Poll: Is your v.2 1/60 VF-1S broken or perfect?

[SuperHobo]

perhaps some batches come already with a precracked hinge thanks to the QC guy making sure everything is right not knowing of this issue

Possibly these cracking shoulder hinges are only on the VF-1S as nobody has broken their 1A yet. However I think Yamato took a step back on these as the plastic is way too thin around the metal pin. Looking at the 1/48 and VF-0 there's a lot more plastic around them as well as the hinge fully locking into position and they hold up after countless transformations. I'm not sure if I want to continue to buy this line if I know its quite easy for the plastic to crack at the hinge unless Yamato corrects this. I would love to buy the VF-1D, but man seeing my own VF-1S crack at the shoulder really turns me off for this line.

[David Hingtgen]

I've only done maybe 3 full transformations, so nothing cracked yet. However---at this rate, I will need a new left tailfin due to paint wear soon. Exact same problem as seen earlier--the antenna/nubs rub on the tailfin in battroid mode, and the black paint rubs off very easily. I noticed I had a "shiny spot" after ONE transfomation, and now I've got tiny bits of white visible.

Like this, but not nearly as bad: http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?s=&a...st&p=650104

Anyone got a suggestion for a clear coat for protection? Maybe flattened future? The black Yamato uses is VERY flat, even as flat goes. Most any clear would be shinier. (and I sure don't want the skull markings to yellow) I really don't think there's any way to prevent contact--it's inherent to the transformation, with and without FAST packs. (I still don't see the point of the recess-able panel in this one--it doesn't help or do anything, and it can't be recessed with FAST packs attached---it's like they did it because the 1/48 does, only it doesn't do anything this time around)

PS---anyone know of a good way to get the arms back into fighter mode position? The shoulder armor/shoulder hinges never seem to want to line up right easily--they swing OUT easily enough, but when pushing the shoulder armor back in between the legs, they always seem to want to rotate with the shoulder hinges not rotating, when you need the opposite to occur. (ironically I have trouble with this on the 1/48 too, but never on the original 1/60)

[mcsiaw]

UPDATE ON VF-1S version 2 SHOULDER

receive email from HLJ Customer Service Representive:

"...Yamato cannot sell those parts....Sorry!..."

however:

"...We have received your parts request and are processing it now. As soon as

we hear anything back from the manufacturer, we will pass that information

along to you and/or ship your parts..."

shoulder hinge broke, give u a replacement. u 1 2 buy xtra part? yamato dun sell.

[Valkyrie addict]

wait...that's good info but sorry mcsiaw. I havent followed you're posts to closely, how did you get that first replacement part and are you contacting HLJ for the same piece again or a part of it??

[integra891]

I just got my version 2 and its a thing to behold. It is SOLID! I only have the vf-0s to compare it to and that thing is a floppy mess, although quite a handsome looking bird. I have to say I am quite impressed by this version 2 and although I wanted to stop at just these two, I might end up buying more models of the version 2.

On another note, are the 1/48's comparable in size to the vf 0s 1/60?

[mcsiaw]

wait...that's good info but sorry mcsiaw. I havent followed you're posts to closely, how did you get that first replacement part and are you contacting HLJ for the same piece again or a part of it??

when i received my vf-0s, i found out the broken hinge. took photo n email hlj. hlj took 18 days to get the replacement part, n another 20 days to reach my doorstep via SAL.

when i received tis first replacement part, as i mentioned earlier, i play with it a while BEFORE replace with the broken hinge, i found tat the replacement hinge crack oso. so again i email hlj.

[UN Spacy]

I've stopped using the backpack hook in Battroid Mode.

As someone mentioned before it's not entirely necessary to keep the backpack in place.

[eugimon]

Well, you can change my vote, my right shoulder has a crack in, same spot as everyone else's. The pin was also installed with the thick part down.

I put a little bit of epoxy into the crack so we'll see if that holds the shoulder together.

[Valkyrie addict]

sorry to hear that eugimon, had you already loose the screw on the shoulder to release tension??

maybe we should make a new thread with a new poll if our shoulder is crack/broken...

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

maybe we should make a new thread with a new poll if our shoulder is crack/broken...

Call it "Did your good shoulder *self destruct?"

Only people who own it, had no problems with it in this thread, and finally have it break later, should be giving feedback in the other thread. (to help us all to figure out the average durability of a 'good' release) But also keep this thread for those who still haven't bought one yet.

