DX Chogokin VF-171 Cannon Fodder

[MacrossJunkie]

Here are the finished super parts. More pics in http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?showtopic=35121&p=1076784.

Edited September 29, 2013 by MacrossJunkie

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

i like the canon fodder without the armor... but the picture look really great... isn't the general machine armor a silver shade?

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

MJ, that is sweeeett!!!!

[wm cheng]

Beautiful work as always MJ! Not sure about the colour scheme though... I know its more anime accurate now, but it seems out of place for the fast packs to be lighter than the aircraft - maybe I'm just too old school - it might grow on me (its not relation to your amazing efforts and work!).

[MacrossJunkie]

Yeah, I don't even like the FAST packs for the 171 in fighter mode to begin with. I only really got the set because I wanted wings with hard points and the missiles. The re-coloring of the armor parts more like the anime was essentially just a diversion to see how well I could do it. I like fighter mode for most of the valks without extra doodads and stuff bolted onto them. It ruins the sleekness. I already have my EX with the armor parts on so both of my CFs are displayed naked with the one in fighter mode getting the wings with the hard points and missiles. After taking the pics, the armor parts are back in the box and in storage since I have no use for them.

I suppose if they ever release a CF 171EX, then I'll have the MDE particle cannon and rocket pod ready for it. I think only Alto's had the armor loadout while his wingmen just had the standard EX loadout?

[ron5864]

Super parts looks great!

Edited September 30, 2013 by ron5864

[ErikElvis]

Such a pretty bird and one of my favorites despite her broke triangles.

Edited September 30, 2013 by ErikElvis

[DyNo]

Nice!!

[skullmilitia]

I got both my armors today, but I think I'm gonna sell one of my CF's and an armor pack,

[neoexcaliber]

Mine are in Indonesia, but I'm not in Indonesia. Looks like someone screwed up big time and NY isn't replying as usual.

[Gakken85]

So I finally transformed mine back to fighter to sell it and......

My triangles were fine, but then the left one just fell apart.

The right one seems to be ok.... luckily there is enough of the "hook" that it will sit in place.

Edited October 1, 2013 by Gakken85

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

That may be true, but if we're talking purely about delays in shipping, then I believe that this happens with all vendors every now and then. Personally, my experience with NY is that they always manage to ship it out the first business day the item is available, regardless if I chose Fedex or regular airmail. This is much better than other vendors like Amiami where I have to wait for them to send me a shipping estimate before they can even start processing my payment/order, or HLJ who is practically always delayed when shipping out stuff.

Before anyone mentions that NY has higher prices than other vendors, it must be acknowledged that what NY brought to the table was the ease, reliability and peace of mind when securing preorders, something that no other vendor could match. For some people like myself, that more than makes up for the higher price.

I don't know, every single time I've ordered from NY on a in stock item.

It has shipped same day or next day. Every preorder has always shipped the same day I get

The "preparation in progress" email.

HLJ always ships fast for me unless there's a big sale going on.

Hey Skull and Archie, after watching Breaking Bad, i realized something. i want to apologize for my posts, i was having a bad week at work and took my anger out on NY and included your posts in the crossfire. (i got screwed over by them with customer service) you guys were just posting your experiences in an open forum and i was being the angry snarky dude.

Mine are in Indonesia, but I'm not in Indonesia. Looks like someone screwed up big time and NY isn't replying as usual.

try using the live chat function when it's live. just don't put much in the initially question box queue as they might avoid you. (put something general)

also something common i seen while tracking mine was the package being shipped to LAX when i live in NJ, and then it was out for delivery in LA and marked delivered in an LA zip code but it showed up at my door step the same day... i also read that happened to a few others on MW. Hopefully yours shipped to the correct place.

If anything they will most likely take care of you but it's just the time lost that can get to a few people.

[Duymon]

Word of Warning!

Be careful when inserting weapons into the hardpoints on the wings. Stress marks show up super super super super easy on this color of plastic. I found out the hard way :0

[Loop]

OMG, these really are cannon fodder units! Seems like this is the worst valk release ever.

[Vahouth]

OMG, these really are cannon fodder units! Seems like this is the worst valk release ever.

LOL, they sure are! Every time I transform it I'm having a series of mini heart attacks.

And I already have a broken triangle...

It's a shame though 'cause it's a really pretty bird, probably my favorite valk design.

