Bandai VF100's Official Thread Ver.2

[Graham]

New thread as the old one has been retired to the hall of Super Threads.

Still waiting for my VF-25F to arrive from HLJ.

Managing to resist the temptation to walk a couple of hundred meters up the street and pick one up.

Graham

[Kyp Durron]

I hope to be getting the Alto soon, I plan on leaving it in fighter mode. It's either this, or get the 1/72 model which I have no time or energy to put together, paint, and panel line.

And I hate that the legs sit so low in fighter mode with the 1/60's so the 1/100's is my only option.

-Kyp

Edited March 5, 2009 by Kyp Durron

[GGemini]

If you like to transform your toys to relieve stress, there's no better option than this version of the VF-25. No need to worry about holding the shoulder so that the joint / screw breaks or anything like that. Just separate this thing into all the parts and re-assemble. By the time you're done, you'll forget what you were stressed about

BTW, some of these come with paint wear in the edges of the crotch part (I checked several yesterday in the store where I got it from). While trying to retouch mine, I realised that the black detailing is not actually black, it's more like a very dark gray. For Tamiya's paints, I think it's very close to one called "NATO black".

[505thAirborne]

Well now that we have a new thread, time to get some pictures loaded up!!! Anyone who has them yet, Good, Bad or just so-so??

[GGemini]

Well now that we have a new thread, time to get some pictures loaded up!!! Anyone who has them yet, Good, Bad or just so-so??

A couple of rushed pics...

Without flash:

With flash:

[Vifam7]

Okay, I just finished looking over the toy and parts-forming it from battroid mode to fighter mode.

Here are my comments -

As I suspected, this toy has all the feel and build quality of HCM Pro Gundams. As seen in prior photos, it comes out of the box in battroid mode. It is indeed very light and frail feeling. Part of the blame for that lays in the design and form of the VF-25. Plus the fact that it's completely made of plastic. While it is frail "feeling", it is actually quite sturdy. Not sturdy enough for a little kid, but certainly sturdy enough for the adult collector.

There are also some joint points that are floppy. The crotch-leg connection points and ankle joints being most obvious on mine. This isn't problematic in battroid mode but floppy ankle joint will be problematic in gerwalk mode. For those who like gerwalk mode, I would recommend applying some CA glue to the location. Just make sure not to glue it solid.

Another problem I immediately noticed in battroid mode is the inability of the gun-grip hand to solidly hold the gunpod. Bandai should've simply glued the gunpod to the hand since this hand will be pulled off for fighter mode anyways. I did that to mine.

Overall the proportions for battroid mode is decent IMHO. The legs certainly could've been attached at a lower crotch point considering that the whole crotch piece gets swapped for transformation anyways. But I'm not too hot over this point since the lineart can be open to interpretation.

That's enough for battroid mode. On to the parts-forming to fighter mode. I'm going to skip gerwalk mode because it's a mode I don't really care for.

So how bad is the parts-forming? Well, that depends on how you look at it.

There is indeed a ton of parts to swap. It's not a stretch to say you have to break it down to a zillion pieces. Then you gotta swap the necessary parts and put it all together into fighter mode. Some of the things you gotta pull apart is absolutely crazy. Once you parts-form it into one mode, you probably won't want to parts-form it into another mode for awhile. That all said, it wasn't that difficult to pull the parts apart and put it together. At first it seems like you'll break something while pulling the pieces apart. But you'll start to figure out that the pieces snap out quite easily if you pull it in a certain direction (usually to the side). The directions on the manual are a bit confusing but most of us will figure it out looking at the pics. I would advise not to loose the manual though. All in all I didn't find it too stressful to parts-form it. Just a bit tedious with all those pieces.

So I got it into fighter mode. It looks fantastic. At least to me. Not sure but I don't think those who want the lower legs sitting higher up in fighter mode will be satisfied. If I had to describe it, the rear engine fairings are about the same as that of a F-15 Eagle. I'll post photos later.

Also, the lower legs don't lock up to the arms or anything. It does hold straight though. But if you're going to display it in flight, I'd suggest using a flexidisplay or something that keeps the lower legs from sagging down.

Oh yeah, the warping on the fighter mode gunpod was ridiculous. Mine had a banana shape! That was quickly and easily fixed by running it under hot water for a few secs, straightening it out, and cooling it to correct form.

As for scale size, from what I can tell, it definitely looks to be in correct scale. I'll later post a few pictures of the VF-25 in fighter mode in comparison to other 1/100 scale airplanes.

All in all, I'm okay with the toy. I'll continue to support the line. I hope to see few tweaks (such as better locking) to happen in later releases.

I do agree that it's overpriced but that seems to be the story with most Macross toys.

That's it for now. Photos tomorrow.

[eriku]

Quick Review: Fiddly but not too frustrating and very nicely constructed. It's a quality piece and although I'm still not a fan of partsformers, I like it and I'm glad I bought it.

