Scyla

I would love the VF-25F Armored Messiah. Need to pick the add-on parts up one day (I doubt they will be reissued). Especially if there are no Tornado Parts for the VF-25G

That depends on the broken part. The thin black triangles that fold in half and store inside the chest piece are not vital for the transformation. Since the parts are only visible from the bottom view they won't affect the look of the plane dramatically when looked at from top views. They are barely visible in Gerwalk- and Battroid-Mode. The two big black triangles with the "NUNS" marking are the mounting point for the pauldrons onto the shoulder joints. If they are damaged then you wont be able to attach the shoulders any longer depending on how much are damaged. Worst case: the shoulder pauldrons no longer attach to the toy. Then on my copy the piece between back triangles (with the rest of the "NUNS" ) is cracked (it seems I'm the only one *insert Queen music here*) which is luckily only cosmetic (so far) but definitely ugly when you know where to look at (and I know exactly where to look at).

Looks awesome. Very well done. I envy you for your airbrush skills. it is possible to separate the armor panels from the rest of the armor or do you have to mask up everything with tape? Second question: are there any already mixed up paints in spray cans that match the color of the animation? I don't want to buy a whole airbrush set only for the Armor Parts of a CF Valkyrie.

Awesome collection of videos for the Super VF-27. Much appreciated! Are you planning an review for the VF-171 Armor Parts?

The only difference on the head is the one vs. two (four?) head laser design. The rest of the head is identical right?

Mine shipped from NY and is already on a plane out of Japan. I don't get it. Why they bothered with that. I mean the Frontier line is clearly movie centric (Super and Armor Parts for the VF-171 and VF-27, the YF-29). In the movies the armor panels have a light gray color. Bandai decided to change the color of the armor panels into a different color than the Alto release. Why on earth did they not cast them in the right color. I guess it is the same with the white skulls and crossbones on the YF-29 30th Anniversary Super Parts. It just makes no sense. However maybe Kawamori intervened and said the color in the movie looked dumb and he wants it changed into a dark blue.

Well I'm sure it is not that easy to compare since they are not the same product i.e. they don't have the same finish. Also the level of income might be different in Japan then say in the US. Also you don't know the company structure. Maybe Takara calculates the MSRP purely with the Japanese market in mind. So the sold units in Japan have to cover all the costs and create a profit. That means that Hasbro only has to cover the manufacturing costs. Also the packaging is different. And TRU has more power on the market than any other toy store, etc. etc. Determining the price of a product is a difficult and complex topic and I'm not able to grasp it completely but that is what I came up with. However I have the feeling that there is more to the price of a toy then: "they charge that much because they can"

Arcadia should totally develop a transforming box. Like going from Transportation-Mode (protect the inside safely) over Display-Mode (arrange the inside in a fashionable way and have a flip-top lid) to Storage-Mode (to minimize storage space). Of course the toy inside should always be save.

For me it is the other way round. I can't stay the fact that it has the same head than the VF-25G but I love the color. Too bad mine will stay in fighter mode for ever because I will salvage it for the metal hip bar for my alto. I always peeking at a VF-11C on Mandarake but the price point is just too much for me at the moment.

Did both of you use the water-slide decals or did someone bother to use the stickers? The one one the canopy color looks a little bit faded out. I assume this is due to the non opaque white background of the decal.

Some men much wiser than me once said: "don't discuss economy on the interwebs!!!" So it is a steep price but the YF-19 is a huge toy. has many gimmicks (swappable wings, missile compartments in the legs for swappable missiles), comes with a lot of accessories (how much has to be clarified at this point), is made out of high quality material, is detailed (hopefully) and has ingenious engineering. So I think it is justified to cost as much as it does. And shipping costs and custom fees hurt me as much as the most of members on this message board but these are extra costs that Arcadia cannot factor in so talking about those when discussing the MSRP of toy is useless. In the end only you can decide if the asked price is worth it. I think it is but your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the link. Oh Bandai I could have done without the MDE and Reaction-Missiles if the parts had the right color. So no replacement shoulder hinges I guess.

Yeah I know that HLJ has the policy to always declare the proper value but someone mentioned it would be possible if you send them an email... too bad I cannot find the quote anymore since I don't have the time to browse through this message board all day long. Maybe I misread it somehow. I also think that HLJ is to big of a business to get away with something like this.

