Bandai DX VF-31

[MikeRoz]

9 hours ago, Darth Mingus said:

There is a Pre-Owned Arad's VF-31S at HLJ for 24,500 yen:

https://hlj.com/pre-owned-condition-a-bandai-dx-chogokin-vf-31s-siegfried-arad-molders-custom-pow-1-bann23920

That's more than a new one from NY.

I'm tempted, but I'm not sure I'd be convinced that the armor pack will go any better with the S than it will my VF-31F. There's no Orange on Arad's paint scheme.

[Marcion]

i'm really sad about this VF31 DX more and more paint scratch appear 

imagine attachment of armored parts more paint being scratch 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Marcion

[jenius]

That's why you have to buy more than one! It's a brilliant Bandai strategy.

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, Marcion said:

i'm really sad about this VF31 DX more and more paint scratch appear 

imagine attachment of armored parts more paint being scratch 

Or, since it will be back heavy and with lots of thing going by the wing (with the Armored Pack), you can just probably remove the container pod so you don't need to fold the hinge.

 

 

[rdrunner]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 11:10 AM, MacrossMania said:

Something I posted in another section.  It belongs here:

Um, really?  The VF-31 has the single biggest design flaw of all the valks.  A huge backpack.  It looks like a butterfly.  Ever notice the promo pics never show it from the side?  Because it looks truly awful.  The plane is beautiful, true.   But valkyrie design is a delicate balance between all three modes, jet, fighter, and yes, even gerwalk mode.  But it's definitely NOT a slavish devotion to one mode at the sacrifice of all the others, with cherry on top engineering to make it seem more lovelier than it is.

I do love the VF-31's jet mode.  It's by far one of the most elegant designs.  And the engineering is superb.  No doubt about it.  But they could never figure out where to put those wings.  I mean like, at all.  It just hangs there intrepidly into space as if it's not the embarrassment to Bandai's legacy of quality design work that it is. 

When it comes to the dance of all three modes, I'd say the VF-1 still does it best.  Flat and behind the back no questions asked.  The YF-19 does a pretty good job, and a novel one too, putting them on the sides of the legs.  The overlooked YF-29 does a pretty good job as well.  The flaring menace of those upside down wings makes it look like a cobra.  And the flare of all those missiles on the legs and shoulders, like a King Cobra.

But the poor old VF-31, it's skinny, awkward, and frankly looks like a praying mantis.  The bug look of the new valks is something I can't get over.  And I honestly don't understand why people have so completely overlooked the VF-31's design flaw.  Maybe it's just blind allegiance to a master artist developing his craft.  And I agree there's no doubt he's moved it forward, as he inevitably does being the master craftsman that he is.  But I put the VF-31 more along the lines of an evolution in valkyrie design, not a revolution, and certainly not a landmark valkyrie.  Not the way, say, the VF-1 was, or even the YF-29, which in my mind is an overlooked masterpiece.

No offense to any fans of the -31 design out there, but in a sense, I agree with what you said about the 31's "backpack", especially in Gerwalk mode. 

I have been struggling to think what it reminded me of...

 

 

Personally, I'm ok with the fighter and battroid modes, but every time I look at a Gerwalk 31A/F, this just pops into my head.

Edited October 3, 2018 by rdrunner

[Shizuka the Cat]

19 minutes ago, rdrunner said:

No offense to any fans of the -31 design out there, but in a sense, I agree with what you said about the 31's "backpack", especially in Gerwalk mode. 

I have been struggling to think what it reminded me of...

 

Personally, I'm ok with the fighter and battroid modes, but every time I look at a Gerwalk 31A, this just pops into my head.

I am kind of in agreement as well.  Love how the 31 looks in fighter mode. But gerwalk feels too long to me.

I like that the VF-1 becomes more compact in its gerwalk modes, with its tail portion folding into a backpack. I also like the VF-11 in that its tail portion becomes an arm shield and its variable-swing wings are mounted near the center of the plane body, like the VF-1.

But gerwalk mode for rear-mounted reverse-angle winged planes like the 31 (and the 19 to some extent) always looked awkward to me. I think maybe in part this is because I feel the wings look less sturdy as there are gaping cavities in the plane body between the wing mount points in gerwalk mode, cavities that could pose structural weakness from an aeronautical engineering perspective at times of heavy turbulence, G-forces, or wind sheer.

 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Shizuka the Cat

[Mommar]

As a Gerwalk guy the 31 has probably my favorite version.

[Lord_Of_Tetris]

Hmm. Personally, I think the VF-31 is the best engineered transforming jet toy I've ever handled, but I also admit it's not my favorite design.

