Macross Toy Reviews

[solo0525]

Sweet reviews .. Makes me wanna start collection new macross stuff !!

[pud333]

Originally Posted by SanMiguel

great review its nice to see theres still some love on this valks/mechs in CND....im a big Macross junkie since the 80's era!!!

Originally Posted by solo0525

Sweet reviews .. Makes me wanna start collection new macross stuff !!

Thanks! I'm just glad people are reading this thread. Judging from the number of views, it looks like people definitely are. I find with most North American sites, the focus is generally on super heroes or Transformers, which I understand, since many of these Japanese high end toys are killer expensive due to the ridiculous exchange rate, and inability of these companies to sell these in our market, so I never know how these reviews are recieved.

Also, if you start collecting one, you're opening yourself up to a very expensive world where you may not be able to stop... I began thinking, "I'll just get one VF-1S..." That was a couple years ago when I was a couple thousand dollars richer.

I'll be doing more reviews soon as more valks are released. So far for 2012, I'll be getting the VF-171, VF-25G, VF-17D (maybe), VF-4G, and possibly the RVF-25 if Bandai gets around to releasing that one this year.

[pud333]

Woah, speaking of new valks:

VF-171 to be released very soon. Oh. My. God. I may need a moment alone for this.





With armour and weapons pack, to be released later this year:



VF-17D with Super Pack in the upper left corner, VF-19F in the bottom left, and the VF-4G coming at the end of the month. Prototype image only. Wow. This is a great year to be a Macross fan!

[pud333]

My reaction when I got my VF-171 EX Nightmare Alto custom from Bandai. MWAHAHAHA!



Okay, on with the review: The VF-171 EX Nightmare was one of the big reasons why I loved Macross Frontier. The VF-171 is a variation on the VF-171 cannon fodder version, which has a different colour and head sculpt. These are the valks that the New UN Spacy (NUNS) uses in the Frontier show to fight the enemy. Alto pilots this later on in the series, and thus this white EX version is considered a hero valk.

Packaging:

The VF-171 comes in your standard Bandai valkyrie packaging. It comes in a styrofoam tray with a generic non-SMS stand, extra fixed hands, extra set of hard plastic head lazers, gun pod, pilot, hand covers, and an instruction manual.







Fighter mode: As you can see, the VF-171 certainly resembles the VF-17 quite a bit. It's like if you took the nose of the VF-25, and stuck it on the VF-17, then put it on a diet. The fighter mode is extremely tight and very streamlined. I think this is the best mode of the three. It's simply gorgeous, and Bandai really did an amazing job. The glossy white plastic is beautiful and the black and red tampo printing really looks sharp. This thing is infinitely swooshable, folks!

















Gerwalk mode: Gerwalk mode is typical of valkyries, but the really long legs of the valk make it look a bit spindly. Stilly, very nice and solid, with a good looking A-stance.





Transformation: The transformation is incredibly tricky. I HIGHLY recommend you follow step by step everything in the instruction book. Don't assume anything. There are a whole bunch of little pieces that you need to move aside in order before doing something else, or you risk snapping them off. A few times some panels fell off, but luckily they were meant to fall off if too much force is used. Other panels, like some small black panels under the shoulder, aren't meant to pop off, so be very careful! Because this toy is very tight, you also have to be careful about the hip joints. The legs were so tight they barely moved at first, so you have to carefully massage it lose by wiggling the leg a bit at a time. Eventually I took a screwdriver to it and losened the joints a bit before retightening. Unfortunately, this is the problem with Bandai's metal ball joints rubbing against metal sockets.

[pud333]

Battroid mode: this is what you get when you get a football player with skinny legs. Battroid mode is great looking, albeit a bit top-heavy. The figure is very dynamic with excellent articulation. Good enough to rival Yamato's VF-17S! Definitely not as agile or sleek looking as the VF-25 Messiah valkyries, but then again, it's not really meant to be. In the show, these things are used by NUNS as essentially "good enough for now" fighters.









While the stand is very typical of Bandai stands, the battroid attachment is terrible. But I guess it does the job.







Features:

Awesome, sharp looking head sculpt. I love the split clear visor. Just an overall great design, probably one of the best head designs in Macross.



