Hi-Metal R

[Reni]

 

3 hours ago, jvmacross said:

16...or 14 if you want to get technical and not count the VT-1 and VE-1...

https://tamashiiweb.com/item_brand/hi-metal_r/1/?sa=JAPAN&character=macross_series&order=release&ck1=1&ck2=1&ck3=1&ck4=1&ck5=1&number=40&ok=Filter+by+this+condition&wovn=ja#gi_productlist

Because I've been meaning to make a list for myself:

TV VF-1A Max
TV VF-1A Kakizaki 
TV VF-1S Super Hikaru
TV VF-1D
DYRL VT-1
DYRL VF-1A Hikaru
DYRL VE-1 Elint Seeker
Anniversary VF-1S Messer Color
TV VF-1J Millia
TV VF-1J Max
TV VF-1J Hikaru
TV/DYRL VF-1A
DYRL VF-1S Strike Fokker
DYRL VF-1S Strike HIkaru
TV VF-1J Armored Valkyrie

As usual, great pictures/writeup on Scorched Earth Toys:

Bandai Hi-Metal R VF-1 Toys – Scorched Earth Toys (anymoon.com)

[mikeszekely]

When I started I was thinking, "eh, I only need one of each model."  But I could see myself doing the 1S Hikaru (that's really Roy's) and Max's 1A.  Messer's 1S has a neat deco.  I should probably get a cannon fodder 1A, too.  Max and Milia's 1Js are too blue and red, respectively, and Kakizaki's 1A is too similar to the cannon fodder 1A.  It's the same reason why I'm not really into Hikaru's DYRL 1A/1S (or Max's DYRL 1A... but ironically would do Kakizaki's).  Also, it's kind of weird that I want the whiter TV 1S, but I see no need to have both versions of Hikaru's 1J.

Not really interested in the VT-1 or the VE-1.  Honestly, I don't really like the 1D, either, but at that point I'm sure some completionist brain itch will compel me to get one.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though.  Gonna give my wallet a little break, than start looking for a VF-2SS (while simultaneously agreeing with @Chronocidal that I wish Bandai would would put out a few newer molds.  A YF-19/VF-19A and a YF-21/VF-22 would be high on my wishlist, along with a VF-11 and VF-17.  Probably a pipe dream, but I'd go for the deep cuts like the VF-9 and VF-14, too.

[sh9000]

Oops I miscounted VF-1 releases.  Maybe I added a few of my customs in the count.  Corrected the number in my post.

I might have a spare VF-2SS in the for sale section sometime soon.

@mikeszekely Here's an old Jolly Rogers pic.

[jvmacross]

1 hour ago, Reni said:

 

Because I've been meaning to make a list for myself:

 

https://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/topic/29393-macross-toy-releases/?do=findComment&comment=1700441

 

[vladykins]

16 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

When I started I was thinking, "eh, I only need one of each model."  But I could see myself doing the 1S Hikaru (that's really Roy's) and Max's 1A.  Messer's 1S has a neat deco.  I should probably get a cannon fodder 1A, too.  Max and Milia's 1Js are too blue and red, respectively, and Kakizaki's 1A is too similar to the cannon fodder 1A.  It's the same reason why I'm not really into Hikaru's DYRL 1A/1S (or Max's DYRL 1A... but ironically would do Kakizaki's).  Also, it's kind of weird that I want the whiter TV 1S, but I see no need to have both versions of Hikaru's 1J.

Not really interested in the VT-1 or the VE-1.  Honestly, I don't really like the 1D, either, but at that point I'm sure some completionist brain itch will compel me to get one.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though.  Gonna give my wallet a little break, than start looking for a VF-2SS (while simultaneously agreeing with @Chronocidal that I wish Bandai would would put out a few newer molds.  A YF-19/VF-19A and a YF-21/VF-22 would be high on my wishlist, along with a VF-11 and VF-17.  Probably a pipe dream, but I'd go for the deep cuts like the VF-9 and VF-14, too.

You want the Kaki with the Max so you can do fun stuff like this:

 

Edited September 17 by vladykins

[mikeszekely]

OK, like I said when I reviewed Fugu's Jetfire, I feel way more secure in my knowledge of Transformers than I do Macross, so I'm sure that there's nothing here you don't already know, and I'm probably missing something that you guys can point out to me.  But after some friendly (I hope) teasing from @tekering for buying just about every Transformer Hasbro's released in the last six or seven years but not owning any Macross toys (despite hanging out on a Macross board), I picked up some Hi-Metal R figures and wanted to share my thoughts.  We'll start with the VF-1.

I got, specifically, the DYRL VF-1S Strike Valkyrie Focker type and Hikaru's VF-1J with GPB armor. As you can see (and probably know) the HMR's are a lot smaller than the Yamato/Arcadia (or KO of said) VF-1.  The smaller size comes with a few drawbacks, with the most immediate and obvious one from the above image being the hands.  However, I'm still impressed with the HMRs... the detail is quite good for their size.  Both VF-1's feature more paint than most mainline Transformers, the sculpt is sharp, and the molded panel lines are accurate and realistic without crossing over into excessive greebles.

While the HMR's do have some thin plastic parts, I'd go so far as the suggest that overall the materials on the HMR's feel noticeably better than Fugu's Jetfire.  Alas, I don't have a legitimate Yamato/Arcadia to compare with.

These figures come with a lot of accessories.  Now, I know that Bandai's released a couple of different VF-1's at this point.  Most of what I'm going to cover should apply, but aside from different decos or heads they may come with accessories these two don't, and these two surely come with accessories that they don't.  That said, as you can see in these two trays, there's likely a lot of overlap.  Both the VF-1S and the VF-1J come with two pairs of alternate wings, a gunpod with a small handle, a larger handle for the gunpod, a canopy, alternate intakes, stand adapters for Bandai's Tamashii Nations Stage Act 5 stands (not included), some landing gear, and replacement hands, albeit different ones (the VF-1S has DYRL-style left-and-right closed fists, L&R chopping hands, L&R gun-holding hands, a left open hand with splayed fingers, and a left cupping hand, while the VF-1J has TV-style L&R closed fists, L&R semi-relaxed hands, L&R gun hands, and left-only cupping and open-splayed hands).  We also have, unique to the VF-1J, four racks of small missiles, two torso fillers, and one neck filler, while the VF-1S has some replacement head lasers on sprues.  One pair is basically the same as the attached ones, just made from a more bendable rubbery plastic, while the others are straight instead of angled out like a 'V', and intended primarily for Gerwalk/Fighter modes.

Since the VF-1S is billed as a Strike Valkyrie, it has a second tray with the arm armor, the two-part leg armor, two Super pack boosters, and a Strike cannon, as well four missile pods, two lone large missiles, and two doubled large missiles.

Meanwhile, the VF-1J has a second tray with the GBP armor itself (chest, hips, pelvis, shoulders, forearms, legs, and boosters), more larger alternate hands, feet covers, a few missile parts, and a parts separator.  There's also a replacement head.  This is to reflect that while Hikaru's VF-1J normally has white around the "eyes," for some reason during the episode "Miss Macross" this area was sometimes colored gray.

The HMR has fairly similar articulation to the Yamato/Arcadia, not too much lost going to the smaller scale.  Heads are on ball joints that can look up a little, slight sideways tilt, decent downward tilt.  The ball joint itself is connected to a swivel and hinge for transformation, and you can use that hinge to get a little more downward tilt (the swivel just puts the head off-axis, though).  Their ear-lasers swivel.  The shoulders are on metal ball joints that can swivel and move laterally 90 degrees.  Like the Yamato/Arcadia they also have a hinge that doesn't really lock down in Battroid mode, giving them forward/backward butterfly motion as well.  Their biceps swivel, and their double-jointed elbows bend a little short of 180 degrees.  Their wrists are ball joints for swiveling and some in-out-up-down tilt.  No waist swivel.  The ball-jointed hips can't swivel very far forward or backward without hitting the wings, but they offer some thigh swivel.  The joint can slide out a bit, but even extended you only have about 45 degrees of lateral hip movement.  Hinges below the intakes can be used for 90 degrees forward hip joints.  There's another swivel just above the knees, which bend 90 degrees.  Fully-extended, the feet have some up/down tilt, and the front half even seems to have a little swivel, but like the Yamato/Arcadia a there's a disappointing lack of ankle pivot.

