DX VF-171EX from Macross Frontier

[blackconvoy_D01]

On 3/18/2020 at 11:58 AM, Bolt said:

I thought the cracked and exploding triangles were resolved after the initial cf release. Am I mistaken? I haven't transformed my EX, Maruyama  or Rvf ever. Love them in fighter mode in the box

My Alto and Maruyama triangles are fine. 

[Bolt]

I've recently been going thru the last of my 1/60's. The Alto , Maruyama and RVF 171's all seem fine. Though I haven't transformed any of them . Curious to know who has and how their's are doing.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Bolt

[Bolt]

49 minutes ago, blackconvoy_D01 said:

My Alto and Maruyama triangles are fine. 

Have you transformed them?

[borgified]

I have two Alto 171EX (one beaten up to snot and one slighly yellowed still in the boxes) with both of the triangles still intact. Have not touched them for over a year now as I still have the add-on kit for it still in the box. 

 

[Bolt]

[blackconvoy_D01]

6 hours ago, Bolt said:

Have you transformed them?

Yes. My Alto is over 5 years old in my possession. It's my regular play valk. It has wear, yes: but not at the triangles. I've actually taken good  parts from the broken Luca 171 and input them into the Alto giving it some new life.

The Maruyama I've had for a year and a half- bought from buyee/YahooJP. Transformed twice; no issues.

Edited April 21, 2020 by blackconvoy_D01

[EastwindS2k]

On 4/20/2020 at 2:26 PM, Bolt said:

I've recently been going thru the last of my 1/60's. The Alto , Maruyama and RVF 171's all seem fine. Though I haven't transformed any of them . Curious to know who has and how their's are doing.

The mess production type is known to break so I only partially transformed it once while I was coating it. My first VF171 mass production suffered a catastrophic break down (torso joint) even when I handled like a baby. Fortunately Amazon Japan let me returned the item.

  

 

The rest of 171s seem to have improved quality so they are safer to transform. Just be mindful when handling the small black plastic triangle    

Edited May 5, 2020 by EastwindS2k

[borgified]

A quick question for those that have the 171EX Luca, Alto or Maruyama opened in full display.

Has your copies discoloured (or yellowed) due to age? 

* I listed one for grabs (not here) for those who are really curious *  

[EastwindS2k]

47 minutes ago, borgified said:

A quick question for those that have the 171EX Luca, Alto or Maruyama opened in full display.

Has your copies discoloured (or yellowed) due to age? 

* I listed one for grabs (not here) for those who are really curious *  

None so far. They should be ok if not exposed in direct sun light.  

[Rhubarbarian]

I have the RVF-171 Luca and it hasn't yellowed. I keep blinds and curtains drawn, but there's still some residual sunlight, both at home and when I had it in my office at work.

[borgified]

This might be the lowest price (for now) on the Maruyama 171EX for 27k yen (unopened, heavy box damaged)

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1102702509&ref=list&keyword=%E3%83%9E%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B9&lang=en

[Duymon]

The Maruyama really is the best VF-171EX. Cannon Fodder Grey + cannon fodder pilot + Sheryl artwork. what is there to hate?

Edited July 24, 2020 by Duymon

[kajnrig]

7 hours ago, Duymon said:

what is there to hate?

Not cannon fodder Super armaments?

[borgified]

1 hour ago, kajnrig said:

No cannon fodder Super Armaments?

You want the Cannon Fodder's Reaction Type Missiles (x2) and the MDE Missles (x2) I take it?

Circled in black and pic taken from Jenius' blog

You can get them from Tao bao (link in the Grey Market thread), top of  Page 29, posted by @rdrunner. 

 

[Chronocidal]

4 hours ago, borgified said:

You want the Cannon Fodder's Reaction Type Missiles (x2) and the MDE Missles (x2) I take it?

 

More that the VF-171 CFs had differently colored super packs in the animation.  We never got those in any format, though some people did make their own with custom paintjobs.

Granted, Maruyama's was still an EX, so the packs were accurate, but yes, he should have come with the missiles too.

Also, while there were Shapeways options, we never got the fancy fold crystal missiles they used in the movie.

Edited July 25, 2020 by Chronocidal

[kajnrig]

14 hours ago, borgified said:

You want the Cannon Fodder's Reaction Type Missiles (x2) and the MDE Missles (x2) I take it?

Circled in black and pic taken from Jenius' blog

You can get them from Tao bao (link in the Grey Market thread), top of  Page 29, posted by @rdrunner. 

Good to know, I might just jump on a Maruyama then. I'd been debating for a while now anyhow.

[Kicker773]

I remember no one wanted them because it was just another repainted valk. 

 

 

Group Shot with all the variations:

[borgified]

Hmm.. Between @Duymon and @Kicker773 , I say the both of you are tied for the 171EX Squadron collection. 

[kaiotheforsaken]

I was always bummed they never gave us the radar dish and companion parts in the CF colors. If I remember correctly, that's the first Valkyrie we see in Frontier.

[Jumbo]

171 alto version

does the white color  become yellow ?

[borgified]

2 hours ago, Jumbo said:

171 alto version

does the white color  become yellow ?

It does... Either UV light, your hand oils on the valk and possibly the gassing of the styrofoam tray onto the surface can all cause this to happen. 

[borgified]

A Steal or No Steal? 

