About the Reissued VF-0S

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Maybe it's just me but I was thinking that Yamato's rerelease of the VF-0A/S this year was to warm fans up to more Macross Zero merchandise later this year, like an upcoming 1/60 VF-0D.

I hope you're right!!!

Yamato must do the VF-0D.

[GU-11]

Heheh, I guess Shin is pretty okay once he shakes off his initial panic mode upon waking up on the island.

[Chronocidal]

Seconded, thirded, and however many more times it takes to convince them.

Although, they did come out with 3 planes from each side in Zero, so it would unbalance things a bit if they do just a VF-0D.

In other words, they need to make another SV-51 version to keep the balance. I vote Dobber's splinter version.

[Cent]

In other words, they need to make another SV-51 version to keep the balance. I vote Dobber's splinter version.

Sure would be more creative and appealing than the Double Nuts =P

[GU-11]

Sure would be more creative and appealing than the Double Nuts =P

Would it be too much to hope for an Octos as well?

[Chronocidal]

Btw, as whimpy as Shin may have been at first, remember, he did manage to evade a swarm of micro missiles in a 30 year old fighter design. That has to count for something.

As for any further debate, I give you these two words: supersonic culbit.

Or, whatever you can call that crazy maneuver he pulled on Nora in the final episode. It started as a cobra... then turned into a thrust-vectored, high-alpha, flippity vertical pinwheel of death.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Seconded, thirded, and however many more times it takes to convince them.

Although, they did come out with 3 planes from each side in Zero, so it would unbalance things a bit if they do just a VF-0D.

In other words, they need to make another SV-51 version to keep the balance. I vote Dobber's splinter version.

I don't think it would matter if the balance was broken, they never made anything to counter their 1/48 VF-1's or V2 1/60 VF-1's, unless you count the old Qraus but even then there were only 2.

[valid]

it's a shame to see so litle love for shin.. for me personally i think he is a great pilot have enough guts to face a variable figther with f 14 , have extreme imagination with manuvering with the vf.. and also he get both of the girl .. just wondering i know it's out of topic.. but did he went to the space with his vf and become a bird human?

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

it's a shame to see so litle love for shin.. for me personally i think he is a great pilot have enough guts to face a variable figther with f 14 , have extreme imagination with manuvering with the vf.. and also he get both of the girl .. just wondering i know it's out of topic.. but did he went to the space with his vf and become a bird human?

I'm still wondering if he died or was alive after his VF-0 crumbled. Dead or alive, I still want his VF-0D!

[Gunpod71]

I'm still wondering if he died or was alive after his VF-0 crumbled. Dead or alive, I still want his VF-0D!

Yeah whatever happened to that vote? Did the VF-0D win?

[Muzaffar]

I didn't think Shin was that bad. He just seemed more reserved than other Macross protagonists. Reminds me, it's 2010 and still no VF-0D. I know it'd be expensive but I would still buy one. That's a VERY unique valk design. For a design derivative of a design derived from the VF-1(VF-0) it looks very unique. Maybe it's just me but I was thinking that Yamato's rerelease of the VF-0A/S this year was to warm fans up to more Macross Zero merchandise later this year, like an upcoming 1/60 VF-0D.

Well I already got a shitpiece flawed VF-0S "reissue" already and so I don't feel that "warm" towards Yamato rite now. And as for the Vf-0D, I think the only way we are going to see a VF-0D or a lightning or a VF-2SS is if one of the member here wins the lottery and decides to open up his own company. He can than hire us(those with autocad/solidworks etc skills) and then we can design and build valks with top-notch quality for the fans. Yes they may cost a bit more but they will be perfect!

[Dutch]

I'm thinking about buying this: http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00041

Would this be the reissue ?

[GU-11]

I'm thinking about buying this: http://www.hlj.com/product/YMT00041

Would this be the reissue ?

Yes.

[LOW_ALT]

I believe so as that looks like a flap box. Just a heads up I can speak from experience that the reissues are still pretty sketchy. I transformed my reissue VF-0A twice, delicately I might add, and this happened:

[Tking22]

My reissue VF-0A will be here Tuesday, I'm officially in panic/poo bricks mode.

[reeoyuy]

I have no problems with my reissued VF-0S. The joints all tight, nothing broken, nothing scratched. During transformation, the panels that supposed to cover the head on Fighter mode popped out, but I managed to put them back on. I also realized that the entire legs are removable, neat but kinda unimportant. I may not have those 'fit/gaps' issues, or maybe I have but not noticing them; and honestly, I don't really care. For small details and realism I'd built Hasegawa kits instead. I view my Macross toys as, well, toys. They may not be as accurate as a model, but they must served their purpose as a toy. If I have to nitpick every small visual detail, those screw holes would be a total pain in my eyes. But then, I'm fine with that.

