Bandai VF-31AX Kairos Plus - Mirage Type

[rummynose]

4 minutes ago, PsYcHoDyNaMiX said:

I have not... they only sent a tracking number registered with DHL. Still marked "Shipment information received" and it hasn't been shipped as of May 10th. 

Exact same with mine. Hope they get sent out soon. Thanks.

[sh9000]

Mine should be coming from them around Monday.

[68whiskey]

Nin Nin sent me mine on Friday. QC issues were still present but nowhere near as bad as Hayate. Guns did not point down , arms were more tucked into the wings and only one panel was out of place. The big issue mine had was the wing tabs wont fit into the legs but ill cut those down later. 

[sqidd]

9 hours ago, rummynose said:

Has anyone else not received their order from LP yet?

I haven't.

[Anasazi37]

9 hours ago, PsYcHoDyNaMiX said:

I have not... they only sent a tracking number registered with DHL. Still marked "Shipment information received" and it hasn't been shipped as of May 10th. 

The cynic in me wonders if they just generated shipping labels for the customers that contacted them, making it look like there's movement on those orders with the least amount of effort required (some button clicks), which in turn buys them some time. In the past we've seen other stores do this when they're short on stock and/or overwhelmed. I hope that's not the case and I hope they aren't scrambling to find units on the secondary market. LP seems to always come through, but they'll be lucky to break even if they're primarily sourcing stock from third parties post-release.

[Sildani]

Mine is on the delivery truck. I’ll report in when it’s in my hands. 

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

Update... LP handed my order to DHL. It's anticipated for the 19th. 

[Sildani]

So here’s how it arrived. Amazon box custom fitted, with bubble wrap all around. Arrived pretty much safely, with a dinged corner in the upper left that may or may not have occurred in transit. Oh, and no candy. I have a sad. 
 

Ahh… that new Valk smell. 
 

Initial impressions: a poorer design than the 31C. The wing of the Charlie had a beautiful, sculpted airfoil to it to hide the arm in the wing, this thing has flat, angular surfaces. Paint quality seems less as well. I’ll report more later. 

[Angesdad]

It hit me all of sudden that LP is nothing more than a proxy service such as FJ or Tenso with their business practice such as this. Sure, LP comes through eventually and you get your stuff wrapped in dismantled amazon box but..

a direct supplier with Bandai my a$$.

God I wish I didn't have those pending preorders.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Angesdad

[DewPoint]

It certainly seems that way. Makes you wonder if they operate purchasing bots on pre-order night.

[Sildani]

First transformation. Was fairly simple, those arms are annoying. Everything tabbed in, everything felt like it fit together the way it was designed to. Nothing under tension. The central grey chest flap, though, just… flaps there. Nothing holds it in place. 
 

You can also see that one of the wing doors that conceals the hand doesn’t want to stay shut, no matter if there’s a hand there or the arm panel misaligned or anything. It just won’t lock in place. There’s a tension there somewhere that pops it out of place. Don’t know where to start sanding, any thoughts?

Overall, a definite step backwards, maybe not in engineering, but most assuredly in fit and finish. On the Charlie, everything snaps to with authority and everything has a place. Not so much the Kairos Plus. 
 

One positive: I LOVE the head sculpt. Gorgeous. 

[sh9000]

Mine arrived from Luna Park in excellent condition.

[Lolicon]

54 minutes ago, Sildani said:

First transformation. Was fairly simple, those arms are annoying. Everything tabbed in, everything felt like it fit together the way it was designed to. Nothing under tension. The central grey chest flap, though, just… flaps there. Nothing holds it in place. 
 

You can also see that one of the wing doors that conceals the hand doesn’t want to stay shut, no matter if there’s a hand there or the arm panel misaligned or anything. It just won’t lock in place. There’s a tension there somewhere that pops it out of place. Don’t know where to start sanding, any thoughts?

