Legioss he's building and selling. Wish I had been able to purchase one of those. Strikevalk, search for the "it lives" thread to see what I'm talking about.

They're a beast of their own so they still command some popularity. It's not quite like a version 1 toy and then a version 2 toy like we're seeing right now with the Bandai 1/60 DX VF-25 toys (version 1 toys are being relegated to rubbish bins). The 1/48's popularity has certainly been diminished by the V2 1/60 toys but you'll still find collectors who prefer the sheer size of the 1/48 and it's little details like air brakes and wing flaps.

Your original question asks for something you likely will never get. They aren't going to CONFIRM that there won't be a bundle. All they're going to do for now is confirm that the parts are going to be available via Tamashii's website.

They make announcements like: "Tamashii exclusive! Armored parts for VF-25S!" They nearly never add a sentence that says "These parts will never be avalable in bundle form, you have to buy them from Tamashii directly." So if you're really dying to have the armored parts you should probably go the exclusive route and risk kicking yourself for the extra dough you might have to plunk down if a bundle is ever sold.

I was kidding about the v2 but there's no way this is yamato's best valk. The arm articulation is poor and i'm sure i'm far from the only person with issues with the shield. I just included this toy in a line up for my v2 vf25 review... It's definitely not in the same ballpark as the kai.

I think the 11 is ready for a v2 with better articulation and a shield that stays on the arm in battroid.

awww... I guess i'll put away my m2a1-7. I do like the concept that the only way to fix the gap is to ruin all the other modes. Lolz

if the problem is simply the nose is fatter then the neck than they should have designed a way for the nose to get thinner during transformation. Again, i:'m sure they considered it, saw it'd just add even more to the price, and skipped it. Sometimes compromises must be made... Doesn't mean I have to like them. I'm still a little baffled how i'm being criticized for expecting no big gap on the front of the battroid's chest after Yamato said their focus was battroid. I understandbalanced modes and like the look of fighter, but if a company makes an excuse for itself the excuse should stand up to scrutiny. In the end, I still love the toy, i'm just not deluding myself into believing all that scratch is getting me something flawless.

I'm not the one who stated Yamato was focusing on battroid mode... Yamato was. If they said they were focusing on balance between modes I wouldn't have pointed it out (wouldn't have pointed out they SAID they were focusing on battroid mode that is... I still would have pointed out the big gap in the front).

Um... really? Those are your examples of "better" YF-19s? Yikes. If it was just a matter of the 19's nose being a little bit thicker it seems like something could have been engineered to overcome this (especially at this price point). Besides, what's the use of focusing on battroid mode if you're going to throw it out at the end and put a big gap right in the center of the chest? I know I know, thou shalt not disparage Yamato on these boards. I'll go back to my hole.

I don't see why fixing that gap would have created such a huge difficulty for Yamato. It's rather easy to fix in photoshop . Seriously though, it wasn't impossible, and they wouldn't have had to ruin fighter mode, but it probably would have required one or more moving parts and I'm guessing at that point they were like "This thing is already a billion parts and is going to be ridiculously expensive so let's call it a day."

I love these toys but that giant hump in front of the chin is just killing it for me! How much better would that toy look if the chest sloped down in front of his chin instead of going essentially straight forward and then having a big gap?

Oddly enough, that part is supposed to be white on Alto's... maybe they realized that too late and are correcting it on the Ozma? Although, if that were true, the part immediately beneath it should also be the same gray as the exterior.

what's a good recent chogokin to compare it to?

I didn't really dwell on it because it's a review of the toy and not a review of the VF-25. I did mention in the video review that I'm not the hugest fan of the 25 which might be part of why I prefer the 29 toy. From a non-toy perspective, I still prefer my mecha beefy and less insecty. That's no reason not to give kudos to the DX V2 though for pretty much nailing the line art.

My review is finally posted. Phew... that one took a while to get through... Visit anymoon to read the review and see the video.

Just an update here, I bought the VF-1J non grey goggle version from the last HLJ sale and it was a reissue with the clear canopy and the updated crotch.

Back when the V2 VF-25 went up for preorder a friend in Japan told me that the word was that if it sold well (which it did) Bandai was going to go the Tamashii route on everything from Super to Tornado. This leads me to believe we'll be seeing all of these parts through Tamashii at some point. This doesn't mean we won't see bundles though... so that statement isn't worth a whole lot other than to say that it sounds like Bandai plans on doing all the accessories.

it's not guarded as closely as one might think, it's more a matter of timing. There's a lot that can stop a project before it finishes so it's best not to start hyping it too early. Too often words from birds end up being just chirps. Also, I heard a member rubbed a lot of people the wrong way here once by letting yamato news slip so clearly companies would rather have a flashy way of telling you then letting the birds give it away. Magazines probably like breaking the news so maybe toy companies get a kick back.. Who knows... But the good news is that if i'm hearing things we probably all will soon!