Bandai DX VF-31

[recon]

On 15/09/2017 at 0:07 PM, no3Ljm said:

So I tried putting my Messer's Super Parts on Mirage and see how it feels. Can't say it looks good though. It's the same 'meh' feeling when I tried it on my Hayate's 31J. What do you guys think? 

 

Yeah. I think Messer's Super Parts will not work this time on Mirage's colors. Not as same as Messer's colors on Hayate's blue. So I decided to stick with Mirage colors instead.

 

 

Maybe you can try chucks colors for contrast? 

[Slave IV]

My 31F took a mean fall off a 5 foot tall cabinet onto hard floors. A few pieces popped off and torso unpegged but nothing broke. Just popped the center head antenna and one of the heel pieces back on, tabbed the chest back in place and all good. Very smart design by Bandai to prevent breakage. My 1/48 VF-1 was not as lucky. The non-removeable head laser broke off less than 24 hours after getting and opening it. Both Valks impressed me with their overall durability to take that kind of fall without more damage.

[sumyumgoy]

5 hours ago, Slave IV said:

My 31F took a mean fall off a 5 foot tall cabinet onto hard floors. A few pieces popped off and torso unpegged but nothing broke. Just popped the center head antenna and one of the heel pieces back on, tabbed the chest back in place and all good. Very smart design by Bandai to prevent breakage. My 1/48 VF-1 was not as lucky. The non-removeable head laser broke off less than 24 hours after getting and opening it. Both Valks impressed me with their overall durability to take that kind of fall without more damage.

Ouch, glad it wasn't too bad man.  

[Heatwave]

Opened up my package today.

I really like the colours and appearance of this figure in all modes.

My only issue is that I can't seem to securely lock the torso together. The bottom tabs are up but when I push the top half down onto it, it's like only one side is able to tab in while the other doesn't. This makes trying the pose the figure difficult as whenever I try to move the arms the whole top half comes undone.

The back tabs remains locked though.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong as I've watched the ScorchedEarthToys transformation video, and I can't rememebr having this issue with my VF-31J.

[packrat]

17 hours ago, David Hingtgen said:

Seems decently common on this release---I just tried alternating between the two hinges (each end of the bar) and eventually got it loose, though some paint chipped off the bar.  (Not really visible in any mode).  

Thanks, my first VF-31. Forced the metal joints to move a few times then trimmed the scraped paint. These metal double hinges should be cast in final color because paint too thick. Impossible for paint to remain intact in these metal to metal joints. This may be my first VF-31, but not Bandai's

[packrat]

43 minutes ago, Heatwave said:

Opened up my package today.

I really like the colours and appearance of this figure in all modes.

My only issue is that I can't seem to securely lock the torso together. The bottom tabs are up but when I push the top half down onto it, it's like only one side is able to tab in while the other doesn't. This makes trying the pose the figure difficult as whenever I try to move the arms the whole top half comes undone.

The back tabs remains locked though.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong as I've watched the ScorchedEarthToys transformation video, and I can't rememebr having this issue with my VF-31J.

Which location is not locking because there are several locking points? From bottom there are 2 gray tabs that pinch behind 2 red metal bars. The top part with the head clips beneath into back of the canopy. There is also a gray U shaped piece that is bent under the head

[Heatwave]

55 minutes ago, packrat said:

Which location is not locking because there are several locking points? From bottom there are 2 gray tabs that pinch behind 2 red metal bars. The top part with the head clips beneath into back of the canopy. There is also a gray U shaped piece that is bent under the head

The gray tabs that pinch behind the metal bars.

It seems to come undone very easily

 

EDIT: I've notice that the front part of the chest (small flap), doesn't seem to close flush with the rest of the chest. Perhaps I didn't transform the neck area properly. But I've pushed the tab in that area as far as I can.

