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Bandai 1/60 DX VF-25 transformable toy thread


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Daaaaag.

Reading all of these exacting and critical posts, I feel like I'm a blind chump who uncritically cheers whatever a company places before my eyes.

I like the VF-25 that Bandai has given us; the only thing I'm curious about is:

1) Just how durable is it? Hopefully very.

2) How poseable is it (we've seen a few pics but nothing exploring the full range - I hope!)

3) Will Bandai include a stand? (pleeeaaaasssee)

Pete

I'd be a very happy panda if number 3 is a reality. :) I like the VF-25 so far, even though it's misproportioned and all. I really like the Alto compared to the Ozma now though.

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After updating myself on this thread (yes, read all 36 pages, or at least scanned thru them), after building, applying decals (with softener and in a wrong way), transformed the 1/72 kit...I really would like to get a sturdier toy. I have no idea how many more transformations it can take before I have to redecorate it completely or sth just snaps (3 or 4?), even thought about buying a back up kit...

Unfortunately, the latest painted samples are different from the earlier unpainted ones in only one area: PAINT (and the black artsy fartsy backgroud).

None of the real problems have been addressed: leg position in battroid mode, leg position in fighter, pushing too hard on the "A stance" in gerwalk mode (knees still don't go forwards all the way), drooping nosecone, hiding the landing gear, (not really mentioned) a biggish chest area...I am not sure why so many of us didn't notice, besides a paint job and some lighting effects, nothing was done to the tooling AT ALL.

Maybe Japanese fans of chunky monkeys can dispose some income on this DX 1/60, and some hardcore guys can instead go and spend days building transformation kits that cannot really be transformed many times...but my plan is either to become a master model builder (?!?!) or wait for Revoltech figures and gashapoons now!

(it's not lthat the kit is PERFECT: it looks good in battroid and gerwalk modes and is quite poseable, but in fighter, there are too many gaps in the chest/shoulder and the legs/engines just don't stay there unless sitting on landing gears. Still, it's much more accurate than this DX version).

Edited by regult
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Let me just add 1 more thing: if this toy had been released 4, 5 years ago, maybe it's fine (remember those early Yamatos??), but after years of technical development, of trial and error, a modern-day toy could be more lineart or anime accurate than this.

Nobody is really asking for perfection (even with CG they still "cheat" -a lot-: in episode 25, you can clearly see the tailfin of Ozma's gunpod "sink" into his battroid's right arm!!!!!), I am just hoping for a toy that's more durable than a model and accurate enough to fool my eyes.

Edited by regult
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......So when will yamato get the Frontier licence again?

Im thinkin i can hold out...

<_<

when will yamato get the frontier license? NEVER it's not gonna happen people.

if I'm still on this board (or if this board is even up and running) when yamato comes out with a VF-25, I'll personally buy one for every person on here that wants one.

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<_<

when will yamato get the frontier license? NEVER it's not gonna happen people.

if I'm still on this board (or if this board is even up and running) when yamato comes out with a VF-25, I'll personally buy one for every person on here that wants one.

lol i'll remember that.

But yea, didn't Bandai have Macross II licence forever as well? :p Graham mentioned Bandai only have the licence for a set few years or somethin like that. So there is hope... in a few years...

Edited by ruskiiVFaussie
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Here's to hoping that either:

a) Bandai does a V2 or decides to make a non-chogokin perfect-transformation VF-25 that actually looks good.

b) Yamato gets the license some years from now.

c) Another company that can make good transforming mecha comes along and picks up the license some years from now.

Bandai is putting out their C-game for this toy. It's too bad they're not putting out their A-game. :(

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lol i'll remember that.

But yea, didn't Bandai have Macross II licence forever as well? :p Graham mentioned Bandai only have the licence for a set few years or somethin like that. So there is hope... in a few years...

last I checked, Bandai STILL has the license for MacII and Mac7. (macII toy's are coming in the VF100 line by the way).

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I'm not that optimistic about Yamato being able to obtain the license to do the VF-25 or other Frontier mecha.

