Bandai DX VF-31

[Axelay]

Oooh, I hope those super parts are already out. I'd like very much to find a surprise in my mail within the next two weeks or so.

[sumyumgoy]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Different box design compared to Hayete's Super Parts in horizontal format? PO cancelled. 

Not sure if already mentioned, I stared at this for a good 5 minutes when I got my Mirage...

[Saburo]

8 hours ago, Pedro2k6 said:

Messer's SP already released?

 

I am liking the new box art!   Hopefully they reissue the Hayate parts with the new box art.  lol  I am kidding.

 

Edited October 18, 2017 by Saburo

[no3Ljm]

7 minutes ago, sumyumgoy said:

Not sure if already mentioned, I stared at this for a good 5 minutes when I got my Mirage...

 Hahaha! What happened there Bandai? Should've cancelled my order. 

 

[F360]

32 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

 Hahaha! What happened there Bandai? Should've cancelled my order. 

 

Looks like they fixed on Mirage

[IXTL]

 

 

[IXTL]

 

[IXTL]

 

[no3Ljm]

3 minutes ago, IXTL said:

Wow! Loving it!

So now, who thinks his head still looks funny.

 

[Sanity is Optional]

Just now, no3Ljm said:

So now, who thinks his head still looks funny.

I do, it looks insectoid. Much prefer the 31C or 31S.

[Zx31]

I rather like the Messer noggin

[kajnrig]

I just wish the visor wrapped around the front instead of being two separate eyes.

[Andy NYK]

4 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I do, it looks insectoid. Much prefer the 31C or 31S.

Insecticon!

[Sanity is Optional]

54 minutes ago, Andy NYK said:

Insecticon!

What can I say? It just bugs me.

[IXTL]

Not only was the packaging design orientation changed, the size and clamshell tray insert were changed too. Looks more compact now.

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by IXTL

[IXTL]

 

[IXTL]

 

[no3Ljm]

36 minutes ago, IXTL said:

Not only was the packaging design orientation changed, the size and clamshell tray insert were changed too. Looks more compact now.

 

I like how compact it is now.

But I don't think we're going to get some shipping refund if there's differences from Nippon-Yasan due to package size changes, right? 

 

[brouken]

So they made the box thicker, while lowering the profile. That's definitely going to mess with how I store my valks. I put the boxes of the supers/armors right next to its valk since they're the same profile. Only the supers for the YF-29's are stored differently because of their size. 

The OC in me is already cringing at this change. 

[mickyg]

Perhaps they'll keep the original size for the upcoming Super Parts with Missiles bundle.  I can hope, right?

[Saburo]

1 hour ago, brouken said:

So they made the box thicker, while lowering the profile. That's definitely going to mess with how I store my valks. I put the boxes of the supers/armors right next to its valk since they're the same profile. Only the supers for the YF-29's are stored differently because of their size. 

The OC in me is already cringing at this change. 

I am the same way. I guess its time to reorganize the storage area.

[chyll2]

2 hours ago, brouken said:

So they made the box thicker, while lowering the profile. That's definitely going to mess with how I store my valks. I put the boxes of the supers/armors right next to its valk since they're the same profile. Only the supers for the YF-29's are stored differently because of their size. 

The OC in me is already cringing at this change. 

it is not like you are not used to playing tetris now.

Edited October 19, 2017 by chyll2

[Graham]

The change in packaging doesn't bother me as I only keep the Valk boxes, anyway.

I always throw the Super Part boxes out and store any unused parts inside the Valk box.

[chyll2]

i like the smaller packaging. It ensure that future order of superpack will never go beyond 1000 yen for a dhl option (to Philippines)

[brouken]

1 hour ago, chyll2 said:

i like the smaller packaging. It ensure that future order of superpack will never go beyond 1000 yen for a dhl option (to Philippines)

Just a quick question chyll: if you ship by DHL, do you still get chopped by PH Customs? Or does DHL deliver the package straight to your address?

Only ever tried ordering from Japan online once when I was in the Philippines. I ended up paying as much as the price of my orders (a couple of MG kits) in customs tax . Never tried it again since then. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by brouken

[no3Ljm]

Preparation in progress at NY.

 

[chyll2]

25 minutes ago, brouken said:

Just a quick question chyll: if you ship by DHL, do you still get chopped by PH Customs? Or does DHL deliver the package straight to your address?

Only ever tried ordering from Japan online once when I was in the Philippines. I ended up paying as much as the price of my orders (a couple of MG kits) in customs tax . Never tried it again since then. 

You wont have any problems as long as the cost of item and shipping is within 200 usd ot 10k PHP (this comes mandarake handy since you have control of the declared value) it will be delivered straight to your door. (average time is two working day from shipping notice).  UPS is the same.

Fedex does the same but they charge you for warehouse fee (cant remember exact figure, around 400 to 600 pesos)

[brouken]

Thanks Chyll! So as long as the declared value is under USD 200.00/PHP 10k, it won't get held by customs right? That's good to know. 

[seti88]

Spiffy looking messer with his packs, tho i still like him in blue! 

[ArchieNov]

18 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Wow! Loving it!

So now, who thinks his head still looks funny.

 

I don't think the 31F head looks funny. I think it looks fugly 

[IXTL]

 

[Lord_Of_Tetris]

18 hours ago, kajnrig said:

I just wish the visor wrapped around the front instead of being two separate eyes.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the toy is an accurate portrayal of how it looked in the cartoon.

