Observations & Critique: Those are some awfully big hands
This post contains observations on the version 1 1/60 stand-alone GBP accessory kit (not to be confused with the more stellar 1/48 versions, or 1/60 V2). The accessory kit is packaged like all the other version 1 Yammy 1/60 VF-1 products… in a flimsy, over-sized, box. The art is decent enough and the box does its job but don’t expect to be bowled over by the goods inside. You’ll get the accessory kit, gigantic fists, instructions, decals, and that’s it. It would have been nice to see some new posed hands, maybe some that could accomodate the gun, or any new tidbits that were only available through the purchase of this accessory. Check out how big the new fists are compared to the stock ones that come with the toy.
Released in May of 2004 for an MSRP of 9,800 Yen as a giftset with a Hikaru VF-1J or 3,900 Yen for just the GBP, this product essentially seemed to crash and burn. The major deal-breaker today is the obvious superiority of the 1/48 VF-1 GBP accessory (released December of 2005 for 12,600 Yen) and the 1/60 V2 GBP accessory (released December 2009 as a gift-set for 16,800 Yen). This product came out late in the 1/60 life cycle and was almost immediately supplanted by the 1/48 valks so demand was just never there. In quite an interesting move Yamato only released the Hikaru VF-1J in a giftset with the armor and as a super variant… so if you didn’t purchase the Hikaru with the GBP you would then need to buy a Super Hikaru VF-1J to accomplish your goal and you’d then be left with excess super parts that only fit on a few of the Yamato 1/60 releases (essentially all the 1/60s that came with their own parts). Basically, it only makes sense to put the stand-alone GBP on the first DYRL releases which further limited the number of people looking to pick this up.
The color of the GBP is a bit too dark and the proportions seem a little off in a few places but otherwise it’s a fine effort. For some reason the fully-dressed valk just isn’t quite as intimidating as it ought to be. The missiles in the compartments could have looked a lot better. The cartoon-style fists are also too large and make the whole toy look a little silly. There is obviously a lack of painted on detail here and the bar has been raised high by subsequent GBP releases.
This accessory deserves some bonus credit for being the first GBP to feature all the right opening missile bays. The missile bays also incorporate smart hinge designs that largely conceal said hinges for a better overall look (in contrast to the Takatoku toy which made clear concessions for the hinges). The backpack boosters also attach in such a way that it won’t matter if they’re attaching to a second generation Version 1 1/60 VF-1 or a first generation which is a very nice touch (albeit very similar to the Takatoku method). Unfortunately the manner in which they attach seems to promote the boosters getting a bit crooked but overall they were surprisingly sturdy for how delicate it seems the method could be. The 1/48 accessory improved upon this toy by adding individually removable missiles, removable grenades on the hips, and removable grenades on the forearms. The 1/48 also added an additional part to each leg armor to remove the seam that runs down the front of the leg. Takatoku deserves some credit for not requiring the shoulder sleeve that Yamato has included with all of their GBP accessories since the Takatoku toys have beefy enough shoulders that the sleeve is unnecessary. The GBP accessory fits all single seat version 1 toys.
The crotch section of this GBP does fall off, a lot. I have heard of people resorting to all manner of methods to keep the crotch on their GBP. Really though, beyond that and the sloppy fit of the rear boosters the toy is sturdy and comes together relatively well. The fact the V1 1/60 toy has a functioning waist swivel meant that Yamato had to compose the diaper out of a lot of different parts but for the most part, other than the crotch pieces, the parts tend to stay on the toy. While the version 1 1/60 VF-1 toys contained a lot of diecast, the accessory parts don’t contain any metal (which is a good thing given the nature of the parts).
This toy gets points for having so many opening and closing panels. No, you don’t get the individually removeable missiles like you do with the 1/48 version and the grenades on the hips and above the wrists aren’t removeable either. You also will lose some mobility at the swivel point near the knee which is more than a minor bummer as demonstrated above.
Originally I tried to review this accessory like I would any other toy (I have since updated to an observation post and removed the scores). Back when this toy had a score it was below average due to its first generation aesthetics, tendency to have the crotch armor fall off, and the limiting of mobility you’ll see in your 1/60 VF-1’s legs. If you do have an old V1 1/60 VF-1 toy lying around it is still worth consideration. Obviously the 1/48 and 1/60 V2 GBPs are vastly superior so if you aren’t saddled with a few of the older VF-1 toys you shouldn’t go looking for them now. If you’re wondering why I got rid of the scores it’s because some of the categories don’t really work for an accessory.
NOTE: This review has been updated. New higher resolution photos have been added, content has been updated to reflect the 1/48 and 1/60 V2 releases, and an HD video on the evolution of the GBP toys has been included. If you’re not using Internet Explorer, visit my youtube channel to check the videos out (scorched earth toys). Updated format from reveiw to observations.
Original post March 23, 2007