2004 Hobby Expo in Japan

[Graham]

In fighter mode, we can see that Yamato has improved the appearance of the backpack hinge. In the original sculpt it had a rounded shape and seemed to be made of a different material to the rest of the VF, perhaps POM? In the revised sculpt, the backpack hinge is now flat and flush with the back and chestplates. Much better looking IMO.

Also, I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like the wings may have been resculpted as well so that the narrow part of the trailing edge, where the wings meet the body has been made a bit longer. One of my biggest complaints about the original sculpt of Yamato's 1/100 VF-0S toy was that the narrow section of the wing trailing edge where it meets the body was just too short, in fact it was hardly visible.

Graham

[Graham]

Also, I'm not 100% sure, but it looks like the wings may have been resculpted as well so that the narrow part of the trailing edge, where the wings meet the body has been made a bit longer. One of my biggest complaints about the original sculpt of Yamato's 1/100 VF-0S toy was that the narrow section of the wing trailing edge where it meets the body was just too short, in fact it was hardly visible.

In case it's not clear what I mean about the narrow section of the wing trailing edge, here's a pic which illustates better my complaint with the original sculpt.

Graham

[Ido]

Or perhaps it's a varient that will appear in epsiode # 5? Perhaps Shin's new fighter? The white scheme with red trim could be a nod to Hikaru's VF-1J from the original TV series.

Graham

Edited August 23, 2004 by Ido

[GRAND CANNON]

YIKES!!! Have a baby boy in the hospital and get home and look at all of this stuff!!!

This new version looks a heck of a lot more inviting than first. Here are some more shots courtesy of Matt Alt's photo album over at ToyboxDX:

[eming]

Just a question

Why ain't they displaying it with the landing gears down?

Are they still twiching around with it?

[Ido]

Uhm... the feets looks orrible in that ultra-wide position, there is a lot of empty space under the chest if the Yamato left the lerx in battroid mode it will be better, i swear they aren't so difficult to scratch build. The fake red "Intake" are ugly.

However I like it.

PS

why raised landing gear hatchs on the leg?

[eming]

Anybody know the estimated release date?

[Skull Leader]

I'm really encouraged! I had plans to pick one or two up to begin with, and now I'm considering even more! It may not be flawless, but it's really shaping up! Slap some decals on those babies and they'll look even better.

Besides... we all know SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE will make an after-market head... it's bound to happen. And from the looks of it, a pair of simple styrene strips can solve the LEX problem for battroids. in that instance, thank goodness for swappable parts, it'll make it that much easier to work on.

Edited August 23, 2004 by Skull Leader

[EXO]

I know I'm not that interested in the toy, only because of it's size. But as soon as I see the box I'll prolly pick it up. I'm becoming more and more of a box collector. If they ever built a bigger one that doesn't come apart, I'll open it for sure.

[Anubis]

Wow, the sculpt looks SO much better now on the VF-0. The corrected wings and backpack hinge, as well as the much improved hips make a big difference here. Still not enamored at the parts swapping, but with the overall sculpt being so much improved over the crappy previous one I can forgive it. With this sculpt they actually have displayed some effort, and I'm happy to see the leg armor finally.

I still maintain my theory about the VF-0's parts swapping being to make it match up to the SV-51, which would require parts swapping to be viable at all. There's no way to make a sturdy perfect transformation SV-51 in anything less than giant scale.

Yamato has gotten some of their cool points back on the VF-0. I'm glad they displayed the effort to fix this thing. Now I want to see a D-model. Only question left is what's the MSRP going to be?

Also, the more I see the VB-6, the more I love it.

That Priss figure is awesome too.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

OOOOO!~!!! THis toy is like a dragon models warbirds model now! On dragon models, they use detachable landing gear and doors instead of retractable gear,.....a way to stay accurate in landing and in flight modes without using retractable gear. ON the VF-0, the landing gear PLUGS into the legs and nose, but if you want the gear off, you simply put panels in place in the holes as to not make it obvious!!! NO wonder those things were always sticking out! OK not too obvious I mean. Cleverly done. NOw we really need to see how the transformation is. Hopefully Hobby dengeki does a spread for it. Still wondering if the shoulder hinges are seperate or stay attached the whole time.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Never been a fan of swapping parts but I need a couple vf-0 fighters around my Konig for scale. I knew that 1/100 scale factory will come in handy in a dioram scene. Kawamori must've been displeased with first prototype and bitch-slapped the fool that sculpted it.

