This was bound to happen...gray market VF's?

[Radioguy]

Got my shipping notification.

[Radioguy]

1 hour ago, WhatBoutMyStar said:

I could be wrong, but I think the translucent pieces are supposed to be black light reactive as opposed to glow in the dark. I think many of us would be hesistant to shine black light on our valks for an extended period of time, or any time at all, given concerns about UV and yellowing.

14 minutes ago, BlueMax said:

Yes, from the videos, you need black light to create the effect. 

Hrmm, not as good as I had thought. Still nice, though. I'd have bought it for just being clear red.

Edited August 19 by Radioguy

[Radioguy]

Oh, for those worrying about the box, this now appears on both ShowZ listings:

*When ordering the cardboard boxes, we will make them larger to ensure the packaging flap can be shipped without bending

[mikeszekely]

11 hours ago, twich said:

Just got notice that this shipped out from ShowZstore! I guess I will find out in 15-25 business days!

Twich

Same.

[jenius]

I think I'm talking myself into buying this. It would be my first purchase from ShowZ which means it takes more to convince myself to do it.

[Radioguy]

48 minutes ago, jenius said:

I think I'm talking myself into buying this. It would be my first purchase from ShowZ which means it takes more to convince myself to do it.

I'd prefer to see your review over all if you did. Consider it a public service. 😉

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, jenius said:

I think I'm talking myself into buying this. It would be my first purchase from ShowZ which means it takes more to convince myself to do it.

If it helps, ShowZ is pretty good. I've bought from them many times.

[Dark Skull]

4 hours ago, Radioguy said:

I'd prefer to see your review over all if you did. Consider it a public service. 😉

Yeah, that way I can live vicariously through y'all as I wait for the deluxe version to come in 

[505thAirborne]

18 hours ago, twich said:

Just got notice that this shipped out from ShowZstore! I guess I will find out in 15-25 business days!

Twich

Same here, I'm looking forward to this one. 

[505thAirborne]

7 hours ago, jenius said:

I think I'm talking myself into buying this. It would be my first purchase from ShowZ which means it takes more to convince myself to do it.

[BlueMax]

So my standard copy came today, after removing the outer wrapping, this is what the shipping box looks like:

Opening the lid reveals:

A long retangular box which stores accessories (and stand if you got the deluxe version) and acts as ballast to protect the flap of the main box from damage

The box in all its glory:

The contents:

I haven't got too much of a chance to meddle with it yet, but my initial feelings are:

- Feels like Valkyrie Factory quality

- Love the BOX! And the color scheme really pops!

- Paint quality is acceptable (very mild over-sprays, some what similar to the Yamato 1/48s), but some parts are probably susceptible to paint scrapes. Would probably recommend a clear coat, preferably UV resistant ones.

- Plastic finish is a little on the rough side on the underside surfaces, but acceptable. The rough plastic finish / minute flashing may make mounting of the booster backpacks way more difficult when compared to OG Yamato/ Arcadia. 

- The supposedly luminescent parts are not glow in the dark. They need UV light. Probably. I have no blacklights handy.

- Some parts are really tight, to the point that I felt as though if I forced it more, I might cause breakage. I advise a good dose of caution and err on the side of caution, especially when you have no experience with the OGs. If OG Yamato/ Arcadia is tight out of the box because of precision, then this tightness is more because of imprecision. 

- It is really beautiful, and it is easy to think of it as a Yamato/ Arcadia in Jetfire colors. makes for a super wonderful static display. However, handling it will remind you that it is a Yamato/ Arcadia KO presented as a TF 3rd party product.

- Overall I am very satisfied with it despite it being a KO, so much so that I’ve placed a 2nd order, this time the deluxe. The G1 style packaging really does it for me and did I say mention I absolutely dig the colors? I’m not partial to the skull and crossbones, but not a big deal. If it bothers me in future, some Gundam paint markers and masking tape should take care of it. I’ll probably stick an Autobot insignia on the nose cone though.

Edited August 20 by BlueMax

[Radioguy]

Thanks so much @BlueMax!

[BlueMax]

Not-Jetfire attempting (unsuccessfully) to be a Robot in Disguise when it is painfully obvious that he is More Than Meets The Eye.

Edited August 21 by BlueMax

[spacemanspiff]

THANK YOU for sharing the pics of this release. Please share more if possible.  I am looking forward to it and am very surprised by the G1 box design.  This is basically Missing-Link Jetfire, or Masterpiece G1 Jetfire.

