Arcadia 1/60 VF-0S & VF-0A

[ChaoticYeti]

Well, fudge. Here is something to look out for. It looks like the plastic side of the hip ball joint was glued in place. I couldn't get him to splay his legs in battroid mod. After trying to work the joint, the leg came off. You can see that the square peg hole is worn, meaning that end of the ball wasn't turning. We'll see what AmiAmi says, but it looks like I will be doing surgery.

[ArchieNov]

Sorry to see that. It seems the leg issue is more prominent now compared to the 0D. I have never tried extending the hip joints on my 0Ds, and never will on any of the 0 series.

[ChaoticYeti]

I wasn't even trying to extend the hips. I can see glue marks on the inside of the joint. Hopefully I can clean up the nub, and reassemble.

[ChaoticYeti]

So, all fixed up and ready to rock. I did not take pics while disassembling, as I was fuming with glorious purpose, but I did take pics while reassembling. I'll post the pics later. It really wasn't too difficult. Part of the hip is glued with two small plastic pegs you will lose by taking it apart, but the trade off is worth it if you need to fix the hip. The only other thing to watch out for is the knurled pin used on the gerwalk joint.

[no3Ljm]

Hey Yeti. Glad your VF-0A is finally ok. Please make sure to post it in the Macross Maintenance thread.

By the way, care to share how you open the thigh area part? I'm having trouble opening my VF-0D. Thanks!

Edited September 2, 2015 by no3ljm

[ChaoticYeti]

Hey Yeti. Glad your VF-0A is finally ok. Please make sure to post it in the Macross Maintenance thread.

By the way, care to share how you open the thigh area part? I'm having trouble opening my VF-0D. Thanks!

That is where I will post it, and I'll put a link here. which part of the thigh? That part came apart the easiest for me.

[no3Ljm]

That is where I will post it, and I'll put a link here. which part of the thigh? That part came apart the easiest for me.

The back part of the thigh. I removed the screw cover easily from the inner part of the thigh. Then manage to pry open the front part. But the back part (which has the blue paint) won't budge somehow. And I don't want to put something in between just to pry it open coz I know it will cause some scratch on it (esp on the blue paint itself). I mean, the whole assembly felt too tight for me to open it up. Scared for a moment too since I thought the whole thigh is glued aside from having screws.

Wow. The last sentence kinda have a rhyme feeling to it, huh.

[Scyla]

That is weird that the Ghost drone doesn't fit. On the one side I'm glad I didn't hunt one down. On the other side it is sad to see that several people spent extra money on acquiring the drone that now has no place to go on the toy.

Could you attach the booster by putting the two canards of the drone into the slots in the conformable fuel tanks?

The paint scratches on the wings seem like a major design flaw. Maybe it was a mistake designing the VF-0D first and the A/S after. On the D the delta wings don't touch the metal swing bar. That might be the reason they discovered this flaw when it was already too late for changes (i.e. after producing the VF-0A).

The missing clear bits on the wings is also a major bummer. While still a surprise that a high priced item like the VF-0A doesn't have them I'm less annoyed because none of Arcadias new Valkyries has them. The worst offender is the YF-19. I'm not sure why they chose to omit them on the 19 because it seems to be enough material there to at least have a small overlay part similar to the VF-22S/YF-21 wing lights.

While not a major letdown it is still sad to see because I really like a good material mix on my collectibles. Rubber tires, die-cast bits, plastic, translucent parts, a lot of painted areas (like the inside of the landing gear bays and doors) and different kind of paints (metallic/non metallic) combined in one collectible toy are a sight to behold.

This is the reason why I love my Transformers Alternity cars and I'm lukewarm about the Masterpiece Star Saber (and some other Masterpiece toys) when it comes to the display pieces of my collection. They are good toys though but sometimes this is not enough.

Seeing Arcadia skimping on these details is sad to see and I hope they can keep up a successful business and not drive off their customer base.

[ChaoticYeti]

The back part of the thigh. I removed the screw cover easily from the inner part of the thigh. Then manage to pry open the front part. But the back part (which has the blue paint) won't budge somehow. And I don't want to put something in between just to pry it open coz I know it will cause some scratch on it (esp on the blue paint itself). I mean, the whole assembly felt too tight for me to open it up. Scared for a moment too since I thought the whole thigh is glued aside from having screws.

Wow. The last sentence kinda have a rhyme feeling to it, huh.

Sounds like the metal pin is hanging you up. does this pic help?

[no3Ljm]

Sounds like the metal pin is hanging you up. does this pic help?

Hey Yeti. Thanks for the pic. Nope, it's not the metal pin since I did try to open up the front part area of the thigh so I'm assuming that the peg on the back part area of the thigh is giving me the hard time to open the whole thing. But looking at your pics, I assume that we could somehow tighten up the swivel knee joint part(?).

[Scyla]

After seeing Veefs review in full I can say that I'm really baffled why they omitted the transparent parts on the wings. They had to have a runner for transparent parts for the canopy and the orange bits on the back pylons. Why they didn't mold two parts for the wing lights seems to be not much of a cost increase.

