Bandai 1/60 Scale DX Toy Thread Ver.7

[crasis]

Last night I dreamt about a Yamato VF-25S.

Just stating a fact!

...and then it turned out to be a web exclusive resin kit, unassembled and unpainted, costing 90,000 yen. Hey, at this point, that's more likely.

[regult]

...and then it turned out to be a web exclusive resin kit, unassembled and unpainted, costing 90,000 yen. Hey, at this point, that's more likely.

crasis, I do share your feelings towards web exclusives but all this negative energy...you gotta stop giving them this kind of ideas!

[zephon]

unfortunately last nite my VF-25S Armored broke on me during transformation

sigh.. the heavy wing armor stressed the part too much... probably should've removed it before transforming

[Uxi]

Glad I didn't buy the Armored when I had the chance. Love it all modes with the armor, but the toy just isn't up to snuff.

[regult]

I am glad that Yamato die-hards didn't come out to slash Bandai, but, honestly, those who defended Bandai's neo-chunky monkey (sometimes with aggressive fanaticism) and said this VF-25 was going to be the most sturdy modern valk toy ever made should at least apologize for some of the unnecessary display of violence. It is clear that when it comes to transforming expensive toys, no manufacturer gets perfect scores and Yamato is not alone in making toys engineered for breaking apart sooner than the price tag suggests.

I have a question: how does the figher mode hold when the backplate itself is already dislodged? a broken shoulder can be disguised (my 1/72 kit already lost an arm but looks perfect in fighter mode and the arm will not even budge.

Edited May 17, 2010 by regult

[Cent]

Eh. I'm sure if Yamato took a shot at the VF-25, they'd also produce stressed hinges too. The big reasons why I hate the Bandai DX is because of the weak tampo applications, and the sacrifices in aesthetics and accuracy. At least get one thing right if not the other.

[Salamander]

I am glad that Yamato die-hards didn't come out to slash Bandai, but, honestly, those who defended Bandai's neo-chunky monkey (sometimes with aggressive fanaticism) and said this VF-25 was going to be the most sturdy modern valk toy ever made should at least apologize for some of the unnecessary display of violence.

I don't think anyone ever said the bit I bolded there. As for my initial enthousiasm for the VF-25, it indeed did cool down pretty much after getting my armored VF-25S. First of all because of two wrong parts in the box (which thankfully HLJ was able to replace), and then after I got the replacement parts I discovered one of the back hinges had cracked on the first transformation . That Kawamori's design put a buttload of stress on two small hinges holding the wings to the rest of the Valk does not help.

I still regret cancelling my Macross Quarter pre-order while not cancelling my armored VF-25S order. The opposite would have been better.

It is clear that when it comes to transforming expensive toys, no manufacturer gets perfect scores and Yamato is not alone in making toys engineered for breaking apart sooner than the price tag suggests.

I have a question: how does the figher mode hold when the backplate itself is already dislodged? a broken shoulder can be disguised (my 1/72 kit already lost an arm but looks perfect in fighter mode and the arm will not even budge.

If it's only cracked it will hold together fine. If a piece is broken off, you better recycle the Valk into a "broke apart while flying"-diorama until someone makes replacement parts that don't break or some kind of brace...

[regult]

Maybe not an exact quote but you get the drift. Do I really need to remind everybody this entanglement about who makes the most durable toys and how Yamato sucked? Hypothetically Yamato would also have some weak point, but those who cried how ugly the Bandai was and how nice it would be if Yamato could make one, they'd immediately be attacked by Chunky-monkey loyalists (proven: the VF-25 is far from it's supposed predecessor's legendary durability). Yes, Kawamori's designs don't help making durable toys in most cases, but I am starting to wonder if any of these toy designs still consider stress/material seriously. Probably durable and anime accurate toys are just too expensive to make?

Also, I must also agree with a comment above regarding aesthetics vs. durability: if you cannot have both, at least get one thing right at a time!I still think the VF-25 is a lose-lose situation from the start and celebrate I never owned one despite the positive initial reviews on how much fun and how good it was. I can understand the expectation/hype factor, I did buy the VF-27 for instance!

Edited May 17, 2010 by regult

[ff95gj]

Before I sound like a Bandai hater, so please let me: I bought several GFFMCs, every Masked Rider SHF and every Robot Spirit in the Macross F and Full Metal Panic line. I'll buy 2 VF-25S Armored in their Robot Spirit line.

OK, return to the topic...

I bet it was prettier and tighter.

An uglier VF-25S is beyond my imagination.

