jenius Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) For the record, I followed the book very carefully also! You guys just have the benefit of the book plus me, Renato, and now Yamato saying "Watch out, this joint is fragile." I think it's a safe bet the Blazer valk's instructions will add a word of warning (I doubt they'll change anything since it seems a simple word of warning is probably enough). EDIT - we'll see how well it holds but the part is VERY easy to access via one screw and so a repair was easy to implement. Edited May 26, 2011 by jenius
Jasonc Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 For the record, I followed the book very carefully also! You guys just have the benefit of the book plus me, Renato, and now Yamato saying "Watch out, this joint is fragile." I think it's a safe bet the Blazer valk's instructions will add a word of warning (I doubt they'll change anything since it seems a simple word of warning is probably enough). EDIT - we'll see how well it holds but the part is VERY easy to access via one screw and so a repair was easy to implement. That's at least some good news about the fix being possible. In every toy I've ever received, I've had the assumption that there's something that is easily breakable, and always take the extra cautious approach. Even my non-Yamato toys. This approach has always paid off very well, so I'll treat this the exact same.
bluemax151 Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Oh man the white gloves in the video totally remind me of how I handle my valks. I use military/police dress gloves like that myself, can never be too careful Looks great, problem area(s) aside. Looking forward to blue,
Renato Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 EDIT - we'll see how well it holds but the part is VERY easy to access via one screw and so a repair was easy to implement. Thanks, good to hear. I'll try to fix it when I get some time. I just hope that tiny plastic piece hasn't disappeared, now.
Vi-RS Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Looking at the vf-19, it's like a V2 VF-1 of the V1. Every panel is flush, spectacular fitment overall.
Graham Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Looking at the vf-19, it's like a V2 VF-1 of the V1. Every panel is flush, spectacular fitment overall. Yes it is. There really was a lot of love put into this toy. Graham
hutch Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Just got mine and transformed from F to G. As odd as it may sound (maybe this is somewhere in the thread but I couldn't find it) rotating the upper thigh about 10 - 15 deg away from the body made it REALLY easy to rotate the hip joint down for G mode. It wouldn't even budge before I did that, but as soon as I rotated it just slightly it made all the difference in the world. Might even characterize it as 'loose'. The only complaint I could possibly imagine so far would be that the right ankle joint is SUPER tight on mine but loosening the screws on the foot fixed that. All in all this is as good as the VF-1 V2.0.
Mommar Posted May 26, 2011 Posted May 26, 2011 Just got mine and transformed from F to G. As odd as it may sound (maybe this is somewhere in the thread but I couldn't find it) rotating the upper thigh about 10 - 15 deg away from the body made it REALLY easy to rotate the hip joint down for G mode. That was actually one of the major examples in that video Yamato made highlighting some of the transformation trouble spots.
Renato Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 All in all this is as good as the VF-1 V2.0. I would say it is much better than the VF-1.
Mommar Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 I would say it is much better than the VF-1. That's one hell of a recommendation right there. Break it the first time you transform it and still praise it.
VF-18S Hornet Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 Still waiting for mine to arrive, it seems my Friday prediction might be a tad off as site I'm tracking my package on says it just left Tokyo today at 6:11pm meaning it will arrive on Saturday. Should have went with Ami Ami it took them (HLJ) too long to process my shipment.
Loop Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 Still waiting for mine to arrive, it seems my Friday prediction might be a tad off as site I'm tracking my package on says it just left Tokyo today at 6:11pm meaning it will arrive on Saturday. Should have went with Ami Ami it took them (HLJ) too long to process my shipment. Yeah man I feel you pain. some times HLJ is really slow, but I have had them be really fast also. I think this is the second time I ordered from AmiAmi and both times were pretty fast, and It was a little bit cheaper I think. My set arrived today. How many are in your set Kicker? Yes it is. There really was a lot of love put into this toy. Graham Just by having it in plane mode yet to transform it, I can tell they worked really hard on this valk. I love the feel of it in hand to, has a nice weight.