[macrossnake]

I believe so as that looks like a flap box. Just a heads up I can speak from experience that the reissues are still pretty sketchy. I transformed my reissue VF-0A twice, delicately I might add, and this happened:

Damn, sorry to seeing that.

[eriku]

I believe so as that looks like a flap box. Just a heads up I can speak from experience that the reissues are still pretty sketchy. I transformed my reissue VF-0A twice, delicately I might add, and this happened:

Did the box your 0A come in have a flap on it? I thought we established on TFW that your 0A wasn't from the recent batch of reissues.

Edited June 20, 2010 by eriku

[GU-11]

The reissued -0A has a slightly different box art:

As you might notice, it's a solid box. Now compare the pics above to the 2006 fliptop box below:

Edited June 20, 2010 by GU-11

[LOW_ALT]

Did the box your 0A come in have a flap on it? I thought we established on TFW that your 0A wasn't from the recent batch of reissues.

Ah, i stand corrected. I haven't been on that thread since I posted that.

[505thAirborne]

I believe so as that looks like a flap box. Just a heads up I can speak from experience that the reissues are still pretty sketchy. I transformed my reissue VF-0A twice, delicately I might add, and this happened:

Frak that sucks, never seen a company like Yamato that can not admit their Zero line has QC issues & not fox them. The VF-0 is beautiful but just way to pricey for arms falling off........ Still.

[eriku]

Frak that sucks, never seen a company like Yamato that can not admit their Zero line has QC issues & not fox them. The VF-0 is beautiful but just way to pricey for arms falling off........ Still.

For what it's worth, there haven't been any problems reported yet with the recent batch of reissues. The armless 0A posted above is an older one and not from the recent reissues.

[Gunpod71]

I believe so as that looks like a flap box. Just a heads up I can speak from experience that the reissues are still pretty sketchy. I transformed my reissue VF-0A twice, delicately I might add, and this happened:

/wrist

[Muzaffar]

I have no problems with my reissued VF-0S. The joints all tight, nothing broken, nothing scratched. During transformation, the panels that supposed to cover the head on Fighter mode popped out, but I managed to put them back on. I also realized that the entire legs are removable, neat but kinda unimportant. I may not have those 'fit/gaps' issues, or maybe I have but not noticing them; and honestly, I don't really care. For small details and realism I'd built Hasegawa kits instead. I view my Macross toys as, well, toys. They may not be as accurate as a model, but they must served their purpose as a toy. If I have to nitpick every small visual detail, those screw holes would be a total pain in my eyes. But then, I'm fine with that.

If the Valkyries were all around $50 than I would agree with you BUT a toyline in which items cost between $150-250++ has gone way beyond a "toy" and has become a luxury. For that price there should be no gaps here or there and the damn thing should come together nice and tight in every way. Also not everyone has the time and skills to meticulously build and detail a model kit and so that's why we have these toys to begin with.

[hutch]

That 0A looks really nice.

Tempting even though I don't even come close to 'needing' this.

Edited June 20, 2010 by hutch

[arrow]

sorry if I missed this, but was there a re-issue VF-0s with a new box design like the one of the vf-0a above?

[Muzaffar]

sorry if I missed this, but was there a re-issue VF-0s with a new box design like the one of the vf-0a above?

Nope. The box for the 0S is the same as before.

[Muzaffar]

I've ordered another 0S from that HLJ after finding out my last 0S was a shitpiece. Hope this one is nice, tight and free from defects.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Muzaffar

[Chronocidal]

Just received my 0S from HLJ, and it's not without defects, but fortunately they're minor, and I think mostly able to be fixed.

Overall quality is very good, a little paint overspray on the head I think, but looks very pretty. All the skulls are straight too.

As for the arms (and other various joint pieces), the material used there seems a bit better. The plastic isn't free from stress marks, but there are no spiderweb crack patterns like I saw before, and the quality of the plastic seems much less... well, rough. It still has a potential to be stressed though, so I've loosened the screws in the shoulders. One thing I did notice was that I think the rubbery friction caps from the 0A have been relocated, and placed in other positions within the joint, possibly to relieve stress on the screws.

