eriku

44 minutes ago, MKT said:

We have the science winner! 

 

Hillbilly science! “Aint nothin you caint figger out by puttin yer mouth on it. Ayup.” - Eustus Hickory Bodean Jr. Ph.D
 

The ankles aren’t plastic on the WWM 25, they’re painted metal.  I just touched my lip to one (and, OK, maybe a little tongue because I’m kinky like that) and it was cold, cool metal. 

They do very much LOOK like plastic though. 

Sentinel already replied asking for photos of the broken pilot and a copy of my invoice, which I then sent. I wonder what they’ll do.  I had originally asked if I could purchase a new pilot to replace the broken one.

13 minutes ago, danth said:

Would it be dumb to bug Sentinel about getting replacement hands seeing as the first transformation broke mine? Do they have any sort of customer service for the US? Probably not...

 

EDIT: Emailed them through the Contact Us page on their website. Hopefully I'll get a reply!

I’m curious what they say. My pilot figure’s arm broke off right out of the box and I’d love a replacement. Maybe I’ll bug them too.

Oh for sure! Also the size changes at times and it briefly looks more like a VF-19 in the intro. Haha.

The wings are slanted in the animation as well.

It threw me off at first too because I got so used to the toys having straight wings. While the slant doesn’t bother me aesthetically, I do think it would have been cool to have them positionable so we could angle or straighten them to our preference. Not sure how they’d do that though, there’s already a lot of stuff going on with the wing root. 

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

How can you tell if it is a first issue or reissue?  I really do not know much about these and just bought it out of curiosity due to the new design.

Also, are you not able to receive PMs?

Did you send a message? My inbox is empty. I was messing around with settings for layout and stuff so maybe I changed something by accident- please send again.

I only know the reissue came out later and the shops selling it had it listed as such - so if you have an order history at the shop you bought it from that would probably say. I don’t know if there is a difference in the packaging. The figure itself was improved over the original. 

I was hoping to spend less than eBay of course.   I guess I was expecting to spend up to $300 for a sealed reissue. Probably not much over $200 for an opened first release. 

Don’t you love passing on something, twice, and then deeply regretting it later? That’s me with Sentinel’s Ride Armor figures. I have no good explanation for my idiocy. Age? Perhaps. 

Anyway, I’m looking for a Stick. Reissue preferably. Doesn’t have to be new or even in the box. 

Please help this lonely soldier boy.

5 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

Interestingly enough, on mine the wing flaps/ailerons aren't floppy at all. They're super tight, and it actually takes some force to get them to hinge up or down.

Unfortunately the airbrake hinge isn't tight. I'm going to see about tightening it up so it'll stay closed.

Wing flaps aren’t floppy on mine either, but they do pop off willingly when bumped during handling. I’m fine with the feature (I’ve been used to it since 2003) although I’d rather not have it. 

I just realized what a beast this thing is going to be in GBP...or the inevitable FEXT armor.  Mmmmm

One of the things I really like about this figure is how heavy and rock solid it is. I can hold it by a leg and give it a little shake and nothing moves. Well, the chest jiggles a little (dangit Bandai) but it’s not floppy. 

I do hope Bandai improves the swing bar latch. I hate having such a lovely valk bifurcate itself during transformation.

Despite that, and the Yammie-like wing flaps, I really love this thing. I kind of look at it as a stand-alone figure, basically a SOC VF-1 so I doubt I’ll buy another beyond his one. And probably Roy. And lord help me if they venture further out into low-viz and VF-X territory...

3 hours ago, Kinzoku VF said:

Supa Quick pic of the one I received this morning . Materials are top notch, paint apps spot on etc etc. Only gripe, the 4 tiny pegs that hold the 2 parts of the forearm amor together. They are really small. I haven't snapped anything, but just be careful when separating them. Overall, really impressed by the quality and sculpt. Loking forward to the 1/60 Ver..

That echoes my sentiments exactly.  I got the 000 set and I'm very impressed overall with the fit, finish and plastic quality - pretty much on par with the official armor sets from Bandai, maybe slightly better plastic than Bandai but a slightly less refined overall finish.  Those pegs you mentioned are my only concern - so tiny!   That's all just observations on the set itself, I haven't attached it to an HMR yet (don't currently have one, but Messer is en route) so I can't comment on its functionality. 

My only complaint is something that's my own fault...I didn't pay close enough attention and was unaware of the fact that the sets don't all come with the same parts, so I was bummed to see empty spaces in the tray for the shields and strike cannons.  I thought I got an incomplete set until I checked the FEXT site again and realized the only thing missing was part of my brain.  Derp. 

 So far I'm very much ready to preorder the 1/60 armor and, hopefully if they have success, a 1/48 set for the Bandai DX. 

So...did Toynami have a falling out with Oritoy and had to hastily make these pilot figures in house? Because the ones shown at 2016 Toy Fair are clearly different and full of joints and, well, actually look like they were designed by professionals. 

THAT SAID...I will probably still buy them because I’ve wanted pilot figures for so long and they are cheap. Hopefully the lipstick thing will be less noticeable in person.

I had preordered the 1/72 from HLJ prior to securing one elsewhere for less - forgot to cancel the HLJ order, the cancellation email they sent out implied that they can't sell it.

Quote

Hello,

This is Daniel Hoffman from HobbyLink Japan.

