Chronocidal Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Ok, I don't think the hip bars are actually supposed to move at all. The left one definitely is sloppy on mine as well, but those bars aren't supposed to rotate at the upper point. What's supposed to happen is that once you get to battroid, you push the bars back in toward the nose, and they lock. The pull/push locking mechanism for the legs is what unlocks the entire sliding underside plate to let you move the legs down from fighter/gerwalk position, and once they're down there, it re-locks them in place by pushing the hips back in. The problem is, the gear doors get in the way. If your legs aren't locking in, the gear doors are probably getting caught under the bar, and keeping it from seating correctly. I had to actually pop the gear doors over the bar to the outer side of it to let the hip reach the locking position (only on the left hip of course). I'm not too worried about the doors getting stressed, but it might not be good for them. This wouldn't even be a problem if the hips weren't such a royal pain in the ass to move. Every time I transform this thing, I'm worried that left hip is going to snap off. Quote
xrentonx Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Huh...good to know! Yeah, I didn't push them back in because I didn't want to stress the gear doors. It was mentioned in one of the transformation videos I watched and I thought the doors were what provided the friction to lock the hip bars in place. Quote
Chronocidal Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 No, the doors definitely get in the way. If you flex them, you can actually force them to lay outboard of the hip bars once you push them in, but that's one step the instructions really doesn't detail at all. Honestly, I'm tempted to say that it's just better to not collapse the backpack shoulder hinges, and keep the hip plate snapped to the back without locking down the nose. Doing that pushes the hip plate away from the gear doors, and solves this problem entirely, because you've got room to push the hip bars back toward the center to lock them. Quote
anime52k8 Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) I gave what you suggested initially a try and it feels a lot more stable; it's also easier to move the legs at the hip joint now that the swing bar isn't flailing about; but it still feels like I'm kludging the transformation. It really feels like the swing bar should have a forward position, it clearly has about a 30 degree range of motion and an audible click when it's fully forward. The hip position also looks truer to the line-art when the swing bar is forward, and having the landing gear doors splayed open and draped over the bar just feels wrong. Anyways, A few more thoughts now that I've got it: I honestly cannot figure out what part of the chest people are making pop off. Is it the little grey flaps that fold down? I have no idea how you would make them pop while transforming the thing unless you're doing things out of order and viciously forcing parts together. As for the wing pins, I've had one fall out so far, mine stay in fine during normal handling, it's only if I managed to wiggle the wings up and down instead of in and out that it works its way out. the times I've noticed one being a little loose was because of pushing the wings together too tightly and wedging it out of place. still, it's incredibly stupid that they didn't just pack the thing with hard-point bearing wings and be done with it. I just realized that the wings it comes with have glued on panels on the top sides that would only be necessary if it had molded hard points. it is literally made form an unnecessary number of pieces just so it can have parts commonality with add on wings. Maybe I'll end up getting the super parts after all and just glue the peg in place once I've done the swap. But what's really annoying about the wings is that I cannot for the life of me get both 100% swung forward in fighter mode. even out of the box there was about a millimeter gap between the wing and the shoulder pauldron, like the arm alignment was off and forcing the wing out of position ever so slightly. It's not that big of a deal and I may be able to resolve it with enough fiddling and giving the joint as chance to smooth out, but it's just gnawing at my OCD nerve when it's in fighter mode. Also, the single scariest part of the transformation was for some reason the lower leg swivel. It was fine going from fighter to battroid but the other way around it would absolutely not turn. It felt like it was binding and that I was literally going to shatter the leg if I kept twisting it. eventually I got it to go then gave it a few more hard twists back and force and now it's absolutely perfect. still, it looks so damn good and I love having it. It's my new favorite macross toy after my VF-19S and it's making me really want a Yamato VF-17 if it wasn't so damn expensive. Edited July 17, 2012 by anime52k8 Quote
xrentonx Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) I'm gonna have to agree that anything that has to do with the leg transformation is a terrifying endeavor. Now that I have it back in a very solid fighter mode (one arm wasn't solidly locked when I first unboxed it) I don't want to touch the transformation for a long while. Even though I did it correctly, it's just far too scary to keep doing. Edited July 17, 2012 by xrentonx Quote
