todd77

A sad day indeed. I really enjoyed his films. I wonder how his latest work will do now that he's gone

Anyway, R.I.P.

BTW there is a sale at HLJ right now on the 1/24 Ingrams. The white Unit 1 is 40%-off and the blue one is 50%-off. Unit 2's are 25%-off.

I wonder is Kanuka comes with the blue "USA" version...

I think the pilot for the CLAT labor (the blue one) is Andante, Noa's (unit 1's pilot) American alter ego in Shige's dream episode. Here's a pic I nabbed from the net:

I got it from here, a Japanese review of Yamato's CLAT labor.

So let me get a few things straight here if those with the 1:24 AV-98 will chime in.

It's be said that:

-The heads are difficult to get out of the packaging

-The neck pistons aren't connected to anything (really?? I mean really??)

-The head is jammed down right out of the box and has to be delicately pushed up from the cockpit

-The waist is wobbly on some

The biggest concern of mine is the neck/head. Can anybody shine some more light on the situation? Maybe pics?

I don't think all of the units suffer from the head-stuck-in-collared-socket problem. For example, my unit 2 didn't have that problem but my unit 1 did. I think during the packaging, the head is pushed down (to the point that the figure looks neck-less) into the socket in order to fit the figure into the styrofoam. Usually, you could just pull it back up and have no problems (like my unit 2) but sometimes, the neck pistons get wedged in the holes connecting to the cockpit, which makes it difficult to pull the head back up. As such, just open up the cockpit and pry the pistons free. So it's not really the head that is stuck but rather the pistons, which is why they break if you force the head up when it's stuck. And yes, the pistons aren't connected to anything. They just fit into two rectangular holes that lead into the cockpit. Please refer to the pics:

And about the waist issue - unit 2's (Ohta's) seems to be fixed. The waist on mine is super tight.

Well my waist joint seems OK. It's a tiny bit loose i guess, but not debilitatingly so. And when i pulled the head up out of the box the neck pistons broke. i dont know how I managed that, I barely pulled it, but...yep, they broke. i THINK i can fix 'em. Hopefully.

Otherwise its great. articulation is awesome, detail is amazing, lights are great. Love the bullets and the gun. The figures nice, the overall feel is cool. I think I'll be getting Unit 2, and try not to break it.

Here's some advice to help out potential owners on this issue that was posted way back:

A word of caution though for potential buyers: when you first open the box and find that the Ingram's head is firmly stuck in it's collared socket giving the toy a neckless appearance, don't yank it out! It's because either one or both of the neck pistons are wedged in the hole that connects to the cockpit. As such, just open the cockpit and try to push them out with a toothpick or something. These neck pistons - they aren't connected to the body at all - they're just there, danggling!

Mine came from OverDrive and I experienced the same thing as well. Unfortunately, I broke mine too before realizing the above.

Got my Yamato 1/24 Ingram AV-98 Unit 2 today. I must say I'm very impresed with this giant beast.

Some pics make the original unit 1 look like it has weird proportions, but unit 2 looks fantastic to me in person. Maybe it's because the new head makes it look more robust (I love the head). Looks like the fixed the problemon the waist joint, so that may help too.

My only gripes come from the Ohta figure. I'll post pics soon (specially since i don't know of any photo made of this figure in the promo adds; not even the box shows Ohta). He comes with a normal expresion head and a yelling head. Problem: the eyebrows aren't completelly painted on the normal head... but that actually ain't an isolated incident: the extra sheet of paper included with the manual showing the unit 2's extra parts show the same cut eyebrows

Another thing is that Otha looks more fatty that I think he should. Doesn't strike you as a short but big bonned muscular person.

The head as said looks great and the other extra is the shotgun: The shoulder guard or whatever it's called can be retracted and the shotgun can be cocked.

Good to hear that the loose waist problem has been rectified. A shame about the figure though. For my Alphonse, I had two of the same normal heads for the figure, but with one of them with a painted line to "correct" the smirking expression

So, did anyone get the WHAM Helldiver? I never did see it in shops here in Singapore or in Hong Kong...

Seems to be in stock at Hobby Search.

Seems like it's not using the rubber shrouds, which are now molded as hard plastic to include the joints.

Awesome pics Drifand though I think your economy labor pics could use some "beru-beru" / "nyah-nyah" action (when Asuma was mocking Ohta) Also, did Noa actually Judo throw the Mk II or was that an improvisation on your part

These pics are from the Yamato showroom. The vehicle is made by T-Rex, a company that makes some prototypes for Yamato.

Another Wonderfest exclusive like the Beagle ride armor saddle bags and the 1/60 v2 VF-1's accesories?

I hope not

Please let that not be so! These look fantastic and it would be a shame if the Ingrams were left without their commanding partners.

Not sure if this has been posted but the magazine scans on Cybergundam looked pretty awesome as well. Really interested in how Yamato executed the splitting of the main gun without compromising the look of the fortress mode unlike Wave's (the two gaping holes).

Damn it, what to get from the HLJ sale: one of the CM's or one the Wave Ingrams ? Any help guys??

