Opus Posted August 28, 2004 Posted August 28, 2004 Does any one know what that hatch thing is where the alphas butt is?Thanks That folds in to make room for the canopy in robot mode. How do I pop it out again to make it flush in fighter mode? I hook the gunpod's stock under it to pull it up.
Kin Posted August 29, 2004 Posted August 29, 2004 Where's the VR-52 at? Is it stored in the "Butt" as well?
Kin Posted August 29, 2004 Posted August 29, 2004 (edited) sorry I accidentally made a post twice... another question is: do you have to remove the antenna to get the cover on? I see on some pics they are loose.. Edited August 29, 2004 by Kin
Pat S Posted August 29, 2004 Posted August 29, 2004 Where's the VR-52 at? Is it stored in the "Butt" as well? The Mospeada fits in the chest plate. There is a cover there that slides down. Yes, you have to remove the antenna to transform it, it's just got a peg, and is easy to change in and out.
SDFcommander Posted August 29, 2004 Posted August 29, 2004 (edited) Does any one know what that hatch thing is where the alphas butt is?Thanks That folds in to make room for the canopy in robot mode. How do I pop it out again to make it flush in fighter mode? If it is really jammed hard you might have to use a flat head screw driver or butter knife to gently pry it out. If you look closely you will notice two little holes on each side of it. Those holes refect how far in hatch should go. In this pic of my Alpha in Guardian mode, you can see the hatch pushed in. Push it in any farther than that and you will have problems. I made the mistake of pushing it in all the way and it was pretty hard to open it up again. Hope that helps. Edited August 29, 2004 by SDFcommander
macu5454 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Does any one know what that hatch thing is where the alphas butt is?Thanks That folds in to make room for the canopy in robot mode. How do I pop it out again to make it flush in fighter mode? If it is really jammed hard you might have to use a flat head screw driver or butter knife to gently pry it out. If you look closely you will notice two little holes on each side of it. Those holes refect how far in hatch should go. In this pic of my Alpha in Guardian mode, you can see the hatch pushed in. Push it in any farther than that and you will have problems. I made the mistake of pushing it in all the way and it was pretty hard to open it up again. Hope that helps. Can you? It is a nice pic...
rewooh Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 god i'm so frustrated. My hand broke. The index finger snapped randomly. So i decied to take out some super glue and do an operation. But I ended up gluing the metal rod to the finger joint. THen I took a thumbtack and got it out. But then it became all awkward and over sized. SO itred it again and it doesn't stick because theres already a coat of glue on it. dammit... I really liked this toy. I wish there was a MPC parts and service...
Opus Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 god i'm so frustrated.My hand broke. The index finger snapped randomly. So i decied to take out some super glue and do an operation. But I ended up gluing the metal rod to the finger joint. THen I took a thumbtack and got it out. But then it became all awkward and over sized. SO itred it again and it doesn't stick because theres already a coat of glue on it. dammit... I really liked this toy. I wish there was a MPC parts and service... My hands wre all jacked up too. I ended up gluing them in a fixed pose and popping them off for transformation before I finally got pissed and sent it back to Toynami.
rewooh Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 god i'm so frustrated.My hand broke. The index finger snapped randomly. So i decied to take out some super glue and do an operation. But I ended up gluing the metal rod to the finger joint. THen I took a thumbtack and got it out. But then it became all awkward and over sized. SO itred it again and it doesn't stick because theres already a coat of glue on it. dammit... I really liked this toy. I wish there was a MPC parts and service... My hands wre all jacked up too. I ended up gluing them in a fixed pose and popping them off for transformation before I finally got pissed and sent it back to Toynami. you can do it that? What do you have to do?
eriku Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Like I said before, the articulated fingers are nice but it would have been even better if the hands were done just like the superposables: fixed poses and lots of them to swap. I wonder how hard it would be to remove the current hands and use the SP ones...
