Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[no3Ljm]

9 hours ago, Radioguy said:

When are folks (in the US, especially) likely to start getting their Angel Bird POs, though?

Probably within a week or the following week when it gets release. Within 10 days maybe? Another factor is it's also depends on what shipping method was chosen.

[ValkAddict]

For those of you who ordered the Angel Bird - I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to seeing pics!

So thankful my wallet and I were able to sit this one out and recover. LOL.

[Radioguy]

I'm sad to say it was my first middle of the night PO acquisition. I wish I had been in the same position when the Kakizaki VF-1J or VF-1D were up among other DX offerings. 😒

I'm glad I haven't missed a VE-1 or VT-1 yet.

[davidwhangchoi]

i hope Hobby Genki pulls through 

[Tking22]

No TV Kaki 1A announced yet?! C'mon Bandai, make it happen so I can bow out. 

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, I'm just continually baffled by their release priority.  They stopped making sense when they released Kakizaki before either Hikaru's or Max's 1A.

I can't even say the Angel Bird release was out of left field.  That's a wild extra point kick from half-court.  

[no3Ljm]

19 hours ago, Tking22 said:

No TV Kaki 1A announced yet?! C'mon Bandai, make it happen so I can bow out. 

18 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Yeah, I'm just continually baffled by their release priority.  They stopped making sense when they released Kakizaki before either Hikaru's or Max's 1A.

I can't even say the Angel Bird release was out of left field.  That's a wild extra point kick from half-court.  

Same here. I'm only waiting for Hikaru's Super VF-1A. And then I'm done with DX 1/48.

The only thing that's going to lure me back in is a Macross The First VF-1J. 

 

[Duymon]

They could lure me back with a fuggin TV kakizaki, and M & M VF-1J's to complete my TV collection but noooooooo Bandai has to be weird

[505thAirborne]

I'm still on board for a Cannon Fodder or two. 

[jvmacross]

At this point I feel we are closer to completing a decent set of TV VFs without major mold work...so my vote is for M&M Super combo sets, a TV Kakizaki...and TV CF -1A...

Although a DYRL set with the remainder of Skull Squadron (with or without Max's -1S) and a SuperO and Elint would make it more epic imo...but it would require more work to complete due to the differences between the VF-1, VE-1 and VT-1....but who knows....we are talking about the company who went all in with a Monster HMR and still has us waiting 7 years since the original tease for the Tomahawk and Phalanx! 

[Chronocidal]

Yeah, I would absolutely double dip for a couple of VT-1s, and probably grab an M&M combo (or two..).  Maybe they're taking their time using the Delta releases to fund the R&D for the rest of the molds they need?  If that's the case, please, bring on the re-releases, because I'd love to get those niche designs.  

[Ignacio Ocamica]

5 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

I'm still on board for a Cannon Fodder or two. 

+1 TV and DYRL

[MKT]

Yeahh looking at the pattern of Bandai releases, they are really loath to complete a line, don't they? I'm not surprised if they start a totally new line / scale, with the first release being the missing variant from the previous line-up.. 

[Robin-11]

15 hours ago, 505thAirborne said:

I'm still on board for a Cannon Fodder or two. 

I am too, actually one of the few releases that i am pretty sure i am going to buy(both SDFM and DYRL). I have been wondering though, how are they going to solve the question of the aircraft number...it would be a bummer if it was like for the CF from Frontier, where you just have to stick with the number already printed on it. That would stop a lot of people (including me) to buy more than one copy per VF.

[MKT]

12 minutes ago, Robin-11 said:

I am too, actually one of the few releases that i am pretty sure i am going to buy(both SDFM and DYRL). I have been wondering though, how are they going to solve the question of the aircraft number...it would be a bummer if it was like for the CF from Frontier, where you just have to stick with the number already printed on it. That would stop a lot of people (including me) to buy more than one copy per VF.

Never aware there were aircraft numbers on the CFs for TV & DYRL VF-1, at least not seeing those on the Yammie 1/60. Where would their numbers be?