Alright yamato. Make the 2 seater version 3 1/48 already..

*like with early 1/72 toys

Edited September 28, 2008 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[eugimon]

sorry to hear that eugimon, had you already loose the screw on the shoulder to release tension??

maybe we should make a new thread with a new poll if our shoulder is crack/broken...

no, I had transformed mine 2x and hadn't touched it again. I only looked last night because I couldn't sleep.

My pet theory is that they're forcing the wrong side of the pin through and it's breaking the hinge right out of the factory. The other left side has no signs of cracking or stressing and it's with the burr end up.

On the plus side, it looks like the epoxy is working. I pulled on the arms today and the crack doesn't seem to be any worse.

And I agree with the new thread idea. Make it like the old vf-0 shoulder destruct thread where we post pictures of the fractures and then hopefully Graham can forward the results on to the right people.

Edited September 28, 2008 by eugimon

[ghostryder]

Is there a definitive way to tell (on an unbroken sample) if the pin was installed bur-side up or down? I looked at mine again last night and could not tell the difference between the top and bottom pin ends on either shoulder.

Transformation number 6 or 7 for me, no problems so far, but I have babied the shoulders since day 1 when out of the box.

[eugimon]

Is there a definitive way to tell (on an unbroken sample) if the pin was installed bur-side up or down? I looked at mine again last night and could not tell the difference between the top and bottom pin ends on either shoulder.

Transformation number 6 or 7 for me, no problems so far, but I have babied the shoulders since day 1 when out of the box.

I couldn't tell on mine till it broke, then I noticed that the broke side had the burr. And I have babied the shoulders as well. I always swung the shoulders out by pushing the base and the not the arm and always braced the base to limit movement while posing.

[Valkyrie addict]

poll created

http://macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?show...=27772&st=0

[OmegaD3k]

After 50+ transformations, my VF1S's shoulder is still in mint condition with no stress marks or anything. I don't hold onto the shoulder itself (or the arms for that matter) while transforming or posing the figure; I always try to hold onto the tab on which the shoulder is connected to, while moving the rest of the arm. Perhaps that's why it's still in perfect condition?

Edited September 28, 2008 by OmegaD3k

[Bub]

Well, you can change my vote, my right shoulder has a crack in, same spot as everyone else's. The pin was also installed with the thick part down.

I put a little bit of epoxy into the crack so we'll see if that holds the shoulder together.

I am Changing my Vote as well. I voted "Mine is not broken or perfect but I have complaints." previously and said mine DID NOT come with the nose gear tires!!!

Now I'm voting for "Mine is Broken! Thanks for nothing!". I have only transformed this Valk 3-5 times only and only this time I noticed the crack on its right shoulder.

eugimon, please keep us updated on your epoxy solution. Thanks.

[eugimon]

I am Changing my Vote as well. I voted "Mine is not broken or perfect but I have complaints." previously and said mine DID NOT come with the nose gear tires!!!

Now I'm voting for "Mine is Broken! Thanks for nothing!". I have only transformed this Valk 3-5 times only and only this time I noticed the crack on its right shoulder.

eugimon, please keep us updated on your epoxy solution. Thanks.

Here's what I did, once I saw there was a crack, I purposefully stressed the joint SLIGHTLY to widen the the crack. I then took a bead of quick set epoxy applied it to the crack and tried to work it into the crack. You it's gotta be thick enough so it doesn't leach into the tunnel for the metal pin and lock the the hinge.

I let it set over night and then I tested it out. It's still noticeably cracked, but the crack doesn't seem to move as I manipulate the arm. And I'm fairly sure there' a little bridge of epoxy holding the crack together.

I think this works if you can catch the cracking early on. This should work if the problem is that the burr end of the pin was never meant to be inserted into the base of the hinge, the crack should relieve the stress on the plastic and the epoxy should hold it together.

[Valkyrie addict]

well...i just gotta say that after about errr...close to another month of not fiddling with my valk since my last rant about the right shoulder breaking, got my hands on it again and after transforming I notice now that the left one is cracked... hmmm...

Edited October 27, 2008 by Valkyrie addict

[VFTF1]

Good god.

My 1/48 is in perfect condition and works just fine.

I'm getting my 1/60 V2 delivered tomorrow morning.

Maybe I should just not open it at all?

I was really looking forward to these.

