eriku

VF-1 VF-17 VF-11

It's amazing how after nearly three decades of VF-1 toys the thing is still so beautiful to me and so pretty to look at.

Always enjoyed his photos. Very sad to hear of his passing. He's lucky to have known someone outside of the boards to report his passing to us. I wonder how often a member passes away and we never know. Enjoy the view from up there, MacrossMan.

Yeah, those nubs were the first thing I tried but my lids are so tight (I can hold the base upside down and shake it and they don't come off) and those nubs are so tiny and rounded that I can't get a grip on them. I'll probably just cut a little recess on the side of each lid or something.

Those of you that have this and have taken out the stand, have you noticed that it's almost impossible to get the storage lids off once they're on? The lids for the compartments are seperate and fit flush and tightly with the rest of the base. There aren't any recesses or anywhere to get a grip on them to pull them off, at least none that I've noticed.

I don't know if I'd argue that the 17 is the best Yamato VF toy (although it is in the top three for sure), but for me it's the one they'll have to pry out of my cold, dead hands. I like the 171 as well, but in concept more than execution. Alto's looked like an over-decorated athletic shoe to me and wasn't as fun or untuitive to transform as the 17. The CF version looked better, and was slightly easier to transform but has such serious necrosis that after the 7th piece crumbled off I just boxed it up and sold it for beans. I'm done with Bandai's 171 toys unless they do a renewal.

I'll try to post some photos tonight with a real camera. I had a holiday party after work last night and rather than leave Roy in my cold car for three hours (it was minus 10) I just left him at work. Unfortunately being all alone in the office all night made him a little stir crazy.

Anywhere from a little while to never. It all depends on environmental conditions, sun exposure, smoke exposure, type of plastic, etc. I have white toys almost 40 years old that have never yellowed. I have white toys that yellowed in one year. I just choose not to worry about it because I have a lot of white toys, or toys with white parts, and the vast majority have never yellowed in the slightest. As for this most recent Roy, people are making it sound as though it's some sort of pure, ultra white. It is not. It's not grey, it's not cream-colored, it's not a shadowy white, and it's not as dark as the Yamato DYRL toys, but it's certainly not pure white. He's not even as bright white as the unpainted kits.

Just got mine from NY. While the image of the box front is a bit uninspired, I have to say that in hand I find the overall presentation rather attractive. It's got a front flap so you can look at the toy without opening the box. With all the yellow & black the box definitely shouts Roy! But I didn't get this for the box so my commentary on the package ends there. Random observations on the toy: The toy itself is, of course, nothing really new. The plastic quality, tampo quality and overall finish are the same as what we saw from Yamato, which is to say excellent. It transforms smoothly and everything works just like it always did, including the feet that require excessive force to pull out. I'm at work so I don't have a Yamato at hand to compare with, but the the diecast metal parts (plate/swing bar/shoulder bars) seem to have a different paint coating from Yamato's that matches the matte finish, texture and color of the plastic perfectly. For some reason I'm remembering the paint on Yamato's metal parts being slightly more glossy but I could be wrong. The pilot figure seems to have a cleaner paintjob than what I'm remembering, or what I have experienced. The backpack hook, shoulder hinges, shoulder sockets (under the shoulderpads), hip sockets and wrist hinges are all the same ultraviolet white as the unpainted kits. Were other releases like this or is that unique to this release? While already confirmed by the earlier photo, the option parts are indeed in a small baggie under the stand tray. The stand looks really nice and feels well made, although I'm at work so I haven't assembled it or tried it yet. Careful putting the inner tray back in the box, the sheet of waterslides is taped to the outside of the baggie that holds the instructions and stickers and could very easily be bent if you aren't careful. Overall I'm very happy with this. I'm happy to have a VF-1S Roy back in my collection and I like the brighter white so this release is a good fit for me. I also like darker decos, too. I guess I'm not really an "either/or" Macross fan with the white/offwhite debate. I'm pretty omnivorous. In any case, this release is a good way for people to get a Roy without spending Crazybucks and it's a very good indication that Arcadia can and will continue to provide us with the same high standards of production that Yamato treated us to.

Yamatocadia has done a pretty good job of it, though. They have some grey ones for people who like that, some bright white ones for those of us who prefer that, some flamboyant ones for people of that persuasion. Speaking of my brighty-whitey Roy, mine didn't arrive today like I was hoping it would. I'm wondering if NY actually shipped it yet. The status says "Shipped" but lists no tracking number (using EMS) and they haven't responded to any of my inquiries. Not a really big deal, but this combined with recent experiences other people have had makes me think this will be the last time I order from them.

All of my previous orders have that, but this one has no link. Maybe they just forgot. I'll give it another day and then ask them about it. Half the fun of waiting for a package is obsessively tracking it every hour.

That's about how much time passed between "prep" and "shipped" on mine. Did you get a tracking number yet? This is the first time I've gotten an EMS shipping notification from NY with no tracking number attached. I'm not worried, just curious.

Found 'em. They're under the stand tray.

So this doesn't come with the option parts? I don't see the side covers anywhere in those package pics. Mine says "shipped" at NY but no tracking number. Hmm.

Got my "Order Preparation in Progress" notice from NY. Now to see how long before that changes to "shipped"!

Anyone get a shipping notice or status change from Nippon Yasan yet? I paid them on 11/15 and haven't heard a thing since.

EMS shipping charge from Nippon-Yasan to me (Minnesota): 3200Y I thought that was pretty decent for EMS.

"more or less around 12/05" is what Mr. K said.

Eh, just like most Yamato releases the demand for this one will very likely increase as time passes. The VF-X and Angelbird 1/60s were fairly limited and both were generally poo-poo'd at the time of release. Both made it to clearance sales. I got the VF-X almost a year after it was released from BBTS of all places for $80 where they also had the Angelbirds for the same price. Once they finally vanished everywhere the demand went up and now you can't find one for anything close to retail.

I like my design better. Regardless, all of my boxes end up in storage and unseen so they could ship them in a plain brown box and I wouldn't care.

New box pic!

I'd kinda like to see that, actually! I love the matte finish but I'd love to see how different a gloss finish would make the VF-1 feel. I think that would require completely new molds though. I bet if/when Bandai does a DX VF-1 it'll be glossy.

And now I want a black 'stealth' VF-4.

It wouldn't be the first Macross toy test shot that featured pink for no particular reason. *cough* (my avatar)