Overall, a definite step backwards, maybe not in engineering, but most assuredly in fit and finish. On the Charlie, everything snaps to with authority and everything has a place. Not so much the Kairos Plus. 
 

One positive: I LOVE the head sculpt. Gorgeous. 

I see she's on the workbench. Gonna fix her up? 

[Sildani]

Yep, in a few days. Want to gather opinions on that door first. 

[Bolt]

1 hour ago, Sildani said:

First transformation. Was fairly simple, those arms are annoying. Everything tabbed in, everything felt like it fit together the way it was designed to. Nothing under tension. The central grey chest flap, though, just… flaps there. Nothing holds it in place. 
 

You can also see that one of the wing doors that conceals the hand doesn’t want to stay shut, no matter if there’s a hand there or the arm panel misaligned or anything. It just won’t lock in place. There’s a tension there somewhere that pops it out of place. Don’t know where to start sanding, any thoughts?

Overall, a definite step backwards, maybe not in engineering, but most assuredly in fit and finish. On the Charlie, everything snaps to with authority and everything has a place. Not so much the Kairos Plus. 
 

One positive: I LOVE the head sculpt. Gorgeous. 

If I'm looking at that right, it looks like the piece the wing door is attached to is mis aligned.

[borgified]

Got literally nothing in my end from Luna in regards to Mirage’s 31ax as I will be sending them a polite inquiry about my order. I have a feeling that it might be near month end when it arrives in Rainy West Coast BC. 

[Angesdad]

On 5/17/2022 at 1:36 AM, borgified said:

Got literally nothing in my end from Luna in regards to Mirage’s 31ax as I will be sending them a polite inquiry about my order. I have a feeling that it might be near month end when it arrives in Rainy West Coast BC. 

Shipment info received from LP last Friday but no movement as of yet. Oh well in the meantime.😉

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by Angesdad

[rummynose]

5 hours ago, borgified said:

Got literally nothing in my end from Luna in regards to Mirage’s 31ax as I will be sending them a polite inquiry about my order. I have a feeling that it might be near month end when it arrives in Rainy West Coast BC. 

I'm in YVR too. Still no movement from LP, still more rain.

[Rein+]

8 hours ago, borgified said:

Got literally nothing in my end from Luna in regards to Mirage’s 31ax as I will be sending them a polite inquiry about my order. I have a feeling that it might be near month end when it arrives in Rainy West Coast BC. 

You should, they're kind of slow? I see that the item is already "in stock" from their website for about a week already.

[sqidd]

LP is getting pretty annoying with this shipping thing.

I emailed them yesterday asking for the status on shipping. I had DHL tracking that showed it was picked up by DHL this morning.

-I shouldn't have to email them.

-It shouldn't have been shipped out faster than those of you that contacted them previous to when I did.

This will probably be my last order with LP.

[rummynose]

Has anyone ever not received an order from LP at all?

[sqidd]

1 hour ago, rummynose said:

Has anyone ever not received an order from LP at all?

Never heard of it happening.

People used to say that NY always came though though. Until they didn't.

[NoctisTalem]

So does this one have the same QC as the Hayate?

[ghostYF]

13 hours ago, rummynose said:

I'm in YVR too. Still no movement from LP, still more rain.

I'm in YVR too. LP had the shipping tracking info. for my order back on the 3rd but DHL didn't pick it up until the 11th. That's also when I contacted them. I did receive my Mirage on the 13th so I guess I got lucky?

[Sildani]

Last update. Transformed back to fighter. Arms were the worst part, getting them into the fighter-mode “broken” form was a pain, but I figured out what went where eventually. I discovered that you can push in the arms too far into the fighter body, so that the legs won’t tuck up into a notch the arms provide for that purpose. Also, the bicep armor is difficult to keep at the angle it should be kept at. 
 

