Chronocidal

You know what, I was actually concerned with that part. I thought it was supposed to rotate, and I could see that pretty easily snapping off if you put pressure on the wrong part of the head. How is it that they made the HMR of this so much sturdier in every way? I've never seen those parts break off.

I actually think the only way this is going to get better is if Bandai gets shipped a pile of broken ones for replacement, so we might have to start looking for people who can initiate that process. It's a shame this one isn't being officially exported, or it would be a nice addition to the pile of YF-21's Bandai is going to have to support claims on. Bandai's refusal to support broken products is a pretty legendary black mark on their reputation, but they usually don't have mass failures like this to make it such a disaster.

I wasn't necessarily thinking in DX scale, more if they make an HMR version. But I did forget they're making a Fire Valk, so who knows at this point.

They were the primary focus, but you also had the Ghost X-9 (which no one has attempted to make outside of custom resin and 3D-printed builds, but I'm waiting to see if Bandai tries it), along with a couple of other designs that pop up here and there in Kawamori's design notes. Two that pop to the top of the list in my head the bomber escort/tanker seen in one of the competition montage sequences, as well as the drones it carried: Granted, I don't think either of those have any reason to transform, so they're not something Bandai would probably ever care about. You also have the Monster that shows up getting blasted by the YF-19, but also not a valk, and Bandai already made them anyhow. However, you also have this guy: An actual trainer model of the VT-17, in markings calling back to the VT-1. I would absolutely love to see that one produced by anyone, even if it has to be a VF-171 version. If we ever get a Sound Force VF-17, I am really hoping we see this as a repaint.

Hah, all good and realistic points! Can't disagree in the slightest. Weight and detail issues aside, I think the bigger issue is also why I don't have the 1/350 kit either: it's just so big. I've got one of the ancient AMT molds, and it sits unfinished in my closet, along with a couple of the Art Asylum/Diamond Select ones (which need mods to fix bad manufacturing and paint work), and the old Bandai pre-painted kit, plus a pair of the 1/1000 kits. Those are all of a size I can easily display, if I ever get around to finding places on shelves for them (and probably move out of earthquake country). I just can't say that about a 1/350 no matter how hard I stretch my imagination.

As much as one of these would be amazing to have, I can't bring myself to do something this big in metal. I know it's a particular feeling and presence, but I struggle to see the benefits of metal over many more versatile and flexible materials. I'd be much more likely to put the effort into the Polar Lights kit, partly because it would be much easier for me to fix my own mistakes than to fix TOMY's. I also have extraordinarily bad luck with refit Enterprises self-destructing. As amusing and hilariously fitting as it might be, the TMP refit design is not something that benefits from heavy materials, unless they're only forming an interior armature for support. The TOS version already had issues with the weight of the saucer, and I cannot see this one being any better. It'll be amazing to see, but I'm going to be living vicariously on this one, and enjoying swooshing my Art Asylum and Polar Lights versions.

Yeah, mine drooped a bit less than that. The plastic just got gooey with too much heat. It's really difficult finding the right amount of heat to move it without distorting it worse. I'm trying to think of the easiest way to mass produce spares, and finding some way to cut them out of plastic in the correct color seems like it would be the most reliable, just to avoid having paint rub off. Or, you know, in some dream dimension Bandai could actually accept responsibility for this crap and make good on its failures by sending out free spares to everyone who bought the darn thing. Between this and the stupid VT-1 tails breaking, this summer has been a quality control disaster for them. I'm tempted to buy a third just so I have a valid product support avenue to complain through.

