Bandai DX VF-31

[spanner]

4 hours ago, PsYcHoDyNaMiX said:

I received mine from Amiami right before the holiday. I didn't have the chance to take it out and inspect/swoosh it around, but mine had two physical cosmetic QC issues. The left sensor on the forward fuselage looked like it was over cut at the injection point (before being painted/assembled) and the outer most mount bracket on the left wing looked like it something was jammed or gouged it. I'll try to take some pics after I change it back from batt to fighter mode. Yea I don't think I want to bother with Amiami's customer service cause iirc it's either nill or full refund with hassles.

sucks that you experienced issues with your example.. and you're right, it might not be worth trying to get anything out of amiami as they are probably the least helpful when it comes to customer service.. besides those defects are that bad and quite easily livable with. still sucks that they are there.

I just had a good look over my three and thankfully there are no issues or at least from what I can tell.

4 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

^ And not to mention Account Suspended afterward.

yeah amiami can be funny buggers eh.. 

[linitrofe]

14 hours ago, Pedro2k6 said:

Yo pague EMS en HLJ y la wea todavia no ingresa al pais. Por lo general llegan a mi casa entre 5 y 10 dias. Una vez use DHL desde HK y se demoro 4 dias en llegar a mi casa (Antofagasta). Correos y aduanas en estas fechas son como el or.....

Saludos

Lo que me tiene asustado es que la última actualización de la cagaa fue en Alemania, ni siquiera acá. Más encima DHL ya me ha perdido cosas antes en Alemania! :@

 

[505thAirborne]

On 12/29/2016 at 8:25 PM, spanner said:

the trio of trio's!  

 

 

I am not even remotely jealous of this..... maybe..... kind of...... definitely!! 

As always spanner, amazing collection!! 

[spanner]

28 minutes ago, 505thAirborne said:

 

I am not even remotely jealous of this..... maybe..... kind of...... definitely!! 

As always spanner, amazing collection!! 

why thank you kind sir! thank you! 

[eXis10z]

23 hours ago, Slave IV said:

You can solve at least the width problem by doing the combined detolf mod. Technically, you could probably put 4 together and solve the depth issue too. Personally, I think they need to be taller...A big base that serves as an extra shelf or two would be perfect.

What is the combined deltof mod?

 

[spanner]

17 minutes ago, eXis10z said:

What is the combined deltof mod?

essentially this..

Edited December 31, 2016 by spanner

[eXis10z]

ah so it's 4 detolfs side by side?

[Scyla]

3 hours ago, eXis10z said:

What is the combined deltof mod?

 

The way I understand it it is a way to double the display space by removing one side of the Detolf cabinet.

Here is a guide how to do it with some pictures (courtesy of TigerBlade over at TFW2005):

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/dual-detolf-mod.1041700/

Edited December 31, 2016 by Scyla

[spanner]

ah yes there is that option which looks like it involves trimming down the top and bottom panels to bring the shelves in closer to each other. This would be pretty epic display setup with 6, 8 or more cabinets all attached together! Maybe a future option if I ever move house and have more space!

[Kinzoku VF]

On 30 December 2016 at 0:29 AM, spanner said:

great photo Kinzoku VF, also loving the paint scheme on that VF-1 just behind! have you posted a pic of that in here before? I'd love to see more of it!

Sorry Spanner, late reply....Yes, I think I had posted pics of one of them ages ago on MW ( I'm usually more of a lurker....) . These are some Yamato unpainted VF's that I painted (I really wish Arcadia would re-release those unpainted kits, they were just great. I still nave 3 or 4 unpainted sets left, but cannot get myself to paint them until I come up with some kick ass paint schemes.) Anyway, here are 2 clearer pics I found in some of my albums.

[spanner]

7 hours ago, Kinzoku VF said:

Thanks for posting up the pics! They both look fantastic! Though I especially like the Baroth Custom paint scheme! Nice work! I still have a VF-1S kit unassembled laying around and am thinking of doing a custom paint also.. just not sure what. And yes it would be great if Arcadia reissued them! I'd love to pick up a couple more in particular a VF-1J kit!