Opus Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 The hands come off. They're really tight but mine pulled straight off. The wierd thing is that a post in the arm goes into a hole on the hand. I checked all of my other robot toys to see if thier hands would fit and it seems like everything else works on an opposite priciple with a post on the hand and a hole in the arm.
eriku Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 The hands come off. They're really tight but mine pulled straight off. The wierd thing is that a post in the arm goes into a hole on the hand. I checked all of my other robot toys to see if thier hands would fit and it seems like everything else works on an opposite priciple with a post on the hand and a hole in the arm. Well that stinks. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to drill a hole into the soft PVC of the SP hands. Reason #114 why I should go out and buy a dremel.
gilermo Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 After having the alpha for a few days now, It is starting to grow on me.. I am lucky not to have any major flaws, but i am starting to notice that after transforming it several time it becomes sloppy.. the arm held up fine in the begining, but after 6 transformations it wil only hang down now.. the left legg is having trouble staying retracted so alpha collapses to the left.. one of the missile doors on the arm is just plain crooked.. the hands are becomeing weaker every time i use them.. other than that it's fine.. ALPHA # 04406
Sebastian Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 I got mine today. Lucky me, mine is fine so far. Actually, I Love it, nice weight, poseability, details, sculpt Arms are floppy and it have some minor paint problems, nothing mayor. In fact I find this toy better MUCH better than the Yamato Hickaru 1/60 VF 1A. Yep it is small for the price but I still like it and I do not regret paying for this alpha at all. Hope they fix the problems in the next batch of alphas. In the meantime I will have to enjoy fixing this one.
Montarvillois Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Hope they fix the problems in the next batch of alphas. In the meantime I will have to enjoy fixing this one. See, that 's a positive way to see this. Me too, I think will like fixing and tweaking this thing to death. I actualy like to disassemble and reassemble my toys so I'm not too terrified at the idea of receiving a "mildly" defective Aplha.
bsu legato Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 ALPHA # 04406 Damn, and the fighter mode looks so good, too. But I don't have the money nor the patience to play the "Alpha Lottery."
Kin Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 I wonder why dey didn't put a black stroke around the yellow square... it's very crucial to the design..
Drad Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Hope they fix the problems in the next batch of alphas. In the meantime I will have to enjoy fixing this one. Lucky. I wish I were the type that enjoyed fixing/customizing things. All it does is piss me off. It's work, instead of fun.. that I shouldn't have to do for an $80 toy.
Lynx7725 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Hope they fix the problems in the next batch of alphas. In the meantime I will have to enjoy fixing this one. See, that 's a positive way to see this. Me too, I think will like fixing and tweaking this thing to death. I actualy like to disassemble and reassemble my toys so I'm not too terrified at the idea of receiving a "mildly" defective Aplha. You do have to bear in mind the circumstances of some of our members. When we pay 80 USD.. double that in the local currency, almost... there is an unspoken expectation for the quality/ durability of the toy to be of somewhat reasonable standards -- this is irregardless of who manufactures the toy, okay? Given the severity of some of the complaints here as well as the number, I have to think of the QC as shoddy. I am not going to pay 80 USD for an Alpha lottery. The odds don't stack right there. However, if I can get it cheap.. say, 30~40 USD or lower, my expectations will be similarly lower. At that price range, I won't mind hacking into a toy either. FYI, I do conversion in 28mm scale, and have some modelling experience (but not so much on painting). I hack into stuff on a semi-regular basis, so I roughly know what I'm doing... or can clobber something together when I screw up.
bandit29 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Damn, and the fighter mode looks so good, too. But I don't have the money nor the patience to play the "Alpha Lottery." What lottery? you can have mine. Its a slight turd I emailed Toynami about the broken sensor hatch and they have no idea what I'm talking about. I guess I'll have to send them a pic.
bsu legato Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 What lottery? you can have mine. Its a slight turd I'll give you $5.00 CDN, and this half eaten bag of "Cool Ranch" Doritos.
