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Evolution Toy - VF-2SS Valkyrie I 《MACROSS II ~LOVERS AGAIN~&#1


joppewo

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unfortunately no improvements in relation with the first prototype


even so is the best interpretation of the vf 2ss especially in fighter mode


I still do not understand the hard criticism especially if compare with the vf 4 that looks gorgeous in fighter mode but the t rex arms in battroid mode are ridiculous and not see anyone attacking arcadia for the future release that come with 0 improvements in relation with the original yamato's

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I didn't even get a hard-on when I saw the pictures but I'm still going to keep my one preorder. :lol:

It definitely looks superior to Yamato's V1 1/60 toys.

Agreed. Looks superior too than Bandai's DX ver1. ;)

Yeah.

I don't particularly like the underside-shenanigans, tho...

Me too. But that's how it is. This valk uses a lot of hocus-pocus when it transforms. But it would be nice if they should have made a cover somehow for Fighter and Gerwalk mode. At this point, I don't mind if this one will be called parts-former, as long that it's going to be decent later on. ;)

Finally an actual update!! Now show us the SAP Evolution!!

With people backing out from their preorders, I don't think they will still do it. But I'm still putting my hopes up since I'm keeping my preorder. ;)

ugh. i'm ok with this. my macross fanaticism outweighs the toy collector in me. and i'm excited to see this made.

because really. no ones probably gonna try again. T_T

I agree. I doubt that Arcadia nor Bandai wants to touch this Valk someday. ;)

I am happy for those getting a version of the VF2SS they have wanted for a long time, but I canceled my preorder as well. It looks like a $45 model kit.

So no YetiStands adapter for this one? :rolleyes:

These latest set of pics are not winning me over.

Too bad we won't be seeing this one 'Saburo-ized'. ;)

I bet most of us will still get this thing when it goes on clearance sales.

If that happens, I will get my second one just to support the company so that they will make the SAP.

Think of it as a "Nicely done Hasbro Transformer" you will feel much better!

That's a good 'positive' attitude. But which class? Ultimate? Supreme? Masterpiece? ;)

Still keeping my two preorders. Not perfect but not bad.

Graham

Some of the new photos are funky. I wonder why they kept the silly landing gear (no tire detail)?

Still, I'm hanging on to my one preorder.

+1 ^_^

So torn on this. I mean, I really don't want this version of the VF-2SS Valkyrie II, but I'm like many others in thinking this might be the only transformable of design we're likely to get. I do want to support the building of an version 2.0. The sad part is, if the sales of this toy are poor, other companies will look at this as a VALKYRIE no one wants rather than a PRODUCT no one wants

Yup. I'm thinking the same thing. Nobody's going to touch this one in the foreseeable future. :rolleyes:

As a Macross II Valkyrie, it's almost fitting, isn't it?

I'm trying to take the glass half full path, although I get where the critics are coming from too. The same thing happened with MegaHouse's Orguss release (too pricey, looks cheap, yadda, yadda), but it ended up been a solid recreation of Kei's Orguss in toy form and MegaHouse is continuing the line. For this VF-2SS, Battroid looks like the best mode in the latest pictures. I'm hoping that some sort of transformation nonsense was keeping the other photos from looking their best. We'll see when people get this in hand. ;)

Considering the amount of anime magic required to move the legs from fighter to Battroid mode I'm okay with that part of the toy as it is. Bandai's model kit swaps out the connection part for all three modes. This toy uses swing bars and doesn't look like it part forms. Still don't like the tabs but doesn't look like they're going to change that.

And I've already paid for mine since I ordered from AE so eh.

I know that there are many things they could've done better but at least make the under belly cover (in fighter/rear backpack in battroid) removable so it could be shorter. That things got an eyesore of a tail in the backpack!

Still keeping my one though. I think I'll keep it in fighter mode banking so I don't see underneath.

I'm thinking the same thing even though I know it's not in quality par with the recent Orguss figure. But I'm just hoping that it will still be nice on-hand. I know too that there is no way that this will be 'perfect' in a sense since it uses a lot of anime magic in the series. But having a toy as same size as my other Valk collection, I'm just glad that it's being made. And yeah, I totally agree on the 'under belly cover' concept at this point. By the way, looking at the pictures, I'm more into Gerwalk mode on this one. ;)

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I'm going to side with the folks here who don't think this measures up, esp for what they're charging. As much as I'd like to have a VF-2ss on the shelf, I don't find this toy appealing in any mode; they obviously ignored the various criticisms levied early on, many of which, had they been addressed, would have substantially improved the final version. As such, I'll save my money for a superior toy from either Bandai or Yamato (or for more LEGO).

I will give a bit of credit, though: I like their swing bar solution to positioning the legs; however, implementation is visually offensive. Surely they could have found a way to blend it in with the lower fuselage rendering it nearly invisible. Guess not.

I look forward to the reviews from those who keep their preorders. Hopefully it makes up in solidarity what it lacks in aesthetics.

