Which VF-1J Hikaru is safe?

[GU-11]

My local hobby shop is having a sale, and there's a Yamato - 1/60 Scale Macross - VF-1J Hikaru Ichijyo with Super Parts with a 20% discount.

The thing is, I can't recall if this one is the "fixed" version. AFAIK, the new fixed versions are the re-released Armored Parts set and the standalone. Is the Super Strike Parts set also among the fixed releases?

Sorry if this has been discussed before. I tried searching for the older posts but the search engine yielded nothing when I typed "VF-1J".

Edited June 1, 2010 by GU-11

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

There have only been a few reports of members who got a Hikaru 1J(super or stand alone) that have smooth shoulder pins(fixed). It's a gamble with that one. If it's from a later run it might be okay but the only way to know is if your retailer remembers when he/she received it.

Edited June 1, 2010 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0

[Hikuro]

I've got one of the first issue VF-1J's, never had a single problem with it. And I've transformed it many of times. If it comes with armor parts and the figure for 20% off, it's a good deal. It's not like you're gonna play war with it or something.

[mickyg]

I got one recently with the sale on at HLJ. Mine's got broken shoulders, right out of the box. But it hasn't affected it in the slightest. It still transforms fine and still feels pretty sturdy. That said, if I'd known it had broken shoulders, I'd have been less excited about buying it, certainly.

[VF-18S Hornet]

Missile pod breaks off hardpoint, get new wing three nubs on the tripod missiles break in the hardpoints beacause they did fit well into the hard point and would not come off normally.

[Macross_Fanboy]

Mine has a stiff backpack hinge so unfortunately when I was putting it back into Fighter mode I toyed with it a bit and the flap behind the nozzles came off because eventually the hinge broke. Strange thing realy, on some of my Valks the same part is stiff and pops when you flip it up for transformations and others it isn't. Just need to glue it on, just wonder what is the right kind. As long as it's in fighter it's fine.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Missile pod breaks off hardpoint, get new wing three nubs on the tripod missiles break in the hardpoints beacause they did fit well into the hard point and would not come off normally.

I didn't know until a few months ago that the missles are suppose to be clipped on/removed at an angle. IIRC the pylons have to be attached pointing outwards at an angle, to remove them you have to swivel them out, then pull, otherwise the attachment point might snap off.

[GU-11]

Many thanks for the info, guys. I guess try asking the store owner if it's old stock.

I hope he'll be honest with me.

Anyways, I'll probably buy it since I can always get a replacement if I find the shoulders broken, or if it's a knurled version but still intact, I can sand off the knurls myself.

[rsvictor1976]

Has anyone gotten the new 1/60 VF-1J Hikaru Ichijyou yet? Can you confirm if it has the crappy pins or the smooth one? I really want to get a 1/60 Armored but have been scared away after hearing they were using old stock with bad pins.

If the only way to avoid this is to buy the armor and valkyrie seperately, I'm willing to spend the extra bucks.

*Edit*

I just noticed theres also a new version of the VF-1J with armor parts. According to HLJ, the new part number is YMT00198 compared to the original which was YMT00176. Can anyone confirm if the new version has the smooth pins?

Edited June 1, 2010 by rsvictor1976

[jenius]

The only way you'd be able to do that is to take apart your brand new toy... it's not something you can tell by eyeballing it.

[comicguru]

im not sure what version that i have. im guessing by the broken shoulder that it is the first release. does anyone no how to go about getting replacement shoulder joints? its the GBP armor and its pretty sweet, except the fact that he has a droopy arm.

[Froy]

My VF-1J from HLJ re-release will be here the next week (moonday probably)and the first thing I'm going to do is check the shoulder joints praying for good ones.

[GU-11]

I'm not sure how true this is, but according to the shop owner of my local hobby shop, Yamato's been "restocking" on VF-1J Hikaru with Super Pack sets to distributors at a discounted price. I'm still not sure about what he meant by "restocking", but my guess is that Yamato might have been getting its factories replace all the old VF-1J Super Pack stock with smooth pins, since it has to do it for the Armored GBP sets and standalones, anyways.

While there's still every possibility that Yamato's selling old Super Pack sets with knurled pins at a discounted price, the store owner at my store has been known to cancel preorders if he hears any news of a defect about a product he's bringing in, which was the case of the GBP set I preordered from him. With that in mind, I think the SP sets on sale at the shop might be from a later batch with fixed shoulders.

Then again, I wonder why HLJ isn't bringing in any of these "restocked" SP sets?

DISCLAIMER: this is just something I heard from the store owner of my local shop, so I can't guarantee that any of this info is true.

[m0n5t3r]

you can actually check the pins just by moving the hinge and checking if the pin moves/rotates or not. no need to take it apart... unless it's already broken

[David Hingtgen]

Pin doesn't move on early nor fixed hinges, that's part of the problem. (removing the knurling only eliminates the symptoms, it doesn't affect the root cause)

[m0n5t3r]

the real problem is the thin plastic really, esp. the sloped part where most of the cracks occur. but i don't think we're going to get any solution other than the smooth pins.

also, on my v.2 VF-1s with knurled pins, the pin moves/rotates when i move the shoulder... it doesn't on my VF-1S Max, VF-1J M&M, VE-1 and hopefully on my armored VF-1J when i finally get it.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I'm not sure how true this is, but according to the shop owner of my local hobby shop, Yamato's been "restocking" on VF-1J Hikaru with Super Pack sets to distributors at a discounted price. I'm still not sure about what he meant by "restocking", but my guess is that Yamato might have been getting its factories replace all the old VF-1J Super Pack stock with smooth pins, since it has to do it for the Armored GBP sets and standalones, anyways.

