Hi-Metal R

[Domcalmet1]

The answer is here http://www.decultureshock.com/the-vf-4-and-the-curious-case-of-the-sdf-018/?fbclid=IwAR1cWp9dNKJYbbU6tdLT2jhj50Bk9djTSUV-TR2SOjnpphPP58Z-aH1wjUU

[Domcalmet1]

15 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Did anyone ever figure out what SDF-018 refers to? It's also on the Yamato sticker sheet so it's not something Bandai just pulled out of their ***.

because of a Kawamori illustration answer here http://www.decultureshock.com/the-vf-4-and-the-curious-case-of-the-sdf-018/?fbclid=IwAR1cWp9dNKJYbbU6tdLT2jhj50Bk9djTSUV-TR2SOjnpphPP58Z-aH1wjUU

[Domcalmet1]

14 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

I've got my Flashback 2012 book in front of me, no where does it show or mention an SDF-018, so that's either something that was mentioned in a backstory somewhere or yes, Bandai reached behind & pulled something out of their...  

answer http://www.decultureshock.com/the-vf-4-and-the-curious-case-of-the-sdf-018/?fbclid=IwAR1cWp9dNKJYbbU6tdLT2jhj50Bk9djTSUV-TR2SOjnpphPP58Z-aH1wjUU

 

[Carceroth]

32 minutes ago, F360 said:

A photo might be more helpful so other can take a look to see possible solutions.  

Here is an image I literally cannot push down on the cockpit it will not budge no matter how hard I try. Even with the fin removed from the back of the nosecone

 

Edit: I FIXED IT i just put consistent pressure and it popped down. YACK DECULTURE! That was hard the last time something took this much effort was the VF-0Ds Feet extensions

Edited March 27, 2019 by Carceroth
FIXED IT

[RDX17]

^Instead of pushing down on the cockpit, perhaps working it loose from the undercarriage. My guess is that it's just an over-tight attachment in this case.

[Carceroth]

Just now, RDX17 said:

^Instead of pushing down on the cockpit, perhaps working it loose from the undercarriage. My guess is that it's just an over-tight attachment in this case.

 yeah i managed to get it to pop loose but boy was that hard!

[RDX17]

2 minutes ago, Carceroth said:

 yeah i managed to get it to pop loose but boy was that hard!

Excellent news! Right out of the box these HMRs can be quite stiff. Glad to hear you were able to work it out though.

[F360]

53 minutes ago, Carceroth said:

Here is an image I literally cannot push down on the cockpit it will not budge no matter how hard I try. Even with the fin removed from the back of the nosecone

 

Edit: I FIXED IT i just put consistent pressure and it popped down. YACK DECULTURE! That was hard the last time something took this much effort was the VF-0Ds Feet extensions

 

glad the fix was just push it real hard. hahah .  kinda remind me of those old game strategy guides that tells you to "keep shooting until it dies"  

but back then, most of the games are about shooting everything on the screen.   want to rescue someone? just shoot it.  want to heal yourself? just shoot it.

[Slave IV]

2 hours ago, seti88 said:

And here you have it folks! The mystery of the 018!

http://www.decultureshock.com/the-vf-4-and-the-curious-case-of-the-sdf-018/

via tochiro’s twitter

Thanks for the info!...not a big deal to me but knowing it was from SK himself, I look forward to the backstory involved if any someday.

[Bolt]

On 3/25/2019 at 3:17 AM, tekering said:

And "MEGA ROAD-01" on the ventral strake...!  

Can't one of you Macross gurus clue us in?  

It’s a call back to an 80’s garage kit Kawamori did the artwork for..

Courtesy of @Tochiro

http://www.decultureshock.com/the-vf-4-and-the-curious-case-of-the-sdf-018/

Edited March 27, 2019 by Bolt

[Carceroth]

Ok so I got it all transformed and my final thoughts are. Honestly despite my momentary problem with it the figure itself is kind of incredible. They managed to shrink my beloved Arcadia/Yamato down with no part swapping at all. the tampo is lovely the posing is great with nothing sacrificed from its larger brother and I just love it. Little jerk managed to mangle my fingers first with the cockpit sinking and right after I transformed it to battroid the sharp bit on the side of the leg stabbed my finger and extracted the blood price from me. so my final review is

