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

[nightmareB4macross]

Here’s Battroid. Everything is still looking good. I’ll get the Strike Packs later on tonight.

Going to a team function tonight.

[aaajin]

11 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Here’s Battroid. Everything is still looking good. I’ll get the Strike Packs later on tonight.

Going to a team function tonight.

I'd totally jump in if they release the 1D/VE/VT. But I guess now they'll just ramp up production on the VF-1 mold. Well I can wait.

[sh9000]

That looks pretty good for a KO.

[nightmareB4macross]

Strike pack gows on very secure. 

The arms are pretty stiff at the shoulder and the secondary joint of the elbows. Other than that everything else is nice and solid.

[derex3592]

Is it just me or does the visor on the head just look a little different on the KO??? Might just be me..

[JET7]

4 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Is it just me or does the visor on the head just look a little different on the KO??? Might just be me..

its a bit on the darker shade as compared to my yamato v2. doesnt bother me though.

[CeramicDragon]

KO looks great, but the price needs to come down. $80 would be my price point. Transformer masterpiece KOs are pretty good.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

18 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Is it just me or does the visor on the head just look a little different on the KO??? Might just be me..

It is different, it's darker, but the clear piece is also bigger. It's not as recessed as the official visor from the VF-1S.

[derex3592]

Good! I'm not crazy! It looks bigger and not as recessed! 

[jenius]

Does the white match the Arcadia pretty well?

[sh9000]

On 12/19/2018 at 6:16 PM, nightmareB4macross said:

The biggest pro above the Arcadia version is that it has no pink overtones with exception to the metal swing bar and the landing gear. Everything is white, tight, and amazing.

That’s great.

[JET7]

Head comparison 

Yamato v2 on the left, white Valkyrie Factory 

 

[derex3592]

Whoa! That's a big difference!

[Sildani]

Wow! Wonder why they felt the need to do a new head sculpt?

[borgified]

4 minutes ago, Sildani said:

Wow! Wonder why they felt the need to do a new head sculpt?

Maybe it's a possible way of protecting yourself to avoid IP and copyright theft?  Recently LEGO made a C&D lawsuit against Lepin (A KO Lego manufacturer in China) due to the fact that they where bootlegging the original LEGO ideas and products that was offered on the market.

Also a KO company sent a lawsuit against another KO company that was making the same product for a different market.*

* I think that this was briefly mentioned on the Net -  TFW2005 forums I believe.

There's a YouTube documentary on IP thief. I haven't really looked around recently - basically different ideas between the States and East Asian markets due to laws and control.   

[Sandman]

10 hours ago, JET7 said:

Head comparison 

Yamato v2 on the left, white Valkyrie Factory 

 

Arcadia head is better. They probably couldn’t replicate the head exactly.

[nightmareB4macross]

Or maybe the molds for original head burned out and they had to make a new sculpt. Does any one have a PF VF-1S to compare to this Yamato type? 

[jenius]

I thought the discussion about the GBP not fitting confirmed that this was not using the Yamato or Arcadia mold.

[borgified]

12 minutes ago, jenius said:

I thought the discussion about the GBP not fitting confirmed that this was not using the Yamato or Arcadia mold.

I honestly don't know what the KO company (possibly BB7/YM) are using which molds to be exact. 

* rdrunner made a post on Oct. 28th about the KO company might use 95% of the molds and the other 5% was made up.

* I asked about the KO Valk and the official GBP armour if they where compatible on the 31st, rdrunner replied that they where not on Nov. 4th.

* dewpoint, noel, ignacio and rdrunner posted on Nov. 5th.

It's your call guys..

Edit: On a tangent, I just turfed my KO YM-03 MP Screamer and keeping the parts that I can salvage from the complete teardown as I got the official MP Screamer (Long Life Logo) second hand. The next in line is KO Ratchet when I get the official version (possibly Long Life Logo as well) sometime next month. 

[ScrambledValkyrie]

The KO head kinda looks like an upscaled Bandai HMR head.

[spacemanoeuvres]

The Yamato looks better in the profile shot IMHO. Don’t know if I want one of these KO anymore since the head sculpt is a little different, hmmmm

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

My order just came in.    Not much to comment on that hasn't been said already.

Overall quality is pretty good and I am happy with this purchase.

 

 

[amptor]

You guys are spending a lot on a KO imho.  Neat that they make it but the price is pretty steep.

[Vi-RS]

1 minute ago, amptor said:

You guys are spending a lot on a KO imho.  Neat that they make it but the price is pretty steep.

