drifand Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 (edited) That knee-mod pic is very inspiring. I'm right now in the midst of taking apart my DX Alto's leg... The bad: after prising off the screw hole cover (it's the gray painted long ovoid detail piece), there's still the back piece that's glued down tight to hold the halves together; I'm not gonna risk cracking a visible part of the toy! However, after some pushing and shoving around, I found out that the kneecap piece can be separated first by one half, then the other. That allows the lower leg to be pull off at last! Examining the area under the kneecap, it looks like the modder used brute force to wrench off the offending 'limiter piece' and ALSO hacked off some of the underlying plastic to allow the kneecap to rotate further back inside. I'm going to try cutting/sawing the inner surface first before deciding to pluck off the 'limiter'. If I fail, at least the damage is hidden under the kneecap. Wish me luck! Edited December 31, 2008 by drifand
Graham Posted December 31, 2008 Author Posted December 31, 2008 Good luck. You are a braver soul than me. Graham
Vifam7 Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 That's about as high as it goes in my photo and turning the head slightly to the side does make it look better. But having the head 2-3mm higher would be a huge improvement. Graham I'm not sure but perhaps putting a drop of white glue dried on the top of the ball joint might give the head a little more height. I'm not sure if this'll work as I don't have this toy yet and can't experiment. But it seems like a solution that'll work. If it doesn't work, no harm since white glue comes off easy.
Kyp Durron Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 Bandai 1/60 DX VF-25F Alto type with Yamato 1/60 ver.2 VF-1J Hikaru. Graham The legs not being able to go any higher than in your pic kills it for me. I'm actually glad I canceled my Ozma order with Overdrive a couple of months ago. I guess I'll have to wait for the 1/100's, because at least I know the legs sit higher in fighter mode with those. -Kyp
izzyfcuk Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 (edited) Edited December 31, 2008 by izzyfcuk
Wicked Ace Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 That knee-mod pic is very inspiring. I'm right now in the midst of taking apart my DX Alto's leg... The bad: after prising off the screw hole cover (it's the gray painted long ovoid detail piece), there's still the back piece that's glued down tight to hold the halves together; I'm not gonna risk cracking a visible part of the toy! However, after some pushing and shoving around, I found out that the kneecap piece can be separated first by one half, then the other. That allows the lower leg to be pull off at last! Examining the area under the kneecap, it looks like the modder used brute force to wrench off the offending 'limiter piece' and ALSO hacked off some of the underlying plastic to allow the kneecap to rotate further back inside. I'm going to try cutting/sawing the inner surface first before deciding to pluck off the 'limiter'. If I fail, at least the damage is hidden under the kneecap. Wish me luck! It would be great if you could post a pic or two of the torn down leg assembly.
drifand Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 Well... after 2 hours of grinding, cutting and sanding, my advice is: DON'T DO IT To achieve a good dipping Gerwalk posture, the trick is NOT to increase the freedom of the kneecap... it is the upper knee joint that's connected to the thighs. In other words, you've to to cut away some of the flat detailed panel at the end of the thighs. That's easy to do if you can separate the thighs. Unfortunately, the screw caps on the thighs are glued down. Now I have great candidate for DX Battle Damaged™ Alto
Wicked Ace Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 Well... after 2 hours of grinding, cutting and sanding, my advice is: DON'T DO IT To achieve a good dipping Gerwalk posture, the trick is NOT to increase the freedom of the kneecap... it is the upper knee joint that's connected to the thighs. In other words, you've to to cut away some of the flat detailed panel at the end of the thighs. That's easy to do if you can separate the thighs. Unfortunately, the screw caps on the thighs are glued down. Now I have great candidate for DX Battle Damaged™ Alto Thanks for exploring this. Once we members start figuring out what modifications work, we should create a thread to act as a one-stop-shop for modding/fixing these things.
SuperHobo Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 Well... after 2 hours of grinding, cutting and sanding, my advice is: DON'T DO IT To achieve a good dipping Gerwalk posture, the trick is NOT to increase the freedom of the kneecap... it is the upper knee joint that's connected to the thighs. In other words, you've to to cut away some of the flat detailed panel at the end of the thighs. That's easy to do if you can separate the thighs. Unfortunately, the screw caps on the thighs are glued down. Now I have great candidate for DX Battle Damaged™ Alto You brave brave man.
