DX VF-171EX from Macross Frontier

[Chronocidal]

I probably just need to put pics up about what I'm saying later. I definitely got the backplate locked down into the ...well, whatever the plate is that the legs are attached to.

That's part of the problem.. what is that plate even called? The fuselage is definitely supposed to lock directly into it, but it definitely won't stay there. Anubis20 definitely has the same issue (you can see the contour and the darker part that fits into it in his pic), with the fuselage structure sitting ahead of the little contour it's supposed to rest on. It's in the last page of the instructions, that diagram showing how the fuselage is supposed to fit directly into the curved recess on that plate. I can definitely press the fuselage in there, but there's nothing to keep it there.

Probably will just have to wait til tonight after work. Just doesn't make sense without pics.

Edited July 10, 2012 by Chronocidal

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Not sure what you mean about pushing it one click to the side.. side of the leg, or side of the fighter? I'll have to check later, since it sounds like what you're describing is that the knees have some kind of side to side motion.

Yes, that's what I meant, the lower legs have side to side motion. When you dislodge the leg and go from fighter to gerwalk, the lower leg is not totally aligned with the upper leg. Check collection's DX video around 8:08 and you'll see what I mean. When you go back to fighter you are probably forgetting this step.

Soory for my poor English, but the video is self explanatory

[Chronocidal]

K, that makes more sense then. Not sure it will help hold the legs up any, but I'll find out later. Thanks.

[VF5SS]

man i need a better camera

[Hikuro]

Hm I'll try that as well only thing that clicked was the back side.

[kyekye]

Got mine today. No visible flaws - BUT!! the wing pins fall off as I try to fold/unfold. Definitely Design QC issue.

Other than that, No problems on transforming back and forth. Maybe my Japanese reading skill helped

The Pelvis/leg ball joint was very tight thou. I was worried a little on first try.

[Chronocidal]

"Very tight" hip joints would be like calling the sun "a little warm." Mine could rotate side to side a little, but rotation was almost out of the question for mine. I'm almost tempted to disassemble the hips and file down the ball joints, because they are scary to move. I mean, "holy crap, I feel like I'm going to break this thing in half" scary.

Or.. you know.. I could always just leave it untransformed in fighter mode for a few months. The hips will probably be nice and loose in no time.

[Reïvaj]

That’s what happens after years of customers complaining about Bandai’s loose joints.

[Mommar]

You know what, I don't think I've even "swung" the hip bar on my 171. It just wouldn't move but it's stable enough that it doesn't matter.

[Archer]

I gave up transforming my 171. I just can't bring myself to do it. Every time I try, I feel like I'm gonna force something and it will break. So yeah, gonna leave in fighter till everything losses up a bit...

[Twoducks]

Mental dialogue experience with 171:

"Man, turning my Vf-17 back to fighter made me want to chuck it against a wall last night, lets hope the 171 isn’t as frustrating. Damn, the MW guys are saying it’s even more complex. But I like complex (I think? I do enjoy MP Rodimus which some call “frustrating”). Let’s do it… Fighter is just so pretty, whish Yamato had used more tampo… god the 171 is pretty; My favourite fighter other than the Vf-1. Lets transform!! Looks easy. Wow this is AWESOME, a heck more fun than the 17. AWESOME shoulder design! There goes the wing pin… not that bad. Transformation process moves pieces around in such a way you… oh, there goes another wing pin… and another... and again. Toy is tight. Ok, that head mechanism is weird. Can’t lock the damn chest… can’t flip the other cockpit hinge. Can’t lock… ANOTHER PIN!!. Still looks so pretty and… again with THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING PIIIIIIIINS. LOOOOOOCK, PIECE OF crap, LOOOOCK!! DAMN STUPID HEAD DON’T MOVE, I’M GOING TO SCRATCH MY STUPID BANDAI CHEAP PAINT!!!!! *click* oh, there we go. All locked in place! So pretty!!"

Time spend: More than an hour and a freaking half.

Like it? F*YEAH!

Anybody tried using spray (or liquid) varnish on a Bandai? How does it look? I love the tampo on this thing and don’t want to scratch it.

Another thing: Does the panel that flips from under the chest peg into the head? It has a peg and if you back the neck you get a hole but I just can’t make it click.

[Reïvaj]

Beautiful ladies aren't usually the easiest.

[Hikuro]

Ya that little panel needs to tuck into the back side of the head to get that bloody thing into fighter mode. And watch out for those little flaps on the front chest. They popped out a hand ful of times while I messed with it.

[EXO]

LOL, German!

[Loop]

Okay, I will admit that if they ever release Mylene's valkyrie w/boobs, I'll be all over that preorder like stink on cheese.

Most definitely, I am a freak about assembling the whole cast of Valks that are available for any of the Macross shows I am collecting for (All of them).

Back on topic: Damn, if only I had the display space I would take a stab at transforming this beauty. I just want to make sure I am not missing anything as far as the QC goes. I am also hesitant after reading about the hard time some have had getting it back into fighter mode. cause it would have to go back into the box.

[kyekye]

So.. We have anyone who doesn't have falling wings peg problem? If so, can you kindly tell me if the pegs are glued or rotated?

Mine just pops out by just touching the wings. I see the peg has cut-side on the circle. I'm not sure if inserting and rotating will fix the issue.

