PointBlankSniper Posted January 21 Posted January 21 My amiami invoice came in. Surface 3340 Air Parcel (not small packet) 6860 DHL 7585 EMS 7540 Small packet wasnt even listed, so I guess my other items pushed it over the limit. They were 4 littlearmory kits. mp5k coffer, m870 tactical, and the lycoris recoil collab chisato and takina kits. Too lazy to check weights but from my experience with those kits, that's probably slightly more than 200g. As for my durandal, it did come with packing protection. I don't believe there was any skimping in packaging. Things seem to line up with what MKT said. From my experience, Surface, small packet, SAL, EMS, all the national post options almost always arrive in pristine condition. It sometimes makes me wonder about the neccesity of all the packing protection inside. So I can attest to the fact that between Japan post, the boat/mail plane, and my local post, there is absolutely no malevolence towards boxes. My time using couriers like DHL and Fedex during lockdown though, seem to suggest dragging the boxes accross some nasty floor is a bare minimum. Things that I get from murica, usually go through UPS or USPS, often look like they have gone through wrestling matches. My friend recently bought a PC case from the states for example, and there was a fist sized hole in the box, almost as if someone drove a forklift through it at an angle while it was tumbling... The point is, I'm inclined to trust japan post, the boats and airline cargo, and my local post office, way more than premium priced couriers and other posts offices. There's a lot less inflated brokerage fee shenanigans that goes on with my local post too. Anyway, looks like surface it is. Paying more than double for anything else and potentially much worse handling is not the way to go for me lol. Quote
Graham Posted January 22 Posted January 22 Picked up my 2 yesterday from my local Valk pusher. Only opened one so far and not yet transformed. I just put it on the display stand in fighter mode so far without the super parts attached. I only attached the missiles and the gunpod. Missiles attached very tightly to the wing hard points, which is a good thing in my opinion. No obvious issues, apart from the rubber head lasers are not straight. But that's normal and anyway it comes with a spare hard plastic set. But I've only spent about 10 minutes with it so far, so there may be hidden issues. Happy to report the wing pegs didn't pop off in the short time I handled it....LOL. Quote
MKT Posted January 22 Author Posted January 22 Not much reviews online of the VF-171EX yet.. I guess even reviewers waiting for others to try transforming their copies first. Meanwhile, the first copy on Mandarake, Yen 25k and available. Slight defect though. https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1250356730&lang=en Quote
jenius Posted January 22 Posted January 22 Mine is arriving today so I'll get a review up... In a few weeks. Quote
Lolicon Posted January 22 Posted January 22 6 hours ago, MKT said: Not much reviews online of the VF-171EX yet.. I guess even reviewers waiting for others to try transforming their copies first. Meanwhile, the first copy on Mandarake, Yen 25k and available. Slight defect though. https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1250356730&lang=en Nothing that can't be easily sanded out. Only tangentially related, but I love that my long backordered PG Unleashed Gundam was fulfilled at HLJ the day after I shipped my 171. Oh well should have my 171 today. Can't wait to mess with it. Quote
Lolicon Posted January 23 Posted January 23 171 arrived. As expected the matte finish makes it look great. Otherwise it's pretty much the same as the original 171 release, aside from a few small changes to the paint apps and markings. Transforming it reminded me of why I haven't transformed any of my 171s since I first bought them. At least the arms aren't so ridiculously tight that it feels like you'll snap them off trying to move them. Welp, time to take her apart! Quote
Anasazi37 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Mine arrived today from HLJ. I dropped my 1/72 Hasegawa Q-Rau into the shipment as well. Wasn't expecting it come in a larger box than the 171! Quote
MKT Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 1 hour ago, Lolicon said: 171 arrived. As expected the matte finish makes it look great. Otherwise it's pretty much the same as the original 171 release, aside from a few small changes to the paint apps and markings. Transforming it reminded me of why I haven't transformed any of my 171s since I first bought them. At least the arms aren't so ridiculously tight that it feels like you'll snap them off trying to move them. Welp, time to take her apart! Looks like the wings are really aligned perfectly in Fighter now. I guess Bandai must have done some work on the wing pegs to make it that way. I'm more tempted to get it now because of that. Quote
