Chronocidal
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Everything posted by Chronocidal
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If you consider that the Threezero VF-1 is pretty much entirely painted, it actually might not be hard to figure out. I'm betting the only POM parts are the gray plastic hinges involved in the joint mechanisms, or the back plate. Haven't tested this in any way, it's just an assumption, but these are so completely painted, I doubt any part that would need paint would be unpaintable. Maybe some of the internal parts of the hinges that show? But the only parts I can see are already either dark gray unpainted plastic, or metal, The color and finish are so consistent across the figure, I feel like any part not painted to match would stick out pretty clearly.
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Boy do they ever need to fix that derped up elbow joint. Still... might be tempted to grab them. Will have to wait and see.
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Yeah, the blue VF-31A above is a great option, either that one or the orange and tan "Skuld" variant. It's just a great design that doesn't get enough attention. If you want something fancier that transforms though, the VB-6 kit is an amazing build, and gives you a fully transforming destroid shuttle that doesn't need the figure at all to function. It's a fully functional 3-mode valk, the figure can just ride it.
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Ok, that is what I've been wanting to see out of the Legioss for forever: giving it proportions and styling that makes it look like it could actually operate as an aircraft. Granted, there's no way those proportions would transform into any sort of functional mech, at least not without modifying the legs into something closer to the Sentinel design, but I'd love to see how close you could get to that aircraft mode before diver and soldier began to become unrecognizable. Scale-wise, 1/100 would normally be stupidly tiny for a Legioss, but the proportions of that model are completely different. Based on the cockpit, it looks like it would be around the size of an HMR VF-1. The overall layout makes me think of a delta-winged F-18. But yeah.. being Experten means you better hope for lots of photos. Reverse-engineering that concept image into a working model is probably more likely than getting a physical copy for yourself.
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So, knowing Bandai's fetish for incoherently excessive mechanism designs full of self-destructive interlocking parts, I would bet something in either the knee joint or foot collapsing mechanisms (possibly both) is getting in the way of that panel shifting correctly. Make sure the feet are collapsed properly, and the knees are as aligned as they can be. Also.. I'm going to make what should be a ludicrous suggestion, but this is Bandai we're talking about, so all bets on anything actually making sense are generally off the table... Try extending the landing gear from the leg. I know it sounds crazy, but the sliding mechanism for the leg travels directly above the gear inside the bay, and if they managed to mis-cast the gear in one leg, it could be catching on the slider when you try to collapse it.
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Yeah, I get the frustration, it's just an "okay" tribute in a lot of ways. I'm just enjoying remembering when I got that set, which I think was the only original Blacktron set I picked up before they moved to the second generation of them. I'll have to see what my brain comes up with, I might actually pull the cargo door panels from the original Alienator to upgrade this set, if they're big enough. Probably use the yellow canopy part as well.
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Ok, I did not expect this. I never had the Renegade, but I did have the original Blacktron walker this was inspired by. Pretty loose inspiration, obviously, but that was one of my earliest space sets.
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Glad you got it, just be careful when pushing the legs in. If I remember correctly, a lot of the time the reason they didn't go in easily was due to being caught up on the tabs that lock into the torso on the inner side of the leg. Make sure those are all seated correctly, and it should go together smoothly.
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It's absolutely a beast to transform, and a nightmare to get massaged back into fighter mode. This might sound ridiculous.. but it's much more pleasant to transform if you just take the legs off. I took one of mine apart to loosen the hip joints, and when you don't have to wrangle the whole figure, it's easier to appreciate how much mechanical origami is going on with the torso transformation, and how well it all works. I would definitely recommend loosening the hip screws though. The entire hip section is classic Bandai mechanical nonsense, with far too many parts involved, and it's a very intricate joint. Loosening the screws to let it move easier will make it much easier to transform, and lessen the stress on the plastic parts of the hips.
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I honestly do not think those intakes have anything to do with the alt mode. I'm thinking they just stuck them there as a reference to the VF-19... which is probably the only part of it that will actually resemble it. -
Out of stock at the moment, but I hope it stays in production for a while to pick up a set.
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Just went and grabbed a pair of the new Blacktron set, and was happy to see they've revamped the points application system from the last time I used any. For a while I think you had to buy gift card increments with the points, and then apply them, but now the checkout just comes with an option to apply the points directly as a discount. I don't know if the value has been adjusted, since it's been a while since I last looked, but I had enough to get one of the Renegades at half price, so I'm fine with that. I'll probably mash the two sets together to rebuild the center structure, and see what happens from there. I might be able to combine it with the previous set to give it a better central bay.
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Good point, that's just my default reaction to Transformers stuff at this point.
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Keeping in mind of course that Hasbro has a VERY shaky understanding of what key features define a machine capable of flight.
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... Oh.. ok.. I have no idea what they're planning with that. It doesn't look so much like anything Fire Valk-ish so much as it looks like they gave Optimus Prime the sound booster, and a guitar. The intakes on the shoulders make me think they just shoved them there as decoration.
