VF-19 Fire Valkyrie
Review by JoshB
The VF-19 Kai Fire valkyrie is the first Hi-Metal toy from Bandai in about 25 years. There seems to be a wave of nostalgia sweeping toymakers by resurrecting long-lost brand and toy line names. Perhaps it is in an effort to recapture the spirit of toys from the past. Hell, Bandai brought back Popy as a manufacturer, why not bring back a toy line.
The last Hi-Metal toys, while not the heavy diecast toys of the 70s, still had a fair amount of metal in them. When it was announced that Bandai was resurrecting the line and making the VF-19 the inaugural release, I was excited to finally get a Fire Valkyrie with a decent amount of heft.
Unfortunately, I must have been HI to think there would be any METAL in this valkyrie.
My first impression when picking up the box was how light it was. taking the toy out, I thought to myself "this can't be it, can it?"
However, handling the toy quickly changes your mind. While light, the toy is really, really nice.
Before continuing with this review, I must give you this disclaimer: I love Macross 7 and I love the YF-19/VF-19 design. I was super excited to get this toy, the first VF-19 since the plastic one Bandai released years ago.
The VF-19 is the next generation valkyrie on the Macross 7. It's piloted by Basara Nekki, lead singer of the band Fire Bomber. Basara believes that his songs can change the world, and that they can reach even the most alien of species. When the Macross 7 is threatened by an unknown enemy, Basara and his band are recruited to form "Sound Force", a squad of valkyries that use Fire Bomber's music to try and turn the fight to their advantage.
Basara is a pacifist, and as such, does not use any weapons in battle. The gun shoots sound pods that attach to the enemies armor to amplify Basara's song.
Fighter Mode
Yes, it's small. It's 1/100 scale, so it's bigger than a Revoltech, but smaller than the 1/60 DX chogokins. If all of the Hi-Metal valkyries are in this scale, I will be happy. It's packaged in fighter mode and it's ready to go right out of the box.
Fighter mode is solid, all parts are fastened securely. A quick inspection reveals that the whole outside is plastic, with the only metal visible on the inside of the engines/feet. The cockpit is clear, with a small figure of Basara inside. The cockpit does not open.
Another omission - no landing gear. No landing gear doors. Just a sleek and solid underside. Despite the lack of features, it looks stunning.
A stand is included - sort of. A clear plastic attachment can fasten to the underside of the valkyrie, but it ends in a peg, but no base is included for this piece to attach to. You need to purchase a Tamashii stand separately to use this feature.
Gerwalk mode
Transforming this toy is one of the things that make me overlook the low metal quantity. I shot a video that goes through the transformation procedure, but what I want to you to take away is how nice this gerwalk mode is compared to a lot of recent valkyrie offerings.
Gerwalk mode was not an afterthought here. The transformation mechanism and articulation lend itself to this mode.
My only real complaint here is that it isn't a perfect transformation - you have to remove small panels from the ends of the arms and replace them with hands. One would think they would have been able to come up with a way for the hands to be stored in the arms.
Once again, a flaw, but one that does not detract from my enjoyment of the figure.
Battroid mode
There's a bit more parts-swapping to get it to battroid mode. The head requires the fin and two antennae be attached after transformation. A small panel near the head needs to be removed. And while not absolutely necessary, Bandai has provided filler panels to smooth out the look of the back of the legs.
For transformation, again, see the video. Pieces click into place nicely, and the finished toy is solid and articulate.
What makes this toy great is the poses it can do and how well it holds them. At no time does this feel floppy or half-assed. It's the polar opposite of the VF100s. Each limb features full articulation, including swivel shoulders, rotating and splaying hips, double jointed knees and ball jointed ankles.
As for accessories, there aren't many. A gun is included (that's not really a gun) and an extra gun-holding hand. Also included is a variant face that represents a closed faceplate (not shown, sorry). What is more interesting is the lack of certain accessories, such as closed fists, landing gear, a complete display stand or the Sound Force boosters. In typical Bandai fashion, the boosters will be sold as Tamashii Web exclusives.
Soooooo....
It's a good toy. It's fun. It looks great. But it is not cheap. At almost $80 USD for a 6-inch transforming plastic action figure, well... you gotta really want it. You would think for that cost (more than your basic Soul of Chogokin, to put it into perspective) they could have gone the extra mile and fixed some of the above flaws. Some I can see are stylistic choices, like the lack of landing gear. But despite its diminutive size and high price tag, its a much better toy than the DX Chogkin Messiah valkyries.
My love for this design, coupled with fantastic build quality and articulation, make this a recommended piece.
FAAAAIIIIYYYAAHHH BOMMMMMMBBAAAHHHHH!
Comments
56 comments postedThe answer is simple. I've just made progress by gathering organic intel through diplomatic protocols that would be benefical to the economy of the toy collector's Otaku budget.
-R78
That's a hell of a flea market.
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A master of mind control who hides inside a Ford Pickup
I think that this toy reflects how I feel about Tamashii released a lot in general. Despite this being an excellent looking toy to me, there's just a few details that really drag down the release. I can deal with the part-swapping and misleading name, but Tamashii in particular almost never includes a stand even though they give you half the parts to do so which just seems like a way to cash in even more, and to have these web exclusives that are very hard for exporting fans to get a hold of for a reasonable price. They've done the same thing with the SH Figuarts line, SDX Gundams, and Robot Damashii figures as well.
But aside from that rant, I love that even though this figure is 1/100 scale, it's not put next to the VF100 VF-25. Perhaps some lingering hatred and bitterness? : P
Jokingly Maybe somebody got the wrong memo: This reminds me and is in scale of a High Complete release not a High Metal. This would have been a cool reboot to the High Complete but as High Metal its misnamed.
Leonardo Flores
CollectionDX Staff Writer-West Coast Bureau
See, the way I look at toys is thus: (and obviously different than most folks)
I am well aware they are silly. In general its expensive dust collecting nick nacks. Some people get Hummel figurines or sports bits, I prefer big smashy robots and big stompy monsters.
As these bits don't DO anything in general but look pretty and collect dust there is only so much I am willing to pay for them.
Now western release stuff tends to be relatively cheap, fun to putz around with, and decent looking overall.
Japanese robot toys tend to not be so much.
Ever hear the saying "You want it good, cheap, and fast? Pick any two"?
Well Japanese robot toys seem to ask the question "You want it good looking, fun to play with, or cheap? Pick ONE".
That's my problem with a lot of them, which the toy in this review brings up well. Its good looking, but its a parts former, and certainly not cheap. (Though given some of the toys many folks here buy its cheap in COMPARISON.)
Seems fidgety & less smooth looking compared to a version of this I had several years ago. IF I remember correctly, The version I had also had less visibly noticeable parts separation points.
Bandai shouldn’t have put the word metal in this toy & Yes I know many other “metal” toys by Bandai lacked significant metal content, so I’m not just singling this toy out.
The video is much appreciated! While text & pics are also much appreciated, Videos give better insight into a toy.
You gave an excellent review! Thanks Josh!