Bandai 1/60 Scale DX VF-27 Thread

[eriku]

Eriku--you didn't even want yours a week ago!

Yeah, my temporary insanity was based on not seeing any real pics of it leading up the release. I started questioning how much I really needed it, thinking of the other things the money might be better-spent on, and then luckily some pics were shown online and the less decayed part of my brain said, "See? You really do need that, dumbass."

[David Hingtgen]

Got mine, won't be transforming it for a while though---the paint is much more matte than I suspected, so raw Future over it will be hyper-obvious, I'm going to have to mix up some flat-Future batches and see which one will dry to the right sheen. (I have planned for months that I would coat the nose and shoulders with Future BEFORE the first transformation---I'm not taking any chances on scraping paint).

Anyways, having never owned a VF-27, a few things I've noticed and am wondering if Brera's is the same:

Darkest stripes are metallic paint.

Intake covers are metallic paint.

Beam cannon is molded in metallic plastic.

Lime green details (like the back of the hand stripe) are metallic paint.

[anubis20]

Got mine, won't be transforming it for a while though---the paint is much more matte than I suspected, so raw Future over it will be hyper-obvious, I'm going to have to mix up some flat-Future batches and see which one will dry to the right sheen. (I have planned for months that I would coat the nose and shoulders with Future BEFORE the first transformation---I'm not taking any chances on scraping paint).

Anyways, having never owned a VF-27, a few things I've noticed and am wondering if Brera's is the same:

Darkest stripes are metallic paint.

Intake covers are metallic paint.

Beam cannon is molded in metallic plastic.

Lime green details (like the back of the hand stripe) are metallic paint.

No I think all that metallic stuff is exclusive to the Grace.

[MacrossJunkie]

Got mine, won't be transforming it for a while though---the paint is much more matte than I suspected, so raw Future over it will be hyper-obvious, I'm going to have to mix up some flat-Future batches and see which one will dry to the right sheen. (I have planned for months that I would coat the nose and shoulders with Future BEFORE the first transformation---I'm not taking any chances on scraping paint).

Anyways, having never owned a VF-27, a few things I've noticed and am wondering if Brera's is the same:

Darkest stripes are metallic paint.

Intake covers are metallic paint.

Beam cannon is molded in metallic plastic.

Lime green details (like the back of the hand stripe) are metallic paint.

For Brera,

Dark stripes are not metallic.

Intakes are the same as the dark stripes.

Beam cannon does have a sort of metallic look. I believe the cannons for all the 27s are the same.

The green details like on the back of the hands, the diamond shape on the hips and on the crotch piece are metallic.

Edited June 29, 2010 by MacrossJunkie

[David Hingtgen]

Futuring away... (yes, that's a verb on modeling forums---and "Futured" is an adjective).

The stripes being metallic will make it harder to match, to paint the missing hip-gun-panel stripe.

[eriku]

I reached the limit of number of photos allowed per post, and the forum doesn't seem to let me do two posts in a row, so I'll post the rest of the photos after someone replies.

Edited June 29, 2010 by eriku

[David Hingtgen]

Post away!

PS---I've been trying to think of how to customize the pilot. The arms being "molded" to the sides makes it harder--nigh-impossible to narrow the waist because of that.

[eriku]

Yeah, they really went bare-bones with the pilot. Maybe they'll make a Grace pilot as an exclusive add-on super-exclusive.

Regarding the paint, I haven't handled the Brera so I don't have any first-hand experience with the paint problem but from what people said it sounded pretty easy to scratch off. Nothing has gotten scratched on Grace so far, and there were a few moments during transformation when parts were scraped over the painted areas. Time and more handling will tell, but so far so good.

And with that, here's some more pics!

[MacrossJunkie]

Futuring away... (yes, that's a verb on modeling forums---and "Futured" is an adjective).

The stripes being metallic will make it harder to match, to paint the missing hip-gun-panel stripe.

I guess if you aren't able to match it close enough, you could just mask it off and repaint all the dark striped areas.

It should be relatively simple to do and there aren't any markings in the dark striped parts that you would end up losing.

[David Hingtgen]

I'm pretty sure repainting everything would take far more time and effort than even a dozen attempts at mixing paint to match.