Lolicon Posted January 23 Posted January 23 6 hours ago, MKT said: Looks like the wings are really aligned perfectly in Fighter now. I guess Bandai must have done some work on the wing pegs to make it that way. I'm more tempted to get it now because of that. The wing pins appear to be permanently glued in place, so no swapping wings for the non-hardpoint ones if anyone was thinking of doing that. That's probably also why they appear to sit more flush. Also, the wings aren't as badly warped on this unit as my older ones. Still, Bandai seems to have a hard time producing wings that aren't a little warped. I broke my toy. Quote
MKT Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 4 hours ago, Lolicon said: The wing pins appear to be permanently glued in place, so no swapping wings for the non-hardpoint ones if anyone was thinking of doing that. That's probably also why they appear to sit more flush. Also, the wings aren't as badly warped on this unit as my older ones. Still, Bandai seems to have a hard time producing wings that aren't a little warped. I broke my toy. Wing pins glued? Didn't think Bandai would employ such a cheap solution, but I guess it is rather effective lol.. I admire how you are willing to straightaway take apart a minty new toy. Quote
jenius Posted January 23 Posted January 23 They gave us wings and no way to install them? Bizarre. Quote
Chronocidal Posted January 23 Posted January 23 (edited) 58 minutes ago, jenius said: They gave us wings and no way to install them? Bizarre. Edited January 23 by Chronocidal Quote
Lolicon Posted January 23 Posted January 23 (edited) This set does not come with extra wings. But if you happen to have the old set and wanted to use the non-hardpoint wings, you can't. If the pins aren't glued in, then they're incredibly tight and you'll need to pry them with a screwdriver or something to pull them out. I haven't bothered since there's really no reason to take the wings off. Hmmm so I was looking at the Luca and Maruyama 171s and noticed that on the rear part of the wings, they do have tampo printing, but instead of "NO STEP" they have "171" printed on the rear flaps. WTF? Even the Wave kit shares this. Is that how it appeared in the show? EDIT: Yep, that's how it appears in the show. I guess it's so the mechanics are constantly reminded of what aircraft they're working on so they won't accidentally install any VF-25 parts in the 171. Edited January 23 by Lolicon Quote
Sanity is Optional Posted January 23 Posted January 23 28 minutes ago, Lolicon said: Hmmm so I was looking at the Luca and Maruyama 171s and noticed that on the rear part of the wings, they do have tampo printing, but instead of "NO STEP" they have "171" printed on the rear flaps. WTF? Even the Wave kit shares this. Is that how it appeared in the show? EDIT: Yep, that's how it appears in the show. I guess it's so the mechanics are constantly reminded of what aircraft they're working on so they won't accidentally install any VF-25 parts in the 171. Maybe it's so when the mechanics swap out the hardpoint wings they don't get mixed up on which set to grab? 🤣 Quote
jenius Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Oh I was confused by the comparison of on the previous page! My bad for limited attention. Good to know they skipped the extra wings and made the connection super strong on the pegs. That's a plus! Quote
Scyla Posted January 24 Posted January 24 8 hours ago, jenius said: Oh I was confused by the comparison of on the previous page! My bad for limited attention. Good to know they skipped the extra wings and made the connection super strong on the pegs. That's a plus! Don’t worry I also thought the tray with the Super Parts and the extra wing pair came with this release and was confused when someone here mentioned that the wings are removable. I thought to myself: how bizarre! Quote
Chronocidal Posted January 24 Posted January 24 (edited) Got mine from AE today, did a quick unboxing and dropping the legs to check on them. Doesn't look like they've really changed anything about the locking mechanisms, but I think this one is going to be a pure fighter mode display forever. Not worth the risk, since I can see mold flow lines in the knees marking exactly where they will break if I ever stress them. Lower shoulder triangles have a factory-fresh stress mark where the pin was inserted as well. Will just keep this one in fighter for display, and leave the original release for transforming and posing. The shoulder triangles do look like they are an entirely different plastic this time though, both upper and lower. Obviously they're not glossy like the original release, but they're actually a very dark gray, more like a "rubber" color paint would make them. Might be for aesthetics, but I wonder if it's a more durable/flexible plastic than pure black would be. Wing mounts are definitely an improvement though, more like how they should have been all along. Edited January 24 by Chronocidal Quote
treatment Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Moar Heppoko... https://twitter.com/simsim5479/status/1750494497065377915 web-translated: Interesting, but I just hope this Revival's body does not yellow quickly like his original seems to have been... Quote
