raptormesh Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) Mine just arrived, gleeee. Edit, just a few notes: Like - The tampo prints. - Fairly solid construction, no QC issues off the box. - The many gimmicks, very good play value. - Quite posable. Dislike - No qualms really. However, it doesn't hide the fact that it's a toy first and foremost - a perfect variable chogokin. Hence, I don't quite get that feeling of awe when I open up Yamato valks for the first time. It may be the gloss. Let me put it this way, with Yammies I usually stare and display them for at least a week before I transform them first to gerwalk and then battroid. With this, I immediately started transforming it to battroid mode and started playing/posing. - Oh, the rubber head lasers. It's definitely worth the money as it just screams a high end well designed toy. However, despite it being double the cost of my sturmvogels I would still grab my 22s in a hypothetical "house on fire, can only grab one valk" scenario. Edited July 1, 2011 by raptormesh
m0n5t3r Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 (edited) i'm tempted... the color scheme is growing on me... the red looks good when side-by-side with the VF-27. heard from local stores that re-stocks are set to arrive in 2 weeks time... hhhmmmmm. oh, btw, how's the mechanism for getting that crotch thrust look? does it lock or is the joint just tight enough to hold that position? Edited July 1, 2011 by m0n5t3r
raptormesh Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 i'm tempted... the color scheme is growing on me... the red looks good when side-by-side with the VF-27. heard from local stores that re-stocks are set to arrive in 2 weeks time... hhhmmmmm. oh, btw, how's the mechanism for getting that crotch thrust look? does it lock or is the joint just tight enough to hold that position? Yeah it locks, and the the joints on mine are in fact a teensy too tight.
Omegablue Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 What are die-cast parts? And does it overall compare to the Vf-1 v2 by Yamato in quality?
Dobber Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 heard from local stores that re-stocks are set to arrive in 2 weeks time... hhhmmmmm. Oh man I hope so! I've keep checking AmiAmi or HLJ for the past week, to see if they are taking orders again. I really want one. Chris
Negotiator Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 I wouldn't say it's as solid as a vf-1 v.2 The design has too many angles and the back kibble make it awkwards sometimes when holding it. I'm completely impressed by it tho. It displays beautifully in all modes. The faults on mine are: loose shoulders in battroid. They wont hold the angled up position. The crotch swing bar only clips really good on one side. Going to have to open it up and see what's going on there. Die cast parts are the shoulder mechanism, swing bar, and ankles (there's alot going on in the ankles) I think that's it. ...if there was something I could nitpick at that was designed purposely, it would be the gummy head lasers.
Matt Random Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Oh man I hope so! I've keep checking AmiAmi or HLJ for the past week, to see if they are taking orders again. I really want one. Chris HLJ didn't get enough to fill the initial orders. They told me they have no ETA for more. BBTS still has a preorder, but who knows when they will get it. The price is high compared to Asia sellers, but much less than the going eBay price.
Dobber Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Yeah I was going to order through BBTS but the won't accept Paypal for pre-orders. Chris
valhary Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 I really like the general design but the face is horrible I hope betters heads for the vf 29 variants
Matrix Soul Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 Yeah I was going to order through BBTS but the won't accept Paypal for pre-orders. Chris But BBTS accepts Paypal, and you don't have to pay till the item is in stock.
Dobber Posted July 1, 2011 Posted July 1, 2011 yes they accept paypal, but not for pre-orders. I have a paypal balance I want to use so the little-lady doesn't know how much I paid for a toy. Chris
SuperHobo Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 yes they accept paypal, but not for pre-orders. I have a paypal balance I want to use so the little-lady doesn't know how much I paid for a toy. Chris Great minds think alike.
EXO Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 You should sign up for a paypal Debit/CC and you can use it to preorder. You get the card in about a week. No one will ever know...
Matrix Soul Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Alto is showing off again Edited July 2, 2011 by Matrix Soul
Rabidweezil Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 Mine was just delivered yesterday. I have to say I like it alot. It feels sturdy and looks pretty neat-o Large pic in the spoiler tags
Graham Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 Do the YF-29's wings lock in position at the hinges in battroid mode, or do the flop around like the V1 VF-25? Graham
Matrix Soul Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 It's really tight, so it's in place, but who knows if down the line it'll get loose since it is still friction based.
