1/60 Yamato VF-4G Web-Exclusive Toy

[Mommar]

That's a cool custom but I've never cared for that finned version of the VF-4.

[Loop]

My second VF-4 showed up today Glad all my stuff goes through SFO instead of LA.

[Mommar]

So interestingly, my VF-17D that arrived on the 30th has now cleared customs and one of my VF-4's that arrived on the 31st has cleared too. The second VF-4 is still stuck there.

[David Hingtgen]

Above all else, I'd suggest a GREY lining pen/marker. Pure black is too dark/stark for a white or light grey mecha. Especially if you're a beginner and won't be able to control how it goes on very much.

[mechaninac]

That, and, if you're referring Gundam pens, the black pen's ink is too glossy... the gray looks much more matte and natural.

[kaiotheforsaken]

A good/cheap solution (especially for those not experienced with washes and the like) is a mechanical pencil. You can get a really sharp point it by rubbing it against a piece of paper. It allows you to decide how dark you want it and it's fairly easy to remove if you mess up.

I used this method back in the day on my 1/48 Roy.

[usagiz]

I finally received my VF-4G today! I am already loving the engineering for the wings and how much you can adjust them! I am a bit concerned about the nose, mine arrived a bit loose with a gap , and even after pushing it back into the fuselage I am concerned that the gap will get worse as the tab doesn't really snap or click.

In spite of that its my favorite valk now! I used to enjoy playing VF-X and spend years looking at the SHE kits in the model section of macrossworld! Good work Yamato!

PS Yamato, my vf-5000 can easily wait a year!

Edited January 9, 2013 by usagiz

[Reïvaj]

A good/cheap solution (especially for those not experienced with washes and the like) is a mechanical pencil. You can get a really sharp point it by rubbing it against a piece of paper. It allows you to decide how dark you want it and it's fairly easy to remove if you mess up.

I used this method back in the day on my 1/48 Roy.

Yeah, I've used this method with some VF-1s and it's not bad at all.

[marthf1]

When transforming, I can't seem to perform the nose section portion properly. One, even with the canopy open, I can't seem to push the cockpit down using the points at blue airplanes. Second, the ventral fin won't clear the waist joint. From what I can guess, the issues are one or a combination of:

1- the connecting piece between the cockpit & piece below cannot rotate forward enough (orange airplane)

2- the waist joint cannot bend enough to allow the fin to pass (purple airplane)

Mid-trans image

It can vaguely be seen, but at the tip of the nose of the purple airplane, the metal rod surrounding plastic in the direction of the waist joint has stress marks. There's also a tad at the inner portion as well.

Hmm, the floppy left elbow is quite annoying. Pretty tedious to get it to bend since the pressure points are the forearm shell & not the actual joint. From what I can tell, the plastic that is supposed to lock the joint is broken since it doesn't lock at all in the extended position but does lock in the retracted position.

I wonder if having the assemblers perform a test transformation would've caught any of the issues. Especially the case of robodragon's missing left leg sliding cover.

Anywho, it's quite interesting to execute the transformation! The 1/72 YF-21 I have isn't as complex, nothing to say of my 1/72 VF-11 or 1/60v1 VF-1. Heh, if the arms are left untransformed in gerwalk, the VF-4 looks the part of the VF-17's predecessor. Too bad the wings can't fold upwards to mimic Navy planes' typical stowage position. Maybe on a joint like the canards & the vertical stabilizers.

Edited January 9, 2013 by marthf1

[Archer]

Any place where they are still selling this at somewhat reasonable prices? I probably shouldn't have waited till now to seriously consider buying one of these....

[takatoys]

Any place where they are still selling this at somewhat reasonable prices? I probably shouldn't have waited till now to seriously consider buying one of these....

Me too

[ron5864]

Picked mine up today at the post office.

