Bandai Sv-262 DX valk

[Kinzoku VF]

Looks that way on the pic, but it's actually well secured on a Flight Stand angled slightly downwards. I'm having a hard time displaying everything 'properly'. Most of my Detolfs are for vintage stuff (Popy,etc). The other Detolfs that are exclusively for Macross are full of mostly 'Classic' Vfs, various SDF-1s versions, Hi-Metals, vintage Takatokus and Mospeada stuff etc..Not an inch of room left. Volume-wise, Detolfs are not ideal.  Wishing I had more room....or less stuff (don't we all..)

[ArchieNov]

1 hour ago, Scream Man said:

Anyone else have trouble getting the feet back together in fighter? Can't get them to lock right. Its close but not as solid as it was before 

You probably need to extend the ankles out some more. I don't think the manual shows it, but yes, the ankles can extend.

Once extended, you should be able to fold and align the feet some more to close out the gap. After I learned about the extending ankles, my feet don't show any gaps at all.

[derex3592]

Been looking at Gerwalk all weekend, really digging it... gonna try to go to Battroid tonight! 

[M'Kyuun]

It's not a difficult transformation once you get a basic idea of what ends up where in each mode. However, it is frustrating due to really close clearances between moving parts, plus the double hinge to which the wing roots are attached needs to be maneuvered within a limited space. The instructions are so-so for certain areas. It'd be a really nice courtesy if Bandai printed them in both kanji and English so that non-Japanese speakers/readers had that extra guidance. However, as with most things, repetition breeds familiarity and comfort, so I advise taking it down off the shelf and carefully transform the thing. You'll never get complete fulfillment from it unless you handle it and transform it periodically, esp since all three modes look great.

I simply can't fathom buying a transformable toy and never transforming it- it's like buying a high performance car and garaging it for life. Sinful!  I guess if you're someone uncomfortable handling these things, as they can be fragile and finicky, the fear of breaking something may be an excellent dissuader. They're not cheap. The instructions can confuse more than help, in some cases. But, despite this rationale, I still have to try. I've broken some things along the way, but I don't let let that prevent me from enjoying the unique experience that these toys offer  (all transforming toys, for that matter). The puzzle element is what's attractive to me and keeps me shelling my hard-earned for them. Anyway, I just want to encourage folks to at least try transforming their valks, otherwise you're missing out on a large part of the experience.

[wm cheng]

Woohoo!!!  Finally received my copy of the SV-262.  Even though I peeled the plastic protection off really slowly and carefully, it took a tiny bit of that coppery gold colour with it (its going to be a hard match) - at least the big insignia is intact.  Initial impressions out of the box is that its light a bit gappy - will try transformation to see if I can tighten it up a bit, but there seems to be a few loose panels around (ie, head "ears").  Amazingly complex paint/tampo print throughout - Arcadia has absolutely no excuse for its naked expensive toys!  With shipping and brokerage, it came out to $350cdn - starting to really climb to the top end of my limit (Arcadia is no longer within my price range).  Definitely did not have the solid feel of the VF-31.  Beautiful colour scheme though.

 

Thank goodness for Jenius' transformation guide, I would never attempt it without you - thanks again!

 

[derex3592]

@ M'Kyuun Totally agree!!!

Edited March 27, 2017 by derex3592

[wm cheng]

Hey anyone with a link to the Transformation Manual in PDF?  Bandai often puts them up on their site but can't seem to find one for this.

[Actar]

Did you guys know that you can extend the ankle joint for added articulation? I'm not sure if they mention it in the instructions.

Thus far, the only thing I had issues with is the scratching of the (non-painted) wingroot when trying to position the wing during the transformation. 

Edited March 27, 2017 by Actar

[Saburo]

7 hours ago, Graham said:

I w

When the Lil Drakens are released I'm putting them and the missile packs on the fighter mode and the battroid will just get the sword and shield.

I'm not gonna order two sets of the Lil Drakens for my two SV-262.

I may do the same, display a 2nd 262 when the Lil Draken parts are released. 1 in fighter mode and another in Battroid mode.

 

7 hours ago, Graham said:

Is the yellow color for the beamgun's extended barrel and middle-section accurate to the anime?

I wish they had been a metallic grey, the yellow plastic looks way too toy-ish and really out of place on a gunpod.

 

 

From what I remember the yellow/gold is on the beamgun, I know for sure its on the mid section and I am 99% sure it on the barrel.

I agree the yellow plastic makes very toy-ish.  The early pics of the 262 show the barrel and mid section in gunmetal.