Couldn't agree more. 

I'd probably snag one of two if they make low vis color scheme or some other schemes that never get released by Arcadia/Yamato, but that kinda defeat the purpose of the KO's intention.

 

[nightmareB4macross]

Well you could be right. But the way I see it. It really is a great way to get a fully tampoed VF-1 at a fraction of the cost. Also, the strike packs alone more than make up the cost for these. If you were to find a set of SSP new it would run at about 120ish. Then that means you get a really great deal on on a Premium Finish Valkyrie.

Either way it is a win win if you buy this to supplement an original collection or just buy this for the purposes of filling the KO Kollection gaps.

[rdrunner]

11 hours ago, amptor said:

You guys are spending a lot on a KO imho.  Neat that they make it but the price is pretty steep.

I agree in the case of the standalone VF-1S Roy Focker, especially at their current inflated prices.  But the premium finish Hikaru VF-1S with SSP does seem to be a good deal IMO, even with all the flaws of the KO as identified. For a second hand 1/60 v2 VF-1 with SSP but no PF, I can't find anything priced below the KO.

Admittedly, while I'm not 100% fan of the KO because of the quality issues many of us have identified, I would still buy one if I had not already purchased the KO Focker and SSP already.

[rdrunner]

2 hours ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Well you could be right. But the way I see it. It really is a great way to get a fully tampoed VF-1 at a fraction of the cost. Also, the strike packs alone more than make up the cost for these. If you were to find a set of SSP new it would run at about 120ish. Then that means you get a really great deal on on a Premium Finish Valkyrie.

Either way it is a win win if you buy this to supplement an original collection or just buy this for the purposes of filling the KO Kollection gaps.

KO may be bad news for a collector in terms of fake products flooding the second hand market, and competition with the after market sale prices, but in this case, these KOs are easily distinguishable from the real thing.  So other than driving prices down, I think they will serve an area in the market where prices have been really prohibitive before and now a 90% KO copy is available for a fraction of the cost of Arcadia's PF.

Edited December 26, 2018 by rdrunner

[WaferMouse]

Another factor that I might have mentioned before is the shipping from China. I don't know what it's like for the rest of the world, but in the UK, between the exchange rate, free shipping and no import duty sting(!!!) these Valkyrie Factory pieces are a steal, particularly the Hikaru with SSPs. Looking forward to putting the Hikaru next to the Roy to compare.

Also, I don't think it makes sense to make a judgement on these VFs based on eg. TF KO prices. There's a much larger international market for TFs compared to Macross.

So sure, these VFs are less plastic to the pound compared to what I paid for a KBB Starscream, but for me at least they're still way cheaper than buying Arcadias and a better value proposition than the so-so painted, parts-forming V1 Yammies.

[JET7]

As i would like to engage in KO to originals debates.. Why buy that, why buy this etc,.

To me i just enjoy what i can afford.

Im just happy to live in this era and enjoy the fruits of my labor without stepping on anyone and being a happy collector. 

Edited December 27, 2018 by JET7

[F360]

The Arcadia vf-1s Hikaru premium finish is  msrp at 27864 yen before international shipping . 

The KO of that same item is priced at $170 shipped internationally.

add in the extra shipping cost of the genuine ver and you will have around $100 difference from the possible $300 total.

That is just from msrp.  Now if you used current market rate pricing of the vf-1s PF to compare the price difference of the KO then you will end up with a much higher difference in saving .

 

 

 

 

[Lolicon]

An item is worth whatever you are willing to pay for it.

There is no secret cabal that determines the "real price" of a toy and etches it into a stone tablet or anything. 

[borgified]

Guess what Show Z. has in stock now (if anyone has seen his website)??

KO Yamato Valk stand for $74.00 USD. The problem is that I don't see the attachments that are offered in the original Yamato release [total of 7 assorted clips for the Q-Rau, 1/48, 1/60, 1/72 in flight/battroid mode, and two for the YF-21].  

https://showzstore.com/valkyrie-factory-vf-1-60-1-48-macross-display-stand-arcadia-compatible_p1146.html

[chyll2]

No real source. A local toy seller that sells official and third party/KO products teased that there is KO DX 31J.

[WaferMouse]

Yup, here's the preorder for a KO DX 31J.

I think it's official: KO Macross has arrived.

Edited December 28, 2018 by WaferMouse

[spacemanoeuvres]

Always good to have options. Just need them to get cracking on that KO 31A