Toynami 1/100 VF-1A Review

[evirus]

At first I got excited seeing this in a nearby comic book store, a Macross toy that was a fair size and not over $50. After buying it I realized the error of my emotions.

First, the box's construction is solid. When I was a kid I remember practically having to tare the plastic, action figure containing, bubble off a thick sheet of cardboard paper, more often than not ruining much of the artwork on the box, it was encouraging to see an easy to open box for once.

Taking out the toy inside proved to be a different matter entirely. Making sure not to overly bend the box as I attempt to stick my figures in I realize that the tray which contains the toy's many parts doesn’t have a good ledge to get my figure tips around and pull, leaving me to attempt pulling an a small thin sheet of cardboard that would seemingly tare if I was too forceful, but never did (a design theme more or less repeated as you soon shall see).

Not only is the parts tray made up of two interlocking pieces, its also taped, not twice but four times, Occam's Razor comes to mind at this point, the tape is a little thicker than necessary and the tray snaps down hard making the separation of top and bottom half's a real hassle if your looking to keep the trays from bending.

The way the toy's limbs quiver bares a testament as to how it was constructed verses how it's marketed. Polycaps abound the thing I just spent my money on is a pre-constructed model made of rigid plastic that feels like in order to snap anything into place requires 90% of the force needed to snap the pieces themselves in half!

Transformation without the book seems confusing, luckily I noticed the back slides up off what I will call a Z joint, instead of being snapped into place, extend the wing's get the folded tail out of the way. Open the little flap to let the head through. Problem, the laser cannon on the battleoid's head has absolutely no clearance in any conceivable angle, unless I start pulling on it and twisting it. Attach the chest plate to the canopy section completely. Problem, the way it snaps into place is perpendicular to the surface, in other words instead of the snapping in part coming in from the left if you were to look at it side ways, it comes in from the top. I wonder how many transformations it will take before the tab itself snaps off. Again the force needed to snap in seems to barely differ from that needed to break.

The chest plate to tail snap in seems to be a little more forgiving, but as I have set the model down to type this out I notice that the joints are too weak to support the entire figure at four points and slowly but noticeably slides down to rest on the uneven surface of the part tray's top half. I notice that this model has a slide bar which I have heard several things about, but my personal opinion is that execution always trumps design, and in this case the slide bar is inadequate. Again it looks like it would break easily due to its thin plastic construction and again, the tremble as I hold the torso securely.

Remove the fists, why not have them slide back into the forearm? Oh right pre-constructed model…. never mind. Folding the arms around so they make up the planes undercarriage takes some work again the devil is realizing each arm has two joints that rotate it, in the same direction but at different centers. Attaching the arms to each other, and the arms to the legs was a little tricky, the arms came off twice, again revealing the inadequate design choice made with this "toy". One thing to mention, the notches in the legs that connect to the tabs in the arms, totally painted black and hard to notice. Actually attaching legs to arms requires some maneuvering in a micro scale to get the notches and tabs to line up, and again the concern for breaking something off of the model becomes ever clearer. Close the feet, wow a solid construction that feels rather durable, stark contrast to the rest of the model.

What's next? Oh fully open the tail and wings. 'snap snap' I hear as I rotate the tale into position, stopping mid breath to see what was the cause of the noise, another snap in to place peace, what a shocker.

Fully transformed, not sure it will make it the other way though. lets see some of these parts shall we? landing gears essentially pegs with wheels on one end, begging to snap off when attempting to remove(the panels on the leg which swing around to reveal the slots for both back wheels seem to stick when passing a specific angle, not using a screw driver would be nice. Missiles a little minimalist and takes some force to attach (peg in slot style, go figure) several stand parts, meh. An assortment of hands, no individual spots on the tray for the pre attached pair, normal canopy, hard to attach and remove. and gunpod with extendable rear and attachable(!) handle\trigger, why not do away with the extending rear and have the trigger fold up into the gun, or better yet, use that as a means to attach it to the fighter(the normal means is via some plastic part that serves no visual purpose other than holding the gunpod in place.

putting it back in the box, big hassle, if the pocket for the actual model wasn't so accurate to how its originally displayed I wouldn't have to maneuver the arms and legs into an optimal position just to secure the top of the tray.

I grew up with toys made of thick plastic and costing under $10, not even a single hint of being a pre-constructed model either. The toys looked and felt like they could take the weight of a person without breaking. The joints were solid, loose or tight depending on the toy but they were solid in construction, I even remember toys with screws going through the joints, and welcomed them proudly, now those toys can be played with. What about this toy here? is there any hope for my inner child, influenced by the cool anime shows I've discovered in my teens? If this "toy" is any indication, the answer is no.

(if you want pictures request them)

Edited March 5, 2008 by evirus

[jenius]

Personally, I think you're being a bit rough on these guys. At $15-$20 a pop they're easily the best bang for your buck in the Macross market (which obviously doesn't say much in this inflated market). What you're also forgetting about is that those toys from your childhood couldn't do ANY posing, you were lucky if they came with a gun (let alone missiles and a stand), and were much worse representations of the vehicle from the show. Sure, they were a heck of a lot sturdier but the trade-offs were pretty large. As a toy, I appreciated all that extra durability for playing though, that's for sure. As an adult who only transforms things occasionally and usually just puts them in some slick poses and leaves them on a shelf the vintage stuff always looks rigid and uncomfortable in comparison. There's definitely room for lots of improvement on these little bangers but I find them to be better than Yamato's original 1/60 line and Toynami's 1/55s.

