The new 1/144 scale Valks by Popy

[wolfx]

Got my "complete" set yesteday. Pretty awesome. Makes you wish they were die cast. All of them come pretty much fixed in fastpacks or regular fighter mode. I'm not sure if the missiles can come off but it seems like they are fixed in place to the wing quite firmly, and I don't wanna remove them anyway. They all come with landing gears and a flight stand to be displayed in flight.

Highly recommended for the Macross fan. Buy a few sets to be displayed with your SDF-1 and you'll have Space War 1.

[jenius]

I ordered that set of 7 too. I'm going for the cheap shipping though so it'll probably be quite some time before I have a detailed review.

[drifand]

Got my "complete" set yesteday. Pretty awesome. Makes you wish they were die cast.

Makes me wish all the more that the DOYUSHA 1/144 diecast Valks didn't end quite so early... but they were priced out the wazzoo for such do-nuthin', sit-pretty things. I'lll definitely keep a lookout for them when I make the toy-rounds next week.

[Fly4victory]

Hobby Fan still has some of the Doyusha VF's if you want to avoid ebay. They are great.

Makes me wish all the more that the DOYUSHA 1/144 diecast Valks didn't end quite so early... but they were priced out the wazzoo for such do-nuthin', sit-pretty things. I'lll definitely keep a lookout for them when I make the toy-rounds next week.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

So they are not diescast?? Hmm ok. : D I knew some of it wasn't diecast, i am only a little dissapointed.

But they look so nicely designed!

Well the Doyusha 1/144 are sweet awesomeness, especially the YF-21, and the VF-1S.

I gots the VF-1S, YF-19 (isamu colour) and 2 x YF-21's (coz the 21 is my favs)

And wolfx i like your style, that's what i wanted to do, just have heaps

of cannon fodders all floating in my display everywhere. I haven't the SDF-1 tho.

Maybe later. When's Yamato gonna bring theirs out? I want a TV version. :cry:

Edited May 2, 2007 by ruskiiVFaussie

[Hiriyu]

I just received my set from the seller I mentioned above - they got here very quickly and were well packed. The set did include the Zent-Max figure as stated.

I'm very pleased with them overall, with one notable exception... The Miria 1J I received is a bit of a lemon. The top of the chestplate was not fully seated to the LEX area when glued, so there's a big gap there. Also, one of the reaction missiles is glued on about 10 degrees out of whack. Either of the above issues could be fixed with a little patience and glue.

The bigger issue is that it is missing one of the tailfins . I looked all over the place in the tray (which was still taped shut) and the outer boxes, but it was nowhere to be found. Close examination of the figure doesn't show any glue in the slot that it fits into, so I'm guessing that the omission is a manufacturing/assembly defect. I'll see if the seller can do anything for me, but I won't be holding my breath. Anybody have a spare Miria to sell/trade?

Otherwise, these are really neat (had no problems with the other six pieces), and look much like a shrunken down ARII 1/100 fighter model kit, even down to the way that they're assembled. The overall sculpt is actually a bit nicer than the Doyushas IMHO. The non-super and non-reaction weapon models have geared wing-sweep, while the supers have their wings in fixed position. The ball-jointed display stands work well, and the fastpack accessories fit tightly on the 1S models. They have lots of fine panel line and rivet detail, and are shipped with water-slide decals.

Overall, very cool little display items.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

I just received my set from the seller I mentioned above - they got here very quickly and were well packed. The set did include the Zent-Max figure as stated.

I'm very pleased with them overall, with one notable exception... The Miria 1J I received is a bit of a lemon. The top of the chestplate was not fully seated to the LEX area when glued, so there's a big gap there. Also, one of the reaction missiles is glued on about 10 degrees out of whack. Either of the above issues could be fixed with a little patience and glue.

The bigger issue is that it is missing one of the tailfins . I looked all over the place in the tray (which was still taped shut) and the outer boxes, but it was nowhere to be found. Close examination of the figure doesn't show any glue in the slot that it fits into, so I'm guessing that the omission is a manufacturing/assembly defect. I'll see if the seller can do anything for me, but I won't be holding my breath. Anybody have a spare Miria to sell/trade?

Otherwise, these are really neat (had no problems with the other six pieces), and look much like a shrunken down ARII 1/100 fighter model kit, even down to the way that they're assembled. The overall sculpt is actually a bit nicer than the Doyushas IMHO. The non-super and non-reaction weapon models have geared wing-sweep, while the supers have their wings in fixed position. The ball-jointed display stands work well, and the fastpack accessories fit tightly on the 1S models. They have lots of fine panel line and rivet detail, and are shipped with water-slide decals.

Overall, very cool little display items.

Thanks Hiriyu for the review! Cool that you reckon they are nicer designed than the Doyushas,

really looking forward to receiving mine some time this week.

Water slide decals? hmmmmmzz, i never tried them before. o_0

Looks like the ordnance is glued, i will rip some of them off for some special display.

Sucks how the Supers can't move their wings, that bites.

Cool anyways!