[Mommar]

Somebody said they took their pins out and switched which hole they went in and they held more snug afterwards. You might give that a try.

[Hikuro]

Yep so mine doesn't lock up. It DID very briefly but it refuses to lock up in battroid mode.

[jenius]

My post is up on anymoon. I'm hoping to have a video review up tomorrow. I'm also planning on doing a separate video walk-through of transformation separate from the review as hopefully a sort of instructional video. We'll see when I can get the videos up though... this toy takes so long for me to transform still that it's hard to find enough free time for it.

Edited July 11, 2012 by jenius

[anubis20]

I probably just need to put pics up about what I'm saying later. I definitely got the backplate locked down into the ...well, whatever the plate is that the legs are attached to.

That's part of the problem.. what is that plate even called? The fuselage is definitely supposed to lock directly into it, but it definitely won't stay there. Anubis20 definitely has the same issue (you can see the contour and the darker part that fits into it in his pic), with the fuselage structure sitting ahead of the little contour it's supposed to rest on. It's in the last page of the instructions, that diagram showing how the fuselage is supposed to fit directly into the curved recess on that plate. I can definitely press the fuselage in there, but there's nothing to keep it there.

Probably will just have to wait til tonight after work. Just doesn't make sense without pics.

I figured it out with the help of matrix soul, theres a notch in the area behind the swingbar that clicks into the backplate in battroid. its not the grey area in the chest that is clicking its that little notch with the bottom of the backplate.

So.. We have anyone who doesn't have falling wings peg problem? If so, can you kindly tell me if the pegs are glued or rotated?

Mine just pops out by just touching the wings. I see the peg has cut-side on the circle. I'm not sure if inserting and rotating will fix the issue.

mine have yet to fall out, I have transformed mine twice.

Edited July 11, 2012 by anubis20

[Lolicon]

After inserting the wing pin, they can be turned while in the slot. This prevents them from falling out without pulling hard on them.

I put nail polish on my wing pins and on the slot in the wings. Doesn't make the wings any better, but it does tighten them enough so that the wings don't slide backwards during, uh, combat maneuvers.

[DyNo]

Is there anyone other than me that still hasn't received a shipping quote from HLJ? It's been over a week now and still nothing.

Edited July 11, 2012 by DyNo

[Mommar]

Is there anyone other than me that still hasn't received a shipping quote from HLJ? It's been over a week now and still nothing.

Have you e-mailed them about it?

[DyNo]

Yes 2 days ago about it, haven't heard back yet..

[HG Blows]

I figured it out with the help of matrix soul, theres a notch in the area behind the swingbar that clicks into the backplate in battroid. its not the grey area in the chest that is clicking its that little notch with the bottom of the backplate.

mine have yet to fall out, I have transformed mine twice.

Got pics of this notch? Mine doesn't sit quite flush either...

[skull_leader001]

Is there anyone other than me that still hasn't received a shipping quote from HLJ? It's been over a week now and still nothing.

yesterday

[anubis20]

Got pics of this notch? Mine doesn't sit quite flush either...

It doesnt need to sit flush but it does need to click. that part that doesnt sit flush isnt what actually clicks. Here are some pics:

The tab that clicks:

The notch it goes into:

Get those 2 together and itll click and the body will be solid. Hope it helps

[North of 49]

Is there anyone other than me that still hasn't received a shipping quote from HLJ? It's been over a week now and still nothing.

I think they are still working on alot of problems with their new site and systems. I received my 171 on Monday in a combined order but I still have no indication of the shipping amount for it. I do pay for my orders by credit card though and use the new private warehouse feature, so it may have been charged but is not listed in my account. Also the communication is a little slower than usual. Give them some time on a response though, they will get back to you. It took them a week to get back to me about a product question I had . Never before has it taken that long, but I did get an answer.

[stormshadow0621]

Maybe this has already been answered but on mine, the hip bars can be pulled out a little to provide more range of motion. Anyhow, when extended, the left side becomes floppy while the right is just a little. I can have the bars closer to the nosecone and "lock" them with the flaps on each side so they don't move. Question, is it supposed to pulled out in battroid mode and be this floppy?

When it stands, there's no problem since the bars go to a natural position and stay there. I'll try to have pictures tonight.

[jenius]

I noticed the same thing with the swing bars but it was pretty minor.

[danth]

Just got mine!

[xrentonx]

I'm picking up both of mine from Fedex tomorrow. Can't wait!

...about HLJ...I put in the request to ship these both from my private warehouse on Sunday and it looks like HLJ shipped immediately for me. Maybe I'm just lucky or I'm the golden boy or something but I never seem to have any problems with them like other people. Only weird thing was that the items remained in my private warehouse for a few days. I'm not sure if they are still there (I'll log on later to check) but I did get the tracking number for the shipment. I'm chalking all of these up to growing pains with the new website. Give it time and I'm sure they'll work it out.

[Negotiator]

Hip bars are loose If it's popped out and the bacckplate is not secured. Push in the bars then push in the fuselage to the back plate until you hear it lock. The swing bars will no longer pop out or move while the fuselage and back plate are locked together.

[subie81]

Just ordered mine from Nippon-Yasan! It's only $201.31 US dollars before shipping! Great price considering I wasn't able to secure a pre-order! Does anybody have experience buying from this website? Are they legit? They've got some great prices on a lot of piece items!

[Reïvaj]

They're great.