Bandai DX VF-31

[Mommar]

I think Bandai has enough experience under their belts with VF toys now, that we don't have to worry so much about Ver.1 toys.

They have improved a lot.

I feel like the YF-30 was actually a pretty big step backward in a lot of instances, personally.

[Scyla]

I feel like the YF-30 was actually a pretty big step backward in a lot of instances, personally.

If your talking about the way the YF-30 torso does not lock together I would agree with you if I'd actually need all the braces and attachment piece that hold the torso together and the nosecone into place.

However there is still a lot room for improvements.

The torso not locking together was also a major point of criticism for the whole Renewal line (YF-29 onwards). The fact that the nosecone didn't lock into place is bypassed by the VF-31 since it has a different transformation for it.

Other than that I don't have a lot to criticism.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

just the missile rack. lol

actually more than the missile rack, i think the shoulders and torso of the 30th was weak making it look awkward without the stadium lights. the 31 fixed that.

[Scyla]

just the missile rack. lol

actually more than the missile rack, i think the shoulders and torso of the 30th was weak making it look awkward without the stadium lights. the 31 fixed that.

I thought we are talking about Bandais ability to produce a killer Valkyrie the first time around and not about the general design of the Valkyrie (which is Kawamoris domain). After the YF-30 and VF-19ADVANCE I would say yes.

[Mommar]

I thought we are talking about Bandais ability to produce a killer Valkyrie the first time around and not about the general design of the Valkyrie (which is Kawamoris domain). After the YF-30 and VF-19ADVANCE I would say yes.

VF-19Advance... sort of. It wasn't their V1, or V2, but they had several other 19's in 1/60 made for them they could check out and improve upon first. The 30, absolutely not. You have to use bracers in two of the three modes because they couldn't figure out how to integrate that stuff into the design. They cut a lot of corners and got a lot wrong, which it looks like Kawamori actually adjusted in the 31 design to make work better for the animation and the toy.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Mommar

[Scyla]

VF-19Advance... sort of. It wasn't their V1, or V2, but they had several other 19's in 1/60 made for them they could check out and improve upon first. The 30, absolutely not. You have to use bracers in two of the three modes because they couldn't figure out how to integrate that stuff into the design. They cut a lot of corners and got a lot wrong, which it looks like Kawamori actually adjusted in the 31 design to make work better for the animation and the toy.

That is why I said that I think that Bandai can produce a great Valkyrie toy from the get go because on my version of the YF-30 the prongs weren't needed. However I would have nothing against more locking points especially on the torso of the Valkyrie.

I believe that the VF-30 is miles away from the debacle the V1 VF-25 was.

Can you please elaborate more about the "cut a lot of corners and got a lot wrong" statement in your post. I'm curious what the issue is with the toy besides the braces.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Scyla

[Graham]

My YF-30 doesn't need the braces. Never used them.

[raptormesh]

I want to know when the yellow one is coming!

Yep same here. If I had to get only one that would be it.

[Mommar]

Both of my 30's absolutely need the braces to work.

[anime52k8]

My YF-30 doesn't need the braces. Never used them.

same. Mine holds together just fine.

[kajnrig]

That's probably my biggest problem with recent Macross dogfight/action scenes. I know they're going for the high speed robot action route, but can they just slow it down a little? It was like watching a couple blurs blowing past your screen with a bunch of flashing lights going every which way.You can hardly make out the detail of the fight or the combat maneuvers that the Valkyrie was pulling.

Honestly, I got a little motion sickness watching some of these scene in Frontier. Fast and Furious is nice, but Too Fast Too Furious is not.

/end rant.

A lot of that, I imagine, has to do with the transition from traditional to CG animation. The dogfighting in M+ is still the pinnacle of the series, where they have the same sort of high-flying, undercranked acrobatics, but everything contrasts more sharply against everything else, so it's easier to understand what's going on. The fact that the screen isn't so densely-packed with colors and particle/transparency effects doesn't hurt, either.

The constant blue filter in Zero made the VF-0s harder to pick out against the backdrop of sky, water, and variably transparent clouds. If it had been animated traditionally, the VF-0 itself would have likely been stark white (with blue shadows and a brown/gray outline) against a dark blue ocean and light blue sky (creating a clear horizon line), and clouds of white and gray, and any transparency is static. The same thing persists into Frontier, even with its more cartoony look. Sometimes you just can't see what's going on because everything is reflecting off of everything else.

