10.31.07

Yamato 1/60 VF-0A (The Unknown Soldier, 1.5 Edition)

Posted in 1/60, Macross ZERO, VF-0 Zero, Yamato at 4:30 am by micronian

 

Review: Shin’s Doppleganger Steps Out, but Does he Step Up?

 

Packaging & Extras: (4.5/5)
This toy comes packaged the same way as a VF-0S and that’s not a bad thing, flimsy, kinda large box packed full o’ good stuff. Like the 0S, You get a gun that collapses (in 2 ways) but this time the hole in the grip actually fits the pegs in the arms! The missiles are still beautifully pre-painted (although a bit more drab than the 0S’) and can be individually removed from their trees. The little pilot figure has Shin’s helmet on… but in a different color (hence the Doppleganger comment, picture of the missiles and pilot below). The leg armor attachments are here and still connect via magnets and still work well although their visual impact is minimal (as pictured later in this review). Of course, since you’re getting all the same goodies that came with the 0S, you also get the Launch Arm attachments for GERWALK and Fighter modes (I really do plan on having a Launch Arm review in the not-so-distant future, stay tuned!). Please note that I’ve made it much more difficult for toys to get a 5/5 in this department and am going back to previous reviews and knocking the scores down. With toys like Yamato’s VF-1 Super Sets and the SV-51 with its stand and boosters it just takes a phenomenal amount of extras to get a perfect score now.

 

Charm & Collectibility: (2.5/5)
Boy does this toy have a few major points against it. When Yamato originally released this toy the implication was that this was as close to a Shin paint scheme as consumers were going to get. Then, after being out for a couple months, Yamato started showing a legitmate Shin-specific release at toy conventions. There was a bit of backlash because of that with this paint scheme largely being relegated to red-headed stepchild status. Compound this unhappiness from the illegitimacy of the paint scheme with the fact Macross Zero isn’t intensely popular and you’re left with a toy with below average collectibility and, initially, not much charm either. The last nail in the coffin for the Unknown Soldier 0A is Yamato’s pricing structure for these valks which are continually exhibiting less than excellent durability. At release these toys costed as much as $175 (shipped to the US) putting them well beyond the price range for the casual consumer. There is some good news here though, since Shin now has gotten a proper release (with Ghost Booster none-the-less!) the likelihood of this toy ever being re-released is almost nill. Below is a picture next to the 1/48 VF-1 Low Vis 1, many people felt that the Unknown soldier 0A was reminscent of the LV1… I don’t find the similarities all that striking. Comparison pics of Shin and the Unknown Soldier will be provided in the Shin Giftset review.

 

Sculpt, Detail, and Paint: (9/10)
This toy isn’t quite as beautiful as the 0S in that there isn’t quite as much Tampo printing (no one in Yamato was willing to commit to the identity of the Unknown Soldier so they left any identifying markings off the toy). That said, this toy is still absolutely beautiful in its detail. If you open the landing gear doors you’ll see the inside of the bays have been painted white (a la the 1/48 Low Vis 1 VF-1A). Every area that could have additional detail does have additional detail, right down to the back of the Battroid’s head. Overall presentation of this toy is phenomenal but I did find it a bit drab with the muted and only slighlty varying tones of gray being insufficient to make the toy stand out in any particular way.

 

Design: (8.5/10)
Yes, you get all the cool features you know and love from the 0S. You get the pilot’s seat that reclines, you get the landing gears that angle outward, you get the afterburner ring that stays in one piece as the feet open, and you get the nifty hook that doubles as both a hook for aircraft carrier landings and an antenna in GERWALK mode (if you choose to use it). The transformation is the same as the 0S (First Edition), which is phenomenal, and now when you extend the feet they actually lock into position! That isn’t the only improvement though. A rubber ring has been added to the elbow area of the toy which prevents the forearm from spinning around as the 0S (First Edition) was prone to doing. The most exciting change to this toy, and I’m not exactly sure how they implemented it, has to be the additional rigidity that was added. The 0S was terribly floppy and felt weak in all positions and it was obvious in the way it sat and the fact the intakes in fighter mode couldn’t stay firmly attached to the body but this 0A, while still not being as stiff as many other toys, is an obvious improvement (no problem with drooping intakes). Since many of these improvements are kind of hard to picture, I’ve provided pictures below to show how the leg armors attach and how their attachment actually affects your display. I’ve also included a comparison picture to show the improved rigidity of this new toy.