 

[wm cheng]

After playing/transforming it for about 2hrs;

the metallic coppery/gold paint apps and tampo are just amazing!

gerwalk lock keeps snapping loose

super-tight tolerances at the upper thigh going into behind the intakes (worried about rubbing and damaging red paint)

very finicky, not that poseable considering the amount of articulation, once locked together is ok, but cool

almost too many points of articulation where you just have to align everything just right (should have some detents)

nose cone made up of too many panels, too gappy, and its what I see first (unless its in Battroid mode)

very cool and different looking Gerwalk mode (wasn't even one of my favourite modes)

... on to Battroid...

[derex3592]

I agree that yellow on the gun is straight fugly and going to have to be painted a sexy gunmetal. 

[snakerbot]

Just picked mine up from the front office. It certainly is a gappy mess in fighter mode right now. I'm hoping that's just a bunch of stuff coming unpegged during shipping and I can massage it into place better when I transform it back later. I have to go to work in about half an hour so I haven't done anything other than put it together and put it on the stand. She certainly is a pretty thing, excepting the gaps.

[dizman]

Got mine a few days ago, it's pretty great though getting everything just right for gerwalk was a pain. In hand the 262 is much smaller than I was expecting, it's pretty neat how compact it is in fighter.

The silver on the beampod (or is it still a gunpod?) looks a ton better than the yellowish plastic we ended up with, maybe I'll mess around with mine to see how easy it is to take apart and paint. 

[Chronocidal]

Depending on how things work out with later releases, you might be able to swap parts around from the green versions, since they'll likely have all those gold bits molded in silver.

Just waiting on LAX customs now.. Hopefully will arrive some time this week, but you never really know with USPS.

[jenius]

How different are the other Draken models? Could Bandai just release one more and include stickers so you can make it whichever you prefer? 

[Actar]

Can someone help me? When transforming back into fighter mode, it seems that I can't get the legs to peg together all the way, leaving a gap in the feet/thrusters... is there something I'm doing wrong?

[jenius]

There are pegs in the middle of the leg also, make sure those are lining up. I feel like I had the same problem but can't remember what was in the way. 

[wmkjr]

54 minutes ago, jenius said:

How different are the other Draken models? Could Bandai just release one more and include stickers so you can make it whichever you prefer? 

Looks like the cockpit, forward intake, wings,and tailfin have a different accent color for each except the twins. Plus you gotta swap the canopy, left thigh, and wing decals.

Edited March 27, 2017 by wmkjr

[MacrossJunkie]

I too feel that the the fighter mode is a bit gappy, but it's not horrible. I think I will be repainting the the gunpod. That mustard yellow looks awful and plasticky.

I'm thinking the paint mixtures suggested in the 1/72 model kit should probably match the toy, so I'll try that to match the gold color once I order the paints.

I love the look of the toy in all modes, but the implementation of it could have used some improvement. Does anyone else find that the "lock" that is supposed to keep the arm and shoulder assembly in place for battroid just keeps popping out as soon as you even look at it funny? I can't move the arms or turn it sideways without that top fold-down piece popping out of place. The fact that the part rotates just keeps it from being securely fastened. Am I doing something wrong? I watched the Bandai transformation guide and Veef's as well and I seem to be doing everything properly as far as I can tell.

[M'Kyuun]

You're doing it right- it's just shitty engineering.

Let me add a caveat; make sure the little hook at the bottom of the backplate is extended and engaged into the lip behind the cockpit (where the right hand stows in fighter mode). If that is engaged, then the little flap at the top of the backplate should lock. It's still a weak locking mechanism, and I wish they'd found a better, more solid, solution.

Edited March 27, 2017 by M'Kyuun

[erizai]

14 hours ago, IXTL said:

https://twitter.com/t_features/status/846197941689733121

Intimidating 

[IXTL]

3 hours ago, jenius said:

How different are the other Draken models? Could Bandai just release one more and include stickers so you can make it whichever you prefer? 

They are identical except for their rune numberings, insignias and color coding.

 

Colors (Insignia):

Pink (lance) - Bogue

Yellow/Gold (horse) - Qasim

Grey/Silver (axe) - Herman

Blue and purple (winged wheels) - The twins

 

Bandai will almost certainly do Bogue's but I have ahard time imagining Bandai do all since they look so similar. Stickers or decals (dry or water transfers) on a blank valk are definitely not ideal.

Edited March 28, 2017 by IXTL

[MacrossJunkie]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

You're doing it right- it's just shitty engineering.

Let me add a caveat; make sure the little hook at the bottom of the backplate is extended and engaged into the lip behind the cockpit (where the right hand stows in fighter mode). If that is engaged, then the little flap at the top of the backplate should lock. It's still a weak locking mechanism, and I wish they'd found a better, more solid, solution.

 

Yeah, I have that bottom hook in place as well. That top flap just won't stay latched on and it's very disappointing as it is such an important part.