Based on value, I'd recommend CM's since it has more gimmicks (lights, interchangeable heads, carrier stand, cloth covers), higher metal content, and better articulation (since it's not impeded by its cloth-covered joints). Wave's version though, more closely follows the proportions as seen on TV (not the line art which is a little squat - Yamato's 1/24 is the best in terms of accuracy IMO) and features a much better sculpted pilot. The Wave version suffers a bit in terms of articulation due to the rubber shrouds at the joints such as on the neck and elbows. However, the visor shield, chest lamps (the two lamps that pop up on the chest - these do not light up for either versions), and raised pilot seat gimmicks are better implemented in Wave's:

visor shield: MUCH simpler dismantling of the head (WAVE) vs near-model-kit dismantling (CM's)

chest lamps: integrated (WAVE - I've forgotten the method to raise them since I've kept mine long ago) vs swap-out parts (CM's)

raised pilot seat: push a tab hidden by the battery cover (WAVE) vs remove the battery cover, remove the actual battery for the light-up gimmick, and fiddle with a tiny tab (CM's)

Not sure if this has been asked but have Bandai improved the lower leg rear armor pieces to allow better knee articulation on the movie-colored super VF-25F?

The censored part got bigger today!

Woah, what the???

Anyway, have to say that the VF-27 is really coming along rather nicely. The gerwalk mode looks really nice and it seems without the intake cheating too that you'd have to do with the 25s.

Anyone noticed the censored part of the box image next to the tornado-equipped Alto?

Hmm, what could that be?

I love these shots:

[wishful thinking] Hope Yamato releases a simple add-on pack containing head and shield swaps for the TV versions [/wishful thinking ]

Ingram 2 head, hope there will be more heads coming out.

http://www.yamato-toys.com/items/detail.php?gid=1516

I'm loving it! Have always preferred unit 2's beefier shoulder armors.

New run of VF-1Ss for Hikaru and Roy Focker in what seems to be brand new packaging this year end. comes with small flashlight as well.:

Limited run it seems judging from this lines:

2008年末月にスタートした「1/60完全変形シリーズ」。

シリーズ発売から約1周年を記念して、再生産する「VF-1S withスーパー＆ストライクパーツ」に

粗品をつけた「アニバーサリーver.」を発売いたします！！

価格も通常と同額！！今回生産分限定です！！お見逃し無く！！！

I wonder if these will feature more tampo markings ala the VE-1?

Yes, the dome dose spin freely and you can adjust the height of it.

Just got mine! What a beauty! On mine, there is quite a bit of resistance to the radar and so it doesn't spin as freely as my RVF-25 (Luca). It's tight, but I like it that way

The blue on the chest engines looks strange too

Agreed. At least the finish looks like it's weathered, which means we won't have to fork out extra $$$ for a special weathering version.

Gamu's review of the VE-1 is up! Notice that there's a whole lot more tampo-ed markings on the legs and tail fins.

Awesome.

It seems that Yamato has gotten around tampo-ing the designation number and U.N. Spacy insignia on the nose and the fast pack leg attachments that were absent from the VT-1 (which, felt a little too plain for me). And are those new tampo prints on the lower leg as well? Seems to me that Yamato is upping the ante with these kind of details. Also, just got my shipping notice for my VE-1 from Hobby Search. Can't wait to give the bird a test flight beside my Ostrich.

I think I might just attempt this procedure as the waist on my ingram especially when the waist is fully erect just flops down as soon as I move it. So wish me luck guys. Operating room is now standing by.

If so try to be mindful of where you're gripping the toy, especially the tampo-ed areas like the license plate. That's one area I am particularly wary of after watching the collectionDX video review where I noticed the guy just plain rubbed off the license plate print! Good luck on the surgery!

Spend 400 plus on toy wrapped in silk only to discover its a floppy mess and then how do they fix it. They ask you to do delicate surgery on a toy that cost 400 plus muhahahahahahahahaaha

and if you break it tough luck they didnt do it

The majority of the joints are ratcheted and they hold up very solidly barring the looser waist joint. Posing the toy is great fun particularly with the afforded range of motion (which is awesome) and it balances rather well too.

I stumbled across this while looking through Yamato's site and they apparently give you a full guide on how to fix the rather loose waist on the 1/24 Ingram in japanese , but with pictures! After observing it more it looks like the joint is really just a big ball joint.......no wonder it flops. . For those of us who's daring enough to rip apart a $250 figure you may consult this guide. (Also a little tidbit I found funny was that to tighten the joint you use a piece of the silk Yamato covers your ingram with in order to help add more friction to the joint. ). Hope this helps for anyone wanting the waist tighter.

That guide was posted quite a while ago (by me ):

Looks like Yamato is acknowledging the loose waist joint issue and is addressing it by <drumroll> issuing a guide you can use to fix it YOURSELF.

A while I concede that the waist joint isn't as tight as I would have liked on mine, it still does a very good job of holding the upper torso since the waist has two joints - the ball one and a ratcheted joint - the latter which helps a lot in keeping the hefty upper torso erect. I certainly won't be taking mine apart as it is fine as it is. It's nonetheless a solid piece of engineering - lots of gimmicks and fantastic articulation. To me at least, it's the best representation of the Ingram to date.

Got the VT finally, it's a very beautiful bird, one of the most beautiful VF-1, very impressed... The right feet are still very tight and hard to pull out, anyone out there experience this on the VT as well?

Mine too. Same goes for my Max 1S. And these two also suffer from a slight gap, especially without the FAST packs, between the chest and back plates in fighter mode, at least in mine - I have to always fiddle with the leg placement in order to reduce the gap. Strangely, my Hikaru and Focker 1S don't have these problems.

Looks like Yamato have added quite a bit more detail to it overall. Absolutely loving it! Can't wait to see it in its proper colors!!