Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[sqidd]

53 minutes ago, borgified said:

 

I gave @sqidd the heads up on the 1/48 Yammie Stealth VF-1J when I saw it listed

 

  

A thanks to you sir!

[beatsing]

Looking at the comparison pics, there doesn't seem like a big difference in the SSP between the Yammie and Bandai, aside from comically large cannons on the Bandai, large tampos, and the Yammies have better internals.  

 

[manfred17]

41 minutes ago, beatsing said:

Looking at the comparison pics, there doesn't seem like a big difference in the SSP between the Yammie and Bandai, aside from comically large cannons on the Bandai, large tampos, and the Yammies have better internals.  

 

Bandai Booster has 4 pegs, vs 2 for the Yamato. The 4 pegs make the attachment more secure.

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, manfred17 said:

Bandai Booster has 4 pegs, vs 2 for the Yamato. The 4 pegs make the attachment more secure.

Yeah, the Bandai boosters are bricks. I like it.

[Lolicon]

Having fiddled with the Bandai parts for a couple of days now, I can say they are a step down from Yamato.

[beatsing]

I didn't know that the Bandai had 4 pegs; I was referring to the general aesthetic of the two brands.

[Bolt]

13 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Having fiddled with the Bandai parts for a couple of days now, I can say they are a step down from Yamato.

How so?

[Lolicon]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

How so?

For the most part, the SSPs from Yamato and Bandai are on par with each other. They look good and are easy enough to attach, and are nearly identical in that manner. The back boosters attach to the backpack and both Yamato and Bandai use an extra part that slides under the backplate to secure everything together.

Also, the boosters definitely do not have four pegs.

He may have been referring to the four pegs on the leg armors, which I guess is maybe more secure? It's not like the Yamato leg armors had any problems staying on securely. And the cost of the two extra pegs of questionable utility is having a couple of large, visible holes cut into the leg of the valkyrie itself. Talk about a crude and inelegant solution to a non-problem.

The only area that the Bandai has a leg up over the Yamato is the tampo printing of all the markings, though it is borderline excessive with the gigantic fonts Bandai used.

As many have mentioned before, Bandai lacks any internal details. The SSPs are most just big, hollow pieces of plastic with no removable covers to show off any mechanical detail. Whether or not this is important is up to individual taste, but I see it as a step backwards from what Yamato was giving us over 15 years ago.

This part is very minor, but I prefer the sculpt Yamato used for the front ends of the back boosters (where the micro missiles are stored) over Bandai. Again, very minor details that most people will never notice, but I notice these things.

Strike cannon is comically oversized. It's neither an improvement nor a regression to me, but Bandai please stop letting the Gundam guys decide on barrel sizes. The gunpod is already oversized. 

In fighter mode the legs don't peg as easily or securely as Yamato's, though I think this is a problem with the peg design itself, rather than a problem with the SSPs. Again, very minor thing, but this is supposed to be the latest and greatest VF-1 toy to date, yet Bandai keeps messing up stuff Yamato already perfected years ago. The fighter mode leg and arm attachments are just worse on the DX.

So Bandai went with the bigger scale so they could deliver SSPs that are slightly more crude and way less detailed? And missiles are sold separately? Thanks Bandai!

[Bolt]

Wow. Ok. I'm now inspired to use some of these 1/48 water slides and stickers on my   Yammies. I was mostly tampo jealous 

[jenius]

Like the giant gun, I like the giant strike cannons.

[beatsing]

Thanks @Lolicon for your comparison.  I was thinking the same about the aesthetics, cuz I'm on the fence about this accessory.  I'm not interested in the missile pack as I don't really display my 1/48 valks or 1/60 with the missiles on.  I have a yammie SSP pack and I don't display it that much either, so I'm not going out of my way for SSP.  I mostly display them as naked valks because I like the aesthetic of each mode, and the GBP and SSP can be fun, but are a little busy.  Guests who are not familiar with Macross can appreciate the naked valk, but have no idea what the SSP is - did you just strap on a rocket and gun to your model airplane? one guest asked.  ha ha

Or maybe it's because I have Max, and I don't think he rode with the SSP in the TV series ha ha

[Lolicon]

Just a clarification: When I said "The fighter mode leg and arm attachments are just worse on the DX" I was simply referring to how the legs and arms stow away and hold together in fighter mode. I wasn't talking about forearm mounted armors, which are pretty much identical to Yamato.