[no3Ljm]

Nice custom paint job Kinzoku.

Any problems when transforming it?

[in2seconds]

I ended up just fixing the defect instead of sending it back to Amiami. I would be losing way too much if I were to send it back, then I would have to play the QC RNG again if I were to order again.

I also panel washed the valk with Tamiya Enamels then flatcoated it with Alclad Klear Kote flat. I like to think it turned out better, because the other paint defects got covered by the flatcoat. I also added some NATO black to the VF-25A to break up the color (and to cheat in the panel wash, because that portion does not have any recessed lines to hold the paint, so I just repainted it black to cover it).

Edited January 1, 2017 by in2seconds

[Negotiator]

looks really nice!

[Saburo]

34 minutes ago, in2seconds said:

I ended up just fixing the defect instead of sending it back to Amiami. I would be losing way too much if I were to send it back, then I would have to play the QC RNG again if I were to order again.

 

I also panel washed the valk with Tamiya Enamels then flatcoated it with Alclad Klear Kote flat. I like to think it turned out better, because the other paint defects got covered by the flatcoat. I also added some NATO black to the VF-25A to break up the color (and to cheat in the panel wash, because that portion does not have any recessed lines to hold the paint, so I just repainted it black to cover it).

Amazing work on the nose job of the VF-31J, what did you do to fix it?

The panel lining on the 31J and 25A look superb!

[Las Vegas Dad]

Well 16 days after ordering and paying for it at NY my VF-31J is finally in the house. Bad thing is that NY requested an additional 800 yen for shipping because of the size they say and it still took this long for EMS shipping. Held up in customs for over a week, but just glad to have it now. I will have to open it later and check for QC.

[in2seconds]

30 minutes ago, Negotiator said:

looks really nice!

 

Just now, Saburo said:

Amazing work on the nose job of the VF-31J, what did you do to fix it?

The panel lining on the 31J and 25A look superb!

Thanks guys! Glad you like it.

I glued the seam shut with cyanoacrylate glue, as I figure that thin plastic cement would make too much of a mess. I then sanded it down then repainted the blue strip with Mr. Color Bright Blue with a pinch of white.

[Saburo]

5 minutes ago, Las Vegas Dad said:

Well 16 days after ordering and paying for it at NY my VF-31J is finally in the house. Bad thing is that NY requested an additional 800 yen for shipping because of the size they say and it still took this long for EMS shipping. Held up in customs for over a week, but just glad to have it now. I will have to open it later and check for QC.

The delay sucks, but its good that your got it just before the turn of the new year.  You have something nice to open at the start of the new year.  I personally couldn't wait to open up mine.

 

2 minutes ago, in2seconds said:

 

Thanks guys! Glad you like it.

I glued the seam shut with cyanoacrylate glue, as I figure that thin plastic cement would make too much of a mess. I then sanded it down then repainted the blue strip with Mr. Color Bright Blue with a pinch of white.

Impressive work you have done there.  Its looking even better now.

[F360]

Those additional yen for shipping seems to be the normal for N-Y now, you see it popping up more and more . 

great work on the fix  "in2seconds"  How much did that saved you , over $100?

To my surprise, the VF-31J finally cleared customs today and my normal mailman was super nice to quickly deliver it to my work place.  I can't wait to go back to work on Tuesday.  I used SAL and it came in faster than expected.

 

 

[ChaoticYeti]

1 hour ago, in2seconds said:

 

That is awesome. Great work. Do you matte coat a lot of your valks? Any issues with transforming them (chipping, scratches, etc)?

[in2seconds]

1 hour ago, F360 said:

great work on the fix  "in2seconds"  How much did that saved you , over $100?

