DX Chogokin VF-171 Cannon Fodder

[Axelay]

You could always buy mine from me!

What's your asking price? I have a friend who might be interested. Please let me know via PM? Thank you!

[zzgundam010]

You could always buy mine from me!

How much?

[raptormesh]

Just got my second from amiami and there seems to be a tiny(raised) gap between the pauldrons and the chest plate in fighter mode. Is this normal? Don't recall having this on my first.

[Valk-1S]

Just got my second from amiami and there seems to be a tiny(raised) gap between the pauldrons and the chest plate in fighter mode. Is this normal? Don't recall having this on my first.

That seems quick. Did you use SAL as well? Have you tried transforming it to battroid and back. It could be not transform properly out of the box.

[raptormesh]

Nope I ended up using EMS as I was purchasing another bulky item and they wouldn't fit small packet service. Will transform it in a bit.

[Loop]

I finally got around to transforming the 3rd cf-171. I have not noticed any missing parts. The one thing I did notice though, is that all 3 felt like the wings were loose. I applied some pressure to the removable wing pin and that tightened them up a bit. I also had a hard time getting the cockpit section to detach to rotate the cockpit up into the chest. One of my flexible head lasers is also pretty warped,but I guess that is why they provide the hard plastic ones. Overall they all look great together. I think it will be a while before I transform them back to fighter mode which I prefer.

[Scyla]

While the wings of my VF-171 weren't loose I was also able to push the pin a little bit further in. I had no problems with the pins detaching on their on so I was wondering if Bandai changed something on the pins since the problem of loose pins seems to occur less often.

When rotating the cockpit into place it helps to push on the section behind the canopy because there you can apply force to free the cockpit from its peg.

[SilentCrossHairs]

I want this plane. One can get tired of the same scheme. This is a rather smooth take on the VF-111 of the M7 days.

[Loop]

While the wings of my VF-171 weren't loose I was also able to push the pin a little bit further in. I had no problems with the pins detaching on their on so I was wondering if Bandai changed something on the pins since the problem of loose pins seems to occur less often.

When rotating the cockpit into place it helps to push on the section behind the canopy because there you can apply force to free the cockpit from its peg.

I actually used another technique to rotate the cockpit. when I am ready to rotate it, I open the cockpit and used the hook part of a floss pick to pull it up. I just seat the pick in where the pilots legs go and gently pull up and the whole section pops up.

*edit* I should mention the hooked part I use is the part of the floss pick that actually has the dental floss, I just cut the floss from the tool and it leaves a hooked part that is smooth and does not damage toys.

For some reason, I don't remember this being as hard to do on my Alto 171 or my VF-17's.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Loop

[Scyla]

I actually used another technique to rotate the cockpit. when I am ready to rotate it, I open the cockpit and used the hook part of a floss pick to pull it up. I just seat the pick in where the pilots legs go and gently pull up and the whole section pops up.

*edit* I should mention the hooked part I use is the part of the floss pick that actually has the dental floss, I just cut the floss from the tool and it leaves a hooked part that is smooth and does not damage toys.

For some reason, I don't remember this being as hard to do on my Alto 171 or my VF-17's.

The weird thing is that such a teeth cleaning device is lying directly next to me.... the whole time transforming the VF-171... unused (besides of teeth maintenance).

[xrentonx]

Don't do it, man! Get a clean one!

[Loop]

Don't do it, man! Get a clean one!

Of course, I always use a brand new one. They wear out over time as I never keep long enough nails to play with the small panels and whatnot on my toys.

[valhary]

I have the same problem that Negotiator come without the chest part I've contacted plamoya but I really doubt can do something it would more likely someone do it in shapeways by the way try to put the alto´s version but as the cockpit is different dont fit is a shame because I really wanted display in battroid mode thanks a lot bandai

[takatoys]

Someone on Ebay is offering parts for this toy. It will take a while to get your missing or broken part, but at least there is an alternative.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PARTS-ONLY-Bandai-DX-Chogokin-Macross-Frontier-F-CF-VF-171EX-Nightmare-Plus-/321125546414?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac492f9ae

Edited May 21, 2013 by takatoys

[David Hingtgen]

Well, that sucks. The little rotating black triangle piece under the intake everyone breaks? Mine just did when putting it back into fighter mode to box up and sell. Guess I can't ask as much money for it any more. That piece lasted only 1.5 transformations, and I was being insanely slow and careful each time due to knowing that piece was fragile...