[Robin-11]

3 minutes ago, MKT said:

Never aware there were aircraft numbers on the CFs for TV & DYRL VF-1, at least not seeing those on the Yammie 1/60. Where would their numbers be?

On the yamatos it wasn't a problem because you could use stickers or waterslide in order to put whatever number you want. But in the VF-25 from frontier the number was already printed on it, 027 if i rember correctly. I actually do not own the toy but my understanding from reading reviews here and there was that you could not change the number. Since that Bandai does not use stickers or decals on their dx it would be a problem for me if they just print a random number all around the VF and doesn't give you the chance to change it.

[MKT]

5 minutes ago, Robin-11 said:

On the yamatos it wasn't a problem because you could use stickers or waterslide in order to put whatever number you want. But in the VF-25 from frontier the number was already printed on it, 027 if i rember correctly. I actually do not own the toy but my understanding from reading reviews here and there was that you could not change the number. Since that Bandai does not use stickers or decals on their dx it would be a problem for me if they just print a random number all around the VF and doesn't give you the chance to change it.

Ah got it. If not mistaken, so far the only Bandai VF-1 that came with stickers (or was it decals?) was Kakizaki’s.

If the CF’s numbers are only on the tail fins, Bandai seem to be solving that problem with the complete set of swappable tail fins for the Angel Birds. 

[Robin-11]

44 minutes ago, MKT said:

Ah got it. If not mistaken, so far the only Bandai VF-1 that came with stickers (or was it decals?) was Kakizaki’s.

If the CF’s numbers are only on the tail fins, Bandai seem to be solving that problem with the complete set of swappable tail fins for the Angel Birds. 

That's correct, although i think it was more for trying to correct the mistake of the inverted number on the Hikaru's VF-1S(001-100). Personally i think that the best solution would be to add a small sheet of decals so everyone can decide which number to put on the toy and can buy multiple without having to worry about having two VFs with the same number.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Robin-11

[sh9000]

@Astralith here is the pose as close as possible to the source.

[Astralith]

13 hours ago, sh9000 said:

@Astralith here is the pose as close as possible to the source.

Nice! HMR is pretty good for pulling off poses like that.

We should start an entire thread about trying to pull of this pose 😂 

[sh9000]

19 hours ago, Astralith said:

Nice! HMR is pretty good for pulling off poses like that.

We should start an entire thread about trying to pull of this pose 😂 

Thanks.

 

Angel Birds instructions.  This is the first time I've looked at any DX VF-1 instructions of how Bandai shows the steps to transform it.

Edited January 22, 2023 by sh9000

[Froy]

That part of "open the air brake" to star transforming to gerwalk will always crack me up.

[nightmareB4macross]

We’re almost there.

yay!!

[enphily]

I want that model but idk how to get it now, i hope it will pop up in mandarake for reasonable price

[Froy]

By the way. I just noticed that the release will include gun pod.

Being part of an acrobatic team is it supposed to be armed?

In the very few frames in the anime I can't see any equiped with gunpods.

Is there any officially info about this VF-1 being armed?

[enphily]

Maybe they can make fireworks with gunpod

[Shawn]

I'm surprised they didn't include a 'smoke machine gimmick' for it...like where does the smoke originate from?
Just a little clip on something behind the arms or clipped onto the end of the tail fin area

[Anasazi37]

I was very much looking forward to this release when it was first announced, but I just couldn't get past the horrible logo they stamped on the left wing and legs, so I ended up skipping this one. Still feel the same way, unfortunately. Bandai tampo is generally horrendous, and I usually just put up with it because the awesomeness of the toy outweighs their preschool-level graphic design choices, but I just couldn't do that here. It's such a massive eyesore. For folks who can look past it, I'm happy this will soon be in your collections. Anyone get five to complete the squadron?

[Chronocidal]

I was really tempted to order a couple of spares, and use the extra tails to make some alternate squadron markings for other VF-1s.. But I'd also need the spare backpacks with the different tail mounts, so that idea went up in smoke fast.  