[Gakken85]

I think they could do a lot better. It's more of a pain in the ass to handle and transform than fun. Mark of a bad toy

[Loop]

Yeah I have only transformed 4 of these to battroid 1 times each. I did manage to transform my Alto back to fighter mode though when the parts came out for his valk. I really don't have fun transforming them either, but they are not super bad. Kinda frigidity in a few spots but not the worse thing I ever handled.

[Gakken85]

Getting the chest section lined up, and then getting the arms are the two sticking spots... throw the shoulder explosion into the mix and it's a crap show.

[Vahouth]

I wonder why Bandai isn't issuing replacement parts for those damn triangles. Isn't the costumer's feedback reaching their ears?

I would even buy them if necessary.

[Valk-1S]

I am not having confidence in NY at the moment. When companies stop communicating with you, it's a sign they may go belly up. I still have not received shipping confirmation for my other 2 super parts and they have not replied to my email. Just sent another email to them today. Perhaps they got burned with their recent preorders where they have secured stocked from local sellers and unable to off load it now due to the availability of the items at other places which resulted in a lot of cancellations.

[neoexcaliber]

Hey Skull and Archie, after watching Breaking Bad, i realized something. i want to apologize for my posts, i was having a bad week at work and took my anger out on NY and included your posts in the crossfire. (i got screwed over by them with customer service) you guys were just posting your experiences in an open forum and i was being the angry snarky dude.

try using the live chat function when it's live. just don't put much in the initially question box queue as they might avoid you. (put something general)

also something common i seen while tracking mine was the package being shipped to LAX when i live in NJ, and then it was out for delivery in LA and marked delivered in an LA zip code but it showed up at my door step the same day... i also read that happened to a few others on MW. Hopefully yours shipped to the correct place.

If anything they will most likely take care of you but it's just the time lost that can get to a few people.

Nah they definitely did screw it up. The item departed from Indonesian customs yesterday so I'm guessing it's being sent back to Japan. If the item ever gets to me, it'll probably be next week. It would've been faster to use SAL too and the fact that they are not replying to my emails is just pissing me off. I guess I shouldn't even expect an apology.

[Loop]

My parts were here waiting for me when I got home tonight. Now I have 3 sets that I am scared to play with because I don't want to explode my triangles putting all 3 units back into fighter mode...sigh.

My 2000th post whew.

[ArchieNov]

Hey Skull and Archie, after watching Breaking Bad, i realized something. i want to apologize for my posts, i was having a bad week at work and took my anger out on NY and included your posts in the crossfire. (i got screwed over by them with customer service) you guys were just posting your experiences in an open forum and i was being the angry snarky dude.

Hey man, don't worry about it. We all have our bad days . If my prior post offended you in some way, then I do apologize as well as that was not my intention.

On another note, I just got my parts today and slapped them on my CF VF-171. Looks great. Placed the huge MDE bombs on the CF and the oversized reaction missiles on the Alto. I must be one of the lucky ones that only got 1 CF and so far the NUNS triangles haven't showed any signs of stress marks or cracks yet. Transformed the thing back and forth around 4 times or so already and have left it displayed in fighter mode for the last month. Still don't really understand why it breaks even when untouched. I know there must be something putting pressure on it from somewhere and that's why it broke for the others, but I really can't figure it out. If I knew, then it would be easier to take precautions. For the meantime, hopefully mine stands the test of time.

[Loop]

The difference between the CF and the Alto could also be the "tighter tolerances" than the Alto. I saw that posted somewhere here a while back during the wait for the release. The whole thing did feel a bit tighter than the Alto 171.

[Valk-1S]

Not feeling good about NY. Their online help has not been online at all today. Their facebook page is starting to fill with comments of no communication.

Anyone thinking about ordering with them, I would hold off for the time being. Also, if you have any payment to make, I would hold off as well until you get invoiced from them.

I have a lot of preorders with them and have paid for them and will be really **** off if they go belly up. Hope they are just having staff shortage.

[ArchieNov]

Not feeling good about NY. Their online help has not been online at all today. Their facebook page is starting to fill with comments of no communication.

Anyone thinking about ordering with them, I would hold off for the time being. Also, if you have any payment to make, I would hold off as well until you get invoiced from them.

I have a lot of preorders with them and have paid for them and will be really **** off if they go belly up. Hope they are just having staff shortage.

