Chronocidal

What I really want them to do is give us an HMR YF-19/YF-21 pair based on those molds, so I can have a nice compact set for my desk at work.  If they can pull off the old Yamato Fire Valk in that scale, it should be an easy step to make the YF-19 as well.

I think the MAXL is going to be better off as one of their part-swapping kits though.  I don't think there's any way you're going to get a decent transforming version of Mylene's valk at any scale with those wild proportional changes.

13 hours ago, scand said:

One day i am gonna give in and get that Klan Klan.

Fun fact, that kit is unironically one of the most sturdy renditions of a VF-25 with super packs you can get.   Proportions are a little weird due to the way it's designed to transform and support the figure, but it's not bad at all.

It also builds up into a pretty decent figure of Klan herself (and it's great she can just wear the super packs like in the series), but I think the proportions and face wind up making her look more like a mid-point between her older and younger selves.

I feel like I got something shipped by that method not too long ago for some reason?  But I can't find it in my history.  It might have been in the past couple of years when EMS wasn't available for whatever reason.

I want to say I don't remember it being particularly fast at the time, but that might have been a Pandemic-related delay.

41 minutes ago, MacrossJunkie said:

As expected, Mr Heresy himself and Abaddon were announced. He's absolutely huge in primarch sized terminator armor and that face sculpt and paint work is probably one of their best yet. Not so impressed with Abaddon. I prefer his current 40k version. 

So.. I have to assume the little stand base is just a standard accessory that they already produced?

Because seriously, his feet are almost as big as the platform.  

That's interesting.  I'm not at all familiar with how they treat mature content (or Chainsaw Man, for that matter), so my curiosity is mostly how they'd treat the central subject matter in Plus.

50 minutes ago, Lolicon said:

Remember, kids: as far as high end collectables go, Bandai doesn't strive for "best." They strive for "good enough."

Funny that in the 171's case they didn't even come close to scratching that goal.  It should be a posterchild for how not to design a transforming toy, collectible or otherwise.

I'm actually thinking this might be related to the relationship Disney already has with Bandai for certain things.  They've been cross-pollinating properties for a while.

I can't really help but crack up about their choice of a poster child for that announcement though.  The franchise as a whole isn't something I'd really consider targeted to young kids, but Plus in particular is probably the most mature subject matter in the entire library.

Really glad I have the original releases of classic Battlefront, since it looks like this re-release found all sorts of new and creative ways to downgrade a full release into a beta test-level product.  

Yeah, uh.. I feel like my reality checks are all bouncing at this point.

Did I wake up in some weird parallel universe?

Like.. I'm pretty much done with Disney regardless, but this is just a wild twist.

Wow, so they actually shrunk them quite a bit.  I hope that doesn't have any adverse effects on their structural integrity, since while not exactly fragile, the hinge pins are sometimes pretty easy to snap off (especially the ones in the feet).

It looks like they're molding them in multiple colors now as well.  Impressive all around.   

Do these characters actually have opening helmets or alternate heads?  Or maybe work with other existing heads?  Just wondering, since I would have expected to see pics of them by this point.

5 hours ago, Scyla said:

Had some time to fiddle with my Super7 Ultimates Tarn and I am puzzled for whom this line is for.

Everything of the figure us bad (paint, sculpt, articulation, sculpt, handling, materials, joint friction) and with $55 it is relatively expensive. Only the accessories are plentiful.

I could see that if you are a fan of a design that never gets any toys (like Banzaitron) but maybe I wouldn’t even buy it then. And Tarn got plenty of toys from official to high end variants.

Im utterly baffled how this is a thing. Maybe it is some kind of Transformers sub fandom or a variant of the Jumbo Machinder fandom but at a smaller scale?

 

I tend to throw this sort of product in the same bin as those weird multi-colored "prototype" Star Wars figures... ducking fugly, and really only good for completionists to throw on a shelf.

Every time I read more about how convoluted the international releases have gotten since that BW/HG deal, I just imagine a monkey paw flipping me off.   

6 hours ago, MKT said:

Those tabs are par for the course on a VF-1 right? I'm seeing all modern iterations of VF-1 have them.. 

Pretty much, though they wander around depending on the particular proportions and transformation.  

Yeah, my understanding is just that it's a very common example of this trope:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlandNameProduct

I couldn't even name them if I tried, but I feel like I've seen the same upside-down McDonalds logo in a ton of anime.  Apparently it's common in Inuyasha, and I think it happened in Haruhi as well.  Various series love doing this with all manner of brand names, coming up with misspelled twists like "Espon" printers, "Sanisonic" electronics, "Starbooks Coffee," and I know at least one instance of a computer with a pear as a logo.

How this one ascended into a real life crossover meme I have no idea, but I would be curious to try the different sauces.  I know I've had a type of sweet chili sauce before, but might not be the same thing.

Originally I only picked up extras of certain favorites, usually for alternate display options.

When Bandai entered the arena, I started buying extras for two more reasons:
1. Bandai does not offer replacement parts, and good luck getting a replacement product at all when they purposefully keep their production numbers so low
2. Certain webshops have proven to be unreliable in actually delivering what you pay for.  Sometimes I order from multiple sources just to make sure I get one at all.