19 hours ago, Zx31 said:

I rather like the Messer noggin

 

19 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Wow! Loving it!

So now, who thinks his head still looks funny.

 

I must confess, my first reaction upon seeing the VF-31F head was, "Wow, that is hideous, I wouldn't be caught dead buying that toy."

However, now that I've bought the toy (heh), I've completely changed my mind. It's an acquired taste, in my opinion. The VFs have been trending away from the bulky but elegant "straight lines" 1980s look and more towards a highly-detailed but very-slender insectoid look, which (in my opinion) was also an acquired taste.

But I've now embraced the slender insectoid look, and I think the VF-31F head perfectly matches that look. Whereas the 1980s designs had a lot of straight lines, the VF-31 is better known for its curves. And, the VF-31F head is the curviest of them all. It doesn't have a single flat surface on it. The eyes are curved. The shape is an oval, instead of a straight-angled visor (like the VF-31S or the 2 visors on Mirage's VF-31C). Yes, it looks insectoid, but (in my opinion) the VF-31 looks insectoid anyway, with its Insecticon wings, very-long legs, and slender arms. 

The Messer head reminds me of a praying mantis, Kamen Rider, or even Michael Bay's Bumblebee design (with the battle mask on), all of which also had insectoid designs.

I'm also a fan of elegance. Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of overly-detailed, overly-colorful mechas. For example, because of its overwhelming use of different colors, I think Arad's jet is hideous. What I like about the Messer head is that it gets the job done using minimal details. The Messer head has the least greebly bits, bumps, panel lines, markings, and colors out of all the VF-31 models, and there's something to be said for simplicity. 

My head-canon is that Messer is a very serious pilot, and he picked the VF-31 model with the biggest eyes so (again, just my head-canon) its optics are the clearest and most detailed so he can be maximally effective in combat.

My 2 cents.

Edited October 19, 2017 by Lord_Of_Tetris

[no3Ljm]

5 hours ago, seti88 said:

Spiffy looking messer with his packs, tho i still like him in blue! 

Ditto! Love him more in that scheme.  

2 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

I don't think the 31F head looks funny. I think it looks fugly 

Hey! Kababayan, that's foul!  

1 hour ago, Lord_Of_Tetris said:

I must confess, my first reaction upon seeing the VF-31F head was, "Wow, that is hideous, I wouldn't be caught dead buying that toy."

However, now that I've bought the toy (heh), I've completely changed my mind. It's an acquired taste, in my opinion. The VFs have been trending away from the bulky but elegant "straight lines" 1980s look and more towards a highly-detailed but very-slender insectoid look, which (in my opinion) was also an acquired taste.

But I've now embraced the slender insectoid look, and I think the VF-31F head perfectly matches that look. Whereas the 1980s designs had a lot of straight lines, the VF-31 is better known for its curves. And, the VF-31F head is the curviest of them all. It doesn't have a single flat surface on it. The eyes are curved. The shape is an oval, instead of a straight-angled visor (like the VF-31S or the 2 visors on Mirage's VF-31C). Yes, it looks insectoid, but (in my opinion) the VF-31 looks insectoid anyway, with its Insecticon wings, very-long legs, and slender arms. 

The Messer head reminds me of a praying mantis, Kamen Rider, or even Michael Bay's Bumblebee design (with the battle mask on), all of which also had insectoid designs.

I'm also a fan of elegance. Frankly, I'm not a huge fan of overly-detailed, overly-colorful mechas. For example, because of its overwhelming use of different colors, I think Arad's jet is hideous. What I like about the Messer head is that it gets the job done using minimal details. The Messer head has the least greebly bits, bumps, panel lines, markings, and colors out of all the VF-31 models, and there's something to be said for simplicity. 

My head-canon is that Messer is a very serious pilot, and he picked the VF-31 model with the biggest eyes so (again, just my head-canon) its optics are the clearest and most detailed so he can be maximally effective in combat.

My 2 cents.

Well said, sir!

Atleast with you, Messer's VF-31F head reminds you of a praying mantis. While the YF-30 Chronos reminds me of a cockroach. And I think Praying Mantis looks better than Cockroach.

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by no3Ljm

[Lord_Of_Tetris]

11 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Ditto! Love him more in that scheme.  

Hey! Kababayan, that's foul!  

Well said, sir!

Atleast with you, Messer's VF-31F head reminds you of a praying mantis. While the YF-30 Chronos reminds me of a cockroach. And I think Praying Mantis looks better than Cockroach.

 

Hahahahahaha. Although I do think the YF-30 Chronos is more insectoid than most 1980s mecha, my opinion is that it's a happy medium between the elegant 80s look and the overly-skinny insectoid look of the newer Macross figures.

I always thought the YF-30 head looked like a mix between the VF-1J and Beast Machines Jetstorm (Google the CGI model, not the toy). I didn't see anything insectoid about it, and I never thought to associate the YF-30's head with any type of bug. Now that you mention it, I can totally see how the YF-30 head could be construed to look cockroach-y. 

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by Lord_Of_Tetris

[Axelay]

I don't like the VF-31F's head one single bit. It is my least favorite head design of any of the Valkyries which I have ever owned. However... I do really like the paint scheme of Messer's. If I could swap the head for another variant (which matched the paint scheme), then I would be quite pleased.