So, from out of the box, it went from fighter, to GERWALK, to battroid, to deciding to sell it, and about 2/3 of the way back to fighter mode, before that piece snapped off.

And yeesh, that piece wasn't even stressed or anything---I think I may have lightly brushed it with my pinky while slowly moving the shoulder pads into place. Geez Bandai, couldn't you have thought up a more fragile design that's more precariously placed/moved?

[Valk-1S]

Well, that sucks. The little rotating black triangle piece under the intake everyone breaks? Mine just did when putting it back into fighter mode to box up and sell. Guess I can't ask as much money for it any more. That piece lasted only 1.5 transformations, and I was being insanely slow and careful each time due to knowing that piece was fragile...

So, from out of the box, it went from fighter, to GERWALK, to battroid, to deciding to sell it, and about 2/3 of the way back to fighter mode, before that piece snapped off.

And yeesh, that piece wasn't even stressed or anything---I think I may have lightly brushed it with my pinky while slowly moving the shoulder pads into place. Geez Bandai, couldn't you have thought up a more fragile design that's more precariously placed/moved?

Mine broke first time transforming it. Glued it back and it's fine now. I think it's due to the tightness of the joint and also the pin is not a solid pin and has a gap in between which can catch the plastic and cause it to break when rotating. After I glued mine back, I made the hole bigger to make sure it can rotate with ease.

[Negotiator]

Ya my triangle broke when I first touched it. My Alto has been sturdy after countless transformations. Anyway, doesn't look like NY will be of much help for the missing part without sending it back and at this point it's not worth sending it back for such a tiny piece. So can anyone please make this part for us unfortunate souls that got band-aid?

[plastik]

can you post a picture of what the damage looks like? thanks

[UN Spacy]

I haven't heard of this problem happening with the EX variant.

What gives?

[Shukenzero]

Bad QC is what. Really hit and miss on the 171s. Scratch marks, patchy paint jobs and broken or missin parts.

[Scyla]

Are we talking about the black filler pieces on the underside of the shoulders that cover the gab between chest and shoulder? If so one of mine was really tight so I unscrewed the curved piece because I feared breakage. I screwed it back on but with less torque then before and it seems fine since then. Maybe the tools in the factory where adjusted badly which caused the material do break.

[Negotiator]

Yes, that piece. One of the smaller pieces just came off and I barely moved it to begin transformation. I really think it was cracked already. Those parts are just frustratingly dumb anyway. The missing piece under the cockpit is the deal breaker tho. Looks so hollow in battroid.

[valhary]

thanks takatoys I already contacted the seller

[MacrossJunkie]

I tried to get NY to send me replacement piece for the missing under cockpit part. They wanted me to ship the whole thing back so they could send it to Bandai. I asked them to just open up one of the ones they still had on stock and take out the piece from there and ship to me that piece and send Bandai that you instead. It seemed reasonable to me since it would be cheaper for both NY and me if they did that, but they were unwilling to budge. Bandai dropped the ball here but at the same time I'm not happy with NY's customer service either. I'm debating of I should cancel my remaining pre-orders and risk maybe not being able to get them from hlj on release day.

It's not out of spite, but rather the fact that I'm paying their higher prices and yet if those future items also have issues, I'll have no reasonable course of resolution.

[Gakken85]

Well, I guess NY sees it as a net negative for them. If they just send you a part then they have a valk they can't sell as new, and they lose out completely.

I'm not saying I agree with them or their customer service, but it doesn't make sense from a business perspective to take that large of a hit becasue of Bandai's mistakes and shitty quality control. Keeping in mind that even though they are overcharging for items, their mark-up isn't massive as their is a lot of competition in a limited market.

I would just send it back, ask them to pay return shipping if they want to keep your business, and get a full refund.