So maybe it was a design driven decision to use the black parts instead. But why? *insert gif here*

[ChaoticYeti]

Be careful with the HUD piece in the cockpit. Mine popped off when rotating the seat. Looks like it should be glued in place, but mine had little to no glue. Easy fix, but come on. This guy is $300.

[Gwynne]

Well, fudge. Here is something to look out for. It looks like the plastic side of the hip ball joint was glued in place. I couldn't get him to splay his legs in battroid mod. After trying to work the joint, the leg came off. You can see that the square peg hole is worn, meaning that end of the ball wasn't turning. We'll see what AmiAmi says, but it looks like I will be doing surgery.

DISASTER!

Glad you were able to get it fixed. That hip joint scares me.

Here's my review of Shin's VF-0A.

Nice video. That ruler you busted out had me cracking up. I think I just tossed two of them recently that I had since I was in elementary school or something.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Gwynne

[spanner]

Well, fudge. Here is something to look out for. It looks like the plastic side of the hip ball joint was glued in place. I couldn't get him to splay his legs in battroid mod. After trying to work the joint, the leg came off. You can see that the square peg hole is worn, meaning that end of the ball wasn't turning. We'll see what AmiAmi says, but it looks like I will be doing surgery.

$h!t eh.. a hip joint failure pretty much straight away. How hard were you working the joint? Im so reluctant to mess about with my Zero's in case of issues such as this even if it means not playing or posing the figure and ultimately lessening the enjoyment of it. Im surprised Arcadia let this issue reach the production versions as there is no way that they didn't know about this. And yes you're right this is disappointing for a $300+ toy.

Its good to see that it was a relatively easy fix and thanks for posting up the pics! By the looks of it in the photos you were able to get the two halves of the upper leg section to joint back together better than you could with the Zero-D! I presume that pin was the culprit?

[no3Ljm]

After seeing Veefs review in full I can say that I'm really baffled why they omitted the transparent parts on the wings. They had to have a runner for transparent parts for the canopy and the orange bits on the back pylons. Why they didn't mold two parts for the wing lights seems to be not much of a cost increase.

So maybe it was a design driven decision to use the black parts instead. But why? *insert gif here*

Totally agree. It would be nice if it's clear. *insert production excuses here*

Be careful with the HUD piece in the cockpit. Mine popped off when rotating the seat. Looks like it should be glued in place, but mine had little to no glue. Easy fix, but come on. This guy is $300.

Yes, it's nice if the cockpit is exposed during Battroid mode. And good thing I'm not going to rotate.

By the way, question on the main wings on the back when in Battroid mode. Is the one with the Kite logo on top or bottom? Basing on Veef's video, it was on the bottom. But I remember seeing photos that has the Kite one on top. Which is more easy to fold? Thanks.

[VF5SS]

Could you attach the booster by putting the two canards of the drone into the slots in the conformable fuel tanks?

The alternate ghost booster use CFTs seem like they are slightly too close together to allow both ghost canards to slot in comfortably. It feels like I would be breaking the canards if I forced them in there.

[Scyla]

I mean not the regular slots where the canards where slotted in on the V1 VF-0. I mean the big slots for the beige missile launchers (the one that are too wide for the V1 armament). Because the chest of the Battroid-Mode is narrower than on the previous iteration I thought maybe the canards can slot into the top slots.

[spanner]

Totally agree. It would be nice if it's clear. *Cost & ease of manufacture*

Yes, it's nice if the cockpit is exposed during Battroid mode. And good thing I'm not going to rotate.

*snip*

That is my best guess.. either that or pure laziness..

And yes if the pilot seat rotation is only a gimmick and not required to perform transformation then I sure as hell won't be rotating it..

Edited September 2, 2015 by spanner76

[no3Ljm]

That is my best guess.. either that or pure laziness..

And yes if the pilot seat rotation is only a gimmick and not required to perform transformation then I sure as hell won't be rotating it..

I was thinking since this is the same mold and production to the upcoming VF-0S, so basically we will see all those errors once again. I guess, come December, it's time to give Evolution Toys a chance to shine for their VF-2SS which is less than $300.

[VF5SS]

Which is more easy to fold? Thanks.

I think it might vary from figure to figure. With mine it's easier to do the right wing over the left wing, but the box pics show the opposite.

I mean not the regular slots where the canards where slotted in on the V1 VF-0. I mean the big slots for the beige missile launchers (the one that are too wide for the V1 armament). Because the chest of the Battroid-Mode is narrower than on the previous iteration I thought maybe the canards can slot into the top slots.

The tips of the Ghost's canards cannot fit into the top slots. They are not shaped for that.

[no3Ljm]

Don't lose hope guys. Me included for buying that Ghost Booster.

*Tweeter pics*

[mcfly50]

Received mine today. Had two small issues:

One, the exhaust intake inside one of the feet fell right off. It wasn't hard to fix, but goes to the previous mentioned glue problem.

