HardlyNever

Here is where I'm at with the hand now. Any recommendations for painting on resin? I need to match the color to the rest of the valk/hands:

Well I finally have a TV-style fist that is close enough to what I want. I've got a slightly better hand mold curing right now, but this is more or less where I'm at with it. My goal wasn't really to create something that looked like it shipped in the package with the rest of the valk; just something that looked passable from 2-3 feet away (generally how far away when I look at my display). I might revisit the sculpt at a later date, but I think I want to move on to other things for the time being: The last thing to do is to paint this in some way to match the off-white of the rest of the valk/hands. Anyone have any suggestions for painting on resin? Haven't really done that before, so any paint recommendations would be great (even better if you know a color that will match).

Quick question, as I struggle to keep up with Gunpla news. Am I completely crazy, or was there some release/announcement of a release for new TV series-style Gundam Wing MG kits? I know this has been around for a while, but that is the only TV show style MG kit I've been able to find (I know there is a lot of EW variants available). I thought I read/heard somewhere that Bandai was releasing some TV MG kits, but I could be completely misinformed and/or have had this in some sort of fever dream. Does anyone know anything about this, or am I going insane here? Were they a different grade, maybe?

Missile effects for the TV style missiles (and maybe the reaction missiles) are on my to-do list, after I finish my current 3D printing project. Will I ever actually get around to it? I dunno. Missile effect parts for the box missiles would be harder, because there is no real port to plug them into like the removable missiles have. But someone with more time/talent than me could probably do it.

Anyone with digital calipers and a DX 1/48 hand want to give me a ball joint measurement (in millimeters)? I used the calipers we have at the 3D printing lab here, but I'm not sure how accurate they are (the battery was dying, and there might be user error on my end). I got between 5.1 and 5.15 millimeters, but the final product looks a little on the small side to my eye (I won't be able to tell for sure until I get home). I'd like to do another print now, if this ball joint is in fact too small. I'm thinking it is closer to 5.5mm around. I know 6mm is too big, as I made one that size already. This 5.15mm ball joint might work, but if I could get a second opinion on the measurement, that would be great.

Same situation with NY. I ordered the SS parents June 7, also got the email that they "just found out" the release date changed (lol). I wonder if any of us are going to get December/January shipments, or they are just going to scalp most of their first wave for more profit. Either way, NY just went from "not my first choice" to "absolute last resort only" for me.

I don't know much about toy production, but I feel like there is a reason we'll never see a larger-scale SoC-style VF-1, at least not from a big company like Bandai. I'm probably letting my experience in web development color my opinion too much, but here's a simplified version of how I see this going down. I present "Valkyrie's Fall: A three five act play." Players: Executive (EX), Product Design Lead (PDL), Product Engineer (PE) Act 1 EX: Ok, whats next in the pipeline for product ideas? PDL: We're thinking a Soul of Chogokin VF-1. It's an iconic mech design that is still appreciated by fans today. We've done well with less popular mechs, and I think this is an easy home-run. We'll make the best VF-1 ever made. PE: Yup, we've been looking forward to doing this for a while. We've got a basic prototype already. At this scale and price, we'll be able to incorporate gimmicks and features that no one else has been able to attempt in this classic design. EX: Sounds great, lets get to work on it and see what you come up with. Act 2 PDL: Here's our first mock-up. We're thinking around 1/35th scale, die-cast construction. This will give us the heft we need to add in a lot of small features that can't be done in the smaller scales this design is usually done in. PE: We've already incorporated a light-up visor, and we're working out how to keep it perfect transformation while leaving space for all the extra things we want to add in. EX: Great, looks great. Say, I was talking to 斉藤さん in accounting the other day, and he said there are actually a lot of VF-1 color schemes, and that we can use the same mold to make a bunch "different" toys, and those otaku will buy all of them! Is that true? PDL: Uhh... yes sir, that's true. But the idea behind this particular design was that we were trying to make the "ultimate" VF-1. This toy has been made a lot over the decades, but we wanted to do a single, definitive version for our SoC line. EX: Sure, sure. This will still be the best one ever. But let's get rid of the die-cast. It will cost too much and people won't buy more than one at that price-point. We want want to be able to repaint this thing and sell it to the same sucker customer again and again, right? That's where the money is. Show me what you can do in ABS. PE: Ok... Act 3 PDL: Ok, sir. We've changed it to mostly plastic. We still think we can do some things the customers have never seen before with the large size. Here are some cool gimmicks we're thinking of that have never been done before. We're also going to include all these accessories with the product. PE: Yeah, we've got these little arms that come out of the big arms, and... EX: Hmm... yeah. Ya know, I was talking to that 斉藤さん again, and man, he knows a lot about Macross. Why don't you guys know this stuff; isn't it your job to know this stuff? Anyhow, he says there are a bunch of accessories that go with this VF-1 thing, and we could even sell them separately to customers, and they would buy multiples of each! Can you believe that? Is that true? PD: Yes sir... that's technically true. But that's all been done before. Remember, we were making the "definitive" version of this mech with this particular design. We wanted to include all those accessories with the base toy, like we do with most of our SoC products. EX: Sure, this will still be definitive, but we can't pass up all the extra cash. Lets plan on having those accessories separate. We'll sell them individually later. Anyhow, I've got some puppies to go kick, it's looking good, we'll meet again later. *PDL and PE stare at each other silently* Act 4 PDL: Ok, sir. We've finished working on the accessories, but they will be sold separately. We still have some fun new features never done before with this toy, due to the increased size. See, these intake covers are usually separate parts, but now they'll be able to... EX: Looking good. But I was thinking, at this size, some suckers customers won't really have the space for more than one. Let's shrink it down some, that way more people can collect all of them! PE: We could, but at a smaller scale, we'd have to get rid of some of these original gimmicks that die hard fans have always wanted. I've been dying to make a VF-1 that does these things. EX: But they're die-hard fans right? So they'll buy it anyhow! This is still going to be the best VF-1 thingy ever right? Are you telling me this won't be the best VF-1 ever? I thought you guys were good at your job? PDL: Yes, sir. It would still probably be the best one ever, but we wanted to make a truly epic toy; ya, know. Definitive; like we've been saying. We won't be able to do that at a smaller size. EX: It will still be the best one ever. Just shrink it down, we'll figure out the rest. PDL, PE: Yes, sir. Act 5 PDL: Well, here it is. We've made it 1/48 scale, like you asked. We had to sacrifice a lot of the original things we wanted to do with this design, but it stills should be the best VF-1 ever. EX: Great, great. Look, we got rid of most of the metal right? And this isn't even all that large anymore. This really isn't an SoC figure anymore. We have our DX Chogokin line for this kind of stuff. Let's put it in there. We'll be able to make a lot more of them that way. PE: But, sir. We wanted this to be the ultimate VF-1. If we do that, it's just another good one. EX: Yeah, yeah, but the best one ever? Right. Sounds good. Great job on the new DX Chogokin VF-1 design guys. We'll make a ton of cash. THE END (PS this is what happens when I have too much time off from work).