LOL take that ateliar sai!!!!!!!

Hory froating head probably shot him with eye lightning bolts like dfrylok from aqua team. The toy looks MUCH MUCH better now. The hobby japan and dengeki spreads will solidify my decision on whether to buy or skip.

BTW isn't wonderfest summer 2004 coming up?

[Angel's Fury]

Wow, the sculpt looks SO much better now on the VF-0. The corrected wings and backpack hinge, as well as the much improved hips make a big difference here. Still not enamored at the parts swapping, but with the overall sculpt being so much improved over the crappy previous one I can forgive it. With this sculpt they actually have displayed some effort, and I'm happy to see the leg armor finally.

I still maintain my theory about the VF-0's parts swapping being to make it match up to the SV-51, which would require parts swapping to be viable at all. There's no way to make a sturdy perfect transformation SV-51 in anything less than giant scale.

Yamato has gotten some of their cool points back on the VF-0. I'm glad they displayed the effort to fix this thing. Now I want to see a D-model. Only question left is what's the MSRP going to be?

Also, the more I see the VB-6, the more I love it.

That Priss figure is awesome too.

You took the words right out of my mouth. I tempted to buy this, now that I've seen the revised pics. I'll probably hold out until I see it's box. Damn!!! That's two I have to get. The VB-6 & the VF-0!

[Graham]

Okay, so we mostly agree that the revised 1/100 VF-0S sculpt looks better. However, a nice looking sculpt is not the only ingredient that makes a good toy.

The real test of whether or not this is going to be a good toy is going to be: -

• Can it stand and balance easily in Battroid and Gerwalk modes without support?
  
• Does it suffer from loose joints & floppy limb syndrome?
  
• Can it stay firmly locked together in all 3 modes without parts detaching or falling off by themselves?
  
• Is it durable enough that it can be transformed and played with without fear of parts breakage?
  

My understanding (I may be wrong) is that the 1/100 VF-0S is going to be mostly constructed of hard PVC (like the Gundam Fix Figures), with some ABS parts. If this is the case, there may be some issues with joints and locking tabs/holes loosening up after time, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Graham

[Graham]

I'm wondering why the photos of the VF-0S battroid taken by both Matt Alt and Toy News International were taken at such an odd upwards looking angle? Did Yamato have the toy on a 7 foot high pedestal or something?

Anyway, I stll think that the basic head sculpt remains unchanged, although it's somewhat difficult to be sure due to the odd angle of the photos.

What does appear to have changed drastically though is the angle of the head lasers (see comparison pics below). In the original sculpt, the head lasers were only canted outwards a few degrees (in fact they were nearly parallel), but on the latest revised sculpt, they are now canted much more steeply outwards which really does not look good IMO.

Graham

[eugimon]

hmmm, VF-0 "bunny" fighter...

[Graham]

Another thing, those head lasers are going to look pretty strange in fighter mode as the angle is going to make them stick out from the sides of the plane.

Graham

[eugimon]

yup, and I also don't like how far the cylinder extends out from the side of the head... can't believe they changed the one thing I thought loook just fine on the original sculpt...

but the other changes look great!

I completely agree with Graham about the wing shape changes, looks much closer to the anime now.

and the legs look much better, specially like the hip joint under the intake, very clean.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

hmmm, VF-0 "bunny" fighter...

that's exactly what i thought when i first saw those pics

[Graham]

It may be possible that the head lasers have individual points of articulation but I don't know wheter thats canon?

I also thought that, but I doubt it on 1/100 scale.

Graham

[Graham]

yup, and I also don't like how far the cylinder extends out from the side of the head... can't believe they changed the one thing I thought loook just fine on the original sculpt... 

Here's a good CG pic showing how far the sides of the cylinder at the rear of the VF-0S's head should extend and also the correct angle for the head lasers in battroid mode.

Graham

[Ido]

I really doubt that the head lasers are fixed in this position, it will be too orrible and strange in fighter and Gerwalk mode, i'm nearly 100% sure that the head will be fine.

[eugimon]

nevermind then, the original head sculpt was also horribly wrong... less so than the new one but still, horribly wrong.

