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Hi-Metal R


joppewo

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So, got my non-defective one in (from Amazon Japan) and I have to say that Bandai's factory is really slipping. Lots of little things like threads, dirt, smears, and one terrible nub I had to trim off before the arm and leg would slot together (stuck out a good 2mm).

Also, anyone else have an issue with the front of the torso not wanting to stay tabbed down? The bit right above and behind the heat shield.

All of that aside, it certainly is impressively engineered.

Edited by Sanity is Optional
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14 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

So I went super low-tech/low-effort on a fix for the wing angle in fighter mode, and realized that there's enough play in the wing hinges to kind of just force them downward.  So, I just folded up a sliver of printer paper a couple times, jammed it in to the joint, and now the outer wings are even with the canards. ^_^ 

I did originally make a small modification to the leg by shaving down the upper lip of the slot that the wing tabs into, but I'm not even sure that was necessary.  It did let the wings drop easier, and not snap in level so solidly, but they're not rock-solid to begin with, and there's enough slippage in the joint to push the wings downward without any changes.  I'm going to see if the paper is enough to push the wings down on my stock copy later today.

As a side note, the wing hinges aren't pinned, and just pop in and out easily if you want to do more extensive modifications.  Just doing something to beef up either the outboard side of those hinge blocks, or inboard surface of the wing root would push the wing downward.  You'd need the equivalent thickness of about three layers of printer paper* to angle the wings down the same amount as the Yamato version.

* I'm not sure what thickness of paper, but I'll check that later.  It was whatever I had on hand at the time.

I don't understand what you were going for here.  You don't like the fact that the wings are straight out and flat, like a normal airplane?   So it required a mod to correct?

Aren't the wings supposed to be flat?

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Like whatever you want. It's still incorrect wing alignment for the VF-4. Not that I care; it's the questionable QC that annoys me. Paint blemishes, glue and sticky residue all over the VF-4.  Nothing like having to sand out a fingerprint hardened in super glue.

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I hope I don't regret not getting this (saving for the TV Max DX pre-order). It has a very cool fighter mode but I'm not just not the biggest fan of it's battroid mode, which is my favorite mode to display a Valk. I believe I only want to get the VF-4 because everyone else on here seems to be getting it and plus it's available right now, no waiting... Lol 

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19 minutes ago, Foblander said:

I hope I don't regret not getting this (saving for the TV Max DX pre-order). It has a very cool fighter mode but I'm not just not the biggest fan of it's battroid mode, which is my favorite mode to display a Valk. I believe I only want to get the VF-4 because everyone else on here seems to be getting it and plus it's available right now, no waiting... Lol 

You can still get the HMR VF-4 now while still saving for the DX Max-1A.  Unless of course, you gonna preorder the Max-1A from pay-now sites for preorders like Anime Export or whichever else.

As such, the VF-4 has always had a fugly battroid-mode.

You just either accept the fugly-battroid it comes with and buy it, or you just don't buy it at all.

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10 hours ago, Sanity is Optional said:

[...] All of that aside, it certainly is impressively engineered.

Actually, I'm not really impressed about it. IMO this is no more than a scaled down Yamarcadia (which is actually what amazes me), sharing with it design, proportions and engineering, so kudos to Mr.K or T-REX in any case -_-

On the other side, the 1/60 version had some design shortcomings like the short arms and the inability to rotate the shoulders, both of which have not been addressed at all by Bandai...

Please don't misunderstand me, I really love this new iteration, but there is nothing new here but the scale and the much more iconic (and lovable for some of us) paint scheme.

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2 minutes ago, Reïvaj said:

Actually, I'm not really impressed about it. IMO this is no more than a scaled down Yamarcadia (which is actually what amazes me), sharing with it design, proportions and engineering, so kudos to Mr.K or T-REX in any case -_-

On the other side, the 1/60 version had some design shortcomings like the short arms and the inability to rotate the shoulders, both of which have not been addressed at all by Bandai...

Please don't misunderstand me, I really love this new iteration, but there is nothing new here but the scale and the much more iconic (and lovable for some of us) paint scheme.

Ouch.  Such backhanded praise.

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I mean, they copied the Yamato design right down to the stupidly oversized cockpit, so you can have both your 1/60 and 1/100 pilots needing arm extensions to reach the control panel. :p 

I'm impressed that they managed to basically replicate it at roughly half the size, but Bandai did almost zero design work to improve on the original, and goofed up the wing angles in the process.  It's fortunately a really easy thing to tweak, but still a dumb thing to get wrong.

On the other hand, the HMR's missiles stay put a lot better than the 1/60's. :lol: 

Don't get me wrong, the wing angles don't ruin anything for me, I still love having these little guys on my desk.