Then just go buy a new one from somewhere else and hope you don't get another missing piece.

Good luck to you, I'm sure it sucks.

Edited May 21, 2013 by Gakken85

[Scyla]

Basically foreign customers are screwed when they have to return an item to a shop that is based in another country. And a lot of shops are having bad customer support. As far as I know even amiami which is one of the largest online shops in Japan doesn't cater to foreign customers when it comes to replacements or compensate shipping costs for sending an item back. And since shipping fees to Japan are very expensive one may think twice about returning an damaged item.

When my hip bar of the VF-25F Alto Custom broke I fixed it myself instead of the hassle of shipping it back to Japan. As a side question does anyone know if there are seller who sell parts of a VF-25 Renewal like with the guy on ebay who sells spare parts for the VF-171 (the fixed bar doesn't allow perfect transformation )?

[Duymon]

You can't blame NY. It's Bandai's policy for parts, where you have to send the ENTIRE toy back in order to get a complete one.

NY has had very good service. One time they sent me 171 armored parts instead of the 171 valk and they sent me the 171 valk and let me keep the parts for free.

[MacrossJunkie]

Well, I guess NY sees it as a net negative for them. If they just send you a part then they have a valk they can't sell as new, and they lose out completely.

I'm not saying I agree with them or their customer service, but it doesn't make sense from a business perspective to take that large of a hit becasue of Bandai's mistakes and shitty quality control. Keeping in mind that even though they are overcharging for items, their mark-up isn't massive as their is a lot of competition in a limited market.

I would just send it back, ask them to pay return shipping if they want to keep your business, and get a full refund.

Then just go buy a new one from somewhere else and hope you don't get another missing piece.

Good luck to you, I'm sure it sucks.

Well no, because they wanted to send the one I had to Bandai probably too get back a replacement. They would still get the same result if they took out a piece from one they had on stock and sent that piece to me while sending Bandai the toy they took the piece from. It would effectively be the same thing. They'd get a replacement back from Bandai and could sell that. If I did it the way they wanted, they would still need to ship the whole toy instead of just a tiny piece. Unless they expect me to also pay for shipping back to me, in which case, doubly screw that.

You can't blame NY. It's Bandai's policy for parts, where you have to send the ENTIRE toy back in order to get a complete one.

NY has had very good service. One time they sent me 171 armored parts instead of the 171 valk and they sent me the 171 valk and let me keep the parts for free.

That's why I asked them to take a piece from existing stock and send THAT one back to Bandai instead. Edited May 21, 2013 by MacrossJunkie

[Gakken85]

Yeah, I'm not sure how it works. Maybe Bandai's return policy is strict, or they don't have that much stock left.

I would just ask for a refund. Plenty of people are selling them elsewhere.

[valhary]

my problem with the missing part is the low angles if you've never had a 171 and only know the 17 maybe not even notice but just take a look in the pics and you can see the pilot's legs

[NightCastle]

You didn't know? That was the Flintstones version. It is a really rare find!!

[Gakken85]

You didn't know? That was the Flintstones version. It is a really rare find!!

Hahaha. Feet through the floorboard. Nice.

[Negotiator]

Did not notice the feet before, lol.

How much is that ebay guy charging for the part under the cockpit?

So I took off the broken triangle and everything just crumbled. The metal peg must have been forced in with much hatred during assembly.

Super glue by itself wasn't holding and by then the melding points had already morphed by putting so much pressure and reapplying of super glue. So tried the ol' baking soda+super glue trick to fill in some gaps and suprisingly feels pretty sturdy. Some sanding to make the parts fit again with a little less tension, and a quick paint job, almost looks normal again. I will leave some of the bumpiness for the extra support and repaint it, but overall, ok with the fix.

[Scyla]

That looks pretty smooth.

How does the backing soda and super glue fix work? Do you mix the baking soda with super glue to create some kind of filler material to replace the small parts that crumbled?

[Negotiator]

just put on the glue on the object and sprinkle some baking soda on it to absorb. It'll harden quickly. blow off the rest of the baking soda and then sand it. Customizers' do this on action figures and such when kitbashing.