10/10 sacrificed my blood to Kawamori would buy the repaints take my money

Edited March 27, 2019 by Carceroth
added some extra details. Also i realized i didnt extend the doors on the back of the legs RIP

[Shizuka the Cat]

23 minutes ago, Carceroth said:

Ok so I got it all transformed and my final thoughts are. Honestly despite my momentary problem with it the figure itself is kind of incredible. They managed to shrink my beloved Arcadia/Yamato down with no part swapping at all. the tampo is lovely the posing is great with nothing sacrificed from its larger brother and I just love it. Little jerk managed to mangle my fingers first with the cockpit sinking and right after I transformed it to battroid the sharp bit on the side of the leg stabbed my finger and extracted the blood price from me. so my final review is

10/10 sacrificed my blood to Kawamori would buy the repaints take my money

No parts swapping at all?

So, integrated landing gears?  No panels that need to be removed to free up the legs from fighter to gerwalk mode?

[davidwhangchoi]

is there an echo here look back at seti's post and read before posting

[Carceroth]

22 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

No parts swapping at all?

So, integrated landing gears?  No panels that need to be removed to free up the legs from fighter to gerwalk mode?

I meant things like swapping the entire canopy out for a heat shield. The fighter mode leg covers I get but I mean those are pretty minor cosmetically though that is just my opinion. and landing gear I do not count  again my opinion. I guess i should have been more specific.

[VF-Zer0S]

Mine just came in and it’s beautiful. Didn’t think a stand was included at all so it was nice. Just gonna leave it in fighter and swoosh it around my newborn. 

[Reïvaj]

It really looks like a scaled down Yamarcadia... Am I wrong?

[Carceroth]

2 minutes ago, Reïvaj said:

It really looks like a scaled down Yamarcadia... Am I wrong?

its extremely close aside from the landing gear and leg covers in fighter mode the transformation is almost step for step. 

[rdrunner]

2 hours ago, Carceroth said:

I meant things like swapping the entire canopy out for a heat shield. The fighter mode leg covers I get but I mean those are pretty minor cosmetically though that is just my opinion. and landing gear I do not count  again my opinion. I guess i should have been more specific.

I think it’s pretty darn good as far as HMR transformations go with next to zero parts swapping. The only part that really needs to be removed from fighter to battroid is the engine intake cover at the knee joint. The undercarriage covers for the legs in fighter mode I can ignore anyway. 

[Rogueload]

If anyone has a extra vf-4 let me know.  I’d wouldn’t mind having one.  

[sh9000]

9 hours ago, sharky said:

Are you getting 1/100 scale aircraft?  I assume that's what it scales to, correct?  If one was interested in getting some is there a particular company that is better/best to consider?

Yes they are 1/100 aircraft.  The HMR VF-1 is close enough in scale to them.  Plus they can transform.  So far the diecast Air Fighters Collection is pretty good.

[Shizuka the Cat]

HMR VF-4 currently available from...

Loopaza:  $119.99 + ??? shipping  https://www.loopaza.com/hi-metal-r-the-super-dimension-fortress-macross-flash-back-2012-vf-4-lightning-iii.html

AmazonJP :  14,352 yen + 1,200 yen Amazon Global Shipping (DHL) to the United States  https://www.amazon.co.jp/HI-METAL-超時空要塞マクロス-ライトニングIII-ダイキャスト製-塗装済み可動フィギュア/dp/B07K1L79XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1553728623&sr=8-1&keywords=マクロス+vf-4

Nippon-Yasan:  15,500 yen + ??? shipping  https://www.nippon-yasan.com/figures/26613-hi-metal-r-vf-4-lightning-iii.html

[seti88]

5 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Thanks for the info!...not a big deal to me but knowing it was from SK himself, I look forward to the backstory involved if any someday.

It’s all in Kawamori’s head now...might be as simple as paying homage to the f-18 at that time!

4 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

is there an echo here look back at seti's post and read before posting

It’s a macross crack den!!

