Supersylph

Picked mine up today; like some others was not interested in the design until right up to 2 weeks ago. Now that i have it, i'm glad i took the plunge. So many improvements over the VF-25, that i'm looking forward to Ver 2.0 despite myself buying all the Alto ver. DX toys and fast/armor packs Only sore point so far is the price currently in HK, but luckily my supplier managed to squeeze me into his initial shipment with a bit of arm twisting (did not pre order). It's such a sweet looking bird

Not really wanting to add to the panic, but I can confirm the right leg armor is upside down on mine as well. I noticed it was upside down when I first attached the packs and thinking it was odd, just didn't think to check if the other side was the right way up. Wondering maybe this was done on purpose, so it reads somewhat in the correct way in Gerwalk mode on one side? Looking at all the Bandai promotional shots and instruction booklet, I notice none of them ever show the right side of the fully completed toy. Only shows the right side in the transformation guide, where there's no tampo printing. Checking my copy of Dengeki May edition, their pics of the VF-25F Tornado Pack has the SMS logo upside down as well. So most likely this means all of them are like that. I'll be checking with my local dealer in the meantime to see if any news about a reissuing of parts like they did with Ozma's super pack, but I highly doubt it.... Even if nothing can be done, not too bothered myself.

As far as I can tell, the sculpt is exactly the same and the VF-25F is just a recolour.

Seems solid so far! Joints on the beam canons are tight and will hold their pose, and the boosters on the wings lock at 90 degree intervals. Again, since mine will stay in plane mode for the foreseeable future, not sure if any joints on the VF-25 itself are too loose or too tight in problem areas reported in the past (i.e shoulders and crotch joint).

oops double post

Just one more before I call it a day that might be of interest...the gunpod is a nicer colour IMHO. It's a darker bluish grey, with the barrel being a nice gunmetal colour as well. Too lazy to dig out the old knife to see if that's been recoloured as well. Also the hands you get are dark grey now instead of the light grey, matching the joints. Pics of the gun below.

Just got mine, can definitely confirm it is white. It is $11XX in Sino Centre upper floors if any HK locals are curious, but I paid a bit more for a japanese one (wanted complete set of the posters). From what I can see, the joints are definitely darker than previous one (a dark gunmetal colour). Intakes are indeed darker as well. Packs stay on nice and solid in fighter mode, and the wings boosters don't seem to be in any danger of scratching the wings if handled with care (i've taken them off at least 3 times) Sorry can't give a better review as I am not too keen on transforming into any other mode. Want to keep a scratch free bird (learned my lesson on the first one lol). Am sure some of the veterans will do a much better job than I can anyway. Here's some pics

Got mine over the weekend, must say I like it alot. Lots of heft to the figure, more metal than the Alto release (shoulders, forearms, chest armor, calf armor, crotch and the feet), and the armor snaps on tight to boot! Not much in terms of accessories, would have loved for it to have included a stand of some sort. Though didn't really see the need for it to be in the armor plus line, since I don't think anyone would bother to display it without the armor unlike the previous 2 releases (can't even recall if it looked anything remotely like what it does without the armor in the show...)

I certainly did. So ignored the instructions, removed the hands and wrist armor on Alto, and it fits much easier.

As requested.

Packed up the camera for the night, but definitely post one up for you tomorrow if I can.

Did up some quick photos with the DX VF-25F lurking in the background. Wish I could do more, but setting up is quite a hassle due to lack of space atm. Nonetheless, hope you all enjoy. While posing the figure for this shoot, I notice the weight of the legs being the main reason the groin armor popping off, as they force the waist to shift while the legs are dangling in mid air.

