Arthurius

wow, the VF-1s has the option for straight leg too, that's great, now I don't need the stand for it and can have him maybe on my yamato 1/48th vf-1s shoulder

I might receive my copy this week. Wonder what is next on the agenda if this one does well enough.

Edit: Question, is there an extra arm included, cant tell?

Just got my shipping notice from Chimungmung, should receive it in 5 - 12 days.

Lunar: If you live in the states, this is the obvious best choice, and you really shouldn't look elsewhere. It will be cheapest and probably best service too for ordering and if you have any issues at all.

Chimungmung is reliable and well used by transformers fans, and I really recommend them if you are international (ie none US), as this is one of the best price etailers in many cases. I have bought a few items from them. Tony is the owner and based in Hong Kong. If you have an issue, and he has to send you parts, he might ask if he can ship with other orders, or if you can pay a small amount for shipping. This will still come out cheaper in the end for international buyers!!!! As a Canadian, I have POed mine from them as soon as I saw it going up, I have very good experience and I know I wont get hit by tax or duty and shipping time is about 1 - 2 weeks, and he will help me out if I have any issues.

Robot Kingdom is another option, but check out their shipping cost, they might be more than you thought. I think the Asian market benefits more from them for best pricing. They are popular among transformers fans, and they will send replacement parts. I think you can undervalue here too (let the flaming begin) and avoid tax / duty, but not 100% sure, just ask them. They are much bigger than Chimungmung and have more offerings. Personally haven't used them though, as Chimungmung saves me more in many cases (you have to compare though).

Thanks Gakken, mucho appreciated!!

Hey Gakken,

Thanks for the reply. Another question for you:

You mentioned it is very playable. Can you pls elaborate on this. I have 3rd party toys from MMC (feralcons and hex), and they are very sturdy and playable (can even throw them on the wall without any fear). I also have FP Columpio and eventhough joints are much looser, with care, I can transform it back and forth every day, and basically pose it and have fun with it. Does this thing feel like it can be transformed a lot and changing poses, like every day for a while anyways? I usually don't this with my Yamato valks nor my MPs. Not expecting to do this, but the thought of it has me very excited.

And yes, the overall look (and nice detailing), amazing paint, stand, and little valks are really HUGE bonuses for this price range.

I think it's cool the head can pop off for transformation. A 4th party, or MM, could even make a smaller head for this eventually, if there was a demand for it, as an accessory.

I just saw in the video that the back cannons can spread / distance themselves from the center. That is great, and really gives the look I wanted.

Just wish there was a little locking mechanism for the arms and head.

Also, I have seen it much in pictures, but it seems the underside in ship mode is a bit too big compared to other sdf-1 toys? Not sure, but depending where you put this, it shouldn't be an issue (in my case, I was going to place it higher than all my valks, so might have to do more bot mode and ship.

Some basic questions

a) Plastic looks to be good quality? What does it compare to?

b) Tightness of joints. Also, pls state what type of joints (ball or ratchet) are: Shoulders, Elbows, Hips, Knees, feet. Also, if ball joints, does it seem easy to remove part to add future floor or tape to tighten?

c) Locking mechanisms and Tabs for both mode, making it not floppy. Are there some obvious ones missing, and which ones are included.

d) Does it feel like it can be transformed over and over, or does it feel fragile and we should just leave it in one mode?

e) Back Cannon range of motion in "bot" mode and figure stability when not using the stand

f) Stability of Stand. Ie, even when having the back cannons facing the front and arms fully extended to the front, will the stand hold the pose, or is it too light duty and figure could fall?

g) Can the arms indeed be fully extended in the front, say in firing mode, without them losing the pose due to gravity and looseness of the joints? This is sort of a repeat of "b", but more specific.

Thanks in advance

Oh my god, thanks so much for the pics, i am so happy i am getting this, i cant believe how much details there is on this, i love the paint app i am seing on the test shot. I don tknow which mode i like best, damn they both look so awesome.

How are the joints on the elbow, hips, and knees? Are they ratchet or ball joints? What kind of joint are the back cannons? Are there any locking tabs / mecahnism for both modes where appropriate?

Can you take some pics of the stand, it looks like it has some details too. I really like it.

The mini vf-1s and vf-1j, do they have any articulation at all? If you can specify.

Thanks, i am just so excited about this one, i have wanted an sdf-1 for soooo long....