With some of the more-recent Valkyrie designs, it really doesn't look like it should be able to fly. For example, the YF-19 and VF-31, in Gerwalk mode, have their wings connected to the body of the jet by some very-thin wing kibble. I'm fine with suspension of disbelief, but if I think too hard about it, it looks like flying too fast or making too sharp a turn would snap off the wings. By contrast, the VF-1's wings (in Gerwalk mode) are connected to the body just as strongly as the connection in fighter mode, and so it looks like something that can actually fly and maneuver.

The insect-like design is...eh...an acquired taste. When I first saw the head of Messer's VF-31F, my first thought was, "What? I'm NEVER buying that...Waspinator-like...THING." Shrug. It's now one of my favorite Valkyrie head designs. I like the uniqueness. It still reminds me of Waspinator, but hey, Waspinator is awesome, so...shrug. 

The large wing kibble is...eh...something I can live with. For better or worse, the Macross jet designs don't transform the wings, per se, but more like the wings fold away somewhere. (To illustrate: Studio Series Starscream transforms the wings in various places, and Starscream's robot mode doesn't have huge chunks of wing kibble hanging off it). The Valkyries that best fold away the wings (in my opinion) are the VF-17, YF-21, and VF-11. Pretty much every other Valkyrie has a huge wing kibble problem.

The VF-0, VF-1, and VF-2 have the wings folded up in the back like a large board. The animation cheats it with some mass-shifting wings, but even then, seeing such a large wing backpack on a toy makes it look very impractical. The YF-19 has huge wing kibble on its thighs. It looked cool in the 1990s, and it still looks cool today, but having it on a toy really shows you how impractical it is.

Seems pretty easy in combat to, say, grab the YF-19's wing kibble and tear it off the thigh and bam, it can't fly anymore. Heck, it seems pretty likely in combat to accidentally break off the YF-19's wing kibble.

The VF-31's wing kibble...eh...isn't that much worse than most other Valkyries. It's impractical, but not moreso than the VF-1 with a board behind its thighs, or the YF-19 with huge kibble that can break off or an enemy can grab. It looks to me that it's pretty easy to shoot at a VF-31, miss, but hit the huge wing kibble. Bam, can't fly anymore. 

But.....ehhhh..........I'm pretty good at suspending my disbelief. I don't mind impractical designs if it at least looks cool. I don't need mecha to actually look like real combat machines (though that would be nice), as long as it looks convincing enough in the animation.

I grew up with Transformers, Gundam, and Robotech. Off the top of my head, I have no problem with Starscream, Blitzwing, or the Arialbots walking around with gigantic wing kibble on their backs. Shrug. It looked cool. Omega Supreme walked around with half-circles of train tracks on his shoulders, but it looked cool. Plus, have you seen certain Gundams? Wing Zero Custom's angel wings. Yikes! Seems like any sensible bad guy army should just bum-rush Wing Zero Custom and tear off its wings, but nobody ever does. My point is, I'm willing to look the other way if the robot looks cool and convincing enough, and I think the VF-31 passes that test.

Plus, the positioning of the VF-31 wing kibble kind of reminds me of the Hyaku-Shiki from Z Gundam.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Lord_Of_Tetris

[Lolicon]

Some people prefer their mecha to all look like big, bulky linebackers.

Kawamori should have added molded pecs on the VF-31's chestplate.

[borgified]

Jungle has Mirage's 31c (sealed) at 27K yen for those are willing to pay. http://jungle-scs.co.jp/sale_en/?page_id=121&id=2448184

All this gerwalk mode on the 31 valks literally reminds me of the male peacock with the full plumage on display literally speaking.

 

 

[no3Ljm]

Remember guys, we do have a dedicated thread for Gerwalk. And why it's being disliked. But not me. 

 

[Chronocidal]

So, some small update about my 31A order.  I sent a third request for information about the delay, and offered to reduce my order to a single 31A if it's becoming too difficult to send me the pair I ordered. 

I got a fairly quick response, with an almost immediate "in preparation" update for the order, followed by a message that they would credit me for the second 31A.  I'm pretty okay with that, since I'll be able to put those credits forward the eventual super/armor packs.  Much as I wanted two of them, I'll probably never take this one out of fighter mode anyway.

So the weird part is that after a week, I haven't seen any change to the original order quantity, or the refund credit.  I guess I'll have to wait for the box to arrive before I find out if I got both my 31As.  

[ridgebacks]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

So, some small update about my 31A order.  I sent a third request for information about the delay, and offered to reduce my order to a single 31A if it's becoming too difficult to send me the pair I ordered. 

