Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1

[borgified]

Still needing anyone? 

DX SSP for 12k yen (not opened, package damaged)

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1128221353&ref=list&keyword=%E3%83%9E%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B9&lang=en

[Kyp Durron]

14 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

This is really the main gripe with the leg fins.  Yamato's design for them is just superior in every way, because they decided to do the extra work, and include a more complex interlock system where the fin still pulls out, but it locks into the stubs attached permanently to the leg. 

Bandai didn't bother with a lock, they just decided to let the fin swing freely, and depend on the tension of the sliding tab to hold the root surface of the fin flush against the leg.

In Bandai's defense, this mostly works, unless you set the valk on it's belly, or add more than a gentle pressure to bottom of the fin, which will eventually cause the fin's mounting tab to slide out, and let the fin collapse outwards.  The fast packs actually solve this entirely, because they have a small nook for the fin to rest in, and hold it stable.

One interesting thing that initially threw me off though is that I believe Bandai designed the fins to sit naturally at a shallower angle than I expected.  I believe the Yamato's tend to sit at between 30 and 35 degrees off vertical.  The Bandai fins are completely floppy at that point, and I kept feeling like I had to adjust them.  However, if you push them further out, closer to 50 degrees outward off vertical, they do hit a gentle stop, when the root of the fin matches the surface of the leg, and if you don't keep pushing, they'll stay there.

Comparatively speaking, I think they're about as effective as the tail hinges on the VF-0D.  Not what I could call sturdy, but stable if you don't touch them.  Again, just emphasizing that I don't think Bandai designed this to be played with.  With the saturation of the market, I can't really fault them for that.

I have to admit, I am in awe of the sheer detail they've put into this. I'm going to coat the arm pegs with nail polish or super glue to get them to sit in there tight and that should take care of that issue since I don't see myself transforming this again. As to the leg fins, I think I'm going to glue them in place at the hinge parts and be done with them.

Obviously I have no intention of ever buying super parts for this, nor do am I going to sell this, so it's not a concern.

[davidwhangchoi]

8 hours ago, Slave IV said:

Oh nice! I have a couple production monitors from my old editing studio I’ve been keeping around for gaming on. Those Sony’s are fantastic. 

hey nice! i remember you mentioned something about your work being film/studio related. That's awesome. 

Edited July 26, 2020 by davidwhangchoi

[Slave IV]

3 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

hey nice! i remember you mentioned something about your work being film/studio related. That's awesome. 

Yeah, for new stuff oled is unoutchable right now but something about old CRT monitors calibrated properly with a good signal is so satisfying. I didn’t think about it for a long time until I tried plugging some old games into my oled and then I was immediately glad I still have those production monitors in storage. 

[davidwhangchoi]

1 hour ago, Slave IV said:

Yeah, for new stuff oled is unoutchable right now but something about old CRT monitors calibrated properly with a good signal is so satisfying. I didn’t think about it for a long time until I tried plugging some old games into my oled and then I was immediately glad I still have those production monitors in storage. 

which set models do you have? the original Macross dvd's look great on em. 

[Slave IV]

25 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

which set models do you have? the original Macross dvd's look great on em. 

I don’t remember the model numbers but I have a portable Sony and a JVC. 

[davidwhangchoi]

1 minute ago, Slave IV said:

I don’t remember the model numbers but I have a portable Sony and a JVC. 

ah, that's good stuff. the Sony's and JVC's are solid.    

[seti88]

PITCHFORKS ON. ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ROY IN THERE!!

 

Potential opportunity to be bandai'ed. (Hope that bandai doesnt mix up the pairs of supers and give 2 right facing or 2 left facing supers. From the front shot, looking at the position of the red signal lights on the supers)

Edited July 27, 2020 by seti88

[Ryoma]

Well, Roy with atmosperic helmet a no cover intakes...this is so screwed up, it's just unacceptable(yeah, i know, i have issues).

[derex3592]

Those Supers doooo look niiice! Can't wait to see them on my 1J! 

[kaiotheforsaken]

Those supers look fantastic. I really hope I can snag a set once they're out in the wild. All the tampo that Bandai does really shines on pieces like this, it reminds me of old model kit boxart, or something like that.

[borgified]

Sigh...

