Official Bandai 1/60 Scale DX Toy Thread Ver.6

[DARKWIND]

in my case, they billed me friday. i paid saturday morning. got my shipping notice saturday evening. i checked the ems# over at usps.com and it says it cleared customs earlier today.

Same here man that is FAST! ! ! !

[MacrossJunkie]

When I get mine, I'm definitely going to clear coat the whole thing. I don't want all those little white markings rubbing off either.

[regult]

Can one use Mr Hobby Clear (acrylic) over the DX? I have two cans but never used them (they were meant to clear coat models), anyway, some disassembly seems to be necessary to achieve a clean coating.

[MacrossJunkie]

I'm gonna transform my VF-27 with a pair of softest gloves ever.

http://oniityan.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2010-02-21

I like the pics in that link. They are probably the best pics I've seen of the DX VF-27 to date.

Can one use Mr Hobby Clear (acrylic) over the DX? I have two cans but never used them (they were meant to clear coat models), anyway, some disassembly seems to be necessary to achieve a clean coating.

An acrylic clear coat is probably the safest thing to use. It shouldn't react to the paint or plastic.

[Salamander]

For those with pre-orders at HLJ, you can always log into your account when a pre-order comes into stock and request shipping. This usually speeds up the process (for me, at least). Did that saturday evening, got the payment request yesterday.

[Smegalot]

Just got my Payment Request from Ami Ami. OS I take it the tnfo that they send it reliable, payment and order number si all you need? am just used to places that send a link to PayPal that has it all filled out.

Does the YF-27 Come with a stand?

[ntsan]

i think this is a case of jacking up the price before putting in on 50% off sale...

EMS from HLJ for the VF-27 is just 2800 JPY... and the box, at 36 x 27 x 8 cm is just a little taller than the Alto or Ozma standalone while the width and depth are just about the same.

Well I suspect the EMS price for VF-27 from HLJ might be error, as other VF-25 cost 3600 EMS shipped, even 1/60 VF-1 cost 3200 EMS to ship

But then ami's original shipping seems like 1000 yen too much?

[m0n5t3r]

those are VF-25 Supers w/ the 3600 EMS s/h... bigger box... which leads back to the question - "why is the VF-27 priced the same as a VF-25 w/ Super Packs and stand?"

[eugimon]

if it means I don't have the giant pile of buyer's remorse that I have with my armored dx vf-25, I'm happy to pay the extra price.

[m0n5t3r]

if it means I don't have the giant pile of buyer's remorse that I have with my armored dx vf-25, I'm happy to pay the extra price.

LOL, that's one way of looking at it...

[BlueMax]

those are VF-25 Supers w/ the 3600 EMS s/h... bigger box... which leads back to the question - "why is the VF-27 priced the same as a VF-25 w/ Super Packs and stand?"

The easiest answer is that they can't milk the moulds as much, not to mention the fact that "enemy" mecha (at least til the last episode anyway) isn't exactly popular with mainstream buyers....thus the higher price per unit,

[Knightdramon]

The easiest answer is that they can't milk the moulds as much, not to mention the fact that "enemy" mecha (at least til the last episode anyway) isn't exactly popular with mainstream buyers....thus the higher price per unit,

I think they're talking about the shipping prices, not retail.

Easiest answer that comes to mind is that they bit more than they can chew with their -50% EMS and had to up the price in someway. Similar to how BBTS ups the prices of some items during their big sales so it's not really -X% they claim.

[eugimon]

Feb 21

16:53 Departure from inward office of exchange

[GGemini]

Does the YF-27 Come with a stand?

It doesn't, but according to this post by Ngee Khiong, one is in development:

Tamashii Web mentioned that with the landing gear, plus the stability of the Gerwalk mode, a display base is not exactly needed. But a display base with adjustable angle is currently under development anyway. To be sold separately. ("現在、角度調整できる別売り台座を開発中です").

Funny thing is they are acknowledging that the stand of the VF-25 is NECESSARY; I, for one, really hate that about the VF-25.

I hope they use all the improvements of the 27 in a new version of the 25

[regult]

Finally got the VF-27, my first DX Chogokin ever...it really sells fast, at least here in hong kong. That said, I know another batch is coming during the week and as ff95gj said, prices may then settle down.

First impression: it is a nice rendering of the VF-27, buy paint application is as expected, not as good as Yamato's, and I presume some scratching will happen sooner than later. No idea how to clear coat this thing properly yet, don't want to disassemble, not yet.

