Official 1/100 BANDAI VF Hi Metal VF-1J Valkyrie

[Vi-RS]

I don't own 1 or 2 of every 1/60 and 1/48 ever made, so I'll probably be collecting all of this line-up.

The second paint scheme is already web exclusive, good luck finding them all. With the past experience from Bandai, they will not do more than 5 paint schemes, probably Hikaru VF-1J, Max VF-1J, Millia VF-1J, CF VF-1A, Roy VF-1S...

[eriku]

So this is still on schedule for the end of June as far as we know, right?

I'm finding myself oddly excited for it even though it's basically "just another VF-1 toy".

I guess the VF-1 is like Pizza - even after having thousands of them I still get excited at the prospect of having another.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

So this is still on schedule for the end of June as far as we know, right?

I'm finding myself oddly excited for it even though it's basically "just another VF-1 toy".

I guess the VF-1 is like Pizza - even after having thousands of them I still get excited at the prospect of having another.

24th or 26th, and I'm with you on the VF-1, the more VF-1 the better for me! I'm the kind of guy that doesn't mind seeing more RX-78's either.

[ryoshoko]

VF-1J Hi-Metal should be released in Hobby Search. Waiting for confirmation from amiami...

[EXO]

So this is still on schedule for the end of June as far as we know, right?

I'm finding myself oddly excited for it even though it's basically "just another VF-1 toy".

I guess the VF-1 is like Pizza - even after having thousands of them I still get excited at the prospect of having another.

me too... but at this point I'm really picky about engineering (didn't get any toynami). I think after this the only thing that could make me buy at another scale would be a 1/32... hmmm maybe a 1/500 if they can still make it perfect transformation at that size... lol.

[Vi-RS]

[eriku]

That looks yummy. Where's my payment request, AmiAmi??

[Tober]

Thanks for the pics Vi-RS I think it looks good. Nice to see those black hinges at the tail section are now white.

Not sure why the head guns are on a sprue tho...

[Roy Focker]

Looks a little odd too me. Nose section looks a little short. Could be all that plastic.

[Vi-RS]

well it just seem to me that too much tiny little parts in that tray that will get lost over time if not properly stored.

On the hip joint, it actually work pretty much like the Yamato V2's T-swing bar, but it only click on the slots right in front of the landing gear instead of having opening hatch like Yamato. We will see how steady it is.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Vi-RS

[CF18]

Not sure why the head guns are on a sprue tho...

The toy come pre-installed with head guns made with softer plastic, with hard plastic versions come as extra. Many Bandai toy have this feature for head fins.

[Vifam7]

CF18 answerd first.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Vifam7

[GU-11]

This thing has long since sold out out at my local hobby store within the first few days of its arrival; I can see why.

The one thing that bugs me about this toy is how wide the legs are spread apart.

I imagine that they put the head lasers on a sprue to avoid bending or breakage during transportation, although the gates are a little too close to the parts for comfort. Fortunately, the gates are strategically placed so that any potential nub marks won't be noticeable.

All in all, I'd buy it if I had the extra cash to spare.

*edit*

Ignore my comment on the sprues. Just made an educated guess, not knowing that CF18 had already posted the answer.

Edited June 24, 2010 by GU-11

[Tober]

The toy come pre-installed with head guns made with softer plastic, with hard plastic versions come as extra. Many Bandai toy have this feature for head fins.

Thanks CF18 and Vifam7 I don't buy much Bandai product.

[jenius]

Looks pretty darn good there... I see they went with the least efficient packaging possible though. "Let's spread things out and make the box bigger to make people feel better about dropping this kind of cash."

[Vi-RS]

Looks pretty darn good there... I see they went with the least efficient packaging possible though. "Let's spread things out and make the box bigger to make people feel better about dropping this kind of cash."

agreed with the layout to present all the parts, but the box is actually about the size of an A4 paper for this tiny little fellow.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Vi-RS

[lechuck]

Good stuff by the looks of it.

