MKT

Unexpectedly, it's a shame Bandai can't even get minor changes to existing molds right, seeing how it played out from the DX VF-1 to the VT-1, and previously the DX 31 Siegfried to the 31AX Kairos+. At least the HMR line continue to be stellar design & engineering wise, hopefully they don't screw up the near upcoming VF-19 Kai.

It will come with Chogokin gloves - the real reason it was made. Ok I'll show myself out now..

What will Bandai do about the broken tails & sensors? Maybe they'll just send these out instead. But seriously @Sayroll @Radioguy, hopefully Luna Park comes back with something positive...

For some time now, I prefer these updated versions of Tenshi no Enogu & Ai Oboete Imasu Ka, both condensed into this video:

That packaging is a slick move. I had an opportunity to get KC's God of Flame at a hefty discount very recently, but I think I'll get this instead. My sentiments exactly. If they went this full route, the sales would go up the roof, and probably from lots of folks who were disappointed by KC's. I'm guessing the packaging was a last minute decision when production of toy was already locked-in.

I hope so too. I didn't really miss it this year since we have and are getting lots of releases on DX and HMR front. But I have a feeling they might actually announce the SDF-1 re-issue before the VF-5000G, to test the factory further before going into new mold stuff.

Its great the stress mark has totally disappeared, and I'm inclined to try it too. But do I detect a slight bit of the tip sagging from the heat? Cockpit canopy damage, including crack lines on the bubble dome, were also reported by couple others on FB, but always thought they were isolated issue like the twin shoulders. Now we have 2 cases here including @MacrossJunkie's. I guess having extra cockpit canopy is better than having no extra head lasers.. 100% agree here. Just in Fighter so far, I thought it would look & feel much better in hand than pics suggest, but everything just seems uneven on both fronts. I thought I might like Fighter enough in this alternate interpretation to display it in that mode, but Yamato's a clear winner here so it'll have to go into Battroid for display.

Now I get why white sneakers were a big trend for a long time lol.. Nice

Hobby Genki still has it, at some premium. Though not as high as Mandarake. https://hobby-genki.com/en/dx-chogokin/29076-dx-chogokin-vt-1-super-ostrich-the-super-dimension-fortress-macross-4573102660879.html

Figuarts Zero appears to have evolved a bit to be these diorama-esque figures, to justify their prices these days. I actually feel the PuP line is a bit meh price vs quality wise in comparison to modern prize figures. I just wish the skin tones have some, even if slight, shading on them. But then again, prize figures have volumes behind them riding on hot properties of the season, whereas PuP looks to be for older IPs based on casual observation. I'm guessing the other L-size ones weren't selling well - people rather get the normal sized ones, so Good Smile pivoted L-size to be unique figures now.

So it looks like the VF-1S re-issues have been delayed yet again, probably the 3rd time? It's now listed as Dec 2024. If I remember correctly, they were initially to be out in Feb 2024, delayed to May, pushed to Aug, then now Dec. https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-complete-transformation-vf-1s-strike-valkyrie-hikaru-ichijo-boarding-machine-movie-ver-reissue-aca82131-2# https://www.hlj.com/1-60-scale-completely-transformed-vf-1s-strike-valkyrie-roy-focker-special-movie-ver-aca82166 I'm guessing we won't be hearing anything more from Arcadia this year.

Ah its another L-size only.. but I like this. Short video:

Yeahh somehow the 1/72 label really stuck with Threezero's, but it really should be considered 1/60. I suspect now that the 1J is pretty much well accepted, Roy's 1S will be the one everyone really wants.

The issues on the VT-1 seem to be worse than the YF-21.. so far the running list: 1. Broken tailfins. All on the left side. 2. Snapped head sensor, and easily broken from handling due to poor design. This is surprising, because T-Rex usually doesn't make these kinds of mistakes. Unless, Bandai handled the VT-1 design changes from the base VF-1 themselves. I remember prodding that part a bit out of the box in Fighter and it felt pretty fragile. 3. Something about nosecone tabs not working properly in Battroid? Not sure if this only afflicts certain copies or everyone's like that. I haven't transformed mine yet to know.

Nice! Love the Barbatos design.

It looks like Hikaru’s gonna slam both hands together, PPAP-style. “I have a Minmay, I have a Misa….”

That plastic sleeve was a surprise. This is probably the first P-Bandai Macross item that comes with it. LP didn’t even give an approximate date to ship your item? Just radio silence since release?