Just judging from Bandai's past history with the Macross licenses, they'll probably hold on to the rights to produce the toys just so they can re-issue the DX 1/60s every now and then as they have with the 1/55 chunkys and the 1/65 M7 valks with no improvements of substance other than possibly adding some more tampo printing or other minor things.

It's a shame that they didn't put a comparative amount of effort as they have with some of the other chogokin toys they have made. Just look at the Aquarion which far surpasses the VF-25 in complexity of design. I'm not particularly a fan of the Aquarion, but I can appreciate the difficulty of designing and making something where not only do the three component parts transform into vehicles on their own, but can be reconfigured into many different robot combinations and also retain some measure of posability as well. Bandai managed to make an awesome looking toy with that. They have the engineering know how and if they had put half that effort into making the DX VF-25, I think we would have had something that more Macross fans would have been happy with. :(

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I notice on the latest pic of the VF-25F Alto Battroid (attached) that there appears to be no surface detail on the inside of the backplate. Look at the photo and you can see it looks devoide of detail.

This is in sharp contrast to the model kit which has that area chock full of detail, as per Kawamori-sans published lineart.

Graham

post-11-1223614461_thumb.jpg

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I think what's happening here is that people's expectations of Bandai are a little too high. Sure Bandai is much bigger company than Yamato, with far more resources to spend on R&D and engineering for their toys. But you have to realize that Bandai has a LOT of toy lines. Their resources have to be divided across all of the divisions handling these toy lines. So in the end, its the budget of the division that determines the quality of their product.

Economics dictate the that the quality of the product is directly proportionate to its retail price (although this is not always the case, taking Sony's PS3 as an example). You cannot expect Studio Half Eye level engineering on the VF-25 for the price Bandai is asking for it.

But then what about Yamato? Their VF-1 ver. 2 and YF-21 are well engineered toys and they're selling for almost the same price as the VF-25. But then, you have to ask, how long did it take for them to reach that level of engineering prowess? How much money and effort did they put into it? Quite a lot I'd say.

This is not to say that Bandai CAN'T do a better job. It's just that Macross is not their milk and butter. That honor goes to the big "G" of course. If they spent the same amount of time and effort Yamato put into Macross, then I'm sure they can put out some really good products from that line. Heck, with their resources, they would probably take less time to get to Yamato's level now.

That is of course, IF Bandai decides to put more into the Macross line. Ultimately, its the consumer response that will determine whether Bandai would pour more resources into developing better Macross toys.

Which means that if the DX tanks, then its probably safe to assume that Bandai will drop the license for Yamato and other toy companies to pick up. :rolleyes:

In other words, just vote with your money. :lol:

Edited by brouken
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This is not to say that Bandai CAN'T do a better job. It's just that Macross is not their milk and butter. That honor goes to the big "G" of course. If they spent the same amount of time and effort Yamato put into Macross, then I'm sure they can put out some really good products from that line. Heck, with their resources, they would probably take less time to get to Yamato's level now.

Actually, it is not good for Macross if you look at how Bandai handle Gundam. Bandai always release basic Gunpla at a rate that match the TV broadcast, and some have really lousy job, e.g. the under-size back pack on the 1:100 Aile-Strike Gundam. Or you may see something like one week after the release of HCM-Pro 00, they announce the HCM-Pro 00 G-Box version, screwing all the early customers.

Also new Gundam anime are being made in part to drive new Gunpla and toy sale, although it is not as bad as Transformers. If Macross is being treated like Gundam, then we may see significantly less creative freedom in new Macross series. Remember the red Vajra transformation in Frontier episode 1? We never see that again. It is obvious they try to productize that Vajra and we saw a 1:72 prototype once, but they probably noticed that it's not popular so they dropped it. If the show is treated like Gundam the bugs would not left the drawing board, and we would get something they can sell like mecha-vajra, and the VF-25 model would have arrived 6 months earlier, but it will have bad proportion and lousy transformation.

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Their VF-1 ver. 2 and YF-21 are well engineered toys and they're selling for almost the same price as the VF-25.

It is? The YF-21 is far more expensive than either the VF-1 or the VF-25; and I imagine that this is probably because the VF-1 and VF-25 are much smaller than the YF-21...

