1/60 VF-0S review

[GDomino]

VF-0S panel lined Battroid
I received my 0S yesterday (not bad considering I got my shipping notice form HLJ on Apr 29) and I am now just getting a chance to look over it. My first impression is that this toy is more than "a slightly redesigned 1/48 valk". Yamato actually went all out from the foot up. The head and the main torso have pretty obvious redesigns but the legs and even the landing gear stow-areas are different. This toy is different enough from the 1/48 that I give Yamato much credit for releasing this toy in such a short time from when we first saw the protos. I would think that a lot of retooling of the moulds had to happen. Minimal re-hashing of 1/48 parts for this one.
gerwalk L Intake paint smudge

First thing I did out of the box was look for QC issues and it didn't take me long to find a few, which was expected for initial runs for Yamato valks. Yamato used tampo printing for the skull squadron emblems, the UN Spacy insignias and the red "Danger Intake" warning sign for the intakes. On mine, I noticed some paint QC issues, the red paint on one of my intake "danger" warning was smudged to the point of causing the lettering to not be legible. The red leg stripe close to the knee was also smudged. I suspect that Yamato may have packed this toy without letting the red paint dry. Oh well, not really that big of a deal, noting that I can fix these issues with a Gundam marker and stickers (yep, the good news is Yamato did provide a sticker sheet which include even those emblems that were tampo printed). I also noticed that some black paint on the Right leg (where the UN Spacy is tampod) was touched up with some noticable darker black paint with some slight bubbling, but overall not really noticable, unless you are nitpicky.
paint smudge R leg ooh that looks like stress

During this inital check, I immediately realized how light this toy was. I don't remember the 1/48s being this light, maybe I am just so used to my yammies having the extra mass of the fast packs (my 1J has been in its GBP armor for so long that I refuse to mess with the "undressing" of that toy just to check the weight)... The toy does feels fragile, especially the joints, maybe because of the hollow feel of the limbs. But again, this was expected since we all know the diecast content was going to be very minimal, limited to the landing gears, the front stabilizers above the intake, and the swingbar. I was worried at first transformation because the joints were so tight, that there was alot of cracking and snapping sounds. I was especially worried about the rotating joint used to stow the shoulders and the arms under the plane in fighter mode. Similar to the 1/48's transformation, you have to actually slightly bend that plastic joint for the shoulder transformation in Gerwalk mode But it seems to be able to handle the stress. The transformation is fairly similar to the 1/48 VF-1 and is pretty simple. You might wanna refer to the manual though since there a few differences which include the heat shield, not being hidden in fighter mode, and the cockpit actually slides higher into the fuselage/torso so to give the valk a "not so well endowed" look the VF-1Xs have. I actually like this feature since it manages to compromise the heatshield being smaller this time around and still enabling the full cockpit to be hidden in battroid mode. Yamato also redesigned the back hatch for the head to go through for transformation to Batroid mode but is still fairly similar to the VF-1Xs. The hatch used to lock the swingbar to the crotch/nose of the plane was also modified so that you no longer use those tiny folding pegs that the 1/48 VF-1Xs had to hide the holes where the hip joints go . I was relieved to not have the "2 Right or Left shoulders", which was a current scare at MacrossWorld right now. I did find that the wrists on mine are very loose as well as the right arm rotation at the elbow is loose, but again they are minor since I can tighten those up with some clear nail polish . Other than those few things, everything else was fine.
nose cone and hatch
This toy just looks a lot better because of all the tiny details Yamato added, i.e red clear plastic parts on the nose to the black painted parts on the chest, to the very detailed painted pilot that even has the skull emblems painted on the helmet. The pilot's seat can swivel for the pilot to be right side up in battroid mode just like in the anime. The wings overlap in batroid mode just like in the lineart. The hip and the knee areas have increased articulation as compared to the 1/48 for better leg angles in gerwalk mode. There is no unsightly gap behind the head like in the 1/48 and eliminating the need for that plastic filler. And the rear landing gear angles outwards just like in the anime.
pilot and nose detail Chest detail angled rear landing gear

The only real cons I see on this toy are the backpack and the wrists. I wish Yamato improved on these two aspects since I thought these were flawed for the 1/48s also. They actually took a step back and removed the backpack locking mechanism found on the 1/48, the arm that swings out of the back to lock the backpack flush to the body when the fast packs are attached (which I found unsightly in the 1/48). The 0S doesn't have this feature and the back pack is kind of floppy since the only thing keeping it up is the hinge at the bottom. Also the wrists and the chicken hands are still present and I wish Yamato had provided some hands like they did for the TV Hikaru 1J. I also wish that Yamato went all out and painted panel lines on this toy since their valks just look so plain without them... looks like I'll be doing that on my own.
backpack hinge & retracting hands limp wrist & chicken hands

Overall, I am very satisfied with this purchase and I feel that it is different enough from the 1/48 VF-1 to warrant the cost. Yes it is expensive but the looks and details make it worth while. I'll be posting pics tomorrow since I am in the process of panel lining this thing.

Edit: added some pics of it panel lined and some of the things I described.

[Omni Existence]

Wow!

That's an excellent review GDom! Great pics as well!

You're right, the paint smudges are an eyesore, but like you said, it should be expected. On my end, I'll probably wait for the 2nd release.

Thanks for the write up and the pics! Definitely something I want on my collection.

