TCracker Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 (edited) I am thinking of getting the Hi Metal VF19. One shop here is selling quite reasonable. Should I go for it? Anyone have any experience with that mold? Edited July 2, 2013 by TCracker Quote
Mommar Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 From my experience the VF-19 isn't nearly as good as the VF-1 was. Quote
Shaorin Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 (edited) the HI-METAL 19k and S are both fairly awful... http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=3724 http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=4276 Edited July 2, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
lechuck Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 the HI-METAL 19k and S are both fairly awful... http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=3724 http://anymoon.com/blog/?p=4276 Rubbish! The Hi-Metal -19s are fine little articulated toys. A lot of people have wrong expectations, asking for integrated landing gear, perfect transformation and what not on a 16cm toy that is based of VF with the most usage of anime magic! Back then I read anymoon's review and it is one of the very few where I didn't feel it was fair to the toy and it doesn't help when its failings are constantly compared to a larger toy... Quote
jenius Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 I'm at work but I coulda sworn my review said the toys weren't that bad but weren't amazing either. Did I really imply they were rubbish? I thought I said that with a bit more in the box they'd be pretty decent. Quote
DarrinG Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 “It’s a clown valk in McDonald’s colors.” . . . true . . . Quote
lechuck Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 Hi, my remark wasn't aimed at your review but to the notion that the -19s are "fairly awful". If you can and want to, you should review the VF-19S, because that is the complete package (minus the speaker packs of course). Quote
Shaorin Posted July 2, 2013 Posted July 2, 2013 (edited) Rubbish! The Hi-Metal -19s are fine little articulated toys. A lot of people have wrong expectations, asking for integrated landing gear, perfect transformation and what not on a 16cm toy very sorry; should have read; "the HI-METAL 19k and S are both fairly awful IMO..." Edited July 2, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
Matt Random Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Such a fun toy! So much personality in such a small package. Quote
eriku Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 I am thinking of getting the Hi Metal VF19. One shop here is selling quite reasonable. Should I go for it? Anyone have any experience with that mold? Go for it. It's solid, easy to transform and fun to pose. The main criticism it gets is that it doesn't have built in landing gear and you have to take parts off the head for fighter mode. Overall it's a good toy and looks fantastic in every mode. Quote
alchemo Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) Mine has the left knee cap on both knees so it dosn't fit perfectly in fighter mode. Why didn't the just make the knee cap fit both sides? Can accept exchanging windscreen and heatshield in a small toy like this but the abdomen in Battroid mode is a bit too long IMO. Edited July 10, 2013 by alchemo Quote
Shaorin Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) HI METAL LOVE THREAD oh, i'm confident i'm gonna be loving the ever-loving s%$t out of the HI-METAL 1S Focker STRIKE coming my way, (should arrive tomorrow) all the more after dealing with that turd (IMHO) of a 1/72 variable model (2013 BANDAI VF-1S/A Hikaru DYRL) hell, the HI-METAL promises to be just the seltzer to wash that bitter taste right on out... Edited July 10, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
jenius Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 Don't get your hopes up too high. It's still 1/100 scale and you already have a 1/60 scale toy that is just about all the things the Hi-Metal toy is and some more. Quote
Shaorin Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) i know that... but just about ANYTHING out there is very much indeed like a Yammie/ARCADIA 1/60v.II, when directly compared to this awful BANDAI kit, trust me on this. this atrocity is sure to be crash-landing itself right into the Great VF Hall of Shame alongside other choice "distinguished" company, IMO... Edited July 10, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
Shaorin Posted July 10, 2013 Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) really nice for the size. nice heft for that size, too. hip width seems a bit excessive, looks a little odd in any given mode. kind of hard to get the legs to stay tabbed in to the arms in STRIKE FIGHTER. i worry about long-term longevity on those hip ball-joints, but if they loosen too much, a tiny swatch of electrician's tape in the ball cavity should restore good friction. all and all, a worthy addition to my little squadron, and nice to finally have a STRIKE option for at least one of my variable VF-1's... Edited July 10, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