With regard to the legs, I've noticed a few things. First, the tabs that hold the back of the calves in fighter mode seem to lock much more tightly. I don't know if this is due to internal component changes, but I've found I do have to rotate the toes outward a bit, and push the legs forward to release the legs without stressing the tabs. The right upper leg section tends to pop open when the hip joint is pushed all the way open, just from a lack of glue there I think.

Now, one thing I did notice right away was that the nose still droops, much more so than my 0A. In fact, the slot in the side of the fuselage was actually visible almost fully below the grey extensions from the front of the intake. There's also a noticeable gap between the back top of the cockpit shield and the chestplate.

While this doesn't bother me terribly, I decided to investigate it a bit. In the end I wound up performing surgery on the entire nose section, which fortunately was not glued together.

The culprit in the nose droop is the big metal plate that the nose slides on. Quite simply, it's warped. The center portion on mine is bent down so that it falls between the intake plates. If it was truly straight, it would be parallel, making the nose slide alongside those plates. So, I'm going to see about bending that plate upwards a little.

By the way... I got past my fear of filing/sanding/cutting/gluing my Valks a long time ago, and it's given me some opportunities to fix some big problems. It scared me at first, but I realized that even if I do sell them someday, I'd rather sell them in better condition than I bought them. Be aware this fix will require some pretty hefty disassembly of the nose, and won't work if you've stickered it up (another reason I don't ever use the stickers.. much harder to fix things if they break without destroying your markings).

------------------------------------

Okay, it's done, and it works perfectly. I just bent that plate level with the force of my fingers, and now the nose holds nice and level without even having the intakes attached, and the heatshield gap is just about non-existent.

My guess is that plate has a tendency to warp during the cooling process, since it is cast metal.

I think I lucked out, and they didn't glue most of my nose section together. All that was holding it was two screws (one inside the door for the hip bar, the other inside the landing gear well), and a small piece of adhesive tape under the cockpit, which was rather gooey, and pulled loose easily.

So, if your VF-0 nose droops, my guess is that that is part of the problem. It's not the only cause I'm sure, because adding bulk to the intake tabs with superglue on my VF-0A had roughly the same effect, but it's intake plates were already in line with the nose, so the plate may be less bent there.

Now, all that's left is to add a little glue to those tabs near the feet that go into the backpack, and she's good to go.

Honestly.. I wish they hadn't become obsessed with plugging screw holes up with covers on the Mac0 releases. It makes them so hard to work on. I'd love to take apart the legs and fiddle with them too, but I can't even open them up.

Edited June 30, 2010 by Chronocidal

[GU-11]

Great report, Chronocidal--very thorough.

I'll just add my two cents about my VF-0S and -OA. No drooping nose syndrome on either of them. The skull symbol on my -0S was just slightly off center, but nothing that would call attention to itself.

The -0S's rear thruster cover (those two panels that split to form the "foot") was not glued, but I easily glued it back with a touch cyanoacrylate--a minor QC thing at most.

All in all, I'm a happy camper.

[Chronocidal]

Oh, trust me, you haven't seen thorough. I tend to pick things apart piece by piece, and I could here, but the main points are all covered. It comes from being a little OCD about things like mechanical details.

One thing I did forget that I should note though, the left foot seems to slip around side-to-side inside the leg a little. It still snaps into the extended position (a little.. the snaps aren't very strong), but looking inside, I can see the piece that slides back and forth when you extend the foot moving out of line. It's not a problem, but again, I'd like to take the leg apart if I could, and see what causes that.

Lately, the first thing I do with any new Valk is take it apart as far as I can, just to give it a once over, and loosen up any overly tight joints. The internal mechanisms in these things are just fun to fiddle with.

[GU-11]

Oh, trust me, you haven't seen thorough. I tend to pick things apart piece by piece, and I could here, but the main points are all covered. It comes from being a little OCD about things like mechanical details.

One thing I did forget that I should note though, the left foot seems to slip around side-to-side inside the leg a little. It still snaps into the extended position (a little.. the snaps aren't very strong), but looking inside, I can see the piece that slides back and forth when you extend the foot moving out of line. It's not a problem, but again, I'd like to take the leg apart if I could, and see what causes that.

Lately, the first thing I do with any new Valk is take it apart as far as I can, just to give it a once over, and loosen up any overly tight joints. The internal mechanisms in these things are just fun to fiddle with.

Other than that one time I had put a screwdriver to my Gamlin VF-22S to loosen up the ultra-tight chest hinge, I've never trusted myself enough to attempt any "invasive exploration" of my Valks.