[MacrossJunkie]

unfortunately last nite my VF-25S Armored broke on me during transformation

sigh.. the heavy wing armor stressed the part too much... probably should've removed it before transforming

That sucks, man.

I had just decided to transform mine to battroid and display it in that mode the other day to relieve the stress from the wing hinges. After seeing that pic, I had to examine the hinges on mine to see if they were okay. Fortunately they were fine despite transforming it with the armor on... well as much of it on as I could keep from falling off.

Amazingly, the arm and leg hinges were still very tight unlike my VF-25G which loosened to completely floppy status from doing nothing but standing there in the display since I got it.

[eriku]

I am glad that Yamato die-hards didn't come out to slash Bandai, but, honestly, those who defended Bandai's neo-chunky monkey (sometimes with aggressive fanaticism) and said this VF-25 was going to be the most sturdy modern valk toy ever made should at least apologize for some of the unnecessary display of violence.

Nobody reacted with "aggressive fanaticism" or "unnecessary displays of violence" positively or negatively to Bandai's VF-25 toys. Some people were expecting some truly durable toys based on Bandai's track record. I expected that, and when I first got the VF-25 it really did feel almost on par with the 1/55 "Chunky". It was only the loosening of joints over the passing of time that caused me to feel differently. And even still, aside from the loose joints I believe that the VF-25 DX is for the most part a very durable and solidly made toy. If they could keep the joints tight I could easily see it holding up as long as a 1/55. I'm sorry but I refuse to apologize.

[eugimon]

Nobody reacted with "aggressive fanaticism" or "unnecessary displays of violence" positively or negatively to Bandai's VF-25 toys. Some people were expecting some truly durable toys based on Bandai's track record. I expected that, and when I first got the VF-25 it really did feel almost on par with the 1/55 "Chunky". It was only the loosening of joints over the passing of time that caused me to feel differently. And even still, aside from the loose joints I believe that the VF-25 DX is for the most part a very durable and solidly made toy. If they could keep the joints tight I could easily see it holding up as long as a 1/55. I'm sorry but I refuse to apologize.

Are you kidding? You don't remember the debates on how the DX vf-25 was both accurate *and* better than the line art? How it fixes Kawamori's hideous anorexic design? How people who pointed out flaws just needed to get over it? And then the waves of, "don't worry, it's just resin, you don't know anything about how toys are made, you're not a real collector, they'll fix *everything* before the toy is released, in Bandai we trust" nonesense?

And how after it first came out, everyone was gushing about how strong it was, how sturdy it was, how yamato could learn a thing or two?

Well, here we are, a year later and the plastic is out gassing and turning brittle, multiple reports of cracks all along the various hinges in the back plate. Accessories that break the transformation, cause stress to key joints, joints that wear out even while not doing anything at all... and it's still heralded as sturdy?

No, I agree that Bandai gets a free pass on this board.

Edited May 17, 2010 by eugimon

[Ignacio Ocamica]

All I can do is hope my 27 doesn't surprise me (or any of us who bought them) with crap like this.

Anybody found anything other than the paint chip issues and oily stuff of your 27?

My 27 is still doing fine!!

[QuinJester]

Are you kidding? You don't remember the debates on how the DX vf-25 was both accurate *and* better than the line art? How it fixes Kawamori's hideous anorexic design? How people who pointed out flaws just needed to get over it? And then the waves of, "don't worry, it's just resin, you don't know anything about how toys are made, you're not a real collector, they'll fix *everything* before the toy is released, in Bandai we trust" nonesense?

And how after it first came out, everyone was gushing about how strong it was, how sturdy it was, how yamato could learn a thing or two?

Well, here we are, a year later and the plastic is out gassing and turning brittle, multiple reports of cracks all along the various hinges in the back plate. Accessories that break the transformation, cause stress to key joints, joints that wear out even while not doing anything at all... and it's still heralded as sturdy?

No, I agree that Bandai gets a free pass on this board.

I dunno, mostly I just remember people who would interject comments into threads about undetailed pilots, incorrectly placed hips, and "shopping cart wheels" over and over and over and over and over and over and over, whether it had any relevance to what was being discussed in the thread or not.

My DXes are still quite unbroken despite my best efforts, as a side note. I had to superglue my 1/60 VF-1A the other evening though.*

*whoops! That's irrelevant to this thread, isn't it? Forget I said anything!

Other than that constant harping by a few specific people, you are of course correct that Bandai gets a free pass to do whatever they please. Clearly!