If you guys are still b**** and crabbing about the issue of these DX VF-1, then why the hell are you still getting it?? Stop buying it all together, save your money and get something else to satisfy your OCD.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

This is Macross World toy forums to discuss, critique, have opinions on toys. Being part of TFW2005, you know this.

 

[borgified]

51 minutes ago, davidwhangchoi said:

This is Macross World toy forums to discuss, critique, have opinions on toys. Being part of TFW2005, you know this.

That I know... However did you know what the text in blue actually means? 

[treatment]

7 minutes ago, borgified said:

That I know... However did you know what the text in blue actually means? 

Blue text means jack crap here.

Different forum, different traditions.

 

[DYRL VF-1S]

36 minutes ago, treatment said:

Blue text means jack crap here.

Different forum, different traditions.

 

All I know is that you should begin to end each post with this:

 

I look forward to it each time.  It's your signature.

[borgified]

1 hour ago, DYRL VF-1S said:

All I know is that you should begin to end each post with this:

I look forward to it each time.  It's your signature.

I'll try and do something in that context. @treatment uses that here. 

I'll look for something different.

Edited July 27, 2020 by borgified

[myk]

What does the blue text mean?

[borgified]

10 minutes ago, myk said:

What does the blue text mean?

I'm not going to mention it here.

@davidwhangchoi, @treatment, @DYRL VF-1S, @Slave IV can tell  you. 

As @treatment mentioned: 

4 hours ago, treatment said:

Blue text means jack crap here.

Different forum, different traditions.

 

[Checkmate]

2 hours ago, myk said:

What does the blue text mean?

Member here since 2003 and I don't know what it means too. LOL

[kaiotheforsaken]

I've only ever seen it as a thing an TFW2005. I've been on a lot of different forums over the years, for a wide array of stuff, and it was completely alien to me until that one.

[DYRL VF-1S]

5 hours ago, borgified said:

I'm not going to mention it here.

@davidwhangchoi, @treatment, @DYRL VF-1S, @Slave IV can tell  you. 

As @treatment mentioned: 

 

 

[Toonz]

without fast pack - Roy Focker SPECIAL

with fast pack - Roy Focker CUSTOM

how many unique titles does Roy need

[borgified]

Thanks for the post @DYRL VF-1S... 

I am a mysterious person indeed.

Back to the discussion of the DX VF-1. We all know that Bandai has taken the HMR and up scaled it into the 1/48 scale, however with inconvenient niggles and too many flaws mentioned here, is there a way that Bandai's R&D ever pays attention to the flaws that was present during manufacturing and assembly process and learn from the mistakes? 

Like a member here mentioned awhile back: 

"One step forward, two steps back and go back to the original way of doing things and totally forget what what was done previously". 

[nightmareB4macross]

1 hour ago, Toonz said:

without fast pack - Roy Focker SPECIAL

with fast pack - Roy Focker CUSTOM

how many unique titles does Roy need

Don’t forget the Roy Focker HEWAT!

[eggy99]

2 hours ago, borgified said:

Back to the discussion of the DX VF-1. We all know that Bandai has taken the HMR and up scaled it into the 1/48 scale, however with inconvenient niggles and too many flaws mentioned here, is there a way that Bandai's R&D ever pays attention to the flaws that was present during manufacturing and assembly process and learn from the mistakes? 

I think this is a misconception. The DX VF-1 line is not a scaled up HMR VF-1. There are vastly different mechanisms in between them. It more accurate to say the DX VF-1 line is a scaled up Yamarcadia 1/60 VF-1, with mechanical and aesthetic changes (better and worse).

I believe it was mentioned a long time ago that the DX was in fact designed by T-REX, who also designed the Yamato 1/60 VF-1, which explains why they are very similar. Did T-REX decide on all the changes or was the Bamco? Or a combination of both making iterative design changes.

[myk]

4 hours ago, Toonz said:

without fast pack - Roy Focker SPECIAL

with fast pack - Roy Focker CUSTOM

how many unique titles does Roy need

Did those names apply to the chunky monkeys also?   The first valkyrie toy I ever got was a takatoku VF-1S with no paks, and the comic store owner called it a Focker Special.

7 hours ago, Checkmate said:

Member here since 2003 and I don't know what it means too. LOL

Kids these days lol...

[Chronocidal]

3 hours ago, borgified said:

Thanks for the post @DYRL VF-1S... 

