Bandai DX VF-31

[arbit]

Not going for the super parts.

I have a fear of scratching the paint with them. 

I still have all my super parts and armor sealed for the 25s, although I would LOVE to use them.

Are my concerns overblown?

Edited February 4, 2017 by arbit

[no3Ljm]

38 minutes ago, arbit said:

Not going for the super parts.

I have a fear of scratching the paint with them. 

I still have all my super parts and armor sealed for the 25s, although I would LOVE to use them.

Are my concerns overblown?

No. Not at all, sir.  Though you can be of big help to those who doesn't have VF-25's Super or Armor Parts if you're not going to use it. 

 

[seti88]

6 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

I don't think there was. Would you consider Sheryl's Grave marking on Maruyama's an emblem? I think that's the only Macross I've seen that has 2 Valks with emblems. Ozma and Maruyama.

 

 

Maruyama was a fan-boi emblem ..ok am nitpicking but that may be where bandai got in and said, give us an extra tampo valk we can sell!

Messer's was unique in the sense that shinigami is now attributed/linked to him. Max/hikaru didnt get one ...
This could be the start of an emblem trend in macross though...

[Duymon]

There's a VF-31J still sitting at Amiami for 23k... not awful

 

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIGURE-021748&page=top%2Fsearch%2Flist%3Fs_keywords%3Dvf-31j%24pagemax%3D40%24getcnt%3D0%24pagecnt%3D1

[Acteon]

On 03/02/2017 at 9:17 AM, seti88 said:

Hmm the alto's 25, 30 and messers 31F next to each other in a line....interesting...

I only have 3 Chogokin Valks right now (well technically 4 but my original 25 yellowed like nothing I've ever seen!) and with the 31 landing I may have to remodel the display.

 

[seti88]

I thk a 31F battroid can fit in there, tho its gonna be tight cutie ranka may need to move.

Like your gunpod poses though. The arms holding the gunpods still seem to be staying up well.

 

[no3Ljm]

17 hours ago, seti88 said:

Maruyama was a fan-boi emblem ..ok am nitpicking but that may be where bandai got in and said, give us an extra tampo valk we can sell!

Messer's was unique in the sense that shinigami is now attributed/linked to him. Max/hikaru didnt get one ...
This could be the start of an emblem trend in macross though...

Then they should release those VF-25/YF-29 Sheryl and Ranka Itashas and VF-1 Minmay from Macross30. I'm IN for one. Oh and include Mei's VF-27 as well while they're at it.  Are you also in, Seti? How about VF-31's Walkure Itashas? All DX's.

5 hours ago, Duymon said:

There's a VF-31J still sitting at Amiami for 23k... not awful

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=FIGURE-021748&page=top%2Fsearch%2Flist%3Fs_keywords%3Dvf-31j%24pagemax%3D40%24getcnt%3D0%24pagecnt%3D1

And it's gone. Spanner? 

4 hours ago, Acteon said:

I only have 3 Chogokin Valks right now (well technically 4 but my original 25 yellowed like nothing I've ever seen!) and with the 31 landing I may have to remodel the display.

My type of colors.  All you need now is Alto's VF-171Ex and Hikaru's 1S/A.  

2 hours ago, seti88 said:

I thk a 31F battroid can fit in there, tho its gonna be tight cutie ranka may need to move.

Time to endorse YetiStand here, Seti. Don't you think?

 

[MacrossJunkie]

19 hours ago, arbit said:

Not going for the super parts.

I have a fear of scratching the paint with them. 

I still have all my super parts and armor sealed for the 25s, although I would LOVE to use them.

Are my concerns overblown?

If you are concerned about scratched paint, get some Tamiya masking tape and put it over the contact points. I've done that to avoid scratches for things like the YF-29 super parts because the pegs on the back boosters scrape along the surface before going into the attachment points, so I trim some tape and run it along the area the pegs make contact and then put the boosters on. It's hidden from sight and the valk is protected.

[spanner]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

And it's gone. Spanner? 

hehe! 23k not tooooo bad but nahh no 5th 31J for me.. Just spent Valkyrie money (+ more) on a super rare Kyosho 1:18 Lamborghini Miura so my collectibles budget has been busted for the moment.. 

Edited February 4, 2017 by spanner

[spanner]

who knows I might even be back to 3x VF-31J as my son is hounding me to give him the #4.. 

[seti88]

15 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Then they should release those VF-25/YF-29 Sheryl and Ranka Itashas and VF-1 Minmay from Macross30. I'm IN for one. Oh and include Mei's VF-27 as well while they're at it.  Are you also in, Seti? How about VF-31's Walkure Itashas? All DX's.