[eugimon]

I dunno, mostly I just remember people who would interject comments into threads about undetailed pilots, incorrectly placed hips, and "shopping cart wheels" over and over and over and over and over and over and over, whether it had any relevance to what was being discussed in the thread or not.

My DXes are still quite unbroken despite my best efforts, as a side note. I had to superglue my 1/60 VF-1A the other evening though.*

*whoops! That's irrelevant to this thread, isn't it? Forget I said anything!

Other than that constant harping by a few specific people, you are of course correct that Bandai gets a free pass to do whatever they please. Clearly!

yes... and lets imagine if you will that Yamato came out with a toy where the paint rubbed off with your fingers, covered in grease, with shopping cart landing gears, a blob of plastic for the pilot, accessories that you had to mail away for, warped plastic, mismatched paint, accessories that were missing major details, hinges that were designed to lock but didn't, all on top of crumbly plastic and loose joints.

Because I look at the toy boards and there aren't any "what's wrong with my Bandai" threads (even though that whole laundry list above relates directly to the dx vf-25) while there's a new yamato problem thread every other week, several "yamato sucks" threads, a pinned thread about yamato problems, several threads on "how yamato should do business" when any post 1/48 yamato toy has only *one* of the issues the DX vf-25 has.

There's more anger directed at Yamato for releasing a niche product for a 25 year old show as a limited kit than there is at bandai for releasing a major toy line, in connection with a major show where the accessories were all web'sclusives.

And really, it's the DX THREAD where else are people supposed to talk about the DX? The very fact you're harping on people for discussing their disappointment with the line in the actual thread about the toy line just goes to further my point.

Edited May 18, 2010 by eugimon

[QuinJester]

Harping is a two way street, mon frere . None of the things you mentioned (with the exception of the exclusive accessories, which are not mail aways) afflict my own DXes in a concernable manner, though. Perhaps you should take a deep breath and not stress yourself out over so much hyperbole?

As for the rage over the Yamato exclusives... that's a bit unrelated again to this thread, isn't it? Why bring it up? Frankly that rage doesn't seem that deserved to me either, but you can't reasonably compare a $400 build-it-yourself resin kit to a $100 accessory package anyway.

Everyone seems to want to come back to a "Yeah well SO AND SO company did SUCH AND SUCH" on both sides of things. If a Yamato breaks, then the Bandai toys need to be held accountable too. If the Bandai DXes break, then goddamn it if the Yamato's don't suck more! We're all searching for something to hate about the other company's products and we all apparently have a need to rub it in and blow it up as much as possible. I mentioned my VF-1A being broken in the previous post, but guess what? It's broken but I still love it. Fancy that!

Why can't we all get along in our general hatred of everything Macross related? That's what the forums are for, right?

On-topic. I am more disappointed in the lack of a DX VF-177 than anything else related to this line. Any thoughts, anybody?

[eriku]

Are you kidding? You don't remember the debates on how the DX vf-25 was both accurate *and* better than the line art? How it fixes Kawamori's hideous anorexic design? How people who pointed out flaws just needed to get over it? And then the waves of, "don't worry, it's just resin, you don't know anything about how toys are made, you're not a real collector, they'll fix *everything* before the toy is released, in Bandai we trust" nonesense?

And how after it first came out, everyone was gushing about how strong it was, how sturdy it was, how yamato could learn a thing or two?

Well, here we are, a year later and the plastic is out gassing and turning brittle, multiple reports of cracks all along the various hinges in the back plate. Accessories that break the transformation, cause stress to key joints, joints that wear out even while not doing anything at all... and it's still heralded as sturdy?

No, I agree that Bandai gets a free pass on this board.

None of that is what I would consider "aggressive fanaticism" or "unnecessary displays of violence" nor anything that would require some kind of (and I can't help but snicker as I type this) "apology".

Speaking of free passes, Banpresto gets a free pass on this board too because somebody said once that they really liked them. Actually, come to think of it I'm pretty sure every single company that has ever made any kind of Macross or Macross-related toy gets a free pass because there is always someone who likes it. And why not? It's Macross World - there's something for everyone.

On-topic. I am more disappointed in the lack of a DX VF-177 than anything else related to this line. Any thoughts, anybody?

Indeed. If someone, anyone, doesn't give us a VF-171 or VF-17 soon I'm going to keep doing this:

Edited May 18, 2010 by eriku

[anime52k8]

Harping is a two way street, mon frere . None of the things you mentioned (with the exception of the exclusive accessories, which are not mail aways) afflict my own DXes in a concernable manner, though. Perhaps you should take a deep breath and not stress yourself out over so much hyperbole?