::edit:: To everyone---does the paint on the metal part of the shoulder hinge chip/flake? That's quite glossy paint, pure Future should match it pretty well---but is it needed at all?

[Uxi]

Hmm too bad this wasn't a general release. Only thing I really miss is that we didn't get the 'supa foldo boosta' with the Brera. I like the face / color contrast on the Brera much better.

[Ivan]

Apologize if this has been discussed, but does the paint on the nosecone come off as easily as that on the Brera version? Thx.

[Kyp Durron]

Is it just me, or is this version less shiny and more of a matt finish?

-Kyp

Edited June 30, 2010 by Kyp Durron

[eriku]

Apologize if this has been discussed, but does the paint on the nosecone come off as easily as that on the Brera version? Thx.

The nosecone on mine got scraped over a couple of times during transformation and no paint scratced off.

[nightmareB4macross]

Wow, Brera looks great. Is the finish flat?

I think this could be a great reason to buy the DX MF series, again. Since, buying the Alto VF-25 I have been staying away from these, until now.

[eriku]

Is it just me, or is this version less shiny and more of a matt finish?

-Kyp

Wow, Brera looks great. Is the finish flat?

It looks flat in photos, but all of the unpainted plastic is actually glossy.

Edited June 30, 2010 by eriku

[David Hingtgen]

Yeah, that may actually be my #1 complaint at the moment--the smooth shiny plastic. Yamato's "subtle texture" that makes their valks matte looks much more realistic IMHO. Shows every slight fingerprint, too.

Ironically, the paint is very matte.

[jenius]

Toys are supposed to be bright and shiny... MODELS are supposed to be matte and weathered. I was actually let down when I got my first Yamato because the plastic looked cheap and model-like. I've grown to appreciate matte finishes more but I like how Bandai's hits that sentimental button of "Oh yeah, I collect toys because I remember how much I love toys... not because I'm an adult without modeling skills."

[David Hingtgen]

The collection DX review mentions a hidden, unlockable waist joint--but doesn't say how. Does it have to be unlocked in GERWALK or something? Tugging and pulling in every direction I can think of doesn't do anything.

Protected by Future:

[Renato]

The collection DX review mentions a hidden, unlockable waist joint--but doesn't say how. Does it have to be unlocked in GERWALK or something? Tugging and pulling in every direction I can think of doesn't do anything.

Do you have a DX 25? It's the same. You just have to pull really hard.

Here's a photo (which I actually first posted in the VF-22 thread) showing the crotch at an angle, which is what allows the waist joint to move. Note that waist articulation is better on the 25 than on the 27, though (as far as I can tell -- I don't want to get my 25 out to compare).

[MacrossJunkie]

The collection DX review mentions a hidden, unlockable waist joint--but doesn't say how. Does it have to be unlocked in GERWALK or something? Tugging and pulling in every direction I can think of doesn't do anything.

Protected by Future:

I had a post that explained how, but I can't seem to find it in search or recall what thread it was...

Anyway, I'll just re-attach the pics I used in that post.

The waist joint is just locked in by a little tab. Easiest way to disengage it is to make sure the crotch piece is not locked in and just carefully pull on it until the part pops out.

This is actually how the VF-25 and 27 achieve the outward pointing crotch in the animation. Too bad Bandai didn't actually design a fold out piece to prop it open. I just jam one of the spare hands in space. A closed fist works best.

The pics just show the tab that locks the waist joint in to the fuselage. You can see how it should look when disengaged.

Edited July 3, 2010 by MacrossJunkie

[David Hingtgen]

Thanks much for the pics--I'm still wondering if I transform it right. Namely:

The "chest plate" and the nosecone--should there be a gap? (as in, the nose cone is BEHIND the chest--you can bascially fit a pen into the gap) It looks better (and more anime-accurate IIRC) if there isn't a gap, but it seems to hold the torso together better if there is--especially when the waist is unlocked.

Is there a lock/click for the main neck plate? (the bigger, outer one) Or do you just do "as for back as it'll go"? If I fiddle with it enough, I can actually get the front "point" of the neck plate up out of the hole--but I figure that's too far.

