Cherude

5 hours ago, MKT said:

I just opened mine, and messed with it briefly only in Fighter.

The matte finishing looks really nice, but I'm struck by how solid everything feels in this mode. In hand, there isn't the usual flexing feel in a random area or two one might get with other Bandai DX. Taken together with the matte finishing, it feels very much like an Arcadia valk, which is always a good thing in my books. I really like how the wings are now tight, nicely flushed & properly aligned with the fuselage. 

When I compare in-hand feel with the old CF, the old version actually does have the same solid feeling when the parts come together to form the whole hull. It's just I never really noticed it before because the wings always had some slack on them in a way that was always distracting, plus more distraction of having to concentrate avoid touching or putting finger pressure on the damn triangles while handling.

     

I will appreciate your further comments on transformation and perhaps improvements once you have time for it. 🙃

I never bought a dx vf 171, but I was considering this time, thinking that things may have improved. I am not a display guy, I enjoy posing and transforming multiple times. I am used to transformations and, in theory, the transformation of the 171 seems quite easy compared to some master piece transformers. However, in practice, I see quite a lot people having a hard time transforming it (and I am not willing to spend US$200+ to be frustrated...). So, what you guys think? Should I skip the 171? Anyone here actually enjoyed playing with the new 171 after the wing improvements?

This guy struggles for 2 hours trying to transform the new dx vf 171 back to fighter mode... and basically fails!

It was hard to watch...

https://www.youtube.com/live/IuP5JdLhgyA?si=Tt_r7-5B5-gwcvHq

Is it really that complicated/difficult/painful/awful?!?!

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?

Yeah, not going to force it. Any other non-invasive suggestion to tighten ratchet joints other than floor polish?

The ratchet joint connecting the right leg to the torso of my dx vf 31f is quite weak. Do you guys know how to disassemble and tighten that ratchet joint? I don't think it can be solved just applying floor polish (it is a metal ratchet joint).

22 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Welcome back!

Yes, US$250 shipped is reasonable enough nowadays for Hayate's VF-31J. Mandarake has copies ranging from Y16000-Y23000. Y16K is an open one where Y23K is unopened. However it's best that you grab the reissue one with the Fold Projection Unit instead of the first release.

Thank you for your reply. 👍

Hi, sorry for the newbie question, I am returning to the world of macross after a large hiatus of many years. I am more of a buyer and I am interested in the dx vf-31 line. I know I am late in the game, so what would be a reasonable price for a regular vf-31 (for example, a vf-31j or vf-31f) in the secondary market (used and new)? Would US$250 shipped for a used one be a good price or too expensive? Thanks for helping.