1 minute ago, jenius said:

Like the giant gun, I like the giant strike cannons.

...nah, too easy. 

[MKT]

Well, all the more reason for those of us who may want to let go the Yamato, to still hang on to them to have best of both worlds..  

[Bahamutzyro]

cmon, lol let’s be real.

There’s no way Yamato can compare to the Bandai. The Yamato’s are floppy messes. Also, it’s just blasphemy how they yellow. They are just poor quality. 

You can have brand new out the box yellowing with the Yamato’s.

they were good for the moment but noooo comparison to the Bandai.

 

[Ignacio Ocamica]

But we are comparing Strike/Super Packs. And the Yamato Packs are superior (not taking the tampo into account, where Bandai shines).

Speaking of the VF-1, I prefer the Bandai DX, it's superior in every aspect I can think of. But the Bandai SSP's are a step backwards.

[Lolicon]

I was writing primarily about the SSPs. 

Please read more carefully before getting set off. 

[jimber]

Hey guys any word when Roy's is out?

Also i'm wondering why Bandai doesn't make the armor magnetic it would be so much easier?

[sqidd]

4 minutes ago, jimber said:

Hey guys any word when Roy's is out?

Also i'm wondering why Bandai doesn't make the armor magnetic it would be so much easier?

Roy release is unknown.

It' probably more expensive to do magnets.

[DYRL VF-1S]

3 hours ago, Bahamutzyro said:

cmon, lol let’s be real.

There’s no way Yamato can compare to the Bandai. The Yamato’s are floppy messes. Also, it’s just blasphemy how they yellow. They are just poor quality. 

You can have brand new out the box yellowing with the Yamato’s.

they were good for the moment but noooo comparison to the Bandai.

 

I personally agree with this.  I have high regard for Yamato 1/48.  But prefer Bandai.

2 hours ago, Ignacio Ocamica said:

But we are comparing Strike/Super Packs. And the Yamato Packs are superior (not taking the tampo into account, where Bandai shines).

The only superior thing is the "under-the-hood" detail IMO.  And that is a moot point if you never display it, like me.  (I don't think that was ever shown in the series or movie right?  I don't recall.)

 

2 hours ago, Lolicon said:

Please read more carefully before getting set off.

Sorry to interject,  I didn't read it as being set off.  We've been having a fun and lively debate on Yammie over Bandai for a number of pages in this thread now.  I think it's quite interesting how personal taste plays out in whether one thing is better than another.  I'm enjoying reading the back and forth FWIW.

[Bahamutzyro]

No set off, just friendly debate!
I still have few yammie 1/48 left.

even the super parts discolor. 

they have more detail etc yes but definitely poor quality in comparison to Bandai.

ill trade my yammie to anyone who wants for their bandai s lol

[davidwhangchoi]

4 hours ago, Bahamutzyro said:

 The Yamato’s are floppy messes

not the 1/60's which was being  compared to the entire time. given that the photos he provided were of the 1/60 yamato and the dx. 

  

[DYRL VF-1S]

2 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

not the 1/60's which was being  compared to the entire time. given that the photos he provided were of the 1/60 yamato and the dx. 

  

Well 1/60 Yamarcadia is not really an apples to apples comparison to Bandai DX (1/48).  So, for my part, my preferences are based on the apples to apples Yammie 1/48 to Bandai DX (1/48).

I still don't care for how light the 1/60 feels but don't have a Bandai to truly compare it to.

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, Bahamutzyro said:

No set off, just friendly debate!
I still have few yammie 1/48 left.

even the super parts discolor. 

they have more detail etc yes but definitely poor quality in comparison to Bandai.

ill trade my yammie to anyone who wants for their bandai s lol

Since it's just a friendly debate. I want to ask since I didn't have any Yamato 1/48 VF-1's. When Yamato released their 1/48 VF-1's almost 20 years ago, did people already mentioned that it has overall poor quality? And did the discoloration happened immediately like Bandai's DX VF-25 v1? Bandai got released their DX VF-1 recently so comparing both companies regarding quality now wouldn't matter anymore, right?

41 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

not the 1/60's which was being  compared to the entire time. given that the photos he provided were of the 1/60 yamato and the dx.   

I have to agree that's why when I read a few comparing posts I got confused a little bit since the photos posted from what I remember from the previous page is Yamato's 1/60v2.