The stock right hand has a space carved out of it that the stock handle can slide into.  If you prefer bigger hands, the stock hands simply pop off the ball joints in the wrists, and the stock handle slides right out of the gunpod.  Replace it with the bigger handle, which is made for the alternate hands.  The alternate hands are kind of rubbery so the fingers bend around the handle with the index finger hooking into the trigger guard.

As long as you're swapping parts, the wings use c-clips to grab rods inside of the back.  You can yank them off and replacement them smaller ones that are fused together as one solid piece.  These shorter wings are a better match for Kawamori's line art.

And, as I said, the VF-1J comes with chest and neck fillers, like the Yamato/Arcadia ones.  The chest fillers slide over the thin flat bits inside the chest, while the neck filler fits in the gap behind the Battroid head but also over some small gaps near the front of the chest.  The neck filler has the door molded into it, but there's no alternate one with an open door.

If you remove the handle from the gunpod and collapse it, you'll find that there's a bit that's left with a tab.  That tab can grab a slot on the outside of the Battroid's right arm.  What's more, the FAST pack armor for the right arm has the same slot, allowing for the same same gunpod storage in Super or Strike mode.

Speaking of Super/Strike mode, the leg armor works a lot like the Yamato/Arcadia.  First you use some tabs to connect the calf armor to the back of the leg, then pegs on the calf armor hold the armor in place on the side of the leg.  The leg armor does not have a removable cover.  The arm armor is a bit different, though.  First it has a tab that goes into the back of the arm, then and another that kind of wraps over the lip of the arm near the elbow more like the old chunky monkeys.

The boosters connect to the backpack directly, without the need for a middle part.  They have tabs that plug into slots on the sides of the backpack, with an additional tab that braces against the inner edge of the backpack.  The rear engine cover does come off like the Yamato/Arcadia, but the front missile cover does not.  Instead, the entire front section can be pulled off and replaced with the Strike cannon.  The cannon is, of course, hinged so it can angle and fire over the Battroid's shoulder.

As for the GBP armor, first you need to remove the tip of the nose.  The hip amor sits over the intakes, but it doesn't lock onto them.  Rather, the backs of the hip armor have slots that fit tabs on the inside of the back behind the hips.  The pelvis armor is actually four parts; slide the back over the Battroid's butt, then the front slides over to connect to it and capture the hips and part of the nose.  The side skirts plug onto the sides.  The feet armor isn't so much armor as it is parts that mimic the Battroid's regular feet but make them look bigger, and they just slide over the front and back of the feet.

The shoulder armor simply slides over the Battroid's shoulders.  The boosters clip into the backpack in a way that's very similar to the Super pack.  For the arm armor, first you fold away the Battroid's hands, then you slide the back of the arm on and capture the forearm with the front of the arm.  Again, the hands are on ball joints, so if you want him to hold his gunpod you'll have to swap out a fist and use the largest gunpod handle.

The leg armor is actually four pieces per leg.  The back of the legs use the same tabs and slots as the Super pack, and the outside of the armor plugs into the back of the leg the same way.  But then the front of the leg armor plugs onto tabs on the outer leg armor, and you fully enclose the Battroid's leg by using four tabs on the inner armor piece to plug it into slots on the front and back armor pieces.  Finish the whole thing off by attaching the chest armor, which simply uses hooks to grab the gaps in the top of the Battroid's chest.

The GPB armor has missiles on the hips and forearms, plus doors on the outside of the legs, the backs of the legs, both sides of the chest, and inside both shoulders.  For whatever reason the missiles are already inside everything but the shoulders, where they're on flaps in the parts tray.  If you want you can even display the GBP Valkyrie post missile-spam.  The missiles in the forearms and hips can be removed.  The racks in the sides of the legs come out, then you can use the parts separator to push the missiles out of the racks.  The ones in the shoulders, chest, and backs of the legs are molded in, so you have to remove the entire panel.  There are replacement empty panels you can put into those spaces instead.

One thing to note about the Super/Strike packs and GBP armor... there are no special modifications to these Valkyries.  As near as I can tell, all the HMR VF-1s have the same slots on the arms, legs, and backpack, and the tip of the nose comes off on all of them.  There's nothing stopping you from using the FAST packs or GBP armor on other HMR VF-1s.  Heck, if you buy another VF-1 Strike Valkyrie you could even mix and match parts to make one Super Valkyrie and one double Strike.

Here's a quick look at Gerwalk mode.  I was able to transform the VF-1S from Battroid to Gerwalk with the FAST packs on.  Not going to go into a ton of detail here- while Gerwalk is obviously an important mode, it's still an intermediate step between Battroid and Fighter, and we'll cover the look and accessories more extensively in Fighter mode.

So, yeah, Fighter mode.  I mean, Kawamori worked out how the VF-1 transformed, so there's not a lot of room for deviation.  If you've transformed the Yamato/Arcadia, you've already done 95% of the HMR already.  The only biggest difference is in the shoulders.  Rather than fold in and swivel together to get between the legs, the HMR's shoulders swivel at the ball joint, untab from the back, move backward on sliders just to clear the intakes, double hinge inward so the arms meet, and then forward again.  It's slightly more finnicky, since even slid out there's not a lot of room to move the arms around the hips, plus the arms are connected to the sliders via c-clips that can be a bit frustrating to clip back on if they pop off.  The only other differences worth mentioning are that the swing bar for the legs just uses a pair of tabs to plug into the bottom of the nose in Battroid, so you simply unplug it to move the legs, no flaps involved.  Also, the heat shield doesn't slide up into the chest.  You have to pull it off completely, then replace it with a separate canopy part.

It's not exactly a transformation difference, the HMR VF-1s do not have landing gear inside the nose or legs.  If you want landing gear on them, you have top pry off little flaps to reveal some indents with holes.  The landing gear partsforms on by plugging into those holes.

Partsforming aside, everything I said about the Battroid applies to the Fighter.  There's plenty of molded and painted details that make the HMR VF-1s look premium despite their small size.  Everything fits together solidly, nothing's flopping around.  If I dare say so, I think the heads are even tucked in a bit better than the Yamato/Arcadia.

Both VF-1s came with pilots already in their seats.  Despite being super tiny they're painted fairly well, with the VF-1S coming with a Roy in the DYRL-style flight suit and the VF-1J coming with Hikaru in his TV flight suit.  To insert or remove the pilots, you have to remove the entire canopy; it doesn't open.  The front of the hips can me removed and replaced with exposed intake fans for atmospheric flight.

And if you want to arm them up in fighter mode, you can install the gunpod the same way you did in Battroid mode, using the tab into the right arm.  Missiles plug into the bottoms of the wings in a manner identical to the Yamato/Arcadia, but with one caveat... the regular wings are smooth on the underside, no holes to plug into.  So you gotta yank them off and replace them with ones that are identical, save for the fact that they do have holes underneath.  Honestly, I'm not sure what's stopping you from leaving the wings with holes on all the time; it's how the Yamato/Arcadia's are.

You can transform the VF-1 with the FAST packs on.  The tabs that lock the legs into the fuselage plug into identical slots on the leg armor, and tabs on the inside of the legs that usually tab into the arms  tab into the arm armor instead.

I really like the Hi-Metal R VF-1s.  It might not be fair to judge the Arcadia by a KO, but I'm going to do it anyway and suggest that I honestly think the build quality is better on the HMR.  The HMR's while still priced like a premium adult collectible, is also more affordable, which makes buying repaints and variants a lot more tempting, plus the smaller size means you'll likely have more shelf space to display those variants.  I myself intend to pick up Max's VF-1A at the very least.

That said, I think my biggest gripes with the HMR VF-1 is that it's a tad too small.  To compare to a Transformer, it's roughly a short Voyager/tall Deluxe in size (of course, given that the VF-1 is supposed to be significantly smaller than an F-14 or F-15, maybe it's not so out of place with Starscream and Maverick here).  If the HMR was just a bit bigger (but still well shy of 1/60) perhaps we could still have enjoyed a quality build in a relatively small package but without the need for partsforming.  Even with the partsforming, the HMR VF-1 is my favorite VF-1 toy (though I've yet to experience Bandai's DX Chogokin or ThreeZero's... whatever they're calling their line).

[WhatBoutMyStar]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

I myself intend to pick up Max's VF-1A at the very least.

