Bandai Sv-262 DX valk

[ArchieNov]

Yeah I was really hoping the hip ratchets would be here to stay, but on the bright side, these aren't ball joints at the hips either. They're hinge joints and are very tight/solid. Plus the Draken itself is relatively light so I don't foresee any major issues with the hip joints in the future.

[CharlesXavier]

Mine is still "prep in progress" in NY since Saturday 

Edited March 20, 2017 by CharlesXavier

[spanner]

2 hours ago, F360 said:

yeah, it's been a while since after release you can still find a DX Chogokin at stores for retail price.

 

do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your comment!? if so then yes you're absolutely right! 

1 hour ago, ArchieNov said:

Yeah I did just in case. But while I did so, there didn't seem to be any indication that the tampo stuck to the plastic at any point. I guess the people with the issues unfortunately got a bad batch.

I just finished transforming it to battroid the first time. And yeah, it is quite a change from the usual fare. I don't fully understand all the nitty gritty details yet, but it's not that hard as long as you take it step by step. The parts I found somewhat confusing were transforming the thighs and wing hinges at the back, but I managed.

You also need to be careful because there are a LOT of hinge joints and some of them are very delicate like the eye covers.

Some nitpicks I have for now are the lack of hip ratchets and a locking tab for the shoulder hinges. Otherwise, everything else feels pretty solid. It's a lot slimmer and lighter than I expected it to be though. I expect that the VF-31 with super pack will really outsize the Draken. 

Overall, I think it's the most unique and complicated Valk to date in terms of engineering, and is a welcome addition to the Macross toy lineup.

well I'll definitely be peeling that protecting film away very slowly and carefully! im actually kinda surprised Bandai didn't come across this issue during their product testing?

I am looking forward to seeing the intricacies of the Draken design. I wonder if they felt that there wasn't a desperate need for the ratchet joints for the hips? No shoulder locking tabs is a downer but we'll see how that fares whilst handling the toy.

[spanner]

tracking says mine has landed in the country about 3 hours ago! If the gods of Macross are smiling on me from above then I might even see this thing tomorrow! or it'll be Wednesday or Thursday..

[seti88]

Man...i have the draken and RA in PW, but I need time to sort out extra items by need and want...

However, all these posts are making me itchy to get everything and ship! urgh...

 

[erizai]

Package arrived... yay... opening tonight... 

[ArchieNov]

Transformed it back to fighter. It went smoother this time around since I was more familiar with the location of joints and the tolerances, but it was still challenging especially in getting the thighs back in place along with the chest intakes. You'll need to move things around back and forth to provide enough clearance, else risk rubbing off some of the tampo or even worse, snapping something. Another area that was difficult to align were the feet boosters. I still can't get them to stay perfectly flush with one another, but I've got them close enough to the point it doesn't trigger my OCD.

My tip is if you're feeling a lot of resistance when transforming it, don't force it. Check first to see if there's something getting in the way. There are a lot of flaps and folding parts so you always need to be aware of how you're handling it. If you think the VF-171 was too complicated (I didn't), you'll most likely not enjoy the transformation process on the Draken.

In the end, I still find the transformation quite interesting and will probably transform it back and forth a couple more times in the future.

 

[Pedro2k6]

1 hour ago, ArchieNov said:

Transformed it back to fighter. It went smoother this time around since I was more familiar with the location of joints and the tolerances, but it was still challenging especially in getting the thighs back in place along with the chest intakes. You'll need to move things around back and forth to provide enough clearance, else risk rubbing off some of the tampo or even worse, snapping something. Another area that was difficult to align were the feet boosters. I still can't get them to stay perfectly flush with one another, but I've got them close enough to the point it doesn't trigger my OCD.

My tip is if you're feeling a lot of resistance when transforming it, don't force it. Check first to see if there's something getting in the way. There are a lot of flaps and folding parts so you always need to be aware of how you're handling it. If you think the VF-171 was too complicated (I didn't), you'll most likely not enjoy the transformation process on the Draken.