Random Thoughts:

I honestly don't understand the uproar I've read about this being fragile. Yes, it feels 'fragile'. It's a very tiny piece consisting of many, many small parts. There's no way for something like this to not feel fragile. It might feel more solid and substantial in your hands if it were made out of pure PVC, but then you would lose many of the small parts and most of the fine detail. I really feel Bandai did the best they could with this small scale making a piece that is meant to be extremely detailed and appeal to the adult collectors eye and yet not take up much shelf space. It rests on a plane between the DX and the 1/72 kit. If the DX is too toyish and clunky for you and you don't have the time or ability to put the kit together, the 1/100 is a good option.

The transformation was a bit of a chore, but the saving grace is that every single part made sense to me where it was supposed to go and how it was supposed to work. Nothing was difficult to remove or attach, nothing was frustrating, it was all pretty self-explanatory. There are very detailed instructions included, but I didn't need them.

Most importantly is that not once did I get the feeling that I was going to break something. Although there are many small and light feeling pieces, they are very high quality. Even the ball joints on the microscopic hands didn't cause any worry and popped right off and on with just the right amount of tension.

Battroid mode is very nicely articulated and holds poses pretty well. Some of the joints have small metal pins holding them together, which was nice to see. Mostly though it's a ball joint and friction joint affair. I like the chest/upper torso area better on this than the DX as it is easier to get into the right place.

Fighter mode looks beautiful and Bandai did an excellent job getting all of the pieces to line up and join together to avoid a gappy mess - a feat that almost seems more impressive on a partsformer what with all of the separate pieces that need to come together just right. One thing that will be a bummer for some people is that the legs don't peg into anything so if you hold the toy by the nose the legs will droop down a couple of millimeters. But keep in mind this is a very small toy so when you handle it you're probably always going to be holding the whole thing in one hand anyway.

Overall I really like it and I think Bandai did an excellent job. It's interesting to hold this in one hand and the Toynami 1/100 in the other because the difference in quality is quite striking. That's not a dig on Toynami, I happen to like their 1/100 VF-1, but they had to cut corners to make a cheap $20 toy. Holding them both makes it obvious why Bandai's 1/100 isn't in that price range. For me the 1/100 doesn't even come close to offering the same kind of joy that the DX does, but it's also a fun little piece of hand candy to just grab and pose.

I'm very much looking forward to the future releases in this line and I expect a lot of the upcoming valks which have simpler designs to have less parts swapping.

Pics:

[eriku]

Dang, Vifam, we must be on the same schedule.

[areaseven]

Damn, that looks awesome, eriku. Might go pick one up myself.

[eriku]

One more micro-mini note...for those who don't like how far the head cannons are angled out, you can swap the cannons with the ones that are on the fighter mode 'head', which are more straight. It's not a perfect fit as the straight ones are a bit too loose, but it's something to work with at least.

[edwin3060]

Thanks for the reviews! I can't wait to get my own 1/100 and check it out.

[Midi_Amp]

Thanks for the stellar reviews Eriku and Vifam7, it seems that I'm buying one after all.

What I don't get it still is that why some still call it overprice? It's obvious that the price is dead on, considering the intricacy design of the toy. Perhaps comparing it to Yamato GN-Us will spark another debate that the GN-Us are already overpriced, but given that the price is established, with GN-Us hovering around 3000 Yen, Revoltechs at 2000 Yen, the VF100 5000 Yen still make sense. It is transformable and faithfully replicates the on screen persona.

[edwin3060]

Thanks for the stellar reviews Eriku and Vifam7, it seems that I'm buying one after all.

What I don't get it still is that why some still call it overprice? It's obvious that the price is dead on, considering the intricacy design of the toy. Perhaps comparing it to Yamato GN-Us will spark another debate that the GN-Us are already overpriced, but given that the price is established, with GN-Us hovering around 3000 Yen, Revoltechs at 2000 Yen, the VF100 5000 Yen still make sense. It is transformable and faithfully replicates the on screen persona.

I think there will always be people who want things at a lower price, its only natural. But as long as you are happy with it, you should just get the toy!

[Renato]

What I don't get it still is that why some still call it overprice?

Because the 1/72 kit is (save for the hands) perfect transformation at Y4000. And you only need to put it together ONCE.

What I don't get is the people who say that they do not have the "time" to make a kit. OK, that's fine.... but you realise that essentially with the 1/100 you are always gonna be destroying and re-making a kit, right?

As for the GNUs, those are overpriced too. I got one for 1500 yen and still felt ripped off. Then they were reduced even further to 980 yen so I got one for my little brother; that's how much they're reduced these days and they're STILL not moving off the shelves. Shops just cannot seem to get rid of them as far as I can see. If that's not a sign of overpricing, I dunno what is.

DISCLAIMER: Just my two cents, I'm not looking to start a fight. It's a shame that I have to actually write this, but just in case...

[edwin3060]

Because the 1/72 kit is (save for the hands) perfect transformation at Y4000. And you only need to put it together ONCE.

What I don't get is the people who say that they do not have the "time" to make a kit. OK, that's fine.... but you realise that essentially with the 1/100 you are always gonna be destroying and re-making a kit, right?

As for the GNUs, those are overpriced too. I got one for 1500 yen and still felt ripped off. Then they were reduced even further to 980 yen so I got one for my little brother; that's how much they're reduced these days and they're STILL not moving off the shelves. Shops just cannot seem to get rid of them as far as I can see. If that's not a sign of overpricing, I dunno what is.