 

[UN Spacy]

 

[mechaninac]

I got slightly Bandai-ed on the copy I received from Amazon.jp.  Whoever the sleep-deprived line monkey who assembled my VF-4 was, he/she/it used two right main body missiles (the ones that swing up from the main fuselage) so that the right side missile sits flush in the down position, but the left side, because the strut is reversed, sits about 1 mm proud of its intended recess; in the great scheme of things, it's a minor thing, but it is still frustrating because once you notice it you cannot help but be acutely aware of it to the point of it becoming a slight, yet nagging, eyesore... I have to display it showing the right side of the fighter so as to keep the "offending" side out of sight.  This may be something I could, perhaps, address by disassembling the fuselage, cutting the strut, turning it 180^o and cementing it back so that the erroneous right missile's strut's curvature mimics what a correct left strut would've been and give it the correct orientation.  I think, however, that I'll wait until I have my copy from CDJ, and it that is perfect, I may just display the gimpy one in battroid, where that issue won't matter.  This has had the result of dampening my enthusiasm for this piece considerably.

[kkx]

4 minutes ago, mechaninac said:

I got slightly Bandai-ed on the copy I received from Amazon.jp.  Whoever the sleep-deprived line monkey who assembled my VF-4 was, he/she/it used two right main body missiles (the ones that swing up from the main fuselage) so that the right side missile sits flush in the down position, but the left side, because the strut is reversed, sits about 1 mm proud of its intended recess; in the great scheme of things, it's a minor thing, but it is still frustrating because once you notice it you cannot help but be acutely aware of it to the point of it becoming a slight, yet nagging, eyesore... I have to display it showing the right side of the fighter so as to keep the "offending" side out of sight.  This may be something I could, perhaps, address by disassembling the fuselage, cutting the strut, turning it 180^o and cementing it back so that the erroneous right missile's strut's curvature mimics what a correct left strut would've been and give it the correct orientation.  I think, however, that I'll wait until I have my copy from CDJ, and it that is perfect, I may just display the gimpy one in battroid, where that issue won't matter.  This has had the result of dampening my enthusiasm for this piece considerably.

So sorry to hear about this and really hope the CDJ one will be perfect.

My copy from Amazon.jp also has a small defect. Not as serious as yours.

A mark was left on the bronze metallic paint on one of the shins. It looks like the part was press against something before the paint is fully dried.

I have been trying to match the paint color with Tamiya dark copper, but it was too light/yellow. Need a bit of dark brown maybe. Alcad copper is too red.

[Master Dex]

Mine is out of customs as of yesterday but didn't make it to me today. Hopefully I'll see it tomorrow. 

[sh9000]

My VF-4 x6 at NY hasn’t shipped but it’s ok since they’ll be coming by registered ferry anyway.  I’ll probably pay for my VF-1D x4 at NY this weekend.  Hoping to get billed for my VF-1D at Amazon JP soon and have it shipped during release day.

[seti88]

Am i wrong to want bandai to release roy's scheme of the vf-4, this christmas......  or max and milla for that matter....

 

[sh9000]

I’d be ok with that.

[derex3592]

Just got to Gerwalk and now Battroid. No issues, everything locks together great. Step 12 in the manual is important. Push down, then pull forward slightly to lock down the chest plate over the recessed cockpit.

[davidwhangchoi]

2 hours ago, seti88 said:

It’s a macross crack den!!

amazing pics in here. it looks like a winner from everyone's comments.  

i wish the intake warning tampos had some print on em instead of red triangles but i guess this toy is so small it's hard to do. 

i don't think i've opened one HMR ever. all mine are boxed up in my bedroom. this maybe the first one i open

[derex3592]

WHAT.???? Dude.....Set them free!!!

[mickyg]

Ditto!

@derex3592 Thanks for the tip on step 12 - it's tight without sliding it, but there's a gap. Doing what the instructions say to do eliminates the gap altogether.

[seti88]

42 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

amazing pics in here. it looks like a winner from everyone's comments.  

i wish the intake warning tampos had some print on em instead of red triangles but i guess this toy is so small it's hard to do. 

i don't think i've opened one HMR ever. all mine are boxed up in my bedroom. this maybe the first one i open

Yeah all the glowing comments have me itching for more VF-4 variants to be released asap!

HMR's tampo's arent as detailed as the larger scales, but sufficient.

My little irk is i wish bandai did away with brown pieces, but after seeing the pics, the color adds its own character to the valk.
Also, until lolicon mentioned it i didnt realise the macross kite wasn't that striking of a red. Wish it was more striking but no biggie..

Hope you have a lovely opening ceremony to HMR!

[DewPoint]

Enjoy your HMR however you like!  There is no wrong way to enjoy HMR!