Gerwalk mode:
Gerwalk mode is sort of difficult to pull off without the stand, but once you get it, the toy is tight enough not to fall over. You just have to find its center of balance.
When you have the armour, you have to really make sure to transform the valkyrie properly. You can't really miss any steps, like setting the bar in gerwalk mode to support up the back half of the plane. You can get away without doing this normally, but the bar has to be wedged in there with the armour on or else the back half of the plane will fold down.
Battroid mode:
I honestly tried to set it up in battroid mode without the stand, but it basically kept collapsing, since it is so back-heavy. A stand is a must for this mode.
The little missile bays open up. As you can see, this is where the valk looks the most menacing. It's just awesome how armed to the teeth this thing is.
There was some debate as to how the chest missile bays opens up (inside-out, or outside-in). Well, Bandai gives you spare covers so you can do both.
Final thoughts: I really love this set. The armour is just great, and it fits on perfectly. The only trouble is with the vent covers, which pops off easily. A big plus is you can transform the valk with the armour on. However, it is very, very heavy, so it puts extra pressure on the joints. The version 1 armour from a few years back was so heavy it broke some joints, and while so far there have been no reports of broken joints, I don't risk it. I usually take off the armour before transforming. Already, some joints are loose because of how heavy the armour is. I figure it's better to not tempt fate.
Because the stand is a requirement, I wish Bandai had given us some clear attachments so the base can stay black, but the rest would be clear so it would better emulate the visual of flying.
Overall, it's a great set, and a must-have, as far as I'm concerned, since Ozma's valk is rarely seen in the anime without the armour. These sets are made-to-order, so if you hadn't ordered one through a proxy buyer (unfortunately us North Americans have to rely on such services - and pay for them), it might be tough to get at a fair price now. I paid 9500 yen from Tokyo-Hunter, which is about $118 CDN. Pricey, yes, but unfortunately that's the name of the game with proxy buying. These days, some places are asking as much as double the original price, which is nuts.
