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

[Shaorin]

it sure is hell ain't no Yammie 1/60. doesn't even compare...

what can i say? i'm a Spoiled Bwat.

still, it IS a nice, pocketable scale and all. a good "PortaValkyrie"

Edited April 30, 2010 by Shaorin

[QuinJester]

Really? Because it looks pretty much the same to me, only smaller

[Shaorin]

Really? Because it looks pretty much the same to me, only smaller

actually, it isn't the same at all. too chunky and unrealistic. much too "Toyish"

Edited April 30, 2010 by Shaorin

[QuinJester]

actually, it isn't the same at all. too chunky and unrealistic. much too "Toyish"

I can only assume you're talking about the fighter mode, which I will give you is a little stubbier than the Yamato.

Battroid mode though, from your own posted photos -

The Hi-Metal looks leaner and meaner to me. As for "toyish"...

... well. Frankly they BOTH look awfully toy-like to me. Go figure .

[jenius]

The HM looks fantastic in battroid. Just having the head in the right spot is a huge step forward. The lower head makes the battroid look so much meaner. Otherwise, yeah, the seams are more obvious on the 1/100 but that all comes with the scale. The fact we're even seriously comparing a 1/60 to a 1/100 is pretty amazing for the 1/100. Now we just have to hope the 1/100 handles well... fortunately for it Yamato set the bar pretty low.

[eugimon]

Looks great, I like the way the plastic on the feet looks, almost looks like it was painted gunmetal grey.

[QuinJester]

Looks great, I like the way the plastic on the feet looks, almost looks like it was painted gunmetal grey.

Well in the case of this pre-production prototype I'd imagine that it actually is painted gunmetal. Dunno if the final version will look like that (see also: metallic VF-19), although I hope so. It does look nice.

[zanderwitaz]

I love flame baiters.

it looks great. Though, sadly I wont be able to buy one until the market is saturated and the price comes down.

On the bright side, since it is small it will be easy to coat/tighten the joints if they are anything like the 1/100 vf-25 series.

[hutch]

I like it, except the feet. For some reason they really bug me. Otherwise "Bravo" to Bandai on this one.

[jenius]

This thing has hard points on the wings right? If so, it looks like you might be able to leave the missiles on for battroid mode.

[ntsan]

Yamato's is head postion is a fail for me (not anime accurate), plus the cracking shoulder lol

It comes with 2 set of wings, so one is used for attacking missle while the other one is just clean wing

[anotheran]

I really like what Bandai did at the 1/100 scale. I do prefer the bigger 1/60 Yamato size tho. But if I can find this at $25, I'd pick up 2. Time to plan a trip to HK or Japan!

This thing has hard points on the wings right? If so, it looks like you might be able to leave the missiles on for battroid mode.

A previous pic showed little holes for the hardpoints like the Yamatos

Edited April 30, 2010 by anotheran

[eugimon]

I believe it's supposed to come with two sets of wings, one with hard points and one set without

[Maiden Japan]

But if I can find this at $25

I'm sorry man, that 1/100 scale is retail price of 5775 yen which is about $60 US.

[EXO]

I'm sorry man, that 1/100 scale is retail price of 5775 yen which is about $60 US.

Man, and the first 1/48 was $75 and I was all WTF???

[raptormesh]

Man, and the first 1/48 was $75 and I was all WTF???

It's up for 3980 Yen on Amiami, which is about USD42.

[Renato]

Man, and the first 1/48 was $75 and I was all WTF???

Don't you mean the first 1/60 (v1)? I think the 1/48s were always around Y12,000.

[Black Valkyrie]

Bandai should have produce this line a decade ago, during the 20th anniversary and instead of issuing the 1/55 line.

[lechuck]

I don't know why Yamato is getting so much slack for the slightly incorrect head position.

I'll take this approach any day over a VF-1 with a low hung nosecone/fuselage.