I really hope that's the case (staff shortage). I also have more than a couple of preorders with them so I definitely do not want them to go out of business. If the preorder cancellations really do turn out to be hurting their business, then I would like to request that people stop cancelling or at the very least stop using NY as a safety net during preorders.

In any event, this kind of news makes me sad and worried...

[Valk-1S]

I really hope that's the case (staff shortage). I also have more than a couple of preorders with them so I definitely do not want them to go out of business. If the preorder cancellations really do turn out to be hurting their business, then I would like to request that people stop cancelling or at the very least stop using NY as a safety net during preorders.

In any event, this kind of news makes me sad and worried...

At least someone is operating their facebook as suddenly all the comments about no communication have been deleted.

Yay!!! Some sign of life. Just got an preparation for shipping email.

Really hope they are just experiencing staff shortage. I think they only have 5 people working, and if all of them cannot speak english and if their english speaking staff is away or sick, could be why there is a lack of response. Normally when you email them you get a response back in a couple of hours or within a day.

Edited October 2, 2013 by Valk-1S

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

They responded to my email a couple of hours ago. they sent me the wrong item and i returned their package and asked for a refund. they said they will process it as soon as possible.

nothing yet... how long does it take to click refund on paypal...

[blackconvoy_D01]

Is there a major hinderance to transformation with the broke triangles?

[MacrossJunkie]

Is there a major hinderance to transformation with the broke triangles?

The thin black flaps are just an aesthetic thing and not essential to the transformation.

The shoulder triangles with the "NUNS" printed on it can have a larger effect, but still not anything that can't be worked around. It's just ugly having it completely split apart or cracked.

[Scyla]

That depends on the broken part.

The thin black triangles that fold in half and store inside the chest piece are not vital for the transformation. Since the parts are only visible from the bottom view they won't affect the look of the plane dramatically when looked at from top views. They are barely visible in Gerwalk- and Battroid-Mode.

The two big black triangles with the "NUNS" marking are the mounting point for the pauldrons onto the shoulder joints. If they are damaged then you wont be able to attach the shoulders any longer depending on how much are damaged. Worst case: the shoulder pauldrons no longer attach to the toy.

Then on my copy the piece between back triangles (with the rest of the "NUNS" ) is cracked (it seems I'm the only one *insert Queen music here*) which is luckily only cosmetic (so far) but definitely ugly when you know where to look at (and I know exactly where to look at).

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Hey man, don't worry about it. We all have our bad days . If my prior post offended you in some way, then I do apologize as well as that was not my intention.

Thanks ArchieNov, yeah it was venom at NY more than anything.

Nah they definitely did screw it up. The item departed from Indonesian customs yesterday so I'm guessing it's being sent back to Japan. If the item ever gets to me, it'll probably be next week. It would've been faster to use SAL too and the fact that they are not replying to my emails is just pissing me off. I guess I shouldn't even expect an apology.

Yeah, i'm feeling you, most of the time they're ok, but when they mark up high and i pay high ship on top making it about 80-100 more than retail, i do expect them to at least respond consistently. They seem to respond same day if i have a general question and avoid my emails if there was a shipping error on their end. hope they respond and take care of your situation soon. i'm still waiting for the refund they promised or i'm going dispute/chargeback soon.

Edited October 2, 2013 by davidwhangchoi

[MacrossJunkie]

The two big black triangles with the "NUNS" marking are the mounting point for the pauldrons onto the shoulder joints. If they are damaged then you wont be able to attach the shoulders any longer depending on how much are damaged. Worst case: the shoulder pauldrons no longer attach to the toy.

Actually, the right NUNS triangle is completely broken on mine, but it stays on without a problem because the pauldron keeps it in place. All the breaks I've seen so far have been generally in the same spot so unless the piece was lost somehow, the shoulder pauldron should still be able to stay on without much issue, imo. It just just looks terrible.

[eriku]

One of my NUNS sections is in four pieces and does not stay inside the shoulder pad, which means the shoulder pad does not stay on in either mode.

[MacrossJunkie]

One of my NUNS sections is in four pieces and does not stay inside the shoulder pad, which means the shoulder pad does not stay on in either mode.

Oh wow, that is some major fail there. Up until now, I've only really heard of the upper part cracking or breaking in two. Sounds like yours wasn't even a stress break, but just flat out disintegrated.