Kitz Concept Toy Thread 2.0

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

@jvmacross Technically 2 separate boxes,  both together in an outer sleeve which is the main artwork found in my first few pictures.     The 2 individual boxes slide out like trays bundled in 1 overall box.

 

[jvmacross]

3 hours ago, Stampeed Valkyrie said:

@jvmacross Technically 2 separate boxes,  both together in an outer sleeve which is the main artwork found in my first few pictures.     The 2 individual boxes slide out like trays bundled in 1 overall box.

 

Ok, so like the Bandai DX -1J and -1S

[CoryHolmes]

Just broke down and ordered a Super VF-1S Roy Fokker.  My first Robotech toy since the Toynami Cyclones.

[Hikuro]

So lemme ask here.......cause these VF-1's are all I can afford. There's no way with how hot and impossible the Bandai DX stuff is that I'll ever get to owning one let alone affording them. Are these Kitz Concept VF-1's really all that bad? I mean those are some glaring and awful QC Issues here. 

[tekering]

59 minutes ago, Hikuro said:

these VF-1's are all I can afford.

If it's a question of cost, I'd rather be the proud owner of one Bandai DX 1:48 Valkyrie than a complete set of these Kits Concept VF-1s. 😊

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

1 hour ago, Hikuro said:

So lemme ask here.......cause these VF-1's are all I can afford. There's no way with how hot and impossible the Bandai DX stuff is that I'll ever get to owning one let alone affording them. Are these Kitz Concept VF-1's really all that bad? I mean those are some glaring and awful QC Issues here. 

I don't think that they are,  I agree that they are not Bandai 1/48 DXs  but they aren't garbage either.    I think they sit in a nice middle level,   yes there are some QC issues as of late.   However unlike Bandai.... KC is pretty good at addressing them.

30 minutes ago, tekering said:

If it's a question of cost, I'd rather be the proud owner of one Bandai DX 1:48 Valkyrie than a complete set of these Kits Concept VF-1s. 😊

There is no debate that the Bandai DX is the better option,  but the price is 2X or 3X or even higher in certain situations.  KC does a pretty good job for their price points IMO.  

 

I still want to see more of the SD line though..  sigh

 

 

[jvmacross]

@Stampeed Valkyrie

Did you get a chance to inspect your Super M&M? 

Mine apparently are on the slowest boat from China

[jvmacross]

1 hour ago, Hikuro said:

So lemme ask here.......cause these VF-1's are all I can afford. There's no way with how hot and impossible the Bandai DX stuff is that I'll ever get to owning one let alone affording them. Are these Kitz Concept VF-1's really all that bad? I mean those are some glaring and awful QC Issues here. 

If you really can only afford to spend the msrp equivalent of one of these KC VF-1's....then I would suggest the VF-1J "Rick Hunter" release...it has the best fit among all the V2-V2.X releases and also retains the original leg tabs, which imo were a step backwards in the evolution of this toy when modified with the V2.X releases...

Or maybe buy a KO Yamato VF-1S Roy or Hikaru?

[Hikuro]

11 hours ago, jvmacross said:

If you really can only afford to spend the msrp equivalent of one of these KC VF-1's....then I would suggest the VF-1J "Rick Hunter" release...it has the best fit among all the V2-V2.X releases and also retains the original leg tabs, which imo were a step backwards in the evolution of this toy when modified with the V2.X releases...

Or maybe buy a KO Yamato VF-1S Roy or Hikaru?

I’ve been seeing those KOs popping up on eBay. Sorta sounds hit or miss in those as well. I remember my old Yamato V2 1/60s had problems with the shoulder hinges cracking over time. Hopefully that’s been fixed. I haven’t bought a Yamato/Arcadia product since 2011.

 

so this brings me to another question, are these KC toys shipping from china then? It’s not some warehouse in the states?

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

12 hours ago, jvmacross said:

@Stampeed Valkyrie

Did you get a chance to inspect your Super M&M? 

Mine apparently are on the slowest boat from China

I will see if I can get to them this evening..   no time as of late.