I am a mysterious person indeed.

Back to the discussion of the DX VF-1. We all know that Bandai has taken the HMR and up scaled it into the 1/48 scale, however with inconvenient niggles and too many flaws mentioned here, is there a way that Bandai's R&D ever pays attention to the flaws that was present during manufacturing and assembly process and learn from the mistakes? 

Like a member here mentioned awhile back: 

"One step forward, two steps back and go back to the original way of doing things and totally forget what what was done previously". 

Don't know if it's referring to what I said.

My hot take is that Bandai has a sincere passion for reinventing things using inferior methods.  For whatever reason, they can and will refuse to use a tried and proven method of making something work, and substitute their own less-effective version.  The leg fins, and arm and leg locking mechanisms (and landing gear doors ) worked much better on the Yamato design.  Bandai just decided that they didn't need to imitate success.  For some reason.

It's like there's some kind of universal balance equation that they have to maintain, and for every improvement they make over a previous iteration, they have to also introduce one new flaw that was never a problem before.  Like.. how do you do that?  How do you invent new problems to introduce to a design, when everyone forever has gotten it right already?

Insert your own Thanos meme here.  

[treatment]

It may be that Yamato-Toys/Arcadia holds the patent(s) on the designs and mechanisms/methods.

Bandai does not want to pay for 'em and just decide to simply Bandai'd themselves and us...

Edited July 28, 2020 by treatment

[Checkmate]

Okiniland just asked for an additional ¥1,000 to ship VF-1A Kakizaki this morning. Looks like it’s arriving soon.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Checkmate

[Kyp Durron]

8 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Don't know if it's referring to what I said.

My hot take is that Bandai has a sincere passion for reinventing things using inferior methods.  For whatever reason, they can and will refuse to use a tried and proven method of making something work, and substitute their own less-effective version.  The leg fins, and arm and leg locking mechanisms (and landing gear doors ) worked much better on the Yamato design.  Bandai just decided that they didn't need to imitate success.  For some reason.

It's like there's some kind of universal balance equation that they have to maintain, and for every improvement they make over a previous iteration, they have to also introduce one new flaw that was never a problem before.  Like.. how do you do that?  How do you invent new problems to introduce to a design, when everyone forever has gotten it right already?

Insert your own Thanos meme here.  

+1

[Chronocidal]

1 hour ago, treatment said:

It may be that Yamato-Toys/Arcadia holds the patent(s) on the designs and mechanisms/methods.

Bandai does not want to pay for 'em and just decide to simply Bandai'd themselves and us...

See, I feel like that's a stretch, considering all the things they had absolutely no qualms about copying nearly verbatim from the Yamato design.

I could be wrong, I really have no idea what sorts of individual features may be covered under a copyright, but that still doesn't excuse Bandai's engineers from not coming up with something that at least copies the function, if not the exact design.  There are many, many ways to design a locking tab mechanism.  They just didn't use any of them.

Otherwise, I need to go remember where I ordered Kakizaki from.. I think that might be the item I'm waiting for to ship my Legioss and extra missile set from Anime Export.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Chronocidal

[DYRL VF-1S]

1 hour ago, Checkmate said:

Okiniland just asked for an additional ¥1,000 to ship VF-1A Kakizaki this morning. Looks like it’s arriving soon.

Oooh nice!  I hope to get my update soon!

[treatment]

11 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

See, I feel like that's a stretch, considering all the things they had absolutely no qualms about copying nearly verbatim from the Yamato design.

I could be wrong, I really have no idea what sorts of individual features may be covered under a copyright, but that still doesn't excuse Bandai's engineers from not coming up with something that at least copies the function, if not the exact design.  There are many, many ways to design a locking tab mechanism.  They just didn't use any of them.

Otherwise, I need to go remember where I ordered Kakizaki from.. I think that might be the item I'm waiting for to ship my Legioss and extra missile set from Anime Export.

Perhaps just plain Bandai arrogance and possibly plain disdain for non-battroid modes , then.

 

[Sanity is Optional]

T-Rex did the design, not Bandai. T-Rex does a lot of valkyrie designs, as well as the Yamato/Arcadia SDF-1.

Also seems pretty clear to me that the design was optimized for battroid mode above all else. Look, proportions, articulation.