But it annoys me that there is always an option for the intakes for VF-1 toys, but side covers? Nah not so important...

Actually I'm pretty pissed, I feel like breaking something now...

[VFTF1]

All I want from this line is the VF-1D and Max, Hikaru, Roy and Kakizake. That's not a lot. Hope Bandai does it!

Pete

[eriku]

Looks pretty darn good there... I see they went with the least efficient packaging possible though. "Let's spread things out and make the box bigger to make people feel better about dropping this kind of cash."

Agreed- I was hoping for the 'layered' style where the parts are distributed among 2 or 3 stacked trays and allowing for a much smaller box. This could have fit in the same tiny box that the VF100 VF-25 came in. Probably even a smaller one.

[Chronocidal]

I still don't understand why no one has the sense to package VF-1s in their smallest configuration, with the tails folded and the wings swept back. Depending on the overall design, you can sometimes get even smaller by folding up the backpack and putting the wings all the way together (this doesn't always work, since the wings sometimes hit the tops of the legs).

Bandai had the right idea to start with the old chunky packaging, and did the same thing with the VF-25 packing foam, so why the sudden waste of space?

Aside from the packaging though.. now that I see the fully painted version, the stripes on this one have me wondering.. what's the canon marking scheme for the chest plate? Yamato's valks always have the chest stripes painted in a double angle, but this one has the front stripe segment horizontal, like they used to be on the chunkies, JMs, and other older toys. Is there any clear reference in the animation as to which it is, or is this one of those markings that tended to morph between animation cels?

[Vi-RS]

I still don't understand why no one has the sense to package VF-1s in their smallest configuration, with the tails folded and the wings swept back. Depending on the overall design, you can sometimes get even smaller by folding up the backpack and putting the wings all the way together (this doesn't always work, since the wings sometimes hit the tops of the legs).

By having the backpack folding up and fully swing the main wings together doesn't help much to minimize the cube. You decrease the L and W, but you are raising the H at the same time since backpack is folded up.

[Kyp Durron]

The feet thrusters reminds me of Yamato's V.1 1/60 VF-1's and the legs look like they sit too far apart in fighter mode, pass. The only ones I'm waiting for to see how they turn out are the VF-171, VF-19A/YF-19, YF-21/VF-22, VF-27, and...if they decide to revisit them, the VF-25 series.

-Kyp

[Graham]

Still not getting excited about this at all. If we didn’t already have two excellent representations of the VF-1 from Yamato (1/48 & V2 1/60), maybe I could muster more enthusiasm. But as it is, there’s nothing I see here that makes we want to buy yet another VF-1 in yet another scale.

On the other hand I can’t wait to buy the Hi-Metal VF-19S, as it’s one of my favorite VFs that has never had a decent toy made of it before (sorry, the old 1/65 doesn’t count as decent in my book).

Hi-Metals of VFs that have never previously had a good toy representation, I will buy. Hi-Metals of VFs that already have excellent toy of them made, I will likely pass. I wonder how many people feel the same.

Graham

[Vi-RS]

Still not getting excited about this at all. If we didn’t already have two excellent representations of the VF-1 from Yamato (1/48 & V2 1/60), maybe I could muster more enthusiasm. But as it is, there’s nothing I see here that makes we want to buy yet another VF-1 in yet another scale.

On the other hand I can’t wait to buy the Hi-Metal VF-19S, as it’s one of my favorite VFs that has never had a decent toy made of it before (sorry, the old 1/65 doesn’t count as decent in my book).

Hi-Metals of VFs that have never previously had a good toy representation, I will buy. Hi-Metals of VFs that already have excellent toy of them made, I will likely pass. I wonder how many people feel the same.

Graham

+1

Even if Bandai didn't put any efforts on new mold and re-release the old chunky monkey 10 years ago, they would have gained a significant sales back then.

[GU-11]

Still not getting excited about this at all. If we didn’t already have two excellent representations of the VF-1 from Yamato (1/48 & V2 1/60), maybe I could muster more enthusiasm. But as it is, there’s nothing I see here that makes we want to buy yet another VF-1 in yet another scale.