 

EDIT: Just realised I had the hinge in the neck area the wrong way. Had it forward instead of back. All good now And looks much better.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Heatwave

[Major Focker]

On 9/15/2017 at 11:39 PM, Sildani said:

Good choice, too bad she's some $200 on Evilbay. 

i've seen it in akihabara for 12k yen and around 15k on YJA 

[Saburo]

10 hours ago, Slave IV said:

My 31F took a mean fall off a 5 foot tall cabinet onto hard floors. A few pieces popped off and torso unpegged but nothing broke. Just popped the center head antenna and one of the heel pieces back on, tabbed the chest back in place and all good. Very smart design by Bandai to prevent breakage. My 1/48 VF-1 was not as lucky. The non-removeable head laser broke off less than 24 hours after getting and opening it. Both Valks impressed me with their overall durability to take that kind of fall without more damage.

Sorry to hear that, glad there was no major damage.

[Slave IV]

5 hours ago, sumyumgoy said:

Ouch, glad it wasn't too bad man.  

 

38 minutes ago, Saburo said:

Sorry to hear that, glad there was no major damage.

Thanks! It goes to show the companies have made improvements to prevent breakage and that these things have been made well for years to begin with!

[Chronocidal]

Fortunately the head laser on the VF-1A is pretty simple to make a replacement for, at least compared with all the other variants.  Depending on where it broke, you might even be able to just drill it out, and pin the parts together to repair it.

Just picked up Mirage from the post office, loving the look of it overall, and definitely my favorite head design on the 31.

One thing I did notice about the magenta color.. for once, it's kind of a good thing that so much of it is painted.  It might be my lighting, but the cast plastic in the shoulders looks much darker than the paint.  The painted surfaces are all a good match.

Something else I realized while messing with it though, related to the fuselage gap behind the canopy.  I noticed that if I unpeg the folding plate under the cockpit, that gap mostly goes away.  I think pressing that plate into the underside all the way is actually pulling the nose downward, and widening that gap.  I don't know if it bothers me enough to experiment, but I might try trimming down the rearward edges of the tabs on that underside plate, and see if that relieves the force pulling the nose down.

Edited September 16, 2017 by Chronocidal

[Alex GS]

Finally is on my hands!

Amiami branded box! hehe

[GabrielV]

9 hours ago, Heatwave said:

 

EDIT: I've notice that the front part of the chest (small flap), doesn't seem to close flush with the rest of the chest. Perhaps I didn't transform the neck area properly. But I've pushed the tab in that area as far as I can.

EDIT: Just realised I had the hinge in the neck area the wrong way. Had it forward instead of back. All good now And looks much better.

During my first transformation this was the part I struggled the most with.  I couldn't tell what the heck the instructions were trying to illustrate and it isn't a step which my knowledge of the VF-25's transformation translated well to.  I probably spent 15 to 30 minutes just fiddling around with that panel the head is on.

[David Hingtgen]

You know, if it was the color of the box it comes in, it'd be perfect.  It's like they spent all their color-matching effort on the packaging...

[Heatwave]

8 hours ago, GabrielV said:

During my first transformation this was the part I struggled the most with.  I couldn't tell what the heck the instructions were trying to illustrate and it isn't a step which my knowledge of the VF-25's transformation translated well to.  I probably spent 15 to 30 minutes just fiddling around with that panel the head is on.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to have issues with this area. It was seriously driving me nuts.

 

Regarding the colour though, I feel like the the maroon paint and the purple on the translucent gems below the head should have been swapped.

This official artwork seems to use this colour scheme as well.

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, they all just suck at color matching.  Maybe they're trying to nip yellowing in the bud ahead of time, and just produce things that don't match to begin with?

[Lolicon]

Don't like Delta enough to be troubled by imperfect color matching. Or crappy generic pilots. Or the midget cockpit. Or the missing shoulder sensors. Or wings that don't sit flush in fighter mode. Or the weak paint app that rubs off if you look at it the wrong way.