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I don't know what to say... I thought maybe it would improve since the initial prototypes, but it strongly gives off that Banpresto VF-1 vibe now more than ever and that is not a good thing.

news44_banprestovf-1s.jpg

The way it is now, I just don't see it selling well at the price they're asking for. I don't know if it's the result of the lack of effort, lack of skill, or both. Such a wasted opportunity...

I'm coming at this from a point of ignorance, but just based on what I've seen of the 3rd party Transformer stuff, I wish there were people like the ones responsible for those making some Macross stuff. So many of the 3rd party releases even manage to look better than the official stuff from Takara/Hasbro.

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I don't know what to say... I thought maybe it would improve since the initial prototypes, but it strongly gives off that Banpresto VF-1 vibe now more than ever and that is not a good thing.

*snip*

The way it is now, I just don't see it selling well at the price they're asking for. I don't know if it's the result of the lack of effort, lack of skill, or both. Such a wasted opportunity...

I'm coming at this from a point of ignorance, but just based on what I've seen of the 3rd party Transformer stuff, I wish there were people like the ones responsible for those making some Macross stuff. So many of the 3rd party releases even manage to look better than the official stuff from Takara/Hasbro.

I also don't know what to say. I think I never thought that a gray prototype looks petter than the production plastic.

I think my main criticism would be the lack of mass. The whole toy is just too lanky. It needs to bulk up and I think all three modes would benefit from it. The pictures remind me of the Yamato 1/72 YF-19 with all the gaps.

It really looks like a small model-kit with the unpainted cockpit and the landing gear. I think a Bandai model-kit couldn't look worse if I would build it. In fact looking at my Sazabi Ver. Ka it would probably look a loot better.

I really disappointed but for now I'm keeping my preorder because I really want a VF-2SS....

...but not this one. :(

[edit:] What is really sad is that I can totally see this think shelf warming to an extend where I could get one on a HLJ sale for like 90% off so why keep the preorder? I mean this will be the only VF-2SS ever produced in this scale so my support won't change anything. Maybe it is to keep the dream alive for the SAP packs and a V2/Renewal version. :unsure:

Edited by Scyla
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Too bad we won't be seeing this one 'Saburo-ized'. ;)

I really like VF-2SS, but as it is right now I feel that what I am seeing from Evolution Toy is not worth price.

There is a chance I'll take photos of it. In the event the Valk is discounted, I'll pick one up. ;)

Edited by Saburo
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I am keeping my preorder, as I have always wanted a VF-2SS and VF-2JA since I first saw Macross 2. I wonder if the person doing the photos didn't know how to transform correctly, but the lack of dynamic poses suggests that maybe they didn't. Does this toy or the design in general allow for the gun pod to be stored underneath in fighter mode, if so, I cannot see it. Hope the final form is great, as I really want to see the SAP pack and a VF-2JA.

Twich

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unfortunately no improvements in relation with the first prototype

even so is the best interpretation of the vf 2ss especially in fighter mode

I still do not understand the hard criticism especially if compare with the vf 4 that looks gorgeous in fighter mode but the t rex arms in battroid mode are ridiculous and not see anyone attacking arcadia for the future release that come with 0 improvements in relation with the original yamato's

Because the VF-4, at the very least, looks great in Fighter mode. But in addition the arms work just fine, the design of the valk is funky all around and that limits what the toy can do, the arms could be tweaked a little, but it transforms and works beautifully in all three modes. This thing looks like garbage in every mode and doesn't implement anything well at all and looks cheap just in professional pics. Edited by Mommar
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See, that's the thing, right? This product sucks. The 2SS is awesome, and it has tons of fans who want one. But this particular toy looks terrible. I'm in the same boat, I'm not sure what to do with my pre-order.

I really want to support this, even though it's not what I want and I don't want to own it. I'm considering buying it, then selling it on eBay right away. I don't care about the money, I want to show that there is demand for a VF-2SS. I'm just sad it's this one :(

Yup. I'm thinking the same thing. Nobody's going to touch this one in the foreseeable future. :rolleyes:

Ideally I'd like to see sales of this lead to a version 2.0. Something more along the lines of what I was hoping for from this product. And then to something like the VF-2JA Icarus.

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Those new pics just lower all my expectations. The underside looks loose and hollow , definitely not giving me a solid plane looks.

As others have said, it does not look like a $150 toy, looks like a prebuild last generation high grade .

With 3rd party transformers poping up left and right , I really hope one of them with try to do a vf-2

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I'm realizing why the underside looks so weird. The swingbars for the legs are taking up the space that should be streamlining the shoulder boxes.

I admit, I can't really think of a better way to do that off the top of my head, but it kinda needs something to cover that mechanism in fighter mode.

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Thanks for posting the comparisons with the line art, Bobby. Even though there are flaws that jump out at me in those pictures, this first version of the VF-2SS toy still has a sort of charm. I feel better about keeping my pre-order.

Edited by technoblue
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GEEZ!! Seeing those pics again and the lineart comparison makes me want to preorder again so I can furiously cancel it one more time!!

^ Lol. I'm bummed you don't like it but I can understand.