In the end, I still find the transformation quite interesting and will probably transform it back and forth a couple more times in the future.

 

What about the gaps in fighter mode?... Out of the box look very gappy....but now you have transformed once, what is your feeling?. 

[ArchieNov]

There are a few small gaps present but nothing that's too distracting. 

[seti88]

Tail shield seems to stay closed nicely too!  Maybe there is a thin gap where the tail meets the fuselage but that's not too big a deal..

Edited March 20, 2017 by seti88

[chyll2]

there are gaps but nothing similar to the DX 31 nose to body gap. My order in NY is still on prep though I did pick SAL because of the quirks in our country postal services.

 

Does the gun on the right arm can pop up on fighter mode?

[anubis20]

Amiami hasnt shipped out the order I paid for on Friday AM 

[ArchieNov]

26 minutes ago, chyll2 said:

Does the gun on the right arm can pop up on fighter mode?

Yes, it hinges out and can rotate 360 while attached to the bottom.

[erizai]

1 hour ago, anubis20 said:

Amiami hasnt shipped out the order I paid for on Friday AM 

Patient ... Had received my from Ami Ami, may be there are a lot to pack.. 

Very happy with the colour of this bird... nice... 

[Shukenzero]

Picked up mine earlier today. Very nice unit and tampo printing is spot on. Hope that the bad figs are in the minority. Haven't had time to transform but a very nice compliment to the 'newer' shaped hero valks we've had of late.

[Horatio Positronic]

Got mine in the mail right before work today. It was painful to open it up, knowing I would only have a second to check it out, and no time to transform it.

First impressions are good, no tampo issues on mine (glad I saw that in the thread AFTER I opened mine). The gold is a lot more orange than I was expecting, and that might be because I got used to the 1/72 kit colors first.

I can't wait to get home and transform mine. Only 10 hours to go.

[Mit]

I can say only one thing - "Sv-262 Draken III" one of the most beautiful and elegant war machines in the "Macross" universe ...

And some details about this miracle - the secrets of transformation!

 

[spanner]

Just got notification from that my parcel is with the courier for delivery today! That's gotta be a record quick time for an ems delivery especially one which was posted on a weekend! Can't wait to see it after work today!

[mickyg]

You lucky man!  Mine hasn't even left HLJ yet, due to my deciding I "needed" a messer 1:72 bandai kit on Saturday and adding it to my PW.  It got allocated to the PW late Sat but due to that little addition, obviously didn't get packed into a box in time to make it out the door.  Couple that with the Monday holiday there, and it obviously didn't make it anywhere yet.  Maybe today...

[hoahuynh]

Still cannot believe its up for grabs on HLJ.

I jump the gun too soon and wen NY, curse that 2k yen.

[jenius]

I really hope I get mine for the weekend so I can get cracking on a review but sometimes it takes hlj several days to clear the pw requests so I have my doubts. 

Edited March 20, 2017 by jenius

[derex3592]

yeh, nothing from HLJ shipping down here either since it went to PW, then I told them to ship it, that was late Friday night.

[spanner]

so have you guys got other things waiting in the private warehouse so it ships combined? or do you specify it to go into the private warehouse? I've never used that facility but going by the possible delays it might cause im glad I don't use it. Besides you guys know how impatient I am! 

[spanner]

30 minutes ago, hoahuynh said:

Still cannot believe its up for grabs on HLJ.

I jump the gun too soon and wen NY, curse that 2k yen.

good to know they still available! So depending if this impresses me or not I might have a chance to grab another if they still up by then. Though at this point im still sure I won't be getting doubles of the Draken. 

[UN Spacy]

HLJ super slow shipping mine out. 

[jenius]

It came out on a Friday and Monday was a holiday so not ideal for shipping. If it didn't go to PW for a hot second it will probably go out tonight. If it went to PW then you are in the same boat with me and it can take a while. 

[Chronocidal]

I figure I've waited this long for it (since the first previews of the series), so I figure a few days more to wait isn't so bad.  With any luck, I should have mine by this weekend, that's usually how long SAL takes for me.