Got a chance to "attach" one of the early builds to the valk. The ball is still about 1mm too small all around, so I just used some tape to get an idea of how it actually looks on a valk. I've also realized I need deeper lines between the fingers and on the joints to match the contrast of the tv hands on the Bandai valk. I'm also shrinking the size down just a hair. I've done all those things on my latest file, but since I print this stuff at work, I won't be doing another test run until the new year.

I've seen this pic I dunno how many times, but for the first time I really noticed that "thumb" on the main hand. Look at it... that's not a thumb. It's like a separate hand or something. I don't even know what to call it; but it's huge.

That sucks. But nothing surprises me about NY anymore, unfortunately. Oh well, I knew when I ordered more than 1 set I'd be setting myself up for an April shipment from them. We'll see what happens, maybe a few of us will get lucky.

Yeah, like @Matt Random said above, that's kind of weird given that some of us got notifications that it will be released on Dec 23, 2019. I mean, I'm not expecting them to actually SHIP it then (this is NY), but it would be a new low for them if they notified a new release date, then said "nah, its all actually in April." My faith in NY is basically non-existent beyond "I'll get it eventually," so anything could happen of course. It's just odd that they would go out of their way to antagonize their customers in that way.

This is the second attempt (the first was way too small, in all regards). I'm really trying to dial in the correct ball size to fit the DX joint. This is 4.8mm, and I have a 5mm one currently printing (it also has an improved hand sculpt, especially on the inside fingers). I haven't had a chance to clean up the all the excess plastic on this, since I'm at work, but I feel like I'm getting close. I'll post pictures of a (hopefully) attached one when I get home today. These are all PLA test runs (hence the weird colors), but the final version will be in resin, which I'll probably have to end up painting or shading a bit. I'll also be refining the hand sculpt and size once I have a working ball joint. It will be easier to tell what looks good on the figure once I can get it attached.

This is on my "virtual workbench" I guess (is there a thread for 3D printing stuff?): I'm trying to make a 1/48 DX vf-1 TV style-fist, that started as a scan of yamcadia TV style fist. Still definitely a WIP at this point, but I should have the first prototype printed out tomorrow. I'm not sure how much of the bumpiness will be captured by the 3D printer, so I'll refine it from there. I'm also pretty sure the ball joint is a little too small, but I should be able to adjust that pretty easily. This was definitely harder than thought it would be when I got the idea (I'm a complete noob to 3D printing). Props to the guys that make all those detailed models and extra pieces on Shapeways and the like; this definitely isn't easy.