I got a fairly quick response, with an almost immediate "in preparation" update for the order, followed by a message that they would credit me for the second 31A.  I'm pretty okay with that, since I'll be able to put those credits forward the eventual super/armor packs.  Much as I wanted two of them, I'll probably never take this one out of fighter mode anyway.

So the weird part is that after a week, I haven't seen any change to the original order quantity, or the refund credit.  I guess I'll have to wait for the box to arrive before I find out if I got both my 31As.  

I've sent them 4 ticket so far, and unlike everyone else, mine is still stuck in "payment ok". And I only ordered 1.

[seti88]

5 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Some people prefer their mecha to all look like big, bulky linebackers.

Kawamori should have added molded pecs on the VF-31's chestplate.

thats what the fast/super pack attachments do. 

[raziel03]

1 hour ago, ridgebacks said:

I've sent them 4 ticket so far, and unlike everyone else, mine is still stuck in "payment ok". And I only ordered 1.

This is the part that I find very frustrating.  I doesn't seem like the number of tickets has any bearing on if yours ships or not.  From reading people's experiences in this threads, it is almost Gacha-like whether a given person gets theirs shipped.  I will probably poke them again on the 1 year anniversary of my pre-order, but I do not expect anything to come of it.

[MacrossMania]

10 hours ago, rdrunner said:

No offense to any fans of the -31 design out there, but in a sense, I agree with what you said about the 31's "backpack", especially in Gerwalk mode. 

I have been struggling to think what it reminded me of...

 

 

Personally, I'm ok with the fighter and battroid modes, but every time I look at a Gerwalk 31A/F, this just pops into my head.

Lol, absolutely cracks me up.  I hadn't even thought about the Gerwalk mode issues to tell you the truth, but I think you're spot on.  LMAO.

10 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

I am kind of in agreement as well.  Love how the 31 looks in fighter mode. But gerwalk feels too long to me.

I like that the VF-1 becomes more compact in its gerwalk modes, with its tail portion folding into a backpack. I also like the VF-11 in that its tail portion becomes an arm shield and its variable-swing wings are mounted near the center of the plane body, like the VF-1.

But gerwalk mode for rear-mounted reverse-angle winged planes like the 31 (and the 19 to some extent) always looked awkward to me. I think maybe in part this is because I feel the wings look less sturdy as there are gaping cavities in the plane body between the wing mount points in gerwalk mode, cavities that could pose structural weakness from an aeronautical engineering perspective at times of heavy turbulence, G-forces, or wind sheer.

 

Interesting U turn here in the discussion.  I was going more for aesthetics in this discussion, but it is interesting the points you bring up about whether a valkyrie would actually function.

8 hours ago, Lord_Of_Tetris said:

Hmm. Personally, I think the VF-31 is the best engineered transforming jet toy I've ever handled, but I also admit it's not my favorite design.

With some of the more-recent Valkyrie designs, it really doesn't look like it should be able to fly. For example, the YF-19 and VF-31, in Gerwalk mode, have their wings connected to the body of the jet by some very-thin wing kibble. I'm fine with suspension of disbelief, but if I think too hard about it, it looks like flying too fast or making too sharp a turn would snap off the wings. By contrast, the VF-1's wings (in Gerwalk mode) are connected to the body just as strongly as the connection in fighter mode, and so it looks like something that can actually fly and maneuver.

The insect-like design is...eh...an acquired taste. When I first saw the head of Messer's VF-31F, my first thought was, "What? I'm NEVER buying that...Waspinator-like...THING." Shrug. It's now one of my favorite Valkyrie head designs. I like the uniqueness. It still reminds me of Waspinator, but hey, Waspinator is awesome, so...shrug. 

The large wing kibble is...eh...something I can live with. For better or worse, the Macross jet designs don't transform the wings, per se, but more like the wings fold away somewhere. (To illustrate: Studio Series Starscream transforms the wings in various places, and Starscream's robot mode doesn't have huge chunks of wing kibble hanging off it). The Valkyries that best fold away the wings (in my opinion) are the VF-17, YF-21, and VF-11. Pretty much every other Valkyrie has a huge wing kibble problem.

The VF-0, VF-1, and VF-2 have the wings folded up in the back like a large board. The animation cheats it with some mass-shifting wings, but even then, seeing such a large wing backpack on a toy makes it look very impractical. The YF-19 has huge wing kibble on its thighs. It looked cool in the 1990s, and it still looks cool today, but having it on a toy really shows you how impractical it is.

Seems pretty easy in combat to, say, grab the YF-19's wing kibble and tear it off the thigh and bam, it can't fly anymore. Heck, it seems pretty likely in combat to accidentally break off the YF-19's wing kibble.