Boob cannons: the chest cannons are articulated on ball joints (something that Yamato's VF-17 didn't have). It's completely unnecessary, but I guess its nice to be able to point your nipples in opposite directions. Reminds me of this girl I once dated for a brief period of time, lol!



Diecast in the feet.



Partsforming: Like the VF-17S, there is a tiny bit of partsforming. The hands are hidden in fighter mode with little plastic covers. They come off and the hands slide out. Just a minor thing, but it would have been nice for Bandai to include an extra pair just in case you lose one.



Little Alto:



Issues:

Beneath the wings, you see they are held in with pins. I have heard from others that their pins are very loose and they fall out all the time during transformation. Some even had them missing on the plane, only to find them sitting in the styrofoam tray! So be very careful when transforming, to not lose them, or else you are hooped. I wish Bandai would have given us extra pins just in case. Luckily mine are solid and they haven't fallen out yet. Why did Bandai do this? There is an armour pack coming out in December that has a pair of swappable wings with hardpoints underneath to stow the missles. I don't know why they decided to go with swappable wings, but it's stupid. They should just do what Yamato does and put the hardpoints under the wings and be done with it.



If you take a look under the shoulder and next to the one chest cannon, there is a very slender piece of white plastic. Be careful, because that feels like it can break when transforming or handling. Also, there is a thin black piece of plastic (you can't really see in that photo, but it's there), where it folds and slides underneath the white piece of plastic. Again, another potential break point. So once again, follow the manual and take your time!



Another potential problem is the hip bar. (you can see it in the photo above) The hip bar is actually two metal pieces that fit together like male and female ends, and it then moves as one. (The hip bar on the 17 is one single piece). Well, the left hip on mine is loose. Basically if I pick up the valk, the left leg swings a bit. Not that big of a deal, since it doesn't interfere with the valk in any way. It's just odd. On another forum, there were five of us that have this same problem. And there is no way all five of us broke our valks. (It's not broken; it's just that the male and female ends don't quite fit together anymore or they are off track). So this means it is a design flaw. So look out for that. Chances are your valk will either have it or it won't. It doesn't seem to matter how careful you are.

[pud333]

Comparison:

This part is exciting, as this is the first time we could compare modern 1/60 scale valkyries between Bandai and Yamato.

Fighter mode: this is where the two valks are best compared. The fighter modes are similar in size - the 17D is slightly bigger. However, the 17S is MUCH heavier, and MUCH thicker.





They may look similar, but when you handle the 17S, then handle the 171, you can really tell the difference. The 17S certainly has more junk in the trunk. This is an old photo and the angle is different, but you get the idea:





The bottom of the fighter is where the 171 is superior. While both fighters are tight, the 17S has the metal knee joints revealed. On an all black fighter, this is an eyesore to me. But hey, I guess I don't look at the bottom very often, so whatever. The 171 is designed better in this aspect, so kudos to Bandai on that front. They found a way to hide the knee joints with this little plastic knee cap piece. Great idea!





Gerwalk: The 171 is actually taller in gerwalk just due to the longer legs. The back wing area on my 17S sags a bit, which is annoying, but the 171 is solid thanks to a better engineered stabilizing joint on the underside of the valk.



From the top, both look just as gappy though.



Fighter mode: The 17S is just huge. It's a tank compared to the 171. It certainly is the older, bigger brother of the two. What a beast! The all-black look also makes it way more menacing than the 171. That said, the 171 looks very light on its feet.



Articulation: Both toys have fantastic articulation. The same, in fact. Just brilliant!



Gunpods: The 171 gunpod is smaller, but it also doesn't compress. The 17S gunpod, despite being compressed, is still way bigger, which is appropriate when you see the battroid modes. The 171 gunpod also doesn't come apart, as it is stowed underneath in fighter mode. The 17S stores the gunpods in the thick legs, just like on the show. I don't believe I have ever seen the 171 stow the guns in the legs on the show. And really, there's no way they could since the legs are so skinny.



Final thoughts:

- The VF-171 is amazing. Just amazing. Is it as good as the renewal VF-25s? Unfortunately, the transformation is the only thing holding it back. I just feel it is too complicated and too finicky to really enjoy it since you need to get everything exactly right. I can already tell I won't be transforming this one much. For a brief second I had flashes of the YF-21 transformation nightmares. And you all know how much I LOVED that process. (Don't worry though, it's not THAT bad.) That said, it is one tight toy.