Renato---I notice you have the gap between the chest plate and the nosecone---but yours still seems to have more "pelvic thrust" than mine can achieve at all, much less while remaining upright. Is there a "torso lock" I'm missing somewhere? I can "pull" the torso together to that angle, but it always flops back that last 5 degrees or so. The tip of the nosecone of yours looks like it's darn near touching the groin piece---again, I can only get that if I hold the torso halves together.

[MacrossJunkie]

There is a slight gap in mine they way I have mine positioned, but not enough to fit the full width of a standard pen in. You can adjust the chest so that it almost makes contact, but I think it makes other areas look off in positioning.

As for the neck base plate, there's no real lock that I've found. It's just kept in place by the fuselage pushing up against it from underneath.

Here's how I have mine positioned.

There is a tiny bit of jiggle room there at that position, but I think it looks better set like that.

You can even go so far as having the tip of the neck base plate rising up over the chest piece at which point there is no jiggle room at all, but I don't think it goes that far in the line art.

For the angle of pelvic thrust, try my suggestion of putting in one of the fists that you're not using. I have mine at max angle which I'd eyeball as around 65 degrees from the backplate.

[Renato]

For the angle of pelvic thrust, try my suggestion of putting in one of the fists that you're not using. I have mine at max angle which I'd eyeball as around 65 degrees from the backplate.

Yeah. I just use a folded-up piece of paper. In fact, you can see it in the photo, it's that yellow thing.

[MacrossJunkie]

Yeah. I just use a folded-up piece of paper. In fact, you can see it in the photo, it's that yellow thing.

That works too. The benefit of using a spare fist is that it's harder to spot and matches the color of the VF.

[David Hingtgen]

That explains it--that's cheating! I'll just live with the lesser angle.

As for a pen--not a WHOLE pen-width, but the majority of the tip. Depends on how your pen tapers of course...

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Toys are supposed to be bright and shiny... MODELS are supposed to be matte and weathered. I was actually let down when I got my first Yamato because the plastic looked cheap and model-like. I've grown to appreciate matte finishes more but I like how Bandai's hits that sentimental button of "Oh yeah, I collect toys because I remember how much I love toys... not because I'm an adult without modeling skills."

I like both.

I think yamato go for the "it must look close to a model" idea more, and bandai want the toy look. (that's what they are after all)

If yamato started releasing kits that would be cool. But everyone here complained about the swappable parts 1/100 VF-0 that we were supposed to have, and then they had to make the VF-0 perfect transforming toy instead. It's all the fault of MWB. Don't blame yamato.

---

Great pics of this toy. I want to get one, but I caved and bought the VF-22S Max.

Will these bandai toys ever see improvements in future? I'm wondering if I skip out on the early oness sometime down the track, they will have enhanced versions that are better or something. (like a pilot with boobs, just kidding.)

I would like to see a black non-canon variant similar to ivanov sv-51 heh.

Edited July 7, 2010 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Javabean]

Anyone got the missing numbers sticker from yr dealers? My local dealer (The Falcon Hanger) just received the stickers from their supplier & will distribute to those who bought Grace version from them.

Edited July 7, 2010 by Javabean

[STL]

Anyone got the missing numbers sticker from yr dealers? My local dealer (The Falcon Hanger) just received the stickers from their supplier & will distribute to those who bought Grace version from them.

Yup. My seller though delayed my shipment till he received the stickers.

But I personally didn't give two rats about the decals. All I want is the damn Grace and it's a spectacular piece.

[anubis20]

IM getting mine shipped later this month, my friend in Japan already got them but im waiting for other pre-orders to ship out so that I dont have to pay shipping for just the stickers.

[charger69]

New and wonderful reviews from CollectionDX

CollectionDX.com review

[VF5SS]

Don't forget to link the text review too.

I worked hard on that.

[David Hingtgen]

::uses mod power:: There ya go.

PS--wow, your camera really does make the "shades of green" difference look 100x worse than it really is. I think the reality is somewhere between mine and Renato's pics.

[VF5SS]

i like this picture the best :3

[MacrossJunkie]

I don't think it's the camera so much as it is the lighting. The various factors in the lighting (color of light, incandescent, flourescent, etc.) makes a huge difference in how visible the different shades are.