I do have a question: how does one open the cockpit? I still don't know if I have the Brera and Ranka figures inside! After hearing that paint can scratch easily, I am weary of using sharp tools but my gorilla fingers don't seem to be able to open the cockpit at all!

EDIT: managed to open the cockpit once, don't ask me how I did it.

Already noticed some paint scratching off by sheer finger contact, the light lavender trim hates the model, and the metallic shoulder pieces fit so well that if you push it against the plastic when transforming, it will inevitably chip paint off. I don't think I am going to transform this toy very often to avoid losing more of that beautiful finish. Oh, and there is so much lubricant on my copy that clear coating seems to be more difficult.

Edited February 22, 2010 by regult

[adankree]

Hi,

Does anyone know if the VF-27 will ever come with super parts or armor? Haven't seen the entire series yet. I love the toy, but am hesitant to purchase it if another one comes out down the line bundled with armor or super parts like the VF-25. Thanks in advance!!

Edited February 22, 2010 by adankree

[Marcion]

Hi,

Does anyone know if the VF-27 will ever come with super parts or armor? Haven't seen the entire series yet. I love the toy, but am hesitant to purchase it if another one comes out down the line bundled with armor or super parts like the VF-25. Thanks in advance!!

There is no need for VF-27 to have super parts or armor unlike the VF-25, because it doesn't exist on VF-27.

[Graham]

Here's a photo of the paint scratch on the nose of mine.

It occured either the first time when I transformed the toy from fighter to battroid or more likely when I transformed it back to fighter mode again. Needless to say, after only 2 transformations I'm really pissed that this has happened.

It pretty much means I have to keep the toy confined to battroid mode now, to hide the missing paint, unless I can find the corect shade of lavendar or liliac paint to touch it up. As I'm really crap with paints and painting this is not likely. Hopefully, I can persuade a skilled model builder friend to try touching it up for me.

Not even sure how it happened, as if transformed correctly the nose cone actually sits back from the front of the chest plate in battroid mode and doesn't touch it. I think on the second transformation, I was being a bit too careless and rushing and forgot to unhinge the neck and must have accidently rubbed the nose cone against the inside of the chest plate.

Anyway, be extra careful of the nose cone when you are transforming and make sure you don't scrape it on the inside of the chest plate, as the paint seem to come off pretty easily.

Graham

[ff95gj]

Here's a photo of the paint scratch on the nose of mine.

It occured either the first time when I transformed the toy from fighter to battroid or more likely when I transformed it back to fighter mode again. Needless to say, after only 2 transformations I'm really pissed that this has happened.

It pretty much means I have to keep the toy confined to battroid mode now, to hide the missing paint, unless I can find the corect shade of lavendar or liliac paint to touch it up. As I'm really crap with paints and painting this is not likely. Hopefully, I can persuade a skilled model builder friend to try touching it up for me.

Not even sure how it happened, as if transformed correctly the nose cone actually sits back from the front of the chest plate in battroid mode and doesn't touch it. I think on the second transformation, I was being a bit too careless and rushing and forgot to unhinge the neck and must have accidently rubbed the nose cone against the inside of the chest plate.

Anyway, be extra careful of the nose cone when you are transforming and make sure you don't scrape it on the inside of the chest plate, as the paint seem to come off pretty easily.

Graham

That really sucks! I feel so bad for you.

I'll probably never transform it to battroid again.

[ChristopherB]

Thanks for the warning Graham.

It looks to me like white paint was scrapped off with lavendar/lilac showing underneath.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I would think you need the appropriate shade of white to touch it up.

I'm looking forward to receiving mine, I just got my HLJ shipping notice:

Item Code Item Name Quantity Price Extended Price

BAN958455 DX Chogokin VF-27 Lucifer Brera Sterne Custom 1 15,200 15,200

BAN959113 Robot Damashii Unicorn Gundam Destroy Mode 1 3,500 3,500

KBYZD30 Highend Master Model EZ-004 Red Horn 1 6,800 6,800

YMT00182 VF-11C with Super Pack 1 18,800 18,800

Merchandise Total: 44,300

Shipping Charge: 5,500

Total: 49,800

[regult]

Really sucks, the engineering itself seems amazing, only the polished surface and the paint application just don't do the job.