(Snipped for saving space) 1. The canopy is definitely huge, but that's actually very fitting for the dual-elevation cockpit on the VT-1. It's so the instructor in the back seat has a clear view if they have to take control, and it's very similar to other dedicated trainer aircraft like the T-45 Goshawk and T-38 Talon. 3. The beige looks great to me honestly. I did a little bit of inspecting, and very little seems to be molded in orange, but the color matching is definitely better here than I've seen Bandai manage in some time. Molded orange parts appear to be limited to the tails, underside of the backpack, the backpack thruster flap, inner and outer leg panels, and the leg strakes (not counting the boosters and leg packs). 4. The fact that DYRL duty uniformed Hikaru looks like a much larger person than TV Roy bugs the crap out of me. Bandai just seems to exist in this warped reality where they are desperate to replicate animation, even if it makes no physical or logical sense, so we get these midget TV figures bouncing around massive cockpits and failing to grasp flight sticks the size of encyclopedias, while DYRL figures are properly sized and crammed in like actual fighter pilots in actual aircraft that can actually grasp the controls. 5. I just refuse to use those tail clips. They're not necessary, and all they're going to do is stress the tails. I'm almost tempted to putty over them to fill the divots taken out of the backplate. To Bandai's credit though, they had the sense to mold the tails in orange, and the backplate all in beige. To my knowledge, there are no places where painted and unpainted plastic connect or grind against each other when mounting the boosters, so you don't need to worry about paint scratches. I was impressed to see that the booster packs actually will stay in place without the tan mounting bracket though. You can't do this with the normal super/strike packs, because they don't have a substantial enough connection to the backpack, but the extra orange cover panel on the backpack of the VT-1 gives them an extra connection point, and they will stay on just fine, so long as you don't wildly swoosh the valk, or leave it standing in battroid. If you were so inclined, you could probably avoid the bracket entirely if you wanted to trust those tail clips to hold the backpack up, but I don't feel like it's worth the risk. The booster brackets have never really bothered me anyway; I feel like they were a huge step up from how the old 1/48 Yamato boosters were secured, and I like the boosters being sturdy enough to lift the valk by. 6. As much as some people may like the pop-up/sliding hinges that Yamato/Arcadia and Bandai have both adopted for gear doors at this point, I maintain that they have always been a significant step backwards from how Yamato used to do their door hinges. Older Yamato designs used a hooked swing-bar on the gear doors to pull them out and away from the wells, and it was both more functional and more accurate to how actual landing gear doors pivot. That's just how gear doors work in real life, they have to swing out and away to clear the bay. Those big curved hooks at the hinge are mounted to a pivot point outside of the gear bay. It lets the doors drop freely and swing away from the gear well. I'm not going to say they don't exist, but I have never seen a gear bay function anything like the sliding hinges used on the toys now. I think that sort of mechanism would just add multiple layers of extra complexity to what should be a very simple swinging door that is able to clear the bay by gravity assist alone in case of a hydraulic failure. Also, there is just no helping that very front gear door. Yamato nailed that design when they attached it to the gear strut, and Bandai's is a step backwards in every way. I worry I'm going to just snap that little twig of a door off every time I try to pry it open.

Realized it might have gotten muddled in the conversation, I was talking about a previous order experience with Luna Park, not Yoyakunow. I edited the original post to clarify that. So far my order process with Yoyakunow has been solid, I waited a little after release to request shipping of my extra VT-1, and I'm just waiting on the shipping charge now.

From what I saw on the one I heated with a space heater to fix, the white marks disappear close to the point where the plastic reaches its melting point. I was able to get rid of my stress mark, but when I brushed my finger against the plastic, it was very limp, so I pushed it too far, and it got too hot. I was able to get it straight for the most part, but what's amusing to me is that the tip of the laser actually bent in the other axis direction, and now the tip is slightly limp.

The figures are mostly just whatever, I actually just like building the valks themselves, since they're about 1/80 scale, and display really well with HMR valks.

Honestly, I'm not going to even label this a "bad" experience. They delivered without issue once I asked, and I purposefully dragged it out to see what would happen, so that part is on me. I'd probably still use them as a backup if I couldn't get something elsewhere, provided the price wasn't absurdly inflated. I'm not going to say it's a positive vote for them, but it's neutral at worst, and I'd be willing to believe it's just a miscommunication about them expecting me to request shipping when I was ready.