1 hour ago, Hikuro said:

I’ve been seeing those KOs popping up on eBay. Sorta sounds hit or miss in those as well. I remember my old Yamato V2 1/60s had problems with the shoulder hinges cracking over time. Hopefully that’s been fixed. I haven’t bought a Yamato/Arcadia product since 2011.

 

so this brings me to another question, are these KC toys shipping from china then? It’s not some warehouse in the states?

I order from KC directly so HK..  if you order from say BBTS they will come from the USA.  

[Hikuro]

So I made a compromise...I decided to give Kitz Concept a chance, and I also picked up a KO 1/60 on Aliexpress for a pretty good price. I had enough in savings to kind of just do that and spoil myself a little bit. I ordered from Kitz just the brownie VF-1J, and the KO 1/60 is Hikaru's VF-1S movie edition with the FAST Packs. See what happens from there. Either I'll like Kitz or I'll not. We'll see in a few weeks!

[jvmacross]

17 hours ago, Hikuro said:

So I made a compromise...I decided to give Kitz Concept a chance, and I also picked up a KO 1/60 on Aliexpress for a pretty good price. I had enough in savings to kind of just do that and spoil myself a little bit. I ordered from Kitz just the brownie VF-1J, and the KO 1/60 is Hikaru's VF-1S movie edition with the FAST Packs. See what happens from there. Either I'll like Kitz or I'll not. We'll see in a few weeks!

Good luck...on my VF-1J CF....one of the legs was floppy right out of the box....Although KC is sending me a replacement leg....I am still waiting for a release that is completely free of QC issues....

[jvmacross]

So my KC Super M&M's finally escaped customs and arrived today.....only had a chance to look at the VF-1J Max....

After going over it, it was more or less free of any major defects....the small issues were some pieces that came "undone" due to insufficient glue at the factory...the left "articulated" hand became disassembled inside the box, so will need to glue it together..additionally the right wing's "plastic lights" piece came off...both should be fine after applying some glue.....all in all, this piece looks great...there are at least three shades of blue though, mainly the "diecast" parts and one part that sits between the front and tail of the VF...I think you can tell from the pics...

Anyway, here are some pics of Gerwalk and Fighter modes...will post some Battroid pics and mount the Fast Packs at some point....the Fast Packs looks nice and from what I can tell, match the blue of the VF pretty well...I also like the blue-grey color they selected for the missile covers...I'll post some pics when I have a chance....

 

 

Gerwalk Mode:

Who's Max Sterling? 

 

Fighter Mode:

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by jvmacross

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

Nice,  I am hoping mine are good as well.

I will try and dig them out this evening.

 

 

[Corrinald]

Max's VF-1J looks good. Fighter mode appears to be tight and mostly straight. Better than my 1A's anyway

Did they modify any tabs for the backpack/legs?

I need to pick these two up at some point.

[jvmacross]

4 hours ago, Corrinald said:

Max's VF-1J looks good. Fighter mode appears to be tight and mostly straight. Better than my 1A's anyway

Did they modify any tabs for the backpack/legs?

I need to pick these two up at some point.

No the tabs seem to be exactly the same as the other V2.x releases...still positioned so that the tailwings have an upward slope, as opposed to the V2.0 (VF-1J Hikaru only) whose tailwing is more flat....

V2.x:

V2.0:

 

I believe the slots on the Fast Packs may be different to accomodate the V2.x tab changes...but have yet to mount them to confirm

[Corrinald]

5 minutes ago, jvmacross said:

No the tabs seem to be exactly the same as the other V2.x releases...still positioned so that the tailwings have an upward slope, as opposed to the V2.0 (VF-1J Hikaru only) whose tailwing is more flat....

V2.x:

V2.0:

 

I believe the slots on the Fast Packs may be different to accomodate the V2.x tab changes...but have yet to mount them to confirm

Ahh okay, yeah now I see it. That was unfortunately quite a step backwards on these toys and it turned me off a bit. They are definitely nice in Battroid mode but fighter mode got worse with the gigantic intakes and weird backpack/leg angles.

[MKT]

I just received the VF-1S Rick Hunter v2.0 (or whichever version now, seems they made so many changes that I lost track).