About the way the feet on the VF-0's sliding side to side, yeah, same thing on mine, too. My VF-0A, though, seems to be slightly less affected by it. According to the Scorched Earth reviews, it seems to be a minor issue that dates back to the the 2006 re-releases. Personally, if it doesn't affect its ability to be posed or displayed, I can deal with it, since my only purpose for it is to look cool on my display cabinet.

[Chronocidal]

Yep, considering I keep mine all in fighter mode anyway...

Actually, I use the feet quite a bit more than the gear though. I tend to open the feet one notch less than full, angle them slightly down, and pose the valks standing on the engines in fighter mode. Saves a ton of shelf space that way.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

Just received my 0S from HLJ, and it's not without defects, but fortunately they're minor, and I think mostly able to be fixed.

Overall quality is very good, a little paint overspray on the head I think, but looks very pretty. All the skulls are straight too.

As for the arms (and other various joint pieces), the material used there seems a bit better. The plastic isn't free from stress marks, but there are no spiderweb crack patterns like I saw before, and the quality of the plastic seems much less... well, rough. It still has a potential to be stressed though, so I've loosened the screws in the shoulders. One thing I did notice was that I think the rubbery friction caps from the 0A have been relocated, and placed in other positions within the joint, possibly to relieve stress on the screws.

With regard to the legs, I've noticed a few things. First, the tabs that hold the back of the calves in fighter mode seem to lock much more tightly. I don't know if this is due to internal component changes, but I've found I do have to rotate the toes outward a bit, and push the legs forward to release the legs without stressing the tabs. The right upper leg section tends to pop open when the hip joint is pushed all the way open, just from a lack of glue there I think.

Now, one thing I did notice right away was that the nose still droops, much more so than my 0A. In fact, the slot in the side of the fuselage was actually visible almost fully below the grey extensions from the front of the intake. There's also a noticeable gap between the back top of the cockpit shield and the chestplate.

While this doesn't bother me terribly, I decided to investigate it a bit. In the end I wound up performing surgery on the entire nose section, which fortunately was not glued together.

The culprit in the nose droop is the big metal plate that the nose slides on. Quite simply, it's warped. The center portion on mine is bent down so that it falls between the intake plates. If it was truly straight, it would be parallel, making the nose slide alongside those plates. So, I'm going to see about bending that plate upwards a little.

By the way... I got past my fear of filing/sanding/cutting/gluing my Valks a long time ago, and it's given me some opportunities to fix some big problems. It scared me at first, but I realized that even if I do sell them someday, I'd rather sell them in better condition than I bought them. Be aware this fix will require some pretty hefty disassembly of the nose, and won't work if you've stickered it up (another reason I don't ever use the stickers.. much harder to fix things if they break without destroying your markings).

------------------------------------

Okay, it's done, and it works perfectly. I just bent that plate level with the force of my fingers, and now the nose holds nice and level without even having the intakes attached, and the heatshield gap is just about non-existent.

My guess is that plate has a tendency to warp during the cooling process, since it is cast metal.

I think I lucked out, and they didn't glue most of my nose section together. All that was holding it was two screws (one inside the door for the hip bar, the other inside the landing gear well), and a small piece of adhesive tape under the cockpit, which was rather gooey, and pulled loose easily.

So, if your VF-0 nose droops, my guess is that that is part of the problem. It's not the only cause I'm sure, because adding bulk to the intake tabs with superglue on my VF-0A had roughly the same effect, but it's intake plates were already in line with the nose, so the plate may be less bent there.

Now, all that's left is to add a little glue to those tabs near the feet that go into the backpack, and she's good to go.

Honestly.. I wish they hadn't become obsessed with plugging screw holes up with covers on the Mac0 releases. It makes them so hard to work on. I'd love to take apart the legs and fiddle with them too, but I can't even open them up.

The noses don't droop on my VF-0A/S, I'm guessing that no 2 VF-0A/S reissues from this year are the same, as everyone seems to have different situations with theirs. I will try that step you suggested about pushing the leg forward to free the calve locking tabs.

[Tking22]

The noses don't droop on my VF-0A/S, I'm guessing that no 2 VF-0A/S reissues from this year are the same, as everyone seems to have different situations with theirs. I will try that step you suggested about pushing the leg forward to free the calve locking tabs.

Very true, re-issues can have major problems and first releases that are supposed to terrible can be just fine, my first release VF-0S had no problems at all and my re-issue VF-0A from HLJ was perfect as well.