Some people need to refresh their minds on the ugliness of the 1/48 VF-1 in battroid mode...

Back on topic with my obligatory complaint: BANDAI THE HI-METAL NEEDS SIDE COVERS!!!!

Edited May 1, 2010 by lechuck

[Renato]

I don't know why Yamato is getting so much slack for the slightly incorrect head position.

I'll take this approach any day over a VF-1 with a low hung nosecone/fuselage.

Some people need to refresh their minds on the ugliness of the 1/48 VF-1 in battroid mode...

Back on topic with my obligatory complaint: BANDAI THE HI-METAL WE NEED SIDE COVERS!!!!

I think it's just personal preference. That picture just refreshes my preference for the 1/48. The floating head on the 1/60 just looks stupid in comparison (to me).

[Vi-RS]

Yamato's is head postion is a fail for me (not anime accurate), plus the cracking shoulder lol

I think it's just personal preference. That picture just refreshes my preference for the 1/48. The floating head on the 1/60 just looks stupid in comparison (to me).

I think it's all about proportion of the toy.

1/100 Bandai

If you look at the Bandai 1/100, there is a huge gap between the legs and chest in battroid mode because the whole fulesage is not pushed up to minimize the gap. Anime accurate? It's subject to Anime's magic.

1/48 Yamato

To concur the problem, the 1/48 has elongated chest plate to minimize gap.

1/60 Yamato

The proportion of Yamato is all favored except the Head, I think Yamato could have done it without pushing the fuleage upwards, and move up the mounting point of the crotch instead.

I could be wrong, maybe there are more things need to be considered to engineer a perfect transforming toy.

[Shaorin]

I think it's just personal preference. That picture just refreshes my preference for the 1/48. The floating head on the 1/60 just looks stupid in comparison (to me).

it's no longer a "Floating Head" if you press it down into the cavity properly;

to me, the 1/60 v.2 is the most perfect rendition of the VF-1 ever cast into three dimensions.

it is elegantly balanced and designed, and EXACTLY what i had envisioned and dreamed of in a VF-1 replica

in my mind's eye fifteen years ago, when all you had were the crummy TAKA/BANDAI 1/55 and HCMs...

let's be appreciative and give YAMATO a fair shake, eh? they've taken our fabled VF-1 to places one could only dream of once upon a time...

Edited May 1, 2010 by Shaorin

[BlueMax]

I concur.

[Vi-RS]

Agreed.

[jenius]

uh... that head is definitely not where it's supposed to be and those pictures just make it that more painfully obvious. You see the top of the chest piece? That's where the neck is supposed to start. I also don't the low hung nosecone is a huge issue. First, the 1/48 had a somewhat elongated nose which makes the problem worse. Second, there's plenty of line art that shows the nosecone beneath the wings.

Edited May 1, 2010 by jenius

[m0n5t3r]

I think it's all about proportion of the toy.

1/100 Bandai

If you look at the Bandai 1/100, there is a huge gap between the legs and chest in battroid mode because the whole fulesage is not pushed up to minimize the gap. Anime accurate? It's subject to Anime's magic.

haha, i've mentioned this a couple of times already... i just figured people are choosing to ignore this coz they're so desperate for a VF-1 w/ correct head placement???

i'm not saying it's a bad product... i actually think it's great esp. for those who haven't fully dived into the new 1/60s (or even the 1/48s), for those who like smaller scale stuff, and for those completists or all out impulsive Macross toy fanatics.

then again, if they come out w/ a VF-4, VF-2SS, VF-5000 or any cool looking valk mold that Yamato won't be doing, then i'm buying.

EDIT - the Yamato's priest collar and the chest-leg gap of the Bandai are both pretty much minor nitpicks for me... something i could quickly get over once the toy is in my hands... but the advantage of the Yamato for me is not in the head placement or anything like that... its that it's PT w/ the heatshield, landing gears and all that... plus the fact that the armor parts and SSP are readily available, whereas for the Hi-Metal, any add-on after the base figure is released would most likely be sold as some kind of ridiculous exclusive.

