Yamato GN-U Dou Figures

[Kurisama]

I've recently boosted my mecha ranks with a few of the GN-U Dou figures - and I gotta say, goddamn - they're sexy.

HLJ had 'em on sale a while back and the price was too good to refuse, so I got me the YF-19 + FAST pack (weathering edition), YF-21 + FAST pack (weathering edition), VF-11 + FAST pack (weathering edition), VF-1J, VF-1S and Max's VF-1A. Once in hand and on display I had to splurge and I then ebay'd the VF-19 & VF-11 VFX2 editions.

I've scoured the net and various forums, but I can't seem to find much more info on future releases or if this line will continue... most I heard was that there was a Super/Strike pack maybe coming up for the VF-1's??? They certainly seem to have a removable part to allow the addition of the parts needed.

Anyone help me out here?

They're dead sexy - pretty posable and have a great finish and weight to them, joints are really nice and snug and the details on them are really great. I'd highly recommend them to anyone who was on the fence about getting them. They just look gorgeous all together.

I also got the Queadlunn Rea Damashii and it fits in nicely with them... Now thinking about getting the VF-25 Damashii's to go along with the group, or possibly the 1/100 VF-25's... even tho all I seem to read about them is negative (really just happy to have them in Battroid, would roughly be in scale with the Dou's).

Seeing as they employ the modular inner skeletal system - I would absolutely LOVE if Yamato brought out a line of Zentran and Meltran mecha... especially some Renegade Power armour or some movie style N-Gers or Q.Raus... Imagine that!

Anyways... anyone else have them? Anyone thinking about getting them - thoughts?

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Same here man, the hlj sale was too good to miss out on,

I already had the 21 original release GNU because i'm a 21 fan, but with the sale i grabbed a 19 (which is crap compared to the revoltech, useless for advanced posing)

plus VF-11x2, and also the 1A CF, Max 1A Hikaru 1J and Roy 1S. Also picked up the weathered 21 GNU plus FP pack!

One thing which i thought was crap is the gunpods that slot in the Leg side FP's are smaller than the norm pods, what was yamato thinking?

But i'm glad i got it, with the extra posebility in the 21 and now i got 2 gunpods.

Edited October 31, 2010 by ruskiiVFaussie

[Vifam7]

I have the VF-1J GN-U figure. It's quite nice looking. The figure is a bit fiddly and feels rather loose (IMO) but I still like it. The biggest failure of the GN-U (IMHO) was not giving a fighter mode companion to the battroid figure. A fighter mode only GN-U with opening cockpits, landing gears, swiveling thrusters, swinging wings, moving flaps, ailerons,rudders, and no compromise to tranformability, would've kicked so much arse.

[Kurisama]

Same here man, the hlj sale was too good to miss out on,

I already had the 21 original release GNU because i'm a 21 fan, but with the sale i grabbed a 19 (which is crap compared to the revoltech, useless for advanced posing)

plus VF-11x2, and also the 1A CF, Max 1A Hikaru 1J and Roy 1S. Also picked up the weathered 21 GNU plus FP pack!

One thing which i thought was crap is the gunpods that slot in the Leg side FP's are smaller than the norm pods, what was yamato thinking?

But i'm glad i got it, with the extra posebility in the 21 and now i got 2 gunpods.

The revoltechs - although secnd to none for posing, feel cheap (plastic quality) and are just a tad too small for me, although I do thing the PPB discs and stand are very awesome. I had a hard time deciding which I'd get between the Dou's and the Revoltechs - back when the price was an issue. I like the Dou's faithfulness to the line art and the amount of articulation is fantastic considering the limitations they had.

Hahaaha - yeah, the slots for the 21's gunpods are a bit silly, sorta dropped the ball on that one... damn, now I wish I had another 21 just for the extra gunpod

I must say tho - the FAST pack additions to the 19 and 21 are really a must buy, not for the FAST pack themselves - but for the extra articulation and movement for both the figures - glad I got them. The 19 can pose in a much more dynamic A-frame stance and the 21 can get more of a hip swivel and move the backpack a whole bunch more.