Does anyone know of a way to remove the jolly rogers?  (I really don't want those on a Jetfire figure)

Edited August 20 by spacemanspiff

[Chronocidal]

I completely missed the fact that they actually painted the TV missiles.  I might have to do that for some of my originals, and maybe even the Bandai DX sets.

Thanks for the quick review, I'm really looking forward to this now, and glad I ordered both versions.  Will definitely be customizing one with some repainting (hopefully I can find a matching red) and Autobot logos.  I always thought the nosecone was a goofy place for the logo, but I will absolutely slap one on the canopy cover, provided I can seal it enough to not scrape.

Edited August 20 by Chronocidal

[BlueMax]

8 hours ago, spacemanspiff said:

Does anyone know of a way to remove the jolly rogers?  (I really don't want those on a Jetfire figure)

The jolly roger on the heat shield should be comparatively easy: The plastic is molded black and painted on. It should be just a case of using a very mild abrasive or even rubbing alcohol to get rid of it.

Tail fins wise probably a little more tricky. It is white paint on red paint on white plastic. If you are having FAST packs on in any mode, visually it should not be an issue. If it really grates on you mentally, then some red stickers trimmed nicely, or gundam paint markers with masking tape, (or a combination of both, should you want the base figure untouched) should do the trick. 

[Dark Skull]

I dunno...I thought about removing the jolly rogers and the macross emblems. But in the TF world, figures like this are often times referred to by the character they're supposed to be with the "not" in front of it. In this case, this is "not-Jetfire." I figure if I leave all those emblems on there, then the name in my own little head canon is justified...because he's not Jetfire. 

[Radioguy]

8 minutes ago, Dark Skull said:

I dunno...I thought about removing the jolly rogers and the macross emblems. But in the TF world, figures like this are often times referred to by the character they're supposed to be with the "not" in front of it. In this case, this is "not-Jetfire." I figure if I leave all those emblems on there, then the name in my own little head canon is justified...because he's not Jetfire. 

Well, if you were to buy another...

[Dark Skull]

21 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

Well, if you were to buy another...

You mean a 3rd one?

[WhatBoutMyStar]

1 hour ago, BlueMax said:

The jolly roger on the heat shield should be comparatively easy: The plastic is molded black and painted on. It should be just a case of using a very mild abrasive or even rubbing alcohol to get rid of it.

Tail fins wise probably a little more tricky. It is white paint on red paint on white plastic. If you are having FAST packs on in any mode, visually it should not be an issue. If it really grates on you mentally, then some red stickers trimmed nicely, or gundam paint markers with masking tape, (or a combination of both, should you want the base figure untouched) should do the trick. 

If replicating the original toy look is the goal, wouldn't just removing the heat shield altogether be the way to go?

Edited August 21 by WhatBoutMyStar
fixed spelling typo

[jenius]

8 minutes ago, WhatBoutMyStar said:

If replicating the original toy look is the goal, wouldn't just removing the heat seat altogether be the way to go?

You can do that easily enough on your own. 

[Dark Skull]

12 minutes ago, WhatBoutMyStar said:

If replicating the original toy look is the goal, wouldn't just removing the heat seat altogether be the way to go?

That's part of it, but if one were to be a stickler for exactness, you'd also have to remove all the macross emblems, all the jolly rogers (on the super parts and tail fins), then put autobot emblems where they belong, as well as remove the "001" on the wing of this not-Jetfire. Then for any blank spots that may cause to exist, you'd have to find matching red paint to fill in the gaps where there's supposed to be a red stripe, paint the inside of the legs with the design it had/or hope that toyhax/reprolabels makes a sticker set etc etc etc. So in short, it'd be a bit of work to make it look exactly like the G1 toy. It's possible, but I don't know how many folks would go that far.

[BlueMax]

I'm approaching this from a Macross fan's perspective way more than a TF fan's perspective. This means that this is primarily a VF-1 cosplaying as a TF character. For me this applies even to the original G1 Jetfire. It was always a VF-1 in non canon Macross paint scheme primarily to me.

Therefore, I personally have no need for the markings to look EXACTLY like the 1/55 version to me. Would it have been better for it to look like that? Maybe, but I'm perfectly good with what we have. This is good enough. The marginal utility/ returns just isn't worth the marginal effort in achieving the "perfect" G1 look. I'm not letting "perfect" be the enemy of "good enough".

Anyway, here it is on a TF CHUGs shelf.