Hi All, Long time lurker on these forums, and thought I’d give my thoughts on the DX EX-Gear I just picked up tonight. First time I’ve done a review on a toy (or even post here for that matter), so if there’s anything I might have missed that member’s here are interested in knowing, please do let me know. To be honest, as most would agree, it’s a little pricey. I didn’t think I would even buy it to be honest (around HKD $520-540 in most shops here in HK as mentioned previously), but I thought I would take the plunge, as I am mainly collecting Alto related toys and couldn’t resist having it next to my DX armored VF-25F. First thoughts, it feels very similar to the Saint Seiya Myth Cloth line (not surprising being Bandai and all). However, the figure with all the armor on is quite light, since it’s mostly made of plastic. From what I can see, only the front leg armor plates that open up, chest armor braces and the rear part of the crotch armor (the part connect to the backpack) are diecast. Paint and marking application is quite well done, though the chest SMS logo on my Alto figure has a minor scratch on the red circle part. Not sure if I did this myself trying to put the chest armor on as it’s a pretty snug fit, so a word of caution to anyone thinking of picking this up. I noticed a chip on the diecast parts of the groin area as well, so again something to watch out for. I can also see I've lost a chunk of paint on the inside here as well, having removed the chest/back armor to write this review. This naturally would have been caused by the rubbing of the figure and the crotch armor, most likely when I transformed it into the cockpit mode. Armor itself fits quite well, and still allows freedom to do some cool poses without being cumbersome (unlike the Saint Seiya figures, which is hampered by the heavy die cast armor that tends to fall off quite often). If you clip the pegs inside the shoulder armor to the Alto’s shoulders however, you can’t really pose the arms at the shoulders (since they are connected to the backback, and restrict the movement). The pegs also tends to pop Alto's shoulders off as well should you move the shoulder armor, so these pegs are really are abit of a hinderance. At least ratchet joints were used on the shoulder armors hinges (on the joint where they are connected to the backpack). I’m glad the designers did this, as you can disconnect the shoulder armor and pose the figure’s arms, and the shoulders won’t just rest onto Alto’s shoulders, or flap about too loosely. Bonus points to Bandai there. One gripe I do have though, the crotch armor on mine kept popping out while trying to pose the figure. This isn’t to say it’s very loose and will drop off if you breathe on it, as it has a peg on the bottom connecting it to the armor, and a clip that latches onto Alto’s waist. It’s not a terrible design and I think it only pops off from moving the legs and waist around, so I can live with it. Another thing, even though the instructions says the fit the arm armor with the clenched hands holding the joysticks, I found it to be too tight a fit and just removed his hands altogether to fit the armor, as I worry if i force it, it might scratch the light gray areas on Alto's hands. Transformation into the cockpit mode is straight forward, with the final setup being quite solid and kibble from the chest armor and wings folding away nicely. Don’t really have much to say here; it’s a nice gimmick and all, but prefer to keep it in armor mode. Accessories are decent and what we've come to expect in such toys (swappable hands for the armor and Alto, gun, stand), but I particularly like the set of hands provided to do the “hand-airplane” sign, as well as the salute. Also liked the material/paint used to make the gun, which gives it a gun metal feel. The extra hand provided to hold the gun fits really well also, so there shouldn’t be any issues with it falling off or having it sag at weird angles. Helmet is nicely detailed, though mine has some very light fading on a section of the helmet (on the white/grey colour). I do wish the face inside the helmet could be removed (putting the helmet on Alto requires a head swap), as I’d like to pose him holding the helmet. It seems kinda weird with a face in there, lol. The plastic used for the visor is quite dark, and it's actually quite difficult to see his face, so you’d probably get away with this kind of pose. At least with the head swap method, you won’t have to worry too much about scratching the face had the helmet been designed to actually fit around the head, like the Saint Seiyas. The way it's put together though, with some custom work, the face in theory could be removed if anyone is inclined. Certainly not going to attempt it though. The stand provided has a nice clear, glossy finish on the SMS letters that make it stand out, and consists of 3 joints (2 for up-down movement, the other for sideways tilting). A ratchet joint is used for the up-down joint so it’ll hold the figure up quite nicely in flight poses, However, the 3rd joint (side to side tilting) isn’t a ratchet joint, but it’s tight enough (for now at least). They probably could have shoehorned in a 3rd ratchet joint IMHO. All in all, I’m quite pleased with the DX EX-Gear. Still, can’t see where the hefty price tag is justified, and was honestly expecting something with more die cast at this price. I’d probably find myself worrying about paint scratches if it did anyway, so I’m not bothered. It’s more fun to play with this way. That's it for now. Again, if anyone has anything more specific they want to know, please let me know. Cheers.