 

Prior to this, I have only the VF-1S Dark Gold version. I was very tempted to pick up the VF-1J CF as well when it was on PO, but decided to wait for this VF-1S Rick to arrive first. And boy, this VF-1S Rick is quite the disappointment. 

The good stuff - the painting and tampos are gorgeous, and I think this is the best finished VF-1 toy at moment. But it looks like the paint can be scratched easily, so very delicate handling is needed, which is just as well because my biggest gripe then would be the built and engineering. 

In this new v2 sculpt, KC has also tightened all the joints to address the some of the looseness and floppiness. In concept, this is always a good thing and that was my biggest improvement expectation in getting this toy. But I would say tightening things up actually works against this toy, as the base plastics seem be too thin & feels fragile for the tightness achieved.

As a result, moving anything makes it feel like its going to break. When trying to pull front landing gear out via the tow hook, the tow hook came off first before the gear budged. When trying to twist either the hips or shoulders, you can't move it with one hand, but have to support the joint itself with other hand less something snaps. It is quite telling when KC's CEO made a video on how to handle the toy, and in that video, there was a segment where he showed how to move the head lasers in a manner so they do not snap.

So really, the toy is really now a pre-assembled model kit with nice paint. The v1 Dark Gold also felt fragile, but in hindsight, the overall looseness works for it, giving more 'play' to the moving parts.

The real problem is not so much the sculpt, articulation or even tolerances, but the material & structural build of it. I think moving forward, KC should stop tinkering further with this mold, and make an entirely new one if they want to pursue the VF-1.

 

[jvmacross]

9 hours ago, MKT said:

I just received the VF-1S Rick Hunter v2.0 (or whichever version now, seems they made so many changes that I lost track).

 

Prior to this, I have only the VF-1S Dark Gold version. I was very tempted to pick up the VF-1J CF as well when it was on PO, but decided to wait for this VF-1S Rick to arrive first. And boy, this VF-1S Rick is quite the disappointment. 

The good stuff - the painting and tampos are gorgeous, and I think this is the best finished VF-1 toy at moment. But it looks like the paint can be scratched easily, so very delicate handling is needed, which is just as well because my biggest gripe then would be the built and engineering. 

In this new v2 sculpt, KC has also tightened all the joints to address the some of the looseness and floppiness. In concept, this is always a good thing and that was my biggest improvement expectation in getting this toy. But I would say tightening things up actually works against this toy, as the base plastics seem be too thin & feels fragile for the tightness achieved.

As a result, moving anything makes it feel like its going to break. When trying to pull front landing gear out via the tow hook, the tow hook came off first before the gear budged. When trying to twist either the hips or shoulders, you can't move it with one hand, but have to support the joint itself with other hand less something snaps. It is quite telling when KC's CEO made a video on how to handle the toy, and in that video, there was a segment where he showed how to move the head lasers in a manner so they do not snap.

So really, the toy is really now a pre-assembled model kit with nice paint. The v1 Dark Gold also felt fragile, but in hindsight, the overall looseness works for it, giving more 'play' to the moving parts.

The real problem is not so much the sculpt, articulation or even tolerances, but the material & structural build of it. I think moving forward, KC should stop tinkering further with this mold, and make an entirely new one if they want to pursue the VF-1.

 

Well, everything you've pointed out is more or less accurate and has already been brought up...you were warned! LOL....

At least you are not as vested into these....so maybe the Three-Zero can fill your 1/72 void with a better product...

[MKT]

5 hours ago, jvmacross said:

Well, everything you've pointed out is more or less accurate and has already been brought up...you were warned! LOL....

At least you are not as vested into these....so maybe the Three-Zero can fill your 1/72 void with a better product...

Yeahh even having read most of reviews for the v2 previously, for some reason I just had higher expectations for it. Perhaps it was also I so happen to have been handling the Yamcadia's 1/60 over the past week, so it came as an extra shock that this is qualitatively such a big difference. I can now better understand why some folks would recommend even the KO 1/60 VF-1, itself a step down from the originals, over KC's, especially when KC's pricing have really crept up a bit over the years.