If you're going to pick up Max, you might as well pick up Kakizaki as well not only to complete Vermillion platoon, but also because Kakizaki comes with the display stand for Hikaru.

[mikeszekely]

5 minutes ago, WhatBoutMyStar said:

If you're going to pick up Max, you might as well pick up Kakizaki as well not only to complete Vermillion platoon, but also because Kakizaki comes with the display stand for Hikaru.

It's a thought (though I have a pair of Act 5 stands).  I dunno, though, Kakizaki's TV scheme is so boring... the brown doesn't pop off the white the way Max's blue does.  I actually prefer the cannon fodder scheme.

Ironically, I'm not big on Hikaru or Max's DYRL VF-1As, but I'd buy Kakizaki's.

[WhatBoutMyStar]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

It's a thought (though I have a pair of Act 5 stands).  I dunno, though, Kakizaki's TV scheme is so boring... the brown doesn't pop off the white the way Max's blue does.  I actually prefer the cannon fodder scheme.

Ironically, I'm not big on Hikaru or Max's DYRL VF-1As, but I'd buy Kakizaki's.

But per the ironclad laws of Macross collecting, once you get a valk that's part of a squad, you're obligated to complete the team. Sorry, but them's the rules.

[Convectuoso]

It's great to have @mikeszekely's reviews in the Macross realm! I've always been a fan of your Transformers reviews and I love that you're also reviewing HMR which is my favorite Macross toy line.

[Slave IV]

15 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

OK, like I said when I reviewed Fugu's Jetfire, I feel way more secure in my knowledge of Transformers than I do Macross, so I'm sure that there's nothing here you don't already know, and I'm probably missing something that you guys can point out to me.  But after some friendly (I hope) teasing from @tekering for buying just about every Transformer Hasbro's released in the last six or seven years but not owning any Macross toys (despite hanging out on a Macross board), I picked up some Hi-Metal R figures and wanted to share my thoughts.  We'll start with the VF-1.

I got, specifically, the DYRL VF-1S Strike Valkyrie Focker type and Hikaru's VF-1J with GPB armor. As you can see (and probably know) the HMR's are a lot smaller than the Yamato/Arcadia (or KO of said) VF-1.  The smaller size comes with a few drawbacks, with the most immediate and obvious one from the above image being the hands.  However, I'm still impressed with the HMRs... the detail is quite good for their size.  Both VF-1's feature more paint than most mainline Transformers, the sculpt is sharp, and the molded panel lines are accurate and realistic without crossing over into excessive greebles.

While the HMR's do have some thin plastic parts, I'd go so far as the suggest that overall the materials on the HMR's feel noticeably better than Fugu's Jetfire.  Alas, I don't have a legitimate Yamato/Arcadia to compare with.

These figures come with a lot of accessories.  Now, I know that Bandai's released a couple of different VF-1's at this point.  Most of what I'm going to cover should apply, but aside from different decos or heads they may come with accessories these two don't, and these two surely come with accessories that they don't.  That said, as you can see in these two trays, there's likely a lot of overlap.  Both the VF-1S and the VF-1J come with two pairs of alternate wings, a gunpod with a small handle, a larger handle for the gunpod, a canopy, alternate intakes, stand adapters for Bandai's Tamashii Nations Stage Act 5 stands (not included), some landing gear, and replacement hands, albeit different ones (the VF-1S has DYRL-style left-and-right closed fists, L&R chopping hands, L&R gun-holding hands, a left open hand with splayed fingers, and a left cupping hand, while the VF-1J has TV-style L&R closed fists, L&R semi-relaxed hands, L&R gun hands, and left-only cupping and open-splayed hands).  We also have, unique to the VF-1J, four racks of small missiles, two torso fillers, and one neck filler, while the VF-1S has some replacement head lasers on sprues.  One pair is basically the same as the attached ones, just made from a more bendable rubbery plastic, while the others are straight instead of angled out like a 'V', and intended primarily for Gerwalk/Fighter modes.

Since the VF-1S is billed as a Strike Valkyrie, it has a second tray with the arm armor, the two-part leg armor, two Super pack boosters, and a Strike cannon, as well four missile pods, two lone large missiles, and two doubled large missiles.

Meanwhile, the VF-1J has a second tray with the GBP armor itself (chest, hips, pelvis, shoulders, forearms, legs, and boosters), more larger alternate hands, feet covers, a few missile parts, and a parts separator.  There's also a replacement head.  This is to reflect that while Hikaru's VF-1J normally has white around the "eyes," for some reason during the episode "Miss Macross" this area was sometimes colored gray.

The HMR has fairly similar articulation to the Yamato/Arcadia, not too much lost going to the smaller scale.  Heads are on ball joints that can look up a little, slight sideways tilt, decent downward tilt.  The ball joint itself is connected to a swivel and hinge for transformation, and you can use that hinge to get a little more downward tilt (the swivel just puts the head off-axis, though).  Their ear-lasers swivel.  The shoulders are on metal ball joints that can swivel and move laterally 90 degrees.  Like the Yamato/Arcadia they also have a hinge that doesn't really lock down in Battroid mode, giving them forward/backward butterfly motion as well.  Their biceps swivel, and their double-jointed elbows bend a little short of 180 degrees.  Their wrists are ball joints for swiveling and some in-out-up-down tilt.  No waist swivel.  The ball-jointed hips can't swivel very far forward or backward without hitting the wings, but they offer some thigh swivel.  The joint can slide out a bit, but even extended you only have about 45 degrees of lateral hip movement.  Hinges below the intakes can be used for 90 degrees forward hip joints.  There's another swivel just above the knees, which bend 90 degrees.  Fully-extended, the feet have some up/down tilt, and the front half even seems to have a little swivel, but like the Yamato/Arcadia a there's a disappointing lack of ankle pivot.

The stock right hand has a space carved out of it that the stock handle can slide into.  If you prefer bigger hands, the stock hands simply pop off the ball joints in the wrists, and the stock handle slides right out of the gunpod.  Replace it with the bigger handle, which is made for the alternate hands.  The alternate hands are kind of rubbery so the fingers bend around the handle with the index finger hooking into the trigger guard.

As long as you're swapping parts, the wings use c-clips to grab rods inside of the back.  You can yank them off and replacement them smaller ones that are fused together as one solid piece.  These shorter wings are a better match for Kawamori's line art.

And, as I said, the VF-1J comes with chest and neck fillers, like the Yamato/Arcadia ones.  The chest fillers slide over the thin flat bits inside the chest, while the neck filler fits in the gap behind the Battroid head but also over some small gaps near the front of the chest.  The neck filler has the door molded into it, but there's no alternate one with an open door.

If you remove the handle from the gunpod and collapse it, you'll find that there's a bit that's left with a tab.  That tab can grab a slot on the outside of the Battroid's right arm.  What's more, the FAST pack armor for the right arm has the same slot, allowing for the same same gunpod storage in Super or Strike mode.

Speaking of Super/Strike mode, the leg armor works a lot like the Yamato/Arcadia.  First you use some tabs to connect the calf armor to the back of the leg, then pegs on the calf armor hold the armor in place on the side of the leg.  The leg armor does not have a removable cover.  The arm armor is a bit different, though.  First it has a tab that goes into the back of the arm, then and another that kind of wraps over the lip of the arm near the elbow more like the old chunky monkeys.

The boosters connect to the backpack directly, without the need for a middle part.  They have tabs that plug into slots on the sides of the backpack, with an additional tab that braces against the inner edge of the backpack.  The rear engine cover does come off like the Yamato/Arcadia, but the front missile cover does not.  Instead, the entire front section can be pulled off and replaced with the Strike cannon.  The cannon is, of course, hinged so it can angle and fire over the Battroid's shoulder.

As for the GBP armor, first you need to remove the tip of the nose.  The hip amor sits over the intakes, but it doesn't lock onto them.  Rather, the backs of the hip armor have slots that fit tabs on the inside of the back behind the hips.  The pelvis armor is actually four parts; slide the back over the Battroid's butt, then the front slides over to connect to it and capture the hips and part of the nose.  The side skirts plug onto the sides.  The feet armor isn't so much armor as it is parts that mimic the Battroid's regular feet but make them look bigger, and they just slide over the front and back of the feet.

