Bandai DX Pre-Production unit found

[Chronocidal]

26 minutes ago, Shawn said:

D1 baby!

I am the owner of D3! Need to find a pic of D2 somewhere.

I had to  
 

[Slave IV]

Wow, congrats!

I almost find it more unbelievable that you got these for $35 uncontested. 

I definitely find it unbelievable that the wings seem to line up in Battroid mode  better than any of my production DX VF-1s.😂

[davidwhangchoi]

i like the differences. 

[DewPoint]

7 hours ago, Shawn said:

Hard to tell, but I think that this is D2 in fighter mode.  It doesn't look quite like a 3 to me, but I can only zoom so much before all I see are artifacts.

[Chronocidal]

Quite possible, I never considered that they were numbers, it looked like someone making initials, or Japanese characters.  I think it's fairly clear that D3 is the Figure King interview copy, but that display may be of two others.

Edited September 19, 2022 by Chronocidal

[Shawn]

since it is fun..one more diff I noticed

prod(L) says BEWARE  while D3 says BE WARE

[Shawn]

And sorry Emilio, but we found the REAL D2....DewPoint was right.

https://www.decultureshock.com/dx-chogokin-vf-1j/

check out the pics at the bottom

I think there was a primary D1/2/3 series valk, and a secondary one that tagged along with it, with a clear canopy.
I just need to match my 2nd valk with the D1 or D2 displays, and life will be good

[DewPoint]

So what if there is a D4 or D5 set? 

[chriswoo]

lol you guys huntting down prototype gems now ?

 

[Chronocidal]

Can't really call it hunting, this is just a crazy awesome coincidence.  

It's actually a classic MacrossWorld tradition for someone to acquire the early prototypes for a new valk toy.  I'm happy to see that's still potentially possible with Bandai.

[chriswoo]

haha need to make it like shrine Museum with it now and i am sure 20 years later it worth more than gold.

Edited September 19, 2022 by chriswoo

[nightmareB4macross]

Amazing find Shawn!

Congratulations on you rare gems!

[Shawn]

As Gwen mentioned

"multiple stores in Akihabara have displays set up to show off the upcoming toy to curious shoppers. Akihabara Yodobashi Camera"

and the other video for D2 said "Yodobashi Camera and the Sofmap Tamashii Shop"

So "for the official records for future generations to wow over at our banality of such things" we should be able to identify each location and flag each D1/2/3 as on that location.

again...I prefaced this entire thread with "I sort of fell ass-backwards into this one..." and ain't that the truth.

[pengbuzz]

19 hours ago, Shawn said:

D1 baby!

I am the owner of D3! Need to find a pic of D2 somewhere.

 

 

Kite on the right wing again...I wish I could find a rear shot to see the color of the wing flaps

I think that might be a "p", and it may be "preproduction 3".

Sometiem you need to tell us where you're shopping! Some of us poorer folks might want a used valk!

[Shawn]

Nah...I was just wishing it said P...prototypes are always quite a bit more exclusive than test shots or samples, or like these, pre-production versions which fit somewhere in between

I think its a D for Display or Demo or something alongst those lines....

I found them on Yahoo Japan auctions...the 2nd hand shop was just selling it on there.
I was just online at the right time...they were both Buy It Nows and had been newly listed

Thanks for everyone who helped ID this (especially Chronocidal for remembering the chest etching!)!  It was fun digging and aggregating all the various pieces of information into something coherent. My favorite part was seeing the D1 and D2 sets that predated this one actually existed.

We need another challenge now!

[Sanity is Optional]

D could be Demo, could also be prototype revision D (as in Ver A, Ver B, Ver C, Ver D). Depends how Bandai handles things internally.

[betocc]

Awesome, congratulations!

[MKT]

Interesting valk with history there, all the more when the way it was picked up equivalent to a garage sale. 

[vladykins]

Fantastic find!

[Paco Grande]

Very interesting find! The prototype markings on Transformers are usually stamped on with ink. They will do a a small run and all the copies will have the same number on them. It's to track which batch they are from in the prototyping process. And they are also typically made with whatever plastic the factory has on hand so they look pretty bad with the wrong plastic colours.