Good choices Evilcat, thanks for the update.

When has the producer said they were sending the copies to you or the reviewer? Will the reviewers have it before the show?

the only diecast i would even care about is at the bottom of the stand so it is stable to hold the figure. That and maybe the feet and some key joints maybe.

Anyways, when will the reviewers receive copies, and who are the reviewers again?

Yes Scyla, you should PO that SD SDF-1, but because he looks so cute / awesome . I just hope the quality / paint will be there and this wont be a Kronos nightmare, but I doubt it, since the producer is sending samples for review, so they must be serious.

Oh by the way, so you have FT and MMC products (which happen to be my top 2 3rd party TF makers), do you have the Feralcons and some FT and FP dinos? .

@Ace,

I was just saying I want something, anything, can even be 1/100 if it has too!!!

Voted for VF-2SS SAP, just in case Arcadia or "Others" are listening!!! It can be smaller scale even, like 1/100 if you find the 1/60th too risky, but just make it, and WITH the armor / fps!!!

Honestly, I personally want it EVEN if it doesn't transform and just in batroid mode!!! just saying... I want it

Thanks Scyla. Yea, indeed from fighter to batroid, it was tricky for me, so much difference between that and the yf-19, but you have given me a bit of confidence to just try it out, if batroid mode to fighter is much easier than fighter to batroid.

I personally disagree. If it has some nice overall hints and feeling of the character, but it's a still different, a lot of fans will still buy it, as they do 3rd parties for TFs, as you get that nostalgia feeling and memory which creates a bigger bond and want of the toy, and thus be able to better enjoy an awesome toy. If they do something that is completely their own thing, then there is no feeling / attachment to it, so they would not be getting as many fans, and this would be too risky for a small company.

Worst come to worst, 3rd party can do their own re-imagination of some characters / valks / ships, where it's based on it and has some trait of it, but with some of their own look / engineering. Damn, wish they made some Invids already!!!

Yeah, I am scared of breaking it while transforming it back without any instructions. I know how to do the yf-19, but not the VF-19. Wanted something to follow along.

I have yet to get a KO one day, of the MP cars or other MP out there or even of 3rd parties. I have plenty of 3rd party TF though, and some are really well built / painted / engineered for what they are, whilst others aren't. I am in for 3rd parties starting with simple Macross stuff. Yamato / Arcadia and Bandai have years of experience and bigger teams than a small 3rd party, so their engineering will be much more advanced.

That said, I want a 3rd party to make an attempt at a VF-2SS, even if it is a smaller size, say a 1/100, and it be affordable. Otherwise, who is going to make it?

getting more hyped..... damn, cant wait to see review, and get product in hand in mid October.

Thanks, but I fraked up, I meant the VF-19..... sorry...I don't know why I always screw up the 7 and 9. Anyways, anything on that one?

I asked this ages ago, but does anyone have a video review of how to change VF-17 from Batroid to Fighter (not the other way around). I have never transformed mine since I transformed from Fighter to Batroid using a video review, cause I am scared I might mess it up.

What's the good news??

Anyways, yea, like David said, they usually re-use the test sample(s) to go to different reviewers when there is only 1 or 2 copies in the transformers world, so the same can be done here. So give a sample to 2 reviewers (maybe a very involved member here, and maybe a very recognized reviewer like Peaugh / Optibotimus that has a lot of fans), then sent to another 2, one with Photography / Digital skills (VERY important), or mix / match...

But, I think Lunar should still first make sure the copies from Master Made are acceptable / ok enough for a test shot anyways, and even if not, no problem, just pls ask Master Made what will be fixed on the final production version that is not on the test shot, and give that list to the reviewers (and to us), so as to get the right info across. Test shots aren't always perfect, so that's ok, we just need to know what will be addressed, and for reviewers to know it.

Bah, which ever reviewers have the most fans / subscribers, works... Also, I like honesty. I just gonna wait and enjoy the reviews, and hope it's from more than one source. Reviewer, whomever it is, should be fan of macross to some extent!!!

Lunar,

if at all possible, pls consider Peaugh too as one of the reviewers, but only IF he is interested / excited about this project.

I didn't know Peaugh was a Macross fan, but cool if he is, that would make the review better, and indeed get the word out and get more fans interested at least. It would be preferable to send it to 2 - 3 independent reviewer, as was done with FT Quakewave, which really got the balls rolling and increased the sales / audience.