I really feel sorry for any bloke who gets KC's VF-1 as their first modern VF-1 toy. Any of the other leading established scales are just so much better, and ThreeZero's reveal yesterday immediately makes this KC's VF-1 obsolete. Granted, we do not yet know how ThreeZero's VF-1 handles, but on the strength of their current products, I have no doubt it will be a much better handling experience barring for some manufacturing defect.

Ok enough rant for now.. I do commend KC for their earnest optimism, their general willingness to delay releases as long as it takes to get a good (subjective!) product out within their ability, and I love their 1/12 figures enough to support all their releases of that line so far..  

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by MKT

[jvmacross]

I was ok with the QC issues, as KC has proven that they will always make things right....however, this has become less attractive after they went and modified they leg tabbing solution to "fix" an issue that quite frankly was never a problem...time and resources should have been spent on the obvious issue, which was their leg intake design....everything else got better with the one and only V 2.0 release, the Hikaru VF-1J....smh

Then they release the V 2.X and although the fit was slightly improved over the V2.0...the profile and overall look in fighter mode was unnecessarily ruined with their leg tab tinkering....

Now....the usual QC issues are still happening (and none worse that the recent VF-1S "Rick Hunter"), but no parts replacing from KC will repair their leg tab "redesign"...it funny that they actually think their VF-1 looks better now after the changes....every time I see it...I can't unsee the ginormous leg tabs in all modes....even fighter mode as they are too long....and of course, force the tail wing area to swoop upwards...🙈🙉🙊

 

[tekering]

8 hours ago, MKT said:

I love their 1/12 figures enough to support all their releases of that line so far..  

"So far...?"  Are you suggesting they'll actually get around to releasing the other figures they solicited, much less produce more characters...?

I'm beginning to think they've abandoned the line. 😔

[jvmacross]

[CF18]

https://www.taghobby.com/archives/639515

Destroids and other display at ACG HK.

[MKT]

3 hours ago, tekering said:

"So far...?"  Are you suggesting they'll actually get around to releasing the other figures they solicited, much less produce more characters...?

I'm beginning to think they've abandoned the line. 😔

It felt like Cv-19 issues nearly did them in, so pretty much surprised & thought it was good news when they got their own factory for production. But the delays keep persisting lol..

Still confident they will deliver on their POs for their characters. Incidentally, they are now showing yet another new Minmay figure:

 

[jvmacross]

Edited July 29, 2022 by jvmacross

[jvmacross]

[tekering]

1 hour ago, MKT said:

Incidentally, they are now showing yet another new Minmay figure:

C'mon KC, again with the fabric? 😑

[Big s]

really hope it’s a bad angle there. And that glaug has a really short attention span

[jvmacross]

2 hours ago, Big s said:

really hope it’s a bad angle there. And that glaug has a really short attention span

Nice to see the line is expanding beyond the VF-1's.....not many left to do I suppose....VF-1D and some other misc....maybe KC will be the first company to release a VF-1A Alaska Base?

Any better pics of the Regult and Glaug?  Also curious about the teased Regult pilot

[Corrinald]

They did say they will do a VF-1D...who knows when though. I suggested they do an Alaska Base VF-1A - you would think it would sell well.

They also said the next character figure they do will be Max. There was even a preview of it quite some time ago. Maybe after the Minmay variations?

I'm still waiting on the Heavy Armor set. Its been pushed back repeatedly. The Destroids are looking good, as well as the Regult and Glaug (I think? would be nice if it was standing up for the picture)

Edited July 29, 2022 by Corrinald

[no3Ljm]

This looks promising. Glaug is tired for the day. 

[jvmacross]

Who will release a Phalanx toy first?  Bandai'd or KC'd?  

[Raikkonen]

What's the height of the VF batroid compared to the Yamato 1/60?

I gather 1/72. But is it true 1/72 as I'm fully convinced by the detail.

Edited July 29, 2022 by Raikkonen

[jvmacross]

Pics of the Millia KC 1/72 VF-1....

Fighter....

This Milia release has been the closest KC has gotten to QC issue-free for me...

The only issue I have with it is a canopy that does not seem to close flush....

 

I have not looked into it much, so maybe it is user error, but doubt it....still it is much better than the Hikaru VF-1S