[Sildani]

Heh. I didn't buy my 31C because of Delta. I bought it for Mirage, Best Girl and the only elf chick pilot yet, perhaps ever. 

[seti88]

 

In case anyone is interested in the kit mirage with supers...quite a looker...

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by seti88

[Lolicon]

1 hour ago, Sildani said:

Heh. I didn't buy my 31C because of Delta. I bought it for Mirage, Best Girl and the only elf chick pilot yet, perhaps ever. 

Pixie Squadron and Mirage's aunt already beat her to that title.

[Chronocidal]

Edit: That's the 1/72 kit, not the DX.  Had me going for a moment there, though.

It's a fair point though, I don't care enough about the series to really feel one way or another about the wrong color, or other nonsense.  It's disappointing, sure, but it's the level of dedication I've come to expect.

Edited September 17, 2017 by Chronocidal

[David Hingtgen]

You can tell because the 1/72 is actually purple....

Anyways---was rewatching a few scenes of Delta, and I think the only person we actually see in Mirage's back seat  is Freyja, in her "standard singing dress".   Along with me not having a Ranka for my VF-25F, it means I basically have no appropriate figures for the back seats of any of my valks. 

Is there anything on Shapeways, figures-wise?   They're so tiny that the roughness of 3D printing won't matter much when painted, and VF-31 canopies are almost opaque anyways.   (I'm still figuring out what to do about Mirage's canopy--it almost seems like it's molded in tinted plastic but then the "sparkle" is sprayed on or something) 

[seti88]

Oops dang it not gonna admit i need bifocals!! Should have seen the 1/72 scale words!

Pretty much tot that mirage supers were due...apologies for posting that here...

[Saburo]

Vf-31C fighter mode photos are done.

[Lolicon]

Woohoo! Spectacular as always, Saburo!

[Sildani]

2 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Pixie Squadron and Mirage's aunt already beat her to that title.

Who's the aunt? Mylene? And wasn't Pixie Squadron a bunch of Zentraedi women?

[David Hingtgen]

I do like that they seem to have paid more attention to the stencil data than most times---it's mostly logical, and even the ladder marking is in the appropriate spot.  

[sumyumgoy]

Looks great @Saburo!  Mine is still sitting at PW so this is making the wait much easier!

[Saburo]

Thank you @Lolicon & @sumyumgoy. 

Next up Gerwalk mode.

Edited September 17, 2017 by Saburo

[Lolicon]

8 hours ago, David Hingtgen said:

You can tell because the 1/72 is actually purple....

Anyways---was rewatching a few scenes of Delta, and I think the only person we actually see in Mirage's back seat  is Freyja, in her "standard singing dress".   Along with me not having a Ranka for my VF-25F, it means I basically have no appropriate figures for the back seats of any of my valks. 

Is there anything on Shapeways, figures-wise?   They're so tiny that the roughness of 3D printing won't matter much when painted, and VF-31 canopies are almost opaque anyways.   (I'm still figuring out what to do about Mirage's canopy--it almost seems like it's molded in tinted plastic but then the "sparkle" is sprayed on or something) 

The canopy is clear and can be stripped and repainted, but it's a lot of work, made more difficult because there's really no way to remove the front windscreen.

I would have preferred if they had made the Walkure pilot figures all amputees and given more room for the actual pilot, so it doesn't look like they have their chests rammed up against the front console.

Given the pilot's position on the toy and where Keith shoots it, the shot should have taken Messer's head off, instead of through the heart.

[Lolicon]

7 hours ago, Sildani said:

Who's the aunt? Mylene? And wasn't Pixie Squadron a bunch of Zentraedi women?

Mmhmm.

[Saburo]

 

[Slave IV]

Love all the pics @Saburo! What's the difference between like and vote up in the new options of the forum?

[venth85]

35th Anniversary ver of VF-31, this is the kit version though

[seti88]

Will they make a DX of it? Or will they have a release for christmas? More kit pics...