[MAC-X]

16 minutes ago, IXTL said:

They are identical except for their rune numberings, insignias and color coding.

 

Colors (Insignia):

Pink (lance) - Bogue

Yellow/Gold (horse) - Qasim

Grey/Silver (axe) - Herman

Blue and purple (winged wheels) - The twins

 

Bandai will almost certainly do Bogue's but I have ahard time imagining Bandai do all since they look so similar. Stickers or decals (dry or water transfers) on a blank valk are definitely not ideal.

Actually I think Bandai will do all because of the similarity between Draken models. They will certainly milk the mold as much as they can, and changing color and print is easy. Plus, they know Macross lovers will buy. 

If Bandai really just do one more Draken model and include stickers of all models, it would be really hard for collectors to secure the necessary numbers just to make the squad complete. 

[spanner]

2 hours ago, erizai said:

Intimidating 

the sword is cool but did they mention any way to stow it anywhere?

[Chronocidal]

Fortunately for our wallets, most of the Aerial Knights were completely inconsequential characters.  I'll probably buy one or two of the green ones, but having a bunch of identical ones with different numbers is silly.  I'll get the ones with the best colors, pretty much.

 

[Graham]

10 hours ago, wm cheng said:

 

Thank goodness for Jenius' transformation guide, I would never attempt it without you - thanks again!

 

Yep, I echo that sentiment, thank goodness for Jenius' transforming guide. It's a real lifesaver.

[spanner]

22 minutes ago, Graham said:

Yep, I echo that sentiment, thank goodness for Jenius' transforming guide. It's a real lifesaver.

yes indeed! Watching his video I soon realized a few spots where I was going wrong with mine during the first few transformations.

[mickyg]

Mine arrived today!

Ripped into it as soon as I could over lunch (I get all my stuff delivered to work) and it looks pretty impressive.  First impressions:

• The gold is very coppery/orange.  I don't dislike it but it's not what I expected, even with all the pictures floating around of this thing so far.
• The paint overall is just beautiful!
• No lost tampo after removing any of the protective sheets of plastic, and there are some on the stabiliser/shield as well.
• I think a lot of the "gappiness" is likely due to shipping and how it was put into the box after assembly.  I think much of it can be cleaned up after the first transformation.  Also, the panels on the nose for mine are far more tightly pressed than some of the pics I've seen posted so far.
• The feet aren't very well clipped together on mine, right out of the box
• The adapter definitely will not work with YetiStands, as there are two skirts on either side of the clear part now, and the stand adapters from YetiStand are too thick to fit between said skirts.  Some modification of the adapter will be necessary, which hopefully will not weaken the part.

Looking forward to going through the transformation more in the next few days.

Edited March 28, 2017 by mickyg
Added pics

[Saburo]

17 minutes ago, mickyg said:

Mine arrived today!

Ripped into it as soon as I could over lunch (I get all my stuff delivered to work) and it looks pretty impressive.  First impressions:

• The gold is very coppery/orange.  I don't dislike it but it's not what I expected, even with all the pictures floating around of this thing so far.
• The paint overall is just beautiful!
• No lost tampo after removing any of the protective sheets of plastic, and there are some on the stabiliser/shield as well.
• I think a lot of the "gappiness" is likely due to shipping and how it was put into the box after assembly.  I think much of it can be cleaned up after the first transformation.  Also, the panels on the nose for mine are far more tightly pressed than some of the pics I've seen posted so far.
• The feet aren't very well clipped together on mine, right out of the box
• The adapter definitely will not work with YetiStands, as there are two skirts on either side of the clear part now, and the stand adapters from YetiStand are too thick to fit between said skirts.  Some modification of the adapter will be necessary, which hopefully will not weaken the part.

Looking forward to going through the transformation more in the next few days.

Congrats mickyg on your new arrival.

I am looking forward to seeing what chaoticYeti has in store for he modified banking adapter.

[mickyg]

Thanks Saburo!

I'm slightly bummed about the change, as I have some adapters inbound that I'd planned to use on my stands (notice I've even got the beta stand set up with two arms already). I was hoping it would be a simple mod but this'll require a bit of planning and precision use of the Dremel to properly fix. Why Bandai saw the need to change it is beyond me.

[mickyg]

Ghetto lil'draken fitment:

[spanner]

42 minutes ago, mickyg said:

Ghetto lil'draken fitment:

LOL! that's awesome Mick! 

[chyll2]

there is one available at Mandarake. I guess enemy mecha is not really popular. Someone I know is in Japan right now and told me that one store even sells it for 18,000 yen.

 

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1061757046&ref=list

 

 

 

 

[jenius]

My video review is up. Someone already pointed out that I say it costs 2,200 yen instead of 22,000 yen... so... uh... ignore that flub. Thanks!