 

Edited August 21 by BlueMax

[Dark Skull]

2 minutes ago, BlueMax said:

I'm approaching this from a Macross fan's perspective way more than a TF fan's perspective. This means that this is primarily a VF-1 cosplaying as a TF character. For me this applies even to the original G1 Jetfire. It was always a VF-1 in non canon Macross paint scheme primarily to me.

Therefore, I personally have no need for the markings to look EXACTLY like the 1/55 version to me. Would it have been better for it to look like that? Maybe, but I'm perfectly good with what we have. This is good enough. The marginal utility/ returns just isn't worth the marginal effort in achieving the "perfect" G1 look. I'm not letting "perfect" be the enemy of "good enough".

Anyway, here it is on a TF CHUGs shelf.

 

I hear ya. Personally I'm leaving mine alone for the most part. But if ToyHax/Reprolabels makes a sticker set for this, I might just get it. And as non-canon as it is I still remember the toy commercials for it

 

 

[Chronocidal]

Depending on how hard the paint is to remove, I might just strip the tails entirely and repaint them with a solid red stripe more like the original Jetfire.  Worst case, I start grabbing blank parts from my unassembled Yamato kits and start swapping them in.   

I'm hoping the red isn't hard to match, since that's what needs the most work, but since the tails are obscured by the packs anyhow, I'm not sure I'll really worry about them much.

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah, I was  thinking "starting with an unpainted one" might be the easiest option, than trying to remove certain bits of markings and REpaint.  "First time they've ever been painted", in red, of simple stripes, would be easier for the wings and tailfins.   Take the legs/fuselage/armor of this one, "blank" wings and tailfins, and go from there, if you want a truly G1 Jetfire.  

[Radioguy]

3 hours ago, Dark Skull said:

You mean a 3rd one?

Yes. Your 4th will be for cel shading.

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Worst case, I start grabbing blank parts from my unassembled Yamato kits and start swapping them in. 

You have the assembly kits? Do you still have a unpainted VF-1J?

[Chronocidal]

16 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

Yes. Your 4th will be for cel shading.

You have the assembly kits? Do you still have a unpainted VF-1J?

I don't remember if I actually was able to get a VF-1J kit.  I think I picked up a couple 1Ss, and a single 1D when they were available.

Looking for a particular part to replace?

[BlueMax]

For the ones who might care about the luminosity of the Booster Tip covers, i've managed to dig out a little UV LED used to cure epoxy resin and I conclude that they do glow under UV:

In case of doubt, here is the transparent leg cover as the control:

HOWEVER, long time collectors know that UV rays and toy collections absolutely don't go together, ESPECIALLY WHITE PLASTIC based ones.  You have been warned.

[Radioguy]

49 minutes ago, BlueMax said:

For the ones who might care about the luminosity of the Booster Tip covers, i've managed to dig out a little UV LED used to cure epoxy resin and I conclude that they do glow under UV:

In case of doubt, here is the transparent leg cover as the control:

HOWEVER, long time collectors know that UV rays and toy collections absolutely don't go together, ESPECIALLY WHITE PLASTIC based ones.  You have been warned.

Thanks. I doubt any of us will ever want to feature this aspect. Damned odd. Is the material cheaper than what GITD plastic might have been? It just seems a waste now.

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

I don't remember if I actually was able to get a VF-1J kit.  I think I picked up a couple 1Ss, and a single 1D when they were available.

Looking for a particular part to replace?

Actually, the kit itself always appealed to me as a base for my dream Revell Axoid if I can paint a damn. Short of that, I'd always wanted a non-canon Kakizaki VF-1J (Love green, love the head better than the 1A) so swapping a 1J head onto the 1A with a green stripe.

Just ideas really.

I'd considered a 1D assembly kit for a Orbot, although doing the camo would truly be a nightmare. Popping a 1D head on the Woodland 1A would make a mongrel with that cockpit unless I could swap the 1D Assembly cockpit with a try on painting that...actually, that's 1:48, so nuts to that idea.

Just dreams. Not all come true.

 

 

Edited August 21 by Radioguy

[Dark Skull]

6 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

Thanks. I doubt any of us will ever want to feature this aspect. Damned odd. Is the material cheaper than what GITD plastic might have been? It just seems a waste now.

Actually, the kit itself always appealed to me as a base for my dream Revell Axoid if I can paint a damn. Short of that, I'd always wanted a non-canon Kakizaki VF-1J (Love green, love the head better than the 1A) so swapping a 1J head onto the 1A with a green stripe.

Just ideas really.