[Hiriyu]

A quick update for me, the seller I bought my set from says he will procure and ship me a replacement Miria 1J at no cost! I'll need to wait for it to arrive by surface from Japan, but I am very happy with his service and would strongly endorse him as a seller to others

Ruskii, the decals are of the same kind that you would typically find in model kits (they transfer after being wetted with warm water). I've decalled all of mine now and the effect is nice - the decals are thin and don't have excessively big borders. They really add a nice level of detail to the figures and are worth spending the time to apply.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Ruskii, the decals are of the same kind that you would typically find in model kits (they transfer after being wetted with warm water). I've decalled all of mine now and the effect is nice - the decals are thin and don't have excessively big borders. They really add a nice level of detail to the figures and are worth spending the time to apply.

Cool, cheers Hiriyu. *patiently waiting for my box to arrive....*

[jenius]

I ordered that set of 7 too. I'm going for the cheap shipping though so it'll probably be quite some time before I have a detailed review.

Wow, I procrastinated a few days, used the cheapest shipping, and I still got them today. I opened the boxes to confirm there's one of each and didn't see any obvious flubs like Hiriyu's messed up Miria. Not a bad first impression although when these were first being called like "magnet action" I really was under the impression they'd be a bit heftier.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Guys... whats the magnet action feature meant to do?

Can i hang these on the fridge or what?

[hevangel2]

Mine just arrive today. The QC is really bad. My VF-1J has a big crack in the nose. The cockpit keep popping off in the VF-1J Red. The Angel bird and the VF-1A CF has a big gap between the tail pin part are the arms. The special has glue mark on the tail pin. Only that the QC of the two Super are acceptable.

I would say, stay away from this crap.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

[Fly4victory]

Mine arrived from Hong Kong today. No special packing just the Chara-works box covered with green paper so it showed up a little crushed.

The QC and fit on the Valks is really bad with the fins and arms. Majority of seams are open and uneven, center line of the nose, top of legs, and feet/thrusters.

The special Max Zentradi landing gear covers are white not green.

Wing stores are glued on and wings do not sweep if stores are mounted.

All markings except stripes are decals.

Cockpit on the CF VF-1A, Hikaru VF-1J and VF-1S was detached.

Canopy and Cockpit, will not fit, on Roy VF-1S detached.

One rear landing gear on CF VF-1A broken.

Paint missing in spots, over spray on others.

Top tab on stands too large to insert in slot on bottom of Valk only fits in the gunpod.

Strike fast packs fit well, easy to install/remove and look nice.

The Strike versions look better since the fins are folded forward and leg seam is covered with armor.

All Valks have a little poster specific to the aircraft.

Get them cheap or stay with Doyusha. Best way to describe Vol 1 is almost but not quite. The two Strikes "quality" and the Max Zentradi "cool factor" are the ones to get and the saving grace of the collection.

Edited May 8, 2007 by Fly4victory

[do not disturb]

the only thing that interests me are the missiles, since i could cut them off and put them on my doyushas. i'm glad i skipped these.

[bandit29]

Figures they're crap. Typical Macross toys. Its either cheap junky poo or overpriced toys with QC problems....

[ruskiiVFaussie]

I really hope these are just isolated QC incidents. It sucks that the good people

have had a bad run though.

[vt102]

I really hope these are just isolated QC incidents. It sucks that the good people

have had a bad run though.

I don't think it is an isolated issue. Mine has some issues too. My secret Max, chest plate was separating(I had to glue it back shut), and one of my cannon fodders had a wing that was offset from the other side. Also one of my Hikaru strike did not come with decals. And all of the fighters that are colorded do NOT have the gear bay doors color matched, they are only color matched when the gears are down.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

..... teh sux! Soon as i get mine in the next couple of days i will let everyone know how i faired.

[Hiriyu]

Sorry to hear you guys are getting all these QC problems. I guess that I was lucky in only having one out of seven that was an obvious lemon.

That said, the detached nose/cockpit assembly is not really a problem, it's a feature (I learned that phrase from Microsoft ). Just like the old model kits, it makes it easier to decal or detail the parts. What's even kind of interesting, is that they have fully sculpted heads, which are visible when you pull the nose off - the older model kits made due with only the visible top half of the head.

These things are really analogous to pre-built model kits in every way, just sad that some seem as if they are assembled by 5 year old kids. That said, I still quite like mine.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Ohhh? aka Roy jetting Hikky and Minny on his VF-1S instead of the Gunpod?

Bet the nosecone still fires gunpod rounds! haha

Little fiddly errors that require the slightest of glue are forgiveable.

[Fly4victory]

If they were pre-painted unassembled models, Brilliant!!! Kind of an updated Imai VF-1 four set that was out in the 80's

Having to break the glue joint to re-assemble properly.... Have seen products from the Lighthouse for the Blind that have better QC.

These things are really analogous to pre-built model kits in every way, .

[Hiriyu]

Just a little update, have received my replacement Miria 1J and, other than en errant spot of glue on one of the tailfins, all is well. At least, it is displayable

Ruskii, have you gotten yours in yet? Whaddya think?

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Just a little update, have received my replacement Miria 1J and, other than en errant spot of glue on one of the tailfins, all is well. At least, it is displayable

Ruskii, have you gotten yours in yet? Whaddya think?

