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Bandai DX Chogokin 1/48 VF-1


IXTL

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You have no idea how happy it makes me to see that Bandai actually made this thing reasonably possible to disassemble.  Guess there's a first time for everything. :lol: 

Also yeah, those pilots look a great deal better, Xigfrid.  The really obnoxiously bad part about the Bandai pilot isn't really the size itself, it's just the horrible mismatch between the pilot's microscopic hands and the monumental wad of plastic they molded in for the stick.. I'm tempted to cut it out and replace it, because it's just incredibly fugly.  I'm wishing they'd gone with the DYRL cockpit in general, and wondering how hard it would be to replace the instrument panel and seats with a Hasegawa set.  Could even paint it, for good measure, since Bandai couldn't be arsed to bother with that. <_< 

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On 1/19/2019 at 2:30 PM, Xigfrid said:

I had a male and female pilots printed in 1:48 scale specially for when my VF-1J would arrive. Well I had to cut and sand a lot to fit the female into the cockpit, but I didn’t try hard enough for the male pilot. 

For size comparison, left side are the 1:60 pilots (approx 1m75 fall), middle is a MFT diaclone, right side the same pilots at 1:48 scale. 

It looks like there is room for wealthier pilots than Hikaru, I just hope Bandai can fix the pilot size for the next VF-1 releases. 

 

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Do you by chance make the Pilots?? cause i would like to get a male figure if possible.

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5 minutes ago, spanner said:

Has anyone considered making better gun straps to replace those nasty rubbery plastic ones? 

I was going to make some of the ones I used on my 1/60s.  I don't have my 1/48 in yet, but I made some in 1/48 scale for the Yamato 1/48 (for another member).

I'm not sure how I'm going to do deal with the peg, though.  I may just reuse the peg it comes with (and take the plastic one off the rings).  If someone wants to do the peg that plugs into the gun on Shapeways or something, that could be useful.

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I know there are lots of videos already of the DX VF 1J, but I love how in this video it didn't have any issues at all transforming it without disconnecting the legs  or fell off, I think in the end it just depends how you handle the transformation. This valk is a work of Art .

 

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10 hours ago, Hikaru1234567890 said:

Do you by chance make the Pilots?? cause i would like to get a male figure if possible.

I do, but unfortunately both pilots were in the wrong position: legs and arms were oriented in a way that prevents them to sit in the valk.

Considering the markings that states this is an "Hikaru", I feel bad to put someone else into this valk. And considering he is sized like a 16 year old child, I am ok with its actual slimness. The only major flaw to me,  is the "somewhat undersized" helmet. But still, I am sure that there are some cell that would picture his helmet not larger than his head, or as large as an adult head.

I will still work on these 1:48 pilots though and try to fit them into the cockpit just in case that the other release come with small pilots again!

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8 hours ago, spanner said:

Has anyone considered making better gun straps to replace those nasty rubbery plastic ones? 

Soconded. And the hole at the back part of the gun seems to be lacking something to hold the peg tightly. Doesn't matter witch peg I put in it, it doesn't want to stay in there. 

Otherwise, I'm loving this thing! No issues with any part of it, so far. Wings are level, flaps are not loose, fins are fidly but ok. Very impressively put together toy. 

Edited by mickyg
Too negative.
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1 hour ago, s_i_t_h_l_o_r_d said:

Hands down TOTY 2018! The only oversight that Bandai could implement easily is provide tabs on the fore arms and peg holes to receive the tabs so that the arms don't tend to droop down when handling in fighter mode. Clearly hands down the best VF-1 representation and presentation! Can't wait what they will do for the fully armored valkyrie set on this super poseable figure because they tend to be stiff and less dynamic looking.

I feel the same way! This VF-1 is perfect. The definitive VF-1 toy. I'm once again reminded of how much I love the simplicity of the VF-1 design and transformation. For the past few months I've been on a VF-19/YF-19 toy binge so this toy is refreshing :)

 

 

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18 hours ago, HardlyNever said:

I was going to make some of the ones I used on my 1/60s.  I don't have my 1/48 in yet, but I made some in 1/48 scale for the Yamato 1/48 (for another member).

I'm not sure how I'm going to do deal with the peg, though.  I may just reuse the peg it comes with (and take the plastic one off the rings).  If someone wants to do the peg that plugs into the gun on Shapeways or something, that could be useful.

Yeah I think it would be a case of using the existing pins especially considering we'd still have to remove the strap when it's in fighter mode. Or something could be made using Shapeways or another 3D printing service. Though that would bump up the costs considerably.. 

9 hours ago, mickyg said:

Soconded. And the hole at the back part of the gun seems to be lacking something to hold the peg tightly. Doesn't matter witch peg I put in it, it doesn't want to stay in there. 

Otherwise, I'm loving this thing! No issues with any part of it, so far. Wings are level, flaps are not loose, fins are fidly but ok. Very impressively put together toy. 

For me the gun pod strap material, the inability to secure it when in fighter mode, the tiny pilot and those intake covers which continuously pop out are the toys shortfalls.. maybe replacement pilots  and covers could be 3D printed? 

