MKT

Thanks @ValkAddict. That Yammie VF-1A CF is my first modern VF-1 toy, ever since a KO 1/55 chunky I had as a kid. Pretty blown away how overall well engineered it was, and still is for what is now coming to be a 15 year old mold. The VE-1 Elintseeker really shows how well planned this mold was back in its day, because despite all the extra parts, even more so than the strike / super, everything stays really solidly together:

Looking at the ankles, doesn’t it look like there’s a flap there to allow the feet to rock inwards even more? I think only one of the old 1/72 model kits had that feature..

Some progress…

I just received the VF-1S Rick Hunter v2.0 (or whichever version now, seems they made so many changes that I lost track). Prior to this, I have only the VF-1S Dark Gold version. I was very tempted to pick up the VF-1J CF as well when it was on PO, but decided to wait for this VF-1S Rick to arrive first. And boy, this VF-1S Rick is quite the disappointment. The good stuff - the painting and tampos are gorgeous, and I think this is the best finished VF-1 toy at moment. But it looks like the paint can be scratched easily, so very delicate handling is needed, which is just as well because my biggest gripe then would be the built and engineering. In this new v2 sculpt, KC has also tightened all the joints to address the some of the looseness and floppiness. In concept, this is always a good thing and that was my biggest improvement expectation in getting this toy. But I would say tightening things up actually works against this toy, as the base plastics seem be too thin & feels fragile for the tightness achieved. As a result, moving anything makes it feel like its going to break. When trying to pull front landing gear out via the tow hook, the tow hook came off first before the gear budged. When trying to twist either the hips or shoulders, you can't move it with one hand, but have to support the joint itself with other hand less something snaps. It is quite telling when KC's CEO made a video on how to handle the toy, and in that video, there was a segment where he showed how to move the head lasers in a manner so they do not snap. So really, the toy is really now a pre-assembled model kit with nice paint. The v1 Dark Gold also felt fragile, but in hindsight, the overall looseness works for it, giving more 'play' to the moving parts. The real problem is not so much the sculpt, articulation or even tolerances, but the material & structural build of it. I think moving forward, KC should stop tinkering further with this mold, and make an entirely new one if they want to pursue the VF-1.

Hobby Genki's price is the best deal at moment. It's even cheaper than ordering via some proxies..

Never heard of Bandai announcing re-issues so early.. but I think its them acknowledging there's too many add-ons for the VF-31AX Hayate's. Supers, Armors and now the Ghost.

Only recently I discovered Misa Hayase sings! Both truly are gems to me now.. Gotta hunt down the original albums.

When I see this pic, the emblem & colors makes me think of what M&M would fly if they have to downsize to one valk in their golden years. But we already know Max instead trades up to the hypercar YF-29 lol..

Kitz Concept 1/72 VF-1S Rick Hunter..

Don't really see the resemblance to these jets. Perhaps some similarities to the Mirage 2000 in the cockpit and nosecone proportions.. I suppose Kawamori hasn't figured out how to do single engine valks then, until the SV-262.

Yeahh really wished they would have done this in HMR instead. That would be perfect scale to get the whole squad. On positive note, we might see the Yamato 1/60 Angel Birds secondary prices to finally come down a bit.

Usually, the valks Kawamori designed would be heavily influenced by real life jets, & commonly of the prototype variety. I wonder what is this VF-5000 modelled after?

Still available here: https://www.yoyakunow.com/en/robots/10217-dx-chogokin-movie-vf-31ax-kairos-plus-bogue-con-vaart-custom.html

Haha I was thinking of the various Yamato VF-19s finishing, and can’t seem imagine them in matte when I made that comment. But M&M’s VF-22s in matte also looked good.

I thought perhaps the green looks a bit too pastel at first, but then I realised it actually needs to be shiny instead of matte, to match the other Yamcadia M7 valks..

That's great to hear! The earlier video linked by @treatment above, already appear to show improvements to that area, but it wasn't that clear. Bogue's AX didn't seem that popular during PO, but will it be now the most popular sought-after DX VF-31AX from these mold improvements?

Salute the usually thankless cannon-fodder...

The wait begins to see if this mold has been massaged further for any improvements..

Nice to see the Tri-charger in colour now.. Hopefully more close up pics will appear, because something looks off. I think it’s the thighs, they seem to have shrunk in size.. or perhaps it’s just the angle of the pic.

Now the more I look at it, the more the panel line details look more like Yamato’s VF-0; soft and thick, rather than the sharp and finer lines of Arcadia’s.

Looking better and better. At least the head laser isn't poking into the booster pod anymore in Fighter..