I think you are correct. These copies were most likely made and marked for the trade shows and store displays. They used the correct colour of plastic and they have all the lettering etc. 

Examples of prototype Transformers:

[Special Sauce]

That's a pretty cool score!  

[Astralith]

Holy Moly what a find! My jaw dropped when you posted pics of the matching markings. I wonder what caused it to yellow so dramatically, and if that issue will start to surface of the production Valks. 

Are you considering attempting to reverse the discoloration? although that might mess up the tempo 🤔   

[Shawn]

I suspect that one might have ended up costing more than $35.

Don't think I will attempt the discoloration.
I can only assume they are so burnt because they were on display for their brief lives literally 2 feet from never ending bright display lights
They will live out their retirement in a dark cardboard box...with maybe brief appearances at the next SDcon or something.
 

[DewPoint]

5 hours ago, Astralith said:

Holy Moly what a find! My jaw dropped when you posted pics of the matching markings. I wonder what caused it to yellow so dramatically, and if that issue will start to surface of the production Valks. 

Are you considering attempting to reverse the discoloration? although that might mess up the tempo 🤔   

So first off, as with anything, the owner of the item can do whatever they want to it despite anyone's opinion.  It is theirs after all.  The following is strictly my opinion...

While I prefer my collectables to be in the "fresh off the factory floor" state, this is a special case...  As Shawn said the discoloring is probably from the display lights.  As I don't know where this storefront is, it may also be from sun exposure.  In this particular case, along with the magazine photos, the discoloring helps prove that the item is legitimate.  I think removing the yellowing will devalue it and potentially bring its legitimacy into question.  So probably best not to touch it.

While it my not be the exact same plastic as the store bought DX VF-1, It does bring up concern of how easily the DX VF-1 could yellow.... 

 

[Astralith]

54 minutes ago, DewPoint said:

So first off, as with anything, the owner of the item can do whatever they want to it despite anyone's opinion.  It is theirs after all.  The following is strictly my opinion...

While I prefer my collectables to be in the "fresh off the factory floor" state, this is a special case...  As Shawn said the discoloring is probably from the display lights.  As I don't know where this storefront is, it may also be from sun exposure.  In this particular case, along with the magazine photos, the discoloring helps prove that the item is legitimate.  I think removing the yellowing will devalue it and potentially bring its legitimacy into question.  So probably best not to touch it.

While it my not be the exact same plastic as the store bought DX VF-1, It does bring up concern of how easily the DX VF-1 could yellow.... 

 

Woah.. the display lights? really? I didn't even know that was a thing. Can all lights potentially discolor plastics, or is this less of the lights doing and more of the type of plastic?

I'd hate for any figures in my collection to start decaying on me just because I have a lighting set up 😅     

[Shawn]

I would think unless your display lights are like this in your cabinets, you are probably going to be ok

 

[Astralith]

2 hours ago, Chunky001 said:

Any visible light will depredate a toys finish. UV light being the most damaging. You get a LOT of UV light from sunlight so that is an absolute no no. Even sunlight that is reflected off of something else. Display lights can have heavy UV also depending on what sort of light it is. LED lights generally don't have as much UV as other options but that doesn't mean they have low UV. There is a wide range of UV across available LED's. That said there are very low UV bulbs available.  You can pick up UV light detectors for under $40. IMO there is no excuse to not have one. Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/uv-light-meter/s?k=uv+light+meter

You're looking for less than 40 microwatts per lumen to equal what art museums consider good.

My toy room is 1-2 microwatts per lumen without the display lights on. My LED bulbs in the displays are 25 when measured 1" from the bulb. They at 8 when measured at 6". The bulbs are not special low UV LED's. And I rarely have the lights on.

 

Thanks for the info!

What about Defused LED strips? Like the ones you stick behind a computer desk or along the ceiling corners of a room? I’m considering using those instead of my current setup. 

[Shawn]

Whilst going though some extra inventory to sell off at the Pasadena Comic Con, I ran across the box holding these 2 today-and noticed one little extra difference
On the D3 there is no little slot to open the landing gear doors, that was a later addition

 

 

[nightmareB4macross]

Very cool.

[sh9000]

I still find it awesome that these units ended up with one of the people behind MWF.  Well deserved.