I'd say defending a multi-million dollar international company is kind of a shame, as well. All for the sake of "muh free market." Bandai is a big boy, they can take it (not like they read this, anyhow). Also, many of us (myself included) pre-ordered these without really knowing exactly what we were getting, because that's how Bandai is. You have to order these things at first announcement, or risk missing out entirely (or paying extreme mark-ups). If they gave us more information at the time of reveal, then we'd be able to make more informed decisions, but they typically do not do that, especially for accessory products like this. As time went and on we got more pictures of displays, it was becoming clear that this set didn't have all the gimmicks some of us were expecting. And I feel like this is a perfect place to voice that disappointment, as I know several other members were wondering what exactly we were getting, as well. I'll still enjoy getting the SS parts, I just wish we knew what we were buying before hand. And I don't see the reason for them to giving us less while charging more. But I guess they keep getting away with it, so they keep at it.

Do the missile booms themselves have any kind of internal detail? I'm guessing no? The lack of internal detail at this price and this scale is pretty disappointing. Not that I really used it much on the yamcadia's, it was still nice to know it was there and I did use it for hangar-style displays every once in a while. We really shouldn't be moving backward at this price point. Shame on Bandai.

I got the 1J and 1S for just under $200 shipped, but I pre-ordered. I think the 1A Max is still in a "reasonable" price range. I didn't pre-order the Max, and I paid like $220 shipped with 3 day shipping. I feel like these DX vf-1s are worth that, personally. If you're just looking to buy in to the line, the Max 1A is definitely the way to go. If you must have one the Hikaru valks you're going to be paying a mark-up at this point. You could be patient and watch Mandarake for one that is gently used with some minor box damage, though.

I think the Arad version of the 31A is also a missed opportunity. Based on current market prices on the CF version, any kind of 31A/Kairos should do pretty well (I know I would buy it). Maybe they are just waiting for the next movie, like you said. We could be getting different variants there. But the only thing that I've seen teased is a completely different design (not a VF-31).

Got around to transforming the 1S. Luckily, nothing fell off, or any other QC issues. But Hikaru did get jealous of Senpai's strike parts: Sorry Hikaru-chan, you'll have to wait until Christmas...

I believe you are correct. It looks like two halves that you'll have to assemble to make a single fighter mode adapter. Hope it doesn't result in some kind of stability issue.

Whelp, now I'm going to transform mine tonight. I hope nothing falls off. Sorry that happened. HLJ is probably one of the best when it comes to customer service. They might be able to help you out, or at least give you some store credit or something.

Yeah, I really don't care either way. If they want to claim it makes Battroid look better to them... whatever. I'm not defending Bandai, I just don't care enough about such a minor detail to be mad about it. If they want to "fix" it in later releases, I wouldn't mind. Also Bandai right now:

To be fair to Bandai, I don't believe you ever see the modex number on the rear stabilizer in the animation, at least not for the Hikaru VF-1S. So they can kind of do what they want. You could argue they should know better based on real aircraft, but we've seen time and again that Bandai doesn't really care about what real aircraft do when it comes to their valks. It will be interesting to see how they handle those numbers on future releases. They'll probably stick to their guns, now.

I feel like I'm approaching this myself. The Hikaru 1S has maxed out my current display space, barring some serious cramming. I plan on getting one more larger display sometime next year (I have the empty space for it right next to my current detolfs), and probably calling it after that. The strike packs are also my only pre-order currently open I realized today that I spend less and less every year, as my list of wants shrinks. If it weren't for this DX VF-1 line, I might be down to like 1-2 purchases per year (I only buy basically Macross stuff and the odd Gunpla). Which isn't a bad thing; I'm just realizing my collection is getting closer to where I want it. I'm still interested in a few more DX VF-1s, and I'll definitely get the DX yf-21 if/when it is released. I still have my eye on HMR stuff, but that line has slowed down, and I'm not interested in their VF-4 repaints. Then there is a few Arcadia releases I could be interested in, but they've put me off buying their stuff lately.

My landing gear bay doors were stiff, but not overly so. I would say the rear landing gear doors were harder to open than the front ones, on my copy. I didn't need to do anything special on any of them, though.

Got a chance to open mine today. Haven't transformed it yet, but so far it is as solid as the Max 1A release, maybe even better in terms of production quality (at least on my copy). There is one exception: I noticed that the HUD/console isn't glued in or anything. Mine just slide right out when I took the pilot out. It seems liked it should be glued or something, but maybe not? Either way, a very minor gripe; it stays put when doing anything other than removing the pilot. And a spot of glue would solve the problem very easily (I probably won't even bother). Anyone else have this issue with the console? Is it even a "problem," or is it supposed to be that way? I checked my TV valks, and the console stays put for them.