SuperHobo Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 I gave what you suggested initially a try and it feels a lot more stable; it's also easier to move the legs at the hip joint now that the swing bar isn't flailing about; but it still feels like I'm kludging the transformation. It really feels like the swing bar should have a forward position, it clearly has about a 30 degree range of motion and an audible click when it's fully forward. The hip position also looks truer to the line-art when the swing bar is forward, and having the landing gear doors splayed open and draped over the bar just feels wrong. Anyways, A few more thoughts now that I've got it: I honestly cannot figure out what part of the chest people are making pop off. Is it the little grey flaps that fold down? I have no idea how you would make them pop while transforming the thing unless you're doing things out of order and viciously forcing parts together. As for the wing pins, I've had one fall out so far, mine stay in fine during normal handling, it's only if I managed to wiggle the wings up and down instead of in and out that it works its way out. the times I've noticed one being a little loose was because of pushing the wings together too tightly and wedging it out of place. still, it's incredibly stupid that they didn't just pack the thing with hard-point bearing wings and be done with it. I just realized that the wings it comes with have glued on panels on the top sides that would only be necessary if it had molded hard points. it is literally made form an unnecessary number of pieces just so it can have parts commonality with add on wings. Maybe I'll end up getting the super parts after all and just glue the peg in place once I've done the swap. But what's really annoying about the wings is that I cannot for the life of me get both 100% swung forward in fighter mode. even out of the box there was about a millimeter gap between the wing and the shoulder pauldron, like the arm alignment was off and forcing the wing out of position ever so slightly. It's not that big of a deal and I may be able to resolve it with enough fiddling and giving the joint as chance to smooth out, but it's just gnawing at my OCD nerve when it's in fighter mode. Also, the single scariest part of the transformation was for some reason the lower leg swivel. It was fine going from fighter to battroid but the other way around it would absolutely not turn. It felt like it was binding and that I was literally going to shatter the leg if I kept twisting it. eventually I got it to go then gave it a few more hard twists back and force and now it's absolutely perfect. still, it looks so damn good and I love having it. It's my new favorite macross toy after my VF-19S and it's making me really want a Yamato VF-17 if it wasn't so damn expensive. When your swiveling the leg to put them back into figther mode make sure the knees are fully collapsed otherwise, the lower swivel is locked in place. Quote
anime52k8 Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 When your swiveling the leg to put them back into figther mode make sure the knees are fully collapsed otherwise, the lower swivel is locked in place. ohhh... that would explain a lot. I'm gonna have to agree that anything that has to do with the leg transformation is a terrifying endeavor. Now that I have it back in a very solid fighter mode (one arm wasn't solidly locked when I first unboxed it) I don't want to touch the transformation for a long while. Even though I did it correctly, it's just far too scary to keep doing. honestly, it's mostly that the transformation is so different form anything else I've handled that made it tricky. now that I'm familiar enough with it to do it without instructions it's not any harder than the VF-19. Quote
Chronocidal Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) I've had issues with the leg twist to fighter mode too, and I don't know what exactly it is that locks/unlocks that. I'll experiment a bit before I sleep and see if I come up with anything. I think it's something to do with the extension and collapse of the knee extension that triggers it, but I don't know what does it exactly. I've definitely had to extend and collapse the knee multiple times sometimes before the twist got unlocked. You might be right about both halves of the hip bar shifting forward, but I could never get the right hip to rotate that way. Only the left one has that range of motion, and I don't think it's supposed to. On the other hand, twisting it forward doesn't do anything about it colliding with the gear door. I still think maybe the best solution is to just not entirely lock the body together. It's not that unstable, it just doesn't quite lock. Edited July 17, 2012 by Chronocidal Quote