Premium finish looks great! Likely going to cancel PO on current one and get PF instead.

I've only just been reading the general responses to the movie, and I get the feeling the experience will carry over some sourness to the merch haha.. I guess the Mattel line is the most accessible way to get the other ships, so I should pick up some of them myself too. Oh watching the trailers again, the Chogokin should have implemented the air brakes, and the way the cockpit opens on the toy is also wrong as compared to on-screen. I don't know if I am expecting too much, yet these are stuff that can easily be implemented without affecting the price much (if at all).

I got my hands on the Chogokin Lightyear XL-15 Spaceship today. The following are some impression with pics: This was something I impulse PO’ed, when I saw how the many XL spaceship concepts and designs recall memories of old-school side / top scrolling shooting games, how FWS wings seem so cool & avant-garde at that time, with the various engine nacelles & boosters slapped onto the sides of the fighter ships looking like X,Y, A-Wings and whatnot. Heck, the XL-7 will fit right alongside the Vic Viper in Gradius. Upon unboxing and pulling the clamshell out, there was initial disappointment in its smaller-than-expected size of the toy. Yeah the size was mentioned by Bandai in the listings, but visually when half the box area is taken up by the stand, it just feels like space padding by Bandai when they have always been very space efficient in their packaging before. The stand look a lot like what is being used for Gundam Metal Builds, so although it is beefy, from others’ reviews it just looks too big for the XL-15 to the point of being distracting. I just left it in its clamshell. I did a quick comparison with a Yamato 1/60 VF-1 I happen to readily have in display. They are both actually the same length, at about 240mm. But the XL-15’s heft, with almost all its upper body (except the engine & vertical stabs) being diecast, at 375g makes it almost double the VF-1’s 195g. Are they the same scale? Looking at the sizeable difference of the cockpit glass area, it doesn’t appear so.. or is it? Since there doesn’t appear to be any published in-universe dimensions of the XL-15, I lined up the included sitting and standing Buzz figures with the Yamato 1/60 pilot & ground crew figures. They do seem to scale rather well with each other, so the XL-15 does appear to scale quite well with most of our favorite Macross toys. Bandai as usual, are generous in tampo prints. There are many spread throughout, even the underside, and the smallest & tiny ones appear crisp to my tired, 40+ years eyes. Paint is adequate, with Bandai having done a good job matching the shades of paint between the plastic and metal areas. It would be sweeter though, if it came a bit weathered like what they showed off on the box art. There are small gripes with the general design though. Mainly, the very wide cockpit glasshouse, coupled with the rather steep downward wing cant, gives it an SD-ish appearance from certain angles. Although, this is just nitpicking, as spaceships can basically be any shapes they want. The wide cockpit means Buzz has plenty of room inside, and it looks like he can have generous armrests on both his sides if he so wishes. In the earlier pilot & crew comparison pic above, sitting Buzz actually has his legs all stretched forward, so I can imagine him just reclining the backrest for some bit of first-class space travel comfort.. Another gripe I have is the totally unexpected way the landing gears work. The bay doors are integrated; they open but only to reveal peg holes for the separate landing gears to plug in. At this size, the whole affair should really be integrated. I believe this is also the same arrangement for the upcoming HMR VF-0S. On the plus side, the wheels do roll. The fronts are plastic wheels, while the bigger rear wheels are rubber. It so happens this is the second butt shot I took within the space of a week, perhaps I have a fetish for nice rear ends. The XL-15’s rear section does have lots of detail going on there, from what I assume to be the some sort of power unit between the boosters, the secondary exhaust vents below, and the rather intricate molding of the booster nozzles themselves. In a nice touch, Bandai also bundled in Zurg. For its size, the molding & paint details are quite crisp, such that I initially thought there’s some articulation in key joints (it doesn’t). Overall, I’m quite happy with this purchase. The diecast-heavy heft of the whole thing quickly subsided my initial disappointment of its size, and off the top of my head, I don’t think there have been many or even other companies actively making diecast sci-fi fighter ships in this size or scale. The nearest comparison would be diecast 1/72 fighter jets, else in spirit I’m comparing it to my old Aoshima Cheyenne Dropship, the Aoshima 1/48 Airwolf and the 1/32 Organic Blue Thunder. I’ve not seen the Lightyear movie yet, but am still attracted to the spaceships almost purely from their design standpoint & what little I know of Buzz from Toy Story. I do hope Bandai continues this line, I really would like to see them releasing the XL-7 next..

Chogokin Lightyear XL-15 Spaceship. I impulse PO'ed this, and now it's here... (I wonder how long before my luck runs out from Amazon JP's really economical packing). Some impressions of it here.