 

Durability & Build: (4.5/10)
Expecting a dramatic improvement over the 0S? Well, I’m afraid while the rigidity of this toy has markedly improved the most grievous problems remain. One problem that seems to have been completely eliminated are the tail spikes that on many 0S (First Edition) toys were broken in the box. I haven’t heard of a single instance of a 0A coming with broken tail spikes. Another rumored problem with the 0S (First Edition) that I haven’t seen in relation to this 0A were the complaints about the magnets in the legs being reversed, it seems like Yamato got all the magnets right this time. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with the 0S seems to have gone unresolved. The shoulders on this toy are delicate with stress-marking being common after just one transformation and full on crumbling off the shoulder parts following shortly there-after (in some cases the shoulder is fine, I don’t think anyone has conclusively determined the variable but the weakness is so prevalent I still recommend avoiding this toy). So, as I advised with the 0S, I recommend you immediately transform this toy into GERWALK or Battroid, disassemble the shoulder covers (VERY easy) and inspect your shoulders. While inspecting them for stress marks (note the right arm has a very faint one in my picture below spreading down from the screw) go ahead and unscrew the screws here a few threads for piece of mind. Your shoulders will be looser but hopefully this will keep them from suffering a complete failure and falling apart on you. Even after backing out my screws a little I was still able to make my 0A get into most the poses I wanted, it just took a bit more patience. Unfortunately I’ve heard of some people who have it so bad the arms of their toys won’t stay attached to the toy at all and that’s without anything being broken, it’s because of fit and finish problems. Here’s where things go from bad to worse, the elbows of the 0A with their new rubber rings are now also prone to absolute failures and once again, while this doesn’t happen with a high probability, there doesn’t seem to be any clue as to what’s making the elbows fail in the instances they do. Some people suspect it’s a chemical reaction happening with the rubber ring and the plastic but there hasn’t been a definitive answer. Let me reiterate, there are plenty of 0A toys with shoulders that are fine and no problems in their elbows, but there is also a very high rate of failure (think of it the same way as you might an XBox 360… they work fine for some even though it’s generally accepted that the design was flawed leading to tons of them breaking down). When I first picked mine up it sounded like it had a loose part in it, after some investigation I found out it was just the feet were extremely loose in fighter mode. Check out how much these bad boys move around with the force from a twist tie!  Also note you should be careful how hard you pull up on the tailfins… they can be removed (fortunately they can also be easily replaced without harm to the toy).

 

Articulation: (9/10)
This toy is just as much fun to pose as the 0S, and some might argue even more so since the feet now lock and the elbows hold poses better. My 0S was easily coaxed into getting its elbows to hold poses and I had fun with the feet not locking so I don’t really see either improvement as a reason to increase the score here. This toy is a ton of fun to pose although it’s still a bit of a bummer that the big pieces on the chest block its line of sight ruining what otherwise would be really cool poses.

 

Total Score: (38/50)
The score on this toy has convinced me to revise the review of the 1/60 VF-0S (First Edition) downward. While a slight improvement over the 0S (it would have been a much bigger one if the shoulders and elbows were more trustworthy) it’s not quite as cool as the YF-19 FP/Fold or the old 1/48 VF-1 toys. For quick reference, the 1/48 VF-1 scored a 44 on my scale and is probably my highest ranking toy (not including accessories) on this site and I have to say, if Yamato can get their act together and produce a version of this toy with arms and elbows that last it will be in pretty thick competition with their VF-1 for the top position… until then 38 is a very respectable score (remember, anything above 35 is considered above average). Here’s the thing though, I do not recommend people buy these toys. Actually, if you are going to buy this toy, you may be better served to get one used from someone who knows about the shoulders and can check them out for you. Do NOT buy this toy new or from someone who refuses to check the shoulders for you. Yamato is on the verge of a great toy here but this isn’t quite it, continue waiting for a TRUE second edition that is built to last.

Permalink