Yeah, Luna Park has never ever actually done anything wrong with my orders, but they seem to be very scatterbrained about when (or if) they send things without constant prodding. The last thing I ordered from them was a Mirage 31AX. I wasn't in a rush to receive it, since it was a backup, so I decided to wait and see if they actually sent it without me requesting it. In short, nope! Order was placed on October 25 2021, and they didn't ship it until I poked them, in February of 2023, almost a year and a half after the initial order. I had to wonder if my request sent them scrambling to find stock of it, but given the issues the 31AX line had, I don't suppose it was all that difficult to find one.

I wonder if some factory workers are confused about the fact that the tails on this one don't fold, and are trying to force them down during packaging.

Just keep in mind that removing it might make the pivot sloppier as it wears down. That's the biggest reason I kind of prefer the homemade one, I flattened it out so it sits flat against the back of the head, and doesn't rotate. If Shapeways had the right color to print them in, it might be worth seeing if they can make them in whatever crazy nylon mix they like to use, since it would be really sturdy.

If I can find my box of saved scraps from old Bandai kits, I might try and carve out another copy or two, just for spares.

Urgh.. I appreciate the effort, but that is the least VW Beetle looking VW Beetle Lego has ever produced. I don't want to be too harsh, since I know transforming stuff is so difficult, but I'd probably keep that one in bot mode forever.

No, they actually go this one right thankfully. Right is definitely blue. Reason I remember it (besides being around aircraft all the time) is an old catchphrase I picked up at some point: "Red, Right, WRONG." If you see the red light on the right, it means you're set up for a head-on collision. Still sucks they completely forgot to paint them, but I actually wonder if it's due to the extra layer of paint on those thruster blisters disrupting the normal production flow. Would be really funny to scrape away a layer of that tan paint, and find out they did paint the lights, they just got the layering out of order, and painted the tan over the top of them.

I don't think the animators picked up on the nuances, looks like they just did all of them red.

Sheesh, did they outsource both this and the YF-21 to new production lines? These are some of the dumbest and most preventable issues they've introduced in a long time.

For what it's worth, I think they all use that same material, and I don't think I've heard of any cases of it shattering on any of the previous releases. And, on the off chance they do wind up exploding.. I'm going to be perfectly honest, it won't matter to me, since I don't think I've ever transformed any VT-1 past half gerwalk anyhow.

I know it's weird and bafflingly Giger-esque, but I wouldn't mind the Batman Forever Batwing as well. For some reason, my memory of this one got blended with the TAS version, and I've always had a mental image of this one's fuselage with the TAS wings, which I think makes a really nice combo, honestly.

That... is an interesting choice. I guess so long as he leaves the mask on, it won't really matter? But I can't help think they're trying to pull more multiverse shenanigans and play with the nature vs nurture angle. I'm also not deep enough into Marvel history to know whether those two characters may have ever met or interacted in some way, but after their first foray into using characters from that franchise, I'm not sure I trust them to try again.

The VT-1 tails have never been able to fold all the way that I know of, even on the Yamato. They just didn't have as much of a drastic redesign, or what looks like as fragile a connection as the Bandai one does. The plastic really does look thin there. I wonder if someone in Japan could get the replacement part for you with your photos. I do think someone took apart the entire DX VF-1 early in the release cycle to repaint it in another set of markings, so you should find some helpful posts in the forum history somewhere. If you're able to get the backpack apart to access that hinge, it might be thick enough to drill into and repair with a metal pin to hold it together. As far as the tail clips on the backplate go though, I've never found a reason to use them. They definitely put stress on the tail hinges, and they've always looked funky to me, so I'm not going to risk it. Though, I have to give credit to Yamato for coming up with a less disruptive design for them, and in a smaller scale no less, Bandai's hinged ones take huge chunks out of the upper surface of the plane.

The stylization I'm kind of ambivalent about. It's a different look, more of a Gundam/Armored Core aesthetic, instead of being a pure transforming aircraft design. Interesting in battroid/gerwalk, but it's definitely not doing fighter mode any favors. Just looks sloppily slapped together, very much like the VF-2SS in both good and bad ways. Interesting detail on the legs to make them beefier though, it looks like the entire inside panel collapses to give the arms more room.