Edited May 1, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[fifbeat]

Can someone post a picture of a 1/60 v2 posed just like the HM?

I appreciate it and I'm sure others would too. Then, we can make the comparison.

I agree with the floating head, but I also agree that Yamato still did an awesome job, considering how it looks in all forms.

I'll def. pick up a 1/100 HM, but the scale bothers me.

Edited May 1, 2010 by fifbeat

[lechuck]

uh... that head is definitely not where it's supposed to be and those pictures just make it that more painfully obvious. You see the top of the chest piece? That's where the neck is supposed to start. I also don't the low hung nosecone is a huge issue. First, the 1/48 had a somewhat elongated nose which makes the problem worse. Second, there's plenty of line art that shows the nosecone beneath the wings.

a) That line art you are referring to, also shows us that the nosecone doesn't hang as low as the knee joints.

b) If my VF-1 toys could magically shrink its wings like the line art, then I wouldn't have a problem with the nosecone being longer than the wing tips.

EDIT - the Yamato's priest collar and the chest-leg gap of the Bandai are both pretty much minor nitpicks for me... something i could quickly get over once the toy is in my hands... but the advantage of the Yamato for me is not in the head placement or anything like that... its that it's PT w/ the heatshield, landing gears and all that... plus the fact that the armor parts and SSP are readily available, whereas for the Hi-Metal, any add-on after the base figure is released would most likely be sold as some kind of ridiculous exclusive.

I used to be die hard PT too, but nowadays I prefer to put emphasis on as much accuracy of the individual modes as possible.

People are crying for PT heatshields and landing gears for what...? Only to have the Valk sitting in fighter mode on a stand...

And the fast/strike pack thing for Hi-Metal is just complete speculation on your behalf, and not a valid argument against it until Bandai actually releases some details.

[eriku]

The Yamato 1/60 V2 is definitely nice, but I've never really been that in love with it because of the shoulder design and the transformation. If the Hi-Metal has shoulders that actually lock into place instead of swinging around freely and/or exploding, I'll be happy to kick my 1/60s to the curb.

Plus I'm really looking forward to the scale, which is just a matter of taste - and that's what all of these different VF-1 toys really come down to: personal preference. It seems silly to argue over which one is the 'definitive' version because there is no absolute. We all like different ones the best for different reasons, which is why it's so damn cool that there are so many to choose from.

[Vifam7]

The Yamato 1/60 V2 is definitely nice, but I've never really been that in love with it because of the shoulder design and the transformation. If the Hi-Metal has shoulders that actually lock into place instead of swinging around freely and/or exploding, I'll be happy to kick my 1/60s to the curb.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of shoulder design Bandai created.

Plus I'm really looking forward to the scale, which is just a matter of taste - and that's what all of these different VF-1 toys really come down to: personal preference. It seems silly to argue over which one is the 'definitive' version because there is no absolute. We all like different ones the best for different reasons, which is why it's so damn cool that there are so many to choose from.

+1

I think it's fabulous that we have so many choices today.

[arrow]

It's great that we have a lot of choices of VF-1. But, I would rather that we were rich in choices for the different VFs in the macross universe.

[Black Valkyrie]

It'll be interesting to see what kind of shoulder design Bandai created.

Thats why we are waiting for the reviews.

[nexxstrait]

Thats why we are waiting for the reviews.

I have a feeling the shoulders won't be a problem at all, since in all of the VF1 iterations over the years, only Yamato 1/60 v2 made it a buyer's nightmare.

[Black Valkyrie]

Time will tell, lets see how many are they going to produce, especially the VF-1D.

[ff95gj]

After 25 years... Suddenly we have choices.

Thanks to Macross F! I guess.

Even for Monster.. We have two version of VB-6.

Edited May 2, 2010 by ff95gj