Sam Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 Thanks, good to hear. I'll try to fix it when I get some time. I just hope that tiny plastic piece hasn't disappeared, now. Got mine this morning, and even being careful that little piece was snapped off. So a dab of superglue later, and also added a dab to the other tab and the other leg's joint to be on the safe side. Very awesome, I keep finding little bits on it that make me 'ooh' with wonder. Something that impressed me with the refinement of transformation was the slider bar in the forearm that means no more origami folding of arms to get into fighter mode.Love this stuff ! Bring on the blazer IMO
Loop Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) I can see a sh!t storm of replacement requests coming in, I wonder if they would consider making a ver 1.2 gerwalk joint for this? When I had the same thing happen on my 1/48 VF-1 it broke exacly as everyone is describing this. Although my 1/48 had a poorly molded gerwalk joint. =) You love keeping secrets Edited May 27, 2011 by Loop
hutch Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 That was actually one of the major examples in that video Yamato made highlighting some of the transformation trouble spots. Sorry I missed that.
jenius Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 That's one hell of a recommendation right there. Break it the first time you transform it and still praise it. I'm in the same boat. I made some comments before about a V2 1/48 VF-1... after handling this toy I'd be even more eager to see that.
Renato Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 That's one hell of a recommendation right there. Break it the first time you transform it and still praise it. Technically it wasn't the first time, it was on my second or third transformation cycle. It still takes me ages to transform to Battroid and get everything to line up properly, I have to lock the chest, check the gaps, open the chest again, see what I've done wrong, look confused, lock it again, then adjust little things here and there. All this at a snail's pace because I don't want to break anything else. Despite all this, it is much, much better than anything else Yamato has brought out, and even makes the VF-22 look like a cheap knockoff-quality toy in comparison. The VF-11 feels light as paper after handling the Kai.
eugimon Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) my copy just came in. First thoughts: The box is very small, the same size as the v2 1/60 vf-1 boxes. My copy came with mold release on it, not as bad as the DX valks but it's very much there. Listen to my song dude is very well sculpted, right down to his hipster specs. It's heavy! Everything locks together and often in more than one place, very nicely. Example, not only do the wing roots tab into the torso and legs but the cod piece also locks the fuselage into the torso. Definitely a much more stable bird than the 1/60 yf-19. to gerwalk: GERWALK joint issue. I can see how it would break. Not only is the joint very tight, but it's shallow compared to the v2 1/60 vf-1... so you WANT it to go further than it actually does and then bad things will happen. The cod piece also doubles as a torso lock in fighter mode and getting it free the first time was a bit of a bother for me but I love the inclusion as it makes fighter mode feel very solid. To Battroid. Wow, there's a lot going on during the torso fold and all the little sliding panels and hinges need to be in their proper positions for everything to come together. The new hips are a marvel and once you see it in hand, it's easy to understand why there are no removable intakes this time around. The hip bars basically swing up and LOCK into their battroid position and the LERX (which is connected to the torso) slides up and swings back to make room. Posability is what we've come to expect from Yamato but the deeper knee bend and the faux double jointed elbows are nice. The big improvement is that all the joints are TIGHT and easily hold a pose, despite the added weight of this figure versus other valks. Fit and finish are excellent though I feel Yamato skimped out on the tampo printing. I'm guessing their MO is to give it that anime look (stock) but a tampo printed instrument panel would have been appreciated. I know people are hovering around this because of the high price point and the early breakage reports but I would say it's worth the purchase price. The GERWALK joint is avoidable, it's hardly a vf-0 or vf-1 type breakage where the material just goes and breaks. It DOES require some careful handling, so take time when handling that problem area. Edited May 27, 2011 by eugimon
VF5SS Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 I just got mine. Expect a video review for CollectionDX next week.