Yeah it looks pretty, but not necessarily more visually interesting. Ironically.

[Mr Bomber]

My YF-30 doesn't need the braces. Never used them.

braces? what braces? are braces inclueded? XD

[ChaoticYeti]

Yes.

[no3Ljm]

A lot of that, I imagine, has to do with the transition from traditional to CG animation. The dogfighting in M+ is still the pinnacle of the series, where they have the same sort of high-flying, undercranked acrobatics, but everything contrasts more sharply against everything else, so it's easier to understand what's going on. The fact that the screen isn't so densely-packed with colors and particle/transparency effects doesn't hurt, either.

The constant blue filter in Zero made the VF-0s harder to pick out against the backdrop of sky, water, and variably transparent clouds. If it had been animated traditionally, the VF-0 itself would have likely been stark white (with blue shadows and a brown/gray outline) against a dark blue ocean and light blue sky (creating a clear horizon line), and clouds of white and gray, and any transparency is static. The same thing persists into Frontier, even with its more cartoony look. Sometimes you just can't see what's going on because everything is reflecting off of everything else.

Yeah it looks pretty, but not necessarily more visually interesting. Ironically.

Wait. Are you saying we have the wrong blue with Shin's VF-0D and VF-0A from Arcadia?

Noooooooooooo!

Oppsss, my bad, we're past with that blue already. Hehehe. j/k

[kajnrig]

Wait. Are you saying we have the wrong blue with Shin's VF-0D and VF-0A from Arcadia?

Maybe it's just me, but I never could tell what color the 0A was in the final episode (or most of the OAV, actually). Sometimes it's bluish, other times it's the same gray-blue as the Yamarcadia release, white like the 0S, etc. I thought it might even be unpainted at one point. The enemy planes get more distinct (and consistent) coloring. But blah. Long story short, traditional animation lets you keep track of a pitched transforming make-believe dogfight better than CGI does.

Back to the toys.

Actually, while I'm here, what are the new models/variants that were revealed post-Frontier the show? By show's end all I knew of was the mainstay VF-25, VF-27, and the VF-171EX, as well as a supposed YF-25 Prophecy prototype. Now you guys are throwing around names like Durandal and YF-30 and ACTIVE and Tornado... Clearly I haven't been keeping up very much/well.

[mickyg]

There's a fun question Kajnrig!

YF-30 was introduced in a video game where time portals are opened and pretty much every valk from every timeline gets a turn (Macross 30). The YF-29 Durandal is introduced in the Macross Frontier Movies as a prototype to deal with the Vajra threat. I think the Active is a VF-19 derivative, introduced in the Manga - Macross the Ride. And Tornado is an upgrade pack for the VF-25, also introduced in the Frontier Movies.

Yes, it's all extremely confusing. But great for some mecha variety!

And how does that relate to this thread? Well the VF-31 is an evolution from the YF-30, which we wouldn't even have, were it not for the video game, and by extension, the YF-30 used some tech from the YF-29, which also wouldn't exist without the Frontier movie. Oh, and both are Bandai toys. So, there's that...

Edited November 5, 2015 by mickyg

[Tochiro]

Latest podcast includes impressions of the VF-31 prototype.
Timestamps included.

http://www.macrossworld.com/speakerpodcast-ep-30-delta-folds-in/

[no3Ljm]

Latest podcast includes impressions of the VF-31 prototype.

Timestamps included.

http://www.macrossworld.com/speakerpodcast-ep-30-delta-folds-in/

Thanks! Where's my headphones! Have to be quiet here at work.

[Tochiro]

Thanks! Where's my headphones! Have to be quiet here at work.

crank it loud and crank it proud, my friend ;-)

[Graham]

For those of us that either don't have the time to listen to them, or hate the very concept of listening to pod casts, could somebody please just type up the relevant interesting news.

[Mommar]

Yeah, I really prefer reading to listening, not that I don't appreciate the reporting done. But the wireless at the home my Mom is staying at doesn't work well enough to stream much either.

[seti88]

hmm something on the 31 that irks me....minor thing i guess...

folding joint on arm/or is it shoulder side of fighter mode...

[no3Ljm]

hmm something on the 31 that irks me....minor thing i guess...

folding joint on arm/or is it shoulder side of fighter mode...

From what I remember that's how the YF-30 shoulder folds. That's what I noticed before that it has the same YF-30 upper body transformation.

