Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[Agent-GHQ]

24 minutes ago, jenius said:

It'd be great if the Tamashii Nations event shows a lot of DX VF-1 schemes to give us an idea of where the line might be going. Maybe they're alternating Hikaru/Max and the next release will be a DYRL VF-1A Max... boy that'd suck. 

Never understood this spasm or paranoia on the VF-1 mold. Bandai has invested in this mold so it is with anticipation that new characters and variants sure to follow. Historically, companies would pump out as much as they can on the mold like a cash cow. 

Yes, I’m pretty sure the VE/VT will be made at some point too 

[jenius]

23 minutes ago, Agent-GHQ said:

Never understood this spasm or paranoia on the VF-1 mold. Bandai has invested in this mold so it is with anticipation that new characters and variants sure to follow. Historically, companies would pump out as much as they can on the mold like a cash cow. 

Yes, I’m pretty sure the VE/VT will be made at some point too 

Spasm or paranoia? I do not think those words mean what you think they mean. I think you were looking for "curiosity" or "excitement".

Edited October 17, 2019 by jenius

[vladykins]

I just want my 1A Max to show up so I can play with it and *then* get excited about future releases.

 

Shipping says "anyday now".

[spacemanoeuvres]

33 minutes ago, Agent-GHQ said:

Yes, I’m pretty sure the VE/VT will be made at some point too 

*fingers crossed* I really enjoy the VE and VT variants. Looking forward to them more than the 1S. 

[DYRL VF-1S]

13 minutes ago, jenius said:

Spasm or paranoia? I do not think those words mean what you think they mean. I think you were looking for "curiosity" or "excitement".

 

[Chronocidal]

The big question is whether Bandai will bother to make the versions that historically don't really sell well.  It's not a panic, but people will pine for their favorite designs, regardless of how financially feasible Bandai thinks they are.

Personally, I'd love a VT-1 in this line.  Will I see it done?  I'm not counting on it, because while the VT-1 isn't necessarily a shelf-warmer, it just doesn't seem popular, and the HMR version was one of the few releases to reach the clearance sales.  Maybe being in the larger scale will change that, maybe not, but I'm not going to get my guts in a knot waiting for it.

[peter]

Would be awesome if Bandai did a retro release package design but with the DX in 1/48:

 

[jenius]

19 minutes ago, peter said:

Would be awesome if Bandai did a retro release package design but with the DX in 1/48:

 

 

True, and since those boxes were made by Bandai instead of Takatoku, there's a good bet Toynami won't be trying to use them. That said, I'm not a fan of windows on my boxes... I just prefer my boxes be as small as possible given my storage constraints

Edited October 17, 2019 by jenius

[Anasazi37]

13 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Is it perfect transformation? And if so, how many guys would it take to transform it without breaking anything?

I would love to see it transform, but you'd definitely need a lot of space and probably 3-4 people

[Kuma Style]

2 hours ago, peter said:

Would be awesome if Bandai did a retro release package design but with the DX in 1/48:

 

There are actually custom box makers that would certainly be able to do this! I think it'd be worth every red cent!

[Agent-GHQ]

2 hours ago, peter said:

Would be awesome if Bandai did a retro release package design but with the DX in 1/48:

 

Oooh fuk yes! Bandai must 

make these old school boxes

[Sanity is Optional]

17 hours ago, vlenhoff said:

Don't you have to be super careful for the swing bar to remain in one piece during transformation? 

Not for my Hikarus at least, undid and re-did the swing bar and it held together.

17 hours ago, jenius said:

So you're just leaving them in fighter mode huh?

One Max stayed in fighter mode, one Hikaru went Fighter->Battroid->Fighter->Gerwalk, the other went Fighter->Gerwalk->Fighter->Battroid (I had to re-box them to move).

[vlenhoff]

12 hours ago, jenius said:

My review of the Gnu Dou precedes my fanatical measuring days but I did find a comment in the article:

GNU Dou is roughly 13.5CM so it’d be like 1/115 scale. The Hi-Metal came in at about 17CM or 1/91 scale.

Wow, i was completely off! I got confused there. Thanks so much Jenius! Thanks for all the video reviews. I often look at them for reference.

[beatsing]

On 10/17/2019 at 12:26 AM, jenius said:

One thing I didn't mention in my review but probably will in the next one because it's happened on Max a few times now:
When you disconnect the swing bar, the plastic housing that locks it pegs into the back of the nosecone and secures the hip connection... but I've had that peg pop out several times during handling which makes the hip connection sloppy. It's easily remedied, and probably only happens because the hips are so stiff (generally a good thing) but it's a bit annoying.

Bandai needed to make that part a twist to lock to solve the unintentional popping apart.

