{"id":3684,"date":"2013-09-29T00:55:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-29T00:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/?p=3684"},"modified":"2018-07-15T08:01:37","modified_gmt":"2018-07-15T08:01:37","slug":"bandai-160-dx-vf-27-brera-custom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anymoon.com\/blog\/?p=3684","title":{"rendered":"Bandai 1\/60 DX VF-27 (Original Release)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bandai<\/a><\/p>\n

Review(Updated): Now includes Grace\/Cannon Fodder Variant
\n<\/p>\n

\"Bandai<\/a>\"DX<\/a><\/p>\n

Packaging & Extras:<\/strong> Brera: (3.5\/5), Grace: (4\/5)
\nI really enjoy Bandai\u2019s packaging of the Macross Frontier DX toys (although they do better on the smaller toys than the bigger ones).\u00a0 The DX VF-27 toys come packaged in a Styrofoam tray with the following:
\n1) Instructions
\n2) 3x pair of fixed posed hands (fist, gun grip, open palm, the toy also has a set of knife-hand hands attached)
\n3) Pilot and copilot (Brera), Green and red pilots (Grace)
\n4) Gun (with opening and scope gimmicks)
\n5) Fold booster attachment
\n6) Fold booster (Grace only)
\nGrace\u00a0gets a higher score because her toy includes the fold booster and a connector piece to attach it to the VF-25 toys if you prefer.\u00a0\u00a0 If you’re not\u00a0planning on buying the Grace toy\u00a0you’ll have to\u00a0track down the \u201cGallia IV bonus parts\u201d (see my review<\/a>) to get a fold booster for your Brera toy.\u00a0\u00a0I was originally skeptical that Bandai would be able to squeeze a fold booster into the VF-27 packaging without increasing its\u00a0volume but\u00a0they pulled it off.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The only other shortcoming of the packaging is the lack of a collector\u2019s style flip lid but not having one probably allows Bandai to ship the toy in a smaller box so I don\u2019t really hold it against them.\u00a0 Two extras you won\u2019t notice the first time you pull the Styrofoam tray out are Brera and Ranka figures in the cockpit of the Brera toy or an anonymous green pilot in Grace’s toy (an extra Brera pilot figure is also supplied with the green VF-27 for some reason, it’s a shame it’s not a Grace figure).<\/p>\n

\"DX<\/a>\"Bandai<\/a>\"DX<\/a>\"Bandai<\/a>\"DX<\/a><\/p>\n

Charm & Collectability:<\/strong>\u00a0(3\/5)
\nI don\u2019t think Grace or Brera\u00a0have a strong or devoted following but the improvements of these toys over the original release VF-25 toys did make them quite popular until the renewal VF-25 toys came out. \u00a0There were two releases:
\nVF-27 Brera Custom, February 2010, 16,000 Yen
\nVF-27 Grace Custom, June 2010, 16,000 Yen Tamashii Exclusive
\nThe subsequent release in August 2013 of an improved version of the VF-27 for 20,000 Yen with a display stand and super parts (I call it a ‘renewal VF-27 for simplicity’s sake) further diminished the collectability of these toys.\u00a0 Since the renewal VF-27 isn’t any where near the type of improvement we saw when Bandai went from original VF-25 to Renewal VF-25 there’s still room for these original releases in collections.\u00a0 If you’re a big GERWALK or fighter mode guy then these original releases should suit you perfectly fine.\u00a0\u00a0This is a perfect transformation toy\u00a0from a popular show featuring a good deal of well-used metal\u2026 that normally bodes well for collecting.\u00a0 Grace’s toy also has the benefit of being a web exclusive that probably wasn’t produced in overwhelming quantities.\u00a0 Word is that both toys did sell fairly well.<\/p>\n

\"DX<\/a>\"Bandai<\/a>\"DX<\/a><\/p>\n

Sculpt, Detail, & Paint:<\/strong> (8\/10)
\nThe DX toys are still a bit thick (chunky) and the crotch area, largely retained from the VF-25 toy, doesn\u2019t really pull off the angling that you\u2019ll see in the anime.\u00a0 He\u2019s supposed to be at nearly half-mast but instead he can only muster a quarter-mast by cheating (place either an eraser or an unused fixed posed hand behind the crotch and it will prop it forward).\u00a0 The painted on detail is\u00a0very good and taken directly from existing\u00a0line art unlike the\u00a0renewal version which adds more painted on detail of unknown origin.\u00a0\u00a0Fighter mode is pretty sexy but Bandai doesn’t go to quite the same lengths Yamato did on some of their\u00a0V2 VF-1 toys.\u00a0 The landing gears have been improved over the VF-25 now featuring a tow-bar, the pilot figures are vast improvements over the molded in place VF-25 figure although not up to Yamato\/Arcadia standards.\u00a0\u00a0The huge gun is nicely detailed but\u00a0this mega beam rifle is a bit too large looking in battroid mode.\u00a0\u00a0I suspect this is because of how large the gun is supposed to look in fighter mode so I\u2019m not holding it too much against the toy.\u00a0 Really, this thing looks good, plain and simple.\u00a0 Note in the battroid line art comparison above that while the renewal version looks less chunky (a definite improvement) it’s not necessarily that much more line art accurate in the waist area.\u00a0 I’ve replaced the primitive video review that used to be in this post with my new HD comparison to the renewal toy.<\/p>\n