iguanaman8989

My first Bandai DX is locked in!

https://secure.hlj.com/product/BANN06298/Act

In the video you see him stow the rear landing gear, the wheels rotate first to reduce the space they take up.

Also, when you see him transform the arms he goes out of his way to close the fingers on the hand that was equipped in fighter mode.

Is this getting close to release?

End of August, according to HLJ.

Preordered the Super kit. I really enjoyed putting the first one together, I want to do another. I'm also enough of a fan of the design to have each version, rather than go to the trouble of equipping the naked fighter.

When the DX releases, I'll be happy with just one + Super parts to play with.

HLJ has one or two of the Frontier kits available, but with all that's been said about how much better these kits are so far, I'm not gonna bother.

I don't have any other 1/72 Macross kits, but I have a handful of other things laying around to compare with.

1/60 Yamato VF-19S

1/60 Arcadia YF-19 and 1/100 Grimgerde (Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans)

1/60 Arcadia UF-19

1/72 HMM Berserk Fuhrer

Apologies for poor lighting, basement room with a single ceiling light and iPhone camera.

I'll probably just add a bit of glue to the pegs, add a bit more friction to it.

Gotta say, it locks together pretty well in Fighter mode, with one exception, the two small white pieces that fit just ahead of the railgun muzzles, they don't lock in place very well. Anybody else having that problem.

Same here, mine like to fall out. Probably made to be loose for easy removal during transformation, but ended up too loose.

First Hi-Metal!

From HLJ too.

My most recent haul, the VF-31 is already assembled, dropped a couple pics in the dedicated thread. First experience with a Koto kit coming up with those Zoids.

Did you apply anything to keep the stickers in place? I havent built a model with so much stickers especially with ones that can be in contact frequently. Did you apply any top coat or something to keep them in place afterwards?

Nope, just a quick build, nothing fancy.

Disclaimer: First Bandai Macross kit, missed out on the Frontier releases and just never bothered to track down the one that I wanted (VF-25G). I have put together dozens upon dozens of Gunpla and quite a few Zoids (picked up a couple of the Koto HMM kits along with this one)

Finished mine this afternoon. Straight build + stickers.

Fighter mode locks together all over, nothing floppy anywhere.

Gerwalk and Battroid modes are decently possible for a model kit, and lock together pretty well too.

Other than being really flimsy, the stickers fit really well, no issues lining up the panel lines.

Battroid does have a rotating waists joint, and there is a gerwalk swivel.

Only problem I had was that I stressed the right side landing gear assembly, and now it tends to fall off.

Overall, I'm pleased with the kit and the result. I already have Kieth's SV-262 on preorder, and I'll probably go for Mirage's too when it releases.

Wherelse would the super packs go otherwise?

Can't really put much of anything under the wings without interfering with the transformation mechanisms.

The VF-25 glove style wouldn't really work, putting them centrally would get in the way of the accessory container.

HLJ just took payment for the VF-31J a few minutes ago.

I've got a couple of other kits to go along with it, gonna set up a shipment as soon as possible.

#2 is a winner!

Both canards, tighter overall, no complaints (for the most part)

Leg fast packs are still kinda derpy.

#2 is a winner!

This one came with both canards, and the stabilizers are tighter.

Leg fast packs are still derpy.

any news about shipping date on hlj? my order is still waiting to be fullfilled.

Probably not until the end of the month.

Yay! Replacement YF-19 is on it's way!

HLJ's customer service was wonderful, had no issues with replacing the first one and reimbursing me for the return shipping charges!

As said before it's the same as with the Yamato VF-19 toys.

Just need to be careful to not force the gerwalk joint further than three clicks.

Just heard back from HLJ, they can't replace the missing canard, but they've offered an exchange with reimbursement for the return shipping.

They also offered a bit of store credit (10% value of the item) if I wanted to keep the figure as-is, or to allow a full refund upon return.

Since I really like the toy and a YF-19 looks ridiculous without the iconic canards I'm gonna go for the exchange.

Did you transform it to Battroid mode already to not notice the head tilt? Anyways, if it is, it's good to know that they fixed that as well.

No noticeable issues with the head/neck in battriod mode.

There's enough friction that they won't move on their own, but there isn't much resistance to pushing/bumping them.

Didn't know there was any issue with the neck, but it looks fine on mine.

The ankles look to be the same design as on the VF-19S (the only other one I have to compare to it.), they have a bit of lateral wiggle to them.

Other than that, everything is super tight.