ArchieNov

Isn't that level of leg articulation standard for valks these days? All modern Bandai valks can do that, and a number of Yamato/Arcadia ones can too.

Personally, I disassembled that part (it's easy since there's a screw). Then I applied a layer super glue to the joint and put it back together. The hinge was tight afterwards.

Great! I held off on this release because I wasn't sure they've addresses the issue. Did you take a look at your Exia Repair III? Does it also have the crooked waist like mine and all the others I've seen?

Is the waist on this still crooked like the original Exia release? On the original, if you look closely, especially at the waist from behind, you'll notice that the upper torso is not aligned with the hips. Unfortunately, this part is made of metal and there is no side to side waist articulation, so there's no way to correct this issue. I've noticed that all Exias had this problem, so is probably an assembly/mold defect.

They forgot to slide the back plate down. So now the decals don't align

I wish Hot Toys, Bandai, ThreeA/Zero or Sentinel decide to release Pacific Rim robot figures. I know they'll do a great job at it. I'm a big fan of Pacific Rim, but not too fond of Neca's offerings.

I'm probably one of the few (if not only one) that still has their triangles intact with no cracks. Good thing too since I only have one copy. I've transformed it back and forth probably half a dozen times before during the first couple of weeks after getting it. Haven't transformed it in a while though since most of my valks are in fighter mode display. But as most people keep saying, purchase at your own risk. If you don't plan on fiddling around with it too much or are able to be extremely careful when handling, I'd say go for it as it is a nice looking display piece IMO.

Awesome wife you got there. Happy New Year to the both of you and keep these videos coming!

Thanks. I don't have any skill in painting, so thankfully the Unicorn's color scheme doesn't need it since it's just white, black, gray, along with translucent parts. This was a really good kit, and putting in all the LEDs and wiring was an interesting experience. Some early detractors were calling it just a scaled-up Master Grade. While it may share some similarities with the MG, believe me IT IS NOT just a scaled-up MG. This was definitely the most expensive model kit I have ever purchased. It actually cost me more to get this + the LEDs than it did to purchase a VF-4. But you know, it was worth it. One thing I like about building a model kit is admiring your work after it's completed. Sure, mine is mostly a straight build out of the box with just some panel lining, but I can spend hours just looking at it, knowing that I put this great looking thing together. It's also awesome that with these Perfect Grade model kits, you get to understand all the intricate engineering and mechanisms beneath its exterior. Lastly, with all the lights, it also serves as my own Christmas tree. Hahaha!

I got this just before Christmas, and took 5 days to put together. The RX-78 and VF-1J are just for size comparisons.

I feel the same way. I've commented in the Arcadia YF-19 thread before that its battroid mode there didn't seem as sleek as I felt it needed it to be. But the battroid mode for the VF-19 Advance is much more to my taste, and looks like it will feel perfectly in scale with my other Bandai valks. The Arcadia YF-19 / Yamato VF-19 always felt out of scale with the rest of my Macross toys when in battroid mode.

Aside from what has been mentioned, there is actually a slight difference between the Alto YF-29 head and 30th Anniversary head not too many people know about. If you look at the top of the head unit, you'll see 2 vulcan like projections on each side of the dorsal fin. On Alto's these are pointing in the same direction as the visor. On the 30th, it's pointing the other way. I noticed these a long time ago and at first thought it was a mistake in the assembly. But after looking at several online pics, theirs are the same way too. Not sure if this is intentional or not in the design. So as of the YF-29 releases available now, no 2 head units are exactly alike.

That actually looks pretty good. The proportions seem to be the best I've seen so far for battroid. Too bad it's a model kit though. I don't have the skills to assemble/paint one to look as good or better than the box photos.

No worries, man. I was just trying to clear up some misconceptions about NY. Granted, they're not the most popular store among the MW members because of their pricing policy, but one cannot deny that they're reliable. Personally, I'm fine doing business with them. It's basically a more than fair trade-off for me. It's easier for me to recover the extra money spent on NY rather than the time, effort and possible grief trying to secure a hard to find item myself. And there's no guarantee that I'll be able to find the item on my own, so that effort may even go to waste. It's even icing on the cake that you can get web exclusives item from them, something that most online stores do not offer.

I don't think that is the case. NY most likely secures their extra stock by sourcing them from other stores (probably brick and mortar ones) and then resells them. I think someone was able to get a little proof of this because an item they purchased from NY still had a price tag from a different store on it. Because they're not getting them at the same price as when they're getting it directly on Bandai, they would need to charge higher in order to make the same profit. And if these brick and mortar stores are from other places in Japan, then they would have additional logistics costs contributing to the increased price. NY doesn't markup their prices just because they think an item will be in high demand. In fact, their prices are very competitive, sometimes even lower than other popular stores, during the initial preorder window. It's only after their initial stock gets sold out that there's a chance they may restock at a higher price, depending on where they are getting it. But there have been several instances that they will restock at the same price (or even lower). So if people think they are just greedy, that is obviously wrong since if that was their real intent, they would ALWAYS increase their prices during each restock. I've always been a supporter of NY since they have never failed to secure any of my preorders/orders with them, even though the item is no longer available at most other sites. I find their markup understandable when taking into consideration the amount of effort that goes into their business model. Besides, their prices aren't exactly hidden when I push the order button. I know full well what price they're asking for and by making an order with them, I am telling them that I am willing to pay that price since it's more convenient and reliable for me.

When I look at the shoulders and hips, it seems that it's not the usual ball-joints that Bandai uses. The shoulder joints look like they're made of plastic (which might be a good thing), while the hip joints seem more complex than the ones they used in the 25 series. And both of these joints appear to have an easily accessible screw that I think can be used to tighten the joints if needed.

Good job, Bandai! Everything that's been shown so far looks like something that I will definitely buy. There goes my shelf space and my wallet.

Glad to see these numbers brought up. I made a comment before on a different thread saying that the Bandai's were more consistently in scale with each other (with exception of the VB-6 obviously) as compared to Yamato/Arcadia's offerings. But some were quick to dismiss that and felt Yamato did a better job with scaling even though the images and/or numbers clearly show otherwise.

I tried it. But it's not holding strong enough to pull out the hinges. They really won't budge.

Are the RVF-171's ghosts different from the RVF-25's ghosts?

Is there an easy way to pull the front landing gear doors open? If feels like those "pull out" hinges are stuck and I fear I might break the doors if I pull on them too hard.

That looks pretty good. I'll try that on mine when I get it.

It would be easier to help if you have pictures or a video of the exact step that's giving you difficulty. But if I understand your description correctly, perhaps the area preventing you from snapping the backpack down are the shoulders themselves. The shoulder pauldrons must be rotated to a certain position when stowing the arms in fighter. Failure to do so would not create enough clearance for the backpack to snap down in place. Hopefully that's the issue. Edit: to clarify, I'm talking about the shoulder covers (that rounded armor piece covering the shoulder joint)

I personally like the pose very much, and plan to display mine in the same way once I get it. I've always been a fan of the way Revoltech does their promo/box shots and this reminds me very much of it. Really looks very dynamic. I bought the Yamato GNU-Dou's as well but they couldn't pull off really cool poses like the Revoltech ones could.

Thanks for the pics. Arcadia's 19 looks kinda awkward trying to match the same pose.