 

[DYRL VF-1S]

[jenius]

People loved the 1/48 parts when they were released and they took 10 years to yellow. The reaction missiles were always a pain but at least they came in the box!

[Lolicon]

All my comparisons are with the 1/60 VF-1 as I sold my 1/48s years ago.

I've already said the DX VF-1 is the best VF-1 toy to date, despite some flaws and steps back made by Bandai.

Would I sell all my 1/60s and replace them with the DX? Absolutely not. They're not THAT much of an improvement, they're the wrong scale next to all my other valkyries, and have too many annoying flaws.

Also, complaining about yellowing on a 10+ year old toy versus one that just came out is ridiculous. Toys and human lives don't last forever.

On the subject of floppy joints, the hips on my DXs are already getting loose. Because that's what happens when a toy is really heavy: the joints have to endure more. Fortunately, I don't use weight to determine the quality of a toy (which is why you never hear me praising the "heft"). 

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by Lolicon
floppy joints

[DYRL VF-1S]

I will go on record to say that this Yamato 1/48 is easily the sexiest of that scale.  Yellowing problem solved.    However, I have no greater Valkyrie love than for the DX DYRL.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

DX sucks 

my 2nd 1s copy is coming in, can't wait.

Edited January 7, 2020 by davidwhangchoi

[manfred17]

I was talking about 1 "male" peg + 3 "female" pegs = 4 pegs

 

 

[no3Ljm]

41 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

DX sucks 

my 2nd 1s copy is coming in, can't wait.

Aarrggh! Don't do that, David. Now I want to get a second one too. 

 

 

 

 

[Sanity is Optional]

But with 2 you can display in 2 modes at the same time!

 

Seems pretty clear to me that the DX and the strike pack were optimized and intended primarily for Battroid mode. The articulation, the proportions, etc... I don't have anything else that comes close, even the other DX valkyries have posing issues. Wingpack on the 31 and weak arms, torso and hips on the 25/27 for instance.

Heck, the instructions for putting on the strike pack even tell you to do it in battroid, rather than fighter.

[Lolicon]

49 minutes ago, manfred17 said:

I was talking about 1 "male" peg + 3 "female" pegs = 4 pegs

 

 

That's exactly the same as Yamato.

[Pontus]

1 hour ago, Lolicon said:

 Fortunately, I don't use weight to determine the quality of a toy (which is why you never hear me praising the "heft"). 

 

I work for a company that makes specialized control interfaces/desks.  We released a high end console that everyone complained felt cheap.  So we added steel plates inside, and it was much more "professional feeling" simply because it was heavier.   If we make consoles that are powerful yet small, portable, and of eminent utility, in high end installations they will be passed up for large, heavy, all-in-one consoles because they "feel more professional," (even if they have identical function) so now we're going back to making behemoth consoles again.  Public perception is a fickle thing that has more to do with "feels" than anything else.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the soft-touch craze.  Yes, let's put the worst paint in the world in the worst place you could possibly put it (where it gets touched all the time), and where it will look like crap after the first use and peel like crazy.  Because it FEELS good and therefore somehow makes a product "professional" which gets perceived as high quality somehow... at least for the first couple of weeks.

Edited January 7, 2020 by Pontus

[no3Ljm]

23 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

But with 2 you can display in 2 modes at the same time!

But the thing is I don't want to spend too much.  

Need to save just in case Bandai decides to make the Metal Build GN-Arms Type E and DXSoC Voltes V a reality. 

 

[Lolicon]

6 minutes ago, Pontus said:

I work for a company that makes specialized control interfaces/desks.  We released a high end console that everyone complained felt cheap.  So we added steel plates inside, and it was much more "professional feeling" simply because it was heavier.   If we make consoles that are powerful yet small, portable, and of eminent utility, in high end installations they will be passed up for large, heavy, all-in-one consoles because they "feel more professional," (even if they have identical function) so now we're going back to making behemoth consoles again.  Public perception is a fickle thing that has more to do with "feels" than anything else.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the soft-touch craze.  Yes, let's put the worst paint in the world in the worst place you could possibly put it (where it gets touched all the time), and where it will look like crap after the first use and peel like crazy.  Because it FEELS good and therefore somehow makes a product "professional" which gets perceived as high quality somehow... at least for the first couple of weeks.