With this in hand, I am surprised with its size and weight. This is twice as heavy as a 1/60 VF-1. Most of the weight (98%) rest on the back wheels. The nose landing gear is barely taking on any weight. The width is quite large as well. (see photo)

[rnurmin]

Me too :(/>

Me three

[Valkyrie addict]

When transforming, I can't seem to perform the nose section portion properly. One, even with the canopy open, I can't seem to push the cockpit down using the points at blue airplanes. Second, the ventral fin won't clear the waist joint. From what I can guess, the issues are one or a combination of:

1- the connecting piece between the cockpit & piece below cannot rotate forward enough (orange airplane)

2- the waist joint cannot bend enough to allow the fin to pass (purple airplane)

PICTURE

It can vaguely be seen, but at the tip of the nose of the purple airplane, the metal rod surrounding plastic in the direction of the waist joint has stress marks. There's also a tad at the inner portion as well.

Hmm, the floppy left elbow is quite annoying. Pretty tedious to get it to bend since the pressure points are the forearm shell & not the actual joint. From what I can tell, the plastic that is supposed to lock the joint is broken since it doesn't lock at all in the extended position but does lock in the retracted position.

I wonder if having the assemblers perform a test transformation would've caught any of the issues. Especially the case of robodragon's missing left leg sliding cover.

Anywho, it's quite interesting to execute the transformation! The 1/72 YF-21 I have isn't as complex, nothing to say of my 1/72 VF-11 or 1/60v1 VF-1. Heh, if the arms are left untransformed in gerwalk, the VF-4 looks the part of the VF-17's predecessor. Too bad the wings can't fold upwards to mimic Navy planes' typical stowage position. Maybe on a joint like the canards & the vertical stabilizers.

You must push firmly in the rear part of the canopy, you will notice the front landing gear bay begins to push itself down, you can help by pulling the landing gear bay down as you push the canopy down, the nose section must be in place but not locked with the fin, at least, that's what help me, I was scare shitless in this part.

For the central fin, make sure the main hinge is properly extended.

Finally had time to fondle myself....errr, I mean the valk, hehehe

Gotta handed to Yamato, this thing is beautiful and amazing, the transformation is brilliant and I never really like the way battroid mode was for the VF-4 but Yamato pull it off in a way I'm quickly falling in love with battroid mode, glad I ordered two of this babies.

Chin is intact, no missing fins or leg covers.

Small gripes, those missiles bays are a pain in the ass, don't know why they were not glued, the right leg was looser than the left but still firm, the pilot figure is horrible...too small, bad details and shody painting.

I really hope the VF-4 sell well enough for Yamato to mass produce it, I guess they were worried people would not buy it since it was not gonna be the FB2012 Hikaru scheme, but that thing is done so well they could make a pink pecker version and I would still get it.

Rats, guess I'm hooked again; time to get me VF-11B and C

Edited January 9, 2013 by Valkyrie addict

[kaiotheforsaken]

I probably wont bother hunting one of these down now, especially since fighter mode is really the biggest appeal for me. But if there are different head variants to make or some interesting colors I might snag one eventually.

My only real regret for not having one currently is that it looks like such a masterpiece of engineering that I'd love to have one just to marvel at it.

[Valkyrie addict]

Love how they manage to add proper locking mechanism for the nose and main body section in battroid. No balance issue whatsoever.

[Lupin The Third]

Hey where do we get the stand see in every other promo shot. I thought it was included for some reason.

[MacrossJunkie]

Got mine today. Went through Chicago customs, cleared in a single day. Initial thoughts; very small but beautiful. Guess I'm just more used to the old 1/48's. This is the first 1/60 I have that has come out of the box so the size surprised me a bit.

Looks like my question got lost in the pile of "LA Customs is the suxorz!" comments on the last page so I'll ask again....

I've seen that a couple of you guys have done panel lining on yours and it looks great. Any suggestions for a relative noobie who wants to do the same. Is there a tutorial online, thread here on the forum, etc that I could reference. Also saw mention of a Gundam pen/pencil(?) a few pages back...would that be the best way to go?