The shoulder armor simply slides over the Battroid's shoulders.  The boosters clip into the backpack in a way that's very similar to the Super pack.  For the arm armor, first you fold away the Battroid's hands, then you slide the back of the arm on and capture the forearm with the front of the arm.  Again, the hands are on ball joints, so if you want him to hold his gunpod you'll have to swap out a fist and use the largest gunpod handle.

The leg armor is actually four pieces per leg.  The back of the legs use the same tabs and slots as the Super pack, and the outside of the armor plugs into the back of the leg the same way.  But then the front of the leg armor plugs onto tabs on the outer leg armor, and you fully enclose the Battroid's leg by using four tabs on the inner armor piece to plug it into slots on the front and back armor pieces.  Finish the whole thing off by attaching the chest armor, which simply uses hooks to grab the gaps in the top of the Battroid's chest.

The GPB armor has missiles on the hips and forearms, plus doors on the outside of the legs, the backs of the legs, both sides of the chest, and inside both shoulders.  For whatever reason the missiles are already inside everything but the shoulders, where they're on flaps in the parts tray.  If you want you can even display the GBP Valkyrie post missile-spam.  The missiles in the forearms and hips can be removed.  The racks in the sides of the legs come out, then you can use the parts separator to push the missiles out of the racks.  The ones in the shoulders, chest, and backs of the legs are molded in, so you have to remove the entire panel.  There are replacement empty panels you can put into those spaces instead.

One thing to note about the Super/Strike packs and GBP armor... there are no special modifications to these Valkyries.  As near as I can tell, all the HMR VF-1s have the same slots on the arms, legs, and backpack, and the tip of the nose comes off on all of them.  There's nothing stopping you from using the FAST packs or GBP armor on other HMR VF-1s.  Heck, if you buy another VF-1 Strike Valkyrie you could even mix and match parts to make one Super Valkyrie and one double Strike.

Here's a quick look at Gerwalk mode.  I was able to transform the VF-1S from Battroid to Gerwalk with the FAST packs on.  Not going to go into a ton of detail here- while Gerwalk is obviously an important mode, it's still an intermediate step between Battroid and Fighter, and we'll cover the look and accessories more extensively in Fighter mode.

So, yeah, Fighter mode.  I mean, Kawamori worked out how the VF-1 transformed, so there's not a lot of room for deviation.  If you've transformed the Yamato/Arcadia, you've already done 95% of the HMR already.  The only biggest difference is in the shoulders.  Rather than fold in and swivel together to get between the legs, the HMR's shoulders swivel at the ball joint, untab from the back, move backward on sliders just to clear the intakes, double hinge inward so the arms meet, and then forward again.  It's slightly more finnicky, since even slid out there's not a lot of room to move the arms around the hips, plus the arms are connected to the sliders via c-clips that can be a bit frustrating to clip back on if they pop off.  The only other differences worth mentioning are that the swing bar for the legs just uses a pair of tabs to plug into the bottom of the nose in Battroid, so you simply unplug it to move the legs, no flaps involved.  Also, the heat shield doesn't slide up into the chest.  You have to pull it off completely, then replace it with a separate canopy part.

It's not exactly a transformation difference, the HMR VF-1s do not have landing gear inside the nose or legs.  If you want landing gear on them, you have top pry off little flaps to reveal some indents with holes.  The landing gear partsforms on by plugging into those holes.

Partsforming aside, everything I said about the Battroid applies to the Fighter.  There's plenty of molded and painted details that make the HMR VF-1s look premium despite their small size.  Everything fits together solidly, nothing's flopping around.  If I dare say so, I think the heads are even tucked in a bit better than the Yamato/Arcadia.

Both VF-1s came with pilots already in their seats.  Despite being super tiny they're painted fairly well, with the VF-1S coming with a Roy in the DYRL-style flight suit and the VF-1J coming with Hikaru in his TV flight suit.  To insert or remove the pilots, you have to remove the entire canopy; it doesn't open.  The front of the hips can me removed and replaced with exposed intake fans for atmospheric flight.

And if you want to arm them up in fighter mode, you can install the gunpod the same way you did in Battroid mode, using the tab into the right arm.  Missiles plug into the bottoms of the wings in a manner identical to the Yamato/Arcadia, but with one caveat... the regular wings are smooth on the underside, no holes to plug into.  So you gotta yank them off and replace them with ones that are identical, save for the fact that they do have holes underneath.  Honestly, I'm not sure what's stopping you from leaving the wings with holes on all the time; it's how the Yamato/Arcadia's are.

You can transform the VF-1 with the FAST packs on.  The tabs that lock the legs into the fuselage plug into identical slots on the leg armor, and tabs on the inside of the legs that usually tab into the arms  tab into the arm armor instead.

I really like the Hi-Metal R VF-1s.  It might not be fair to judge the Arcadia by a KO, but I'm going to do it anyway and suggest that I honestly think the build quality is better on the HMR.  The HMR's while still priced like a premium adult collectible, is also more affordable, which makes buying repaints and variants a lot more tempting, plus the smaller size means you'll likely have more shelf space to display those variants.  I myself intend to pick up Max's VF-1A at the very least.

That said, I think my biggest gripes with the HMR VF-1 is that it's a tad too small.  To compare to a Transformer, it's roughly a short Voyager/tall Deluxe in size (of course, given that the VF-1 is supposed to be significantly smaller than an F-14 or F-15, maybe it's not so out of place with Starscream and Maverick here).  If the HMR was just a bit bigger (but still well shy of 1/60) perhaps we could still have enjoyed a quality build in a relatively small package but without the need for partsforming.  Even with the partsforming, the HMR VF-1 is my favorite VF-1 toy (though I've yet to experience Bandai's DX Chogokin or ThreeZero's... whatever they're calling their line).

Nice review and welcome to the craze! I think that last picture says it all when comparing Macross figures to Transformers🤣

All jokes aside, I like and collect both but even back in the day, when I got my hands on the Chunky Monkey, I knew that it was leagues better than any Transformer toy I ever had and quickly moved on to Macross for the better toys and media. To be fair to Transformers, the Chunky ended up being the best toy of all time that nothing has really surpassed, IMO so it's tough competition.

I am curious and surprised about your statement that HMR is significantly better quality than the KO Yamato/Arcadia. I don't have a KO Yamacadia VF-1 myself but my understanding is they are noticeably KO in terms of lower quality (unlike many Transformer KOs that are often better quality than originals) but I didn't think they were that much lower. To put in perspective, I think the Yamato/Arcadia Valks in general are arguably the best quality Valks made to this day. There are some give and takes with the newer DX and 3Z (that I don't have to know for sure), but I think it's overall widely agreed that the Arcadia fit and finish has been unmatched in Valk toys. So for them to be comparable and better than DX in many ways and for the KO to be worse than HMR to you is a big difference and if true, I'm kind of glad I never got the KO Angel Bird and CF VF-1s I ordered years ago. I do have a set of KO clear super parts and while they are not as good as original, they aren't that bad and good enough to serve their purpose.

[mikeszekely]

3 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

It's great to have @mikeszekely's reviews in the Macross realm! I've always been a fan of your Transformers reviews and I love that you're also reviewing HMR which is my favorite Macross toy line.

Thanks for the love!  Unfortunately I don't have too many left to review, especially since I don't plan on doing new VF-1 reviews every time I pick up another paint job.  I'm saving for a VF-2SS, and crossing my fingers that Bandai retools their new VF-19 Kai into a VF-19F/S.  Then I just gotta cross my fingers and hope that a VF-11, YF-19, YF-21/VF-22, and VF-17 are in the cards soon.

  

3 hours ago, Slave IV said:

I am curious and surprised about your statement that HMR is significantly better quality than the KO Yamato/Arcadia. I don't have a KO Yamacadia VF-1 myself but my understanding is they are noticeably KO in terms of lower quality (unlike many Transformer KOs that are often better quality than originals) but I didn't think they were that much lower.

To be clear, it's not like I'm saying the Fugu is terrible or anything (and I've got no experience with the Valkyrie Factory one, unless Fugu and Valkyrie Factory are actually the same people).  But the plastic just (subjectively) doesn't feel as good as the plastic Bandai used on the HMRs, and the joint tolerances on the Fugu range from "I think I'm going to break this" tight in the shoulders to leaning over backward with FAST packs loose in the spaces between the ratchet detents in the feet.  I also feel like Fugu uses thinner parts, or at least proportionally thinner parts.  As an example, the post with the ball joints going into the hips on the HMRs are about the same size as the the ones on the Fugu, despite the HMR's only coming to the top of the Fugu's intakes, plus the entire swing bar is plastic on the Fugu while the HMR's use metal for the vertical part and have it more reinforced where it connects to the plastic horizontal part.