[Lolicon]

1 hour ago, Anasazi37 said:

I was very much looking forward to this release when it was first announced, but I just couldn't get past the horrible logo they stamped on the left wing and legs, so I ended up skipping this one. Still feel the same way, unfortunately. Bandai tampo is generally horrendous, and I usually just put up with it because the awesomeness of the toy outweighs their preschool-level graphic design choices, but I just couldn't do that here. It's such a massive eyesore. For folks who can look past it, I'm happy this will soon be in your collections. Anyone get five to complete the squadron?

I was also on the fence about this release due to the aforementioned reasons. But it was decided for me because I have a standing favor with my friend in Japan to always order 2 of every 1/48 TWE and I neglected to mention I wasn't sure I wanted this one. Whoops. 

[no3Ljm]

12 hours ago, Froy said:

Is there any officially info about this VF-1 being armed?

From Angel Birds lineart. The text on the lower left mentioned no attached Gunpods for the acrobat team.

[twich]

21 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

From Angel Birds lineart. The text on the lower left mentioned no attached Gunpods for the acrobat team.

While it might be correct for the show, anybody who buys this will want a gunpod and strap to go along with it. It still has the “A” type single head laser, so it is armed as a matter of course of being a VF-1A. I get that people want to reflect the animation as much as possible, but I am sure Bandai would get a long line of complaints were they not to include it with the toy.

Twich

[Lolicon]

For those who don't want a gunpod on their Angel Birds: have you tried removing it?

[Radioguy]

Since the hardpoint ports are there, what's the chance that someone will offer red, white, and blue painted missiles or super parts on eBay?

Yeah, non-canon, but definitely maximizing the toy's capabilities and maybe making a penny off those with some imagination.

[Chronocidal]

4 hours ago, twich said:

... I get that people want to reflect the animation as much as possible, but I am sure Bandai would get a long line of complaints were they not to include it with the toy.

Twich

This is actually kind of a reversal for them.  Generally it seems like Bandai do not like giving you the option of using something that's not shown specifically on-screen.  For all of the VF-31s they've released, there are still no weapons packs released for them to actually use all those hardpoints they were produced with.  I've always wondered if it was up to licensing agreements, or some other legal nonsense, but there have been a few specific times where it felt like they just did not want to include things that made perfect sense, just because they weren't shown on screen together.

The primary one I'm thinking of is the VF-31 series, and all of the mental calisthenics they went through on which planes came with which accessories and which super packs had what parts.  They released Hayate's of course, and then Messer, and Mirage.. then they released the super parts.. Hayate's and Messer's did not get reaction missiles.  You only got a set for Hayate if you bought the custom version from the last few episodes, which was the only variant of Hayate's plane that was seen mounting the missiles (and sucks to be you if you missed getting the super packs that were released BEFORE the valk itself).  Mirage's missiles came in her super pack.  Messer, on the other hand, never got them, because he died before they used them.  Then Arad's were included in the plane, and Chuck never got any at all.. and neither of them even got super packs at all.

I feel like Bandai just generally does this a lot though, only offering options that are "intended" to go together.  No DYRL box missiles for the TV VF-1s, no TV missiles for the DYRL versions, no printed Kite emblems for the DYRL super parts, etc, etc.  That generally goes for the HMR releases too, which made the M&M pair an oddball that had no TV missiles, since they specced them with DYRL packs, and packaging.  And I'm frankly still irritated that the HMR VF-1D got shafted, and didn't include any hardpointed wings.  "It wasn't shown on screen" is a lousy excuse for not including things you put in the other releases, and make perfect sense to include.

In the case of this gunpod though.. What I expect happened is that it's just part of the mold for making the VF-1.  Can't say for certain obviously, but I'm going to guess the effort and expense of leaving it out (and the associated cost of redesigned packaging) was actually more than the cost of just keeping it in the production run.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Chronocidal