Edited November 7, 2015 by no3ljm

[seti88]

From what I remember that's how the YF-30 shoulder folds. That's what I noticed before that it has the same YF-30 upper body transformation.

Yikes! Now i remember what irked me abt the 30 too! Though i thk the 31 is slightly more visible due to the blue ...

it is a minor thing, time to forget abt it again

[Falconkpd]

I dunno...I think it was a cool design.

[technoblue]

For those of us that either don't have the time to listen to them, or hate the very concept of listening to pod casts, could somebody please just type up the relevant interesting news.

The podcast crew was very excited to discuss the SV-262 since that toy was shown in only one mode and it was the more mysterious of the two. Everyone was impressed with the color and the smooth fit. Also, two individual thrusters were confirmed to be in the feet(?). The single tail fin was also confirmed to have a seam that may split the tail fin in half.

The VF-31 was compared to the YF-30. There was a funny bit about the change to the gunpod design and how that came about. There was also some speculation on what the VF-31 might do with the YF-30's overhead "stadium lights" pod. And that was the mystery of this toy, because the pod was visible in the gerwalk and fighter displays, but no one in the podcast had an idea for what might happen to it in battroid mode. They did comment on the silhouette shown in the trailer which does seem to show the VF-31 in a more traditional YF-30 configuration.

The rest of the podcast covered other topics.

Edited November 7, 2015 by technoblue

[Offswitch]

Interesting.... Thanks for the synopsis, technoblue!

Personally, I definitely like the changes made from the 30 to the 31. Whatever changes they made to the pod can only be better than the stadium lights, haha!

I wonder if the reason they haven't shown off the pod in battroid yet is cuz each of the VF-31s in the team has a different pod with their own specialized function. So maybe like how Michel in Frontier was the sniper, perhaps one of the new pods can unfold to become a sniper rifle! And of course we've already seen what appears to be a pod that splits to resemble VF-29 canons.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Offswitch

[Mommar]

The VF-31 was compared to the YF-30. There was a funny bit about the change to the gunpod design and how that came about. There was also some speculation on what the VF-31 might do with the YF-30's overhead "stadium lights" pod. And that was the mystery of this toy, because the pod was visible in the gerwalk and fighter displays, but no one in the podcast had an idea for what might happen to it in battroid mode.

The rest of the podcast covered other topics.

Given that the nose cone no longer protrudes out the back in Battroid it clearly can keep the pod stowed in Battroid if need be.

[Silverstreak]

I like the stadium lights.

[technoblue]

Interesting.... Thanks for the synopsis, technoblue!

Personally, I definitely like the changes made from the 30 to the 31. Whatever changes they made to the pod can only be better than the stadium lights, haha!

I wonder if the reason they haven't shown off the pod in battroid yet is cuz each of the VF-31s in the team has a different pod with their own specialized function. So maybe like how Michel in Frontier was the sniper, perhaps one of the new pods can unfold to become a sniper rifle! And of course we've already seen what appears to be a pod that splits to resemble VF-29 canons.

You're welcome, Offswitch!

I like your idea for how each of the VF-31 Valkyries could have a pod with a specialized function. Not only would it add a cool gimmick to the show and to the toy, it would be another way to distinguish one Valkyrie from the next.

[Offswitch]

Well, it's not my idea that the pods can have specialized functions since Kawamori-san already said as much back when the YF-30 was introduced. But as you pointed out, it could certainly be a cool distinguishing difference for the characters as well as the toy (aside from the inevitable head change too of course, lol).... Which is why I was thinking that perhaps that's the reason they haven't shown off the pods just yet. So as not too give away too much from the show?

Whatever the case, at least this isn't as big of a tease as not revealing the 2 other forms for the SV-262 yet.

[technoblue]

You could be right. It may be another feature that they are trying to keep secret for the show.

And thanks for letting me know that Kawamori-san has had it in mind too. I missed that along the way.

[skullmilitia]

Stadium Pods are now Sound Pods...

I'm just kidding, I have no idea, but ... its Macross so it could be lol

[akteon]

Stadium Pods are now Sound Pods...

I'm just kidding, I have no idea, but ... its Macross so it could be lol

Well the trailer did mention the "tactical sound unit"

[no3Ljm]

I like the stadium lights.

What stadium lights?

But yeah, I like it too. I'm looking forward on that 'interchageable' pods that Kawamori mentioned from the YF-30 interviews. The only thing I really don't like is the wing backpack and the colors. There's no white/tan, red, and black configuration.