todd77

Is it really necessary to remove the ankle guards? This pic here from Toy's Daily shows the full armor VF with ankle guards on: But man, what's up with Toy's Daily and upside-down armors

You can pre-order them through sites like OverDrive, Anime-Export, or Tokyo Hunter. However, OverDrive is no longer accepting additional orders since, correct me if I'm wrong, these Tamashii-exclusive items can only be ordered during a specific period of time. Not sure about the other two sites but you can shoot them an email if you want. Alternatively, try scouting eBay or even MW's For sale forums - you never know when one might just pop up.

Tamashii exclusive armored reaction missile set confirmed? For those with the ghost and weapon set, do you guys think that the supplied reaction missiles will fit into the highlighted slot?

Did you guys check your emails from Anime-Export on the update on the shipping cost? The 2,800 Yen I had originally paid during the pre-order wasn't enough to cover the EMS shipment and so they sent me a notification on this. However, the payment link they gave me billed the entire total of the toy Fortunately, the request they gave me directly through Paypal was the correct amount. I notified them on this error and Erika, the customer service lady kindly noted that mine was the first to ship

Woohoo, Anime-Export has SHIPPED my armored Ozma! I can finally complete my Messiah squadron!

Is it me or does the guy have his wing armors upside down/flipped?

Yeah, like Overdrive, you've got to pay up front for preorders.

Just shoot them an email for clarification. They usually get back to you real fast. At least, that's the case when I got my Mikhail, Luca, and Alto valks from them. Still got my Armored Ozma and Alto's armor preorder with them.

Would this help? A little small though...

Umm, those aren't my pics - I did mention that they were originally from Toy's Daily and I was too lazy to find the original link and so I simply posted those images that I had saved. Of course, kudos to the guy who took them. I could never handle a camera that well.

Well, I have both the Wave and CM's and like him, I too prefer WAVE's effort over CM's in terms of proportions. To me, it's simply much closer to how the labor looks on TV - it has a more slender look without the oversized lower legs and elongated tummy that are characteristic of CM's version. Sure enough the rubber shrouds do get in the way and there aren't as much gimmicks as CM's but I enjoy it all the same. Of course, each person's mileage will vary depending on what he's looking for in the toy / model. I do notice that WAVE's Ingram is rather difficult to photograph nicely, and the pictures shown on the box aren't exactly flattering either. Anyway, here are some better pics of WAVE's effort that I managed to save from Toy's Daily. Surely it isn't that wonky? At the very least, it has a pilot figure that bears a better resemblance to its on-screen persona.

Both. Yamato's CLAT appeared in the TV series as New York's Ingram equivalent in Shigeo's dream (complete with a giant, remote-controlled robot). In the second OVA, CLAT was a spoof of Ultraman, though this time appearing in Asuma's dream.

Surely you mean Fortissimo?

Crime Labor Attack Team version.

Looks like Yamato is acknowledging the loose waist joint issue and is addressing it by <drumroll> issuing a guide you can use to fix it YOURSELF.

Thanks for the tip. It really does work. But make sure the cockpit slider at the bottom is all the way "up" (the position to eject the cockpit, not sink it) otherwise you might get the cockpit "stuck" and unable to sink it when you reinsert it after pulling up the lower shield. When that happened, I just slid the slider all the way up to realign it with the slot at the bottom of the cockpit but it does take some force. Otherwise, this, I think is the best way to manage the fiddly lower heat shield, which, prior to using method, I had to pry with the aid of a screwdriver each time I transformed the toy.

I think it's painted. Just compare the inner and exposed surface of the battery cover at the back. The inner surface has a much coarser / matte finish compared to the outer regions. Leftover finger prints would be a good indicator too

I think you're quite right with the Noa head sculpt. I think, at least on mine, the two heads supplied are actually the same, the smiley one. Just that the angry one has the mouth drawn downwards which defies the contours of the smile, on mine at least. Also, if you feel that Noa's head doesn't pop out as much as you'd like with the exposed cockpit (being the midget that she is), try padding the seat with some pieces of folded paper. I did that on mine and it looks so much better.

Will a comparison with the 1/60 YF-19 do? Don't have any 1/48 VF-1 valks to compare it with.

I pre-ordered mine quite a while ago from OverDrive (wish I hadn't though since it was more expensive then). Took them quite a while for them to ship it to me due to the Golden Week and also because their stock was stupidly sent to their old address. It was a long wait but for me, it was worth it. It's now the centerpiece of my collection and I just can't stop fidgeting with it! It's too damned pose-able! And I still haven't gotten on with the lights, winch cable, and the stun stick! Another tip for potential owners: Use a coin to gently screw in the shield, not your fingers as it's very hard to grip it and you'll likely result in some paint chippings. Oh, and you don't have to flip over the hard-to-grip monitor in the cockpit in order to fit Noa in there. She can slide in with plenty of room to spare even with just the joysticks flipped down.

Had the time to take some more pics. Here they are: Also found this in the R-J boards: Looks like Yamato is gearing up for an accompanying 1/24 command car. Wonder when they'll start doing Ohta's Ingram. Can't wait to do some shotgun frenzy poses. And hopefully, they'll tighten up that waist joint. It can't quite manage the weight when the entire torso is angled downwards. Aye, it is indeed

Just got my Yamato Ingram today and boy, is it a beast! The articulation is insane - this giant can really pose! Yamato is clever enough to make those hip armors "moveable" - they're not rigid like with the CM's and Wave's. They have a lot of leeway which helps a lot in preventing them from rubbing against the waist armor. Clicky racheted double joints are used for the elbows and knees. Hips rotate and swivel but no rachets here. As for the waist and shoulders - it's a bit wierd - I think there's a racheted joint connected to a non-racheted one, at least for the waist as that's how I managed to lift the torso up. And the waist articulation is some of the best I've seen - it rotates and tilts not just up and down but side to side as well - perfect for those Contrapposto poses! Too bad the non-racheted waist joint is a little loose - it holds its position well enough but a slight nudge can easily tilt it. Other non-racheted joints like the hips and the shoulder are quite tight (though not Bandai DX VF-25 tight). As for the proportions, they aren't as bad as the initial pictures suggest. The upper body may look a bit bulky but it does lend a muscular heft to the overall figure. And the face, with the armored visor full retracted, is really handsome! Those images of sleepy Alphonse don't have the visor fully retracted. Love the glossy finish too but I hope those tampo printings don't scracth off too easily. Haven't fiddled with the lights and winch cable gimmicks yet but overall, the toy has set a very nice first impression (and why shouldn't it especially for the asking price!). A word of caution though for potential buyers: when you first open the box and find that the Ingram's head is firmly stuck in it's collared socket giving the toy a neckless appearance, don't yank it out! It's because either one or both of the neck pistons are wedged in the hole that connects to the cockpit. As such, just open the cockpit and try to push them out with a toothpick or something. These neck pistons - they aren't connected to the body at all - they're just there, danggling! Anyway, here are some pics I took. As you can see, he's a bit too big for my makeshift studio

Bendable knees confirmed?

No way! Noa's specialty is hand-to-hand combat. Besides, she's got an awful aim. Anyway, glad to know that the overall quality is good on this one. But what's this "Yamato-Dragon" Panzer Cop?

I think this color scheme is specially made for Ozma - an Ozma VF-1. All it needs now is the jolly rogers insignia on the back.