Two, there was some sort of foggy film inside my cockpit. Almost looked like superglue when it dries.

(Knock on wood) So far everything else is holding up including joints. Agree with all comments on lack of printing. No UN Spacy on the legs. That's is surprising to me. Overall it's still a cool figure and I'm glad I picked it up...but yeah for 300 I shouldn't have to glue anything right out of the box.

[spanner]

I was thinking since this is the same mold and production to the upcoming VF-0S, so basically we will see all those errors once again. I guess, come December, it's time to give Evolution Toys a chance to shine for their VF-2SS which is less than $300.

yeah I figure that will be the case.. too late now to make any design corrections after all the molds have been signed off for production. Oh well, we'll all just have to be wary of the issue and exercise care.

Still unsure weather the ET Valk will shine as bright as expected or if at all.. maybe that's the reason for the lower price..

[no3Ljm]

yeah I figure that will be the case.. too late now to make any design corrections after all the molds have been signed off for production. Oh well, we'll all just have to be wary of the issue and exercise care.

Still unsure weather the ET Valk will shine as bright as expected or if at all.. maybe that's the reason for the lower price..

Yeah. Think positive my firend. And why they're hush-hush now after showing the prototype from the last convention. Probably working some tweaks.

[Saburo]

Saburo, nice pic. The lighting of your picture looks really good/natural. Do you mind sharing what is your light setup? Thanks!

Thanks! With this shot it was mostly sunlight coming into my apartment and a lamp (with daylight bulb) reflecting off the ceiling acting as a fill light for left side of the image.

Edited September 2, 2015 by Saburo

[spanner]

Received mine today. Had two small issues:

One, the exhaust intake inside one of the feet fell right off. It wasn't hard to fix, but goes to the previous mentioned glue problem.

Two, there was some sort of foggy film inside my cockpit. Almost looked like superglue when it dries.

(Knock on wood) So far everything else is holding up including joints. Agree with all comments on lack of printing. No UN Spacy on the legs. That's is surprising to me. Overall it's still a cool figure and I'm glad I picked it up...but yeah for 300 I shouldn't have to glue anything right out of the box.

clearly some issues slipping through the quality control cracks.. tisk tisk Arcadia.. and why not tampo the UN Spacy markings on the legs if it has been on the gun pod!? *shrugs*

[spanner]

Yeah. Think positive my firend. And why they're hush-hush now after showing the prototype from the last convention. Probably working some tweaks.

im hopeful but this is doubtful..

I'd say their hush'ness is probably due to the fact that there is little or nothing to report..

[ChaoticYeti]

$h!t eh.. a hip joint failure pretty much straight away. How hard were you working the joint? Im so reluctant to mess about with my Zero's in case of issues such as this even if it means not playing or posing the figure and ultimately lessening the enjoyment of it. Im surprised Arcadia let this issue reach the production versions as there is no way that they didn't know about this. And yes you're right this is disappointing for a $300+ toy.

I wouldn't say I was using any undo force. The plastic portion of the ball was glued into the socket. It was going to happen. So far, so good with the repair. Appears to be holding as intended.

[no3Ljm]

im hopeful but this is doubtful..

I'd say their hush'ness is probably due to the fact that there is little or nothing to report..

Or more...

(e.g. Valk production cancellation since lots of fans had made complaints on the exposed tab? )

[jenius]

That was the same thing I suffered but your repair was more invasive but looks as good as new whereas mine has a bit of a gap that widens and closes as I use the GERWALK joint.

[spanner]

I wouldn't say I was using any undo force. The plastic portion of the ball was glued into the socket. It was going to happen. So far, so good with the repair. Appears to be holding as intended.

So I figure there is some misunderstanding in the factory and the workers are assembling the Valk incorrectly if they are gluing that part of the ball joint if it isn't meant to be so..

Or more...

(e.g. Valk production cancellation since lots of fans had made complaints on the exposed tab? )

who knows it might happen..?

[spanner]

That was the same thing I suffered but your repair was more invasive but looks as good as new whereas mine has a bit of a gap that widens and closes as I use the GERWALK joint.

oh yeah that was yours that didn't go back together completely properly.. sorry mistaken identity! thought that was one of Yeti's Zero's..

[Chronocidal]

Does anyone have any insight into why anyone would even use a joint that does this? I mean... I have never had issues with the ball joints on any Yamarcadia valk, up until the VF-19s and their goofy ankles, and everything that followed that design.

Is there some benefit to using a composite metal and plastic ball that I'm just not seeing? Because so far, they're pretty much 0 for 2 with them, and the failures are getting progressively worse.

[ChaoticYeti]

I am gonna guess friction. It is a pretty malleable plastic.

[wmkjr]

Maybe if it was all metal it would wear down the plastic socket so they put a plastic on plastic contact to reduce wear? I'm not sure. Bandai's hip are full metal to plastic socket correct? Some of mine are getting floppy.

Edited September 3, 2015 by wmkjr