If they weren't so expensive I'd like to try a Bandai DX VF-1 someday.  The impression I get is that a lot of people here prefer the Arcadias, but I have a feeling I'd like the DX.

Edited September 20 by mikeszekely

[Slave IV]

40 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

If they weren't so expensive I'd like to try a Bandai DX VF-1 someday.  The impression I get is that a lot of people here prefer the Arcadias, but I have a feeling I'd like the DX.

They are both great. The DX has the advantage of over 20 years to improve so there are going to be some things that are better, like articulation and the updated arm transformation technique. But the Arcadia feels like a precision, quality piece the way it all fits together and locks where the Bandai is a bit sloppy in several areas. Some may argue the plastic qualities but I prefer the Arcadia plastic too. IMO, Arcadia feels like a German engineered machine and the Bandai is more American in that it gets it done but without the extra attention to perfection.

[sh9000]

Excellent review @mikeszekely.

You should definitely get a HMR VF-0S if you're still considering one.

 

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, I kind of wonder if having spent the last nearly two decades collecting Transformers of the retail, Masterpiece, and unlicensed 3P varieties have colored my notions of toy engineering and expectations vs some of you guys who have been collecting Macross toys for that long (or longer!).  At the very least, I hope my perspective makes for an interesting read for you guys, because I do have another Hi-Metal R for you tonight... Roy's VF-0S.

Watching Macross Zero back in the day left me with the impression that the VF-0 was kind of like a rough-draft VF-1 (despite it having the pointed toes that came on almost every variable fighter after the VF-1)... same basic transformation, a little less refined, and traditional engines instead of reaction engines.  I don't think I ever appreciated just how much bigger the VF-0 actually is until I had them side-by-side.

Aesthetically, the VF-0 is similar to the VF-1, and I don't mean that in the sense that they're both sporting the Jolly Rodger.  I mean that one again Bandai applied paint cleanly and effectively to bring out the appropriate details on an excellently-sculped figure that looks good from all angles... almost.  From the side, the chest seems to stick out a bit, and you can see a bit of the cockpit's canopy poking out.  It's almost like the inside of the heatshield isn't quite the right shape to cover the cockpit.

Something else to note, where the backpack thrusters are just there on the VF-1, they retract up into the backpack on the VF-0.  To properly deploy them, you need to move the tailhook to find a notch.  You need to work a tool into the notch and push the thrusters out.

Fortunately, Roy's VF-0S comes with a small tool for exactly that.  You also get a gunpod, some leg armor, a second set of head lasers, two alternate sets of wings, four racks of missiles, landing gear, alternate intakes, a little pilot, two long pitot tubes (which are identical, one is just in case you break or lose the other), one small pitot tube, four sets of replacement hands (right and left closed fists, gun hands, splayed-finger hands, and relaxed hands), a stand, and stand adapters for all three modes.

For the most part, the VF-0 has similar articulation to the VF-1.  The head can swivel, and the swivel is on a flap, which is all necessary for transformation but the flap can be used to help the VF-0 look down.  A ball joint where the head connects to the neck also gives the VF-0 some up/down/sideways tilt.  The main issue here is that the neck kind of scrunches into the head for transformation, and to get the most out of the articulation you have to pull the head back up... which more often than not caused the entire head to pop off the flap.  Moving on, the shoulders are ball joints that can swivel and move laterally 90 degrees, and hinges give them some forward butterfly as well.  The biceps swivel, and the double-jointed metal elbows combine for 180 degrees of bend.  The hands are connected via ball joints, which give you some up/down/in/out tilt in addition to swivels.  No waist swivel.  The ball jointed hips have limited forward/backward range due to the wings, but they again provide for about 45 degrees of lateral movement, while the Gerwalk hinge gives you 90 degrees of forward him movement.  You can use the ball joints in the hips for some thigh swivel, but there's a dedicated swivel above the knees.  Speaking of knees, they bend a little under 90 degrees.  If there's one thing that's improved it's the ankles.  They can slide out a little further than the VF-1, which doesn't really do much for the upward tilt of the feet, but it does give them better range tilting downward, a little more ankle swivel, and best of all at least some ankle pivot.

Unlike the VF-1, the stock hands cannot hold the gunpod, so you have to swap hands if you want to use it.  It's a bit of a bummer, since the VF-0's chest covers the cockpit without removing the canopy or replacing it with a heat shield made the VF-0 potentially closer to a perfect transformation.  As long as we're partsforming, though, like the VF-1 you can pull the wings off and replacement them with smaller, fused wings for Battroid mode.  The smaller pitot tube is also technically for Battroid mode... I guess so you can say it's there without actually seeing it (though, honestly, I'd just leave it off at that point).

The leg armor uses a pair of tabs to plug into slots on the sides of the legs.  And since the VF-0 comes with a stand, I can talk about it this time.  For Battroid mode, you'll use this part to sit behind the nose, with the hooks wrapping under and cradling the swing bar.  This is the only stand part that has a peg instead of a hole, so you'll have to use the long tube on the stand arm to change the stand's peg into a hole.

Obligatory Gerwalk picture.  Looks good once you get there.

Gerwalk mode has it's own stand adapter.  This one has a slot that fits over the tab on the swing bar (the one that plugs into the underside of the nose), while the rest of the adapter wraps around the metal part.  This adapter has a hole, so you either don't need the tube, or you need to put the topper on the tube so it ends in a peg instead of a hole.

Transforming the VF-0 is pretty similar to the VF-01... the nose unclips from the swing bar, a hatch opens on the back for the head to pass through, the chest rocks back to link to the back, intakes plug into the underside of the chest, the arms slide down, double-hinge in so they touch, then slide back up, backpack folds back, and the legs plug into the back, legs, and backpack.  The thing is, subtle differences in clearance seem to conspire against you.  The head lasers don't quite through the gap in the back, even after you swap them with the other pair, and my manipulations caused the head to pop off.  The shoulders rub against the backs of the legs, and I popped an arm off from the slider.  Rocking the chest back, I wound up popping it off, too.  The vertical stabilizers also rub against each other in a way that feels like I'm forcing them past each other.  They seem to slide out a bit to mitigate that, but I wound up sliding one completely off.  All the parts that popped off go right back on, but after the mostly-pleasant transformation of the VF-1 the fact that any parts popped off, let alone that many, left me feeling frustrated.

Worth it, though?  Once you get it there and get everything plugged in, the VF-0S is certainly a good-looking Fighter.  Again, nicely-painted details, sharp sculpt, etc.  The painted exhaust fans inside the feet are a nice touch.

Rather than removable panels like the VF-1, the VF-0 actually has flaps that open for the landing gear... but you still have to dig the landing gear out and plug them into the sockets.  Ditching the removable panels feels like a step in the right direction, I just wish they would have gone the rest of the way and put hinged landing gear permanently inside.

While we're under there, the tailhook moves, and the gunpod can mount to the fighter's belly.  It works more like the Yamato/Arcadia- the handle doesn't come off, it slides up into the barrel and the barrel collapses.  The bit that's left sticking out has a slot that sandwiches between recessed tabs on the VF-0's arms.

Despite not needing to remove it for transformation, the canopy still has to be removed rather than hinging opened.  You can sit your little Roy in the seat, and again I'm impressed with the paint and detail on such a tiny figure.  The normal "closed" intakes can slide off, just like the VF-1, to be replaced with open intakes for atmospheric flight... which is the only kind the VF-0 was meant for, what with the traditional engines.  (So... why does the VF-0 still have vernier nozzles on the nose, chest, and near the elbows?)  The longer pitot tube is meant for Fighter mode, and you can attach it by plugging a tiny peg into a little hole under the nose.

The leg armor can still be used in Fighter (and Gerwalk mode).  It's not even necessary to remove it to transform.  And again, like the VF-1, the "standard" wings are smooth underneath.  You can pop them off and replace them with wings that are identical save for the raised peg holes on the underside that allow you to plug in the missile racks.

The largest stand adapter has tabs that fit into slots on the sides of the intakes, cradling the legs but leaving a gap that the gunpod can fit through.  As with the Gerwalk adapter, the bottom is a hole so you don't need the extra tube.