You can just save yourself the headache and use a pencil (mechanical or normal pencil that you'll need to keep sharpening as you go) to do the panel lining. It's easy and quick and will look better than using a fine point gundam marker on this particular valk, imho. I tried with an oil wash and the panel lines are so shallow that the pigments would wipe right out of the panel lines along with the excess when I tried to do clean up. I ended up doing about 90% oil wash and the rest in pencil where the panel lines were nearly invisible or couldn't get the oil wash to stay no matter how many tries. It took me forever. On the grayish surface of the VF-4, the pencil doesn't look too bad. you'll still want to clear coat it though because it will rub right off.

[ArchieNov]

Anyone have any advice on how to easily slot the flip out tab on the crotch into the nosecone when transforming the torso? I think I've done everything properly (pushed down on the cockpit, inserted the fin into the slit until it clicked, folded the midsection as far as it can go, etc), but the tab just seems to be around 2mm too far from the hole. I've tried applying more force to squeeze it together but I don't want to put any more for fear of breaking it.

I've rewatched around 3 reviews and mimicked pictures but even though everything looks the same, it still won't get close enough for the tab to slot into the hole.

Man, this is one of the few times that I actually gave up on transforming a valkyrie.

EDIT:

Well, I finally managed to lock in that crotch tab. Basically I just applied even more pressure until it could reach the hole. Not sure if this is really how it's supposed to be done but everything clicked and locked into place afterward.

I do have another question though. Are the forearms supposed to be floppy or is there a way to lock them into place? I don't really understand what the manual's trying to say in step 25 on page 10. I thought it was saying that I should push down on it or something but I might be wrong and I dont want to risk it.

Edited January 9, 2013 by ArchieNov

[marthf1]

The forearms should click when you pull them out with enough force. Should, anyways. The right arm on mine does it without issue, but the left arm doesn't even when I use more force. It feels like something's wrong inside that forearm since the arm lengths are approximately the same in that state.

Thanks for the advice Valkyrie addict. The back half is shifting, so it appears the front half is just really tight. Extraordinarily, prodigiously snug. Huh, the nose landing gear is detachable as well! Good to know.

Finally! After a good bit of wiggling the back half & pressing down on the instrument panel with the canopy up.... The happiest I've been to hear a pop. Ah, that solved my clearance issue as well! Double thanks, Valkyrie addict! The millimeter that fin is extended from the cockpit dropping down allows it to clear the waist.

ArchieNov, I ended up doing what you did. Just adding pressure & pulling on the nosecone & pushing the tab until they connected.

An image of VICTORY.

Everything is much easier after the first transformation. Loosens all the troublesome spots right up. Wish that was part of the QC process. Oh well, all's well that ends well.

Edited January 9, 2013 by marthf1

[MacrossJunkie]

The forearms should click when you pull them out with enough force. Should, anyways. The right arm on mine does it without issue, but the left arm doesn't even when I use more force. It feels like something's wrong inside that forearm since the arm lengths are approximately the same in that state.

Mine was like that as well. The right forearm will click, although still flops up and down but at least doesn't slide back and forth. The left side had no locking whatsoever. I tried so hard pulling on it to see if it would click that I ended up pulling the forearm right off. I took off the beam gun housing and examined the area where it connects to the elbow joint. It seems the little clips that were meant to lock the arm in place were either molded improperly or bent from the factory. I re-attached the arm and then pushed the plastic clips from the outside with a screwdriver to bend the plastic inward, then put the beam gun housing back on. That seemed to do the trick.

[Mommar]

Well two out of the three packages I've been waiting on finally arrived at the house. The guy delivering bragged they got here from LA in less than 24 hours because "somebody paid for it." Yeah, because I did, to have them delivered a week ago. Also, where's the third package I paid for?

[Shaorin]

wow.

i sure wish i could afford to join this exclusive little club.

i mean, while i'm not exactly a die-hard fan of the VR-4 design, it doesn't take a genius to see

that this is one exquisite piece of fine engineering art, to put it lightly...