I'm contacting you in regard to your order for KZC10028 KC918 Robotech VF-1S Roy Fokker. Unfortunately, we have learned that we will not be able to carry this item. Your order for it will be canceled.

You have not been charged for this item; we only charge when the item is here to fill your order.

We're very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Best regards,

Daniel Hoffman
www.hlj.com

1 hour ago, jvmacross said:

BBTS too....

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/67569

I do like fully artocilated toys.

I will be buying one. If I can have seventy thousand different Optimus Primes in the house I can have ten thousand different VF-1 toys. And I really like my SD VF-1S Fokker from kitzconcept so I expect this to be an equally good or better figure. 

6 hours ago, jenius said:

Mine is in the clear... But it should be more in the clear but it's sagging right behind the cockpit because of the silly pegging method. It's also resting on the points of the rear landing gear doors and I'm afraid to open them any further to prevent that. A peg on the bottom of the head, or using the head as a peg, might have done the trick to prevent the core sagging. 

Yeah, I had to kind of fold the rear landing bay doors back past the gear a bit to avoid having it rest on the points. 

I'm happy enough to keep mine but goddamn it I really want one of the pros to design my second favorite transformable flying machine. 

Oh man it looks so good!  It's got some stiff competition but I trust Bandai can make it worth owning.  The real test will be how it feels in hand; if it's got a lush finish and robust construction, fun to transform, sturdy joints (ratchets perhaps?), and any new ideas in brings to engineering a transforming VF-1.  Easily my most anticipated Macross toy for the forseeable future.

I am definitely looking forward to this.  I've wanted to see what Bandai could do with a larger scaled Valkyrie for YEARS.  Itching to get my preorder in.

1 hour ago, Dobber said:

Air the air intakes replaceable or is there a mechanism that closes them up between soldier mode and fighter mode.

Chris

The light blue chest parts are swappable.

Solved my hand problem by snipping the pegs off that secure the gunpod and gluing the fingers on.  Even without the peg the hands hold the gunpod very securely.

Now that I've spent a couple more days with this thing and fixed the hands I am pretty satisfied with it.  

Hmmm...looking at the pics of the red and green, and at Tekering's pics again, I'm thinking the hinge for the shoulder panel isn't actually broken on mine and is just designed that way because they all look like mine do.  

27 minutes ago, tekering said:

You're doing something wrong.  

Just rotate the hand at the wrist so that the palm faces up, and the panel will close over it with no problem.  

Thanks, I had tried that but it didn't work. I tried again just now and found that it has to be in exactly the right position to work. If it's off even a hair to either side the panel won't close or will sheer the fingers off. Oh well, at least it's possible.

Are the fingers so loose on yours? I'm constantly having to pick up  the fingers because any movement of the hands makes them come off. I'm sorely tempted to just cut the peg off the palms and glue the fingers on. 

Got mine today, I'll get the bad stuff out of the way first: 

same stress marks on the ankles and bent fin as Tekering.  

Hinge for the folding shoulder panel is broken off on one side.  

Inside of front landing bay door has some kind of brown smear on it.

Hands are straight up awful with removable fingers that don't stay on and when they ARE on the arm panels can't close fully (please tell me I'm doing something wrong)

The tiny hinged panels with a peg & hole that hold the legs together in fighter mode seem kind of poorly designed and I don't trust them to withstand much use.

The ratchet on the right 'boob' has too much play between teeth which can make for a 'saggy boob' at times.  

Plastic has that cheap almost polystyrene quality that doesn't instill confidence in a long life.

Now, good stuff:  

It looks amazing in all modes. Even the finish, while not as premium as Arcadia or Bandai, looks pretty nice when its on the shelf.

Fighter mode DOES hold together snugly enough for swooshing and barrel rolls, although it could still be improved

Articulation is plentiful and even the head has a wide range of motion.  Joints all feel robust enough where I have no worry about them failing.

Size is pretty much perfect, not to small and not too big.  

Paint is all very clean and neatly applied

Transformation isn't muddled by any kind of attempt to try something new, it's tried and true Legioss transformation which means its simple and it works

Despite what feels like cheap plastic, it does manage to feel solid enough in robot mode to invite handling and posing.  

Verdict?   I'm happy with it overall.  I was expecting much worse, and of course I would like it to be on an upper tier like Arcadia and Bandai toys but as Tekering said, it really is the best Legioss toy we've gotten so far (not saying much, I know).  That said, I would not recommend it AT ALL to the casual connoisseur.  If you have a mild interest, move along or wait for a super clearance sale.  If you desperately love the Legioss and are able to look past the shortcomings, I think you can find some satisfaction here.  

Thanks for all of the photos and comment, Tekering.  I'm considerably less nervous to open mine when it arrives! 

1 hour ago, SuperHobo said:

@tekering  Yes ratcheting shoulders! Loosening shoulder joints has always been a problem with modern legioss toys. The shot with the gakken is what I've been waiting for! I love the size.   But what was EVO thinking with the ankle design? You can't actually get an ankle tilt without stressing the plastic? Good lawd.  Then there's the fin....they didn't notice it was too long to fit in the socket? Oh EVO toys.....

It's just like how the tail fins on the CMs Legioss were too long to fold all the way into the arms.  Since this was designed by the same guy, maybe it's a weird signature of his.