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9 hours ago, mickyg said:

Soconded. And the hole at the back part of the gun seems to be lacking something to hold the peg tightly. Doesn't matter witch peg I put in it, it doesn't want to stay in there. 

The hole at the rear of my gunpod was actually blocked down inside. Probably some mold flash. A quick fix with a pin vise thankfully took care of it.

Looking at the pins it seems like there is probably a little nub in the hole to hold the pin. Sounds like a molding problem on yours may have prevented this nub from being big enough.

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6 hours ago, Dobber said:

That might be another good after market part...fixed place fins. I keep bumping the darn things everytime I handle the toy.

Chris

Solid fins would actually be a really simple part to make, and I'd love a pair.  Just might be tricky matching the paint and body color.

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22 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

You have no idea how happy it makes me to see that Bandai actually made this thing reasonably possible to disassemble.  Guess there's a first time for everything. :lol: 

Also yeah, those pilots look a great deal better, Xigfrid.  The really obnoxiously bad part about the Bandai pilot isn't really the size itself, it's just the horrible mismatch between the pilot's microscopic hands and the monumental wad of plastic they molded in for the stick.. I'm tempted to cut it out and replace it, because it's just incredibly fugly.  I'm wishing they'd gone with the DYRL cockpit in general, and wondering how hard it would be to replace the instrument panel and seats with a Hasegawa set.  Could even paint it, for good measure, since Bandai couldn't be arsed to bother with that. <_< 

Easy to disassemble until you get to the intake. Beneath the lower ball joint housing is where the thigh/drawer joint is secured. On 1 leg on my copy, that connection wobbles a bit. Not at the drawer hinge itself but the actual thigh piece. Not sure if mine is missing a screw or a peg within that housing(unscrewed the cover on top of the other intake and didn't notice any missing screws). So if anything is missing, I won't know until either the fanblade section to the front or the lower ball joint housing is removed. They aren't easy to remove, not sure if they are soldered or glued into place.

Not a deal breaker but not consistent with the other thigh which is rock solid in that housing. Could be a case of missing glue, who knows. Might be a very easy bandaid solution that I'll be testing out soon.

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So just a heads up for anyone doing any kind of work with masking tape: the tampo quality Bandai used is pretty shoddy, as I managed to take off some of the UN SPACY text removing masking tape from around the leg after painting the landing gear. I think one or two peeps reported that the text was somewhat messed up on their copy; it probably got rubbed off with the minor handling during packaging.

Some printing came off on my first copy when I masked the canopy too.

I was able to touch it up with some black paint, so it's not noticeable unless you look reeeeal close and know to look for it. But yeah, poor quality tampo printing on this thing, so be careful when handling or masking it.

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Mucking around and shooting while the review video processes and I have to say I really slept on the Hi-Metal R. I've had it for some time now and this is the first time I've honestly gotten to look at and play with it and it's a pretty damned nice piece in its own right. I honestly love the aesthetic of it.

22-62.png

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Has anyone done any physical modifications to the intake covers so they fit better? 

Last night I shaved a bit of plastic away to see if it fit better, it does but it's not as tight anymore and could pop out even easier.. I use that one on my battroid Valkyrie so it's working against the force of gravity..

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25 minutes ago, spanner said:

Has anyone done any physical modifications to the intake covers so they fit better? 

Last night I shaved a bit of plastic away to see if it fit better, it does but it's not as tight anymore and could pop out even easier.. I use that one on my battroid Valkyrie so it's working against the force of gravity..

Someone added magnets to theirs and there is a video posted somewhere in this thread. It was cool.

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31 minutes ago, spanner said:

Has anyone done any physical modifications to the intake covers so they fit better? 

Last night I shaved a bit of plastic away to see if it fit better, it does but it's not as tight anymore and could pop out even easier.. I use that one on my battroid Valkyrie so it's working against the force of gravity..

 

5 minutes ago, Slave IV said:

Someone added magnets to theirs and there is a video posted somewhere in this thread. It was cool.

I think it’s the one from amazon review

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/customer-reviews/R21XEND4VR0DY8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B07FVSX5BL

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2 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

Mucking around and shooting while the review video processes and I have to say I really slept on the Hi-Metal R. I've had it for some time now and this is the first time I've honestly gotten to look at and play with it and it's a pretty damned nice piece in its own right. I honestly love the aesthetic of it.

22-62.png

thanks to the lighting in This image reveals to me once again modeling mistakes on the leg design. practically the same as the old yamie 1/48. I consider after checking my 1/60 yamie V2 that is the only one with the right leg design.

Edited by valkfighter
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3 hours ago, Xigfrid said:

The whole pilot mess seems to come from a wrong seating position, the seat is too much forward and the pilot is cramped in a very small space compared to what we are used to. 

 

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The lineart also shows that the pilot's seat should be further back. The trend of pushing the seat further to the front began with Yamato's v2, ostensibly to save money instead of designing a completely separate cockpit for the two-seater VF's. I can understand making that compromise in budget to mid-range toys, but not in premium toys.

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