Pete

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It is? The YF-21 is far more expensive than either the VF-1 or the VF-25; and I imagine that this is probably because the VF-1 and VF-25 are much smaller than the YF-21...

Pete

the VF-25 should be about the same size as the YF-21, and the YF-21 cost about twice as much as the VF-25 should.

the VF-1 is tiny compared to both. hence why the VF-1 is cheaper

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Remember the red Vajra transformation in Frontier episode 1? We never see that again. It is obvious they try to productize that Vajra and we saw a 1:72 prototype once, but they probably noticed that it's not popular so they dropped it. If the show is treated like Gundam the bugs would not left the drawing board, and we would get something they can sell like mecha-vajra, and the VF-25 model would have arrived 6 months earlier, but it will have bad proportion and lousy transformation.

at what point did the vajra transform? I rewatched that episode and I don't see anything that isn't done in every other episode that vajra show up in.

and there's still a possibility that the vajra model will come out. (they're probably just waiting until after the rest of the VF-25's are out.)

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i think people's expectations of bandai are high because bandai's 1/72 scale model looks so great, better in fact then the 1/60 dx. all of the complaints mentioned about the 1/60 dx sculpt are non-existent in the 1/72 scale model. it just doesn't make sense that they could make the model have perfect proportions and not have a larger scale toy have perfect proportions.

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i think people's expectations of bandai are high because bandai's 1/72 scale model looks so great, better in fact then the 1/60 dx.

that's kind of the point right here.

they've proven that they can actually do it right. but it seems like they intentionally dropped the ball or stopped caring with the 1/60 DX.

considering the price tag on the DX, the "it's not a collector product, it's a kid's toy, that's why it's chunky" argument doesn't make sense. if they priced it at about 2/3 or half, then it wouldn't be such a big deal.

for the +/- 12k yen tag, you bet they should have made something better.

for the same reason, the question here is...

why didn't they just scale & toughen up the 1/72? from all the reviews, it seems like the 1/72 is already half-toy.

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If I could find the post where it was stated that it was Bandai's decision to go this chunky route, I'd post a link to it. It was a decision to go craptastic. Their target isn't the collector, but the newer fans with money. If they were targeting the collector, they would have had something to bring competition to Yamato. As it is, targeting newer less selective fans of Macross they stand to gain a lot of money. So what if the collector fans don't like it? They'll still be making a bunch of money from people who think it looks fine, or are desperate for a VF-25.

Bandai is the only game in town for Macross Frontier stuff. You get the 1/60 porkchop, the 1/72 model kit, or the 1/100 partsformer. If you don't like any of them, you don't get a VF-25. :p

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I'd really like to know do newer, less selective fans prefer a chunky or something more anime accurate?

For me whenever I buy a toy, whether it's Macross or any other anime, I always want the toy as detailed and accurate as possible.

Graham

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I want the toy to look as close as possible to what is depicted in the anime. I'm more lenient on things that were hand animated, like the valkyries up to Macross 7. From Macross Zero onwards, I'm much more exacting as there are digital models to get the proportions more correct and parts in the right spots.

What matters is the essence of the design when brought to toy form. The VF-1s by Yamato have progressively gotten better in my eyes. The YF-19, though skinny in battroid, and not perfect in fighter, still has the essence of the YF-19.

The 1/60 VF-25 lacks the essence of the VF-25 in every single mode.

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I'd really like to know do newer, less selective fans prefer a chunky or something more anime accurate?

For me whenever I buy a toy, whether it's Macross or any other anime, I always want the toy as detailed and accurate as possible.

Graham

Ofcourse every fan out there wants a toy as detailed and accurate as possible. Key words being "as possible". Because it's not just detail and accuracy that fans want. That's where things get a bit tricky. :)

Edited by Vifam7
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I'd really like to know do newer, less selective fans prefer a chunky or something more anime accurate?

For me whenever I buy a toy, whether it's Macross or any other anime, I always want the toy as detailed and accurate as possible.

Graham

Heck yah! Especially if when damn figures are well over $200 USD!

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