Arcadia 1/60 VF-4A ‘Flashback 2012’ Premium Finish & Regular Release

[Mommar]

25 minutes ago, ErikElvis said:

It looks kinda plain and the panel lining looks like it was done in pencil. 

Plain compared to what?  It has all of the markings from the show plus additional panel lining not present.  What is the panel lining supposed to be done in to be done correct in your estimation?

[ErikElvis]

Maybe it’s that the panel lines look bad without weathering. 

[valhary]

I think is only a early preview of how would it look

[sqidd]

3 minutes ago, valhary said:

I think is only a early preview of how would it look

Weathering would make me a happy camper. I love me some panel lining and weathering!

[DewPoint]

That thing never had enough screen time to show any kind of weathering. 

[Mommar]

2 hours ago, ErikElvis said:

Maybe it’s that the panel lines look bad without weathering. 

That isn't the same thing as "plain" though.  I disagree that panel lines without weathering looks bad though.

[derex3592]

Agree. It just needs tampo NO STEPS and other markings and it will look great. I'm not buying it, but it will look great. 

 

[Slave IV]

Again, looks great to me as is. If they add more details to it, cool. Take away some, still cool. Only thing I care about is getting the skulls tampoed and I'll be happy.

As for Arcadia products being available, I think it has to do with them somewhat basing production on preorder numbers and keeping the orders open until right before manufacturing. Kinda like TWE products. Since they are a small operation that depends on only a few items a year to stay in business versus thousands like Bandai, it makes sense for them to make plenty available to everyone who wants it even after release day.

[Lolicon]

It's a painted prototype, guys. The markings on it are decals and not indicative of the final product. 

When has Arcadia released a PF that didn't have a bunch of NO STEP and other requisite markings? 

[Mommar]

They’re always looking for every fault they can.

[Sildani]

Yep! Macrossworld hasn’t changed in 16 years. 

[valhary]

more pics!

[ErikElvis]

Hey I’ve religiously bought everything that has come down the pipe with nary a complaint. Something just seems off to me with this.  Doesn’t  mean I’m not getting it. 

Edited October 15, 2019 by ErikElvis

[sqidd]

I'm soooooo getting it!

Glad I didn't swing at the new HMR.

Edited October 15, 2019 by sqidd

[Mommar]

5 hours ago, ErikElvis said:

Hey I’ve religiously bought everything that has come down the pipe with nary a complaint. Something just seems off to me with this.  Doesn’t  mean I’m not getting it. 

And I'm still baffled why that would be.  It literally looks exactly like the lineart except it has more panel lining.  Is it that Arcadia tends to have thinner, more shallow panel lines on their moulds?

[Bub]

Looks good on its own.  But I wonder if this one would look good displayed with the other 1/60 Arcadia PFs that are not panel lined...  

[Chronocidal]

11 hours ago, Bub said:

Looks good on its own.  But I wonder if this one would look good displayed with the other 1/60 Arcadia PFs that are not panel lined...  

This is why I'm skipping the premium VF-0D as well.  I'll be happy to grab a regular release, but I'm just not interested in their factory weathering.

The real question is whether there's going to be a regular release though.   I wonder if Arcadia is just hitting the point where they can't afford to make things for less than this price point, and they decided to at least try to add some value to make up for it.

Can anyone say whether there's been any demand locally in Japan for a non-PF version of this?  I'd much rather get one I don't have to handle with gloves to keep from smudging the (unwanted) panel lines.  I'd also rather not pay extra for extra paint work that I'm going to wind up removing.  

Edited October 16, 2019 by Chronocidal

[F360]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

This is why I'm skipping the premium VF-0D as well.  I'll be happy to grab a regular release, but I'm just not interested in their factory weathering.

The real question is whether there's going to be a regular release though.   I wonder if Arcadia is just hitting the point where they can't afford to make things for less than this price point, and they decided to at least try to add some value to make up for it.

Can anyone say whether there's been any demand locally in Japan for a non-PF version of this?  I'd much rather get one I don't have to handle with gloves to keep from smudging the (unwanted) panel lines.  I'd also rather not pay extra for extra paint work that I'm going to wind up removing.  