Jasonc Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 A definite THANKS is in order. The early modders are always the pioneers. When I get mine, I too, will attempt to explore options on making this thing look more "correct". Now, we have a better location of where to fix this thing. Alas, I probably won't get mine for another week or so.
chowyunskinny Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 Mikhail & Luca are up for Pre order at Big Bad
Dobber Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 I've noticed that the upper shin, part with the black "lip" is always protruding instead of being flush with the knee....is there a reason for this? It adds another odd edge to fighter mode, but it seems like it may also be causing a problem with the posability of Gerwalk mode. Chris
Kyp Durron Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 A definite THANKS is in order. The early modders are always the pioneers. When I get mine, I too, will attempt to explore options on making this thing look more "correct". Now, we have a better location of where to fix this thing. Alas, I probably won't get mine for another week or so. Let me know if you ever figure out a way to make the legs sit higher in fighter mode. -Kyp
Guest sh002 Posted December 31, 2008 Posted December 31, 2008 i think you can save around $50-60 after shipping if you buy the rvf-25 and vf-25g from overdrive instead.
ff95gj Posted January 1, 2009 Posted January 1, 2009 *SALUTE* I hope it still looks fine in other modes. Well... after 2 hours of grinding, cutting and sanding, my advice is: DON'T DO IT To achieve a good dipping Gerwalk posture, the trick is NOT to increase the freedom of the kneecap... it is the upper knee joint that's connected to the thighs. In other words, you've to to cut away some of the flat detailed panel at the end of the thighs. That's easy to do if you can separate the thighs. Unfortunately, the screw caps on the thighs are glued down. Now I have great candidate for DX Battle Damaged™ Alto
Graham Posted January 1, 2009 Author Posted January 1, 2009 In other words, you've to to cut away some of the flat detailed panel at the end of the thighs. That's easy to do if you can separate the thighs. Unfortunately, the screw caps on the thighs are glued down. Would cutting away part of the flat detailed panel compromise the structural integrity of the upper leg around the knee joint area do you think? Graham
SchizophrenicMC Posted January 1, 2009 Posted January 1, 2009 Would cutting away part of the flat detailed panel compromise the structural integrity of the upper leg around the knee joint area do you think? Graham I'm doubtful. I haven't seen the thing in person, but as an engineer-in-training, based on the description of the part, and the materials used, it probably won't. Then again, I dunno. Haven't done it meself, so I've no 100% answer.
ryoraijin Posted January 1, 2009 Posted January 1, 2009 hohoho finally receive my new toys and klan klan figure ozma is coming soon by this week tooooooooooo~~~ cant wait for the small figures tooo
Graham Posted January 1, 2009 Author Posted January 1, 2009 Well... after 2 hours of grinding, cutting and sanding, my advice is: DON'T DO IT To achieve a good dipping Gerwalk posture, the trick is NOT to increase the freedom of the kneecap... it is the upper knee joint that's connected to the thighs. In other words, you've to to cut away some of the flat detailed panel at the end of the thighs. That's easy to do if you can separate the thighs. Unfortunately, the screw caps on the thighs are glued down. Now I have great candidate for DX Battle Damaged™ Alto Even though it didn't turn out well, can you post pics of the modifications you did please. Graham
mph2501 Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 I'm sure people have said this before but these lousy analog eyeballs just didn't see it: What the hell is up with the TINY landing gear? Yamato managed decent ones (well, on the larger scale VF's) so why is Bandai still stuck in midget land with the damn wheels? They might as well have used those old metal ones from the first VF-1 series... And you modders are braver than I. <salute> -- M
Wicked Ace Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 I'm sure people have said this before but these lousy analog eyeballs just didn't see it: What the hell is up with the TINY landing gear? Yamato managed decent ones (well, on the larger scale VF's) so why is Bandai still stuck in midget land with the damn wheels? They might as well have used those old metal ones from the first VF-1 series... And you modders are braver than I. <salute> -- M I've been MW_ing about the landing gear for a while now.
drifand Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 Even though it didn't turn out well, can you post pics of the modifications you did please. Graham Hi Graham, I'll take some post-op pix when I get home (yeah, no long weekend for our tiny studio). Regarding your question about modding only the thigh panel, yes, I think it is definitely doable - structural integrity will NOT be compromised, unlike the knee-cap op where 2 connecting pegs for the leg halves had to be cut away. Although the op was not a success, the toy is still 'fine'. Fighter mode is rock solid, as is battroid. However, gerwalk is a bit less stable now. Not sure if I want to get Ozma's DX which has just arrived in Singapore.
UN Spacy Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 For those of you that are oversees. Are the VF-25's readily available at most toy/model stores? Or are they pretty much sold out everywhere?