ultraman zoffy Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) Holy crap... well, the right leg on mine is slightly jacked up now due to the leg twist issue, not to mention the knee cover now has a slightly bent, gnarled up tip. The twist mechanism locked up, and I had to use pliers to hold the leg in place while trying to free the swivel up, which required twisting the lower leg so hard the plastic started separating a bit. Even with collapsing the leg first, the lock or whatever is in there functions inconsistently, and may freeze up on you. It now only allows me to twist the lower leg prior to locking the hip in place when going back to fighter mode, not after. Weird and annoying. So far, this has been my only issue with this valk, but it was a nasty, scary one. My valk is now marred and its got me a little salty on the insanely tight and complex joint designs they used on it. Oh well... Edited July 17, 2012 by ultraman zoffy Quote
Chronocidal Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Ok, for the leg twist... seems that extending the leg joint at all locks the twist. Bending the knee might too, but its not consistent. Looks like the best way is to ensure the knee is fully collapsed and unbent to twist the lower leg. As fo the hips... good grief. I can't understand what they were thinking. There is no room for the gear doors. At all. If you look at the diagram for attaching the stand in battroid, you can see that they really do intend for you to rotate the hip bars forward, but there is no lock in that position... unless you try to push the hips back in. I nearly snapped off my gear doors trying that. There just is no safe place for the gear doors to go if you transform the hips the way you're supposed to, at least not that I can see yet. The instructions don't say a thing about it either. Quote
NightCastle Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Don't forget to place your hand on the red dot when you twist over your foot on the blue one... On topic: I didn't lock mine when in Battroid mode and it kept a good position regardless. The hardest part of the entire transformation from battroid to fighter, for me, was placing the hip joint under the chest piece. That is where all the pieces kept popping off. Quote
anime52k8 Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) As fo the hips... good grief. I can't understand what they were thinking. There is no room for the gear doors. At all. If you look at the diagram for attaching the stand in battroid, you can see that they really do intend for you to rotate the hip bars forward, but there is no lock in that position... unless you try to push the hips back in. I nearly snapped off my gear doors trying that. There just is no safe place for the gear doors to go if you transform the hips the way you're supposed to, at least not that I can see yet. The instructions don't say a thing about it either. I don't think you're intended to push the hip bars back in at all, or at least your only supposed to push them in a little bit until they're just resting against the gear doors. If you could collapse the hip bars any further, they'd be too narrow to sit properly in the stand adapter. Edited July 17, 2012 by anime52k8 Quote
ultraman zoffy Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 I've had a gear door fly off when trying to deal with the hips... it just doesn't seem right having those bars flopping around, but like Chrono pointed out, pushing them in but then having to deal with the arthritic hip joint is no bueno. Quote
anubis20 Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 Mine is finally complete A very kind board member sent me his shoulder piece. Quote
VF5SS Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 http://collectiondx.com/toy_review/2012/vf171ex_nightmare_plus_alto_saotome_custom maybe this would be less dense if I didn't insist on taking pictures next to a bunch of other toys Quote
Chronocidal Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 I don't think you're intended to push the hip bars back in at all, or at least your only supposed to push them in a little bit until they're just resting against the gear doors. If you could collapse the hip bars any further, they'd be too narrow to sit properly in the stand adapter. You know, that's actually funny in a way, and just reinforces my thought that Bandai always includes a stand because they don't intend for these toys to be displayed standing on their own. Unless you put it on the stand, the hips don't have anything to hold them in the right position. So, basically the hips just don't lock.. or at least the left one doesnt. My right one doesn't really move, but the left one flops around because there's no tension in that joint. I wonder what dripping some glue in there might accomplish. Quote
anime52k8 Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 I think I'll just stick to keeping them in the compacted fighter mode position when it's standing and only change it when I feel like using the stand. Quote
ultraman zoffy Posted July 17, 2012 Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) Gerwalk is really nice for displays if you don't want to deal with the hips, especially since you can angle the rear up almost vertical to give the 171 a smaller "footprint" in your display case. Edited July 17, 2012 by ultraman zoffy Quote
nightmareB4macross Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 That is a nice and simple display. Clean, clear and easy to make out what your focusing on. Quote