PointBlankSniper Posted January 25 Posted January 25 I thought the yellow camera was supposed to be an obvious selling point. They might have even officially pointed it out somewhere that I was meant to be more color accuarate than the original release. Part of the reason I was sold on this release was because of how it matched the canopy better, and looked a little more unique than common glowy clear green bits in mechas. Quote
Lolicon Posted January 26 Posted January 26 I think we all already knew what my first order of business was after getting my Revival 171. Quote
26662 Posted January 26 Posted January 26 Mine arrived yesterday - on my 50th birthday, no less. Transforming it was an exercise in patience with pieces popping off left and right. The metal hinge assembly on what becomes the backpack in battroid mode was *incredibly* tight on my copy. I’m glad I had Scorched Earth’s transformation guide on YouTube to warn me what I was getting into. I’ll be surprised if I transform it even one more time. Quote
treatment Posted January 29 Posted January 29 On 1/27/2024 at 12:28 AM, shazam said: here's the part-2: Quote
shazam Posted January 29 Posted January 29 3 hours ago, treatment said: here's the part-2: Glorious! 🤩 Quote
no3Ljm Posted January 29 Posted January 29 On 1/25/2024 at 7:26 PM, Lolicon said: I think we all already knew what my first order of business was after getting my Revival 171. Looking forward to your finished update, @Lolicon. Quote
treatment Posted February 3 Posted February 3 MarkH retro-reviews his kinda-mostly-intact VF-171 cannon-fodder with comparo to the recent VF-171EX Revival: Quote
Lolicon Posted February 6 Posted February 6 VF-171EX Saotome Alto machine battroid mode I'll get some pics of the other modes once I work up the wherewithal to deal with the 171 transformation. Quote
no3Ljm Posted February 6 Posted February 6 1 hour ago, Lolicon said: VF-171EX Saotome Alto machine battroid mode I'll get some pics of the other modes once I work up the wherewithal to deal with the 171 transformation. Nice weathering, @Lolicon! Love the pose too. Quote
Lolicon Posted February 6 Posted February 6 1 hour ago, no3Ljm said: Nice weathering, @Lolicon! Love the pose too. Thanks @no3Ljm! Here's the remaining pics. The 171 has a lot of markings already printed but I did add a few just to bring it more in line with what real world aircraft should have. Sorry for the poor quality as I'm using a makeshift photo setup for the time being. Wish Bandai and Arcadia would actually print us an instrument panel. Quote
MKT Posted February 6 Author Posted February 6 @Lolicon very very nice work!! And don't see how the pics can get any better quality? They look sharp! I like the MDE bombs, those oversized ordinances somehow elevate the whole valk and makes it look very mean. Agreed that instrument panels should be printed, especially Bandai who likes to find reasons just to tampo stuff lol. Quote
Lolicon Posted February 6 Posted February 6 6 hours ago, MKT said: @Lolicon very very nice work!! And don't see how the pics can get any better quality? They look sharp! I like the MDE bombs, those oversized ordinances somehow elevate the whole valk and makes it look very mean. Agreed that instrument panels should be printed, especially Bandai who likes to find reasons just to tampo stuff lol. Thanks! It's a damn shame that if you want the MDEs you have to have the old 171 armor set as Bandai opted not to include them in the revival version. Classic Bandai. Quote
Cherude Posted February 7 Posted February 7 On 2/6/2024 at 2:09 AM, Lolicon said: Here's the remaining pics. The 171 has a lot of markings already printed but I did add a few just to bring it more in line with what real world aircraft should have. How is the transformation process in this renewal version? Better/improved from previous version or still a pain? Quote
PointBlankSniper Posted February 7 Posted February 7 On 2/6/2024 at 1:05 PM, Lolicon said: It's a damn shame that if you want the MDEs you have to have the old 171 armor set as Bandai opted not to include them in the revival version. Classic Bandai. Aren't those only from the CF's armor pack? Since this is not teal, bandai can get away with this one. Quote
Lolicon Posted February 8 Posted February 8 6 hours ago, Cherude said: How is the transformation process in this renewal version? Better/improved from previous version or still a pain? Still the same hassle as before. I was happy to get her back into fighter mode and don't plan on ever transforming her again. At least the wings can't pop off this time around. 6 hours ago, PointBlankSniper said: Aren't those only from the CF's armor pack? Since this is not teal, bandai can get away with this one. MDEs started being used only after the EX upgrade so it really should have been included with this set. Bandai just stuck it in the teal 171 armor set along with the reaction warheads as a cynical ploy to get people to buy another armor set. Because the stupid wing swap gimmick wasn't enough, apparently. Quote
Angesdad Posted February 8 Posted February 8 Looking mighty fine there @Lolicon! Awesome custom work as always, don’t you stop on me now.🤩 Quote
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