I have the VF-1J GN-U figure. It's quite nice looking. The figure is a bit fiddly and feels rather loose (IMO) but I still like it. The biggest failure of the GN-U (IMHO) was not giving a fighter mode companion to the battroid figure. A fighter mode only GN-U with opening cockpits, landing gears, swiveling thrusters, swinging wings, moving flaps, ailerons,rudders, and no compromise to tranformability, would've kicked so much arse.

I found with my VF-1's that most parts needed tightening up - the hips, torso and head ball joints, the super glue trick sorted that all out, also had to glue the chest piece in cause it was too loose. But the Mac Plus valks are all noice and toight, yesh yesh

Hmmm, yes - a fighter mode companion would've just been the icing on the cake - and yeah, at the very least feet swivel, wing swing back and opening cockpit with a stand would be good. Who know, maybe down the road? And with all the parts formers now - I honestly wouldn't mind that much if you could swap parts out to make a gerwalk...

So anyways - no news on future releases of the line? Or if the line is kaput?!

[Graham]

The GN-U Macross line is dead. Sorry, guys there will be no more.

Confirmed with Yamato earlier this year.

Unfortunately, they just didn't sell well enough to justify continuing the line.

Graham

[Kurisama]

Damn...

If only they'd set a lower price point to begin with.

Well, that's the end of this thread.

[arrow]

I do like my GN-U than the revoltechs I have.

But they are just too small on the shelf.

[Renato]

Hmm. A lot of deaths in the toy world recently.

Meanwhile, I see that the 1/48s are back! They just re-released Roy and Hikaru in new, SMALLER packaging! I forgot to check if the price was the same as before, though I suppose it was.

Back on topic, I got a couple of GNUs quite a while back because they were 980 yen each. To be honest, I don't think they're worth any more than that.

[Kurisama]

Agreed - the original price point was waaaay too high, 900ish yen is good tho. I would go as far as 1500ish yen, certainly not the 3000 and upwards they're usually going for.

[alchemo]

I got a bunch of the GNU Dou Valks and repainted a few of them. It was a lot of fun.

About the original price I also think it is a bit too high but at the same time the quality in material and paint jobs are really good. If Robot-Tamashi are selling at about the same price I would say GNU Dous are much better in quality.

I think if Yamato mark down the price for 30%, stick with the Valks in the line, or at least have one valk (even variations) vs one super robot, the series would have last longer.

Edited November 14, 2010 by alchemo

[505thAirborne]

Those look awesome alchemo!! That is one sure way to have all the YF-19 & VF-22's in your collection. Its a shame Yamato never made just the Fighters, those would have a been a surefire sale for me!

[jenius]

Very nice customs! Yamato should include a Gnu figure with every premium toy they sell... and in my magical fantasy world, not charge me any more for doing so

[m0n5t3r]

cool 22S customs! i like!

[ruskiiVFaussie]

niceeeeeeee customs!!!! Makes me want to do Max 22 now with my sparey 21. I got normal and weathered.

Edited November 12, 2010 by ruskiiVFaussie

[alchemo]

My Gnu collection:

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Alaska base is so sexy.

[505thAirborne]

After seeing all these GN-U pics, I just picked up a few off line!! I like the Yellow VF-22 & Alaska Base types, the Green makes it mean!!

[ruskiiVFaussie]

Yeah, wasn't yamato bringing out alaska base variants at one stage or were they just show exclusive/fan custom.

If they would do one in v.2 i'd have a hard time resisting it, same goes for a red TV variant like some peeps here do up as a Millia type.

Edited November 13, 2010 by ruskiiVFaussie

[Kurisama]

Wow,wow, WOW! Those customs are AWESOME!!!

I could see a huge market for customizations of the GN-U's (had they not been canceled and other optional parts available), if only the price point was a bit lower. Next time they're on sale, I'll definitely get a few more for customs, yeah boyeee!

Hmm, now I wanna take a few photos of my gang!

[alchemo]

Here comes two clear pics:

Edited November 13, 2010 by alchemo

[505thAirborne]

Awesome Valks!!