That is the problem with promotional images. They always look good.

I haven't received any information about my Armor Parts. Payed two month ago. With NY I generally pay when I have the spare money so I keep my account balanced. Are there any pictures up for this add-on set? I would love some images that clarify the color of the parts.

Those gloves are boss Anubis! How does your hip joint fix for the VF-25G hold up? You know the one you reinforced with rubber.

Wait until you have it in your hands. Maybe it will the best thing ever and you want to give Arcadia $50 extra because it is that great. I thought someone here on the board said that HLJ will declare your package as a gift when you ask them. BBTS has the same option but their packages always get caught by customs. Not giving any advice for tax fraud though!

At least it is not 40,000 Yen. Tasty ramen diet incoming. Would not be to bad. I can deal with that.

Maybe (and it is a big maybe) you can push them a little bit more into the upper intake area. But that is the place where the thigh joints should be located. Also to be able to move up the joints where the wings connect to the fuselage have to be able to compress. So I don't see that happen but maybe (again!) Arcadia will surprise us. Even with this edge it looks super sleek in my eyes. And for me the Fighter-Mode is the best one for the Yamatos YF-19. I'm still curious how all the features of this toy work so I can't wait to have it in hand.

I feel like the price is justified. The original VF-27 was released in 2010 for 16,000 Yen without a stand and the Super Parts. Since no Super Parts for the V1 Lucifer where released the original VF-25 Super Parts give a hint how they would have been priced. These where released for 4,000 Yen and included a stand. Although the VF-27 Super Parts have less stuff then the VF-25 parts but when you take into account that labor and material costs usually go up over time I feel like 20,000 Yen in 2013 for the VF-27 with stand and Super Parts is a good price compared to the original release. Sure you don't have the initial R&D costs but Bandai made a lot of changes to the existing mold which can be pretty pricey on their on. Sometimes the cost of changing a product can even exceed a new development form the ground up. I think you can compare this release to some extend to the MP-11 Seeker mold (would you count that to the V2 MP line). The toy had a cheep look for a high end collectible piece (especially the gray plastic) and was retrofitted into a robot that is hanging from the bottom of a jet plane rather than a rather realistic look airplane that the MP-03 was. Of course there where some shortcomings in the Kawamori design but Takara could have done a better job there. The back of the plane where the thrusters are is there worst offender in my opinion. Also for what you getting I feel that the toy was pretty expensive. On the other hand I wish Takara would release a MP Skywarp based on the MP-11 mold. Third party transforming robots can be pretty cool (like the FT Quake Wave) or pretty terrible (like the TFC Superion; ok maybe terrible is too strong of a word) but they all are super pricey given their niche audience. However I love the upcoming MMC stuff. And I know exactly how you feel like. My attention also switched from Transformers to 3rd party transforming robots to Valkyries and back (and across). Hopefully there will be a new Macross show someday so we get a new generation of Variable Fighters. Or Arcadia will stay long enough afloat to give us the other Macross Valkyries we are missing so far. But for that they have to make money and the Macross cash-cow was the VF-1. So to get a VF-2SS you have to purchase lots and lots of VF-1 toys.

YF-30!!! I don't care what everyone else thinks because I have a VF-25S. Joking aside I think a VF-25S reissue makes the most sense.

It's funny how much one starts to love a thing after he spend money on it. No offense. It happened to me several times (more than I can think of). Glad you like it. I hope it stays that way.

Cool custom VF-1J. Then again I love the first picture. The paint splatters make it look like the Valkyrie is flying through a rain of confetti which is only appropriate for an anniversary edition.

Good review jenius. I'm looking forward for the videos. One humble request: could you show in your transformation video how to transform the legs the right way with the Super Parts equipped. I have a terrible hard time to find a way where the legs stay securely in place. If the videos are already shot and/or you covered this issue already you don't have to include it. It was just a thought. Then I would've loved to hear your opinion on the leg attachment points as they are not have the grips of death that the VF-25 Renewals have. Other then that I really enjoyed reading your review.

Maybe the color turns magically to a light gray at the day of the release. Oh, and they include a pair of new shoulder blocks that are not made out of explodium. One can dream, one can dream.