[Graham]

Thanks for the warning Graham.

It looks to me like white paint was scrapped off with lavendar/lilac showing underneath.

Maybe I'm describing the colors incorrectly, plus the flash from the camera makes them look brighter than they are.

Using the color chart here (http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/) I guess the color of the paint that's scrapped off the nose cone would be FFCCFF Pale Weak Magenta (that's the closest match I can see), whereas the base plastic underneath would be I guess 660033 Obscure Dull Pink.

I think everybody knows what I am talking about from the picture, even if I did use the wrong choice of colors to describe it.

Graham

[Graham]

Really sucks, the engineering itself seems amazing, only the polished surface and the paint application just don't do the job.

Agreed, the sculpt, engineering, gimmicks, articulation on this toy are all really great. I just wish Bandai would use a matte plastic like Yamato so the paint would adhere better.

Graham

[MacrossJunkie]

Ouch, that's terrible. It looks like the paint hardly adheres to the plastic. Whatever kind of paint they put on the Quarter's flight deck and other areas seemed to be pretty durable. I was hoping that it would have carried over to the -27 as well. The paint that Bandai uses is shamefully bad. It literally rubs right off from contact. For example, I saw that the triangle on one of the shoulder missile launchers for Luca had been rubbing off and there is nothing that could scrape against it during transformations.

[Uxi]

It looks like you would be repainting that white stripe, no? That definitely sucks, and shades of white can also be hard to match, though. I'll probably avoid Battroid since I'm most fond of it's fighter mode.

[UN Spacy]

Sigh. The one thing I hated the most about the VF-25 series is back.

[hutch]

Reminds me of the 1/60 M&M paint issue but in a more noticeable location.

[eugimon]

woohoo, it's here.

[Lolicon]

Why doesn't Bandai just use flat/matte plastic like Yamato? I can't imagine it costing that much more, and would probably solve most paint chipping issues.

[eugimon]

Why doesn't Bandai just use flat/matte plastic like Yamato? I can't imagine it costing that much more, and would probably solve most paint chipping issues.

it does cost more, adding that pebbling texture to the molds is more difficult than just polishing the mold smooth.

Well, now that I have it and after graham's warning, this thing is never going to get transformed. There's more paint apps than on the vf-25.

the paint quality has consistency issues. Some of the paint on the diecast is all pebbley and obviously did not cure properly and there's little chips in the paint here and there. And like the vf-25, there's still oil on it.

Not thrilled.

Edited February 22, 2010 by eugimon

[Uxi]

Sand it first or something.

[Lolicon]

it does cost more, adding that pebbling texture to the molds is more difficult than just polishing the mold smooth.

I'm sure it does cost more. I meant does it cost so much more that it's prohibitively expensive? I don't know what the costs of these molds are. Would adding the texture raise the cost per unit more than 1000 yen? 2000 yen? And so on.

[eugimon]

I'm sure it does cost more. I meant does it cost so much more that it's prohibitively expensive? I don't know what the costs of these molds are. Would adding the texture raise the cost per unit more than 1000 yen? 2000 yen? And so on.

I dunno, maybe someone with more current experience in the industry can answer that, but my wife used to work for a huge sunglass company (as an engineer not as a retail clerk at sunglass hut)and she said that adding texture to the molds is significantly more expensive. And there's hundreds of pieces on this thing and there's gotta be a few dozen machines going so you're talking about thousands of molds that would need to be resurfaced.

besides, I get the feeling bandai is looking to cut costs anywhere they can get away with it.

Edited February 22, 2010 by eugimon

[Vifam7]

I dunno, maybe someone with more current experience in the industry can answer that, but my wife used to work for a huge sunglass company and she said that adding texture to the molds is significantly more expensive. And there's hundreds of pieces on this thing and there's gotta be a few dozen machines going so you're talking about thousands of molds that would need to be resurfaced.

besides, I get the feeling bandai is looking to cut costs anywhere they can get away with it.

Actually they've done pre-colored molded plastic before. With the GFFMC Zeta Plus - a transforming toy. Ironically, they got bashed for going "cheap" and not giving it a full paint job.

[eugimon]

I wonder, since this thing feels like someone ate a bag of french fries and then wiped the grease off on it before packaging it... how well are they cleaning it before it get's painted/stamped?

We're all agreed it's just the mold release but if they're not wiping it down well enough between mold and paint then there's the culprit.