See eugimon, he's had none of the problems you've brought up, clearly that means there's nothing wrong with ANYDX made EVER. Obviously his opinions and anecdotal experiences are the only valid ones in this thread.

Edited May 18, 2010 by anime52k8

[eriku]

[insert hyperbolic, exaggerated, dramatic and sarcastic comment here]

[QuinJester]

[insert hyperbolic, exaggerated, dramatic and sarcastic comment here]

[inflammatory and hypercritical response harping on my hatred of a particular aspect of toy X]

[ff95gj]

Come on, I was hoping to see some shinning examples of those comments, not just descriptions.

[regult]

yes please, you will not only provide solid evidence that what I described was real (w/o searching old threads): you will also re-enact the "..." (whatever you like to call it).

[areaseven]

zephon, care to comment on the picture you quoted?

[Salamander]

[inflammatory and hypercritical response harping on my hatred of a particular aspect of toy X]

[musings about how company X has a much better track record than company Y with regards to toys using a very selective memory*]

[*including ignoring the repeated breakage of bar Z on G toys, unfortunate loosening/breakage of S on toys from M, L breakage on toys from the same series, the unending bazillion of recolors, and the horrifying suck of the single toy released for E

(Abbreviations have been chosen in such a way that they can apply to both company B and Y.)

[jediwalker]

That sucks, man.

I had just decided to transform mine to battroid and display it in that mode the other day to relieve the stress from the wing hinges. After seeing that pic, I had to examine the hinges on mine to see if they were okay. Fortunately they were fine despite transforming it with the armor on... well as much of it on as I could keep from falling off.

Amazingly, the arm and leg hinges were still very tight unlike my VF-25G which loosened to completely floppy status from doing nothing but standing there in the display since I got it.

yeah, it sucks.. my vf-25g is having the same problem as yours.. floppy and the ankles dont seem to be able to hold well in standing position!

[Dashgtr]

Hi anyone have any idea if there is any difference (exmple colour etc) in the Tamashii Exclusive - DX Chogokin - Macross Frontier - Tornado Pack for VF-25 and the DX Chogokin - Macross Frontier - VF-25F Tornado Messiah Alto Custom"s Tornado Pack? Other then 1 with only the pack and the other coming with the VF-25F .......

Edited May 20, 2010 by Dashgtr

[zephon]

...somehow my comment got edited out. seems like my 25s hinge cracks were due to transformation stress and not weight.

[m0n5t3r]

that's it???

IMO, the reason why we see more complaints about Yamato products on this board is because we all know that there's a possibility that it reaches them if it's a big enough issue... and maybe we can get replacement parts or updates or whatever. As for the evil empire of Bandai:P... they just don't f'n care... great if they decide to send replacement parts for wrong parts from an exclusive product, but if they decide they don't want to replace your SWS leg armor or broken parts/hinges or decide to package extra fists (wtf!?!?) and whatever else as an exclusive, etc. etc...

[Salamander]

that's it???

IMO, the reason why we see more complaints about Yamato products on this board is because we all know that there's a possibility that it reaches them if it's a big enough issue... and maybe we can get replacement parts or updates or whatever. As for the evil empire of Bandai:P... they just don't f'n care... great if they decide to send replacement parts for wrong parts from an exclusive product, but if they decide they don't want to replace your SWS leg armor or broken parts/hinges or decide to package extra fists (wtf!?!?) and whatever else as an exclusive, etc. etc...

Actually, it is possible to get replacement parts, since my Armored Ozma came with wrong parts and I was able to get replacement parts from Bandai through HLJ.

So perhaps you could buy replacement parts for broken parts too.

[nanoplasm]

Should I host a group buy for the standalone Tornado Pack and the VF-25 weapon set? Or everyone's got that covered?

[Shun]

check with you guys: is it possible to attach accessories such as the Super Parts (Fast pack)/ Armored Parts / Tornado parts to the very first issue of the DX VF-25F? I ask this because i think i read some where that the first issue of the vf-25f cannot be used with the super parts?

Thanks

[jenius]

I'm of the impression the only thing you can't attach to the very first issue of the VF-25 toys is Luca's radar dome. I only have a first edition and I have dressed it up in the super parts no problem.

[valhary]

neck fixed with wave set

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

HLJ has the Tornado Messiah for 30% off:

http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN958454

I'm done with the DX VF-25 until Bandai either does a great renewal version or 2.0. I can wait. Might get the Quarter and 27 eventually this year.

[anubis20]

neck fixed with wave set

looks good