[Jawjaw]

Maybe you swap head lasers, or the head, or both during transformation. I'm joking but you know it might be true.

[ChristopherB]

The head lasers are a distraction. Maybe a little hot water and gentle pressure will help decrease the angle, but probably not.

The wings look like they overlap slightly in battroid mode, as seen in the picture at the bottom of the second page.

Overall, I am happy with the improvements, and I appreciate the fact that Graham posted the excellent comparison pictures. Definitely a great point of reference, which permit the improvements to be realized.

I don't collect 1/100 scale so I'll properly skip this release, but then again I don't want to contribute to the dismissal of the possibility that a larger scale with perfect transformation will be released.

So, for now I'll be content with the Hasegawa version.

[Dat Pinche Haro!]

wasn't Yamato pricing the VF-0S at 4000 yen?

or was this the price the magazine (forgot which one) was predicting?

either way, I'll still get 2 if i have the money

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Fighter mode looks beautiful as always, battroid looks much better, but I'm not getting it 'till I see it in gerwalk mode. Remember that the knees could barely bend on the previous sculpt.

[eugimon]

fighter mode looks great from a top down vew, but I want to see what the intakes look like.. for me, ugly intakes really mess with the lines of the fighter and thus the overall aesthetic quality.

think yf-19 toy and its blocky intakes...

[Angel's Fury]

Okay, so we mostly agree that the revised 1/100 VF-0S sculpt looks better. However, a nice looking sculpt is not the only ingredient that makes a good  toy.

The real test of whether or not this is going to be a good toy is going to be: -

• Can it stand and balance easily in Battroid and Gerwalk modes without support?
  
• Does it suffer from loose joints & floppy limb syndrome?
  
• Can it stay firmly locked together in all 3 modes without parts detaching or falling off by themselves?
  
• Is it durable enough that it can be transformed and played with without fear of parts breakage?
  

My understanding (I may be wrong) is that the 1/100 VF-0S is going to be mostly constructed of hard PVC (like the Gundam Fix Figures), with some ABS parts. If this is the case, there may be some issues with joints and locking tabs/holes loosening up after time, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Graham

Good thing you brought this up. I also have a few questions to ask concerning the VF-0.

• Will Yamato reinforce the fragile hip joints, with a steel pin just like the VF-11B FP?
  
• If they were to use tabs to attach parts, will they be strengthened?
  
• Will they use a ratchet joint or a ball joint for the hip area?
  

As far as the head sculpt goes, I prefer the original one that the revised one.

[Graham]

Fighter mode looks beautiful as always, battroid looks much better, but I'm not getting it 'till I see it in gerwalk mode. Remember that the knees could barely bend on the previous sculpt.

Well, after further study of the photos of both the new and old sculpts, I've also noticed that the shape of the cut-out below the knee has been changed from a 'V' shape to a straight line (see comparison pic below).

Not sure if this will have a positive or negative affect on the amount the knees can bend in Gerwalk mode though.

Graham

[Graham]

wasn't Yamato pricing the VF-0S at 4000 yen?

IIRC, it was in the mid-¥4K range, but bear in mind that all these delays and sculpt revisions may increase the price to consumers.

Graham

[Angel's Fury]

Fighter mode looks beautiful as always, battroid looks much better, but I'm not getting it 'till I see it in gerwalk mode. Remember that the knees could barely bend on the previous sculpt.

Well, after further study of the photos of both the new and old sculpts, I've also noticed that the shape of the cut-out below the knee has been changed from a 'V' shape to a straight line (see comparison pic below).

Not sure if this will have a positive or negative affect on the amount the knees can bend in Gerwalk mode though.

Graham

Maybe to make it more asthetically pleasing? How does it look like in the oav?

[Graham]

Maybe to make it more asthetically pleasing? How does it look like in the oav?

The CG pic of the VF-0S on the Bandai Visual Macross Zero site shows it as being 'V' shape.

Graham

[Hurricane29]

The new sculpt is greatly improved, hopefully the 51 is still in the works.

[Angel's Fury]

Maybe to make it more asthetically pleasing? How does it look like in the oav?

The CG pic of the VF-0S on the Bandai Visual Macross Zero site shows it as being 'V' shape.

Graham

Now I'm all clueless.