37.5 k yen (tape resealed, small corner strike)

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1158227251&ref=list&keyword=マクロス&lang=en

 

[Guyffon]

Interestingly, I have 3 of these sets which I don’t use much now, I think I bought them off some chinese website that has since stop producing these, I wonder how close are they to the real missles that came with the 171 armour set

[spacemanoeuvres]

16 hours ago, borgified said:

A Steal or No Steal? 

37.5 k yen (tape resealed, small corner strike)

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1158227251&ref=list&keyword=マクロス&lang=en

 

Says 27,500 when I click the link.

Definitely a fair deal if not a steal.  I would pick it up if I wasn't bracing myself for the VF-4 PF

[borgified]

@spacemanoeuvres - Totally blanked out on the listing price and posted the wrong amount as I was in a rush to post it. 

@Guyffon - I'm totally guessing that you got the KO 171EX Missile set from Tao Bao? @rdrunner posted this set specifically in the "This was about to happen" thread. 

 

[Sildani]

They look awfully close to me. I have the Super Parts set, even though I don’t own a 171, specifically for the missiles. 

[EastwindS2k]

On 2/9/2021 at 2:15 AM, Guyffon said:

Interestingly, I have 3 of these sets which I don’t use much now, I think I bought them off some chinese website that has since stop producing these, I wonder how close are they to the real missles that came with the 171 armour set

I have both and they are identical. One cannot tell the difference if they were mixed 

[Guyffon]

That is good to know then, thanks for the info

[Special Sauce]

Was thinking of trying to get the VF-171EX (Maruyama Version) of this Valk but reading the reviews gives me a little pause.  I like that version because of the Itasha graphic on it's back.  What's your guys overall opinion of the Maruyama version?  Does it suffer from the same issues as the other VF171's or is the juice worth the squeeze?

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, Special Sauce said:

Was thinking of trying to get the VF-171EX (Maruyama Version) of this Valk but reading the reviews gives me a little pause.  I like that version because of the Itasha graphic on it's back.  What's your guys overall opinion of the Maruyama version?  Does it suffer from the same issues as the other VF171's or is the juice worth the squeeze?

I would say the majority of the issues with the 171 are just a part of the design.  While some experienced worse breakage than others (the CF-171 in particular), they all have similar flaws that may pop up over time.  Be VERY CAREFUL with the leg transformation, and read back through this thread before transforming them, because the instructions are wrong.

The EX models were arguably more reliable than the CF-171s though, maybe from better/different plastic.  Just be aware of the issues with the design, and treat it carefully, and it should be no worse off than the Alto or Luca releases.  

And of course, no matter what else may go wrong, it'll still make a good fighter mode to display the art on the back.  

[borgified]

Grab the Maruyama 171EX if you can @Special Sauce. It's the better looking 171EX (sans the CF version with the exploding triangles) and equal to to Alto's 171EX. 

I would like to get the Maruyama, however I have Alto's 171EX with the add-on set already. 

[Special Sauce]

Awesome!  Thanks for the info. @borgified and @Chronocidal  I'll have to read through the other pages and try to get as much knowledge as I can before pulling the trigger.  

[Rhubarbarian]

3 hours ago, Special Sauce said:

Was thinking of trying to get the VF-171EX (Maruyama Version) of this Valk but reading the reviews gives me a little pause.  I like that version because of the Itasha graphic on it's back.  What's your guys overall opinion of the Maruyama version?  Does it suffer from the same issues as the other VF171's or is the juice worth the squeeze?

I have three VF-171s (Alto's EX, Luca's RVF, and a cannon fodder). No Maruyama, but I can give you my experience with the others. Alto I've transformed a few times, it's actually been very reliable - no broken parts, no yellowing, etc. The transformation's a pain in the butt, however, so after the last transformation I decided to just leave it in battroid. I never transformed Luca's, because the battroid looks super wonky on that one, but it's been very solid in fighter. I got the cannon fodder this last year to leave in fighter mode, and it had broken triangles out of the box (I paid extra for an unopened box) and was literally disintegrating in my hands as I tried to transform it just enough to put on the super parts and transform it back. So my take is that the white 171s are generally fine (I actually like my Alto 171EX quite a bit, despite the frustrating transformation), and the Maruyama one should be the same if that's the one you want to grab. I'd avoid the cannon fodder unless you really like the design and are okay with it being damaged - I don't think there are any CF's without broken triangles at this point.

[Special Sauce]

7 minutes ago, Rhubarbarian said:

I have three VF-171s (Alto's EX, Luca's RVF, and a cannon fodder). No Maruyama, but I can give you my experience with the others. Alto I've transformed a few times, it's actually been very reliable - no broken parts, no yellowing, etc. The transformation's a pain in the butt, however, so after the last transformation I decided to just leave it in battroid. I never transformed Luca's, because the battroid looks super wonky on that one, but it's been very solid in fighter. I got the cannon fodder this last year to leave in fighter mode, and it had broken triangles out of the box (I paid extra for an unopened box) and was literally disintegrating in my hands as I tried to transform it just enough to put on the super parts and transform it back. So my take is that the white 171s are generally fine (I actually like my Alto 171EX quite a bit, despite the frustrating transformation), and the Maruyama one should be the same if that's the one you want to grab. I'd avoid the cannon fodder unless you really like the design and are okay with it being damaged - I don't think there are any CF's without broken triangles at this point.

Thanks for the info. @Rhubarbarian while I do like the cannon fodder color scheme I'll probably avoid it since it sounds like it has the most problems.

[derex3592]

The cannon fodder is the prettiest scheme, no doubt, unfortunately it does have the track record of being the worst. I had one years ago, and it was super cool to look at...