Ultimately, I'm not sorry I got the VF-0S.  It looks great in all three modes, and is going to make a nice display with my other HMR figures.  However, I'm definitely glad the VF-0S wasn't my first HMR, because I might have assumed the frustration I felt with parts popping off during transformation was typical for the HMR line and just quit right there.  As it stands, the VF-0 is my least-favorite HMR so far, but that's kind of ok, because the VF-0 is one of my least-favorite Valkyries anyway (the VF-5000 and VF-11 are more interesting takes on the basic VF-1 transformation, IMHO).  I have stronger feelings for the VF-4, so as long as it's better...

 

[no3Ljm]

Great review @mikeszekely!

And welcome to the Macross side of the forum. 

[Convectuoso]

On 9/21/2024 at 1:00 AM, mikeszekely said:

From the side, the chest seems to stick out a bit, and you can see a bit of the cockpit's canopy poking out.  It's almost like the inside of the heatshield isn't quite the right shape to cover the cockpit.

You need to push the heat cover further down.

[nightmareB4macross]

Bandai’s erratic choices of mecha sizing is so unappealing.

I think the only reason I keep buying these is to compare them to Yamato/Arcadia sculpts. 

Really wish they would scale better.

 

[jvmacross]

Is the VF-MAXL that much smaller than the VF-11 it's based off of?

[mikeszekely]

5 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

You need to push the heat cover further down.

I tried. All that happened was that the entire chest came off.

[nightmareB4macross]

11B v 11MaxL in meters

B 12.92 v 11.24

F 11.2 v 11.2

G 11.2 v 11.2

Lots of expansion in MaxL from Battroid to Fighter/GERWALK. I honestly thought they were always the same size. But according to the specs they aren’t.

 

 

[jvmacross]

Animagic

[jenius]

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I tried. All that happened was that the entire chest came off.

Maybe it's the nosecone that needs to go up more?

[Bolt]

On 9/13/2024 at 6:17 AM, sh9000 said:

The DX Konig Monster fits right in with HMR.

The Regults are good and scale well with the VF-1.

Awesome! Right from SDFM 

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, jenius said:

Maybe it's the nosecone that needs to go up more?

Maybe? I mean, it comes out of the box in Battroid mode. I tried to jam the chest down, but didn't try the nose. 

Ultimately they're all staying in Fighter mode, so...

[WhatBoutMyStar]

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Maybe? I mean, it comes out of the box in Battroid mode. I tried to jam the chest down, but didn't try the nose. 

Ultimately they're all staying in Fighter mode, so...

In addition to the stuff previously mentioned, you might also want to check the connections in the back to make sure they are properly alinged. Along with the main big tab, on the VF-0s, there are also two smaller metal tabs that peg in the back of the nose. If only the bigger tab is connected but the two smaller metal tabs aren't also tabbed in flush, it could affect the angle of the chest when folded down and even a small change in that could affect the heat shield covering the canopy. If everything is tabbed in flush, the heat shield should cover the entire canopy

 

Edited September 22 by WhatBoutMyStar

[MKT]

Nice reviews on the HMRs, and the earlier Fugu VF-1 write up @mikeszekely. It's interesting to read your viewpoints coming from a Transformers collector. 

It is a surprise to hear the plastic quality of the HMR VF-1 feels better than the Fugu, but as I do not own any KO 1/60 so far, I can't assess except the original Yamcadias do subjectively feel better than the HMR to me. As @Slave IV pointed out, the tolerances on the >15-year old Yamcadia also trumps both Bandai's, including the KC 1/72, and from what I'm seeing based on reviews the ThreeZero's as well. Because the joints on the Yamcadias move fluidly, I've never once felt if the joints are questionably sized or fragile. However, your experience with Fugu with some joints feeling too tight to the point of squeaky & some feeling too loose sounds like the same experience I have with KC's mold, leading to the same scrutiny about the size & strength of the joints, materials etc. 

Within the HMR, the VF-1 does have thicker & more robust feeling plastic compared to the VF-0, but the sculpt suffers a little as a result. We see this when compared to its larger cousins the Yamcadia & Bandai DX, for eg the HMR profile is a bit wider at the rear section from the top down view.
The VF-0 on other hand is really a proportionately shrunken down Arcadia 1/60 (which is not a surprise as the same design studio worked on both) and so the plastic is as thick or thin as needed in areas for a more precise sculpt. For eg, we can see that the rear of the wing gloves, where it meets the leg shins in Fighter, have very thin plastic to look more accurate. Nevertheless, despite the thin plastic they never felt particularly fragile. This also extends to other very small joint parts like the chest clips & the neck pole joint, which feel like they are made of durable POM plastic. 

I empathize with fighting the clearances while transforming the VF-0 though. The first time I transformed my VF-0 into Fighter nothing popped off, I just worked it slowly and everything fit into place so it was rather an enjoyable experience. But if things are off or askew by a little, the usual wiggle jiggle will not work and we have to go back a few steps in the transformation to seat other stuff properly first.
On my second VF-0S copy much later, things popped off exactly like yours did during transformation, and I wasn't really sure why but it's likely I rushed it through a little thinking my familiarity with the mold helped, but somehow didn't.

On the heat shield, I think all HMR VF-0S suffers from the same tightness - it does take a disproportionate amount of effort to pull it down all the way, and compounding the problem is that it may be initially difficult to tell where it actually stops when deployed. A lot of initial pictures I saw then of the heat shield always have the final mm or so of the canopy peeking through, but rest assured it does completely cover the canopy if deployed correctly. On the subsequent repaints the 0D & 0A, the heat shield tolerances have been adjusted & is much easier to slide up and down.

 

 

   

[Test_Pilot_2]

5 hours ago, MKT said:

Nice reviews on the HMRs, and the earlier Fugu VF-1 write up @mikeszekely. It's interesting to read your viewpoints coming from a Transformers collector. 

It is a surprise to hear the plastic quality of the HMR VF-1 feels better than the Fugu, but as I do not own any KO 1/60 so far, I can't assess except the original Yamcadias do subjectively feel better than the HMR to me. As @Slave IV pointed out, the tolerances on the >15-year old Yamcadia also trumps both Bandai's, including the KC 1/72, and from what I'm seeing based on reviews the ThreeZero's as well. Because the joints on the Yamcadias move fluidly, I've never once felt if the joints are questionably sized or fragile. However, your experience with Fugu with some joints feeling too tight to the point of squeaky & some feeling too loose sounds like the same experience I have with KC's mold, leading to the same scrutiny about the size & strength of the joints, materials etc. 

Within the HMR, the VF-1 does have thicker & more robust feeling plastic compared to the VF-0, but the sculpt suffers a little as a result. We see this when compared to its larger cousins the Yamcadia & Bandai DX, for eg the HMR profile is a bit wider at the rear section from the top down view.
The VF-0 on other hand is really a proportionately shrunken down Arcadia 1/60 (which is not a surprise as the same design studio worked on both) and so the plastic is as thick or thin as needed in areas for a more precise sculpt. For eg, we can see that the rear of the wing gloves, where it meets the leg shins in Fighter, have very thin plastic to look more accurate. Nevertheless, despite the thin plastic they never felt particularly fragile. This also extends to other very small joint parts like the chest clips & the neck pole joint, which feel like they are made of durable POM plastic. 

I empathize with fighting the clearances while transforming the VF-0 though. The first time I transformed my VF-0 into Fighter nothing popped off, I just worked it slowly and everything fit into place so it was rather an enjoyable experience. But if things are off or askew by a little, the usual wiggle jiggle will not work and we have to go back a few steps in the transformation to seat other stuff properly first.
On my second VF-0S copy much later, things popped off exactly like yours did during transformation, and I wasn't really sure why but it's likely I rushed it through a little thinking my familiarity with the mold helped, but somehow didn't.

On the heat shield, I think all HMR VF-0S suffers from the same tightness - it does take a disproportionate amount of effort to pull it down all the way, and compounding the problem is that it may be initially difficult to tell where it actually stops when deployed. A lot of initial pictures I saw then of the heat shield always have the final mm or so of the canopy peeking through, but rest assured it does completely cover the canopy if deployed correctly. On the subsequent repaints the 0D & 0A, the heat shield tolerances have been adjusted & is much easier to slide up and down.