What should I do??

Pete

[adrianop]

Open, transform and check. You know you want to.

[VFTF1]

I am happy to report that I voted "Mine is perfect. Thank you Yamato."

And when I say "perfect" - I mean WOW! PERFECT! Not only did it not break or crack or anything, but it LOOKS just amazing.

In all fairness - it is PATENTLY OBVIOUS that the shoulder can crack because you have a very tight and relatively heavy ball joint on a really really tiny-weeny hinge.

The solution?

Just hold the square that the ball joint is moulded into when you carefully rotate the shoulder. As for pushing the whole hinge out during transformation - just NUDGE it forward with your thumb.

I DID NOT LOOSEN ANY SCREWS and personally recommend NOT TAMPERING.

The ball joint will wear over time - it will loosen by itself. For now - just hold the square between two fingers and slowly rotate the arm with the others - simple.

Everything is super super super duper tight. So tight in fact that I couldn't get the thrusters to slide out and convert to feet - and had to look in the instructions to make sure that they do indeed slide out.

Oh - yeah - by the way - I transformed him into gerwalk without looking into the instructions - just based off of my knowledge of the 1/48.

The feet finally slid out under what I personally consider excess force - but hopefully now I won't have to apply that much force to get them moving.

Another recomendation: Go buy a lot of Mastergrade Gundams.

Handling a Mastergrade Gundam will help people get the feel for what it means to be delicate but firm with a figure.

Closing off: I believe that the VF-1S 1:60 is the best VF-1 Valkyrie in human history. The hands are SO BEAUTIFUL (and NO I don't mean the extra hands - I mean the ones that are actually in the fighter and that are part of the transformation process) and the tampoo printing is spot on ACE! This is the Valkyrie of my dreams!

If you don't want it to break, just take Roy Fokker's advice: "Be it fighter or virgin, be firm but delicate." You just have to know something about the girl before going at her.

THANK YOU YAMATO! BRING ON MORE!

Pete

[nightmareB4macross]

I am happy to report that I voted "Mine is perfect. Thank you Yamato."

And when I say "perfect" - I mean WOW! PERFECT! Not only did it not break or crack or anything, but it LOOKS just amazing.

In all fairness - it is PATENTLY OBVIOUS that the shoulder can crack because you have a very tight and relatively heavy ball joint on a really really tiny-weeny hinge.

Not always applicable. When I first opened my V2 I swung the legs forward just to check the shoulders prior to swinging them out to transform the fighter to gerwalk and guess what I saw a cracked shoulder without me even touching the arms.

The solution?

Just hold the square that the ball joint is moulded into when you carefully rotate the shoulder. As for pushing the whole hinge out during transformation - just NUDGE it forward with your thumb.

This could work if I had the opportunity of receiving an unbroken valkyrie.

I DID NOT LOOSEN ANY SCREWS and personally recommend NOT TAMPERING.

I did just so I wouldn't break the other shoulder or the repaired shoulder.

The ball joint will wear over time - it will loosen by itself. For now - just hold the square between two fingers and slowly rotate the arm with the others - simple.

True. But when I transformed the valkyrie all the way to battroid I was still nervous that the other shoulder might break, so I loosened it to be on the safe side. The arms on mine were causing a lot of twist and tension on the shoulders.

Everything is super super super duper tight. So tight in fact that I couldn't get the thrusters to slide out and convert to feet - and had to look in the instructions to make sure that they do indeed slide out.

Oh - yeah - by the way - I transformed him into gerwalk without looking into the instructions - just based off of my knowledge of the 1/48.

The feet finally slid out under what I personally consider excess force - but hopefully now I won't have to apply that much force to get them moving.

Another recomendation: Go buy a lot of Mastergrade Gundams.

Handling a Mastergrade Gundam will help people get the feel for what it means to be delicate but firm with a figure.

Closing off: I believe that the VF-1S 1:60 is the best VF-1 Valkyrie in human history. The hands are SO BEAUTIFUL (and NO I don't mean the extra hands - I mean the ones that are actually in the fighter and that are part of the transformation process) and the tampoo printing is spot on ACE! This is the Valkyrie of my dreams!

Not mine. I like mine unbroken and without the giraffe neck.

If you don't want it to break, just take Roy Fokker's advice: "Be it fighter or virgin, be firm but delicate." You just have to know something about the girl before going at her.

