Lolicon

lol well despite my handle, I'm not really a Klan fan. And like nanoplasm said, those two are really reissues of previous figures. I picked them up from a hobby shop in Tokyo. Looking forward to the new Ichibankuji figures of Sheryl and Ranka, but I'll wait till after the initial rush and price spikes and pick them up later once prices have settled. Paid too much for the previous figures IMO and now they're selling for considerably less in aftermarket shops.

Even worse! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bandai-DX-CHogokin-Macross-F-YF-29-Durandal-Valkyrie-/160631103829?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25665c2155 Not gonna buy one at those prices, no matter how much I want one.

They're from the Nyan Nyan Heroines second set. http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10150001 They were 840 yen each. The only online retailer I've found that doesn't force you to buy a box of 8 is Toyslogic; they'll sell you the full set of 4 for $43.99, which is almost exactly 840 yen each. Of course I didn't want Klan or another Ranka in her Nyan Nyan uniform. http://www.toyslogic.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=588_604_97&products_id=20132&products_type=1

I managed to find an unopened one in a hobby shop in Tokyo... for the low, low price of 36,790 yen. I really hope Bandai reissues it. I love the fighter mode and I don't feel like dealing with the model kit. Battroid mode is... meh. Looks like a rice rocket version of the VF-25 battroid. (If you don't know what a rice rocket is, Google it.)

That's not what I'm talking about.

My new favorite cheap figures. Who is Bandai kidding though? No one buys these for the crappy pieces of candy in each box.

Just got home today and my VF-25 was waiting for me. My first impression just from taking it out of the box: it is glorious! I haven't been this excited about opening a brand new valkyrie since the 1/60 YF-19. This thing puts the 1/72 model kit to shame. I was a little nervous upon opening, as I was afraid I'd find a bunch of paint chips and damaged plastic parts that some members have unfortunately discovered. Luckily mine is about as good as one can expect a mass-produced toy to be, with a tiny little imperfection here and there. The most notable ones are: -There are what appear to be a paint chip and a small silver droplet of paint in the red "mohawk" portion of the head. Small but quite noticeable on a red background. -The white parts of the head turrets appear to be off-white from the rest of the fuselage, like they've prematurely started yellowing. -The grey part of the right kneecap has some black paint smudged on it. -Noticeable paint chip off the white portion of the die cast shoulder block right out of the box. Aside from the head turrets, the others can be quickly fixed with a touch of paint. This really is the VF-25 we should have gotten from the start. For those have already done additional detailing on this bird, did you disassemble it? Can it even be disassembled, or are there portions that are permanently glued together? A valkyrie this lovely deserves to have more care put into making it look even better.

Picked up these earlier today. Won't open them till I return home though.

Anyone know of any place in Tokyo where these can be found? I've had no luck so far finding a VF-25.

I'm sure it's just an animation error, since the white head crops up from time to time throughout the series.

Are we allowed to openly talk about the movie yet?

Paid for mine. $160 at current exchange rates. Ouch. You EMS high rollers please let us know how great the toy is, especially how well the paint and markings hold up to handling and transformation. EDIT: Never thought I'd say this about a Bandai product... but the toy looks more anime-accurate than the model kit.

I'm pleased that my opinion carries enough weight that people feel the need to justify their own preferences, as if that was even necessary. I'd like to have Alto's unit in both plain and armored form, but even I have to bow to budget constraints and get only one.

I absolutely will not buy a 25S unless it comes with armor packs. Selling Ozma's unit without them is criminal.

Wow even the pilot figure looks better painted on Ozma. I hope it comes as an Armored bundle in January or whenever it comes out.

This is probably going to be as good a VF-25 as we're going to get, short of waiting a decade or two for Yamato to obtain the Frontier license. With the last movie come and gone, I doubt we're going to see a V3. I've had my preorder since preorders opened and I'm looking forward to its release, despite the minor flaws, after the spectacularly crappy V1. I'm sure I'll be even more pleased once I have it in my hands, barring any major flaws like entire limbs breaking off. If the most recent scans are of the final production version, I know I'll be doing my own touch-ups for the sake of anime accuracy, including repainting the ugly pilot figure, painting in cockpit details (like the ex-frame), painting the underside of the lerx, and painting the battroid's "mouth." I see it's missing the SMS emblem on the front fuselage, though I'm sure that's just a goof, since it's present on the prototype, and is rather large detail to miss.

I transformed my YF-19 this past summer for the first time in a few years, having kept it in fighter mode all these years. One arm broke off completely and the other had major cracking on the upper arm endoskeletal structure and was extremely loose, exactly like the pics Graham posted. After some emergency surgery, I was able to reattach both arms securely, "welding" the sides of the internal plastic parts shut using super glue. There's also a generous amount of super glue inside, in and around the screw chamber (if that makes any sense). Arms are stronger now and retain full movement and functionality. Even though I was able to fix it myself, for a toy that costs $200, I shouldn't have to.

I must have the Magical Girl Ranka.

I'm very happy with the V1 VF-25 line. They made them awful enough that the thought of buying one never even crossed my mind, saving me hundreds of dollars that I can now use to buy the V2 line.

AmiAmi charges 1890 yen to ship the Hobby Japan with vignette to the States, more than the cost of the magazine. I know because I bought mine from them. It ships in a box that's way too big for the magazine. I was not happy with them over that. Also, I think the Ranka vignette looks better than the Sheryl vignette.

Even with CG there's anime magic involved. I don't see how you can completely conceal the lower tailfins without making them smaller or expanding the size of the leg.

Another Obelisk Sheryl up for sale for those that wanted one. http://ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/shop/en/item_s-690751.html

I love the ridiculously bright green jeweled visor (how it appears in the anime). It was always too dark on every VF-25 I've ever seen.

I don't even remember the YF-29 having fast packs in the movie. That's how little of an impression they made.

They sure will. It sure beats all the ebay gougers.