SuperSenpai Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 really nice for the size. nice heft for that size, too. hip width seems a bit excessive, looks a little odd in any given mode. kind of hard to get the legs to stay tabbed in to the arms in STRIKE FIGHTER. i worry about long-term longevity on those hip ball-joints, but if they loosen too much, a tiny swatch of electrician's tape in the ball cavity should restore good friction. all and all, a worthy addition to my little squadron, and nice to finally have a STRIKE option for at least one of my variable VF-1's... I'm actually constantly amazed by how tight the hip ball joints are on my hi-metal. They seem to have plenty of friction even after a lot of handling. Quote
Matt Random Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 The hips on mine were ragdoll loose. A little nail polish fixed it up. Quote
Vifam7 Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 (edited) oh, i'm confident i'm gonna be loving the ever-loving s%$t out of the HI-METAL 1S Focker STRIKE coming my way, (should arrive tomorrow) all the more after dealing with that turd (IMHO) of a 1/72 variable model (2013 BANDAI VF-1S/A Hikaru DYRL) hell, the HI-METAL promises to be just the seltzer to wash that bitter taste right on out... Considering that the Hi-Metal VF-1 is brilliantly engineered (IMHO), I personally wonder why Bandai didn't simply size up the Hi-Metal to 1/72 scale and release it in kit form. Edited July 11, 2013 by Vifam7 Quote
Shaorin Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 (edited) exactly. a sensible engineering team would have learned much indeed from both their parent firm's own related products, as well as from the high-watermark that the YAMATO 1/60v.II has set, and applied all of that fantastic engineering design towards a real humdinger of a 1/48 GUNPLA-type PLAMODEL. in reality, however, BANDAI obviously prefers to keep it's many divisions as seemingly autonomous sub-corporations that are somehow forbidden to take cues from other firms' efforts as well as from that of their very own corporate fellows. in other words, the classic case of one hand having not a wit what the other is up to. moreover, not even having a clue as to what their rivals' hands are going about with. at any rate, i wash my hands of the 2013 BANDAI 1/72 VF-1 PLAMODEL... Edited July 11, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
Mommar Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 If they had taken the Hi-Metal, blown it up, and fixed some of the proportions for fighter/gerwalk it would have been the definitive VF-1 for me. As it stands the Hi-Metal Battroid mode is my favorite of any VF-1 I've ever owned. Quote
Shaorin Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 -and the HI-METAL most certainly walks all over that hellish 1/72... Quote
1/1 LowViz Lurker Posted July 11, 2013 Posted July 11, 2013 (edited) The HiMetal is fun to play around with. The use of diecast in the feet is unecessary imo. By making the feet heavy it actually put more pressure on the baljoints to make them more loose. If they didn't actually use heavy feet it wold be a better toy overall imo. If Bandai decide to ever come back to the himetal line and resurrect it from the dead they could tighten up all joint and make 1/100 GBP version. Yes yes, I know it's called Hi-"Metal" but we all know that name "metal" is meaningless LOL. Having having material in only the feet doesn't make the toy any more appealing to me. It's not like that holds some special significance. Edited July 12, 2013 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker Quote
Duymon Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) The metal feet are nice, but make sure you get some clearcoat from some cosmetic store to put on that tiny ball joint front toe. After doing that it was much more fun to work with. Edited July 12, 2013 by Duymon Quote
1/1 LowViz Lurker Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) The balljoints on mine are actually tight. When they do get loose later on I will do that. But I just think having lighter feet is better than heavier feet. I understand why they do it: it makes it more stable when standing upright by putting all the weight to the bottom. But to solve this problem I usually put some blutack (a sticky gummy material to hold posters on walls) on the bottom of the feet so it doesn't fall over if there in the rare instance of an earthquake. If they do add hard material it should be for finer things like the headmounted lasers. (give us the flexible ones or the option to put the metal ones which don't bend) When the original 1/48 FAST packs came out I thought the idea of a heavy material only makes the toy worse. Because it adds extra weight to it but it also puts more pressure on the hinge. They don't need it imo. Edited July 12, 2013 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker Quote
danth Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I thought the hips could be adjusted so they aren't as wide. But I'm not at home to confirm. Quote