bandit29 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 What lottery? you can have mine. Its a slight turd   I'll give you $5.00 CDN, and this half eaten bag of "Cool Ranch" Doritos. ROFL.... its been awhile since I had Doritos... let me think lol You keep the 5.00 CDN, I don't want you over paying for this piece of junk
niomosy Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Finally got my Alpha on Saturday. Didn't have much time to play with it but did get to transform it once and give it a once-over. Initial thoughts: -Most everything was in pretty good at a glance. Only problem I had was with the shoulder radar thingy. The swivel base kept falling off. -Damn, it's small! I knew it was going to be small but that still couldn't prepare me for actually seeing the thing... and standing it next to my Gakken. -Definitely heavy. This was impressive. -Floppy arms. I was somewhat expecting this. It still sucks to be stuck with it, though. All in all it's pretty good. I still think it was over-priced and should have been around the $40 mark. Maybe $50. I think I may end up only getting the Shadow but we'll see what happens. I know my wife would prefer me not getting very much in the way of toys but that's just sillyness on her part For now, I think I'll just save my $$ for a reissue Predaking
macu5454 Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Finally got my Alpha on Saturday. Didn't have much time to play with it but did get to transform it once and give it a once-over. Initial thoughts:-Most everything was in pretty good at a glance. Only problem I had was with the shoulder radar thingy. The swivel base kept falling off. -Damn, it's small! I knew it was going to be small but that still couldn't prepare me for actually seeing the thing... and standing it next to my Gakken. -Definitely heavy. This was impressive. -Floppy arms. I was somewhat expecting this. It still sucks to be stuck with it, though. All in all it's pretty good. I still think it was over-priced and should have been around the $40 mark. Maybe $50. I think I may end up only getting the Shadow but we'll see what happens. I know my wife would prefer me not getting very much in the way of toys but that's just sillyness on her part For now, I think I'll just save my $$ for a reissue Predaking Don't transform it too much cuz if you will more problems will arise.
do not disturb Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Damn, and the fighter mode looks so good, too. But I don't have the money nor the patience to play the "Alpha Lottery." LMAO! i'd rather spend my $80 on real lottery tickets, i'd have a better chance of winning. i think the best way to insure a getting a good one is to buy it in a shop and open it right there in front of the employees. atleast then if you get an expolding alpha, they can't deny you a refund/exchange.
Kin Posted August 30, 2004 Posted August 30, 2004 Finally got my Alpha on Saturday. Didn't have much time to play with it but did get to transform it once and give it a once-over. Initial thoughts:-Most everything was in pretty good at a glance. Only problem I had was with the shoulder radar thingy. The swivel base kept falling off. -Damn, it's small! I knew it was going to be small but that still couldn't prepare me for actually seeing the thing... and standing it next to my Gakken. -Definitely heavy. This was impressive. -Floppy arms. I was somewhat expecting this. It still sucks to be stuck with it, though. All in all it's pretty good. I still think it was over-priced and should have been around the $40 mark. Maybe $50. I think I may end up only getting the Shadow but we'll see what happens. I know my wife would prefer me not getting very much in the way of toys but that's just sillyness on her part For now, I think I'll just save my $$ for a reissue Predaking I'm saving my money for inkcartridges, glue and high quallity paper....
Pat S Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Damn, and the fighter mode looks so good, too. But I don't have the money nor the patience to play the "Alpha Lottery." LMAO! i'd rather spend my $80 on real lottery tickets, i'd have a better chance of winning. i think the best way to insure a getting a good one is to buy it in a shop and open it right there in front of the employees. atleast then if you get an expolding alpha, they can't deny you a refund/exchange. I decided I wanted one of the 3,000 and lower ones, so I posted on this board in the wanted section for one with no broken parts or paint problems, and actually am getting two. Seemed the smart way to get one given the amount of problems reported.
