1/60 Yamato VF-0A

[DARKWIND]

It seems to me that they are trying to sort all the BS out over R-1's and R-2's (or re-release) to ensure these sell.

With a box change ya know you're getting a fresh tooled bird, to avoid dead stock over rumors that its the same as the first release. (ie. brittle shoulders)

And if the box change saves them cash then its good idea to boot.

Hopefully no more recasting shoulders to ship to god knows where.

And they can move on to other projects.

Who knows maybe the broken shoulder thread really got through to them with gusto.

Hell if this release were to have problems imagine the crap they would have to go through.

I mean look at the hubbub over the VF-1J sets, people don't want to get snookered again.

I think Yamato's doing Damage Control to get sales back on track and boost their rep back to where it belongs.

Sure we're waiting longer but this way when you buy it, all the fixes should be in place.

[GU-11]

It seems to me that they are trying to sort all the BS out over R-1's and R-2's (or re-release) to ensure these sell.

With a box change ya know you're getting a fresh tooled bird, to avoid dead stock over rumors that its the same as the first release. (ie. brittle shoulders)

And if the box change saves them cash then its good idea to boot.

Hopefully no more recasting shoulders to ship to god knows where.

And they can move on to other projects.

Who knows maybe the broken shoulder thread really got through to them with gusto.

Hell if this release were to have problems imagine the crap they would have to go through.

I mean look at the hubbub over the VF-1J sets, people don't want to get snookered again.

I think Yamato's doing Damage Control to get sales back on track and boost their rep back to where it belongs.

Sure we're waiting longer but this way when you buy it, all the fixes should be in place.

Good point. It's definitely comforting to be able to differentiate between old stock and new releases from the box alone. When I got my VF-0S, I was kind of concerned that Yamato might have re-released old stock, since the box was identical to the V.1 release. It was only after I checked the feet and discovered that they could lock that I could breathe a sigh of relief (the V.1 toys had feet that didn't lock into place when extended).

[eriku]

If it was to differentiate between old stock and new stock wouldn't they have changed the box for the 0S as well? It seems odd that they only altered the 0A box.

[GU-11]

If it was to differentiate between old stock and new stock wouldn't they have changed the box for the 0S as well? It seems odd that they only altered the 0A box.

Now that you mentioned it, it does seem strange that the -0S retained its V.1 box while the -0A got a new solid box. All this while I thought the idea of solid boxes were part of Yamato's cost-cutting measures, as seen in even relatively new releases like the VF-22S Sturmvogell II's.

[DARKWIND]

If it was to differentiate between old stock and new stock wouldn't they have changed the box for the 0S as well? It seems odd that they only altered the 0A box.

I thought the same thing but see, if they are really working to get us buying again they might have just ran the 0S in the simular boxes to get product on the street and keep up with the schedule.

Then delay the 0A a little till the new boxes are done to ensure the differences are in the clear so to speak.

This way word of mouth sparks about the 0S being virtually solid then ship the improved 0A in a new box and BANG!

Everyone's happy all around with new, easier to ID MacZero valks, even after being sold out for a hot minute of time.

And @ GU-11. . .

I've got the first release 0S with the short leg syndrome too, wish I could find a tried and true way to fix it.

Again they pushed what they had on hand and what was ready to go, (ie. New valks old boxes cause production had gone ahead with the first plan then mid-run ops told them to switch to no-flap box late in the game.)

Later after it was all set in motion word might have come up that the new boxes were behind sched too.

Edited June 8, 2010 by DARKWIND

[Chronocidal]

Heh.. bet if you could get apart the leg it'd be simple, but the VF-0s come from Yamato's, "Screw it, we'll just glue the whole darn thing together" phase. The YF-19, VF-0, and SV-51 are all nearly impossible to get apart to fix without breaking them worse than they started.

[DARKWIND]

Yeah and as long as the shoulders don't crumble on it I have no plans to mod/strip/rebuild it.

I was lucky the shoulders held and still do till this very day.