Graham Posted January 2, 2009 Author Posted January 2, 2009 I'm sure people have said this before but these lousy analog eyeballs just didn't see it: What the hell is up with the TINY landing gear? Yamato managed decent ones (well, on the larger scale VF's) so why is Bandai still stuck in midget land with the damn wheels? They might as well have used those old metal ones from the first VF-1 series... -- M We've all been bitching and moaning about the tiny landing gear (myself included), since the first pics were shown months ago. Thing is, the toys are out now and no amount of complaining is going to change things. Yes, Yamato makes better landing gear, heck their VFs are generally more accurate overall. However as has been inferred through magazine article translations, Bandai weren't aiming to compete with Yamato in the accuracy stakes. What they were doing was trying to create a Chunky Monkey for the 21st century, i.e. a durable, fun toy, which while somewhat chunky and not 100% accurate to the anime, was rugged and still captured the overall essence of the VF-25. Did they suceed? Generally yes, I think they did. While I think there's a long list of things most of us would like to see improved on the toys, I'm fairly happy with mine, to the point I'm now going to be buying a second pair of Alto and Ozma. As I've stated before, It will probably be a long time (if ever), before anybody else makes a large scale high quality transfming VF-25. I love the VF-25 design and have wanted a toy since the show first aired. I've leaned to love the Bandai toy warts and all and am just enjoying it for what it is. Graham
Graham Posted January 2, 2009 Author Posted January 2, 2009 For those of you that are oversees. Are the VF-25's readily available at most toy/model stores? Or are they pretty much sold out everywhere? As a rough estimate, here in Hong Kong, about, I'd say about 20% of the specialist Japanese toy shops received stock by air mail shortly after Christmas. Of those shops that did get stock, probably half to 75% are now sold out. The shops that still have stock are the ones selling them at ridiculously high prices. More stock is on the way by sea and is scheduled to arrive here around January 10. To sum it up, basically very few shops here now have stock left and those that do are selling it at an inflated price. More stock is on the way and will hopefully be sold at a more reasonable price when it arrives. Graham
Javabean Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 (edited) The same kind situation in Singapore. Stocks arrived at some shop just after Xmas. Some shops now are saying stocks are either low or zero. Prices are probably high like Hongkong, (reason due to high Yen rate) unless you are on early preorder months ago. Most of the shops are selling the VF-25s in a pair set. So if you just only want to get one piece, say Alto version, its going to cost you sky high. However I wasn't told there will be 2nd stocks expected though. Hopefull the price will be more reasonable then. Edited January 2, 2009 by Javabean
ryoraijin Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 same situation in malaysia too i been force to buy 1 pair of those VF-25 toy too alto and ozma but luckily the price didnt really increase much. and its seens here.......They sold Ozma versions more than Alto so thats means u can buy alto for just 1 toy but if u want the Ozma version u need to buy Alto as well. and its alrdy sold out for both nows....
jedimech Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 The same kind situation in Singapore. Stocks arrived at some shop just after Xmas. Some shops now are saying stocks are either low or zero. Prices are probably high like Hongkong, (reason due to high Yen rate) unless you are on early preorder months ago. Most of the shops are selling the VF-25s in a pair set. So if you just only want to get one piece, say Alto version, its going to cost you sky high. However I wasn't told there will be 2nd stocks expected though. Hopefull the price will be more reasonable then. Hi Javabean, then perhaps those that wish to get just 1 out of the 2 figures, can gather together to buy them as a pair & split the cost & the figures. Eg. If u want Altos & i like to have Ozma, we can pool & buy the figures in pair & split the cost. This way will work well for those that just want to get 1 figure. Btw, r u interested in getting 1 figure from the pair?
izzyfcuk Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 there will be second batch of toys but prices remain the same
Javabean Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 there will be second batch of toys but prices remain the same Then I think we should hear the news fm our shops here soon.
stoner Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 same situation in malaysia too i been force to buy 1 pair of those VF-25 toy too alto and ozma but luckily the price didnt really increase much. and its seens here.......They sold Ozma versions more than Alto so thats means u can buy alto for just 1 toy but if u want the Ozma version u need to buy Alto as well. and its alrdy sold out for both nows.... as far as i know in malaysia, only one toyshop carried the DX series and i managed to get my VF-25S from them coz someone else bought the VF-25F. Yes, due to the limited numbers of VF-25S imported, the shop sold it in a pair system. Kinda sucky, especially if it cost USD 158 per piece. I was lucky to get my hands on the VF-25S
transfan52 Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 Well i'm probably one of the first ppl in america to have one of the DX valks on hand atm... It just come in the mail today so I haven't had time to look through it now and transform it but the toy looks really sturdy and had alot of metal on it... I appears to be of really high quality toy wise... I'm pretty sure its more durable than ne yamato valk to date... The packaging is just awesome too! Its real colorful and has that nice embossed silver macross frontier patch of authenticity. The box just begs you to open it and dig in! Ill post some pics later
ntsan Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 (edited) Ok for the scale The plane mode is 31.5CM long, so it is about 1/59.5 scale Battroid mode 23.5-25.5cm, abut 1/60 scale I think the VF-25 should be larger than what SK have stated, given the size of the cockpit is small vs other same scale plane Edited January 3, 2009 by ntsan
Ayohtli Posted January 2, 2009 Posted January 2, 2009 Ok for the scale The plane mode is 31.5CM long, so it is about 1/59.5 scale Battroid mode 23.5-25.5cm, abut 1/60 scale I think the VF-25 should be larger than what SK have stated, given the size of the cockpit is small vs other same scale plane I don't have a Yamato 1/60 VF-1, but I own a Yamato YF-19 25th Anniversary, this one is about 34 cm long, it would be 20.40 m real scale, and that's wrong, at least Macross Compendium says: "Length overall: 18.62m". Seems, like Yamato YF-19 is about 1/55 scale and Bandai got it right. Also, i have a small car, a Lamborghini Murcielago, on its package reads "1/60 scale". The pilot of YF-19 it's too big for the car, and VF-25's pilot seems ok with it. Happy New Year! BTW: First Post.
Recommended Posts