The VF-31's wing kibble...eh...isn't that much worse than most other Valkyries. It's impractical, but not moreso than the VF-1 with a board behind its thighs, or the YF-19 with huge kibble that can break off or an enemy can grab. It looks to me that it's pretty easy to shoot at a VF-31, miss, but hit the huge wing kibble. Bam, can't fly anymore. 

But.....ehhhh..........I'm pretty good at suspending my disbelief. I don't mind impractical designs if it at least looks cool. I don't need mecha to actually look like real combat machines (though that would be nice), as long as it looks convincing enough in the animation.

I grew up with Transformers, Gundam, and Robotech. Off the top of my head, I have no problem with Starscream, Blitzwing, or the Arialbots walking around with gigantic wing kibble on their backs. Shrug. It looked cool. Omega Supreme walked around with half-circles of train tracks on his shoulders, but it looked cool. Plus, have you seen certain Gundams? Wing Zero Custom's angel wings. Yikes! Seems like any sensible bad guy army should just bum-rush Wing Zero Custom and tear off its wings, but nobody ever does. My point is, I'm willing to look the other way if the robot looks cool and convincing enough, and I think the VF-31 passes that test.

Plus, the positioning of the VF-31 wing kibble kind of reminds me of the Hyaku-Shiki from Z Gundam.

More from above, my point was never about how a valkyrie would function in real life.  While it's an interesting brain teaser in my more idle moments whether an F-15 could actually transform mid-flight without breaking apart in a spectacular fireball, I think we can all agree (at least I hope I can) that this whole concept of a plane transforming into a crab-like gerwalk mode and thence into a robot is pure mindbending rubbish that never happen in real life, at least not in any practical sense on the battlefield and in the air.  We are dealing with pure fantasy here, and a lovely one at that.  Not, as Shizuka's posts seem to suggest, with root concept engineering principals and whether or not any of the cartoons would find purchase in an engineering classroom.

My point is wholly aesthetic, and that is all.  Call me shallow.  Call me an aesthete.  Call me what you will, but when I say that I think that the YF-29 is an underrated masterpiece, it's not because I think the USAF Is well on its way to building one to fight the Chinese.  It's because I think it is an absolutely gorgeous valkyrie.  Does it have the same love and production values as the YF-31?  No.  Clearly, bandai was giving more credence to the designs and spending more time with them in the factory.  But truth be told, that doesn't change the fact that the YF-29 just looks better.  Those flaring wings.  The boosters and missile compartments that look mean and menacing and bad a.f.  The whole thing is just a beast in my mind.  The same with the VF-19.

I think you nailed it when you said that Omega Supreme just looks good with those railroads on its back, like a nice wing spread.  And oh, that reminds me.  I couldn't agree more with your assessment that the Wing Gundam Zero is the silliest ever conceived if one looks at it strictly from the standpoint of a functional war machine.  It would be destroyed in a second.  But man!  What a beauty?  In my own personal opinion, it is by far the best gundam that Bandai has produced so far precisely because of its beauty.  Which lie mainly in those wings and the expressiveness of those poses.

I know I'm running up against the fan nerd-dom here, which finds safe refuge in the more mechanistic aspects of the toy designs, perhaps harking back to their childhoods when they would play with an erector set, legos and playdo.  And maybe many of them have grown up to be engineers, where such concepts find purchase in their daily lives and dominate their thinking in ways that many of us can't fathom.  In fact I'd be willing to say that's the case with Shizuka, with her MIT pedigree.  But for me, it's all about the beauty.  First and foremost, and last out the door.

Let the last breath of the broken Gundam

Take its lonely wings to the verdant heavens.

So go my thoughts after, run aplomb

With dreams of splendor matched only by madmen. 

-MM

 

[Shizuka the Cat]

Is it bad that I kind of want to take one of my valkyries over to the aero/astro department on campus and see how well the fighter mode performs in a wind tunnel?

I am sure the toy would rip itself apart spectacularly... but it would be kind of interesting to see at what point wind sheer tears the wings off.

(It is times like this where I wish I majored in aero/astro rather than math and computer science...)

Edited October 4, 2018 by Shizuka the Cat

[Slave IV]

Seems like most Valks are optimized for space and depend more on their boost to fly than their wings. 

[David Hingtgen]

I think the -25 is the overall best design, of the 25+ generation.  Every design after goes into the HUGE backpack category (not that the -25's is small, but compared to what came later, it looks better now).  The -31's weapon pod is in the way more often than not, and is a rehash of a rehash of a rehash IMHO (29 to 30 to 31).  