Nicaragua Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 Alto is showing off again Alto is looking a bit camp in that pose
MacrossJunkie Posted July 2, 2011 Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Just got mine today. My thoughts: The good (likes and improvements over the VF-25): - The crotch piece now locks into place at the correct angle. I originally thought they had some sort of bar that would fold out to prop it out, but that's not the case. It just locks into the proper angle once you pull it out all the way. - The clips on the top of the intakes are a huge improvement over the rounded pegs used in the v1 VF-25. They are so strong that it is actually difficult to detach the legs. - The hip guns are now attached via a ball and socket joint so they don't keep falling off. For the VF-25 and 27, it was a ball joint going in a tube and came of pretty easily during transformation attempts. - I like that they used a lot more clear plastic pieces instead of painting them in areas such as the sensor arrays. - The new posable hands are very tight and hold the weapons well. - The reversal of the ball and socket joint for the wrists is an improvement over that of the VF-25 and 27. The larger ball joints seem to be tighter and hold more weight... for now. - The knife slides into the shield very securely and doesn't rattle around. - The front landing gear is practically double the length of the VF-25's. - There is a whole lot more panel detail on the surface compared to the 25. - It actually has a neck this time. - The mechanism for the shoulder block has changed over the way the VF-25 and 27 handled it and I find it works a lot better and keeps the shoulders closer to the main body as well. The bad (could use improvement): - The new method to keep the crotch folded and locked into place using the hip swing bars is still not very strong and disengaged a few times while trying to move the legs. - The crappy pvc head lasers are hard to position because the material firsts twists around before it actually starts to move in the socket so unless you move it a good amount, it will just untwist back to its original position. - The "C" clips that attach the shoulder armor to the arms are pretty wimpy and the shoulders fall off easily, especially during transformation. - The shield in fighter mode doesn't clip on very securely and it falls off fairly easily. The part of the shield that slides out is pulled out all the way, so it's just the connection itself that is fairly poor. - May not be a bad, but the front landing gear seems to stop a very strange angle as it angles so far back that it looks strange and doesn't seem like it would be structurally sound for landing. - The bar that attaches the beam turret could stand to be metal instead of plastic. It twists when you try to turn the tightly attached turret and I fear breaking it. The ugly (QC issues): - The hinge that attaches the left wing to the back plate had stress marks at the corners right out of the box. - The diamond shaped area on left wing engine is missing half that shiny pink paint while the other side's engine is fully painted. - A bit of sloppy paint application here and there. Paint scuff marks and chips out of the box. - The beam turret might be a little warped. It's not noticeable unless you look at the fighter from the back and look at the spacing between the bottom of the beam guns and the top of the legs. No amount of fiddling with it could make it even. The strange: The cover plate for the crotch piece for some reason is designed to act like a button to pop the cover plate off. Underneath is a little bar or clip that doesn't stick into the cover plate itself. I wonder what it's for. My first thought was it's possibly for a swappable part for a future armor pack of some sort, but I find that unlikely. Edited July 2, 2011 by MacrossJunkie
Matrix Soul Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 The strange: The cover plate for the crotch piece for some reason is designed to act like a button to pop the cover plate off. Underneath is a little bar or clip that doesn't stick into the cover plate itself. I wonder what it's for. My first thought was it's possibly for a swappable part for a future armor pack of some sort, but I find that unlikely. What? The crotch piece has never popped off on mine
MacrossJunkie Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 What? The crotch piece has never popped off on mine Have you tried pushing down on the bottom end of the cover plate? The top edge is hinged. I only accidentally discovered it during the first time I transformed it. My thumb was on the piece and accidentally pushed it in and the piece came off.
Negotiator Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 Have you tried pushing down on the bottom end of the cover plate? The top edge is hinged. I only accidentally discovered it during the first time I transformed it. My thumb was on the piece and accidentally pushed it in and the piece came off. I think the crotch is designed like the model where it does "cave in" when transforming to jet mode so that there's is more space for the head.
Vifam7 Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 Japanese photos and reviews http://show-kera.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2011-06-25 http://hustler24atelier.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/yf29da/ http://blog.kuruten.jp/bat/167447
Matrix Soul Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 (edited) Ok, for people that complained that I was too quiet and the video being too jumpy, I enlisted the help of a pro-reviewer, and bring you part 1 of 3 complete review of the YF-29 Durandal Valkirie (misspelled on purpose ) Enjoy! EDIT: Ok, apparently there are some mistakes in the video, and since Toyjunkiereviews pride itself on being nearly perfect, the video will be back after it's corrected. Edited July 3, 2011 by Matrix Soul
MacrossJunkie Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 I have to say that the fighter mode has really grown on me, especially now that I have it in person. Did a quick panel lining and light weathering on just the fighter surfaces for now to see how it would look. The amount of surface detail it has is really nice.
Kelsain Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 I have to say that the fighter mode has really grown on me, especially now that I have it in person. Did a quick panel lining and light weathering on just the fighter surfaces for now to see how it would look. The amount of surface detail it has is really nice. why that sure is purty.
Matrix Soul Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 Ok! The reviews are corrected and uploaded! It's in 3 parts so make sure you watch them all! Flying with the Valkyries: YF-29 Durandal Valkyrie Review Part 1/3 Flying with the Valkyries: YF-29 Durandal Valkyrie Review Part 2/3 Flying with the Valkyries: YF-29 Durandal Valkyrie Review Part 3/3
Remko Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 I can't believe I missed out on this.... Hopefully HLJ will receive more in the future. It would be nice to see if there will be any other liveries or variants. Very cool looking Valk!! BTW, this wasn't in the Macross Frontier series wasn't it?
Matrix Soul Posted July 3, 2011 Posted July 3, 2011 It's from the Macross Frontier Movie, the second one.
UN Spacy Posted July 4, 2011 Author Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks for your review MS. Your production values are top notch. Makes mine look like amateur hour.
boyarque Posted July 4, 2011 Posted July 4, 2011 why that sure is purty. +2! Gonna do mine, thanks for the inspiration!
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