I'd considered a 1D assembly kit for a Orbot, although doing the camo would truly be a nightmare. Popping a 1D head on the Woodland 1A would make a mongrel with that cockpit unless I could swap the 1D Assembly cockpit with a try on painting that...actually, that's 1:48, so nuts to that idea.

Just dreams. Not all come true.

 

 

I recently saw a pic of a Kakizaki VF-1S custom (DYRL paint job). It looked real nice too. Now that makes me think of a DYRL Max 1J   I think the wildest thing I did was take an extra 1/48 VF-1J stealth and made it into a VF-1S from an extra 25th Anniversary VF-1S junker. It's in my avatar. The only reason why it has a green visor is because I had another VF-1S 1/48 junker and I took the visor/eyes from that and swapped it into the head before I "transplanted" it onto the VF-1J Stealth.

[Radioguy]

Kinda mongrel valks you'd find at the pound.

Seriously though, an alternate timeline where Hayao/Ben survived is an obvious storyline idea if the series ever gets readapted and stretched. That could allow for a green 1J, or even a 1S. Me, I always imagined a VF squadron on Mars for Axoid to fit into. Native stealth mode! Orbot being a trainer for wherever the Woodland 1As were deployed, etc.

I think someone did do a custom Yammie 1:48 1J in green and flipped it on eBay awhile back, but said it was based on another character. Never seen anyone try customs of the Revell schemes on the toys...yet.

[Dark Skull]

6 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

Kinda mongrel valks you'd find at the pound.

Seriously though, an alternate timeline where Hayao/Ben survived is an obvious storyline idea if the series ever gets readapted and stretched. That could allow for a green 1J, or even a 1S. Me, I always imagined a VF squadron on Mars for Axoid to fit into. Native stealth mode! Orbot being a trainer for wherever the Woodland 1As were deployed, etc.

I think someone did do a custom Yammie 1:48 1J in green and flipped it on eBay awhile back, but said it was based on another character. Never seen anyone try customs of the Revell schemes on the toys...yet.

Wasn't Orbot homaged with the 1/48 VF-1A Woodland? Though it would have been better with the 1D valk. Then again, I don't believe Yammie ever put out a 1/48 1D.  Though these days, I would think 3Z might do Axoid 1: because they're "Robotech", and 2...they've already got molds for the 1J so it'd just be an easy repaint for them. How many people would buy that? I might  Looking up some old pics, they even did an armored VF-1D! Ah the memories...

[Radioguy]

3 minutes ago, Dark Skull said:

Wasn't Orbot homaged with the 1/48 VF-1A Woodland? Though it would have been better with the 1D valk. Then again, I don't believe Yammie ever put out a 1/48 1D.  Though these days, I would think 3Z might do Axoid 1: because they're "Robotech", and 2...they've already got molds for the 1J so it'd just be an easy repaint for them. How many people would buy that? I might  Looking up some old pics, they even did an armored VF-1D! Ah the memories...

Yeah, I own it, but the 1A head looks wrong when I first encountered the image of a camo valk, and even a 1D, both as shown on the Revell box art. First impressions, ya know?

But, I would lay money down now for a TZ Axoid! That scheme is a holy grail for me.

Problem is, those schemes are Revell conceptions, not IMAI, nor anyone else. I mean they got the legs on backwards in those pics! Also, it was from before HG had ROBOTECH as a license to defend, so I don't know if it reverts to them, or somehow stays with Revell. Could be some entanglement there.

Still, be it kit or toy, I believe the Revell versions were the first SDF era valks to be released in the states that weren't imported Japan retail kits. Honoring these schemes as part of the beginning of the ROBOTECH brand would make sense...to me, at least.

[Dark Skull]

7 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

Yeah, I own it, but the 1A head looks wrong when I first encountered the image of a camo valk, and even a 1D, both as shown on the Revell box art. First impressions, ya know?

But, I would lay money down now for a TZ Axoid! That scheme is a holy grail for me.

Problem is, those schemes are Revell conceptions, not IMAI, nor anyone else. I mean they got the legs on backwards in those pics! Also, it was from before HG had ROBOTECH as a license to defend, so I don't know if it reverts to them, or somehow stays with Revell. Could be some entanglement there.

Still, be it kit or toy, I believe the Revell versions were the first SDF era valks to be released in the states that weren't imported Japan retail kits. Honoring these schemes as part of the beginning of the ROBOTECH brand would make sense...to me, at least.

They were only backwards in the "bot mode" pics lol  But yeah, if it were possible, I'd still get one. Just like I'm in for this not-Jetfire.