Thanks for posting the comparisons with the line art, Bobby. Even though there are flaws that jump out at me in those pictures, this first version of the VF-2SS toy still has a sort of charm. I feel better about keeping my pre-order.

You're welcome technoblue.

I completely acknowledge the many visible flaws and misgivings as mentioned in the previous posts. The only reason I like it is because (and this will sound like settling) it is "good enough" and is really just a measure of personal expectations being met.

If I had little to no connection to Mac II, then with the exposure to the lengthy history of quality engineering of Bandai in various genres, plus Yamato and (the inherited engineering of) Arcadia, I can clearly see how this would disappoint. To compare, there is no comparison when it comes to the fine details of all the complicated transformational prowess that decades long veteran toymakers are putting out these days. My forgiveness quotient or willingness to overlook these visible shortcomings would be very little paired with high engineering standards and design expectations.

The above would be the norm for me.

-but-

It's a VF-2SS for cryin' out loud! Which betrays the fact that I am overlooking many things. Personally, I do have a connection to Mac II as it came out during my college years and believe that this design captured some pretty timeless lines in this archetypal valkyrie. Years and years have gone by of literally just hoping that someday someone would attempt to make it happen. As such, I'll be the first to admit that it's really more just about the idea of actually buying a fully transformable VF-2SS (and fulfilling a longtime dream), more so than it is truly buying a high-quality, anime-accurate, superbly-engineered valkyrie. Besides...I have plenty of those :p

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Battroid mode is the best looking mode to me but there are some serious issues... but who knows how well this transformation was done. For example, the backpack is sitting way too low but they're on sliders so maybe someone just forgot to slide the sides of the backpack to the proper position? Is there no twist point at the knee? Even Toynami figured that one out. There should also be twist points a quarter down the feet to let the feet camber in but those are missing. As noted by others, there's no neck and the intakes and thighs are too thin. The design of battroid with those two extensions upward is God-awful but that's not Evolution's fault.. though the tabs on top certainly are. I find it funny how glaringly awful that design element is but Kawamori made a similar mistake on the VF-0 series (ie. from any angle you won't be able to see the vehicle's head... and it wouldn't be able to see you). It would have taken at least one hinged part on either side to better conceal the shoulders in fighter mode but at this price that should have been easily done.

Somebody said this looks better than the DX V1 VF-25... I think the jury is still out. Does this have an opening cockpit? Will there be a pilot? Do the hips attach to anything in GERWALK mode?

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Some things worth noticing...

post-5552-0-18641200-1444801878_thumb.jpg

post-5552-0-66238000-1444801882_thumb.jpg

post-5552-0-78820300-1444801886_thumb.jpg

I'm really curious on how the legs/thigh area works on this one. And how they lock in-between modes. It would be painful if the legs is just relying on the swivel bar. And also notice that on Gerwalk mode, the thigh area (air intakes) sits under the chest area, whereas in the line art it's somehow more on the outside like how the fighter mode looks like. I don't know if that's doable or not since we're not sure how the swivel bar really works on this one. That really piqued my interest to get it more.

Also the backpack somehow breaks into three parts just by studying the pictures. 1) The back area that has the nozzle. 2) The part that has the embossed circle. 3) The flap the covers the head underneath and where you rest the Gunpod during Fighter mode.

I know it's not THE Perfect Valk but I'm still IN for this one. ;)

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In addition to my criticism earlier I want to add another point. The fact that all the parts seem to be not attaching firmly is a major concern for me. The fact that the arms don't align in Fighter-Mode and have a wonky angle makes me think that this toy will be a floppy mess in Fighter-Mode. The legs also seem to droop in different angles. Basically the criticism goes on and on and on.

I can see the comparison between this and the V1 VF-1 from Yamato and the V1 VF-25 from Bandai. The sad part is that Evolution Toys won't do a second version of this. Also none of the two V1 looks as unappealing as this.

Looking at the comparison pictures doesn't make it better. Why are there gaps in the forearms and those weird cups (where the hands are pegged in I assume) that have all the gaps around them so you can see right through them. Comparing it to the images over at the Macross Mecha Manual this area is is not defined so you could design a nice gray rectangle with some vent detailing that conceals the area.

This in addition to the hinges on the nacelles that are an eyesore, the unfaithful transformation in Gerwalk-Mode, the cheap looking plastic (that will probably yellow ^_^) it is not very appealing. I could see an additional SAP Pack could help with the missing bulk, the gaps and the alignment issues but it seems the chances of getting it are next to zero. From the reports on the Speaker Podcast it seems that Evolution toys was quite enthusiastic for this project which makes me wonder how this could pass.

The only hope for improvements that I have now is that a major wave of cancellations would force the retailers to demand changes to the product if they want to sell it through their outlets. However that might also lead to the whole project to be shelfed. On the other hand if they already cut the steel molds for this that it will come out as shown in this pictures. SAVE us! :)

I recognize that I'm slowly transforming to THAT person on a toy message board that can't be satisfied no matter what. :p

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