And it's gone. Spanner? 

My type of colors.  All you need now is Alto's VF-171Ex and Hikaru's 1S/A.  

Time to endorse YetiStand here, Seti. Don't you think?

 

Haha thats a jump from emblems to itashas! I havent played macross 30 so i dont know what those look like. 

I liked the model kit version of freya tho...

i would get that if it was in DX. Wasnt too keen on the rest of delta itasha's after examining them..

Itasha's for me are a fine line, the insta buy would be if they did nose-art or tail-art itashas on military scheme valks!
Am keeping a few images when the time comes if i do finally attempt to do a decal printout and transfer onto valks or what not...

On the stands yeah, yeti's alpha base could come in handy to fit 3 battroids in there. Whats the maximum battroids on a yeti stand that can fit on one detolf shelf i wonder..

Maann...all these talk abt itasha's and emblems got me nose-art trippy....

Edited February 5, 2017 by seti88

[Acteon]

19 hours ago, seti88 said:

I thk a 31F battroid can fit in there, tho its gonna be tight cutie ranka may need to move.

Like your gunpod poses though. The arms holding the gunpods still seem to be staying up well.

 

Thanks - they have held up pretty well. I tend to pick up a DX on my yearly trips to Japan now. The 30 was the last one I picked up from the shelf, I just saw it on display and fell in love. It's like a cross between Macross and Patlabor given the colour placement so I couldn't resist!

The 31J I'd like to keep in plane mode as it's such a gorgeous silhouette, I think the Detolf's are going to be insufficient in terms of space unless I just give the figure its own shelf. Which I may well do if I move the collection around, sometimes just having one/two figures to a shelf can really emphasise how special these things are. 

So far only 3 shelves have enjoyed that luxury: The Gundam Freedom Metal Material figure that stands alone, my J Scott Campbell Mary Jane and Gwen Stacey statues, and my Hot Toys Iron Man Mk III and Pepper Potts. 

Time Macross got the same love I feel! Though having seen some of your collections, mine seems a bit underwhelming to say the least!

Edited February 5, 2017 by Acteon

[Heatwave]

If Keith's Draken is coming out in March and Messer's VF-31F is coming out in April, could Mirage's VF-31C potentially come out in May? 

Or would it be more likely to come out in August, considering it's a hero's model and that's about the same length of time between Hayate's VF-31J and Messer's VF-31F?

 

[mechaninac]

^Maybe a SV-262Ba for May?  Or perhaps, the only DX for May will be the previously scheduled Super Parts Set for the VF-31J, and Bandai are taking a break from any other releases that month... I sure as heck could use a breather.

[seti88]

I thk August is a more likely scenario for a valk release only because i remember DX releases were April, August and December during the past...
However this year it seems 2 valks per quarter release due to delta..
   

Anyway if there were May releases pre-orders will need to open up this month...
wonderfest is coming up this month, not sure if bandai will use that occasion for DX announcements...

Edited February 6, 2017 by seti88

[MacrossJunkie]

The difference between clear red sensors and "clear" red sensors...

[wm cheng]

That looks phenomenal!!!  MJ, you did it again, I've gotta try that, it looks amazing.  How it should have come from Bandai.

Just Tamiya red clear after you took off the crappy Bandai stuff with the alcohol?

[MacrossJunkie]

22 minutes ago, wm cheng said:

That looks phenomenal!!!  MJ, you did it again, I've gotta try that, it looks amazing.  How it should have come from Bandai.

Just Tamiya red clear after you took off the crappy Bandai stuff with the alcohol?

Yep, I just used Tamiya clear red.

[Duymon]

welp... time to whip out some 90% rubbing alcohol and those hard-tip tamiya q-tips I bought fro hobbylobby way back. Just gotta be careful with prepping the areas with masking tape 

[no3Ljm]

3 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

The difference between clear red sensors and "clear" red sensors...

Gorgeous. 

Any chance of you moving here in California to do some commissions? 

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by no3Ljm

[seti88]

3 hours ago, MacrossJunkie said:

The difference between clear red sensors and "clear" red sensors...

Thats pretty nifty macross junkie! Are you planning to do the shoulder crystals too?
If its as easy as masking the area around it and rubbing alcohol, i might try it! 

[Lolicon]

That looks so much better repainted. That's the one area where the VF-25 toys are superior to the VF-31 toys. Why did Bandai take such a huge step back with the canopy and sensors and improve everything else? Baffling.