 

 

   

Great pics, except I'm getting a "cover of new pop culture rock band single" vibe coming from the last picture...

[sh9000]

On 9/20/2024 at 9:00 PM, mikeszekely said:

Yeah, I kind of wonder if having spent the last nearly two decades collecting Transformers of the retail, Masterpiece, and unlicensed 3P varieties have colored my notions of toy engineering and expectations vs some of you guys who have been collecting Macross toys for that long (or longer!).  At the very least, I hope my perspective makes for an interesting read for you guys, because I do have another Hi-Metal R for you tonight... Roy's VF-0S.

Watching Macross Zero back in the day left me with the impression that the VF-0 was kind of like a rough-draft VF-1 (despite it having the pointed toes that came on almost every variable fighter after the VF-1)... same basic transformation, a little less refined, and traditional engines instead of reaction engines.  I don't think I ever appreciated just how much bigger the VF-0 actually is until I had them side-by-side.

Aesthetically, the VF-0 is similar to the VF-1, and I don't mean that in the sense that they're both sporting the Jolly Rodger.  I mean that one again Bandai applied paint cleanly and effectively to bring out the appropriate details on an excellently-sculped figure that looks good from all angles... almost.  From the side, the chest seems to stick out a bit, and you can see a bit of the cockpit's canopy poking out.  It's almost like the inside of the heatshield isn't quite the right shape to cover the cockpit.

Something else to note, where the backpack thrusters are just there on the VF-1, they retract up into the backpack on the VF-0.  To properly deploy them, you need to move the tailhook to find a notch.  You need to work a tool into the notch and push the thrusters out.

Fortunately, Roy's VF-0S comes with a small tool for exactly that.  You also get a gunpod, some leg armor, a second set of head lasers, two alternate sets of wings, four racks of missiles, landing gear, alternate intakes, a little pilot, two long pitot tubes (which are identical, one is just in case you break or lose the other), one small pitot tube, four sets of replacement hands (right and left closed fists, gun hands, splayed-finger hands, and relaxed hands), a stand, and stand adapters for all three modes.

For the most part, the VF-0 has similar articulation to the VF-1.  The head can swivel, and the swivel is on a flap, which is all necessary for transformation but the flap can be used to help the VF-0 look down.  A ball joint where the head connects to the neck also gives the VF-0 some up/down/sideways tilt.  The main issue here is that the neck kind of scrunches into the head for transformation, and to get the most out of the articulation you have to pull the head back up... which more often than not caused the entire head to pop off the flap.  Moving on, the shoulders are ball joints that can swivel and move laterally 90 degrees, and hinges give them some forward butterfly as well.  The biceps swivel, and the double-jointed metal elbows combine for 180 degrees of bend.  The hands are connected via ball joints, which give you some up/down/in/out tilt in addition to swivels.  No waist swivel.  The ball jointed hips have limited forward/backward range due to the wings, but they again provide for about 45 degrees of lateral movement, while the Gerwalk hinge gives you 90 degrees of forward him movement.  You can use the ball joints in the hips for some thigh swivel, but there's a dedicated swivel above the knees.  Speaking of knees, they bend a little under 90 degrees.  If there's one thing that's improved it's the ankles.  They can slide out a little further than the VF-1, which doesn't really do much for the upward tilt of the feet, but it does give them better range tilting downward, a little more ankle swivel, and best of all at least some ankle pivot.

Unlike the VF-1, the stock hands cannot hold the gunpod, so you have to swap hands if you want to use it.  It's a bit of a bummer, since the VF-0's chest covers the cockpit without removing the canopy or replacing it with a heat shield made the VF-0 potentially closer to a perfect transformation.  As long as we're partsforming, though, like the VF-1 you can pull the wings off and replacement them with smaller, fused wings for Battroid mode.  The smaller pitot tube is also technically for Battroid mode... I guess so you can say it's there without actually seeing it (though, honestly, I'd just leave it off at that point).

The leg armor uses a pair of tabs to plug into slots on the sides of the legs.  And since the VF-0 comes with a stand, I can talk about it this time.  For Battroid mode, you'll use this part to sit behind the nose, with the hooks wrapping under and cradling the swing bar.  This is the only stand part that has a peg instead of a hole, so you'll have to use the long tube on the stand arm to change the stand's peg into a hole.

Obligatory Gerwalk picture.  Looks good once you get there.

Gerwalk mode has it's own stand adapter.  This one has a slot that fits over the tab on the swing bar (the one that plugs into the underside of the nose), while the rest of the adapter wraps around the metal part.  This adapter has a hole, so you either don't need the tube, or you need to put the topper on the tube so it ends in a peg instead of a hole.

Transforming the VF-0 is pretty similar to the VF-01... the nose unclips from the swing bar, a hatch opens on the back for the head to pass through, the chest rocks back to link to the back, intakes plug into the underside of the chest, the arms slide down, double-hinge in so they touch, then slide back up, backpack folds back, and the legs plug into the back, legs, and backpack.  The thing is, subtle differences in clearance seem to conspire against you.  The head lasers don't quite through the gap in the back, even after you swap them with the other pair, and my manipulations caused the head to pop off.  The shoulders rub against the backs of the legs, and I popped an arm off from the slider.  Rocking the chest back, I wound up popping it off, too.  The vertical stabilizers also rub against each other in a way that feels like I'm forcing them past each other.  They seem to slide out a bit to mitigate that, but I wound up sliding one completely off.  All the parts that popped off go right back on, but after the mostly-pleasant transformation of the VF-1 the fact that any parts popped off, let alone that many, left me feeling frustrated.

Worth it, though?  Once you get it there and get everything plugged in, the VF-0S is certainly a good-looking Fighter.  Again, nicely-painted details, sharp sculpt, etc.  The painted exhaust fans inside the feet are a nice touch.

Rather than removable panels like the VF-1, the VF-0 actually has flaps that open for the landing gear... but you still have to dig the landing gear out and plug them into the sockets.  Ditching the removable panels feels like a step in the right direction, I just wish they would have gone the rest of the way and put hinged landing gear permanently inside.

While we're under there, the tailhook moves, and the gunpod can mount to the fighter's belly.  It works more like the Yamato/Arcadia- the handle doesn't come off, it slides up into the barrel and the barrel collapses.  The bit that's left sticking out has a slot that sandwiches between recessed tabs on the VF-0's arms.

Despite not needing to remove it for transformation, the canopy still has to be removed rather than hinging opened.  You can sit your little Roy in the seat, and again I'm impressed with the paint and detail on such a tiny figure.  The normal "closed" intakes can slide off, just like the VF-1, to be replaced with open intakes for atmospheric flight... which is the only kind the VF-0 was meant for, what with the traditional engines.  (So... why does the VF-0 still have vernier nozzles on the nose, chest, and near the elbows?)  The longer pitot tube is meant for Fighter mode, and you can attach it by plugging a tiny peg into a little hole under the nose.

The leg armor can still be used in Fighter (and Gerwalk mode).  It's not even necessary to remove it to transform.  And again, like the VF-1, the "standard" wings are smooth underneath.  You can pop them off and replace them with wings that are identical save for the raised peg holes on the underside that allow you to plug in the missile racks.

The largest stand adapter has tabs that fit into slots on the sides of the intakes, cradling the legs but leaving a gap that the gunpod can fit through.  As with the Gerwalk adapter, the bottom is a hole so you don't need the extra tube.

Ultimately, I'm not sorry I got the VF-0S.  It looks great in all three modes, and is going to make a nice display with my other HMR figures.  However, I'm definitely glad the VF-0S wasn't my first HMR, because I might have assumed the frustration I felt with parts popping off during transformation was typical for the HMR line and just quit right there.  As it stands, the VF-0 is my least-favorite HMR so far, but that's kind of ok, because the VF-0 is one of my least-favorite Valkyries anyway (the VF-5000 and VF-11 are more interesting takes on the basic VF-1 transformation, IMHO).  I have stronger feelings for the VF-4, so as long as it's better...

 

Nice review @mikeszekely.  The VF-0 is a good addition to the HMR collection.

On 9/22/2024 at 10:01 AM, Bolt said:

Awesome! Right from SDFM 

Thanks @Bolt.

[MKT]

On 9/23/2024 at 7:42 PM, Test_Pilot_2 said:

Great pics, except I'm getting a "cover of new pop culture rock band single" vibe coming from the last picture...