On the other hand I can’t wait to buy the Hi-Metal VF-19S, as it’s one of my favorite VFs that has never had a decent toy made of it before (sorry, the old 1/65 doesn’t count as decent in my book).

Hi-Metals of VFs that have never previously had a good toy representation, I will buy. Hi-Metals of VFs that already have excellent toy of them made, I will likely pass. I wonder how many people feel the same.

Graham

Same here, except I'm waiting for a possible announcement that the VF-2SS will be added to the HM line. I've always dreamed of owning a full-transformation toy of this beautiful, elegant VF.

[GLaw]

Still not getting excited about this at all. If we didn’t already have two excellent representations of the VF-1 from Yamato (1/48 & V2 1/60), maybe I could muster more enthusiasm. But as it is, there’s nothing I see here that makes we want to buy yet another VF-1 in yet another scale.

On the other hand I can’t wait to buy the Hi-Metal VF-19S, as it’s one of my favorite VFs that has never had a decent toy made of it before (sorry, the old 1/65 doesn’t count as decent in my book).

Hi-Metals of VFs that have never previously had a good toy representation, I will buy. Hi-Metals of VFs that already have excellent toy of them made, I will likely pass. I wonder how many people feel the same.

Graham

I feel the same too. Obviously this is not 100% fully transformable. I feel annoyed when transforming it in any mode with swapping parts. it looks too plain as it does not have labels as many as Yamato's 1/60 version.

[Vifam7]

Still not getting excited about this at all. If we didn’t already have two excellent representations of the VF-1 from Yamato (1/48 & V2 1/60), maybe I could muster more enthusiasm. But as it is, there’s nothing I see here that makes we want to buy yet another VF-1 in yet another scale.

On the other hand I can’t wait to buy the Hi-Metal VF-19S, as it’s one of my favorite VFs that has never had a decent toy made of it before (sorry, the old 1/65 doesn’t count as decent in my book).

Hi-Metals of VFs that have never previously had a good toy representation, I will buy. Hi-Metals of VFs that already have excellent toy of them made, I will likely pass. I wonder how many people feel the same.

Graham

I just hope that there aren't too many who feel this way resulting in this VF-1 series becoming a total sales flop convincing Bandai to quit the line. Because if the iconic VF-1 doesn't sell, it's unlikely that the lesser known Valks will be released.

I'm hoping there are enough Macross fans to support toys in 2 different scale sizes. Because I would be extremely disappointed if Macross toys were limited to only one scale. I'm a bit pessimistic because most of the prior smaller size Macross toys have been flops or short-lived (GNU, VF100s, Doyusha, VFC)

[VF5SS]

Toysdaily thread

someone said the QC wasn't good

[Delta]

Now listed as "in stock" on Amiami. Should have my payment notice when I wake up.

[GU-11]

Well, the box art is prettier than Yamato's, I'll say that much.

You'd better have a little cup or container to hold all those little pieces, though. Lose either the clear canopy or heatshield, and that VF is staying in its current mode for good.

That said, the removable pilot is a really nice touch, especially for a Valk of this scale.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Looks great to me, best battroid mode I've seen on any transforming VF-1 toy so far. Has that dynamic styling akin to the transforming revalktech without the compromised alt modes. The optional parts are cool but man I wish the box was smaller and more contained. I hate plastic trays like that where nearly every part can fly out if you tilt the tray at an angle.

[VFTF1]

Awesome!! It has Minmey in her polka dot dress on the box!!! Yayy!! :-)

Pete

[JET7]

noob question:

why is there a need for two wing sets?

[GU-11]

noob question:

why is there a need for two wing sets?

Supposedly, one pair has pegs to hold missiles, while the other is a pair of "clean" wings to display without missiles, most likely in battroid mode.

[Actar]

So, is anyone getting this at all? While I can understand the felling of not wanting to get another VF-1 toy, I can't help but feel that this toy isn't getting as much love as it should.