Edited March 5, 2008 by jenius

[misterryno]

Don't listen to Jenius...He's just a Toynami "fan boy" LMAO....

Just Kidding J-Dogg.....I like my Toynami 1/100's and have had no problems with them.

[Wicked Ace]

Not only is the parts tray made up of two interlocking pieces, its also taped, not twice but four times, Occam's Razor comes to mind at this point, the tape is a little thicker than necessary and the tray snaps down hard making the separation of top and bottom half's a real hassle if your looking to keep the trays from bending.

This is the deal-breaker for me. Thanks for the review. We've been warned.

edit: evirus, you may or may not want to check out the shoulder peg/socket.

Edited March 5, 2008 by Wicked Ace

[dizman]

The toynami 1/100's are fairly well designed for the size and price. I dont get your big thing about everything going to break like wheel struts and the tail, as long as you dont jam them in there with alot of force then everythings ok. Maybe it's just my 2 1/100 but both have taken a 5 foot fall and survived without any major damage. I too yearn for the days of old when toys were rugged and could be dropped from the top of a house and survive without a scratch (not saying I did that ) but these are modern times when everything has to be poseable. Give the little buggers a break, they might just grow on ya.

Edited March 5, 2008 by dizman

[Mechafan]

I think for the price they are ok. I was waiting for something like this. The MPCs were way over priced for the quality.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

They are fun to pose in battroid mode and the gerwalk mode looks great, but the fighter mode is where it falls short. The backpack is too narrow and so is the distance between each vertical stabilizer. It ruins the look, you may not notice it at first but it is noticeable after a while.

They are fairly durable, more durable than model kits but their sockets tend to break. Due to the way they are positioned, it won't result in loss of articulation and it isn't noticeable until you look closely. Even if a socket or whatever the hell the pins are inserted to break, since it is secured in both sides, it still retains functionality. This is not in defense of toynami, since a breakage like this should not even happen. Even with the breakage it still remains functional.

It sounds to me that you are new to this toy since much of the things that bothered you do not bother me. Again not in defense of toynami, but the things that bothered me were different. It sounds like you were expecting a nigh indestructible 1/55 Bandai shrunk down to 1/100. Let me tell you though, as of yet, no Macross VF-1 toy has yet to match Bandai/Takatoku's 1/55 in regards to durability and worry free handling. Since you are not happy with the durability of the toynami 1/100, I doubt you will like the HCMpro Gundams either.

There are things you mentioned that I agree with. Some of the joints are too tight, which requires more force to move and could result in breakage if you are new to it. I don't like how the legs align in fighter mode. This might actually contribute to the breakages I mentioned earlier. I don't like the multiple stand attachements, it should have been universal.

Other than that I do think that you get more for what you pay for with these figures than with Revoltechs. These are better than the bandai 1/100 variable plamo from years back. Not to mention a lot more durable.

Nonetheless there could be better VF-1 toys in similar scale, but that scale is pushing it.

[evirus]

Three Pics fighter mode different angles:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/evirus/200546.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/evirus/200555.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/evirus/200604.jpg

[misterryno]

Three Pics fighter mode different angles:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/evirus/200546.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/evirus/200555.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/evirus/200604.jpg

Nice shots......see now.....is'nt htis a nice cheap toy??? I just got my 1/100 VF-1S Hikaru today....and I think it's the bomb.

[jenius]

Hey evirus, you do know all the first editions came with defective stands right? The little rubber cup that connects the stand to the attachment piece cracks if something is left on display too long. If you're not a fan now I imagine you're going to really hate this thing in a day or two when it falls down onto your desk! Series II came with improved parts and for a while Toynami would replace broken 1st edition parts with 2nd edition parts... doesn't seem like they've been doing that lately though according to some other members.

[dizman]

You couldn't wait for the fastpack version ryno? Yeah the ball joint things really were the only major downfall of the 1/100's in terms of stuff breaking.

[evirus]

Hey evirus, you do know all the first editions came with defective stands right? The little rubber cup that connects the stand to the attachment piece cracks if something is left on display too long. If you're not a fan now I imagine you're going to really hate this thing in a day or two when it falls down onto your desk! Series II came with improved parts and for a while Toynami would replace broken 1st edition parts with 2nd edition parts... doesn't seem like they've been doing that lately though according to some other members.

oh it won't fall onto my desk

it will hit the computer, and slam into the ground.

how does one tell what edition it is, box says nothing about it

[jenius]

Series II are the VF-1J toys, Series I is the VF-1A Hik/Max and VF-1S Roy. The SDCC VF-1S Hikaru would also be considered a first edtion.

