DX VF-25 Renewal Series (Part III)

[Drad]

I'm still praying for a re-release of the VF-25 Ozma Renewal. Hopefully it happens and it's not sold out in sixteen seconds.

[skullmilitia]

Have I ever told you guys how much I hate LA customs?

I think they hired Turtles to process the customs enforcement.

[Sandman]

Well got my CF 25A. All good except my gunpod broke when trying to split the barrel apart. A little piece on the hinge broke similar to what someone else posted a few pages back. GRRRRR.

[Loop]

Have I ever told you guys how much I hate LA customs?

I think they hired Turtles to process the customs enforcement.

QFT! The one that I have been waiting on from CDJ has been sitting in LA and not even processed through customs since the 13th. At least I am waiting on 2 others that shipped via EMS. HLJ and HS both shipped on the same day, but the HS one should arrive tomorrow or Saturday. The one from HLJ just processed through Tokyo. So I guess I will at least get to see one in person this week.

*Edit*

I probably should have mentioned that all my SAL packages go through LA and all my EMS ones go through SFO before routing them up to Seattle.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Loop

[Gakken85]

Screw your valks bro!

[TCracker]

@sandman - my gunpod was tight as hell too due to the tab that tabs into the main gatling pieve was too big.

I t took me around 10 mins trying to massage the lower piece slowly ti avoid any breakages.

Edited October 18, 2013 by TCracker

[wm cheng]

A word of caution to anyone else who wants to try what I did - I performed a test transformation and to my dismay, the inner sides of the LERX does cause paint scrape in visible areas to the painted area of the fuselage when it swivels. I shaved down the sides of the LERX a little and repainted. Hopefully I shaved off enough. I'm letting the paint dry before I try again.

Oh, very curious how you solve this... did it scrape off the Future clear-coat too or just the bare paint surface? Are you going to take it apart?

[skullmilitia]

I took a picture of one of the customs workers in L.A. on lunch earlier..

[MacrossJunkie]

Oh, very curious how you solve this... did it scrape off the Future clear-coat too or just the bare paint surface? Are you going to take it apart?

It scraped off both the Future coat and paint. I wasn't really sure how it comes apart to so I tried the next best thing. I moved the LERX around at different angles and used an xacto knife to shave off plastic a little bit at a time to create more clearance. It seems to have helped. There's still some paint scrape, but it's in an area not normally visible. An alternate method would be to sand down the parts of the fuselage that come in contact with the LERX. I would have done that if I were not lazy and didn't want to have to strip the paint off and do the masking all over again.

[Gakken85]

I took a picture of one of the customs workers in L.A. on lunch earlier..

haha

[KH355hamdi]

From 2 guns?

I took a picture of one of the customs workers in L.A. on lunch earlier..

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

From 2 guns?

This is from 'Breaking Bad'.

[YF-29 Durandal]

And do they charge up front? They apparently do allow pre-order cancellations. Not sure about them.

Angolz.com charged me upfront for a pre-order. Why did they do that? Should I avoid them in the future?

[Scyla]

I ordered several times from them and never had any problems. Friendly and quick customer service too.

For some web-shops it is in their TOS that they charge upfront for preorders (I think CDJapan and AnimeExport does that too) to prevent the exploitation of preorders through scalpers and other misfits and to "encourage" customers to not let their preorder go.

If angolz has upfront payment for preorders they should have that stated in their TOS.

[charger69]

Gamu Review DX VF-25A http://gamu-toys.info/goukin/gouki/dx32/dx32.html

[xrentonx]

Gamu always takes such pretty pictures!

[Chronocidal]

So, is it just me, or is Bandai's overall VF-25 quality getting better with each release? I mean.. the wings keep getting flatter as they go. Also, the fit and finish on this one is just overall superior to my first issue Alto.

And... I seriously cannot shake this feeling.. I might not risk a 1/60, but the more I look at this thing, I keep thinking it looks like the VF-25: Vietnam Edition.

If the bottoms of the wings, nose, and arms were white, it would look like a perfect start for a 1960s tactical camo pattern. With one of my kits, either the Hasegawa or maybe a Bandai (1/100, or 1/72, I have a few of each), I might seriously do that. Really.. Now that I look at it, the nose is practically begging to be painted black, and have a classic shark mouth added.

[Gakken85]

I'd agree.. if they hadn't skimped on the paint apps. haha. Looks good though.

[Saburo]

Its good to start seeing the pics of the actual VF-25A and see people post up on it.

I was worried that VF-25A would turn out like the VF-171CF with all of the problems that occurring with it.