VF-18S Hornet Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 Looks like I was worng with my earlier presumption about my prediction, as I checked on the status of my package as it seemed to have somehow bypassed customs at JFK and got to my job today I am quite pleased to see that Yamato hit the nail with this one. Upon opening this, the first thing I saw on the underside of the inner box was the sticker sheet. The sheet had N.U.N.S logos for Macross Frontier Valks as well Super Nova stickers and stickers for Fire Bomber and the NMC Macross 7. Is Yamato planning to get the licence for Macross Frontier if so I'll gladly trade in my 1/60 Bandai DX Ozma for a Yamato 1/60 VF-25S. So here is proof of my claim. I also placed it on one of my Yamato Mighty block stands to see if will stay up, Graham was right. The first time the piviot arm went back, had to get y mini screwdriver to tighten the bolt. So far it worked and it's still up; however, once I got the Speakerpod on there was an issue with it being pushed to the side. Which means that I have to purchase the launch arm flight stand for it, bummer. BOMBA
VF-18S Hornet Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) second set due to posting limits. notice the peg on the piviot arm of the stand is pushing the pod to the left, so it is ideal to have it on the stand with out the speakerpod on but if you want to specific go with the lauch arm stand question how do you get the intake covers off? I tried using my nails to get it off, but they won't budge. Edited May 27, 2011 by VF-18S Hornet
Reïvaj Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 question how do you get the intake covers off? I tried using my nails to get it off, but they won't budge. They won't because they are not removable!!!!!!!
Mommar Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 question how do you get the intake covers off? I tried using my nails to get it off, but they won't budge. In one of the past discussions somebody said it turns out because of how much room the hip mechanism/transformation takes the intake covers are built in and can't be removed. The designer even apologized for it apparently.
UN Spacy Posted May 27, 2011 Author Posted May 27, 2011 They won't because they are not removable!!!!!!!
Jasonc Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 Got mine in today, and transformed it a couple times. Transforming this thing is easy. While joints are nice and tight, the hip joint that people have broken isn't difficult to move at all. It does seem that putting the leg at a 90 degree angle, then rotating the legs outward a bit, makes the leg part come out very easy. I'm also happy to report no stress marks anywhere, and a very solid, well designed toy.
m0n5t3r Posted May 27, 2011 Posted May 27, 2011 (edited) my copy just came in. ... very informative text review... where are the pics!?!? ...and yeah, it's a shame they didn't go ahead and put even a few tampoed markings. doesn't the tampo printing under the wings count? Edited May 27, 2011 by m0n5t3r
VF-18S Hornet Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 In one of the past discussions somebody said it turns out because of how much room the hip mechanism/transformation takes the intake covers are built in and can't be removed. The designer even apologized for it apparently. Ah crap, oh well I hope when the Blazer comes out they would have fixed that issue. Hey Kicker773 what are LLOLing about?
eugimon Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 Ah crap, oh well I hope when the Blazer comes out they would have fixed that issue. Hey Kicker773 what are LLOLing about? there's nothing to fix. There's just no room in there between the GERWALK joint, the wing root hinge and the hip joint. All the space is used up.
firmpulse Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 I'm in the same boat. I made some comments before about a V2 1/48 VF-1... after handling this toy I'd be even more eager to see that. jenius (or anyone who cares to chime in), in most of the photos i have seen the ankles appear very spindly. i know they are diecast so i'm sure they are structurally fine. it just seems like the gap between the feet and the bottom of the leg is very big. is it really that bad in person?
jenius Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 you have total control over how far out you pull the ankles, there are several potential lengths. If you're not going for a crazy pose you can have the ankles recessed so they don't look spindly. For gerwalk and more dynamic poses you'd go bigger. I think I had the feet on mine recessed for the line art comparison.
Vi-RS Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 It has much better poseability with that ankle construction and it's all depending on how the user wanted to have it posed.
Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0 Posted May 28, 2011 Posted May 28, 2011 (edited) Seems to be the most toyetic release by Yamato yet in a good way and it seems that Yamato has nailed the balance between toy and collectible very well. Still tempted to order, but I eagerly look forward to any Excalibur variants in the future, I think the NOTHUNG would be great and of course the Blazer. Still wondering if the designer of this is new to Yamato or has worked for them before. Whomever he is, bravo dude! When Renato compared the Fire Valky to the VF-22S I was amazed/shocked, because. I like the 22 and if the Fire Valk is that much better, that's #$%&*(ing amazing in my book. Edited May 28, 2011 by Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0
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