While there's still every possibility that Yamato's selling old Super Pack sets with knurled pins at a discounted price, the store owner at my store has been known to cancel preorders if he hears any news of a defect about a product he's bringing in, which was the case of the GBP set I preordered from him. With that in mind, I think the SP sets on sale at the shop might be from a later batch with fixed shoulders.

Then again, I wonder why HLJ isn't bringing in any of these "restocked" SP sets?

DISCLAIMER: this is just something I heard from the store owner of my local shop, so I can't guarantee that any of this info is true.

HLJ may have already brought them in. They had a sale 1-2 months back for the super Hikaru 1J bundle. There are some who got theirs from the sale and reported no breakage, and some who did.

[derex3592]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

[m0n5t3r]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

awesome! can't wait to get my hands on mine, although it might take a few more weeks.

guess it's safe to say that the this month's VF-1J re-issues are all safe.

Edited June 3, 2010 by m0n5t3r

[Old Man]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

Where did you pick yours up from?

[derex3592]

Picked it up from AmiAmi---had it pre-ordered. Got to my doorstep in TX in 4 days.

[m0n5t3r]

amiami still has 3 left. they've been sold-out of this item for the past six months so it's a sure bet that what they have are the re-issues.

[Old Man]

Does this re-issue have the gray visor? Also, did Yamato make the body in the TV white to match the new head and GBP parts (unlike the first issue VF-1J + GBP Armor)?

Edited June 3, 2010 by Old Man

[Froy]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

HAAAA!!! Want mine now....

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

Is the toy molded in gray instead of bright white? I thought I read something about that on the Yamato blog

[Old Man]

Is the toy molded in gray instead of bright white? I thought I read something about that on the Yamato blog

That's what I'd like to know about this re-issue.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

That's what I'd like to know about this re-issue.

It might be incentive for me to get it; gray looked great on the vintage Takatoku 1/55. Also I have yet to buy the GPB.

[derex3592]

Is the toy molded in gray instead of bright white? I thought I read something about that on the Yamato blog

As far as I can tell, the Valk itself looks identical in color to my standalone VF-1J.....the head might be a 1/2 shade darker, but all the whites--the Valk, the head, and the white on the armor are MORE than a close enough match. It looks GREAT on my shelf! Buy it, enjoy it and rejoice that Yamato listened and learned about the shoulder thing!

[anime52k8]

Is the toy molded in gray instead of bright white? I thought I read something about that on the Yamato blog

the toy is still the same white. the Yamato blog is talking about he bezel around the camera eye on the head which is now gray instead of white.

[VF-18S Hornet]

I didn't know until a few months ago that the missles are suppose to be clipped on/removed at an angle. IIRC the pylons have to be attached pointing outwards at an angle, to remove them you have to swivel them out, then pull, otherwise the attachment point might snap off.

I did try to swivel them out and they still broke off pylons, and are still stuck in the wing hardpoints, still trying to figure out on what size screw I can use to get them out. Or I might be wasting money buying another VF-1J Hikaru for replacement parts, i.e.(wings and missile for the VF-1J Production version.)

Edited June 6, 2010 by VF-18S Hornet

[Black Valkyrie]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

Thats good news cuz I was thinking to switch over to the Hi-Metal series. Well it looks like I'll be staying with the 1/60 v2.

Thanks.

[jenius]

I wouldn't be so fast to judge... just because the new crotch is there and the canopy tint is gone doesn't mean the shoulders won't break. It seems like every week we're still seeing more people post to the "need shoulder hinges" thread.

[anime52k8]

And all those reports are on releases we already knew had problems. I haven't read a post that specifically shows a new release (i.e. no coating on the canopy, new hip connection) breaking, all the ones that are coming up are of old releases. People are either buying old stock or just now finding/reporting breakages on toys they've had for a while.

[derex3592]

And all those reports are on releases we already knew had problems. I haven't read a post that specifically shows a new release (i.e. no coating on the canopy, new hip connection) breaking, all the ones that are coming up are of old releases. People are either buying old stock or just now finding/reporting breakages on toys they've had for a while.

Agreed. My new VF-1J is super tight and solid. Reminds me of my VF-1A CF...it's that good. I may be biased of course, I've NEVER had a cracked shoulder 1:60 ver. 2. Or any other major problem for that matter.... I guess I'm just super lucky, but I am also very careful in the handling of my Yamato toys....

[typhoon]

OK GUYS!!! I am HAPPY to report the 2nd wave release of the VF-1J with armor parts is 100% GOLDEN!!! Just got mine today! Already transformed. TIGHT AND GOOD!! No broken or cracked shoulders, NEW hip connector and NO rainbow canopy! All paint aps are PERFECT and the armor parts are SWEEEET too!!! :D

I just recieved mine from Amiami as well and derex is SPOT ON - this second release is awesome! I read alot of comments about color and shoulder dramas with the first version but this is probably the best built/finished V2 that I have.

Everything just looks and feels right, I wouldn't pass this one up!