Kyp Durron Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 In the case of the renewal version, they say it is a separate web-exclusive release and not a bundle which is why there is a scramble to pre-order the 25S now. What will suck is if they later go "we changed our mind, we will release it as a bundle too!" after people have bought the stand-alone 25S and then paid the overly inflated price for the separate web-exclusive armor with shipping for that as well. At this point, though, I wouldn't be overly surprised if they went and did that. Pissed off? Yes, but not surprised. I hate that there is no rhyme or reason to their releases. Didn't they also say that they weren't going to release a super pack for the VF-25S? -Kyp
Renato Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 They're never going to say they "will not" release something.
OmegaD3k Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Just picked up mine from the post office and right out of the box I noticed a few very minor things which made me cringe. Aside from the issues pointed out below, this the perfect rendition of the VF-25, and blows all others right out of the water. The legs and thighs are very tight; the left arm is sturdy, and the overall piece feels very well put together. However… While I didn’t notice it immediately, the left, white, “fin” or “antennae” behind the head is severely bent which may have been a factory error, seeing how I was not able to bend it back to its proper position and the plastic was so hard, it wouldn’t budge. There was also a stress mark at the bend, but it wouldn’t show up on camera. I think something very heavy may have squished that piece into the way it is. There are no other signs of damage on the entire valk. There are a few paint chippings, and some paint smudges, but again, it’s nothing serious. Since I also build and paint model kits, I can clean those patches up quite easily. (note the deep scratches and paint chipping on the left black stripe in the attached pic) What I did notice right out of the box was that the right shoulder was incredibly loose and floppy at the ball joint. I’ve tightened the screw just a little bit, but it didn’t help much. This seems to be a recurring problem with all of Bandai’s Frontier Valks, seeing how I have three V1 VF-25’s, one VF-27, and one YF-29 which all had floppy limbs right out of the box, or ended up that way after a few transformations. Again, excellent valk, but the floppy joint(s) are a real distraction and severely hinder any attempt at some cool poses. The fact that Bandai released the Version 2 of the VF-25 so quickly makes me feel like I’ve been suckered in for having bought multiple V1’s. If they had waited longer, say, for the 5th or 10th Anniversary of Macross Frontier, I wouldn’t mind. But seeing how the same company made the amazing 1/72 model kit, I knew they could do better, but I didn’t think they would revisit the VF-25 this soon, after less than 2 years. Aside from all that, there are no other complaints. Thumbs up for this Valk. Got an Ozma on Pre-Order, and will no doubt pick up the rest of the squadron... Again.
Actar Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Question: How far back are the shoulders supposed to bend? For me, I actually bend them back as far as they will go so that they are at an angle. This way, the back plate also sits flat against the cockpit window and the neck looks properly pronounced.
MacrossJunkie Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 However… While I didn’t notice it immediately, the left, white, “fin” or “antennae” behind the head is severely bent which may have been a factory error, seeing how I was not able to bend it back to its proper position and the plastic was so hard, it wouldn’t budge. There was also a stress mark at the bend, but it wouldn’t show up on camera. I think something very heavy may have squished that piece into the way it is. There are no other signs of damage on the entire valk. There are a few paint chippings, and some paint smudges, but again, it’s nothing serious. Since I also build and paint model kits, I can clean those patches up quite easily. (note the deep scratches and paint chipping on the left black stripe in the attached pic) What I did notice right out of the box was that the right shoulder was incredibly loose and floppy at the ball joint. I’ve tightened the screw just a little bit, but it didn’t help much. This seems to be a recurring problem with all of Bandai’s Frontier Valks, seeing how I have three V1 VF-25’s, one VF-27, and one YF-29 which all had floppy limbs right out of the box, or ended up that way after a few transformations. That sucks. I wonder if you could locally heat that area and bend the antenna back. The paint chips and sloppy paint apps seem par for the course. The right shoulder block on mine looks like someone had scratched off the paint by accident and then got a paint brush and brushed some red paint back on. It's clumpy and uneven and went over onto the black stripe area. Question: How far back are the shoulders supposed to bend? For me, I actually bend them back as far as they will go so that they are at an angle. This way, the back plate also sits flat against the cockpit window and the neck looks properly pronounced. I put mine all the way back too since it keeps the neck base locked in place and helps to cover more of the cockpit, otherwise, if the shoulder blades are more level like it is shown in the CG models, the back plate doesn't cover the entire canopy and the neck base flops around.
eriku Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 I put mine all the way back too since it keeps the neck base locked in place and helps to cover more of the cockpit, otherwise, if the shoulder blades are more level like it is shown in the CG models, the back plate doesn't cover the entire canopy and the neck base flops around. This is also what I do.