Haha it's too bad Mac Zero's the only series that has no emphasis on music, so that last pic can't even pretend to be a single cover. 

[Chronocidal]

That reminds me, I still have to go back and paint the seeker heads on one of my VF-0S missile sets.  Still irks me a little that Bandai completely ignored those.

I think the metallic red Gundam marker I used got me a really good coppery shade though, closer to the old Yamato color, and not so yellow like the Arcadia ones were.

Edited September 24 by Chronocidal

[mark-1s]

OMG, that poor, old valk in the back has a club foot.

On 9/22/2024 at 6:23 AM, nightmareB4macross said:

Bandai’s erratic choices of mecha sizing is so unappealing.

I think the only reason I keep buying these is to compare them to Yamato/Arcadia sculpts. 

Really wish they would scale better.

Edited September 24 by mark-1s
Post fail

[nightmareB4macross]

10 hours ago, mark-1s said:

OMG, that poor, old valk in the back has a club foot.

It does. 😛 

Just doing a bit of upgrading to an old 1/55.

[mikeszekely]

On 9/21/2024 at 12:00 AM, mikeszekely said:

I have stronger feelings for the VF-4, so as long as it's better...

Sorry, I think I originally meant to post on Monday but I wound up getting super busy this week.  But yeah, the last Hi-Metal R figure I got (for now) is the VF-4G Lightning III.

In my personal opinion, the VF-4 is by far one of Kawamori's most interesting designs, because it's so thoroughly unconventional.  So many of Kawamori's designs follow a similar plan... make the legs engines, stuff the arms between them, use part of the fuselage for the back, and leave the cockpit somewhere in the chest.  The VF-11's big innovation over the VF-1 seems to have been using a shield instead of a folding backpack and having the arms swing over the wings instead of under.  Even the YF-19/VF-19, with it's aggressive forward-swept wing design, still has the same leg engines, arms between the legs, and cockpit-goes-in-the-chest design.

While the VF-4 does use (most of) its legs to form (part of) the engine nacelle, and the cockpit is in the Battroid's chest, roughly 60% of the Fighter mode is still basically in Fighter mode, and oriented exactly the same as it'd be in flight.  Some have suggested that it's a bit fugly.  To be fair, the VF-4 is certainly both top-heavy and back-heavy, with a good chunk of the engine nacelles covering its shoulders, which are set back from the centerline of the torso, barely-folded wings and stabs, proportionally short thighs and long shins, and quite a bit of kibble on the forearms.  I'd argue, though, that all of that gives the VF-4 a very distinctive silhouette (which is certainly more than I can say for the VF-25/VF-27/YF-29/YF-30/VF-31).

The HMR VF-4G comes with three pairs of replacement hands (left and right open hands, left and right closed fists, and left and right trigger hands), landing gear, open and closed intakes, a gunpod, a gunpod handle, an adapter for carrying the gunpod in Fighter mode, two leg covers, a stand, two stand adapters, and a pilot figure.  Not pictured, because I already installed them (but you can see spots in the tray for them between the pilot and gunpod), are fin antenna that goes on the Battroid's head (which the non-G VF-4 lacks), and the ventral fin that sits on the Fighter's chin directly under the cockpit.

Well... the VF-4's design doesn't lend itself to a ton of articulation.  The head is on a ball joint that has a little upward and sideways tilt in addition to swiveling, and a hinge will allow you to make the VF-4 look down if you don't mind breaking the sculpt a bit.  The nacelles on the shoulders limit the shoulder swivel to about 90 degrees, with only about 60 degrees of lateral movment.  The biceps swivel, and the elbows bend a little over 90 degrees.  The wrists are ball joints for swiveling and some in/out tilt, but they don't have much room for up/down tilt.  No waist swivel.  The hips can swivel over 90 degrees forward, about 90 degrees backward (due to wearing most of the fuselage as a backpack), but only about 60 degrees laterally.  You have some play around the ball to use as thigh swivels, but no dedicated swivel about the knee like the VF-1 and VF-0.  The knees themselves are double jointed, with the lower joint behind the shin.  They'll basically combine to give you a full 180 degrees of knee bend.  The ankles are ball joints, and like the VF-1 they're on sliders to give you extra clearance for the up/down tilt you'll need more for Gerwalk mode, and they do provide some swivel, but ankle pivot is still minimal at best.

The tiny stock hands of the VF-4 do not have a cutout for holding a weapon, and while the gunpod is the same GU-11 that comes with the VF-1, it lacks the smaller handle.  So, if you it wielding the gunpod, you have to swap the hands by yanking them off the ball joints and swapping different ones on.  Truthfully, this bothers me less than on the VF-0, though, because the VF-4's main weapon is supposed to be the beam cannons in the forearms; one could simply ignore the gunpod and you'd have a perfect transformation... almost*.

As for the stand, it's similar to the one that came with the VF-0, except it's clear and doesn't have any text.  It has just the one arm segment, without the extension tube.  To use it with the Battroid, you need the adapter that wraps around the VF-4's butt with hooks that wrap over the hip joints.

Obligatory Gerwalk pic.  Yeah, it's kind of just the Fighter with 70% of it's nacelles turned into arms and legs, but aside from the hips being set further back than most Gerwalks I think it mostly works.  It doesn't have the gaps in the rear that craft like the VF-11 and VF-19 do.  Most of the transformation from Battroid to Gerwalk is shifting the bulk of the fuselage and wings off cockpit and neck, straightening the nose, and swinging the hips and part of the belly back.

The stand for Gerwalk has clips that fit into notches in front of the hips and over the gaps where the legs come out.

From Gerwalk we just fold in the hands, slide the forearms into the kibble, line them up with the top of the nacelles, then bend the hips and knees to align the bulk of the legs with the undersides of the nacelles.

Say what you will about the Battroid, the VF-4 still has one of the most gorgeous Fighter modes.  It's a shame, then, that it's fictional appearances have been so dull.  The super red and super blue of M30, the gray-on-gray from VF-X (which Yamato/Arcadia used on their VF-4G), and the white-and-khaki briefly seen in Flashback 2012 (which Yamato/Arcadia and Bandai both used for the non-G VF-4).  That's why I'm thrilled that Bandai used this "what if" deco inspired by the fact that Hikaru flew Roy's VF-1S in the TV series.

Like the VF-1, you have to remove panels from the underside to plug in the landing gear.  I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer internal storage (even if it meant simpler, less detailed landing gear), but it bothers me less a flight stand is included.

Likewise, the canopy still has to be removed to insert the pilot rather than opening, but leaving the pilot inside means you never have to remove the canopy since it doesn't have to be parts-swap with a heatshield the way the VF-1 does.

*So what, ultimately, spoils my perfect transformation?  The intakes.  Swapping them is easy enough... pull the leg portion of the nacelle down, and you cans slide the intakes in and out of grooves near the knee.  But whichever you choose, you'll have to remove it for Gerwalk or Battroid mode because the knee has to go through that space.  Bummer.

Well, as long as we're partsforming, even though I don't think the Battroids thighs look too bad in the belly of the plane you can cover them up with the including covers to give the belly a smoother, more continuous look.  And while you're down there, you might notice some slots. between the (chest) intakes.  This allows you to attach an adapter that has a little notch on it.  The notch allows the gunpod to tab in and sit under the VF-4's belly.

Also while you're down there, you can attach the same stand adapter you used for Gerwalk mode.  You'll notice that the clips have a u-shape down to the peg hole; this leaves enough space for the gunpod to poke through so it can stay on while the Fighter sits on the stand.

When I got the HMR VF-1s I was honestly surprised by how much I liked them.  They made me feel good about my decision to go in on this line.  The VF-0, on the other hand, was a bit frustrating and was giving me second thoughts.  Happily, though, the VF-4 puts me back in the "I love HMR" camp.  Bandai did a great job capturing one of Kawamori's most unconventional designs, and they get big bonus points from me for serving it up in a deco I like far better than the the standard Flashback 2012 version (though that deco is also available in HMR, with a reissue due out soon).  My only real complaint is that the intakes have to be removed to transform the legs; they were so close to a perfect transformation if not for that.  The VF-4 itself might not be for everyone, but if you're a fan of the design like I am the HMR is an easy recommend.

[Graham]

Binge re-watching Macross 7 On Disney+ since yesterday has made me want HMR VF-17D/S, VF-11C Super and Fz-109 toys even more.