Patiently waiting for my copy & looking forward to handling it to get a good feel of the in-hand difference between it and the other brands out there. But I thought there's a brace that locks the backplate to the underside of the chest plate? I remember thinking it was something that wasn't present in other iterations of VF-1, and a nice way to shift some pressure from the hip bars since the latter also need to do swiveling duties now. But later I found that the DX also has this, and TZ just copied it almost wholesale lol.

DX Chogokin VT-1 Super Ostrich.

This is what I was afraid of when repairing mine - overheating the plastic & cause it to warp in other ways beyond simple bending. Meanwhile, did a another round of heat treatment & it staying very straight this time. Ultimately the head laser issue is something that can be DIY repaired. I’m now thinking, nothing really comes close to the exploding plastic problem of the CF VF-171 many years ago - that would have been really heartbreaking if parts break on first transformation. But this Yf-21 head laser problem grates more because it happens right out of the box, & the YF-21’s do have higher MSRP so expectations run pretty high.

Ditto on my copy as well when I first opened it. Sorry to hear this, & also seeing it’s the same left stabiliser again that’s broken. At first thinking if it was just a single isolated case, but someone else in that post also had the same broken part.

I can't remember, but does Luna Park automatically ship once the stocks come in, or do they first notify that item has arrived at their warehouse?

To me, the wheels looks both mis-transformed and lower, especially in comparison to the second grey prototype pic you posted. In the grey prototype, the wheels clearly go above the level of where the handlebars are, but in the colored images, even if the wheels tuck in closer to the rider's back, the top level of the wheels doesn't look like it will go higher than the handlebars. Perhaps there are other unseen mechanisms to allow the whole lower backpack assembly (where the wheels are attached to) to go further up.

My copy arrived. From the box itself, am quite surprised everything fit into a standard sized looking DX VF-1 box, despite it having an extra tray for the booster parts. Was expecting it to be as at least as thick as the YF-21 box lol. I opened it immediately to check on the stabilizers and thankfully both are intact. Took the naked valk out just for very quick impressions: 1. I'm struck by how big the cockpit canopy looks, even if put beside the already elongated canopy of the VF-1D. With the now bigger and raised cockpit at the front in conjunction with the shrunken vertical stabilizers at the rear, the valk actually gave out semi-SD vibes lol. I don't remember having the same impression when first handling the smaller DYRL 2-seaters - namely the HMR VT-1 and Arcadia VE-1. Perhaps it's just the sheer size of the 1/48 scale. But I really like the implementation of this 2-seater more than the 1D, it looks much cooler. 2. The stabilizers have a slight slack - very tiny range of inward tilt movement, I think to allow them to tuck onto the clips on the back when folded over. Is this slack sufficient to mitigate impacts from above? We'll never know, but I'm willing to bet the stabilizers snapping is related to whatever caused the YF-21 bent head lasers. 3. Was concerned about the beige looking too pale from earlier pics, but when looking at it in flesh, am quite happy with it. I quite like how the orange & beige sufficiently contrast from those on the VF-1D. Didn't look closely on which parts are molded or painted, but there doesn't appear to be color matching issues between various parts. 4. The 4 figures are nicely and sharply molded, and they seem to be bigger than previous DX VF-1 figures. I have no trouble thinking white pilot-suit Hikaru is the same as the one that came with 1S Hikaru, but blue-suit VT-1 Hikaru here is slightly bigger than orange-suit 1D Hikaru that itself (if I'm not mistaken) is bigger than white & red suit 1J Hikaru. Some peeves though: 5. I wish the clips for the stabilizers on the back plate are more seamless when recessed. They look quite distracting, but I suppose most will display the VT-1 with the boosters (including me), so eventually will not be an issue. 6. The rear landing gear doors are still rubbish to me. Just don't like the DX implementation of having to first pry the doors ajar, then having to pull out the joints a bit before fully swinging the doors open. Also, while the sideway-canting wheels look fantastic, there's just so little clearance around that space where everything have to positioned juuuuust right to avoid the doors not touching the wheels on one side & the horizontal stabilizers on other. Everything there just feels so fiddly. 7. The cockpit canopy have some opacity that isn't present in all previous DX VF-1 valks. Not much, perhaps about 10%, but quite obvious to me when put beside a DX 1D or 1S. It's rather similar to what we got with the old Yammie 1/48. Couple of quick snaps:

Yet another case on FB. There seems to be an emerging pattern - all the broken stabilisers are on the left side.