[GDomino]

Heh Thanks Omni... I was wanting to wait for the second reissue but I was worried that I may put off the zero in light 0f all these other toys coming out. Also, its getting to be a pain to find a 1/48 on ebay so I thought I might as well get the VF-0 now just in case they don't since it isn't as well known and doesn't have the nostalgia factor the VF-1s have.

Also I just wanted to add that I just watched the Macross Zero OVAs again and I had forgotten that the VF-0 has a swingbar similar to the old 1/55 valks... It tripped me out that this Yammie Valk is not exactly perfect transformation... according to the anime.

Yamato needs to redesign... [sarcasm]WE WANT PERFECT TRANSFORMATION GAWDDAMMIT!!!! [/sarcasm]

[REX-203]

Nice review GD!

I hope this thing doesn't sell out everywhere, making me miss out. It'll be a while before I can swing another big purchase like this.

[howieh]

Well, Yamato's QC is really starting to bug me. Other than that, what a great review, GDomino! Nice shots, too! Still is one impressive toy. Can't wait to get mine!

[Omni Existence]

gdomino said:

Also I just wanted to add that I just watched the Macross Zero OVAs again and I had forgotten that the VF-0 has a swingbar similar to the old 1/55 valks... It tripped me out that this Yammie Valk is not exactly perfect transformation... according to the anime.

Yamato needs to redesign... [sarcasm]WE WANT PERFECT TRANSFORMATION GAWDDAMMIT!!!! [/sarcasm]

AFAIK, there was some debate over the swingbar design over at MW a while back when plans for the 1/60 was revealed. Design-wise, the double hidden swingbar was feasible, however it wasn't advisable, as it would put too much stress on the fuselage.

So Yamato came up with the battle tested 1/48 single swingbar design.

[GDomino]

Don't get me wrong... I'm glad Yamato stuck with the 1/48's swing bars... I was just surprised that not too many Mac fans were disturbed by the "not so perfect" transformation of the 1/60 0s. I know we can be some of the hardest people to please and the biggest critics. I mean, I do understand why Yamato did not want to redesign. Bottom line is it's cheaper for them to rehash the "battle tested" 1/48 design and they did not want to compromise the looks of all the modes by a complete redesign and then having to retool their manufacturing process.
With the double swing bars, Yamato would have to go back to the drawing boards for the entire torso, finding ways to tuck the arms in fighter mode with the swing bars, and not getting in the way of tucking the shoulders.

I can honestly say that the Fighter mode is the best thing about the both the VF-1 and the 0.
It's cool to know that the model accurate looking plane I have at my desk also transfroms to a robot. The same reason I like the Binaltech Transformers.

[Omni Existence]

I understand man.

Macross fans are probably the b*tchiest b@stards ever to walk the earth (save for Trekkies, and Star Wars fans ) especially when it comes to the toys, and I am one of them!

At this point in time however, I do my best to understand between design compromise for a better overall product, than a technically accurate toy, but end up with a very flimsy, overly busy, and ridiculuously expensive toy (ala S.H.E. garage kits). Yamato does good with the former.

As for the modes, I find the VF-0S Battroid mode as the best looking Battroid to date. Even better than the 1/48 VF-1's. But for modes, I like keeping them as Valkyries. I have a thing for fighter planes.

[REX-203]

omniexistence said:

I understand man.

Macross fans are probably the b*tchiest b@stards ever to walk the earth (save for Trekkies, and Star Wars fans ) especially when it comes to the toys, and I am one of them!

I dunno man, those TF guys are pretty bad...

Huh..? Wha..?

[Otaru Ikari]

Finally got mine too and glad it was priced the same as the 1/48 and not the high price I expected.

Not much QC issue on mine, no paint smudge or those dreaded reverse shoulder. Though needed to make the gun pod hole slightly bigger since it was well tight for the arm pegs.

A lot of improvements were made over the 1/48 design but a few of things that was nice little touch were gone like the minute waist movement.

Still a good purchase.

[GDomino]

AAARGH!!!! FUQ FUQ FUQ!!! While detailing my 0 with decals this morning, the folding hinge, where the head is attached, fell apart on me. I don't know how since I was pretty careful. Just a warning to all 0S owners, that plastic hinge is brittle. Anybody know how to order that piece from Yamato? ...maybe I'll customize my metal version.

[Otaru Ikari]

Do you mean the gray plastic?

[GDomino]

Yep, that gray plastic square hinge, where the head is screwed on to... I wish Yamato made that piece out of diescast since the piece goes through a lot of wear and tear during transformations.

[Otaru Ikari]

Dang, yeah wish they had, did not notice if it had screws, might be the tightness of the screw that made it brittle. Gotta check later.

[Omni Existence]

Otaru you lucky bastid!

I should haev bought that last piece when you went to get some money he he he he he

[alisama]

There is no unsightly gap behind the head like in the 1/48 and eliminating the need for that plastic filler.

what are you refering to?

[zephyranthes]

I might wait for a reissue as Yamato usually works out a few kinks by the next round. I got the 1/48's right away and later wished I had waited for the improved reissues.

[Lord Zarak]

Hi, but what's the dimension? like a 1/48 or is smaller...?

[Omni Existence]

The VF-0S is 1/60 in scale, but is only a few mm's shorter than the 1/48 VF-1 in Battroid mode, and about the same size as the 1/48 VF-1 in Valkyrie mode.

The reason for this is, the VF-0 is a fairly larger fighter:

VF-1x = 14.23m
VF-0x = 18.69 m

[Lord Zarak]

Thanks Omni