[Vifam7]

They are fun to pose in battroid mode and the gerwalk mode looks great, but the fighter mode is where it falls short. The backpack is too narrow and so is the distance between each vertical stabilizer. It ruins the look, you may not notice it at first but it is noticeable after a while.

I agree with you that the fighter mode is where the 1/100 Toynami falls short. I also have issues with the tail fins looking too small and the overall proportion that looks a bit stubby.

As I wrote in the other thread, the photos always make these toys look better than it is in reality.

Oh, and keep an eye out on those peg holes. They seem to crack very easily. ;_;

At $20 a pop, I suppose this is as good as it gets. But, after getting them and checking them out, it's hard to convince myself that these were great buys. Now if Toynami were to release a Legioss and say an Auroran in this 1/100 toy lineup to accompany the VF-1s, my opinion would change. But that'll probably never happen.

[jenius]

Pet peeve: VIfam means legioss and auroran in this SIZE not this scale. A 1/100 Legioss would be TEEEEEENY.

[misterryno]

You couldn't wait for the fastpack version ryno?

Nope......

Theres' no tellin when they'll make one.

[protostar8]

I'll just throw in my opinion since I got one today (the wave 2 Max). BROKEN shoulder out of the box. VERY STIFF, to the point that I swear I'm gonna break the head/neck trying to move it. Missiles glued funky (the little 3-missile sets).

It's a cool toy, but unless you can get one for under $20, then skip it for now. I do think for the money, it's decent, but not great. Now I have to complain to Toynami and see if they'll send me a new shoulder connector. I may have to try to scratch build some armor though if Toynami waits much longer (wouldn't mind just making some kick-ass armor for it anyway...)

[misterryno]

I'll just throw in my opinion since I got one today (the wave 2 Max). BROKEN shoulder out of the box. VERY STIFF, to the point that I swear I'm gonna break the head/neck trying to move it. Missiles glued funky (the little 3-missile sets).

It's a cool toy, but unless you can get one for under $20, then skip it for now. I do think for the money, it's decent, but not great. Now I have to complain to Toynami and see if they'll send me a new shoulder connector. I may have to try to scratch build some armor though if Toynami waits much longer (wouldn't mind just making some kick-ass armor for it anyway...)

Sorry to hear that Sucks for you. Keep tryin though...you'll get a good one sometime.

[Wicked Ace]

Sorry to hear that Sucks for you. Keep tryin though...you'll get a good one sometime.

Didn't someone get this statement in a reply email from Toynami?

[misterryno]

Didn't someone get this statement in a reply email from Toynami?

Yeah.....it was me....LMAO

[evirus]

Is it just me or do the arms seem to seperate from the shoulders after attaching them to the legs correctly?

[misterryno]

Is it just me or do the arms seem to seperate from the shoulders after attaching them to the legs correctly?

You must of gotten the "lucky draw"

[protostar8]

Is it just me or do the arms seem to seperate from the shoulders after attaching them to the legs correctly?

Mine does that too. They cut the slots for the arm-leg connectors too far back, so the arms are basically pulled out of the joint.

[misterryno]

Mine does that too. They cut the slots for the arm-leg connectors too far back, so the arms are basically pulled out of the joint.

I'm so enviness of you 2...I did'nt get a "lucky draw"

[Ginrai]

Dunno guys, my Convention Hikaru VF-1S is perfectly fine.

[Anavel]

Mine does that too. They cut the slots for the arm-leg connectors too far back, so the arms are basically pulled out of the joint.

I mentioned this a while ago and nobody said anything. Not a big deal really, just pop them back in when you another mode.

[evirus]

[misterryno]

evirus,

hey there mate...you should add your pics into the "strike a pose" topic...

[evirus]

evirus,

hey there mate...you should add your pics into the "strike a pose" topic...

done, im not posting the fighter ones because theres no substance other than "interesting angles"

[evirus]

You must of gotten the "lucky draw"

i think i get your point now.... it looks like the polycaps connecting shoulder to bicep are cracked halfway in on one side on both arms.

[jenius]

I pulled out my SDCC exclusive 1S for my review of the Revoltech VF-1S. It'd been a long time since I handled one of these (thanks to Toynami faltering on releasing more). It definitely has all the same problems that were prevalent on Wave 1, I should probably update my review of these buggers to talk more about the negatives that show up with more experience. Yes, in fighter mode it's very easy to disconnect the shoulders and arms because that peg on the legs is just a little too far back. Since everything is so easily removeable on the toy it's not a big deal but it can be annoying (i'd say it's not as annoying as the gun handle being loose though). I should check my Wave 2 to see if that peg placement was one of the improvements.

[Vermillion21]

I lost my excitement and enthusiasm for this line a loooooonnnngggggg time ago.

Back when we were promised fast packs, then .... nothing.

[blackavar]

I lost my excitement and enthusiasm for this line a loooooonnnngggggg time ago.

Back when we were promised fast packs, then .... nothing.

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product...amp;picture=out

Power up your Macross 1/100 Scale Transformables to the next level with these attachable Super Weapon Sets! Available in four models:

• Movie Edition Weapon Set

• Hikaru Ichijo Weapon Set

• Max Jenius Weapon Set

• Milia Weapon Set