Ghostkiller Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) Wow that looks like a dammaged part and not only paint issue Edited October 31, 2011 by Ghostkiller
Kyp Durron Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Wow that looks like a dammaged part and not only paint issue Indeed it is, and I would be super pissed if mine had come that way. -Kyp
MacrossJunkie Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 If I had those chips in the plastic itself on mine, I'd probably try to fill them in with putty, sand it a bit and then give it a coat of flat black... or at least just paint the chipped areas with black so that the chips are not so apparent. They must train monkeys to assemble these things with so many apparently coming out of the box all dinged up.
Kyp Durron Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) If I had those chips in the plastic itself on mine, I'd probably try to fill them in with putty, sand it a bit and then give it a coat of flat black... or at least just paint the chipped areas with black so that the chips are not so apparent. They must train monkeys to assemble these things with so many apparently coming out of the box all dinged up. I agree, and even though everyone complains about Yamato's QC, from what I've observed, Bandai has a long way to go before they'll be on Yamato's level, in my opinion. -Kyp Edited October 31, 2011 by Kyp Durron
shuji Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 just received mine yesterday..not open yet will checking today..hopefully all ok in perfect condition
regult Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Indeed it is, and I would be super pissed if mine had come that way. -Kyp Imagine how I feel about mine: I had to retouch the indentation with some black paint so the chipping is not so obvious. But it is still quite obvious in all three modes. Edited November 1, 2011 by regult
anubis20 Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Anyone else experience loose arm joints? My left arm is kinda loose Aside from that this thing looks great! Edited November 1, 2011 by anubis20
eugimon Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Anyone else experience loose arm joints? My left arm is kinda loose Aside from that this thing looks great! my copy's left arm was loose at the shoulder as well. I gave the ball joint a coat of nail polish, it's been good since.
anubis20 Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 my copy's left arm was loose at the shoulder as well. I gave the ball joint a coat of nail polish, it's been good since. Did you have to take the arm apart?
eugimon Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Did you have to take the arm apart? I guess it depends on where its loose. Mine was at the shoulder and there's one screw on the bottom of that shoulder/collar bone assembly. There's a PVC insert that's supposed to apply friction to the ball (which is a plastic half hemisphere on a metal post) but for whatever reason it wasn't doing a good job. The lower elbow joint is a little loose as well but I'd have to take the forearm apart to get to it. But I'm kind of paranoid when it comes to these guys. I've had a screw shear off at the head before on one of these DXs (the yf-29), so unless it's seriously affecting my enjoyment, I try to leave it alone.
anubis20 Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I guess it depends on where its loose. Mine was at the shoulder and there's one screw on the bottom of that shoulder/collar bone assembly. There's a PVC insert that's supposed to apply friction to the ball (which is a plastic half hemisphere on a metal post) but for whatever reason it wasn't doing a good job. The lower elbow joint is a little loose as well but I'd have to take the forearm apart to get to it. But I'm kind of paranoid when it comes to these guys. I've had a screw shear off at the head before on one of these DXs (the yf-29), so unless it's seriously affecting my enjoyment, I try to leave it alone. Thanks for the info! Yea mine is loose at the shoulder joint as well but only that one. As you can see in the last pic it holds its position but at the slightest touch it'll move, since its on display right now I might leave it alone for a little bit and fix it later.