Yes that's a good point @jenius.  My initial transformations with the Max did not disengage on their own.  Then I tried the instructions using the tool to disengage and swivel/rotate the waist.  After that, the plastic piece seems a lot looser.  Also, when the plastic housing pegs into the back of the nosecone, the metal bar is not parallel with nosecone or upper body.  I've tried multiple transformations (with and without locking in the Y shaped bar that clips the back to the chest) to fiddle with the bar/plastic housing angle, but if the plastic housing is flush to the nose/cockpit, the bar isn't.  More experienced hands on this board may be able to fiddle with it more to get both pieces flush and parallel, but it's design tolerances are pretty shoddy compared with both Yamato's 1/48 and 1/60 swing bar design that had enough tolerance to not have to try multiple times just to get the piece flush without popping itself out when we're not trying to separate the pieces.  

On 10/17/2019 at 12:33 AM, vlenhoff said:

Yup, I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but this is my main issue with the DX. LOL, i love the "bandaid" comment, as it is accurate.  We were so close to the near perfect Valkyrie. I know this has been discussed before, but i wish Bandai would have gone the line art way. Where the legs swing down, and they detach from the chest, and reattach to the nose cone. Or simply do it the HMR/Yammie way, as a solid bar and call it a day. I wonder if someone[shapeways] could make a solid swing bar that could replace that flimsy break away swing bar.  

Ha ha I call it like it is!  Yup we were very close to the near perfect Vlalk.  If Bandai fixes this issue, they can reissue all 3 valks and peeps would just eat it up.  

@vlenhoff, did you look at Bandai's model kit a few years back?  They did the lineart where the legs swing down, and detach from the chest with "appendages" that reattach to the nose cone.  it didn't sell well.  The model kit, like many of their Macross model kits, aren't for the feint of heart.  But also a lot of peeps don't like the partsformers, and like the perfect trans.  

Not sure if it's because the legs were too heavy, or Bandai didn't want to get sued for plaguerising Yamato/Arcadia's awesome design, but you're right, Yammie's /HMR is a better option.  

On 10/17/2019 at 12:34 AM, Sanity is Optional said:

I’m just wondering what I’m doing right over here, since all 4 of my DX figs seem to hold together quite solidly without sagging or disconnecting swing bars.

My initial transformations were quite solid with Max, but after disengaging the swingbar to try out the swiveling cockpit/waist out, the plastic on the swing bar has become much looser and can disengage while transforming.  At the store, the 1j disengaged right away, but it's probably been handled by other peeps since it's on display.

23 hours ago, tekering said:

If it had been intended as a joke, it would've been at Tatsunoko's expense, for having to farm the work out to other studios with lower production standards.

Sometimes the mecha was so poorly-rendered, it was practically unrecognizable...  

Attack of the clones

8 hours ago, Anasazi37 said:

I would love to see it transform, but you'd definitely need a lot of space and probably 3-4 people

I don't have the link, but there was a Youtube that had a self transforming metal VF-1 in that scale at a mall.  It did perfect transformation from fighter to battroid and back.  I thought that by now, some company would have miniturized it and sold it as a toy.  

[vlenhoff]

Just now, beatsing said:

 

@vlenhoff, did you look at Bandai's model kit a few years back?  They did the lineart where the legs swing down, and detach from the chest with "appendages" that reattach to the nose cone.  it didn't sell well.  The model kit, like many of their Macross model kits, aren't for the feint of heart.  But also a lot of peeps don't like the partsformers, and like the perfect trans.  

 

I am lost. Why do you call it parts former? The current DX also detaches or splits at the bar. Why are you not calling the DX parts former? I know the bandai kit failed, but that mechanism, as seen in the animation, is not parts forming. Since the part is attached one way or another to the toy while being transformed. 

As i understood the "appendages" swiveled, delivering and locking the legs to the waist, then they would detach. I don't think that qualifies as parts formers. The original Yamato V1, were parts formers.

I think bandai could effectively do this today.

Edited October 18, 2019 by vlenhoff

[jeniusornome]

The two part swing bar was a weird design choice imo and I can see it being a problem as time goes on - the plastic clip that locks the two together could get loose I expect. I’d be a bit annoyed if they made it a solid piece later and reissued it. 
 

But since it doesn’t have to come apart to transform the figure, I wouldn’t call it a partsformer. In my mind that’s reserved for figures like... well, the v1 Yamato design. Or various High Grade 1/144 scale transforming Gunpla if any of you build those. Something where it’s like “first remove the legs and arms, transform this, then reattach these parts”.

 

From what I understand of that Bandai VF-1 model kit’s design I wouldn’t call it a partsformer either, just a design nightmare. 

[ErikElvis]

I would kill for a 1/48 yf-19

[sqidd]

13 minutes ago, ErikElvis said:

I would kill for a 1/48 yf-19

I'd kill YOU for a 1/35!

j/k

Edited October 18, 2019 by sqidd

[Anasazi37]

2 hours ago, jeniusornome said:

From what I understand of that Bandai VF-1 model kit’s design I wouldn’t call it a partsformer either, just a design nightmare. 