Shaorin Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) one, and only one real gripe with the HI-METAL; the ball-jointed head/neck connection. the base of that neck, and it's tendency to catch during rotation between the FIGHTER/GERWALK and the BATTROID positions, constantly throws the front of the neck and the front of the head way out of alignment with each other, and is a real pain in the veritable ass, at least on my copy... If they do add hard material it should be for finer things like the headmounted lasers. (give us the flexible ones or the option to put the metal ones which don't bend) thin zinc castings such as that would likely be quite bendable. and if they were poorly cast, (ala older YAMATO metal castings) then they would likely be quite brittle. also, solid diecast head turrets would need the bases painted white/grey, inviting paint chippidge... Edited July 12, 2013 by Shaorin Quote
Scyla Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I feel metal should only be applied to the structure of a toy (i.e. joints and internal workings) and the feet to give it a solid stand. All other parts should be cast in plastic. Painted die-cast looks terrible and is lacking the sharp edges of casted plastic (see the VF-25 renewal intakes). In addition if something breaks gluing plastic together is way easier then gluing (haven't tried soldering and welding) metal parts. All this talk from Shaorin about how bad the Plamo VF-1 is makes me wanna buy it. I have a delivery from hlj in August maybe I should add a 1/72 VF-1 Kit into the box. I'm searching for something that brings me back into model building and painting so maybe that will do instead of a PG Gundam. Although that 00 Raiser looks good To get back to the Hi Metal line. Do we know where the name originated from? Maybe in Japanese it means something different then for the rest of the world. Quote
jenius Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I'm sure the Hi-Metal name served a few purposes. First, it differentiated the 1/100 line from the VF100s which were not very well received at all. Second it invoked the nostalgia for the original Hi-Metal chunky monkey releases. I think it was Bandai's way of telling collector's it was a premium offering more than a way of saying 'buy this for the metal content." Obviously they could have done this other ways that I'm sure many people would have preferred. Quote
erikos0311 Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 You get what you pay for I say. A pair of these equals another addition and one less yamato I have to worry about. Just too toy like .... Quote
SuperSenpai Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 There seems to be an assumption that if a toy has die-cast metal, it must be of higher quality that one that is completely made of plastic. I think this is a carry-over from old-school toys made before the 1980s, when die-cast was used much more liberally, and toys generally had much less articulation. I think of things like Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars, where it was expected that they wouldn't have many moving parts, and kids would generally smash them around so it was desirable that a sturdy material be used. Also, a generation or two ago, around when mass produced consumer goods sold in the U.S. were increasingly being made overseas, traditional materials like wood, metal, glass, etc were being replaced with plastic. I think there was an impression among Americans that equated cheaply-made foreign products with an abundance of plastic (seen at the time as a cheap replacement for those older materials) as being of lesser quality than American made goods made from traditional materials. Of course, we all know this reasoning doesn't hold up when dealing with highly-articulated, transformable toys with many fine parts. Quote
Shaorin Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 I thought the hips could be adjusted so they aren't as wide. But I'm not at home to confirm. they can, but that isn't the issue. it seems the hips can telescope, so the entire leg nacelle can pivot outwards just enough so the arms can deploy out without fully disengaging the legs' intake section from the main fuselage. also, that issue with the head/neck, i've found you can tilt the entire head panel plate at an up-angle when in BATTROID position, that facilitates rotating the head/neck while allowing the neck-base to clear any obstructions. this thing is quite thoroughly engineered for it's diminutive size, though still far outclassed by the far larger (and originally somewhat higher priced) Yammie 1/60v.II IMHO... Quote
Vifam7 Posted July 12, 2013 Posted July 12, 2013 It's really a damn shame that the Hi-Metal line failed. It pretty much ends any possibility of smaller sized Macross toys for the foreseeable future. On a brighter note, I suppose these Hi-Metals could become highly collectable in the future. Quote
Duymon Posted July 31, 2013 Posted July 31, 2013 Just scored the Max 1J off Mandarake for 5000 yen Quote
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