SpaceCowboy Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 "I agree, and even though everyone complains about Yamato's QC, from what I've observed, Bandai has a long way to go before they'll be on Yamato's level, in my opinion." Are you honestly comparing a millimeter sized chip to a leg, arm, or head falling off? Yeah, those are the same... I'm not saying the chipping is okay, but compared to the complete functionality of the toy being destroyed, it seems pretty minor.
eugimon Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 engineering issue: not using the right plastic so that it falls apart. QC issue: workers with glue all over their hands putting the toy together so that it comes with frakking super glue finger prints all over the place. To yamato's credit, at least when my vf-0a's arms were falling off, the paint looked good. Meanwhile, while my DX armored Ozma is falling apart (gunpod has cracks along it, the front landing gear bay doors are crumbling, the back hinge has huge cracks, the wing glove hinge has huge cracks) the POS came out of the box with a huge gash on the head where someone at the factory forced it in. And while I got replacement parts from yamato to fix the arms, I never heard back from bandai or HLJ about the DX ozma. So yeah, I'll take Yamato's QC any day over BanDai's
charger69 Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 Yamato sent out replacement shoulder hinges, Bandai didn't
regult Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Plastic that cannot tolerate stress fails and chips with time, but out of the box brand new? that's bad QC, and also bad materials that could eventually crack and fail anyway. Let's not forget the yellowing...it's both QC and engineering IMO. I also had a horrible paint smudge on my VF-25F, but I didn't mention it because I can fix it with my tools and experience. I cannot fix the bad engineering. Edited November 1, 2011 by regult
Kyp Durron Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 (edited) Imagine how I feel about mine: I had to retouch the indentation with some black paint so the chipping is not so obvious. But it is still quite obvious in all three modes. Wow, I remember you posting about it, but actually seeing it, damn. I hope that anyone who knowingly sends products out like that gets the karma of having bad QC issues with everything major that they buy....for life. -Kyp Edited November 1, 2011 by Kyp Durron
Tober Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 My VF-25F had one hip that was tight and one that was loose. I just used a screwdriver to adjust them and they were fine. No real problems with the shoulder joints, yet. I'm really liking these guys, now.
hutch Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I wish they would announce something about the armor and super parts...
Macross_Fanboy Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 I'm glad I didn't get mine now. I'll wait for Yamato to snag the rights to Frontier even if it takes forever. I'm going to transform my Koenig Monster to see if it isn't falling apart since I've had it for about a year now.
eugimon Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 That's really a question only you can answer. How much do you like the design versus what's your tolerance for spotty QC? Personally, I don't regret it and I think it's an phenomenal jump from the original DX 25. To me, it's as big of a leap forward as the yammie 1/60 vf-1 to the 1/48 vf-1.
m0n5t3r Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 (edited) I'm glad I didn't get mine now. I'll wait for Yamato to snag the rights to Frontier even if it takes forever. I'm going to transform my Koenig Monster to see if it isn't falling apart since I've had it for about a year now. check the joints for the arms (the ones that connect to the shoulder and to the arm cannons)... a couple on mine has cracks where the hollow pin is inserted. it doesn't really affect the toy atm, but seeing as how people here b!tched about the cracked shoulder hinges on the Yamato v.2, i thought it worth mentioning. at least Yamato remedied the problem and provided replacements. i might just go with you on this one and wait 'til Bandai's hold on the Frontier license expires... i have to avoid this thread and other Bandai DX valk threads though, lol. Edited November 2, 2011 by m0n5t3r
Lolicon Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Anyone know of any place in Tokyo where these can be found? I've had no luck so far finding a VF-25.
Macross_Fanboy Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 Anyone know of any place in Tokyo where these can be found? I've had no luck so far finding a VF-25. You should try Tam Tam of Route 16 not too far off from Sagamihara if you live along the Tokyu/Hanzomon line. It is the largest hobby shop I have ever been in and where I picked up my VF-11B and a few other Valks that escape my memory besides kits here and there. Or Big Camera at the Yokohama train station square.
ALEXD Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 I will get him immediatly How many people have cancelled their preorder on bbts? now theres 7 left instead of 4
kanedaestes Posted November 2, 2011 Posted November 2, 2011 So it occurs to me and I don't know if this has been said somewhere else but this is the first major valk with no rear thrust as in all movement is coming from the legs in all modes. I really really want one now
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