[Old Man]

Those GN-U's are gorgeous, alchemo!!! I wish I had your skills, because I've wanted a UN Guard and Stealth GN-U ever since I picked my figures up several months ago. Having the different 19's and 21's wouldn't be bad either. What kind of paint are you using, if you don't mind me asking? I might just try my luck with the extra YF-19 I have.

[alchemo]

I use spraypaint : both hobby spray apint (Tamiya and Gunze) and Pylox, the material of GNU Dou is ABS so I suppose it's ok with pylox, but it is always good to test before you spray.

one thing to mind is that with light colour, as you may have to apply more layers it's better to do with primer and then hobby spray paint. (you can see from the photo that the white on the 19s are too thick, and I should have used insignia white )

I would say the YF-19 colour schemes are difficult to do as it takes a lot of masking (except for the 25th Ann. version which is all black with gold rims). I tried to hand paint the DN and BoP and it turned out a mess.

I find the VF-1 variations the easiest -- maybe because I did not do the Max and Milia 1J

Overall It was very satisfying as they are easy to dismental and reassemble.

Edited November 14, 2010 by alchemo

[Old Man]

alchemo, did you purchase the Kakizaki VF-1A GN-U, or did you just paint one up yourself?

MAN, those are CLEAN!!!

Edited November 14, 2010 by Old Man

[Uxi]

I like my GNU, but seems like they come apart pretty easy. Probably should put a spot of glue to keep them together. Too bad they're not transformable, though.

[alchemo]

alchemo, did you purchase the Kakizaki VF-1A GN-U, or did you just paint one up yourself?

MAN, those are CLEAN!!!

I painted it, the original Kakizaki is a on-line shop limited edition and I could not get it. I use the Max 1A and just paint everyting blue to a sand colour. it would be better to sand down the "U.N.SPACY" decal on the side of the calves or they will pop up after painting

[Frogze]

Outstanding customs alchemo!

Did you customize the 19's visors too? if so would you mind giving some tips on how did you do that mod, I'd love to try that on mine too

Great job on VF-22s as well

[Valkyrie addict]

very nice!!

[Uxi]

Those look awesome alchemo!! That is one sure way to have all the YF-19 & VF-22's in your collection. Its a shame Yamato never made just the Fighters, those would have a been a surefire sale for me!

True that. They wouldn't have had competition in that, either, unlike the GN-U Dou battroids, which were going up directly against the Revoltechs. They may have been able to beat Revoltech to the punch with transformable, too.

[alchemo]

The visor was just decorated with aurora sticker. I actually modified the waist and the back so the it can do a more natural A-stance and can do a bit of a "crotch thrust".

I also cut a bit off the chin so the head can "look downward".

[Kurisama]

HLJ have got the DOU's for dale again, up to 65% off! Nabbed me a CF VF-1A and another VF-1J for a possible VF-1D conversion.

[jolly-roger]

heya can you post a small info on how you ve modified the yf-21 head ? as i want to do the same and make the 21 into a 22 head plz

[alchemo]

I just put on some putty on the original head and carve them, I tried epoxy putty but it dosen't work, so I mix some baby powder with aron alpha and put them on, it harden in 3 minutes so you can start working immediately.

If you look closely their "cheek" are too "chubby" and are not exectly even.

Edited December 11, 2010 by alchemo

[Kurisama]

Hey dudes! So... I decided to do something about my hard-on for the VF-1D, and since I can't sculpt in the real world, I decided to make up a digital sculpt and then it snowballed. Got some big plans here, and for the other GN-U's... Thought I'd give u guys a sample.

These will printed from 3D data and is accurate to 0.01mm, more pics posted as I get around to making them.

Next up, the VF-1D's custom chest piece.

Would people be interested in purchasing this for your own GN-U's? Before u ask, I plan on doing the super and strike packs for VF-1, just to start with.

Interested to see what u all think.

[jenius]

Now you just need one of these:

http://www.makerbot.com/

And you can make your own ABS parts! Sorry, just saw it on the Colbert report and instantly though "That'd be sweet for customizing Macross toys"