- Nowhere near as heavy or sturdy feeling as the VF-17

- Bandai over-engineered in certain areas where it was unnecessary to me (shoulders and hips), and under-engineered in others where they should have spent extra time (eg: non collapsible gun pod).

- The diecast hip joints are a bit loose on mine. This is sort of annoying in battroid mode since one leg sort of sways a bit on its own when moved.

- The Yamato VF-17S is still better as a toy, IMO. Best of both worlds - easy and fun transformation, sturdy and heavy - you really can tell where your money went. However, the 171 is really good, and I got mine from Amiami for about 10,290 yen. Compare that to 21,800 yen price tag of the 17S. Is the 17S worth double the price of the VF-171? No. Yamato clearly needs to re-evaluate how much they are charging for their valks, because Bandai really stepped up their game in the past year with great, yet not-so-crazily-priced Macross products.

- The VF-171 sold out in a flash, just like the previous Bandai valks. Trying to get close to retail for this thing is impossible now. I say if you can find a good deal on it somewhere, go for it. It's a great toy.

- Should you buy this over the 17S? Ultimately, it depends on what you are looking for in a toy and your budget. I want a toy that looks good but is fun to play with. The 17S wins that department with its smooth, easy transformation. The 171, however, is cheaper and probably appeals aesthetically more to the masses. It's up to you, but IMO, the 17S edges out the 171 overall. Yamato has the experience making these things, and it shows. It should, after all, since they've had many years of trial and error to get it right. Regardless, you can't lose with either valkyrie. I love both of these valks.

[Pascal]

Kickass review man, many thanks!

So how different is the transformation between the 17S and the 171?

[pud333]

Thanks! The main difference is the torso and the hips. The torso slides easily up and down and it's tougher to lock down. The 17 is pretty straightforward where as the 171 has more flaps and you have do things specifically in order or else you might break something. Also even though both use similar bars for the hips, the 171 doesnt have to move the hip bar much; it's mostly about rotating the hips. The 17 is definitely easier and you can fiddle with it more without fear of breakage.

The real challenge is transforming back to fighter. The 171 is really finicky as you need to get the arms just right.

[pud333]

It's been a couple months since my last Macross review, so let's get to it!

Here i have Michael's VF-25G Messiah from Macross Frontier, made by Bandai in their DX Chogokin line. Let's just get this out of the way: this is a beautiful valk. Bandai has another homerun.

The box:

Not much to say here, but your typical Bandai box.





Packaging and accessories:



The VF-25G comes with a stand, instruction booklet, the sniper rifle, extra replaceable hands, knife (which sheathes inside the shield), grappling hooks, a tiny Micheal figure, with his pseudo girlfriend, Klan Klang in her human-sized micronian form.











Fighter mode:

The fighter mode looks pretty much exactly like every other messiah, except for the blue paint job, which makes this toy look really sharp. Also, you have the oversized sniper rifle that Bandai has miraculously managed to stow away beneath the fighter even with the landing gears down. This was achieved by moving the gun back further. Not 100% anime accurate, but whatever, it works, and you really won't notice it.













The gunpod attaches onto a different connector than the other VF-25 valks, but that's because the gunpod is completely different than the other ones.

[pud333]

Gerwalk mode: the gun shows away easily underneath. You can put the gun in its hand, but it is so long, it is kind of awkward. Still looks badass though.











Michael and Klan Klang. Like the other valks, it comes as a one person valk, but you can remove the plastic cockpit piece to reveal an extra seat, where you can put his girlfriend in.



Battroid mode: As you can see, the gunpod is really, really long. Maybe Michael is compensating for something, haha. It is what sets Michael apart from the other pilots in the squadron. He's always portrayed as getting the kill shot in the anime.







Here's where the valkyrie gets really awesome. Normally I have my valks in fighter mode, but with Michael's, I am going to keep him in battroid. The sniper rifle transforms when being used in battroid mode. As usual in anima, the gun looks needlessly complicated, but that's what makes it so cool.





The headsculpt has a decidedly alien, cyclops look to it.