DISCLAIMER: Just my two cents, I'm not looking to start a fight. It's a shame that I have to actually write this, but just in case...

Really? 980 yen?? That's low! I'm glad I sold my GNU-DOUs when I did then--- I only had them for about a month and wasn't too impressed. Anyway, I hope this will be better because it can transform. Really, the line only holds interest for me because of the possibility of getting VFs from all the series.

[Vifam7]

What I don't get is the people who say that they do not have the "time" to make a kit. OK, that's fine.... but you realise that essentially with the 1/100 you are always gonna be destroying and re-making a kit, right?

There's a HUGE difference between putting together the 1/72 model kit and parts-forming the VF100s toy. The 1/72 kit could take me weeks or even months to complete, whereas I could parts-form the VF100s in about 10 minutes.

[DarkReaper]

if I were to build the model without caring that much about stubs and just put it together as fast as I can, it could be done in maybe 3-4 hours.

Stub removal took me the longest time in the building part.

[Vifam7]

Here are the photos!

2 views of the toy in fighter mode:

Comparison to Toynami 1/100 VF-1 in fighter mode:

Next to Doyusha's 1/100 Me109 kit:

Nose to nose with 1/100 Yukikaze:

Imperial Japanese Navy pilot from Doyusha's 1/100 A6M5 Zero kit

Size comparison in battroid mode to ancient 1/100 Heavy Gun kit and MG Zaku 2.0 kit:

Size comparison in battroid mode to Toynami 1/100 and 1/200 HCM Pro Gundam MK.II:

Edited March 5, 2009 by Vifam7

[eriku]

Really any comparisons of the 1/100 to a model kit are rather silly. Parts swapping does not equal model kit for reasons obvious enough that nobody should have to point them out.

[anotheran]

@vifam7 love the comparison photos! I especially like the one with the plane from Yukikaze. For something that can transform into a robot, the VF-25 looks fairly good alongside jet-only things. Do you also have the newer plane in Yukikaze (the one with the floating bubble cockpit)?

[NSJ23]

nice but not at that price

[promethuem5]

So basically HCMPro quality, which is a good thing as I LOVE HCMPros... they're closer to model kits than toys, but that's mostly a good thing. I just can't get over the price... a big part of the appeal of the HCMPros is that they are relatively cheap (SHCMPro line notwithstanding).

[Kyp Durron]

Since mine will be in fighter mode only, a bit of crazy glue will take care of the sagging legs.

-Kyp

[Kyp Durron]

Can anyone tell me what the length of the fighter mode is?

-Kyp

[bandit29]

Looks cool. Too expensive though. Almost 65.00-70.00 shipped to the US for a partsformer?

[CF18]

Oh yeah, the warping on the fighter mode gunpod was ridiculous. Mine had a banana shape! That was quickly and easily fixed by running it under hot water for a few secs, straightening it out, and cooling it to correct form.

Do you think they may intentionally bend the closed gunpod so that it fit the belly of the fighter mode?

[lechuck]

So does this thing come with a pilot?

Somebody please post some close-up shots of the cockpit.

[Vifam7]

Do you think they may intentionally bend the closed gunpod so that it fit the belly of the fighter mode?

No, it's just a common PVC thing. The gunpod attaches to the belly via a specific attachment device anyways. No reason why it needs to be bent.

[eriku]

So does this thing come with a pilot?

Somebody please post some close-up shots of the cockpit.

No pilot, but it kind of looks like Alto's EX-Gear suit is sitting in there, although that may just be how they sculpted the seat.

I'll take a shot of the cockpit tonight if nobody else does first.

[OmegaD3k]

Looks fantastic! Like a mix between the model kit and the DX (although leaning heavily towards the DX).

Hope Bandai releases ALL the valks, then I'll HAVE to get one of each. >.<

[len_d69]

Is it really 1/100 in scale? Or is the Toynami scale wrong? From the pics the 1/100 Toynami looks bigger. I always thought that the VF-1 is smaller than the VF-25.

[DarkReaper]

The 1/100 and DX have such short Battroids because the legs are mounted in the wrong spot. I guess the 1/100 loses a cm or so due to that.

[Kyp Durron]

Can anyone tell me what the length of the fighter mode is?

-Kyp

....

[edwin3060]

No pilot, but it kind of looks like Alto's EX-Gear suit is sitting in there, although that may just be how they sculpted the seat.

I'll take a shot of the cockpit tonight if nobody else does first.

Well, the way the EX-Gear works, it actually becomes the seat for the VF-25, so this is actually accurate. I just wish they included a pilot figure (even if it is a moulded blob like the DX)

[eriku]

Well, the way the EX-Gear works, it actually becomes the seat for the VF-25, so this is actually accurate. I just wish they included a pilot figure (even if it is a moulded blob like the DX)

Heh, the things one doesn't notice when they watch an anime! I guess that's why it looks like the EX-gear in there then.

Has anyone tried removing the canopy on this thing yet? I tried a little gentle prying with an Xacto but it didn't move. I don't think it's supposed to come off.