And yes I have the replacements on emergency stand by both my V.1 Zero Valks.

(I planned ahead.)

[GU-11]

DARKWIND: And @ GU-11. . .

I've got the first release 0S with the short leg syndrome too, wish I could find a tried and true way to fix it.

Again they pushed what they had on hand and what was ready to go, (ie. New valks old boxes cause production had gone ahead with the first plan then mid-run ops told them to switch to no-flap box late in the game.)

Later after it was all set in motion word might have come up that the new boxes were behind sched too.

Ouch! That's the problem with first releases; whenever a company pushes for a fixed release date, glitches and half-assed QC is bound to happen. If and when Yamato gets the license to manufacture some MF VF-25/27 Messiahs, I'll have to wait until the first reviews come out before even considering an investment on one of those.

As for the fliptop boxes, what you said makes sense. All in all, I'm glad I ended up with the best of both worlds (fliptop box and a fixed V.2 VF-0S), although the initial panic made my heart skip a couple of beats.

[Muzaffar]

The seller that I got my 0S from on ebay told me after I filed a claim on him that the reason why I got a shitpiece was because Yamato used the old molds from the first version to make the reissues. I am pretty sure a few months form now they will re release the 0S fixed and in a new box and that's the reason as to why they were on clearance I think.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

The seller that I got my 0S from on ebay told me after I filed a claim on him that the reason why I got a shitpiece was because Yamato used the old molds from the first version to make the reissues. I am pretty sure a few months form now they will re release the 0S fixed and in a new box and that's the reason as to why they were on clearance I think.

I don't know, if the 0A used the old molds, I think we would have had exploding arms by now, but we haven't on the reissues, ditto for the 0S. I think the 0S was on sale at HLJ because a lot of fans wanted the 0A more; this is the 1st time that the 0A has been reissued solo, whereas Focker's 0S was reissued 2 years ago and bundled with the Ghost pack.

[GU-11]

The seller that I got my 0S from on ebay told me after I filed a claim on him that the reason why I got a shitpiece was because Yamato used the old molds from the first version to make the reissues. I am pretty sure a few months form now they will re release the 0S fixed and in a new box and that's the reason as to why they were on clearance I think.

The guy is probably making up excuses to save his rep. It's quite likely he's playing a guessing game here, because I doubt he actually knows what's going on inside Yamato's production line--how could he, unless he actually works there?

Like Shin Densetsu Kai said, if Yamato had been using the old molds for the MacZero VF's, we'd be hearing reports about exploding arms and various other QC issues by now.

[arrow]

How did they fix the exploding arms in the re-issue? Different plastic?

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

How did they fix the exploding arms in the re-issue? Different plastic?

I think it's different plastic. Yamato stated previously that the 1st releases from a few years ago broke due to an unforseen chemical reaction. So far, no one who has a reissue has reported a breakage, and my 0A/S reissues have held up fine during transformation and posing.

The VF-0A box has no window/flap, and has an image of the VF-0A in Rabbit shoutai markings, in fighter mode. On the back, Rabbit shoutai markings are scene in all 3 modes. Marking sheet does not come with the Wolfpack markings of the original release, just Skull/Rabbit shoutai.

[Chronocidal]

Heh, glad I got an old one then, even if the shoulders did go kablooie. Those Wolfpack markings are awesome.

And yep, the molds used on the VF-0 shouldn't make that much difference. The problem was the plastic itself. It was just a bad mixture or something, and actually seemed to form fault lines within the plastic. There were clear stress marks running through it, straight out of the mold. Suppose it could have been a problem with cooling the finished pieces too.

[Matias]

Hi, i ve just joined teh forum. I m from argentina and i have problems with my vf0a shoulder, it s not the new release.Anybody knows if it s possibly to buy just a new arm to replace the other one????

thanks

Matias from Buenos Aires

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Hi, i ve just joined teh forum. I m from argentina and i have problems with my vf0a shoulder, it s not the new release.Anybody knows if it s possibly to buy just a new arm to replace the other one????

thanks

Matias from Buenos Aires

I think if you contact Over-drive they might be able to help, but I'm not sure if they still do their parts replacement program.