With patience, and much massaging of Mirage, I was able to get most everything snugged down into place. I can report that after about a dozen connections, the wing tabs on my copy attach to the leg holes and generally don’t pop out with normal handling. As you can see, the arm panels conform to the underside of the wing - mostly - with the cannons pointing dead ahead so long as you’re happy with the panels the cannons are attached to being out of alignment a couple millimeters. The door still won’t shut, but it’s not quite as bad as before. Perhaps if I close it 100 times it’ll wear in. 
 

I discovered the cannon has a blade “sight” on the muzzle that’s supposed to fit into a shallow groove on the crotch piece to keep it pointed straight ahead. Well, with the cannon completely folded up, it’s ever so slightly out and won’t work. If you slide out the muzzle, then slide it back in just before it clicks into place, then attach the cannon to the mission pod, that blade sight will happily slot into the slit provided. It’s possible that with handling, the cannon handle will wear into its slot on the mission pod, and then the blade sight will fit into its slit whilst the muzzle is completely closed. But that brings me to the main issue I have with this model. 
 

It’s not fun to mess about with. Many sharp pointy, uh, points, parts that don’t quite fit, and a lack of QC just make this something I’m not going to handle much. I’ll leave it in fighter, buy its Super Parts for completion’s sake, and that’s it for me. I just don’t think it’s worth the money I paid, and I suspect this will be the case for Chogokin Valkyries going forward. More cost for less quality. And Bandai will get away with it, because they’re the only player in this particular game. After the Super Parts and the WWM VF-25 I’ve PO’d, I’m out. The return on investment just isn’t there anymore.

By the way, what happened to that VF-14 looking VF that was in the movie? No announcement of that being made, correct? 
 

 

[sqidd]

3 hours ago, NoctisTalem said:

So does this one have the same QC as the Hayate?

Objection Your Honor. Asked and answered.

Scroll back through the thread.......

[Negotiator]

I just asked LP about my order through the online chat thing since the status was still on CONFIRMED.  They made a DHL tracking number right away....so hopefully get it next week..

[Lolicon]

On 5/17/2022 at 2:41 PM, sqidd said:

Never heard of it happening.

People used to say that NY always came though though. Until they didn't.

I haven't bought from LP due to me being a cheapskate who refuses to pay above MSRP for anything, but reading everyone's comments gives me a serious NY vibe about them.

 

22 hours ago, Sildani said:

Last update. Transformed back to fighter. Arms were the worst part, getting them into the fighter-mode “broken” form was a pain, but I figured out what went where eventually. I discovered that you can push in the arms too far into the fighter body, so that the legs won’t tuck up into a notch the arms provide for that purpose. Also, the bicep armor is difficult to keep at the angle it should be kept at. 
 

With patience, and much massaging of Mirage, I was able to get most everything snugged down into place. I can report that after about a dozen connections, the wing tabs on my copy attach to the leg holes and generally don’t pop out with normal handling. As you can see, the arm panels conform to the underside of the wing - mostly - with the cannons pointing dead ahead so long as you’re happy with the panels the cannons are attached to being out of alignment a couple millimeters. The door still won’t shut, but it’s not quite as bad as before. Perhaps if I close it 100 times it’ll wear in. 
 

I discovered the cannon has a blade “sight” on the muzzle that’s supposed to fit into a shallow groove on the crotch piece to keep it pointed straight ahead. Well, with the cannon completely folded up, it’s ever so slightly out and won’t work. If you slide out the muzzle, then slide it back in just before it clicks into place, then attach the cannon to the mission pod, that blade sight will happily slot into the slit provided. It’s possible that with handling, the cannon handle will wear into its slot on the mission pod, and then the blade sight will fit into its slit whilst the muzzle is completely closed. But that brings me to the main issue I have with this model. 
 