I was just looking at my unbuilt kit the other day, thinking about when I might try to tackle it. I also have the full line of original IMAI/Bandai 1/72 kits that I need to build (with the forward section that you have to swap out for Battroid mode, the ultimate partsformer). Not too difficult to assemble, but you also wouldn't want to partsform them on a regular basis.

[ErikElvis]

17 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I'd kill YOU for a 1/35!

j/k

I would gladly offer myself 

[Sanity is Optional]

4 hours ago, jeniusornome said:

From what I understand of that Bandai VF-1 model kit’s design I wouldn’t call it a partsformer either, just a design nightmare. 

Technically the Bandai kit is the most perfect transformation, as that stupid design nightmare of pistons attaching the chest to the legs actually is what is showed in the anime.

It's still a design nightmare though, and I'll take a functional swing-bar over that POS any day.

[jenius]

I think, if done in 1/35 scale, the swing bars could be individual for each intake, like in the anime. They could move the legs to where they need to be. You would then need to open the nosecone and swing out the ball joints on either side. You would open the back of the intakes and attach them to the ball joints and close the back of the intakes to lock them into position. Ideally, you would then be able to disconnect the swing bar, pivot it, and have it act as the side cavity filler. 

Edited October 18, 2019 by jenius

[Mechapilot77]

16 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

There are actually custom box makers that would certainly be able to do this! I think it'd be worth every red cent!

got any leads/links to custom box makers?  i might be interested - maybe not for this specific usage but for some other stuff i have in mind.

[Sanity is Optional]

38 minutes ago, jenius said:

I think, if done in 1/35 scale, the swing bars could be individual for each intake, like in the anime. They could move the legs to where they need to be. You would then need to open the nosecone and swing out the ball joints on either side. You would open the back of the intakes and attach them to the ball joints and close the back of the intakes to lock them into position. Ideally, you would then be able to disconnect the swing bar, pivot it, and have it act as the side cavity filler. 

Oh, I'm sure it could be done, hell the 1/72 model kit managed to fit in all the various mechanisms.

I just would rather not have a toy that worked that way due to the innate flimsiness of such a mechanism. Especially if it was completely unnecessary for anything aside from transformation accuracy.

I'm all for not having a box of parts to keep track of, but at the same time we only ever display these in one form or another, not midway between where such a mechanism would be relevant.

Edited October 18, 2019 by Sanity is Optional

[jenius]

If it were 1/35 scale, I would expect the swing bar and associated mechanisms to be pretty sturdy... as I would also expect that to be a VERY expensive toy. Bandai has lines above DX so I hope they'll make it happen some day.

[peter]

2 hours ago, jenius said:

If it were 1/35 scale, I would expect the swing bar and associated mechanisms to be pretty sturdy... as I would also expect that to be a VERY expensive toy. Bandai has lines above DX so I hope they'll make it happen some day.

 

1/35

[lechuck]

3 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Oh, I'm sure it could be done, hell the 1/72 model kit managed to fit in all the various mechanisms.

I just would rather not have a toy that worked that way due to the innate flimsiness of such a mechanism. Especially if it was completely unnecessary for anything aside from transformation accuracy.

I'm all for not having a box of parts to keep track of, but at the same time we only ever display these in one form or another, not midway between where such a mechanism would be relevant.

The central swing bar needs to go (regardless if detachable or not) in any next gen. toy after the DX. It is the no. 1 reason why VF-1 Battroid modes end up as a compromise.

Because the stupid bar needs to be accommodated/compensated for, there are vertical positioning issues to always consider, but the far greater problem that does not seem to get recognition is that it also pushes the fuselage part to far out, consequentially leading to the head plate sitting on thin air, heatshield-belly syndrome and big gaps between chest and back plate. The VF-1 is supposed to be very compact in Battroid mode, take a side profile look at any of the modern VF-1 toys and it becomes very apparent why it is not that way.

[sqidd]

43 minutes ago, lechuck said:

, take a side profile look at any of the modern VF-1 toys and it becomes very apparent why it is not that way.

Too much bench and not enough leg days?

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, peter said:

 

1/35

 

[Lolicon]

Do modern state of the art aircraft use rivets like that?

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

Do modern state of the art aircraft use rivets like that?

I doubt it.

[jenius]

Modern aircraft aren't made of space carbon or whatever the Macross material is... we have no idea how the Valk would be put together!

(but it's a pretty safe bet it wouldn't be rivets)

[sqidd]

9 minutes ago, jenius said:

Modern aircraft aren't made of space carbon or whatever the Macross material is... we have no idea how the Valk would be put together!

(but it's a pretty safe bet it wouldn't be rivets)

Space Age Polymers.

[Sanity is Optional]

Actually, it's not all that odd for civilian aircraft to use rivets on the skin panels.

https://www.wired.com/video/watch/watch-boeing-s-twin-robots-rivet-together-777-fuselages

Now as for military aircraft, stuff gets odd.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

What if those rivets are alien technology rivets???