ultraman zoffy Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 That is a nice and simple display. Clean, clear and easy to make out what your focusing on. Thanks Nightmare... I try to keep my toys from looking like they're about to form Macross Voltron. Quote
Kelsain Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 Woohoo, mine just arrived! I'll have to break it out @ lunch! (null) Quote
MyClone Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 Finally broke mine out last night. I like it. Battroid is larger than I expected, and looks menacing. Transformation is a pain, and it does seem to be a bit light for its size, but still a fun toy. Best, MyClone Quote
Rabidweezil Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 Mine finally showed up as well! Normally when I receive a fresh new valk I do a transformation and decide what mode I want to display it in. However, considering all the warnings I've read here about the process, it seems I should wait until I have 2-3 hours to kill so I can watch videos, read all the forum tips, and cross-reference various diagrams while I'm trying to pull it off. Quote
xrentonx Posted July 18, 2012 Posted July 18, 2012 Mine finally showed up as well! Normally when I receive a fresh new valk I do a transformation and decide what mode I want to display it in. However, considering all the warnings I've read here about the process, it seems I should wait until I have 2-3 hours to kill so I can watch videos, read all the forum tips, and cross-reference various diagrams while I'm trying to pull it off. That's totally what I did! Quote
Mommar Posted July 19, 2012 Posted July 19, 2012 Mine finally showed up as well! Normally when I receive a fresh new valk I do a transformation and decide what mode I want to display it in. However, considering all the warnings I've read here about the process, it seems I should wait until I have 2-3 hours to kill so I can watch videos, read all the forum tips, and cross-reference various diagrams while I'm trying to pull it off. You're in luck, it's pretty fun to swoosh around in fighter mode anyway so you can play around with it like that in the mean time. Quote
aurance Posted July 19, 2012 Posted July 19, 2012 What is "Origin Post is Preparing Shipment" at USPS? Is that customs? It's been there for 7 days... Quote
eugimon Posted July 19, 2012 Posted July 19, 2012 What is "Origin Post is Preparing Shipment" at USPS? Is that customs? It's been there for 7 days... sounds like they created a shipping label but it hasn't been picked up by the carrier or it wasn't scanned in properly. I would email and find out what's going on Quote
Jasonc Posted July 19, 2012 Posted July 19, 2012 Damn, just picked one up for $150 clean, brand new, and shipped. I had no plans to get one, but at that price, I couldn't resist. Before anyone asks, it was a private seller. Now I will wait patiently for the accessories. Quote
raptormesh Posted July 19, 2012 Posted July 19, 2012 Damn, just picked one up for $150 clean, brand new, and shipped. I had no plans to get one, but at that price, I couldn't resist. Before anyone asks, it was a private seller. Now I will wait patiently for the accessories. Nice score mate. It looks really good, but I don't really like white valks so am waiting for the teal ones. Quote
takatoys Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 Nice score mate. It looks really good, but I don't really like white valks so am waiting for the teal ones. Same here. Quote
Loop Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 Are we sure they will make a teal version? I will buy 2 more if that does happen. I just wonder if Bandai will gamble on CF schemes. Where there any CF schemes in the V1 toy line? Quote
ps99042 Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 Are we sure they will make a teal version? I will buy 2 more if that does happen. I just wonder if Bandai will gamble on CF schemes. Where there any CF schemes in the V1 toy line? Yeah, they made a CF VF-27 so there's hope. Quote
Jasonc Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 Nice score mate. It looks really good, but I don't really like white valks so am waiting for the teal ones. I was going to do the same. I originally cancelled my preorder that at NY that was something like $220 shipped. A CF version I will definitely get, not an impulse buy like this one. Quote
mechaninac Posted July 20, 2012 Posted July 20, 2012 Are there any physical differences between the VF-171 and VF-171EX, other than the canopy? For some reason I get the impression, when looking at rendered images from the show, that the upper section of the nose fuselage, specially around the cockpit is "flatter-more oval" than the EX. If my perception is correct, Bandai would need to create new molds for both the upper fuselage half and the Hex-framed canopy in order to create a true representation of the grunt VF-171 and its Elint counterpart. Then again, maybe the only outward distinction, other than color, is the canopy design, and the nose just looks squatter because the canopy isn't as narrow or tall as the EX's version. Either way, I'm all for Bandai releasing the Teal (or is it Intermediate Blue?) version(s). Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.