It’s not fun to mess about with. Many sharp pointy, uh, points, parts that don’t quite fit, and a lack of QC just make this something I’m not going to handle much. I’ll leave it in fighter, buy its Super Parts for completion’s sake, and that’s it for me. I just don’t think it’s worth the money I paid, and I suspect this will be the case for Chogokin Valkyries going forward. More cost for less quality. And Bandai will get away with it, because they’re the only player in this particular game. After the Super Parts and the WWM VF-25 I’ve PO’d, I’m out. The return on investment just isn’t there anymore.

By the way, what happened to that VF-14 looking VF that was in the movie? No announcement of that being made, correct? 
 

 

Excellent summary of the problems with the 31AX. It really is a step backwards in many ways from the VF-31.

It's the reason why I've declined to get more than one of each, despite my long standing habit of buying multiples of many valks. It's just not worth the substantial price hike over the old 31. Thankfully the current weakness of the yen is making these a good deal less expensive.

[PsYcHoDyNaMiX]

Got mine from LP earlier today. Can't say I'm disappointed or pleased. Paid above msrp and high shipping upfront, only to have to inquire when my order was going to ship 1.5+ wks after release date (yes i was aware of golden week, got a response the 9th) and receive the tracking number for a shipping label (the 10th) which didn't actually ship until another week after (end of day 16th).

Shipping box was 1 sheet of tissue paper ontop. The item was in a dhl bag in a box with no clearance. The box i presume was smooshed during handling (they're pretty rough out here in nyc).

The shipping label was marked for 0.5kg, im sure it's not, lol. Definitely cutting too many corners. Even when NY was crap they still bubble wrapped. 🤣🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Probably not dealing with LP again. That was their first shot. For the price they are borderline no good as far as business practice goes. Sorry... NY taught me well, lol.

For a similar price and no hassle with no need to email regarding status of order or skimped out shipping materials is another company that I will not name (need to save my golden parachute, lol). They delivered above and beyond when I ordered Hayate the first time around. They actually shipped out before HLJ that time and that was like whoa.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by PsYcHoDyNaMiX

[borgified]

I honestly should have gotten Mirage's 31ax from Manda and not Luna. Lesson learned.   

Jack squat on my end as of now as it's stating to get very annoying. 

[rummynose]

Finally just got notification that mine was picked up by DHL. Hope it's in a box.

[borgified]

Bleah… Forgot to update new details on my end. 🤭

Sent a polite reminder about my order of Mirage’s 31ax this morning (around 10-ish am PST) and they replied back (4:30 pm PST) saying another shipment is about to arrive sometime next week. So hopefully that for those that still haven’t received it from Luna, hopefully that it your copy will arrive in this shipment and it gets sent out within the week. 

After going this nightmare and reading other members experiences, I’m not going to back with Luna for any future DX purchases. It’s either see what happens during the bloodbath pre-order sessions or just get a copy upon release date. 

Sorry to say Megan and Patricia, you’re not getting anymore business from me after this (and others will follow in the same lead after all this fiasco). 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by borgified

[wm cheng]

Mine is on its way by DHL is slow (been 7 days transit already - now no updates) and their customs & brokerage the worst of the 3 couriers - but this isn't LP's fault.   Luna Park was always the last resort (like NY was) its only when I can't secure a pre-order anywhere else, they always seem to still have something at a slight markup.  I haven't had much luck securing one on release date that wasn't marked up more than LP.  Is this AX still available anywhere now?  I hear your frustration @borgified especially a fellow Canadian.

[Slave IV]

@LUNA PARK has been getting some heat lately. I wonder if Meghan and Patricia have a new video in the works to help calm the nerves of high strung Macross fans. 😁

[nightmareB4macross]

Received Mirage today…

She feels loose in many joints and tabbing connections.

The overall feel makes it feel likes it’s made with quality materials but extremely lacking QA.

The right cannon in fighter modes tucks in as it’ supposed too while the left points in a descending angle. Issue for this cross-eyed appearance is due to the joint where the cannon connects at the grey pivot. It seems to be short and does not allow for a flush connection in fighter mode.

Overall, she’s a beautiful bird.