In the case of things like the VF-171, I bought extras just to have spare parts to repair the ones that disintegrate.  

While I don't have a good display space setup yet, I do plan for how I would like to display things, so that usually means at least two of each valk for multiple modes.  Certain favorites I'll grab more for alternate loadouts or display options, or just to have extras of certain features, like the pile of Bandai YF-19s I picked up so I could have missiles to load every other naked Bandai valk (it's my favorite anyhow, so it's not like it was just for the missiles ).

I have reached the point where many of the multiples don't really make sense anymore though, and I am considering thinning the collection.  I've never bought things with the intention of later selling them, but the idea that some of them could serve as a resource in an emergency has always been in the back of my mind.

1 hour ago, Cherude said:

This guy struggles for 2 hours trying to transform the new dx vf 171 back to fighter mode... and basically fails!

It was hard to watch...

https://www.youtube.com/live/IuP5JdLhgyA?si=Tt_r7-5B5-gwcvHq

Is it really that complicated/difficult/painful/awful?!?!

Yeah, kind of.

Between the insane number of independent joints in the arms having to be lined up, the incredibly tight metal joints in the backplate, and just all of the issues existing in the legs, it really is the most aptly named valk ever.

Maybe we'll get lucky, and the NA release will wind up the way the PC release of HAWX included all of the future DLC in the original install, and all it took was a text editor to unlock it all.

Boy, that just makes me want to re-decal all of my HMRs with un-bolded font.  

I think Frontier was Bandai's first foray into "aircraft things" for the most part.  The main characters got numbers, but anyone not named was treated with all the respect of a typical grunt Zaku.  The overall markings of the 171s make me seriously question whether anyone working on the animation models had ever seen a military aircraft in their lifetime.  Fortunately that mostly got resolved by Delta, and there's a reason why the Kairos is so loved.

And yes, some of the releases had "NO STEP" printed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the wings.  The "excuse" commonly cited is that they operate in space, but I think it's a lot simpler than that.  They just replicated the CGI model textures, which copy-pasted the upper and lower wings.  They put them there because the production photos had them.

Makes me wonder if the old SDK is still archived and available somewhere.

I had a great time making custom maps for BF2 back in the day.  Hoth was a lot more interesting when the map was doubled in size.

Real pity we never got a seated Minmay for the VF-1D.  Still feels ridiculous.  

Looking closer, I want to know who goofed up and gave Hikaru's 1J yellow circles on the legs like Roy's and Max's.  

The parts swapping for the MAXL is going to be so extensive they might as well just give you two separate kits.  

Can't read any of the text, but is there anything there about it being a multi-mode kits like the others?

So I've continued my spree of builds (and box condensing, because yeesh), and threw together one of the VB-6 kits tonight.  Pretty good size, but smaller than the Robot Spirits version, so it's less of a match to the HMRs than that version.  Feels good in the hand, and very swooshable in shuttle mode though.  I think it actually holds together a little better than the Bandai, though being lighter helps there.  It's still a hefty kit though, lots of very dense plastic construction in the legs and body.  Design looks closer to the original lineart than the variations made for the Frontier version, with more of the original layered nose shape.

This one's an oddball, in a couple of good ways.  First, unlike every other VFG kit that requires a ton of parts-swapping and alternate builds to make the various modes, this one is very close to being a perfect transformation kit.  You pretty much just remove the motorcycle-style seat cushion to free up the hinges to achieve the standard Monster gerwalk.  Otherwise, the transformation has one part to swap: just the cockpit/head for going to destroid mode.  

There are two additional parts that aren't required, but I was impressed that they included them, because they actually achieve something Bandai didn't even try with their Robot Spirits version: they actually gave the shuttle retractable landing pads.

They're nothing particularly special, and they have to be removed for transformation so they don't snap off, but the shuttle has two fold-out pads that pop out near the hip joints, and work as landing supports.  There's also a third stationary skid in the back.. so it's kind of a half-done job.  But still.  It's something the previous VB-6 attempts haven't done.

I didn't try transformation to destroid, but going to gerwalk was simple enough.  Lots of hinges and posability in the arms, and they weren't too heavy to stay up.  I think my only real complaints are that the back section where the figure would sit looks weird (not to mention the motorcycle-style handlebars that remain), and that the cannons feel pretty undersized.  I know why they are, but the shuttle is definitely the best mode here.

Being perfectly honest, I only really bought these for the shuttle mode.  I do find it funny how capable a transforming kit it is though, and it feels like it has better flexibility than the Bandai version, probably from the number of multi-directional joints in the legs.

The build is pretty complex though, especially in the legs, and there are a couple of easy ways to mix up the parts for the hip joints, meaning you might have to take things apart and rebuild them to make sure they line up.  I also actually needed some clamps to get the thing together, because the main hip joints were so tight.  No amount of finger pressure was going to get those pegs into the sockets.  Imagine my frustration when I discovered that the pieces that took the clamps were the ones I assembled the wrong way...   It wasn't as bad as I first thought though, and the really difficult socket didn't need to be pulled apart, just twisted the other way and reassembled with the parts on the opposite side.

Altogether a fun little build, in an absolutely massive box.  I could probably melt down the trees and make another kit.