In the meantime, I'll practice transforming my 1/72 kits instead.

[Master Dex]

I'm living vicariously through all of you getting it soon, since I'm keeping mine in the PW to wait for Messer. I figure the save on shipping is for the best. I suspect these are the only Delta valks I'll get.

 

 

Until the VF-31A appears to tempt me...

[mickyg]

1 hour ago, spanner said:

so have you guys got other things waiting in the private warehouse so it ships combined? or do you specify it to go into the private warehouse? I've never used that facility but going by the possible delays it might cause im glad I don't use it. Besides you guys know how impatient I am! 

I've got a billing agreement with them since they introduced it years ago.  So pretty much everything I order goes straight into PW.  I like to maximise my shipping dollars.  I had a few things in there prior to the Draken release and only had a few days remaining till the 60 day deadline.  But I'd been eyeing the VF-31 kits for a while now and finally decided to just add it, the same morning the Draken was added to my PW. 

If I'd have left the order as is, I'm fairly certain it would have shipped on Saturday.

I've got no complaints about the private warehouse option in HLJ and think it's likely saved me hundreds on shipping in the last few years.  The slowness aspect bugs me but I'm not upset enough to stop using the feature altogether.

Edited March 20, 2017 by mickyg

[M'Kyuun]

I paid last Friday morning (Pacific Standard), and I still haven't got a shipping notice. Just checked my status at AmiAmi; it still shows processing shipping (paid) via DHL. Pretty slow service there- it should have shipped by now. I was figuring on its being here by this Friday, but since they're dragging their feet shipping it out, might be a longer wait.

Edited March 21, 2017 by M'Kyuun

[IXTL]

1 hour ago, UN Spacy said:

HLJ super slow shipping mine out. 

Monday was a holiday in Japan. They'll probably get around to it on Tues.

[no3Ljm]

11 hours ago, chyll2 said:

Does the gun on the right arm can pop up on fighter mode?

10 hours ago, ArchieNov said:

Yes, it hinges out and can rotate 360 while attached to the bottom.

I think chyll2 is referring to the right arm machie guns. The one that rests behind the canopy. I'm curious too if that pops up during Fighter mode.

1 hour ago, spanner said:

good to know they still available! So depending if this impresses me or not I might have a chance to grab another if they still up by then. Though at this point im still sure I won't be getting doubles of the Draken. 

Ha! Says the guy who said he will not double dip on the Draken no matter what. Even if you mentioned you're not gonna get doubles you already mentioned it depends if the figure impresses you. Hahaha!

Let's wait and see once you opened your package, Spanner.

 

Back to topic, I just paid mine at AmiAmi. Will PO the LilDrakens tonight. 

 

[IXTL]

After handling mine, I can say the transformation was not fun at all.

I'll probably need another transformation or two to get used to the intracacies. The backpack transformation for battroid mode got me stumped. Wasn't sure if parts were algined as intended.

In gerwalk mode, there seemed to be very little space for the upper legs behind the intakes and I was worried the insignia on the left thigh would get knicked or rubbed off.

Edited March 21, 2017 by IXTL

[seti88]

42 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

I think chyll2 is referring to the right arm machie guns. The one that rests behind the canopy. I'm curious too if that pops up during Fighter mode.

 

I second that curiosity...plus do both guns pop up or do they just flip up side by side individually?

[seti88]

1 hour ago, Master Dex said:

I'm living vicariously through all of you getting it soon, since I'm keeping mine in the PW to wait for Messer. I figure the save on shipping is for the best. I suspect these are the only Delta valks I'll get.

 

 

Until the VF-31A appears to tempt me...

Yea, for us combining shipping, its the the only way to experience the draken at the moment heh... 

I wanted to wait for messer too...but i got the RA and it will ship before messer arrives... If only i could combine w the RA it would be a triple shipment...

i also made my mind up to just get keith, messer and a 31a, but the white drakens, chuck, hayates reaper and arad's 31a are all distint possibilities..help!

Edited March 21, 2017 by seti88