[Kanedas Bike]

Anyone else still waiting on shipping confirmation from NY for their 25A(s)? I paid the same day that I received the initial payment request.

-b.

[wm cheng]

Yep, I paid the same day I got the request and NY says "Preparation in progress..." for the last week (I think they had a long weekend last though).

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

I'm guessing Bandai got the partial hint regarding their mistake with the CF VF-171. The VF-25A that I received is pretty much flawless other than the fact it was a little mis-transformed when packed in the box. Not only that the VF-25A that I received from HS was a double taped box... I'm thinking that Bandai made sure their QA was good this time around.

[MacrossJunkie]

The VF-25's have been for the most part problem free. The RVF-25 which came after the CF VF-171 was also just fine. The problems with the 171 seem to be specific to the CF version. If they released another 171, I'd still be wary and avoid pre-ordering it and just wait to see what other people say since I'm not risking getting another 171 with self destructing/missing parts.

[XFJ-01A]

Just got the shipping notice from Anime-Export. Should be arriving within the next couple of days.

[MacrossJunkie]

So, is it just me, or is Bandai's overall VF-25 quality getting better with each release? I mean.. the wings keep getting flatter as they go. Also, the fit and finish on this one is just overall superior to my first issue Alto.

And... I seriously cannot shake this feeling.. I might not risk a 1/60, but the more I look at this thing, I keep thinking it looks like the VF-25: Vietnam Edition.

If the bottoms of the wings, nose, and arms were white, it would look like a perfect start for a 1960s tactical camo pattern. With one of my kits, either the Hasegawa or maybe a Bandai (1/100, or 1/72, I have a few of each), I might seriously do that. Really.. Now that I look at it, the nose is practically begging to be painted black, and have a classic shark mouth added.

I did notice that the wings were noticeably flatter on this release.

[Gakken85]

The 171 is the only toy I've ever lost money on. Haha. Piece of junk.

[Kanedas Bike]

Yep, I paid the same day I got the request and NY says "Preparation in progress..." for the last week (I think they had a long weekend last though).

Got it, thanks for confirming. I guess I'm "glad" that it's not just me. Hopefully both orders ship out sooner vs. later.

I did notice that the wings were noticeably flatter on this release.

Great news, I've also had no issues with any of my renewals and knock on wood nothing with either of my CF 171's (but I've only transformed them once from Fighter to Battroid).

It also bears repeating that the customization work you do on these releases from the stripes on the 25A to the weathering on other models is awesome.

-b.

[xrentonx]

I'll be picking up my CF-25 tomorrow at the post office. Can't wait!

[Chronocidal]

The VF-25's have been for the most part problem free. The RVF-25 which came after the CF VF-171 was also just fine. The problems with the 171 seem to be specific to the CF version. If they released another 171, I'd still be wary and avoid pre-ordering it and just wait to see what other people say since I'm not risking getting another 171 with self destructing/missing parts.

I think part of what's helping the VF-25 releases is just pure experience on the part of the assembly lines. They've done so many releases of the mold, by now they know how to build them well inside and out.

Same can't be said for the 171s, or my VF-27.. my CF-171 came with two left-side landing gear door hinges (fortunately not a big enough mistake to keep them from working), and my VF-27 came with the shoulders installed upside down and backwards to where the thing couldn't actually achieve any transformation. Had to remove a bunch of spring pins and reassemble it correctly before it would even sit in fighter mode.

[Loop]

My first 25A arrived today from HS. I played with it for a bit and have come to the conclusion that this is the tightest 25 in my collection. The legs and arms are nice and tight and hold any pose I have tried so far.

Edited October 19, 2013 by Loop

[Kyp Durron]

I did notice that the wings were noticeably flatter on this release.

Mine are pretty straight as well, VERY happy with this release, thank GOD I got one. I'm liking this more than Ozma's. Don't get me wrong, if/when Ozma's comes up for re-release, I'll be all over it like white on rice.

-Kyp

[Skull005]

My first 25A arrived today from HS. I played with it for a bit and have come to the conclusion that this is the tightest 25 in my collection. The legs and arms are nice and tight and hold any pose I have tried so far.

Sorry for my ignorance but what is HS? I'm new to buying from Japan so I'm trying to find out all the vendors possible.

BTW, I got my 25A and RVF-25 from CDJ last week. The thing is beautiful.

[Falcon18]

HS = Hobby Search

[barurutor]

That 25A is looking better and better every time i see new pictures. Aaarggh. Must resist.

[XFJ-01A]

That 25A is looking better and better every time i see new pictures. Aaarggh. Must resist.

Give in and purchase. The strong are quick to resist, but end up breaking down and ordering.

Much like yours truly for example.