[spanner]

5 hours ago, Lolicon said:

That looks so much better repainted. That's the one area where the VF-25 toys are superior to the VF-31 toys. Why did Bandai take such a huge step back with the canopy and sensors and improve everything else? Baffling.

maybe Bandai have a "nothing can ever be perfect" policy.. yes is baffling.. those modifications look great but im lacking the confidence in making those alterations myself.. so mine will remain stock.

[derex3592]

yeh, I'm totally doing that to mine.  Looks great MJ.

[Lolicon]

7 hours ago, spanner said:

maybe Bandai have a "nothing can ever be perfect" policy.. yes is baffling.. those modifications look great but im lacking the confidence in making those alterations myself.. so mine will remain stock.

After exclusively wooshing my 31 since I got it, I took out my VF-25F for some wooshing, and man that clear canopy is so much nicer than the weird glittery crap on the 31.

I'll probably do the same to mine... someday. 

[no3Ljm]

14 hours ago, Lolicon said:

That looks so much better repainted. That's the one area where the VF-25 toys are superior to the VF-31 toys. Why did Bandai take such a huge step back with the canopy and sensors and improve everything else? Baffling.

So that Bandai can give us new cool-looking box. So cool, they're expecting that we will forget the other flaws for it. Hahaha!

 

[mickyg]

3 hours ago, Lolicon said:

After exclusively wooshing my 31 since I got it, I took out my VF-25F for some wooshing, and man that clear canopy is so much nicer than the weird glittery crap on the 31.

I'll probably do the same to mine... someday. 

Pulled mine off yesterday to have another look at how the front is held on and I can't see a single screw to get at, nor can I see how they closed it up at all, for that matter. Must just be clips and glue, I guess. 

 

Anyway, MJified canopy and sensors look awesome. Will definitely have to try something on mine at some point. 

Edited February 10, 2017 by mickyg

[MacrossJunkie]

1 minute ago, mickyg said:

Pulled mine off yesterday to have another look at how the front is held on and I can't see a single screw to get at, not can I see how they closed it up at all, for that matter. Must just be clips and glue, I guess. 

 

Anyway, MJified canopy and sensors look awesome. Will definitely have to try something on mine at some point. 

That was exactly my problem as well. I wanted to make the sensors look like they do in the show, but the only way to do that properly is to get at the underside of the clear plastic for the sensors and leave the top side clear. But I can't disassemble it at all. The screws they do have are covered by glued in screw caps and I don't have anything thin enough AND strong enough to wedge those out. It seems like it would be impossible to do without damaging the surface of the plastic around the area. So I just had to settle for improving the look of the sensors.

 

18 hours ago, seti88 said:

Thats pretty nifty macross junkie! Are you planning to do the shoulder crystals too?
If its as easy as masking the area around it and rubbing alcohol, i might try it! 

I was considering it, depending on if I can find the right clear purple.

[OzmaLee74]

Up at HLJ. 

 

http://hlj.com/product/BANN12922

[seti88]

3 minutes ago, OzmaLee74 said:

Up at HLJ. 

 

http://hlj.com/product/BANN12922

Gone within 2 mins! Who got it?! 

Edited February 11, 2017 by seti88

[spacemanoeuvres]

Jeez that was fast. Missed another one lol

[physioguy]

On 2/1/2017 at 11:28 AM, no3Ljm said:

Like F360 said, it's too late to get a VF-31J at launch price. It's either you'll wait for a reissue for you to get that price. The rest it's above MSRP which is Y21600. Unless you'll just stalk Mandarake 24/7 in case one will pop up. Just so you know, the more you're going to hold back, the more chance that the price will just go up. Anyways, good luck on the hunt.

Hmmm. For some reasons, Messer's 31F also compliments Hayate's esp if it's using a 31J Super Parts.

 

Sorry for what may be an obvious question:  Is that the standard head for the VF-31F or is that something that comes with the armor parts?

 

Edit: nevermind.  I just realized this was the model kit head.  whoops

Edited February 11, 2017 by physioguy

[mickyg]

Model kit, though it may be, that's still what the 31F head looks like. The DX will look the same. 

[physioguy]

9 hours ago, mickyg said:

Model kit, though it may be, that's still what the 31F head looks like. The DX will look the same. 

the models eyes seem proportionally smaller, and the unicorn antenna is grey on the model instead of dark grey/black on the upcoming DX.  Not big differences, but somehow it makes me like the model head way more.  weird.

[mickyg]

Ah, I understand now!  I was thinking you were unfamiliar with the F style head in general.  I had no idea there were any differences between the DX and model kit.  Thanks for pointing that out.