Aww man, i went SAL, and it wasn't in the mail AGAIN today.

Fingers crossed it should be in tomorrow, i will do the review the same day lol.

SAL sucks, sometimes it only takes around 14 days, and now it's bordering on 4 weeks.

teh Suckzor or something lol

I can't wait to see what i get!

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Guys, no one has said anything about this so called Magnet Action thing??

Can i stick them on the fridge or what? lol are there any magnets in them?

Or is this some new whacko Jap street slang for micro scale Toys.

[Hiriyu]

Nope, no magnet action. Might have been either an erroneous description, or something that never made it to the final product.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

ripped off.

[the_foul_fowl]

Why ripoff? Actually the more recent news in the past few months have not mentioned anything about magnet action, and the box itself doesn't say anything too.

Me, I managed to pick up a VF-1S, CF and Angel Bird. Quality's ok for the price, but the seam lines can be quite distracting on the nose cone.

And yeah, my CF landing gear doors are matched to the brown on the CF, so no complaints about that too.

Decals are nice, only complaint are the decal sets for the VF-1As (CF and Angel Bird). They're the same, and come with 2 sets of numbers 1-5 for the tails. BUT! while one side is slanted correctly to fit the tail, the other is slanted by mirror imaging, so the numbers are reversed! :doh:

The provided stand is good too, comes with a ball and socket at the top so there's lots of ways that you can angle the valk. Cockpits are also nicely detailed though they lack any color other than grey.

All in, not bad for the SG$10.90 (approx US$7) I paid for my 3 blind boxes

[mojacko]

cool....wer in SinGapore did u get it from??? thanks!!!

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Why ripoff? Actually the more recent news in the past few months have not mentioned anything about magnet action, and the box itself doesn't say anything too.

Yeah mate, no it was just my slang, i should have placed a smiley next to it, but it didn't sound/look right.

It was in jest.

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Guys! I got my SAL HLJ order arrive yesterday arvi!

My wifey checked our P.Obox in the morning but theres no card to indicate there was a box waiting for me,

so in the afternoon i was with my wife an bro shopping and my bro an i had to get something from the

post office store, and i just for the sake of it before we left asked did they receive the box, and bloody

hell it was there! TOO COOL! So i'm like yay and stuff, and rushed home.

Righto! This is what i got in order of opening, from a box of 10. (blind of course)

1 - VF-1A Cannon Fodder! YUEAH!!!!!!!!! (got the valk i wanted first pick)

2 - VF-1A 'secret' Max Zentran Coat Valk! COOL!!! (i like it!)

3 - VF-1A Cannon Fodder~~~!!!! All right! LOOKING GOOD! (want as many as i can get)

4 - VF-1A Angel Bird!!! Excellent!

5 - VF-1J Millia! Nice! First 1J.

6 - VF-1S Roy! Cool! So now i gots a 1S.

7 - VF-1A Angel Bird!!!!! Nice, good to double up on these of course.

8 - VF-1S Hikaru!!! YAY! Now i am almost complete (starting to stress out wether or not i will get TV Hik)

9 - VF-1S Roy again! So ok, now i got 2, so now i can Mod the colour as a Cannon Fodder Strike.

10 - ............ Oh baby last one was VF-1J Hikaru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Complete set!!!!

Best blind box emotion opening... EVA. :lol:

I will post pics later. Just quickly before i go put together my Hasegawa YF-21...

I have no complaints QC wise, only my Millia VF-1J had a little repairing to

do, the backpack/tailfins were up on a higher slant than they should be,

this was due to the backpack under peg not being pushed into the hole in

the arms like it should have been, and there was a slight excess of paint

which was easy enough to fix with a sharp blade, and hole cleaning and

the peg just slid in with a little push, and problem solved!

Also Millia's left tail fin was not exactly even diagonal, but that's very

minor. These babies are very detailed!! I couldn't be more impressed.

I mean for the price, wow. I still like the weight of my die-cast VF-1S

Roy better, and for the fact that you don't get a non FP VF-1S... AND how

cheap they were not to include a sweeping wings ability for ALL of the

VF-1S FP's, and even the 1J's.... >_> A bit lame but it's not so bad.

But for panel lines and detail the 1/144 charawork rocks.

Anyways, back to displaying. Pics soon!

Edited May 19, 2007 by ruskiiVFaussie

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Guys share your finds too ok? It's fun to know how other ppl went,

and if you can remember the order you opened them in that would be cool too.

They look awesome displayed in my cabinent, i've got my 2 cannon fodders

displayed rolling off from formation next to my 1/48 CF in battroid.

[jenius]

I got mine and immediately put the box in storage . I'm hoping to pull them out in the next week or two though.

[Hiriyu]

Nice, ruskii. Glad to hear you got the killer selection . Since I got a pre-picked batch, I already knew what I was getting before I opened them, so no Christmas excitement here

The CF is my favorite too, but the Supers are pretty dang cool too. Odd that the Miria 1Js seem a magnet for weird little problems, so to speak.

[newca]

I love those tinies, cheap and better than none!

Really looking forward to the Vol 2! I want VF-1D!