The original msrp of the vf-0d is 40,480円

so if Arcadia do decide to release a non-pf it will be around that price . 

 

The demand of original vf-0d will probably drop a bit once the PF gets release but their price will not be that off .   So probably still around 40000 yen before shipping 

[Slave IV]

For me, looking good is looking good. My non-PFs look good, my PFs look good. Together, they all look even better.

[Chronocidal]

59 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

For me, looking good is looking good. My non-PFs look good, my PFs look good. Together, they all look even better.

That's all well and good if you don't intend to ever transform or pose them, or plan to clear-coat them to hell and back to prevent any smudging.  A PF with all the fancy markings tampo printed is one thing.  Hand-painted weathering?  No thanks.

I'd just rather be able to pay a couple hundred dollars less, and save myself the headache of having to either never touch the thing, or accept the fact that I'm going to be touching up the detailing every time I handle it.

I honestly don't even want a regular PF of this.  All I literally want is a white VF-4 in Flashback 2012 markings that I don't have to paint myself.

[Sildani]

Any word yet on what this costs?

[Dobber]

Any idea when this will liking come up for pre-order?

Chris

[Slave IV]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

That's all well and good if you don't intend to ever transform or pose them, or plan to clear-coat them to hell and back to prevent any smudging.  A PF with all the fancy markings tampo printed is one thing.  Hand-painted weathering?  No thanks.

I'd just rather be able to pay a couple hundred dollars less, and save myself the headache of having to either never touch the thing, or accept the fact that I'm going to be touching up the detailing every time I handle it.

I honestly don't even want a regular PF of this.  All I literally want is a white VF-4 in Flashback 2012 markings that I don't have to paint myself.

I'm pretty sure Arcadia clear coats their PF. I know the SDF-1 definitely mentioned that in the description. Anyways, I will transform mine and I'm not worried about it. I get everyone has different expectations.

[derex3592]

Yeh....Arcadia did SUCH a good job of clear coating the PF SDF-1 they neglected to remove the clear bridge part first and any other clear parts so they got fogged up.  I'm not buying into Arcadia anymore. Sorry..once twice, three times bitten...VERY shy. I'm out. They've priced me out of their Macross game even IF they did deliver a perfect product, which, let's be completely honest here, is NOT the norm for them. 

[DewPoint]

Well, you know how it goes, save your money and spend it on something else you like better.  As I've been reading these boards for the past three years or so, there really seems to be no "perfect" toy.  There's always something to complain and nit-pick about.  Tons of production errors in the original show really doesn't help.  All the toys seem to cost at least double what we all would like to pay for them.  Exchanges and replacement parts are very difficult to get as most of these toys are not meant for sale outside Japan.  The list goes on and on.  It doesn't seem like any company makes anything without issues.  We all just "settle" for now and maybe buy the next marginally better toy series that comes out next.  "Bandai" and "Arcadia" do make critical decisions in "their" designs, but the name "T-REX" stands out a bit more to me these days.  "T-REX" also seems to mean "add 50% to the retail price."

 

I'm totally getting one of these, but I'm also totally expecting the missiles to fall off all the time like the VF-4G.

Edited October 17, 2019 by DewPoint
after thought...

[Slave IV]

Haha, I never once looked at the tiny windows that are clear coated and thought my toy was ruined or not one of the most beautiful and prized pieces in my collection because of it. But maybe that's just me?

[Chronocidal]

To be fair to Arcadia though.. it would not surprise me if the reason this seems to be PF-only is because they can't sell it for anything less if they want to make up for purchasing the FB2012 license.

Really though, yeah, they don't really have a great track record with their original releases.  The fogged windows isn't a big deal, but it's sloppy.  The problems with the VF-0s and SV-51 now are more what concerns me.  If they can't manage the QC to ensure a solid release of a non-PF item, why should I trust them to do better with the PF ones?  Is all of the extra cost being funneled into hiring competent assembly and QC workers?

You don't move a surgeon up to doing brain surgery because they're having trouble with hip replacements.