[Matias]

THANKS VERY MUCH, I WILL TRY.

Mathiaz

[Tking22]

It's always gonna be hit and miss with yamato toys, I have a first release VF-0S and it's perfect, no problems at all, I also have a first release SV-51(the black one), and it's also miraculously perfect. Old molds, new molds, poo happens they're fairly intricate plastic toys, there will be mess ups.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Just wanted to add, I found 2-4 stress marks recently. Just on my VF-0A, found nothing on my VF-0S. Both are reissues from this year. As much as possible, when transforming the legs to gerwalk/battroid mode, twist the lower leg inwards while bending it down. It is shown in the instruction manual too. You want as less pressure on the 2 connection tabs(the ones on the backplate that plug into the back of the lower legs in fighter mode) as possible. Those 2 pegs have stress marks around them on mine.

Ideally, it should not take much to dislodge the lower legs from those tabs. I found that by twisting the lower legs inwards while trying to bend them down/forward, and/or pushing the lower legs inwards a bit to clear the tabs, works best. I tried this a bunch of times last night and the tabs/pegs did not break off. I suspect they won't but just wanted to give you guys a heads up anyways. The stress marks definitely came from the dislodging of the pegs, because I noticed the backplate bending a bit if I tried to dislodge the lower legs without pushing the legs inwards a bit. The stress is coming from the tension, the plate is not supposed to bend much if at all.

While the aforementioned tabs have stress marks, the clips that hold the swing bar in fighter mode(aft of the head) might have stress marks in the middle. Now this one I don't really know how to rectify, I imagine that maybe the paint around the bar might be too thick and add more tension.

Adding some Krazy Glue on the areas surrounding the backplate pegs, and on the middle of the clips that secure the hip bar in fighter mode may help, but I'm going to wait and see if the marks develop further into cracks. I think mine are okay for now, but I'm buying some Krazy Glue just in case.

[GU-11]

Thanks for the heads up, Shin Densetsu Kai!

[armentage]

I've had a VF-0A for several years, since the original release. About 2 years ago, after not having really touched it for over a year, I was packing it up to move house. I was HORRIFIED to find that the elbow disc joints (that let the forearms spin 360 degrees) had completely disintegrated on both arms. Is there any chance I can get replacement parts for these? Has it happened to anyone else? I have a bad feeling that it was caused by my idiotic use of Endust to clean it

Here are some pictures of the damage. The plastic on both ends of the connection looks to have totally crumbled.

Edited January 2, 2011 by armentage

[Snail00]

I've had a VF-0A for several years, since the original release. About 2 years ago, after not having really touched it for over a year, I was packing it up to move house. I was HORRIFIED to find that the elbow disc joints (that let the forearms spin 360 degrees) had completely disintegrated on both arms. Is there any chance I can get replacement parts for these? Has it happened to anyone else? I have a bad feeling that it was caused by my idiotic use of Endust to clean it

Here are some pictures of the damage. The plastic on both ends of the connection looks to have totally crumbled.

wow

[nightmareB4macross]

WWhatever you do, do not use Crazy Glue to repair it. Go it and find Plastruct Glue. I have had great success repairing 0As with problems like these.

[armentage]

WWhatever you do, do not use Crazy Glue to repair it. Go it and find Plastruct Glue. I have had great success repairing 0As with problems like these.

Which Plastruct glue in particular? Looking at their catalog they have:

Plastic Weld (bonds dissimilar plastics)

Bondene (bonds similar plastics)

Weldene (seems like its only for styrene)

Weld-On #4

Cyanocylates (I have a variety of zap-o-gap brand cyanocylates)

The epoxy's

GE silicone II

[tank]

i dont understand why yamato dont reborn the macross zero series with the vf 0d and the reactive armor i wonder is so impossible to fix the problem in the shoulders if the new toys come with new shoulders i dont see problems in the sales

I exactly feel the same way, why don't yamato revive Macross Zero the designs are fresh Please yamato bring back macross zero there are still alot that I would love to own from the series

[nightmareB4macross]

Which Plastruct glue in particular?