Mechfactory.com Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 Ok I don't beleve I am writing this letter but I must give credit where credit is due I am the guy who had the arm broken on the alpha even before I could get it out of the box. Well the next day I e-mailed the quality control department at Robotech.com and explained my problem. A very nice lady named Chantell wrote me back in less than an hour and after exchanging some information requested that I send the broken Alpha back and she would replace it with no problem, So I did. My new Alpha arived from Robotech.com today and I have to say it is an they knocked my sox off!!!! The Alpha I sent back was numbered 3193, the one I got today was numbered 812. It is perfect no flaws whatsoever. Chantell at Robotech.com took the problem very seriously and actualy gave the impression that she cared about my problem. After some of the bashing that goes on directed to Robotech.com I was expecting a nightmare experiance, but I have to say their customer service was outstanding and Chantell was a pleasure to deal with. After this experiance I have no problem buying from them again, I am not happy that my Alpha was broken but they stood up and backed up their product in a profesional manner, and you don't see that too often today. So I have to say it, Thank you Chantell for taking care of me and my problem!!, and thanks Robotech.com for standing by what you sell, your OK in my book!!!!!!!
do not disturb Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 anyone else think this guys a robotech/HG employee?
Opus Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 anyone else think this guys a robotech/HG employee? Nah. toynami is basically doing the same thing for me.
JsARCLIGHT Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 anyone else think this guys a robotech/HG employee? Nah. toynami is basically doing the same thing for me. Same here... however Toynami has been very rude and not too talkative in their communications with me and I still have no idea when my replacement will come.
Graham Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 anyone else think this guys a robotech/HG employee? Nah. toynami is basically doing the same thing for me. Same here... however Toynami has been very rude and not too talkative in their communications with me and I still have no idea when my replacement will come. Heh, I bet they read all your posts in this thread Graham
bsu legato Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 anyone else think this guys a robotech/HG employee? Nah. toynami is basically doing the same thing for me. Same here... however Toynami has been very rude and not too talkative in their communications with me and I still have no idea when my replacement will come. Heh, I bet they read all your posts in this thread Yeah. Remember, you're a branded man. Branded for life.
easnoddy Posted August 31, 2004 Posted August 31, 2004 I got my alpha on Thursday, went out of town Friday and today was my first chance to take a real good look at it. I must say after transforming it a few times I REALLY like it. If I have to compare it with anything for the price/scale it would be the Yamato 1/60 VF-1 series. Comparing it to the 1/48 is not fair, just like it is unfair to compare the Yamato 1/60 to the 1/48. My review: It weighs almost exactly the same as a Yamato 1/60 and the diecast content is in similar areas (legs). The transformation is just as difficult at first but involves less parts swapping so the MPC gets a bonus point. It is a tad looser than the 1/60 Yamato, more reminiscent of the 1/72 YF-19. The toy fits solidly in all modes after I made a small fix*. The fighter mode has the arched back syndrome so the landing gear are basically useless, the Yamato 1/60 is much better in this area. The cockpit and pilot are NICE, much better than the Yamato IMO. The detail is equal to that of the Yamato 1/60 HOWEVER, the opening missile hatches ont he shoulders and legs give this toy a bonus point over the 1/60 Yamato. The decals are equal to the Yamato as is the instruction manual. The hands are nice, no problem with mine. I have 2 paint flubs but no biggie IMO, this paint job is tougher than any of the Yamato's except the YF-19. My only complaint is the looseness of the arms and the fact they were glued together so they would be a pain to take apart so I could put the nailpolish on the joints to stiffen them up. I may try it later. I paid $80 shipped for this toy from an Ebay seller. I probably paid $75 for my Yamato 1/60's. I would give the Alpha a leg up on the VF-1...enough to justify the extra $5 on the pricetag at least. This is a very delicate toy and I would recommend it to anyone who liked the Yamato 1/60 toys. I will be getting the rest of the alpha series and am very satisfied with this toy. * The fix I needed to make was that the knee joint had slid off the track on one side. To fix it I took the leg apart, glued the PVC spacer back onto the grey slider. I also added some clear nailpolish to the upper foot piece as it was a little loose (much better now). I ended up scratching a little paint but I can live with it.
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