[funkymonkeyjavajunky]

wow.

i sure wish i could afford to join this exclusive little club.

i mean, while i'm not exactly a die-hard fan of the VR-4 design, it doesn't take a genius to see

that this is one exquisite piece of fine engineering art, to put it lightly...

Anyone can join the club. Just start buying toys. Like they say...you can't take it with you.

[Vi-RS]

I just got mine today from HLJ which they shipped on Jan 7, so it only took 3 days by EMS to east coast via New York custom.

[OzmaLee74]

Finally! All I can say is "Damn Missiles!!"

[auberondreaming]

Got mine today as well! Took less than 24 hours from being released from customs to my office. I love this thing!

was curious though, the left dorsal fin on mine seems to be able to go beyond the angle it should stop at for fighter, unlike the right which stops pretty firmly at the correct angle. Anyone elses do this? Not worried about it per say, just curious if this is a bit of a flaw or intended.

Anyway, totally worth the wait, loving this thing, took the spot on my flight pose stand!

[Dobber]

The dorsal fins or Stabilizers can actually be pulled in and out of the house...to a degree. Try gentely pushing it down (into the engine housing) to tighten one or raising the other to correct the angle.

Chris

[auberondreaming]

The dorsal fins or Stabilizers can actually be pulled in and out of the house...to a degree. Try gentely pushing it down (into the engine housing) to tighten one or raising the other to correct the angle.

Chris

Exactly correct, thanks! This thing is really well designed! And heavy! Surprisingly heavy, it just feels solid and looks amazing! Thanks again for the tip there!

[JELEINEN]

Any place that might have these? Yamato picked the worst time of the year to release this and there was just no way in hell I'd be able to afford or justify buying myself a toy around the holidays. I see one on eBay, but paying $500 is just stupid.

Edited January 9, 2013 by JELEINEN

[Valkyrie23]

Any place that might have these? Yamato picked the worst time of the year to release this and there was just no way in hell I'd be able to afford or justify buying myself a toy around the holidays. I see one on eBay, but paying $500 is just stupid.

HK Collectibles has it for ~$403. That's the only place I see it in stock at. Their shipping prices are fair which is still less than $500. I think Yamato will release more of the VF-4G. They have to make money on the new mold somehow.

http://www.hkcollectibles.com/macross-robotech/7148-vf-4g-lightning-iii.html

[robodragon]

The dorsal fins or Stabilizers can actually be pulled in and out of the house...to a degree. Try gentely pushing it down (into the engine housing) to tighten one or raising the other to correct the angle.

Chris

Actually I have been able to pull completely out both the stabilizers and tail fins.just watch out for the little red piece that flies off when you pull the stabilizer out,

I took the elbow apart to see if I could tighten it up. The problem seams to be in the design, nothing was broken just not tight enough tolerances. I hope if they ever get back to me that NY can just send me the missing piece, Taking the leg apart isn't all that hard, but again you have to watch where the tension fit piece goes flying off to. LOL

P.S. I like to pull my stabilizers out a little in B-Mode so I can bend them flush against the leg. Looks sleeker to me. Minus the missing part I love this toy.

Edited January 9, 2013 by robodragon

[Doktor Gonzo]

Exactly correct, thanks! This thing is really well designed! And heavy! Surprisingly heavy, it just feels solid and looks amazing! Thanks again for the tip there!

That was my first impression as well. This thing wound up arriving at the same time as a used SV-51 I'd ordered (missed it when it was released, finally found one for cheap). Despite being the considerably smaller VF, the Lightning III is MUCH heavier.

[robodragon]

My VF-4 arrived, but it does not have the fin for underneath the cockpit.

Emailing NY to see if they can help.

Let me know if you get a replay to your email please old buddy .

[UN Spacy]

As many of you should know Yamato's SDF-1 won CDX's TOTY in 2010.

Folks must be pretty damn impressed by the VF-4...it's running #2 for best high end toy and #1 for best transforming toy.

http://www.collectiondx.com/TOTY2012