Thanks! That sounds about right. It would be 50$ for the original shipping, 50$ for customs, and then if I were to get a replacement from NY, it would be an additional 6000JPY + shipping of 4000JPY. It would up real quick!

 

59 minutes ago, ChaoticYeti said:

That is awesome. Great work. Do you matte coat a lot of your valks? Any issues with transforming them (chipping, scratches, etc)

Thanks Yeti! Yes, I always matte coat my valks, because I prefer them looking like model kits. Unfortunately, the flatcoat scratches really easily with the base adapter and super/armor parts. Transformation-wise, it doesn't scratch as much.

Edited January 1, 2017 by in2seconds

[Lolicon]

Cracked and bought a third 31J. 

Happy New Year everyone!  明けましておめでとうございます！

[spanner]

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

Cracked and bought a third 31J. 

Happy New Year everyone!  明けましておめでとうございます！

the more the merrier eh! congrats! 

[ridgebacks]

4 hours ago, in2seconds said:

 

 

Is it me or the 31 kinda lacks maneuvering thrusters compare to the 25? 

[spanner]

35 minutes ago, ridgebacks said:

Is it me or the 31 kinda lacks maneuvering thrusters compare to the 25? 

a good observation indeed! even the YF-30 doesn't seem to have as many (or visibly anyways) as previous Valkyrie's.

though maybe they are designed or function a different way making them less prevalent?

[F360]

Im just going to asume they have little hatches and compartments that only open up when needed . 

[Lolicon]

They maneuver in space using angular momentum.

[spanner]

no no.. I figured it out! they maneuver purely by imagination!

 

[enphily]

Got my vf-31j as gift for New Year tonight. I like it, but my toy has few issues: right wing little lower than left, and right feet not locking in a place. I saw someone had same problems. It's little sad:(

Edited January 1, 2017 by enphily

[venth85]

10 minutes ago, enphily said:

Got my vf-31j as gift for New Year tonight. I like it, but my toy has few issues: right wing little lower than left, and right feet not locking in a place. I saw someone had same problems. It's little sad:(

one of my reason I quit collecting toys from BANDAI, the QC issue :/ , Luckily mine didn't has QC problem. Planning to get Messer & Mirage but kinda on the edge about it, Messer VF-31 Horn on its head looks really thin ~.

 

Edited January 1, 2017 by venth85

[Scream Man]

 

11 hours ago, in2seconds said:

I ended up just fixing the defect instead of sending it back to Amiami. I would be losing way too much if I were to send it back, then I would have to play the QC RNG again if I were to order again.

man, when you look at them next to each other the 25's look SUPER long and stretched out....

 

43 minutes ago, venth85 said:

one of my reason I quit collecting toys from BANDAI, the QC issue :/ , Luckily mine didn't has QC problem. Planning to get Messer & Mirage but kinda on the edge about it, Messer VF-31 Horn on its head looks really thin ~.

 

The 29's have a thin horn on them, and I havent had any worries with those

Edited January 1, 2017 by Scream Man

[Actar]

Some trepidation regarding several points after owning it for a couple of days:  

- Is it just me or is it really hard to get the cockpit section to stay pushed against the rest of the fuselage? There always seems to be a split. No matter how I try to collapse the two blue metal bars in, they come back out.

- I really hate the fact that the arms scrape the sharp points on the back panel whenever they are rotated out or in unless you're exceedingly careful. The paint on the points on mine is already gone after 2 transformations.

- Lastly, I've very afraid that the hinge supporting the container will eventually become loose.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Actar

[Kinzoku VF]

"Supaaa attack modo".....Was fiddling about with the Cronos and a twin attack mode sprung to mind.....Not seen any pics in that 'mode' yet? (haven't opened the instructions...so not sure, might be a legit transformation mode?). 

 

[spanner]

Looks pretty legit to me! Gonna go try this on mine and see how it looks on display! 

[Mr Bomber]

I cant wait for jenius review of the vf 31j. It helps generating hype while mine sits on PW.