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I know I've seen the 19P show up now and again as well, so I don't doubt it's in good hands.
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STAR WARS Merchandise Episode - 2
Chronocidal replied to Black Valkyrie's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
They do, but the X-Wing kind of irritates me with how weird the details are. It's like they printed all of the panel lines based on some sort of wrap around the plastic, and a bunch of panels that should be parallel all lean as if they're getting sucked in by a singularity in the cockpit. The Y-Wing and B-Wing are beautiful though. *quietly boots the "a-wing" out of frame* Also, I want to scream every time someone makes the top engine nozzles super long and the lower ones super short. Of all the things they directly copied from the old Action Fleet ships, why did it have to be that?I -
Without digging out my original release, I can't do a proper comparison of the little details, but I just (finally) opened my first Ozma set, and it looks like one of the more solid VF-25s I have, from any release, renewal or revival. No issues with the nosecone lining up, and the nose gear doors are a perfect fit on this one, which is a nice change from the past couple of issues I've had (my Max YF-29 and Alto combo re-release both had pretty sloppy nose gear doors, and issues with hinge alignments). Did have one assembly foible on the right thigh where someone just didn't tighten a screw enough to get the leg halves together, leaving a big gap, but fortunately, unlike many other Bandai releases, the screw cover was easily accessible, and only held on by a small dab of glue, so it was easy to pop off and tighten that screw up. I won't say it's perfect though, and I think the issues Bandai has been having with drilling accurate hinge pin holes are persisting. They don't stop anything from working this time, but both of my tail hinges don't look quite lined up. They're not crooked at least, but the tails don't look like they're seated in the sockets properly, so they feel like they aren't raising enough, and the base of the tail sticks up from the fairing a little. Nothing terrible though, they stay in place fine, and don't look obviously misaligned.
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I kind of hate to say it, but when the HMR has more tampo'd and painted detail than the 1/60 version, that feels embarrassing.
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That may be the best option I've seen for how to get a good toe extension yet. About time someone actually used that joint for something! Really awesome work with that hinge, I've been plotting how to do something like the add-on kit myself for a few years, and never got around to it, but your solution looks like a great alternative. For the actual internal hinge, depending on the actual range of motion you want, you might want to see if you can find a few small LEGO hinges to just glue in place. If you can get a few of the old clicky ones that would be pretty ideal, so long as the clicks line up with where you want them. They should fit inside the wing baffles easily, and I think three one-stud wide hinges should be enough for each side (two hinges might be enough, I forget how heavy the wings are). I wouldn't suggest buying a set just for them, but you might be able to get a few of the hinges on their own for a few bucks through a reseller (I might have some spares myself, but can't look through my supply until next week). I'll see what I can find later, if you think that's worth looking at.
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I love how well the standard Bandai stands work with these, and they're pretty much the perfect size to slip in an HMR display, so long as you just want the fighter modes. Really, these are probably some of the most accessible VF fighter kits around, since they're much simpler builds than the Hasegawa kits. I wish Bandai had continued with their 1/100 line of VF-25s, but they only put out a few in that scale before jumping to their HG line of partsformers.
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What I've found most often is that when those clips lose their clutch power, the main cause is tiny fractures in the center of the clip. They don't shatter outright, but the tension will be lost once that pressure fractures the surface of the clip. They'll stay that way a long time, but the friction will be gone.
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Fair, it's not that the clips are a bad system to use, they do offer a lot of compact options in a lot of different configurations, and they definitely hold well. The Saturn V set makes that pretty clear. My general issue with them is just how many of them I've found broken over the years. They've gone through a few revisions to make the clips sturdier (and I think I still have a few really old ones that are really thin plastic), but it seems like I'm always finding new broken ones on builds I've left on display. Last time I picked up my Ideas shuttle build, the tail and one wing flap both fell off from broken ones. They're a really good tool for assembling complex shapes involving angled plates, and great for hinge joints, but using them for something specifically designed to be detached and reattached repeatedly feels like you're just asking to have to order replacements. Fortunately they're really common, and cheap to order in bulk. Maybe that's just the way they're being treated now, as disposable parts to be replaced when they wear out.
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Neon Genesis EVANGELION General Thread
Chronocidal replied to no3Ljm's topic in Anime or Science Fiction
Man, as someone who still has a collection of the original McDonalds happy meal transformers, I would pick those up in a heartbeat. -
This... makes no sense to me. Why would they specifically design the two linkages using exact opposite setups? It's not like it's hard to modify them at all... Otherwise though, I'm really getting tired of these clip systems. They might hold well enough, but why is it so hard to just pin things together with technic pins like we've been doing for roughly forty years? Did they discontinue the bricks with permanent pegs attached? Whatever the situation though, I do hope I can pick up a pair of these. I just want to extend the design and scale it up more faithfully like the Explorer set.