As a side note, I checked, and no, you don't have to modify the valk at all to get the wings to drop a little.  I did a couple more experiments with some tiny clippings of a business card slipped into the wing joint, and it was plenty to drop the wings down on an un-modified copy.  I just used a piece the length between the two tabs, and about three millimeters wide, folding it into an L shape over a ruler, and slipping the lower flap under the arm/booster section.

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15 hours ago, Saburo said:

Here you go @no3Ljm, vertical stabilizers down. :D

VF-4 Lightning III

Thank you, my dear good sir. :good: My package already arrived at our mail sorting facility. Hope I can get it today. Can't wait. ^_^ 

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Nope.  As always, Lolicon knows what he's talking about.

Note the wing alignment on the Wave model kit:

244055893_VF-4wingalignment.thumb.jpg.0a47f95183848393660bec0ca914993f.jpg

Gorgeous bird, Tekering. :wub: 

2 hours ago, Foblander said:

I believe I only want to get the VF-4 because everyone else on here seems to be getting it and plus it's available right now, no waiting... Lol 

Peer pressure? 8)

 

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3 hours ago, Foblander said:

I hope I don't regret not getting this (saving for the TV Max DX pre-order). It has a very cool fighter mode but I'm not just not the biggest fan of it's battroid mode, which is my favorite mode to display a Valk. I believe I only want to get the VF-4 because everyone else on here seems to be getting it and plus it's available right now, no waiting... Lol 

This is one of my favorite Valkyries! Although it has always been one of my least favorite in Battroid-_- But the HMR VF-4 is a good looking battroid and has grown a ton on me!:yahoo:

Edited by Bolt
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23 minutes ago, Foblander said:

Macross pressure! Lol

Nah. I really do believe that it's due to peer pressure. ^_^ 

3 hours ago, Foblander said:

I hope I don't regret not getting this (saving for the TV Max DX pre-order). It has a very cool fighter mode but I'm not just not the biggest fan of it's battroid mode, which is my favorite mode to display a Valk. I believe I only want to get the VF-4 because everyone else on here seems to be getting it and plus it's available right now, no waiting... Lol 

 

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1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

 I'm impressed that they managed to basically replicate it at roughly half the size, but Bandai did almost zero design work to improve on the original, and goofed up the wing angles in the process.  It's fortunately a really easy thing to tweak, but still a dumb thing to get wrong.

That's pretty much where I'm at. Despite the shoddy assembly/worksmanship at times, shrinking a design 40% while still getting everything to fit properly is actually a lot of work. Re-evaluating the tolerances isn't straightforward.

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4 hours ago, Foblander said:

 I believe I only want to get the VF-4 because everyone else on here seems to be getting it and plus it's available right now, no waiting... Lol 

 

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

Peer pressure? 8)
 

 

1 hour ago, Foblander said:

Macross pressure! Lol

 

59 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Nah. I really do believe that it's due to peer pressure. ^_^ 

 

Tee hee hee. It's either peer pressure or enablement that overtakes the better of us. :lol:

Cue up Queens song: Under Pressure (this is the version not done with the late David Bowie).

 

 

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8 hours ago, borgified said:

this is the version not done with the late David Bowie

Okay, so who's the Bowie sound-alike singing a duet with Freddie Mercury?  :unknw:

10 hours ago, Bolt said:

But the HMR VF-4 is a good looking battroid and has grown a ton on me!:yahoo:

Me too.  At first, I was like "Why would I even transform it?"

But now...  :wub:

732363147_sexyVF-4.thumb.jpg.00625d059ac0f02ebaa09bc32cd5c22f.jpg

Having a gunpod to wield makes a huge difference.  :good:

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I’d consider making a HMR VF-4 Cavaliers but it would have to be after I finish the VF-1A Cavaliers which will be sometime between now and when my kid graduates from high school.  B))

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21 hours ago, borgified said:

Tee hee hee. It's either peer pressure or enablement that overtakes the better of us. :lol:

Cue up Queens song: Under Pressure (this is the version not done with the late David Bowie).

Sorry to say, but I'm pretty sure that is David Bowie.

12 hours ago, tekering said:

Me too.  At first, I was like "Why would I even transform it?"

But now...  :wub:

732363147_sexyVF-4.thumb.jpg.00625d059ac0f02ebaa09bc32cd5c22f.jpg

Having a gunpod to wield makes a huge difference.  :good:

Love this pose, Tekering. :good:

 

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10 minutes ago, VF-1A Cannon Fodder said:

I've been planning to do this to my assembly kit VF-1A as I grew up near Point Mugu NAS and I used to see VX-4 Phantoms and Tomcats :D

Got to see the VX-4 Tomcats at the Van Nuys & Point Mugu Airshows quite a few times, simply epic! The VF-4 looks super lethal in those colors. 

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