And regarding "wings ripping off in GERWALK/battroid"---the -25 does pretty well in that regard, and I think has one of the best GERWALK modes ever.    For me, I always look for that perfect "50/50" balance of plane vs arms/legs, and the VF-25 does that better than anybody.  I want them "mixed" very well if that makes sense---not a plane IN FRONT OF the robot (-19), and not a plane ON TOP OF the robot (-21), and not the plane mostly hanging out behind the robot (-31).  

[kyekye]

NY is just weird with this order

Mine was stuck in 'shipping prep' for more than a week - until I asked them again last night.

And then they replied they don't have the item yet - that's after they gave me the description of the box (info they got from shipping dept.)

And I complained again and I got the shipping notice 5 minutes later.

However that's tracking number only and it just means they printed the label.

 

[slide]

10 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

but it would be kind of interesting to see at what point wind sheer tears the wings off.

(It is times like this where I wish I majored in aero/astro rather than math and computer science...)

So build them a computer system and get some technical assistance/wind-tunnel time in exchange 

Or ensure you're the one they call to fix their comp/network issues

On the face of it that does seem like a transferable skill-set though, considering all the computing that goes into modern aircraft design...

 

 

on the point of the '31s weak-winged gerwalk:

They make a pretty succinct point from SDF:M-on about how Gerwalk mode has severe flight limitations [like airspeed] in exchange for a short-takeoff  and >stall speed flight capability: like circling a crash at low-speed for an assessment, probably easier to hover-around in Gerwalk than Battroid.

My Tactical understanding is that the only time you should pop your Gerwalk-mode in-atmo and at speed is when you're literally reversing your thrust-direction to "slam on the brakes"

Then there's the issue of the tech level underlying the design/engineering of the birds themselves... these things aren't built out of anything as mundane as 6061-Aluminum.... I assume the energy-conversion-armour is incorporated/activated for structural rigidity in Gerwalk

Edited October 4, 2018 by slide

[seti88]

Gerwalk sole purpose is to catch damsels falling thru the air..and then put them into the cockpit..

Edited October 4, 2018 by seti88

[spacemanoeuvres]

9 hours ago, kyekye said:

NY is just weird with this order

Mine was stuck in 'shipping prep' for more than a week - until I asked them again last night.

And then they replied they don't have the item yet - that's after they gave me the description of the box (info they got from shipping dept.)

And I complained again and I got the shipping notice 5 minutes later.

However that's tracking number only and it just means they printed the label.

 

This is happening with my YF-19. Label created 10 days ago but no tracking info. Still waiting to be shipped. 

[no3Ljm]

12 minutes ago, seti88 said:

Gerwalk sole purpose is to catch damsels falling thru the air..and then put them into the cockpit..

QFT. There you have it.

 

[ManhattanProject972]

 

Its only been a year since I preordered it, but its finally happening! Couldn't be more excited. 

[lmtsuper]

Anyone know how to fix this problem? The joint itself is fine, but the place where metal hip parts goes into the crotch is kinda loose.

[kyekye]

13 hours ago, ManhattanProject972 said:

 

Its only been a year since I preordered it, but its finally happening! Couldn't be more excited. 

See this is what I'm talking about..

I ordered on 10/7 - 1 week earlier, yet they put mine in shipping prep 2 weeks after this order.

But again they shipped on the same day?

Not professional at all!

 

[spanner]

4 hours ago, lmtsuper said:

Anyone know how to fix this problem? The joint itself is fine, but the place where metal hip parts goes into the crotch is kinda loose.

I've noticed the very same thing on one of my 31A's and 31J's.. (the only two in battroid mode) The right leg had slowly flopped further out than the left.. Though I haven't gone to investigate a possible fix as I have been super lazy lately..

[Rogueload]

Any one here know if the 31F supers can work on a 31A?  

[no3Ljm]

16 minutes ago, Rogueload said:

Any one here know if the 31F supers can work on a 31A?  

Yes. Except for the chest part. 

[Rogueload]

Nice.  Thanks for the reply.  I was seeing if anyone had pics of 31A with the super parts attached but could find any. 

[dizman]

46 minutes ago, Rogueload said:

Nice.  Thanks for the reply.  I was seeing if anyone had pics of 31A with the super parts attached but could find any. 

 

I kinda remembered seeing a few pictures some hundred pages back, here ya go.

[Rogueload]

I gotta admit, those 31A's look awesome!

[sumyumgoy]

Here's one of @Saburo's shots.  Hope it's okay to link.  Looks badass!

 

 

[Rogueload]

Oh man!! Now I want a 31A with supers!! Too bad they are ridiculous in price.