======>>>>Plastic Weld (bonds dissimilar plastics)

Before you do anything, read this in it's entirety.

Here's what you can do:

*Place the PW in front of you where you can see it at all times. If this spills on plastic it will melt it.

*MELTS PARTS at the point of contact. Dries quickly when applied thin.

**A small application goes a long way. Over applicating will render the parts useless and turn them to goo.

***Use tweezers when making final placements. When your hands make contact with PW anything they touch right after will leaved imbedded fingerints.

BROKEN PIECES:

1. Locate all the pieces.

2. Dry fit everything twice, first using you hands, then tweezers. This really helps.

3. Disassemble both biceps and both shoulders. Keep all parts at arms reach.

4. Open your bottle of PW.

5. Brush a brisk light coat on the first surface to be repaired. NOT ALL at parts are to be brushed at once, just the parts to be put together at this time.

6. Re-apply PW while leaving a tiny bead on the contact areas.

7. Re-attach and press the pieces firmly together. Do not add too much pressure, this will lead to warped parts.

8. Repeat steps 5 thru 6 until all parts are bonded together.

9. Allow to dry.

10. Brush a light coat over the exterior of all affected parts, resulting in a glossy finish. DO NOT APPLY PW INSIDE WHERE THE HALVES COME TOGETHER, PARTS WILL BE RUINED.

11. Once the parts are dry, re-assemble everything loosely. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.

12. Allow figure to remain untouched and loosely assembled for SEVEN DAYS. Trust me on this. You need the parts to fully dry and not mis-shape while drying.

13. On DAY EIGHT, screw down all parts as normal. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THE SHOULDERS or BICEPS.

14. TIGHTEN down on the SHOULDER COVERS ONLY. The pressure applied by these will be sufficient and maintain friction at the shoulder joints.

****Glossy finish can be lightly sanded for a satin finish, but is not necessary.

REPAIRING STRESS MARKS -

1. Crack the part off or slightly pry the piece open and brush PW inside.

2. If you cannot open a stress mark, leave it and brush PW over it.

3. Repeat steps 9 thru 14 listed above.

Attached pictures:

RED - Affected areas

BLUE - Stress Marks

GREEN - Broken parts

Hope this helps. It's worked great for me on various occasions for different Zero Phoenix(es).

Edited January 3, 2011 by nightmareB4macross

[anime52k8]

>snip<

IS THAT A GIANT JACK SKELLINGTON!?!

Edited January 3, 2011 by anime52k8

[nightmareB4macross]

OT, but yes he is. 7 and a half feet tall and fully articulate with a stand to help support it.

[valhary]

After several friends has the issue of the explosive biceps and shoulders and dismiss the Shapeways option (too expensive) recast the parts in resin a much more affordable option and seems to work well enough if handle with carefully the yamatos zeros could back to life:)

if someone are interested send me a PM

[Lolicon]

Necromancy!

Also, pretty cool fix for those who still want to save their old Yamatos.

[nightmareB4macross]

13 hours ago, valhary said:

After several friends has the issue of the explosive biceps and shoulders and dismiss the Shapeways option (too expensive) recast the parts in resin a much more affordable option and seems to work well enough if handle with carefully the yamatos zeros could back to life:)

if someone are interested send me a PM

Nice!!

What type of resin are you using to make these?  I remember using various types of resin, but the one that worked best were those that hardened to a plastic finish versus those that seemed to warp over time. 
 

Great work!

[valhary]

Urethane resin

[nightmareB4macross]

10 hours ago, valhary said:

Urethane resin

What type or classification? 

[valhary]

[nightmareB4macross]

That is good resin. Should last and hold up very well.

Awesome work as always!!