Bleh, I don't want to take this out of perspective, since we're still talking about toy transforming fighter jets.   But Arcadia does have a spotty record.  I mostly just don't see the extra paint as a justification for the higher price, when I'd be perfectly happy without the extra paint, even at the same price, but I'm weird like that.  

Edited October 17, 2019 by Chronocidal

[Slave IV]

Arcadia already improved their two main new molds. The 0S in regular and PF form are improved from the earlier 0D and 0A releases. Before the DX VF-1, many people considered the Arcadia 0S the finest Valk in toy form ever made. The 51 already has a solution that they are implementing for any defects. I dunno, it seems like they are trying and doing more than most companies to improve their products. I'm very happy with every Arcadia product I have so far, which is almost all of their releases. My 51 is still on the way so will see how that goes.

[ArchieNov]

The problems with the SV-51 are far more than just misassembled ankles. Some of its engineering is the same as the old Yamato (which needed improvement), while some are even a step back.

The only new engineering on the Arcadia SV-51 which improves upon the Yamato are probably the nosecone and arms pegging in better because they have tabs instead of weak magnets. The folding canards and the openable VTOL intake cover in fighter aren't really needed as these weren't issues before IMO. I can't remember if the Yamato had extendable double jointed elbows, but this is an improvement if they didn't. 

Ankle articulation is horrible. Wings can still get floppy (they removed the locking tabs for no reason), the head doesn't position well unless you extend it making it look disjointed, tightness of the joints are very inconsistent (one of my shoulder joints is too tight while the other is too loose, same with the shoulder hinges and wings).

I know I probably missed some stuff but on the whole the SV-51 was not a good release. And that's coming from me who was one of the few who got the right ankles. The weathering job I had done actually saved it in my eyes, because at least it looks good enough now that I can temporarily forget about most of these other issues (as long as I keep it in fighter mode forever).

[Ridden001]

Unless it can store the gun pod in fighter mode, it’s a pass for me.  Seeing the gunpod on the HMR really does something for the VF-4 that I think would feel like something missing.

[HardlyNever]

On 10/16/2019 at 10:33 PM, derex3592 said:

Yeh....Arcadia did SUCH a good job of clear coating the PF SDF-1 they neglected to remove the clear bridge part first and any other clear parts so they got fogged up.  I'm not buying into Arcadia anymore. Sorry..once twice, three times bitten...VERY shy. I'm out. They've priced me out of their Macross game even IF they did deliver a perfect product, which, let's be completely honest here, is NOT the norm for them. 

Unfortunately, this is where I'm at with Arcadia, as well.  I want to like them, but their prices are getting so high I can't keep supporting them, especially when they put out products with QC issues at the level we've been seeing.

I'll keep looking at the stuff they make, but everything they make now is basically a no, with a possibility that they could change my mind in the future.  And while I enjoy their vf-4g, the loose ankles aren't exactly confidence-inspiring.  And I know they're going to want even more for this release.  So... no thanks.

[Bub]

On 10/17/2019 at 6:30 AM, Slave IV said:

For me, looking good is looking good. My non-PFs look good, my PFs look good. Together, they all look even better.

I’m glad you enjoy your toys that way.  My OCD self just couldn’t unsee the inconsistencies of an off white greyish VF-1A DYRL Hikaru next to a pinkish white Premium Finish VF-1S DYRL Focker.  Unless ofcourse Arcadia rereleases the rest of the DYRL skull team.    ......  I know, I know.  They should release the VT-1 and the VF-1D first.

[Slave IV]

4 hours ago, Bub said:

I’m glad you enjoy your toys that way.  My OCD self just couldn’t unsee the inconsistencies of an off white greyish VF-1A DYRL Hikaru next to a pinkish white Premium Finish VF-1S DYRL Focker.  Unless ofcourse Arcadia rereleases the rest of the DYRL skull team.    ......  I know, I know.  They should release the VT-1 and the VF-1D first.

Haha, nice! Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely anal but just a different kind of anal. 

[DewPoint]

Just for the record...  Legit US Navy stuff turns pink after a few years in the sun...  Well they did for a long time...

[no3Ljm]

Not to mention, salt water too.  

Pink PF VF-0S, anyone?

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by no3Ljm