You're creeping me out, and I think Roy would agree. I just hope you're not getting any funny ideas about your, love er I mean, valkyrie.

THANK YOU YAMATO! BRING ON MORE!

Keep up the good work Yamato.

Pete

[VFTF1]

You're creeping me out, and I think Roy would agree. I just hope you're not getting any funny ideas about your, love er I mean, valkyrie. laugh.gif

Actually, in all honesty - the more I live, the more I understand that women are indeed like valkyries. It is amazing the amount of maintanence that a woman goes through just to remain in operational order - just like a Yamato Valkyrie! Quality control is key!

Pete

[Shaggydog]

Another recomendation: Go buy a lot of Mastergrade Gundams.

Handling a Mastergrade Gundam will help people get the feel for what it means to be delicate but firm with a figure.

I've said it before: what MW folks really want are model kits, preassembled.

That said, I've had no issues with the 1/60 vf-1s w/o FP.

[adrianop]

Good that you got a QC free Valk VFTF1. Congrats.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

The ball joint will wear over time - it will loosen by itself. For now - just hold the square between two fingers and slowly rotate the arm with the others - simple.

Pain in the ass. Really, the only sore spot on the v2 1/60. I've tried what you said before, and finally initiated loosening the screws on the shoulders. Now I can pose mine to my content, no breakage yet. The 1/60 VF-1A v2 has shoulders that are considerably looser, yet no breakages.

Handling a Mastergrade Gundam will help people get the feel for what it means to be delicate but firm with a figure.

With a model, not a toy. Therefore..I highly disagree with the following:

I DID NOT LOOSEN ANY SCREWS and personally recommend NOT TAMPERING.

There are still no breakages reported on the v2 VF-1A's shoulders, so loosening the screws on the shoulders of the VF-1S is to your advantage. It is a pain in the ass to constantly brace them just to prevent breakage, see if it was designed better, you wouldn't have to do that. I don't see anything wrong with constructive criticism. You can't enjoy something completely if you have to keep doing sh!t to prevent breakage. F*ck that. Once I loosened the shoulders on mine I didn't have to brace them any longer. Hell, maybe we can consider the overtightening from the factory to be tampering from the workers who assembled the toys.

The ball joint will wear over time - it will loosen by itself.

Over a long time. Chances are the hinge will break unintentionally before the shoulders are ever loose enough to move without needing to brace them.

[VFTF1]

Good that you got a QC free Valk VFTF1. Congrats

AAAAHHH!!!!!!!!! I transformed him into Battroid and the legs fell off! Just like that!

And then the head exploded!!!

And Then the back pack thrusters ignited and it flew itself into a wall and broke into several pieces!! Damn you Yamato!! ;P

Pete

[eugimon]

AAAAHHH!!!!!!!!! I transformed him into Battroid and the legs fell off! Just like that!

And then the head exploded!!!

And Then the back pack thrusters ignited and it flew itself into a wall and broke into several pieces!! Damn you Yamato!! ;P

Pete

You too? Jeebus, I thought I was the only one! Luckily my PG Strike Gundam lurched into sentience and threw himself between the exploding backpack and me, saving me and my baby son from the explosion. Sadly, poor Strikey didn't survive but now I understand why Bandai insists on Diecast... to protect their customers from the evils of exploding yamato plastic. Poor poor Strikey.

[sqidd]

Mine is PERFECT!

It's still in the box though.

[Valkyrie addict]

hahaha! pure gold!

[eugimon]

Mine is PERFECT!

It's still in the box though.

schrodinger's valkyrie?

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Mine is PERFECT!

It's still in the box though.

You lucky b@stard!!! At least you stil have yours.

I received ashes in the Yamato boxes

[sqidd]

I received ashes in the Yamato boxes

WHAT? Please explain

[Ignacio Ocamica]

WHAT? Please explain

Because they all spontaneously self combusted while in transit to me

I was kidding and playing along with eugimon and VFTF1 about the condition of our beloved yammies!!!

Seriously, I own every single Yamato release to date (no credit card valk and weathered versions) and only recently one of the VF-0A shoulders cracked!!

My 1/72 VF-11 v.1 has yet to suffer from hips ostheoporosis

Red Garland still holding fine!!!

[Valkyrie addict]

schrodinger's valkyrie?

hahaha!! I saw that episode of Big Bang Theory a few days ago, hahaha... good joke